Ordinance impacts still hazy
A new city ordinance that could expand San Luis Obispo’s smoking ban to most public outdoor spaces has raised concerns among some business owners that it could negatively affect their bottom lines. Currently, San Luis Obispo prohibits smoking inside bars, restaurants, and all government and public facilities. The city made headlines in 1990 when it Read More →
Santa Barbara CEO to retire
Santa Barbara County Executive Officer Michael F. Brown announced on Dec. 2 that he will retire on Oct. 31, 2010. Brown and the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors agreed on the decision, saying that they wanted to keep the CEO on board as the county faces a daunting 2010-11 budget cycle. “We are depending Read More →
New SLO city manager
The San Luis Obispo City Council unanimously selected Katie Lichtig as the new city manager at its Dec. 1 meeting. Lichtig replaces current city manager Ken Hampian, who is retiring after nine years on the job. Lichting will be appointed to her new position Dec. 15 and starts work toward the end of January. The Read More →
Onnen becomes Goleta's new mayor
Erin Onnen and Margaret Connell on Dec. 2 respectively became Goleta’s new mayor and mayor pro tempore. Onnen replaces Roger Aceves and will hold the position until December 2010. Onnen, Aceves and Connell serve on the Goleta City Council. The council rotates the mayor post to a different member each year. In his acceptance speech, Read More →
Ten things to be thankful for this year
Face facts. This has been a horrible year to have to navigate a business through the tri-county economy. Between the meltdown in commercial real estate, California budget woes, softness in tourism, the foreclosure mess and the ongoing travails of community banking, this has been one for the books. But hey, kvetching only makes things worse. Read More →
Tech firms get a boost from small business
The economic slump has many small businesses scrambling to cut costs, but as a direct result one group of businesses is getting a boost: information technology firms. As small businesses look for ways to streamline their budgets, tri-county IT firms are seeing a wave of new clients — if they offer the right products and Read More →
ValueClick moves could point to acquisition
Despite turning in a $25 million profit last quarter, Westlake Village-based online marketing firm ValueClick disappointed Wall Street analysts with a gloomy revenue forecast for the fourth quarter. But the company has quietly signed more than 70,000 square feet of new lease agreements and stockpiled hundreds of millions of dollars in cash and untapped credit Read More →
