Economists: coastal regions better than inland, but state faces exodus
ColumnsInland and coastal California might as well be two different worlds — at least that’s the view of California Lutheran University real estate economist Kirk Lesh. Lesh and the rest of CLU’s forecasting team presented their first economic prophecies for the new year at a March 24 event at the Thousand Oaks campus. Lesh Read More →
Remembering Fess Parker, businessman
ColumnsThe first time I asked Fess Parker to keynote the Business Times’ Spirit of Small Business Awards, his office had a polite reply: “Thanks, but no thanks.” A year later, I tried again. I called his office around noontime and got no farther than an assistant who said she was going to lunch. “Try back Read More →
African couture
Small BusinessSan Luis Obispo now has some Ethiopian flair in its wardrobe of downtown boutiques. The newly opened storefront at 1065 Higuera St. is the first retail location for Vancouver, Wash.-based Konjo Ababa, which designs and imports high-end, fair-trade handbags from Ethiopia. Owner and founder Thomas Meister is a former fashion model and photographer who went Read More →
The tech behind the scenes
UncategorizedChances are you’ve never heard of Oxnard’s Nevion. But if you’ve watched a space shuttle launch, the past two Super Bowls, President Obama’s inauguration or the Oscars on March 7, you’ve seen the company’s products at work. Nevion makes the circuit-packed boxes that fill the broadcast trucks outside live events. Through more than two decades Read More →
PCBC turns 50 with a back-to-basics plan
UncategorizedHalf a century after its founding, Pacific Capital Bancorp, the parent of Santa Barbara Bank & Trust, is looking to return to its roots. Santa Barbara National Bank opened March 18, 1960, at 20 E. Carrillo St. with 18 employees. A staid and tradition-bound community bank until an acquisition flurry in the 1990s, Pacific Capital Read More →
Cottage Hospital looks local for Goleta design inspiration
ColumnsWhen it wanted to bring a more hometown feel to its new Goleta facility, Cottage Hospital brought in a team of local designers. Cottage Hospital broke ground March 11 on its new 52-bed acute care Goleta Valley facility. The 52,000-square-foot, two-story building, which will cost an estimated $103 million, is expected to be complete in Read More →
