Real estate market may be slow, but press releases keep rolling in
ColumnsIf my inbox is any indication, the real estate market could be bouncing back much sooner than any of us have predicted. I’ve been inundated with deals in recent weeks, so for this column I figured I should just open the floodgates. Deals of the Week • Best Interest Financial & Insurance Services just leased Read More →
Coastal Commission needs to get a grip
OpinionOnce again the California Coastal Commission has proven why the state’s balkanized power structure needs to be reordered and simplified. In the latest instance, the Coastal Commission denied a request by Santa Barbara County, the city of Goleta and a number of organizations to replenish the beach near Goleta pier. In doing so, it overrode Read More →
Partners key to bank buy
UncategorizedBehind the scenes of the Bank of Santa Barbara sale – one of the biggest to hit the city in recent years — is a team of tri-county heavyweights headed by veteran Santa Barbara banker Eloy Ortega. Ortega assembled about 10 investors, including Kinko’s founder Paul Orfalea, Tim Marquez of Venoco and Hutton Foundation President Read More →
Towbes thrives in tough times
ColumnsMichael Towbes likes to keep busy. In the face of the worst recession he can remember, Towbes, one of the region’s most successful builders and bank owners, will not be slowing down anytime soon. The best evidence for that is a wall full of plans in the Towbes Group conference room in downtown Santa Barbara. Read More →
Moorpark film studio plot unfolds
FeaturesBernie Weitzman has a grand script in the works for Moorpark. Step by step, Weitzman, chairman and chief executive officer of Commonwealth Studios and an independent film industry veteran, is bringing his massive film studio dream to fruition on the outskirts of the Ventura County city. And it is a big dream. Weitzman and Commonwealth Read More →
California slips as others catch up
OpinionAs July heads past the mid-point, California still does not have a budget. This inability to get simple things accomplished underscores how far the Golden State has slipped behind its chief political rival, Texas. The July 11 edition of the Economist elaborates on the California-Texas rivalry, pointing out that among other things, Texas seems to Read More →
