June 8, 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.


| Tuesday, September 5th, 2023

Sonos drops out of top three in patent sweepstakes

Latest news, Subscriber content, Technology, Tri-County Economy

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| Tuesday, September 5th, 2023

Mercado: Three tech trends to keep an eye on across the Central Coast as summer ends

Columns, Latest news, Subscriber content, Technology

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| Tuesday, September 5th, 2023

Looking the part: Launchpoint finds new home to showcase growing business

Latest news, Subscriber content, Technology, Top Stories, Top Story, Tri-County Economy

It has been a few years since Launchpoint Electric Propulsion Solutions struck out on its own, being spun out of the now-defunct Launchpoint Technologies, but now, the company is ready for takeoff. Launchpoint EPS moved into its new facility at 320 Storke Rd. in early August, upping its presence in the region for the new Read More →

| Friday, September 1st, 2023

Mid-size companies expect growth despite economic hurdles

Economy, Latest news, Top Stories, Top Story, Tri-County Economy

As part of a weekly partnership with KEYT, co-managing editor Jorge Mercado spoke with KEYT anchors Scott Hennessee and Beth Farnsworth to discuss this story. The link to the interview is here. Despite economic challenges and regulatory hurdles, Santa Barbara-based Aptitude Medical knows it’s on the cusp of hitting its potential, and it’s that knowledge Read More →

| Friday, August 25th, 2023

AppFolio cuts jobs to address profitability concerns, stock gains 10%

Latest news, middle, Technology, Tri-County Economy

Santa Barbara-based AppFolio has seen its shares rise as much as 12.6% in the days since the company announced it would be laying off 9% of its workforce on Aug. 17. Shane Trigg, the company’s CEO recently hired in March, wrote in a letter sent out to employees on Aug.17 that it would be cutting Read More →

| Wednesday, August 23rd, 2023

Vital signs: Central Coast adds tourism jobs in July as summer season peaks

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

The unemployment rate along the Central Coast took a slight dip from June to July, as the unemployment rate of 3.8% fell to 3.7%, according to the data released on Aug. 18 from the California Employment Development Department.  However, across the tri-counties 3,100 total nonfarming jobs were lost and, when factoring in farming jobs, 6,000 Read More →

| Tuesday, August 22nd, 2023

Cottage Health receives largest donation to create new center

Health Care & Life Science, Latest news, Top Stories, Top Story

The Santa Barbara Cottage Health Foundation received a $50 million donation, the single largest gift in Cottage’s 135-year history, from philanthropists Mary and Richard Compton, the hospital recently announced on Aug. 22. In total, the Comptons have donated $65 million to support medical excellence and innovation at Cottage Health. The couple, who live in Santa Read More →