November 4, 2025

		

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.


| Friday, July 11th, 2025

Street smarts: Cottage Health expands access to specific surgical care

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

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| Thursday, July 10th, 2025

Feds raid area cannabis operations

Agribusiness, Central Coast, Latest news, Top Stories, Top Story

Federal agents took aim at one of the Central Coast’s publicly traded companies on July 10 when a Homeland Security Investigations unit raided Glass House Farms, a cannabis farm with operations in both Santa Barbara and Ventura counties. Raids at Glass House’s farms in Carpinteria and Camarillo were conducted concurrently on July 10. Glass House Read More →

| Wednesday, July 9th, 2025

Santa Barbara’s El Encanto Hotel sells for $82.2M to Tinder co-founder

Latest news, Real Estate, Santa Barbara County, Top Stories, Top Story, Tourism

Santa Barbara’s five-star gem El Encanto Hotel is under new ownership after Justin Mateen, Tyler Mateen and the Cayton family combined to purchase the historic estate for $82.2 million. Announced July 8, the Mateen’s and Culver Capital, which is represented by principal Garrett Cayton, purchased El Encanto from Belmond, a luxury hospitality brand owned by LVMH. LVMH Read More →

| Monday, July 7th, 2025

Saalex expands software development capabilities with acquisition

Latest news

Saalex Corporation, which was founded in Camarillo and still houses major operations in the area, announced it has acquired Greenfield Engineering Corporation for an undisclosed amount on July 7. Greenfield is a software and systems engineering firm specializing in avionics software development for the U.S. Navy. Saalex is a federal services contractor, providing a slew Read More →

| Monday, July 7th, 2025

805 Tech: Cal Poly’s new economic development director is up to the task

Columns, Higher Education, Latest news, San Luis Obispo County, Subscriber content, Technology

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| Wednesday, July 2nd, 2025

Major indices hit record highs, Central Coast stocks benefit

Central Coast, Economy, Latest news, left, Subscriber content, Tri-County Public Companies

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| Tuesday, July 1st, 2025

Santa Maria Airport reintroduces flights to Phoenix

Latest news, Santa Barbara County, Tourism, Tri-County Economy

The Covid-19 pandemic ruined Santa Maria Airport’s plans to have more commercial flights. But five years later, those plans are starting to come back into the fold. American Airlines will be launching a nonstop service flight to Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport beginning Oct. 15, restoring direct access to a major hub for the first time since 2020. The route was first announced by American Airlines on Read More →