Budget troubles spur pessimism
OpinionAmid all the talk about bailouts and megabucks deals for automakers, there’s been precious little talk about the small-business owners who create most of America’s jobs. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is to be congratulated for convening a small business summit that presented a host of suggestions for improving access to bidding on state projects and for Read More →
Pacificor, Michael Klein
UncategorizedSanta Barbara hedge fund Pacificor – once headed by Michael Klein, who was killed in a plane crash in Panama in December 2007 – has been sued for $30 million by the one-time owners of Quality Home Loans. The lawsuit joins hundreds of millions of dollars being sought in legal proceedings surrounding Pacificor and Klein’s Read More →
Ampersand cuts more staff
UncategorizedThe parent company of the Santa Barbara News-Press said Dec. 3 that it is eliminating 17 positions and consolidating operations of two other publications it owns. Ampersand Publishing LLC, which owns the News-Press and other publications, said that its Carpinteria Valley Living and Valley Voice editions will be “incorporated into the daily pages” of the Read More →
A special editor's note on the Miramar project
OpinionJulia Louis Dreyfus, aka Elaine from the Seinfeld show, is about to take her long-running protest act before the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors. Dreyfus and a few neighbors have become the hecklers in the audience at one of the most interesting dramas to unfold on the South Coast in recent years. That is Read More →
Strickland wins 19th Dist.
UncategorizedWith most of the ballots counted in Santa Barbara, Ventura and Los Angeles counties, Democrat Hannah-Beth Jackson conceded the 19th District State Senate race to rival Republican Tony Strickland Nov. 26. With more than 415,000 votes cast in the Nov. 4 election, Strickland squeaked past Jackson by about 900 votes. The concession marks the conclusion Read More →
Mentor fetches $1B but J&J walks away with bargain
ColumnsThere is a saying on Wall Street that industries consolidate at the top of a market and at the bottom. Consider, if you will, the case of Johnson & Johnson, which is buying Santa Barbara-based Mentor Corp. for $31 per share — or slightly more than $1 billion total. That’s basically a 100 percent premium Read More →
