Eich: Dedication to customers key to success
By Ritch Eich The Apple Farm in San Luis Obispo stuck with me after my last visit, and it wasn’t just the lovely antique furnishings or cozy country décor. The service and overall hospitality were second-to-none, leading me to correspond with several key staffers in an effort to learn how the Apple Farm achieves its Read More →
Mass shootings taking terrible toll in America
Two years ago it was Isla Vista. This year it is San Bernardino and Orlando. Mass shootings have become a way of life in America — and that is a tragedy. This year’s shootings have a particularly troubling twist: the targeting of LGBTQ victims in a nightclub by a young American-born Muslim who apparently was Read More →
Plains ordered to take more corrective actions before restarting Lines 901 and 903
Updated on June 17 at 10:50 a.m.: Federal regulators have ordered Plains All American Pipeline to improve its inaccurate pipeline inspection process, implement better leak detection measures such as installing additional shutoff valves, expand its emergency training, and repair the pipeline before restarting Line 901. The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration issued on June 16 its Read More →
Initiative to help startups at UC campuses included in state budget bill
California lawmakers included an initiative to help startups at UC campuses throughout California in a $122.5 billion budget passed by the legislature June 15. Assemblywoman Jacqui Irwin, D-Thousand Oaks, proposed the initiative, which will give $2 million every year to each UC campus and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory to start or expand business incubators. Read More →
Santa Barbara’s QAD announces dividend
Santa Barbara cloud software manufacturer QAD announced a dividend of .072 cents per share of Class A common stock June 15. The company also said it would pay .06 cents per share of Class B common stock. Both dividends will be paid to investors who are shareholders on July 7. QAD announced the dividend after Read More →
Court delays hearing on Plains’ motion to seal Refugio oil spill transcripts
Santa Barbara Superior Court will review Plains All American Pipeline’s motion to seal the transcripts of its indictment from the Refugio oil spill on June 30, the same day of the arraignment. The hearing was continued on the morning of June 16. Plains filed a motion on May 27 to seal all California grand jury Read More →
Santa Barbara’s LogicMonitor gets $130 million investment
A fast-growing Santa Barbara IT firm has hit it big with a $130 million capital raise. LogicMonitor, headquartered at two offices in Santa Barbara, said Providence, R.I.,-based Providence Equity Partners invested $130 million in the IT service firm June 16. Steve Francis created the cloud-based service in 2008 that allows businesses or IT departments to Read More →
