Property crime hurts bottom line
OpinionProperty crime is economic crime. We haven’t seen the latest data, but from news reports and conversations with our colleagues in the business world, there seems to be a sudden increase in office break-ins, smash-and-grab car theft, identity-theft and bank robberies. It’s easy to blame the recession and shrug things off. But victims of these Read More →
Goleta banks robbed
UncategorizedTwo Goleta banks were robbed at gunpoint within 30 minutes of each other Jan. 16, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department said in a statement. Detectives are investigating whether the two robberies are related. An undisclosed amount of cash was taken in each heist. Los Padres Bank, 197 N. Fairview Ave., was held up at Read More →
101 project secures funding
UncategorizedThe Pooled Money Investment Board met in Sacramento on Jan. 16 and decided to continue state funding for the Milpas to Hot Springs Highway 101 Widening Project. “When this matter was brought to my attention, I instructed my office to immediately begin work on resolving the problem,” said Pedro Nava, assemblyman of the 35th District. Read More →
Circuit city folds
UncategorizedCircuit City, the nation’s second-biggest consumer electronics retailer, announced Jan. 16 it failed to find a buyer and will liquidate its 567 U.S. stores. With 30,000 employees, the retailer’s closure may send them into the ranks of the unemployed. The company had been seeking a buyer or a deal to refinance its debt, but the Read More →
Teledyne
UncategorizedThousand Oaks-based defense conglomerate Teledyne Technologies snapped up seven companies in 2008, up from the two it acquired in 2007. The acquisitions – for which Teledyne is expected to have spent more than $130 million, compared to just $50 million on business purchases in 2007 – came from a range of industries that reflects the Read More →
Ventura gets an upgrade
UncategorizedThe city of Ventura has received a boost in its credit rating from Standard & Poor’s. On Jan. 9, the agency raised Ventura’s public facilities financing authority from an A rating to a AA- rating, two notches below the top grade for its kind of debt. High ratings let the city borrow money cheaper and Read More →