State Street gets new lease on retail life
After sitting vacant for months, the former Anchor Blue space at 820 State St. in downtown Santa Barbara has been leased to apparel retailer G by Guess. The 5,832-square-foot space became available after Anchor Blue filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in mid-2009 and closed many of its stores. The apparel retailer’s State Street lease, first Read More →
Clean-tech doesn
While this could be the year clean-tech goes mainstream the way the Internet did in the mid-1990s, young companies can’t base their business models on government-issued carbon credits. That was the majority view of a panel of heavyweight venture capital investors who spoke at the Wall Street Journal’s ECO:nomics conference on capitalism and climate at Read More →
Affinity refinances $144M in debt
Ventura-based Affinity Group, which faces nearly $700 million in debt payments in coming years, closed a deal for a new $144 million loan on March 3 to refinance debt due at the end of this month. Affinity Group is the owner of the nation’s largest network of recreational vehicle and outdoor networks, magazines and clubs, Read More →
Watkins: GDP growth will return, but unemployment to remain high
California Lutheran University economist Bill Watkins has raised his forecast for the U.S. economy for 2010, but his outlook for California remains bleak. Speaking at a City National Bank forecast breakfast March 3, Watkins said that he has raised his GDP forecast to 2.5 percent growth for 2010, up sharply from less than 2 percent Read More →
Nobel winner unveils social business institute at CSUCI
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus launched the California Institute for Social Business at California State University, Channel Islands, on Feb. 26. The first of its kind, the endeavor will “make it clear to people what a social business is,” Yunus said. A university is not “not just a think tank — it’s also an Read More →
CLU receives $5M gift for new stadium
California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks said Feb. 22 that it received $5 million for a new football stadium. The gift is the largest single donation in the history of the university. The new 3,000-seat facility will be named after donor and Ventura County real estate developer William Rolland. His gift is only the second Read More →
Santa Barbara's Tuttini
Tuttini’s Café and Bakery, formerly located next to the Business Times at 10 E. Carrillo St. in Santa Barbara, closed its doors on Feb. 21 after six years in business. In a sign posted in its window, the popular downtown bakery said that it was closing due to “circumstances beyond our control.” The landlord reportedly Read More →
