Amgen lays off 100
UncategorizedThousand Oaks-based Amgen laid off about 100 employees on July 22, the company confirmed to the Business Times. The most recent round of cuts was among the company’s clinical manufacturing and quality-control workers. Previously, on May 1, Amgen laid off about 100 workers as part of an outsourcing of the company’s facilities services group, said Read More →
Real estate market may be slow, but press releases keep rolling in
ColumnsIf my inbox is any indication, the real estate market could be bouncing back much sooner than any of us have predicted. I’ve been inundated with deals in recent weeks, so for this column I figured I should just open the floodgates. Deals of the Week • Best Interest Financial & Insurance Services just leased Read More →
Towbes thrives in tough times
ColumnsMichael Towbes likes to keep busy. In the face of the worst recession he can remember, Towbes, one of the region’s most successful builders and bank owners, will not be slowing down anytime soon. The best evidence for that is a wall full of plans in the Towbes Group conference room in downtown Santa Barbara. Read More →
Partners key to bank buy
UncategorizedBehind the scenes of the Bank of Santa Barbara sale – one of the biggest to hit the city in recent years — is a team of tri-county heavyweights headed by veteran Santa Barbara banker Eloy Ortega. Ortega assembled about 10 investors, including Kinko’s founder Paul Orfalea, Tim Marquez of Venoco and Hutton Foundation President Read More →
$60M sought in business jet accident
UncategorizedThe most disruptive accident at the Santa Barbara airport in decades has spurred a $60 million civil lawsuit between the parent company of one of the Tri-Counties’ biggest private companies and a French maker of corporate jets. The accident took place June 10, 2007, when a 13-passenger Dassault Mystere Falcon 900 ran off the main Read More →
CKE counts on viral media buzz for sales
UncategorizedCKE Restaurants, parent of the Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s brands, is tasting success with an online marketing strategy that has racked up more 8 million views for YouTube videos about its burgers. The Carpinteria-based company put some of the video-sharing site’s biggest stars to work promoting its burgers. One YouTube star generated half a million Read More →