Guest commentary: The magic of the mall lives on this holiday season
Latest news, Op/Eds, OpinionBy Jennifer Duarte We’ve all heard the whispers — or seen the social media comments — over the past decade: “Malls are dead.” It’s an easy narrative in the age of one-click online shopping and next-day delivery. But as someone who has spent more than two decades in the shopping center industry, managing more than Read More →
Guest commentary: Peter Drucker, artificial intelligence, and the future of management
Latest news, Op/Eds, OpinionBy Gerhard Apfelthaler Twenty years ago last month, Peter Drucker, still one of the most respected authorities on the practice of management, passed away. He would have also celebrated his 116th birthday. While it was too soon for him to witness the rise of artificial intelligence, he did anticipate the age of artificial intelligence long Read More →
Guest commentary: How to make the season work for you and avoid holiday stress
Latest news, Op/Eds, OpinionBy Faith Freed It’s that time of year again. Just when you’ve done your best to meet expectations on Thanksgiving, here come Christmas, Hanukkah, and New Year’s. The rush of festivities, shopping, and social obligations can feel more like an endurance test than a celebration. The question is how to shift from resisting the onslaught Read More →
Guest commentary: The impossibility of afforable housing
Latest news, Op/Eds, OpinionUpdate: A previous version of this story incorrectly wrote this as an editorial from our newsroom; it is a guest commentary. By Don Katich If I wanted to destroy affordable housing in Santa Barbara, I wouldn’t swing a wrecking ball. No, I’d smile politely and pass laws. I’d say I was protecting people, preserving neighborhoods, Read More →
Guest commentary: Why every leader needs a personal board of directors
Latest news, Op/Eds, OpinionBy Dennis M. Baker In business, we accept that every company needs a board of directors. A CEO who operates without one would be seen as reckless. Yet in our personal and professional lives, most of us do exactly that — we try to navigate career, relationships, money, and purpose without the steadying counsel of Read More →
Guest commentary: The quiet cost of low expectations – and the courage it will take to rebuild
Latest news, Op/Eds, OpinionBy Martha Salas After reading The Atlantic’s “America Is Sliding Toward Illiteracy,” I couldn’t help thinking — some of us saw this coming years ago. We said that lowering standards was not compassion but surrender. The collapse didn’t begin with COVID or smartphones; it began when adults decided that feelings mattered more than fundamentals. For Read More →
Guest commentary: How the Central Coast can ride the AI holiday wave
Latest news, Op/Eds, OpinionBy Starr Hall The holidays used to run on intuition. Store owners would stock up based on gut feeling, handwrite notes to loyal customers, and pray that the weather, the locals, and the tourists cooperated. In Santa Barbara, that intuition was practically an art form. You could walk down State Street or through the Funk Read More →
