Thousand Oaks builder counts on tech
By Pacific Coast Business Times Staff / Monday, October 19th, 2009 / Top Stories / Comments Off on Thousand Oaks builder counts on tech
The past year nearly demolished some construction firms in the Tri-Counties, but one Thousand Oaks general contractor that carved out a niche building laboratories and other high-end projects has eked out gains. Wesely-Thomas Enterprises has built or remodeled for Amgen, Teledyne Technologies and facilities for California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks, among other tri-county clients. Read More →
Debt burdens weigh on Affinity Group
By Pacific Coast Business Times Staff / Monday, October 19th, 2009 / Top Stories / Comments Off on Debt burdens weigh on Affinity Group
The August collapse of Ventura-based Affinity Bank appears to be just one blow in a string of troubles for its owner, Stephen Adams, whose highly leveraged business empire faces more than $746 million in debt payments in coming years. The Montecito businessman and philanthropist controls Ventura-based Affinity Group, a media and direct-marketing firm that targets Read More →
Overtime fines hit small business
By Pacific Coast Business Times Staff / Monday, October 12th, 2009 / Top Stories / Comments Off on Overtime fines hit small business
Anyone can tell you it’s tough to run a business. Now it’s about to get tougher. The U.S. Department of Labor is cracking down on employee overtime violations, and business owners are going to start feeling the heat. The down economy has forced employers and employees alike to focus more attention on pay. Because of Read More →
Making it work
By Pacific Coast Business Times Staff / Monday, October 12th, 2009 / Top Stories / Comments Off on Making it work
First, the airwaves. Then, the nation. Santa Barbara-based computer support firm Make it Work has landed a deal to host a nationally syndicated radio show about consumer technology. And it plans to parlay that show into a coast-to-coast rollout of its tech support services. Driving a fleet of bright red Mini Coopers, Make It Work Read More →
UCSB center adds nano spin to biotech
By Pacific Coast Business Times Staff / Monday, October 12th, 2009 / Top Stories / Comments Off on UCSB center adds nano spin to biotech
Hoping to carve out a role for nanotechnology in treating life-threatening diseases, the University of California, Santa Barbara, and a medical research institute in San Diego County have formed a multimillion-dollar partnership to recruit up to 150 scientists and support staff and house a research center at UCSB. Called the “Center for Nanomedicine,” the UCSB-Burnham Read More →
Investor tosses business bank a lifeline
By Pacific Coast Business Times Staff / Monday, October 5th, 2009 / Top Stories / Comments Off on Investor tosses business bank a lifeline
While the banking crisis is still far from over, those in the Tri-Counties have a handful of indicators that things aren’t as bad as they seem. Take Ventura County Business Bank in Oxnard. A few months ago, President and Chief Executive Gerald Lukiewski was scrambling to find capital before his FDIC-imposed December deadline. Now, since Read More →
A flood of penalties
By Pacific Coast Business Times Staff / Friday, October 2nd, 2009 / Top Stories / Comments Off on A flood of penalties
Businesses are some of the biggest water polluters in the Tri-Counties, and now they’re facing millions of dollars in penalties. Power-generating stations, oil wells and a high-end resort hotel have all run into allegations from state regulators that they failed to report water quality data or discharged pollutants in amounts greater than they were allowed. Read More →
