Longtime Santa Barbara builder passes away
Ugo Melchiori, Santa Barbara businessman and founder of Melchiori Construction Co., died Dec. 12. He was 69. Melchiori founded his company in 1988 after entering the construction industry in Santa Barbara in 1959. Now run by other members of the Melchiori family, Melchiori Construction is the largest general contractor in the Tri-Counties with $78.5 million Read More →
Watkins: state recession not over until end of 2010
The U.S. economy will experiences slow growth throughout most of 2010 but California won’t emerge from recession until the very end of the year. That’s the view of California Lutheran University economist Bill Watkins, who presented his first state and national forecast for 2010 at a breakfast event on campus on Dec. 16. The Business Read More →
Economy encourages women to look to entrepreneurship
Rosandra Heffefingers was a successful project leader at a Ventura insurance brokerage firm — until her job fell out from beneath her. “They just decided it was no longer a lucrative project, so my position wasn’t necessary,” she said. Facing dim prospects in a difficult job market, she decided to look into entrepreneurship as an Read More →
Area leads the way in sustainable ag
Agriculture still dominates much of the landscape across the Tri-Counties. And thanks to a new wave of interest in creating a “sustainable” economy, agriculture is being reinvented for the 21st Century. Gone in large part are the pesticide-heavy, water-guzzling practices of the past. Instead, farmers across the region are focusing on efficiency, environmentally sound practices Read More →
Recognizing the gift of life
The gift of life is the greatest gift of all. That’s why we’ll take a few words to appreciate the extraordinary personal commitment of Randy Weiss, vice president of community relations at Santa Barbara Bank & Trust. Weiss, as has been reported, donated a kidney to help out Katherine Pinedo, a fellow bank employee whose Read More →
