Mindbody raises up to $14M
San Luis Obispo-based software firm Mindbody has secured a $14 million capital infusion led by Bessemer Venture Partners, the biggest disclosed Central Coast financing deal in years. The deal, announced Aug. 20, brings a top-tier Silicon Valley investor to San Luis Obispo County. It includes $11 million up front and the option to take in Read More →
Heritage Oaks CFO steps down
Paso Robles-based Heritage Oaks Bancorp said Aug. 19 that Chief Financial Officer Margaret Torres has submitted her resignation. Heritage Oaks promoted Ronald Oliveira to president and chief operating officer and William Filippin to chief credit officer and executive vice president. Heritage Oaks said it is looking for a replacement for Torres, whose resignation takes effect Read More →
Another option arises for flights to San Jose
Ventura County officials are gauging the business community’s interest in a regular flight from San Jose to the Oxnard airport, which lost its only commercial air service in June. The county is surveying businesses in Ventura, Oxnard and Camarillo. The hoped-for service would fly twice daily. Business support will be crucial to securing a U.S. Read More →
Blakeslee wins Senate runoff
Sam Blakeslee, a San Luis Obispo financial planner and the former Republican leader of the California State Assembly, defeated Democrat John Laird in an Aug. 17 special election to fill the 15th District State Senate seat. By shortly after midnight, with all of the votes counted except for some late absentee and provisional ballots, Blakeslee Read More →
New restaurant, PetSmart among recent deals
A flurry of commercial real estate deals closed around the Tri-Counties over the past few days. Here is a roundup of the new leases: • On Aug. 16, the owners of Santa Barbara Shellfish Co. signed a lease on a 5,368-square-foot spot at 330 State St. for a new restaurant location. Tom and Adam White, Read More →
Region's colleges rank high on U.S. News lists
Five of the six four-year universities in the Tri-Counties are among the top 100 colleges in the nation in their respective categories, according to the latest rankings from U.S. News & World Report. U.S. News ranks schools separately according to whether they’re considered research universities or liberal arts colleges and whether they’re national or regional Read More →
Veeco to sell Goleta unit
Veeco Instruments announced Aug. 16 that it plans to sell its metrology business, which includes a unit based on the South Coast, to a scientific instruments company called Bruker Corp. for $229 million. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of this year, pending regulatory review and certain closing conditions, Veeco said Read More →
