Attendance up at Mid-State, Ventura County fairs
Attendance at the Ventura County Fair was up 7 percent over last year, according to figures released by fair officials shortly after the two-week event ended on Aug. 15. Total attendance was 328,520. The crowds were also bigger this year at the California Mid-State Fair in Paso Robles, which ended Aug. 1. Total attendance was Read More →
Los Padres Bank fails, is bought by Pacific Western
Solvang-based Los Padres Bank was seized by federal regulators Aug. 20 in the second tri-county bank failure of the financial crisis. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. took Los Padres, a subsidiary of Harrington West Financial Group, into receivership. San Diego-based Pacific Western Bank — the same bank that acquired Ventura-based Affinity Bank when it failed Read More →
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 →
