Dole IPO may confound the skeptics
By the time you read this column, Dole Food Co. should be on the glide path to an initial public stock offering that might mark a turning point for the markets and for long-suffering investors. Emphasis on the word “might.” I’m hedging my bets just a bit when it comes to Westlake Village-based Dole and Read More →
Fight over coastal Cayucos property could set precedent
The California Coastal Commission has stopped a Cayucos family from building a motel in the seaside town of 3,000, and the family is fighting back, launching a case that has captured attention across the Golden State. The DeCicco family spent 10 years dreaming up plans for an inn and four townhomes on their Highway Read More →
Power-Save raises eyebrows with the SEC
San Luis Obispo-based Power-Save Energy Corp. posted some big revenue gains over the past two years, but financial observers and the Securities and Exchange Commission have criticized the firm for non-existent internal financial controls. Power-Save’s stock has also lost more than 90 percent of its value in recent months, and the firm was ordered to Read More →
Defense firms draw jobs
Defense and space contractors are adding scores of jobs and thousands of square feet of production space on the South Coast. In the midst of a down economy, the tri-county divisions of defense giants Raytheon and Alliant Techsystems, or ATK, are hiring for engineering and other high-paying positions and breaking ground on new facilities that Read More →
Constitutional convention would come with its risks
When it comes to cleaning up the fiscal mess that goes by the name “California,” there’s no shortage of proposed solutions. Two very different approaches were the subject of the Ventura County Economic Development Association’s 2009 Outlook Conference. Solution one is a series of targeted, single-purpose ballot initiatives aimed at ending the annual budget gridlock Read More →
OCC shows it lacks transparency
We were disappointed to learn that a representative of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency backed out of a recent speaking engagement at Coastal Business Finance, the Santa Maria-based leader in small business finance. Such a talk might have done a lot to help bankers and borrowers meet face-to-face with one of the Read More →
