Forecasters:
Ventura County’s unemployment rate has peaked, but its decline will be painfully slow even as discount retail jobs in Camarillo, farm work and manufacturing jobs provide glimmers of hope, economic forecasters said Feb. 19 in Camarillo. “Only the Inland Empire and Sacramento have lost more jobs [than Ventura County], proportional to their populations,” Brad Kemp Read More →
Central Coast CEOs lament barriers to business
The Central Coast presents an attractive landscape for entrepreneurs but lacks some of the community support systems required to grow successful niche companies. That was the consensus among three company presidents from a wide range of industries from Paso Robles to Santa Maria at the second annual Central Coast Business Symposium, held in Arroyo Grande Read More →
Deciphering space intelligence ranks a military priority
With a space-based tracking and surveillance system set to launch from Vandenberg Air Force base this summer, turning the flood of information generated by the United States’ military space operations into actionable intelligence for commanders is a top priority, a top Air Force space commander said Feb. 17. “There’s a lot of data coming in Read More →
T.O. bank looks to raise $10M in stock sale
California Oaks State Bank, a community business bank based in Thousand Oaks, announced Feb. 17 that it plans to raise up to $10 million to buy back stock, pay down its bailout money and potentially snap up assets from failed banks. California Oaks, which also has a location in Simi Valley, said it will offer Read More →
Pacific Capital hires troubled-loan czar
Santa Barbara-based Pacific Capital Bancorp, the struggling parent of Santa Barbara Bank & Trust, has named Paul Alexander to oversee the team that addresses the company’s troubled assets, the source of many of the bank’s capital woes over the past year. Since last spring, Pacific Capital has been under a voluntary agreement with regulators to Read More →
Controversial Oxnard smelting plant is on the market again
The former Halaco smelting plant in Oxnard is on the market again. The 10.7-acre site at 6200 Perkins Road is being marketed by Ventura County’s Troop Commercial Brokerage, which is hoping a buyer converts the controversial property to a clean job site. The property served as a smelting plant for Halaco Engineering from August 1965 Read More →
Jobs agenda meets politics of obstruction
When Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger showed up in San Luis Obispo on Feb. 8 to make his pitch for a $500 million plan for job growth and green tax credits, he was preaching to his kind of business leaders. Central Coast Republicans and Democrats alike often find common ground with the governor’s mix of faith in Read More →
