McCain energizes his campaign
Sen. John McCain brought some good ideas to the South Coast during his June 23 and 24 visit. At the top of the list, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee proposed a $300 million prize for the development of a battery with sufficient capacity and power to “leapfrog’’ those that now fuel plug-in hybrids or electric Read More →
Prison health-care facility bad for area
A proposal to spend $1 billion in taxpayer dollars for a prison-hospital complex in the Camarillo area is fraught with problems and contradictions. Ventura County’s health care executives and political leaders are questioning the location of the proposed adult prison health-care facility that would house 1,500 inmates with special medical and mental health needs on Read More →
Homeless issue poses business threat
As Los Angeles pushes more chronic transients away from the downtown Skid Row area, more homeless men and women are drawn to the coastal climate of the TriCounties.
Countrywide was just too good to be true
Countrywide Financial Corp. shareholders are voting June 25 in Calabasas on the acquisition of their company by North Carolina-based Bank of America. In the face of the debacle known as the subprime mortgage meltdown, shareholders are being asked to allow BofA to become the nation’s largest lender in a $3.3 billion deal. How things Read More →
School leader is tough to replace
Ventura County faces a considerable challenge this summer as it prepares to replace Chuck Weiss, the outgoing superintendent of schools. Weiss leaves behind a legacy of fair dealing, community leadership and an enduring legacy of excellence for one of the biggest school systems outside of a major city. It is that legacy of excellence that Read More →
Learning lessons from the left and right
The long, drawn-out primary season has attracted plenty of commentary, with pundits on both sides of the political spectrum drawing lessons left and right. But taking a slightly longer view, we’d like to take a few minutes to point out some of the fundamental business lessons that we learned along the way. It’s never over Read More →
Balance the state budget
In the train wreck that is the California state budget, one of the biggest fiscal derailments concerns the creation of a new class of highly paid bureaucrats. Quoting a recent survey by the San Francisco Chronicle, the Ventura County Taxpayers Association reports that state workers’ salaries have increased by an eye-popping 37 percent in just Read More →
