Breaking news: Santa Barbara firm sues Chinese government for $2.2B
A Santa Barbara-based software maker has sued the Chinese government and seven big computer manufacturers for $2.2 billion for conspiring to steal its code and distribute 56 million copies of a censoring program that contained the allegedly pilfered lines. Cybersitter, a company that makes software used by parents to block children’s access to inappropriate content, Read More →
Alliance makes donation for viticulture research
The Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance announced on Dec. 22 that will it make a $10,000 donation to the American Vineyard Foundation in support of research projects specific to the Paso Robles American Viticultural Area. Over the past six years the Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance has contributed more than $45,000 to the foundation, making Read More →
Thomas Aquinas gets $2 million
Thomas Aquinas College in Santa Paula received a $2 million grant from the Dan Murphy Foundation on Dec. 23 in honor of the school’s late president, Thomas E. Dillon, who was killed in an car accident last spring. “This magnificent grant is being made as a lead gift to the college’s new capital campaign, the Read More →
Waiting on the man with answers
Writing in the New York Times on Dec. 27, financial columnist Gretchen Morgenson asked some important questions about Camarillo resident Bob Parry, a former president of the San Francisco Fed who served as a director of Countrywide Financial after he retired. Morgenson wonders what Parry was doing as Countrywide veered toward disaster and why he Read More →
Pacific Capital will be better off without RAL around
At long last, the refund anticipation loan program, or RAL, is headed toward the dustbin of history — at least as far as Pacific Capital Bancorp is concerned. On Christmas Eve day, Pacific Capital, parent company of Santa Barbara Bank & Trust, made a surprise announcement that it was selling its controversial tax refund loan Read More →
Agriculture adds sustainability to forecast
In 2010, the tri-county agriculture industry will deal with perennial challenges of water, weather and pests. But at farms large and small, sustainability is working its way up the agenda. “The public sentiment seems to be building in favor of locally grown food, sustainably grown food and buying your food from the farmer you know,” Read More →
Tech outlook looks bright and green
In just a few short years, green businesses in the Tri-Counties have gone from small operations to inking some of the region’s largest investment deals and creating hundreds of jobs. And the industry’s leaders say 2010 is likely to increase the pace. San Luis Obispo-based REC Solar has grown from a handful of employees in Read More →
