September 28, 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, August 31st, 2026

Updated: AeroVironment commits $100M to new Moorpark campus

East Ventura County, Latest news, Subscriber content, Technology, Top Stories, Top Story, Tri-County Public Companies

Despite relocating its corporate headquarters five years ago, AeroVironment is committed to growing in California, more specifically the Central Coast. AeroVironment doubled down on its Ventura County presence Aug. 24, announcing a $100 million investment in a unified, company-owned campus across approximately 20 acres in Moorpark. The campus will bring together capabilities from five leased Read More →

| Monday, August 24th, 2026

Goleta retail center sells for $11.3M 

Latest news, left, Real Estate, Santa Barbara County, Subscriber content

Kellogg Square, a retail center located at 5555-5585 Hollister Avenue in Goleta, fetched $11.3 million in a sale brokered by Colliers, the national commercial real estate firm announced Aug. 24. The Colliers advisory team, made up of Vice President Miles Waters, Executive Vice President Austin Herlihy, Vice President Chris Parker, and Associate Mike Chung, represented Read More →

| Monday, August 24th, 2026

Santa Barbara-based Quintessent raises $40M in Series A

Latest news, middle, Santa Barbara County, Subscriber content, Technology, Top Stories, Top Story

Santa Barbara-based Quintessent, a semiconductor company that specializes in resilient and low-cost AI datacenter optical interconnect products, announced it has raised $40 million in an oversubscribed Series A investment round. Announced Aug. 24, Quintessent also announced the start of a customer sampling of its single-chip quantum dot-based DWDM comb laser — a new class of light Read More →

| Monday, August 24th, 2026

Unemployment continues rising on the Central Coast

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

The Central Coast jobless rate is on the rise for the second consecutive month, jumping to 4.56% in July from 4.3% in June,  according to the California Employment Development Department’s latest numbers released Aug. 21. All three counties saw their unemployment rate increase in July.  Ventura County’s rate was 4.7%, up from 4.5% in June. Read More →

| Tuesday, August 18th, 2026

Diablo Canyon receives $271M from DOE to support extending operations

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

This article is only available to Business Times subscribers Subscribers: LOG IN or REGISTER for complete digital access. Not a Subscriber? SUBSCRIBE for full access to our weekly newspaper, online edition and Book of Lists. Check the STATUS of your Subscription Account.

| Monday, August 17th, 2026

Limoneira’s Windfall Farms nets $15M in all-cash sale

Agribusiness, Central Coast, Latest news, Subscriber content, Top Stories, Top Story, Tri-County Economy

Santa Paula-based Limoneira announced the successful sale of its 724-acre vineyard property in Paso Robles, Windfall Farms, for $15 million in an all-cash deal with a private buyer. Announced Aug. 17, the sale follows a competitive public auction conducted by Concierge Auctions in cooperation with Sotheby’s International Realty, which started on Aug. 15. The transaction Read More →

| Monday, August 17th, 2026

Swarm Aero secures $10M contract

Latest news

Oxnard-based Swarm Aero, a developer of large uncrewed aerial vehicle swarms, announced over $10 million in contracts with the Air Force Research Laboratory to perform research and development on the company’s novel, high-rate composite manufacturing approach and produce aircraft parts for the U.S. Air Force. Announced Aug. 10, since being founded in 2022, Swarm has Read More →