After Ventura County court battle, pension tensions endure
For most of the summer, Ventura County was at the heart of a statewide debate over public-sector pensions. Reformers spent tens of thousands of dollars on a proposed referendum to change Ventura County’s public employee retirement system from a defined-benefit system to a 401(k)-style system. On Aug. 4, the battle ended when a judge struck Read More →
Former deputy sues Ventura County over tax break
A former Ventura County Senior Deputy Sheriff who makes $139,771 a year in retirement is suing the county after his application for a service-connected disability designation that would lower his income tax bill was denied.
Editorial: Thanks, but we’ll stay in California
Oh no, not L.A. Reports that a proposed initiative to split California into six states might make the ballot in 2016 has our blood boiling. That’s because the author of the cockamamie scheme, Bay Area venture capitalist Tim Draper, insists on lumping Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties together with Los Angeles County Read More →
Dubroff: Next Santa Barbara city manager must continue fiscal focus
“Methodical” is a word you might use to describe Jim Armstrong, the Santa Barbara City Manager who announced June 27 that he will be stepping down in September after 13 years on the job. Ironically, that’s not always the word you’d choose to describe Santa Barbara itself. It is, after all, a city with an Read More →
Santa Barbara city manager to step down after 13 years
Santa Barbara City Administrator Jim Armstrong will step down at the end of September after 13 years in the position, the city said on Friday. Armstrong was appointed as Santa Barbara’s chief executive in September 2001, a role in which he and oversaw 10 departments and managed the city’s $275 million operating budget. The city Read More →
