Moguls lose out on inns
By Pacific Coast Business Times Staff / Monday, November 16th, 2009 / Top Stories / Comments Off on Moguls lose out on inns
It’s been a rough year for tri-county luxury hotels and the moguls who may or may not still love to own them. In Ventura County, real estate tycoon David Murdock racked up an estimated $78 million in losses operating the Four Seasons Westlake Village, a posh resort for executives. The losses were so steep Murdock Read More →
A hard Habit to break
By Pacific Coast Business Times Staff / Monday, November 16th, 2009 / Top Stories / Comments Off on A hard Habit to break
Need a cure for the economic hangover? Try hamburgers. That remedy has been working for The Habit, a tri-county burger chain that’s been putting more and more locations on its plate in recent years and proving that the hamburger is healthy — at least in terms of sales. As the economy has slumped, fast food Read More →
Tri-county job losses top 30,000 mark
By Pacific Coast Business Times Staff / Monday, November 16th, 2009 / Top Stories / Comments Off on Tri-county job losses top 30,000 mark
The tri-county region has lost more than 30,000 jobs in the past two years, with Ventura County suffering the worst declines and Paso Robles potentially leading the way in a slow recovery. With 22,100 fewer jobs on nonfarm payrolls between September 2007 and September 2009, Ventura County has been hit the hardest and may take Read More →
Follow the stimulus
By Pacific Coast Business Times Staff / Monday, November 9th, 2009 / Top Stories / Comments Off on Follow the stimulus
Stimulus dollars have poured into the Tri-Counties since President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act into law in February, with hundreds of millions of dollars in government grants and business contracts being divvied up among businesses and agencies throughout the region. But whether all those taxpayer dollars have had an effect, in terms Read More →
PCBC stems capital bleed despite loss
By Pacific Coast Business Times Staff / Monday, November 9th, 2009 / Top Stories / Comments Off on PCBC stems capital bleed despite loss
Applying a tourniquet to its worst bleeding and quelling any immediate concerns over its survival, Santa Barbara-based Pacific Capital Bancorp lost $40.7 million in the third quarter but held its capital position steady. Federal regulators are keeping a close eye on capital levels at Pacific Capital, the parent of Santa Barbara Bank & Trust and the Read More →
Area auto dealers stave off slow sales
By Pacific Coast Business Times Staff / Monday, November 2nd, 2009 / Top Stories / Comments Off on Area auto dealers stave off slow sales
For someone driving along Highway 101 in Ventura County, it might look like the auto industry is still running on fumes. It’s easy to misinterpret the big, empty lots on either side of the freeway as a sign of dwindling business, but a few dealers beg to differ. Kevin Todey owns and operates three dealerships: Read More →
Where sales are hot
By Pacific Coast Business Times Staff / Monday, November 2nd, 2009 / Top Stories / Comments Off on Where sales are hot
Sales are taking off at Hi-Temp Insulation. The Camarillo company makes heat shielding and soundproofing for the aircraft and spacecraft industries. Its products protect against fires in the engines of Boeing 777s, wrap U.S. missiles in blankets to keep them warm in Alaskan silos and prevent the space shuttle’s wings from burning up when it re-enters Read More →