Minimum wage and salary increases — a ripple effect or a tsunami?
Latest news, Law & Goverment, Op/Eds, OpinionBy Jon Light You may have heard that California will have a minimum wage of $15 by 2022. But there are ramifications beyond that gradual increase that employers may not have considered. In April, Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law a minimum wage increase to $15 per hour, phased in over five years between 2017 Read More →
Protect elderly from information scammers
Latest news, Op/Eds, OpinionBy Paul D. Witman “Knowledge (information) is power.” — Francis Bacon, 1597 Edward, 82, bought long-term-care insurance 25 years ago. But when circumstances conspired to force him to make claims against it, his provider delivered a perfect storm of information problems — confusing deadlines, conflicting bills and poor customer service. What should have been a Read More →
Small is new big when it comes to business
Latest news, Op/Eds, OpinionBy Ray Bowman Recently while traveling, I had the honor of meeting one of the world’s top five trend-spotters, Marian Salzman. She talked about some of the leading trends for 2016 and noted that “local is the new global” and that living large is no longer a trend. “Small is the new big” suffices to Read More →
Nonprofit boards should focus on what matters
Latest news, Nonprofits, Op/Eds, OpinionBy Charles Watson It is often said that nonprofits should be more businesslike. Although I usually take umbrage at such a sweeping generalization, the point that many a nonprofit fails because it loses sight of good financial and operational management practices is worth taking to heart. Nonprofit Quarterly, a leading publication of the sector, suggests Read More →
Soft skills key to successful managers
Latest news, Op/EdsBy Vlad Vaiman Executives often promote outstanding employees to supervisory or managerial positions as part of their strategy to retain the best ones. There is nothing wrong with promoting the best people to management ranks, but the problem is that most of them lack managerial skills. A promotion can start out well but turn into Read More →
Ocean exploration vital to Tri-Counties
Latest news, Op/EdsBy Melissa Baffa As I write this, the exploration vessel Nautilus is “mowing the lawn,” proceeding back and forth in an orderly march around the Channel Islands, mapping the sea floor. Owned by the Ocean Exploration Trust, an organization founded by Robert Ballard in 2008, the Nautilus is taking a journey through our collective back Read More →
Fiduciary rule may get watered down
Latest news, Op/EdsBy Burt Williamson The Department of Labor rule that Jim Wisdom addressed in the July 8-14, 2016 issue of the Pacific Coast Business Times is an attempt by the government to weed out unscrupulous sales people who are only looking to make a commission without concern to the long-term impact on the consumer. That would Read More →
