Conejo leads SoCal into new decade
Would the last person in Dos Vientos please turn out the lights? That’s what some residents of the toney subdivision in Thousand Oaks were wondering not so very long ago as the Conejo Valley underwent a series of economic tremors. First, struggling mortgage giant Countrywide Financial Corp. was sold at near fire-sale prices to Bank Read More →
Breaking news: Affinity Bank seized by regulators
In the first bank failure in the Tri-Counties in almost 20 years, Ventura-based Affinity Bank was seized by federal regulators Aug. 28. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. took Affinity into receivership and said San Diego-based Pacific Western Bank will assume Affinity’s ten branches and $922 million in deposits. Pacific Western also agreed to buy essentially Read More →
In memoriam: Brian Wolverton
These days we spend our time consumed with the economy, business, careers, politics and family matters and we often forget that others are doing far more important work on behalf of our nation. Our freedom to speak, conduct commerce and fret about all things American ultimately relies on our nation’s ability to defend itself. Read More →
Legal discord over music festival
[Editor’s note: See correction below.] A battle of the band bookers is breaking out in Santa Barbara. The organizers of the West Beach Music & Arts Festival face a civil lawsuit from another concert organizer who demands nearly $500,000. Jackie Kane also alleges that the West Beach organizers froze her out of her share of Read More →
Crack down on fire-causing cartels
An international law enforcement effort is needed to bring the perpetrators of the La Brea fire to justice. Unless you have been sleeping for the past week, you probably know that state and local officials believe that Mexican cartels that operate massive pot farming operations in far northeast Santa Barbara County were behind the 89,000-acre Read More →