April 30, 2025

		

Marlize van Romburgh


| Friday, October 29th, 2010

Hertel partner files $128M bankruptcy

Real Estate, Top Stories

Almost two years after Ventura-based developer R.W. Hertel & Sons was forced into bankruptcy by its creditors, one partner is left holding the bag. Bob Fowler filed one of the largest personal bankruptcies in tri-county history on Sept. 26, listing $127.6 million in debts. Of those liabilities, $105.6 million are personal guarantees Fowler made on Read More →

| Wednesday, October 27th, 2010

U.S. should set inflation target, Fed economist says at UCSB

Banking & Finance, Tri-County Economy

Setting the federal funds interest rate target at zero is a trap, and one the Federal Reserve would be better off avoiding, St. Louis Federal Reserve Economist Bill Gavin said at an Oct. 27 appearance at UC Santa Barbara. Warning of the dangers of the so-called “zero lower bound,” when the federal funds rate is Read More →

| Monday, October 25th, 2010

SBA-backed deals are propping up commercial real estate market

Columns, Real Estate, Small Business

Small businesses are starting to look like the heroes in the commercial real estate market’s turnaround tale. Businesses buying property for their own use, also known as owner-users, have fueled a number of deals in the Tri-Counties recently, many of them aided by financing through U.S. Small Business Administration lending programs. In Oxnard, Industrial Park Read More →

| Monday, October 25th, 2010

Foreclosure freeze won

Real Estate, Top Stories, Tri-County Economy

As the nation’s largest home lenders continue their self-imposed foreclosure freezes, economists in the tri-county region say the residential real estate market’s search for the bottom is being delayed. The Tri-Counties had more than 1,200 homes in foreclosure at the end of the second quarter, according to information from research firm DataQuick. That’s up more Read More →

| Monday, October 25th, 2010

Foreclosure fiasco’s ground zero: Ventura County offices churned out paperwork

Top Stories, Tri-County Economy

Ask her how many foreclosure documents she worked through in a day at Countrywide Financial Corp., and Linda Martins-Mann says the pace was fast. “I didn’t count how many I processed, but it was a lot,” she said. “Maybe about 500 a day.” Martins-Mann was a foreclosure technician at Countrywide’s Simi Valley offices until the Read More →

| Monday, October 18th, 2010

Downtown’s starring role: Atascadero will get new movie theater, retail center

Features, Real Estate, Tri-County Economy

Atascadero’s small-town days may be numbered. The city of 28,000 people has several large developments in the pipeline, including its $13 million Colony Square project, which would bring 14,000 square feet of retail space and 10 movie screens to the currently theater-less city. Plans for a 130,000-square-foot Wal-Mart are about halfway through the environmental review Read More →

| Monday, October 18th, 2010

Betting on a windfall: A new kind of project for Paso Robles

Features

Windfall Farms may one day be to Paso Robles what Montecito is to Santa Barbara — an enclave for millionaire retirees and the weekend wealthy. But the San Luis Obispo County version has a few extra country charms thrown in, like alfalfa fields, grazing cattle, wine grapes and Kentucky-style horse facilities. The 724-acre Windfall Farms Read More →