First California hires KBW to test waters for sale
In a move that could foreshadow the sale of the company, Westlake Village-based First California Financial Group has hired an outside investment bank and a law firm to undertake a “strategic review” of the company’s business plan and options. But it is not clear whether the hiring of advisers signals a deal in the works Read More →
Alma Rosa Winery files Ch. 11
Alma Rosa Winery & Vineyards, a Santa Barbara County operation owned by pinot noir pioneer Richard Sanford, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protections. The company listed assets between $1 million and $10 million and debts between $1 million and $10 million in its July 27 filing. The winery is nestled on Santa Rosa Road Read More →
Geithner: Factories, tech, ag key to recovery
U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner said July 31 that California can count on manufacturing, high tech and agriculture to fuel recovery even as it grapples with housing aftershocks. Geithner, who has come under recent congressional scrutiny for what he knew about Libor rate-fixing while head of the Federal Reserve Bank of New of York, Read More →
Community West lost $591K in Q2
Shares of Community West Bancshares soared 7.7 percent even as the Goleta-based bank reported a $591,000 second-quarter loss. The parent company of Community West Bank’s latest loss swings away from an $819,000 profit in the first quarter. Including $268,000 in dividends and accretion on preferred stock, Community West’s second-quarter net loss applicable to common stockholders Read More →
Orient-Express taps McIver for El Encanto opening
El Encanto, the historic Santa Barbara hotel that’s set to reopen in March after seven years of renovations, has appointed Laura McIver as its general manager. McIver, whose first official day on the job is Aug. 6, will lead the luxury resort through its second grand opening. She was general manager at Canary Hotel in Read More →
Clean Diesel wins Honda contract
Ventura-based Clean Diesel Technologies said July 30 that it won a contract to supply catalysts for four- and six-cylinder Honda Accords, some of the best-selling models in North America. The company, known as Catalytic Solutions before a merger in 2010, makes catalytic converters in its Oxnard factory and has about 180 employees. Its converters clean Read More →
