Retail market heats up again in Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo counties
The Tri-Counties are finally seeing some retail leasing action again, with everybody from large national chains to local mom-and-pop shops penning deals on spaces. It’s an encouraging sign that the economy is truly on the upswing. In Santa Barbara, national clothing retailer Love Culture announced that it has signed a 10-year lease on 7,000 square Read More →
Lokey joins Mission Community Bank
San Luis Obispo-based Mission Community Bank announced May 3 that it is bringing former Rabobank executive and tri-county banking veteran Jim Lokey on as its executive chairman. Lokey was the president and chief executive officer of Arroyo Grande-based Mid-State Bank & Trust for seven years, until the bank was bought by Rabobank in 2007 in Read More →
Ethos Water co-founder talks innovation, "ethical brands" at CLU
Social entrepreneurship is an emerging blend of nonprofit and for-profit activity, and leading-edge companies are “ethical brands” such as Tesla or Grameen Bank that favor relationships over transactions. That is the view of Jonathan Greenblatt, a former Clinton administration official and entrepreneur who now teaches at UCLA. Greenblatt spoke May 4 at the latest installment Read More →
Editorial: CEOs wanted here
There’s nothing wrong with Santa Barbara County’s economy that a few corporate headquarters wouldn’t cure. That’s one conclusion that can be drawn from a close examination of the data behind the recent UCSB Economic Forecast Project report. Local government employment, the largest sector in the county, is pretty much flat at about 23,000. Given the Read More →
Editorial: Building sale smells like another state fiasco
For more proof that the administration of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is living in a world of illusion, look no farther than some serious number crunching on his proposed sale of state office buildings. Once touted as a way to close the state’s budget gap, the plan to sell and lease back 11 flagship office properties Read More →
