UCSB
The next few months could make or break UC Santa Barbara’s new Economic Forecast Project. Currently operating with a skeleton crew, UCSB officials had hoped to hire a new executive director by early September. But now it looks like a rocky startup process might be in store for the project. When economic forecasting guru Bill Read More →
UC president calls for reinvestment in universities
Mark Yudof, president of the University of California system, sharply criticized state leaders Aug. 6 for what he called a 20-year pattern of cutting investment in the state’s human capital. Yudof spoke before a crowd of more than 300 business leaders at the Pacific Coast Business Times’ Spirit of Small Business Awards luncheon at Fess Read More →
White paper: The Green Coast Innovation Zone
Last spring, the Business Times called on regional leaders to reinvent the tri-county economy using new energy technology, energy efficiency and greener building practices as a springboard to growth. We called the initiative the Green Coast and I’m pleased to report that a diverse working group has been formed under the title of the Green Read More →
Dalidio project wins Measure J victory
Rancher-developer Ernie Dalidio has won a critical court victory in his drive to develop the San Luis Obispo Marketplace on a 131-acre site along Highway 101. Reversing a lower court decision, California’s 2nd District Court of Appeals on Aug. 4 reinstated the results of Measure J, a ballot measure that won approval of county voters Read More →
Kohl's to open new store and bring 120 jobs to SLO
Kohl’s Department Stores announced on Monday that it will bring approximately 120 new jobs to San Luis Obispo when it opens a store there in September. Kohl’s is opening 30 new stores in California this fall, increasing the number of Kohl’s stores in the state to 121 and hiring an expected 4,200 new employees throughout Read More →
Budget squeezes recyclers
The deep cuts that resolved California’s budget crisis have come to your recycling bin. On July 1, the state pulled back on processing fees that it pays to recyclers and stopped some incentive programs altogether. Recyclers say the move is eating into their revenue at a time when the prices they get for recycled materials Read More →
Ventura Co. growers brace for citrus bug
Ventura County citrus packers are nearing an agreement designed to stop the potential spread of a pest and disease that could decimate California’s citrus industry if it infects the state’s orchards. After slamming growers in Florida for three years, the Asian citrus psyllid showed up last year near the California-Mexico border and has been found Read More →
