Ventura County’s economy is lagging. Its businesses are downsizing or defecting while the state’s economy is growing. A lack of new housing, new companies or existing business growth has translated to fewer jobs, high industrial vacancy, and rising home prices and apartment rental rates. Strict development regulations may continue to stifle the region’s growth. Those Read More →
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By Henry Dubroff / Friday, September 18th, 2015 / Columns, Energy / Comments Off on Dubroff: South Coast oil production could be off-line for very long time
Houston, we have a problem. More than three months after a Plains All-American Pipeline pipe burst, spilling thousands of gallons of oil into the Pacific Ocean near Santa Barbara, a big chunk of the region’s oil and gas industry remains shut down. That’s partly because there is simply no way for ExxonMobil, Venoco and Freeport-MacMoran Read More →
By pacbiztimes / Friday, September 18th, 2015 / Columns, Real Estate / Comments Off on Project to build hotel, housing in Carpinteria up for review
The Carpinteria City Council and Planning Commission will review a proposal next week for a 154-room hotel, 45 single-family houses and 40 multifamily apartments. The 23.4-acre project is slated for the Bluffs 1 property between the Carpinteria Bluffs Nature Preserve and city hall, which is currently home to a driving range and blueberry crops. Jack Read More →
Synergy convinced David Potter to locate his second Santa Barbara wine venture at The Mill, a newly renovated 1904 building that has been converted into an artisan marketplace. Since 2007, Potter has owned Municipal Winemakers, whose no-frills tasting room in the city’s Funk Zone offers his everyday-priced wines. His new brand, named Potek after Read More →
By Henry Dubroff / Friday, September 11th, 2015 / Columns, Personal Finance / Comments Off on Dubroff: Investors should be skeptical about exchange-traded funds
Exchange-traded funds are the newest, latest, greatest Wall Street creation. In the past decade and a half, they’ve grown from a niche product with just $72 billion in assets invested to a behemoth totaling $2.7 trillion. Thanks to real-time daily pricing and low fees, ETFs are rapidly supplanting mutual funds in retail accounts. But the Read More →
By pacbiztimes / Friday, September 11th, 2015 / Columns, Real Estate / Comments Off on Santa Barbara Museum of Art plans $50M renovation project
The proposed overhaul of the Santa Barbara Museum of Art is going through the final stages of approval. The $50 million renovation, which will be privately funded, includes $42 million in construction costs and $8 million in ongoing maintenance, SBMA Director Larry Feinberg said at a planning commission meeting. The remodel will include roofing and Read More →