Pacific Coast Business Times Staff | Monday, January 4th, 2010
Drinking but not staying
Top StoriesVisitors will keep coming to the region this year to enjoy a glass or two of Central Coast wine, but they probably won’t stay long. The tri-county tourism outlook indicates that while wineries can expect tasting room visits and sales to go up, area hotels and resorts will likely see continued price and occupancy rate Read More →
Pacific Coast Business Times Staff | Monday, January 4th, 2010
Higher education tightens its belt again
Top StoriesIn 1960, California passed a master-plan for higher education that put the state at the leading edge of the nation’s public colleges and universities. Without that vision, inventions like the Internet never may have come into American homes. But after a year of implementing layoffs, staff furloughs, tuition increases, enrollment freezes and cuts to deal Read More →
Pacific Coast Business Times Staff | Monday, December 28th, 2009
The Year in Review 2009
Top StoriesThe top stories, revisited Scroll down to read the top Business Times stories of 2009 by topic and to view a month-by-month timeline of highlights (and lowlights) from the year. Top stories by topic: THE ECONOMY • Stimulus funds flood the region [published Nov. 6, 2009] Stimulus dollars have poured into the Tri-Counties since President Read More →
Pacific Coast Business Times Staff | Monday, December 21st, 2009
No restaurant blues at EP Koberl
FeaturesThe restaurant business is a notoriously tough one to succeed in, but Erich and Patricia Koberl must have had a secret recipe when they struck out on their own almost five years ago. EP Koberl at Blue, a stylish little restaurant nestled in the corner of the historic J.P. Andrews Building in downtown San Luis Read More →
Pacific Coast Business Times Staff | Monday, December 21st, 2009
Runoff rules rile builders
Top StoriesNew storm water rules taking shape in Ventura County have public and private builders concerned that costs for routine projects could go way up and that some developments — such as large factories or warehouses — wouldn’t be feasible at all. The big change in the rules is that builders will have to deal with Read More →
Pacific Coast Business Times Staff | Monday, December 21st, 2009
A wind in Clipper
Top StoriesCarpinteria-based Clipper Windpower is not going anywhere. The wind turbine maker has expanded rapidly and created hundreds of high-paying engineering and finance jobs on the South Coast in recent years. But it’s struggled with losses despite explosive sales, and on Dec. 9, industrial giant United Technologies Corp. agreed to buy a 49.5 percent stake in Read More →
Pacific Coast Business Times Staff | Monday, December 21st, 2009
Select slashes debt with public option
Top StoriesIn the region’s second major going-public transaction this year, Santa Barbara-based Select Staffing has agreed to a deal that would let it pay off $200 million in debt and become listed on a major stock exchange. With $1.4 billion in revenue in 2008, Select, a temporary staffing services firm, is the largest privately held company Read More →