Editorial: Memo to Abel: Keep political options open
As we watched him speed across the state in search of votes for a long-shot bid for statewide office, Lt. Gov. Abel Maldonado’s passion for small business and the small-business owner left a big impression. Yes, in the crazy world that is California politics, the former Santa Maria city councilman finished short of the mark Read More →
First California acquires failed Woodland Hills bank
[Editor’s note: This story has been corrected. Scroll down to the bottom for the update.] Westlake Village-based First California Financial Group acquired the assets of Western Commercial Bank on Nov. 5 after federal regulators shut down the Woodland Hills-based institution. First California will pay the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. a half percent premium to assume Read More →
Roof collapses at UCSB
UC Santa Barbara closed its Bren School of Environmental Science & Management after a 4,000-pound section of ceiling collapsed in the building’s lobby on Oct. 30. No one was injured, and the building was evacuated safely, according to a UCSB news release. Classes in the building were cancelled for two days. University officials re-opened the Read More →
Remaining cities meet salary deadline
All of the local governments in the Tri-Counties that missed California Controller John Chiang’s initial deadline to turn in their salary and benefits data complied with the controller’s request within a few days. The cities of Guadalupe and Grover Beach and the county of Santa Barbara were not on the controller’s original list, released Oct. Read More →
Inphi predicts $10-$12 IPO price
Inphi Corp., the chip design firm with a big presence in Ventura County, expects the shares of its initial public offering to sell for between $10 and $12. With shares scheduled to hit the market as early as Nov. 10, Inphi would raise $74.8 million if investors buy in the middle of its range. It Read More →
Slow SLO recovery forecast
Like the rest of California, San Luis Obispo County is winding very slowly to a full economic recovery, forecasters at the Central Coast Economic Forecast said Nov. 5. The county’s unemployment rate currently hovers around 10 percent, and will likely stay above 6 percent until sometime in 2015, economists from the forecasting group Beacon Economics Read More →
Simi Valley hospital settles Medicare fraud claim
Simi Valley Hospital has paid the U.S. government $5.15 million to settle an allegation that the hospital filed false Medicare claims, the Department of Justice announced Nov. 3. With the settlement finalized, a federal judge dismissed the lawsuit, which was filed in October 2001 by a former hospital employee turned whistleblower. The suit alleged that Read More →
