[EDITOR’S NOTE: This story, originally published on March 20, was updated on March 31 with additional reporting.] When Paso Robles viticulture pioneer Gary Eberle was unexpectedly ousted as general manager at Eberle Winery in January, it sounded like the new majority partners had some radical changes in mind to boost profits. Eberle told several media Read More →
Developer and banker Michael Towbes and his wife, Anne, have made a $5 million gift to the Santa Barbara Center for the Performing Arts. The gift is irrevocable, the organization said in a March 17 announcement, and is in addition to the $15 million the couple has previously given to SBCPA.
Thousand Oaks-based energy crop firm Ceres has raised $23 million that it hopes will help it to break even as it continues testing its seeds in Brazil.
A Philadelphia company’s $41.7 million purchase of Hotel Oceana in Santa Barbara signals that large out-of-town investors are betting on a major boom in South Coast tourism.
Some of the greens on the South Coast are starting to look a little brown as regional golf courses cut back on watering amid California’s worsening three-year drought.
Hersha Hospitality Trust said it purchased the 122-room Santa Barbara hotel as part of a strategy to get into one of the “highest-demand gateway markets in the United States.”
Film production in San Luis Obispo County is on a roll, creating an estimated $4.1 million economic impact last year over 183 filming days. Notable credits include ABC’s “The Taste” and a slew of car commercials.
