Uber Wine tough competition for tour operators
Wine country tour operators in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties have a formidable new competitor. Since April, Uber has been offering Uber Wine, a ride-sharing service to wineries and tasting rooms in the two counties. Michael Amodeo, a spokesman for Uber, said the company has provided thousands of rides to customers looking for Read More →
Fed rate increase should help take risk out of financial markets
The Federal Reserve’s decision to slowly begin the process of normalizing interest rates may not have all that much to do with the economy or inflation. The economy isn’t really overheated and any threat of inflation remains far off in the future. Parsing the Fedspeak of the Dec. 16 announcement that regulators are “reasonably confident” Read More →
Developers respond to aging workforce with senior housing
The Tri-Counties are preparing for the silver tsunami. The oncoming wave is the surge of the country’s aging workforce. Nearly one-fifth of the U.S. population will be 65 or older come 2030, according to the U.S. Census. There are dozens of housing developments in the pipeline throughout the Tri-Counties that aim to accommodate the rapidly Read More →
Low gas prices great for tri-county consumers but not all businesses
Market disruptions have consequences. And the downward spiral in oil prices looks like the sort of disruption that could have far-ranging consequences. For one thing, we may be at the dawn of a decade where baby-boom era memories of gasoline lines fade and global demand for petroleum products is suppressed as China’s appetite for commodities Read More →
Drought forces Pismo Beach to issue building moratorium
The city of Pismo Beach recently issued a tiered building moratorium aimed to conserve water during the state’s historic drought. The first tier is effective immediately — the city will not issue new building permits. Planning and building permits already in the pipeline will move forward and new planning applications will be accepted. But Read More →
Parents refile lawsuit over IV rampage deaths
The parents of slain UC Santa Barbara students refiled a lawsuit against Isla Vista apartment property managers alleging they were legally obligated to do more to prevent the shooting that left six dead on May 23, 2014. A federal court dismissed the suit, which previously included the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department as well Read More →
