Direct Relief to get share of MacKenzie Scott’s billions
When MacKenzie Scott announced recently that she’d given nearly $4.2 billion to charitable organizations in the United States, one of the 384 recipients on her list was Direct Relief, the Santa Barbara-based nonprofit that distributes medical aid all over the world. Direct Relief plans to disclose both the exact amount of the gift and the Read More →
Los Robles nurses call off Christmas Eve strike
The union that represents nurses at Los Robles hospital in Thousand Oaks has called off a strike it that was set to go from Dec. 24 through Jan. 3.
‘Golden age of biotechnology’ comes to Conejo Valley
Westlake Village BioPartners has launched two new funds worth a total of $500 million, bringing the total raised by the firm to more than $820 million since it was founded in 2018.
Hemp growers hope for comeback as Ventura County loosens buffer rules
The Ventura County Board of Supervisors voted Dec. 15 to adopt new regulations on industrial hemp. Growers are hoping this will help reverse the decline of a crop that lost more than 90% of its Ventura County acreage from 2019 to 2020.
‘Light at the end of this tunnel’ as health workers get region’s first vaccines
Four Ventura County health care workers received their initial doses of the COVID-19 vaccine on Dec. 16, in front of the county’s Public Health Department offices in Oxnard. The four healthcare workers were Juliana Svolos, a certified nursing assistant from Adventist Health Simi Valley; Gavin Jones, a registered trauma nurse who works in the emergency Read More →
Southwest’s next destination: Santa Barbara Airport
Southwest Airlines announced Dec. 16 that it plans to start flying out of Santa Barbara Airport in the spring, something airport officials and frequent fliers have wanted for decades. The airline has not said yet which cities it would serve from Santa Barbara, or how often, but airport officials anticipate “several departures a day,” Deanna Read More →
Westlake Village BioPartners puts $500 million into new venture funds
Westlake Village BioPartners, a venture capital firm focused on biotech startups in the Conejo Valley and the rest of greater Los Angeles, launched two new funds Dec. 15 worth a total of $500 million. The first fund is $70 million and will be used for Series B or later financing into companies that Westlake Village Read More →
