Chu pushes for nuclear power, carbon caps
Speaking in Goleta, U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu on March 5 defended the Obama administration’s decision to oppose a long-term nuclear waste storage site in Nevada and urged lawmakers to avoid protectionism in funding renewable energy. A day after the Obama administration roiled the nuclear power industry by seeking to terminate a plan to Read More →
State Street gets new lease on retail life
After sitting vacant for months, the former Anchor Blue space at 820 State St. in downtown Santa Barbara has been leased to apparel retailer G by Guess. The 5,832-square-foot space became available after Anchor Blue filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in mid-2009 and closed many of its stores. The apparel retailer’s State Street lease, first Read More →
Clean-tech doesn
While this could be the year clean-tech goes mainstream the way the Internet did in the mid-1990s, young companies can’t base their business models on government-issued carbon credits. That was the majority view of a panel of heavyweight venture capital investors who spoke at the Wall Street Journal’s ECO:nomics conference on capitalism and climate at Read More →
Affinity refinances $144M in debt
Ventura-based Affinity Group, which faces nearly $700 million in debt payments in coming years, closed a deal for a new $144 million loan on March 3 to refinance debt due at the end of this month. Affinity Group is the owner of the nation’s largest network of recreational vehicle and outdoor networks, magazines and clubs, Read More →
Watkins: GDP growth will return, but unemployment to remain high
California Lutheran University economist Bill Watkins has raised his forecast for the U.S. economy for 2010, but his outlook for California remains bleak. Speaking at a City National Bank forecast breakfast March 3, Watkins said that he has raised his GDP forecast to 2.5 percent growth for 2010, up sharply from less than 2 percent Read More →
Chamber changes
The Thousand Oaks-Westlake Village Regional Chamber of Commerce announced that it changed its name Greater Conejo Valley Chamber of Commerce. The change follows the chamber’s acquisition of Agoura Hills into its membership. The chamber said its executive committee and board of directors recently voted unanimously to change the name, after the general membership was asked Read More →
