Ten things to be thankful for this year
Face facts. This has been a horrible year to have to navigate a business through the tri-county economy. Between the meltdown in commercial real estate, California budget woes, softness in tourism, the foreclosure mess and the ongoing travails of community banking, this has been one for the books. But hey, kvetching only makes things worse. Read More →
Historic Wineman Hotel lights up San Luis Obispo streets again
The intersection of Chorro and Higuera streets was lit up Nov. 18 with neon from the historic Wineman Hotel in San Luis Obispo. Again. The 100-year-old building first opened as the Wineman Hotel in 1930. Since then, it’s housed Riley’s Department Store, Carpenter’s Rexall, Copelands Sports and the Sports Authority, but even native daughters like Read More →
These towns are not afraid of big chances
Throw deep. That’s not always the best economic development strategy. But in the case of North Santa Barbara County, there are two large-scale projects in the very earliest of stages that could become the job-generating engines for the next economic cycle in the Tri-Counties. Before you put down your newspaper and wonder out loud what Read More →
River Oaks Center hopes to lead the way on sustainable certification
Paso Robles-based Estrella Associates, the developer that brought you the River Oaks Golf Course and the River Oaks Hot Springs Spa, received a gold LEED rating on its new office and retail center in Paso Robles. Or it will, anyway. Before breaking ground in March 2008, Estrella jumped through the hoops of precertifying its Read More →
Why SLO may lead the recovery
The Tri-Counties version of The Great Recession began in San Luis Obispo County late in 2006 when house prices started to falter. After three grueling years, what likely will amount to the worst of times for those of us too young to remember the 1930s, likely will end just about now as SLO County sheds Read More →
Regulators force banks to play defense
Largely innocent bystanders in the financial meltdown that gripped Wall Street a year ago, community banks have been walking around with targets on their backs. A severe crackdown by regulators, including threats to get capital ratios up, shrink loan portfolios or face seizure, has put bank executives on the defensive. “We’re getting speeding tickets for Read More →
Cabrillo Business Park breaks ground, 12 years in the making
In 1997, Bill Clinton was president, Harry Potter was introduced to the world, and the development process began on an office project in the as-yet-unincorporated city of Goleta. Now, almost 12 years later, the Cabrillo Business Park has finally broken ground. It will eventually have 956,000 square feet of space on Hollister Avenue and 42 Read More →
