How business unraveled for Hertel & Sons
Looking back over the remains of Ventura-based homebuilder R.W. Hertel & Sons, former partner Bob Fowler wishes he had done things differently. “I should have liquidated, put it all into bonds and gone home,” said Fowler, who worked for the company from 1993 until it unraveled in June 2008. Instead the firm invested in airplanes, Read More →
Fielding appoints new head
Students at Santa Barbara’s Fielding Graduate University can expect a few things to change this summer when incoming president Richard Meyers replaces Judith Kuipers, who is stepping down after a nine-year term. But they needn’t worry; Meyers knows what he’s doing. This is the fifth presidency for Meyers, who comes to Santa Barbara from Missouri, Read More →
Tech drives Venoco
Oil development off Santa Barbara County’s coast has been a thorny proposition since at least 1908, when the Santa Barbara Chamber of Commerce opposed the construction of a pipeline on Stearns Wharf. Moratoriums on new offshore drilling in both state and federal waters followed decades later. But new drilling technology offers oil companies the chance Read More →
Thrifts and thrills – As budgets tighten, consignment shops see upswing
While many tri-county retail stores are closing because of plummeting sales, regional consignment stores are seeing the silver lining of the economic recession as consumers look for creative ways to stick to their budgets. The area’s secondhand stores have thrived in recent months as savvy shoppers have caught the consignment bug. “My theory is that Read More →
Breaking the glass ceiling – Leading businesswomen discuss life at the top
The Business Times is launching a six-times-a-year focus section on women in business. For its inaugural issue, we talked several female tri-county business leaders to get their views. We also invited Barbara Lanz-Mateo, former editor of Coastal Woman, to contribute to our op-ed page on page 18A of the Feb. 13 edition. Grace Vaswani, Clarice Read More →
Madoff
When Elaine Dine sold her attorney head-hunting firm about a decade ago, an employee told her about a seemingly solid investment called Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities. “He closes the books day to day,” the employee told her. “It’s like having cash.” So Dine, a South Coast resident for the past five and half years, Read More →
Sorry to be bearer of bad news: the market hasn
After attending the Santa Barbara Association of Realtors meeting at the Montecito Country Club along with about 200 other people on Feb. 5, I decided I didn’t want to do it again. I didn’t want to come back to this column with more depressing statistics, more somber quotes and another bleak outlook. But it seems Read More →
