Region presses ‘play’ on $60M film production industry
Film and television production reels in an estimated $60 million for the region each year, and the industry’s impact on the Tri-Counties is likely to rise as tourism groups in each of the three counties ramp up their outreach to Hollywood.
After seven years, the financial crisis quietly ends for area banks
“Even the pessimists were thinking three years,” Community West CEO Marty Plourd told me. “No one expected the low-interest-rate environment to last this long,”
Solar projects boom but some fear a bubble
Solar installers boomed in 2013 and are expecting another good year, but some are skeptical about the new financial models underlying the growth numbers.
Five tri-county economic trends we’ll be watching in the New Year
Conventional wisdom holds that with a federal budget in hand, a financial system on the mend, rising housing prices and steady job growth, 2014 ought to be a pretty darn good year.
Editorial: Highway 101 innovation corridor needs public-private partners
The idea of creating a Highway 101 innovation corridor got a jump start on Nov. 21 when a group of entrepreneurs and supporters of entrepreneurship gathered at UC Santa Barbara. The meeting was the result of considerable spadework by State Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson, D-Santa Barbara, and her staff, who have visited with many of the organizations promoting entrepreneurship in the Tri-Counties. Dubbed the “SLO to T.O.” corridor at the meeting, the group included representatives from UCSB, California Lutheran University, Santa Barbara City College and CSU Channel Islands.
