The health of our communities is directly tied to the health of our local businesses. We cannot have one without the other. Although in good economic times it is easy to lose sight of our region’s competiveness to attract and retain businesses in a world where many companies can operate from anywhere. If our communities Read More →
Plains All American Pipeline, the Houston-based company responsible for the oil spill near Refugio Beach on May 19, should stop the bullshit. Plains’ aversion to providing honest answers about the spill was on full display June 26 at a joint oversight hearing by the Assembly Natural Resources Committee and the Senate Select Committee on the Read More →
Entrepreneurship is a word we hear often, with good reason: More people are choosing to forgo the predictable paycheck as an employee for the opportunity to spin their idea into a tangible business of their own. For the first time in five years, the Startup Activity Index rose in 2015, showing the largest year-over-year increase Read More →
The Obama Administration racked up one of the biggest wins in decades for global trade when it won approval in the Senate to move forward with the Trans Pacific Partnership. The partnership will open the doors for trade and development with a dozen Asian nations. China is not included but passage of TPP, which is Read More →
It was a retail icon, a testament to the 1990s rise of State Street in Santa Barbara as a shopping mecca. The very name oozed luxury and aspiration. Saks Fifth Avenue. And soon it will be gone. The property at the corner of State and Carrillo streets in the 1000 block of the center of Read More →
When it comes to oil and politics, the conventional wisdom has been that Central Coast politicians can’t overplay their hands in expressing outrage over environmental issues. That conventional wisdom is about to get a major test. Already a parade of elected officials has toured the damage wrought by the May 19 oil spill that made Read More →
You might call it the Mindbody-Appfolio effect. The pair of $100 million-plus initial public stock offerings filed last month has caught the attention of dealmakers from the Bay Area to Los Angeles. Add to that the stunning, $1.4 billion sale of Lynda.com to Linkedin and you have the most buzz in the region since the Read More →
