Keeping the seats full: Arts organizations battle the recession
A recession is never a pretty picture, especially for arts and culture nonprofits, which rely heavily on private donations and visitor attendance. Arts organizations around the country laid off workers last year, adopted hiring freezes or cut other expenses in response to a falloff in private donations and government grants. In California, the Santa Read More →
Special Comment: Where the region's biggest bank goes from here
Best and worst of times, indeed. Behind Pacific Capital Bancorp’s decision to sell a 90 percent stake to a Texas investment firm is a recognition that the California real estate market has not yet begun to turn around. That is the nightmare the bank faced — a slow bleeding of capital, including a loss of Read More →
Updated story: Pacific Capital chief briefs shareholders on $500M deal
[Editor’s note: This story was updated at 3:20 p.m. April 29 with comments from Gerald Ford.] Hours after signing a $500 million deal that could transfer control of Pacific Capital Bancorp to a Texas billionaire’s firm, the banking company’s executives went before investors at its 50th annual shareholder meeting to explain the bold transaction that Read More →
Editorial: Bank turnarounds offer a ray of hope
If there is one thing we’ve learned from the painful experiences of the past couple of years it is this: As banks go, so goes the regional economy. And from that perspective, it appears the deep recession in real estate is slowly disappearing in the rearview mirror. Surprise first-quarter profits at Community West and American Read More →
Editorial: ACLU, Arnold step up for kids
Closing the housing gap and getting our economy back on track is going to take skilled workers filling high paying jobs. The training for those jobs begins in our primary and secondary schools. Which is why we think it was smart for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to side with the ACLU and others who want to Read More →
CKE to be acquired by Apollo
Carpinteria-based CKE Restaurants announced April 24 that it will be acquired by an affiliate of Apollo Management. Under the terms of the agreement, CKE stockholders will receive $12.55 per share in cash, representing a 41 percent premium to the company’s closing share price on Feb. 25 and a 14 percent premium over an earlier offer Read More →
