Our view: Minimum wage hikes are hurting workers
California appears to be headed toward a political showdown over the $15 per hour minimum wage law. A widening chorus of restaurant chains, individual eatery owners, small businesses, nonprofits and even municipal and county governments are joining the call for a rethink of the $15 per hour timetable. We editorialized in the June 23rd edition Read More →
Our view: Amazon’s bold bet will challenge tri-county farmers
It’s not immediately clear how disruptive the merger of Amazon and Whole Foods will be to the global food supply chain. So far, the e-commerce giant has wreaked havoc in asymmetric directions. It disrupted the chain store concept for book sales but strengthened local vendors and sparked a surge of interest in book buying. It Read More →
Our view: Reliable electricity a must for Highway 101 corridor
Southern California Edison work crews have been tearing up streets in and around Santa Barbara, finally delivering on a promise to provide more stable electric power to part of the region that’s been ignored for decades. The disruptions and occasional power outages — at the Business Times’s offices on Carrillo Street they always happen on Read More →
Our view: Climate regulations would burden small businesses
President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Paris climate accords drew a swift rebuke from Gov. Jerry Brown, who declared the president “wrong on the facts and wrong on the science” before meeting with the president of China to promote Brown’s clean energy agenda. That the White House remains mum on the idea of Read More →
Our view: Vandenberg plays key role in keeping America safe
An apparently successful test of an anti-missile system over the Pacific Ocean on May 30 reminds us of the diverse role that Vandenberg Air Force Base plays in the space race. Vandenberg’s capacity for lofting commercial and military satellites into orbit has made it — along with Cape Canaveral — a favored spot for government-funded Read More →
Our view: Cal Poly’s prominence grows but there is a cost
The Frost family’s $110 million gift to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is the ultimate validation of former President Warren Baker’s vision of Cal Poly as a leading research institution within the California State University system. It also validates current President Jeffrey Armstrong’s decision to double-down on entrepreneurship, forging close connections with the SLO business Read More →
Our view: Small businesses shine with plenty of support
We can’t think of a better way to celebrate National Small Business Week than to provide a report on the state of entrepreneurship in our region. The good news is that a spirit of innovation continues to spark new startups, with much activity coming from business plan competitions and new workspaces like Impact Hub, the Read More →
