No more delays in widening Highway 101
Editorials, Latest news, OpinionThere they go again. The no-growth crowd is crowing about a newly-released environmental impact report that shows a handful of intersections on Highway 101 will experience slowdowns after the highway is widened between Carpinteria and Montecito. But to anybody who’s been following the buzzing of political gadflies around the estimated $428 million project, the complaints Read More →
Dubroff: Central Coast will have one of its own on Trump’s Cabinet
Latest news, RestaurantsPresident-elect Donald Trump’s appointee for secretary of labor, CKE Restaurants CEO Andy Puzder, will have more influence on national policy than any Central Coast business leader in decades. The implications for California are significant. Puzder is a 66-year-old attorney and former general counsel of Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr.’s parent company. He rebuilt the CKE brands Read More →
PG&E pact will mitigate Diablo Canyon closure
Editorials, Latest news, OpinionSan Luis Obispo County got an early Christmas present of sorts on Nov. 28. That’s when PG&E agreed to set up a $75 million fund plus an estimated $50 million to $70 million in additional payments to mitigate the impact of the closing of the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant by 2025. The agreement includes funds Read More →
Dubroff: California’s legalization of marijuana could go up in smoke
Agribusiness, Columns, Latest newsIn light of the recent election, it’s worth noting that Colorado sales from recreational marijuana soared to $1 billion in fiscal 2015 and the state’s haul of tax revenue has risen to $135 million. But the election of Donald Trump and his selection of Sen. Jeff Sessions as the attorney general-designate have rattled that state’s Read More →
Dubroff: Trump administration will reshape Mexican-American relations
Columns, Latest newsAmid talk about a Trump administration crack down on illegal immigrants and spending billions to build a wall across the southern border, Roberto Rodriguez sees a chance of the biggest reset in Mexican-American relations in 30 years. Rodriguez knows a thing or two about that relationship. A 40-year veteran of Mexico’s foreign service, he began Read More →
New vision needed for Ventura County
Editorials, Latest news, OpinionYou might call it the Ventura County conundrum. By many measures, Ventura County has recovered nicely from the recession with relatively low unemployment at 5.3 percent, steady job growth and a nascent boom in the travel and leisure sector. But a deeper dive shows some disturbing trends. Jobs have not recovered to their pre-recession peak, Read More →
Judge’s block of federal overtime exemption rule great for California employers
Columns, Latest news, OpinionIt’s a rare event when a federal rule sets a higher pay standard than worker-friendly California. That’s part of the reason why I wondered whether a Department of Labor mandate to sharply raise the level for overtime exemption to $47,476 a year on Dec. 1 amounted to a war on small businesses. On Nov. 22, Read More →
