New laws for 2016 will impact tri-county employers
A flurry of new laws went into effect at the start of the New Year, but the one that likely will have the biggest impact on tri-county employers has been long expected. California’s minimum wage was raised to $10 an hour on Jan. 1, which has some businesses rethinking strategies. While proponents argue that higher Read More →
Norovirus at Chipotle in Simi Valley troubling
Chipotle is an iconic consumer brand that until recently stood for hip, healthy and high-quality fast food for a high-tech generation. But lately, the Denver-based restaurant chain has been devastated by health-related problems, including a series of E. coli incidents. The once favored spot for a new generation is looking about as relevant as a Read More →
Top 10 ‘wish list’ for leadership
Many Americans would agree that our nation is more divided than ever and could use a new crop of leaders. Here’s my New Year “wish list” for better leadership and a new focus in areas ranging from politics to sports to business to universities to the military. 1. A cessation of inflammatory, hurtful and incendiary Read More →
It’s déjà vu for investment bankers
We’ve been there before. The movie “The Big Short” explains how and why the financial services industry helped to bring down our economy during 2007-08. Banks took home mortgage loans that were made based on shaky credit and pooled them into a basket of mortgage-backed securities (MBS) that were backed by the homes. These were Read More →
Compass real estate platform expands into Santa Barbara, Montecito
An online real estate platform called Compass is expanding into the region with offices in Santa Barbara and Montecito. New York-based Compass connects luxury real estate renters, buyers and sellers with agents, offers market insight and features online listings. Since the company entered the California market about two months ago, it has hired more than Read More →
Santa Barbara County wine industry worth $1.7 billion in 2013
The Santa Barbara County wine industry had around a $1.7 billion economic impact in 2013, according to a recent study commissioned by the Santa Barbara Vintners Association. Spending a weekend afternoon in downtown Santa Barbara’s Funk Zone or driving through the Santa Ynez foothills demonstrate the industry’s growth and wine’s popularity. Yet, St. Helena-based Stonehenge Read More →
Settlement ends Amgen drug kickback saga
A drug kickback program is finally behind Amgen, the Thousand Oaks-based pharmaceutical giant. Louisville, K.Y.-based PharMerica was the last of three companies to settle lawsuits relating to Amgen allegedly paying kickbacks to PharMerica and another company to prescribe patients the anemia drug Aranesp. PharMerica settled the suit for $2.5 million in December, Louisville Business First Read More →
