August 31, 2026

		

Jorge Mercado

Jorge Mercado is a staff writer with the Business Times. His beats include technology, agriculture, cannabis, energy and the environment, and higher education.


| Monday, June 1st, 2026

LegalTime AI impresses at UCSB’s New Venture Finals

Latest news, Santa Barbara County, Startups, Subscriber content

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| Monday, June 1st, 2026

SLO Courtyard completes $6M renovations

Latest news, San Luis Obispo County, Subscriber content, Tourism

As the tourism season begins to hit its full stride for the Central Coast in the coming weeks, one San Luis Obispo County hotel is ready to handle all the visitors it can. The Courtyard by Marriott San Luis Obispo completed its year-long renovation in late April, reopening the fully reimagined property that “introduces an Read More →

| Monday, June 1st, 2026

Vina Robles gets world-class ownership

Latest news, middle, San Luis Obispo County, Subscriber content

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| Wednesday, May 27th, 2026

AI, housing dominate discussion at Santa Barbara County Economic Summit

Economy, Latest news, Santa Barbara County, Subscriber content, Tri-County Economy

Artificial Intelligence was the main talking point at UC Santa Barbara’s Economic Forecast Project’s annual Santa Barbara County Economic Summit held at the Granada Theatre on May 21. One of the keynote speakers was Zack Kass, the former Go-To-Market at OpenAI, who held an event at the same location a few months earlier to talk Read More →

| Monday, May 25th, 2026

Hoka sales continue fueling Deckers growth, strong earnings

Earnings, Latest news, middle, Retailing, Santa Barbara County, Subscriber content, Tri-County Economy, Tri-County Public Companies

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| Sunday, May 24th, 2026

Kamran & Co. taps Tim Welsh as CEO

Latest news, Santa Barbara County, Tri-County Economy

Santa Barbara-based Kamran & Company, a provider of custom foodservice equipment and integrated fabrication solutions, announced the appointment of Tim Welsh as CEO. He succeeds Founder Kamran Amiri, who will continue to serve as President and Chairman. “Tim brings a unique combination of operational leadership, development expertise, and strategic vision,” said Amiri. “As we enter Read More →

| Sunday, May 24th, 2026

Central Coast jobless rate continues declining in April

Central Coast, Columns, Economy, Latest news, left, Tri-County Economy

The tri-county unemployment rate in April was 4.1%, down from 4.4% in March and 4.8% in February, according to the California Employment Development Department’s latest numbers released May 1. This was the third consecutive month that the unemployment rate has fallen in the tri-counties. Ventura County’s rate was 4.2% in April compared to 4.4% in Read More →