By Pacific Coast Business Times Staff Saturday, January 31st, 2009

While the overall economy struggles to gain altitude, here are two signs of improvement.
First, a turnaround at Channel Islands Harbor.

The latest development is the hiring of Lauterbach Associates, an Oxnard-based architecture firm, to transform the Port Royal restaurant site into the new home of the Ventura County Maritime Museum.

Relocating the museum is the key to turning around commercial development at the harbor, which is struggling with a tough housing market.

Second, vast improvements to Highway 101 in the Central Coast corridor.

Adding a third lane through Santa Maria has been completed and improvements in Arroyo Grande are under way. These are big productivity improvements for commerce along the Central Coast, and we hope they can be expanded with economic stimulus funds in the coming years.

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