Height limits surface again
Santa Barbara city officials were awaiting word at presstime on whether 11,252 petition signatures will qualify a downtown building height-limit charter amendment for the November 2009 ballot. The signatures were delivered to the city clerk Aug. 15, signed by people who want to limit new buildings in downtown Santa Barbara to no more than 40 Read More →
Traffic measure makes a return to Oxnard
Traffic initiatives are like bad pennies. They just keep coming back. In Oxnard, by the narrowest of margins, Measure V has won certification for the November ballot. So, less than a year after defeating an earlier version of this job-killing measure, the Oxnard Chamber and other organizations have to do it all over again. Measure Read More →
Universities ranked
California Lutheran University is ranked 16th on the 2009 U.S. News & World Report list of top schools in the West offering quality bachelor’s and master’s degrees. CLU has placed among the top 20 Western Regional Universities for 14 years. Last year, it was ranked 20th. Meanwhile, the University of California, Santa Barbara, was ranked Read More →
Oil pumping allowed
Santa Barbara County officials have notified Greka Oil & Gas Inc. that a stop- work order will be conditionally rescinded for the company’s UCAL facility, 6527 Dominion Road, near Santa Maria. One other Greka production operation remains under a stop work order by the County Fire Department and Petroleum Unit: the Bradley 3 Island Read More →
Union Bank taken over
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. and UnionBanCal Corp. agreed on a tender offer at a raised price of $73.50 a share in a deal worth $3.5 billion, the Japanese bank said Aug. 18. Union Bank has 10 branches in the Tri-Counties. Japan’s biggest bank has been trying to take over the 35 percent of California Read More →
Speak softly and carry a big stick: Little Lompoc is busier than ever
Described as a “small, Midwestern town on the California coast,” by its economic development director, Kate Griffith, the city of Lompoc has been undergoing efforts to build on its signature Californian characteristics and strengthen its economic vitality, all while maintaining its quaint, small-town appeal. As California has long been a leader in sustainability and Read More →
Nonprofits becoming more nimble, results oriented
Philanthropy is changing. With entrepreneurs like Eli Broad, Ted Turner and Venoco’s Tim Marquez calling the shots, nonprofits are becoming more nimble and results oriented But there is a catch – in the new environment for philanthropy, star power matters, and there’s a tendency for issues of the day like global warming to grab big Read More →
