June 16, 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.


| Thursday, December 1st, 2022

Port scores $500K grant for air monitoring

Infrastructure

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| Wednesday, November 30th, 2022

Apeel laying off 96 in second round of the year

Agribusiness, Economy, Latest news, Top Stories, Top Story, Tri-County Economy, Ventura County, Workforce

Goleta-based Apeel Sciences will lay off a large portion of its workforce, mainly in the Santa Barbara County area, in its second major round of layoffs this year, the company has disclosed. Apeel will lay off a total of 96 employees from its Goleta office, according to a company filing with the state of California.  Read More →

| Sunday, November 27th, 2022

Sonos’ profits plummeted in FY2022, in line with industry

Latest news

Tech market tanks By Jorge Mercado Senior Staff Writer Santa Barbara-based Sonos’ profits plummeted in fiscal 2022, in line with the technology sector. The maker of smart speakers’ net income plunged 33% in its recently ended fiscal year, the company announced after the market close Nov. 16.  By comparison, First Trust’s NASDAQ-100-Technology Sector Index Fund fell Read More →

| Saturday, November 26th, 2022

Retailers Cautious as Season Opens

Latest news, Retailing, Top Story

Retailers cautious as season opens By Madeleine Benn  Staff Writer The outlook for regional retailers appears mixed this key holiday season.  Industry observers, local merchants and shoppers interviewed voiced differing expectations about spending during a time of the year that remains crucial for many retailers, as November and December has traditionally been when consumers have Read More →

Parker Clay's Ian Bentley, founder and CEO, and wife Brittaney Bentley, chief creative officer, engage Ethiopian women to make the luxury handbags the company designs and sells.

| Friday, November 25th, 2022

Parker Clay goes public

Retailing, Top Story

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| Friday, November 25th, 2022

U.S. grants PG&E $1.1B to keep Diablo open longer

Energy, Latest news

By Jorge Mercado Senior Staff Writer The federal government has turbocharged Pacific Gas & Electric’s push to keep its controversial Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant online. The U.S. Department of Energy has given the project a $1.1 billion grant to help keep California’s last nuclear power plant operating through 2030, PG&E announced Nov. 21.The lifeline Read More →

| Friday, November 25th, 2022

New Funding Fuels Atomica CEO’s dreams

Latest news, Technology, Top Stories

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