The big budget scramble
As state lawmakers wrestle with what’s projected to be a $40 billion budget deficit by 2010, county governments in the Tri-Counties face a combined $30 million shortfall of their own and say they are bracing for the worst. Though the region’s budget experts say they already have made cuts this year to adjust for fewer Read More →
Developer stalls on road to Mandalay Bay
Plans for the North Shore at Mandalay Bay subdivision in Oxnard screeched to a halt last month after the property went into foreclosure. In the heyday of the housing boom, owner Trimark Pacific-Mandalay Bay took out a loan from California National Bank for $65.9 million for the development of 292 single-family residences at the North Read More →
Film profiles wine leaders
With a background in professional snowboarding and no money, self-taught filmmaker Robert DaFoe decided he wanted to leap into the winemaking business. With a camera at his side, DaFoe was compelled to track his experiences from harvest to bottle, and all the strife in between — mainly the struggles to find cheap or free wine-related Read More →
DCH targets Santa Barbara Lexus in 2009
Amid concerns over a credit crunch and slowing demand in the car industry, New Jersey-based DCH Auto Group plans to increase its tri-county presence with a long-awaited Lexus showroom in Santa Barbara. According to a representative for DCH’s real estate holdings, construction is slated to start as soon as the permits from the city of Read More →
Santa Barbara investors target multifamily units on clearance
Santa Barbara-based M3 Multifamily is seizing the bargain real estate opportunities caused by the market’s collapse. M3’s principals – John Mosby, Jon Martin and Mason Farrell – have been purchasing apartment properties from sellers in financial distress. Because would-be apartment buyers have been sidelined by rising capital rates, the principals expect rents and occupancy rates Read More →
Foreclosures overtake sales
With foreclosure rates soaring across both the state and the nation, the Central Coast has not been immune to defaults and lender takeovers. Santa Maria and Orcutt have been worst hit by the housing crunch, as the duo have seen almost twice as many foreclosures as regular home sales since the beginning of 2008. Former Read More →
