The low-yielding wine grape crop of 2015 was prominent in discussions when grape growers, vintners and financial partners gathered for the Central Coast Insights industry conference at the Allegretto Vineyard Resort in Paso Robles on March 10. The event came a month after the release of the preliminary California Grape Crush Report that showed tonnage Read More →
By Henry Dubroff / Friday, March 18th, 2016 / Columns, Latest news / Comments Off on Dubroff: Santa Barbara takes a regional view of innovation culture
In a sign that the current wave of tech entrepreneurship might just be sustainable, cities across the Tri-Counties are beginning to embrace the startup culture. San Luis Obispo is thinking about housing a much bigger tech savvy workforce, working closely with Cal Poly and capitalizing on the success of MindBody. Ventura is looking beyond the Read More →
Solar3D recently uprooted its corporate headquarters from Santa Barbara to Roseville, the home of its Sunworks subsidiary. While the move only relocates a handful of employees, the symbolism is significant. Solar3D is a publicly held solar-cell technology developer that had three to four employees at its 26 W. Mission St. office. It made sense from Read More →
A housing shortage is driving the middle class out of California. Several reports from Next 10 and Beacon Economics illustrated the state’s growing housing to jobs imbalance. Housing prices will continue to climb unless cities and counties increase residential densities and streamline the permitting process, according to the reports. More people are leaving the state Read More →
Live near work. It’s a concept that’s vexed tri-county businesses as they’ve struggled to recruit and retain employees. The Santa Barbara-based Coastal Housing Partnership has made a name for itself by helping the region’s employees buy homes and rent apartments near their jobs. The nonprofit works with about 50 business owners who pay an annual Read More →
Business scholar and consultant Clayton Christensen coined the phrase “disruptive innovation” in the 1990s to describe a breakthrough that reshapes a market and displaces its leading firms. Twenty years later, “disruption” might be the defining theory of the modern economy. Print newspapers, brick-and-mortar retail and taxis have been some of its chief victims. On a Read More →
By Henry Dubroff / Friday, March 11th, 2016 / Columns, Latest news / Comments Off on Dubroff: In era of unusual calamities, Feinberg has faith in system
Kenneth R. Feinberg has had an up-close-and-personal view of human tragedy. As the nation’s premier attorney for dealing with disasters, both natural and man-made, he has a remarkably practical approach to what should happen when things go wrong. So, when I had the chance to talk to him on March 8, I couldn’t resist asking Read More →