Talking Towbes
By Pacific Coast Business Times Staff / Thursday, August 21st, 2008 / Top Stories / Comments Off on Talking Towbes
“If I am going to be remembered for anything, it will hopefully be what I did for the community in terms of serving nonprofits,” said Michael Towbes in a recent interview with the Business Times. But as a true renaissance man, it is doubtful Towbes will be remembered just for that. For nearly 50 years, Read More →
Microtown opens
By Pacific Coast Business Times Staff / Friday, August 15th, 2008 / Top Stories / Comments Off on Microtown opens
Upon its completion, the $300 million Poly Canyon Village residential complex at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, will offer students nearly 2,700 new beds in a setting that boasts the complete amenities of a full-service resort community, including corner store, post office, dry-cleaning services, food vendors, swimming pool and spectacular views. “We hope Read More →
Rough ride for retail
By Pacific Coast Business Times Staff / Friday, August 8th, 2008 / Top Stories / Comments Off on Rough ride for retail
Throughout the Tri-Counties, retailers large and small are showing signs of weakness amid a troubled economy as major retailers file for bankruptcy protection and smaller ones close their doors. On July 29, Mervyns department store announced it had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy with the intention of restructuring the operations of its 177 stores Read More →
Sweet success – Chocolatiers set up on South Coast
By Pacific Coast Business Times Staff / Friday, August 1st, 2008 / Top Stories / Comments Off on Sweet success – Chocolatiers set up on South Coast
What do you get when a French chef falls in love with a business savvy California native? World-class chocolate in Carpinteria. After two decades of living and operating a restaurant in Burgundy, France, Jill-Marie and Jean-Michel Carré recently returned to Jill-Marie’s home state of California to open a chocolaterie, called Chocolats du CaliBressan. Just seven Read More →
LED leader – Professor invents efficient lights
By Stephen Nellis / Friday, July 25th, 2008 / Top Stories / Comments Off on LED leader – Professor invents efficient lights
Shuji Nakamura loves ideas. One idea he followed – the invention of blue, green and white light-emitting diodes, or LEDs – is revolutionizing lighting and electronic displays. Today’s standard lights use about 20 percent of the world’s energy, but convert as little as 5 percent of the energy they consume into light. Already Nakamura, who Read More →
Ventura
By Pacific Coast Business Times Staff / Friday, July 18th, 2008 / Top Stories / Comments Off on Ventura
Kevin Costner is test driving downtown Ventura’s newest restaurant. The Watermark embodies the culmination of 18 months worth of work and 62,000 pounds of steel. Costner will host the premiere of “Swing Vote” in Ventura on July 26 with the first public event at Watermark, a high-end restaurant and bar at Chestnut and Main streets. Read More →
Businesses feel the heat – Blackouts dim stores, restaurants
By Pacific Coast Business Times Staff / Friday, July 11th, 2008 / Top Stories / Comments Off on Businesses feel the heat – Blackouts dim stores, restaurants
Smoke, ash and recurring power outages caused by the Gap Fire have hurt commerce on the South Coast, cutting into sales, forcing early closures and leaving business owners weary of white flakes and flickering lights. In Goleta, the area hardest hit by the fire, Kristen Amyx, president and chief executive officer of the area’s chamber Read More →
