Ex-Amgen workers file whistleblower suits
UncategorizedAs Thousand Oaks-based Amgen prepares to square off in court against 15 states over an alleged Medicaid kickback scheme, it’s facing two whistleblower lawsuits in Ventura County Superior Court. The complaints, which don’t appear related to the fraud alleged by the group of states, were brought by former employees who said they uncovered wrongdoing at Read More →
Sizing up the health of your insurance firm
UncategorizedInvesting oracle Warren Buffet once said that an insurance policy is just a promise on a piece of paper, and businesses have been banking on that understanding for decades. But as losses rise and carriers go bankrupt, that business foundation could disintegrate. Since the federal government stepped in with $85 billion to prop up failing Read More →
Regulators force banks to play defense
ColumnsLargely innocent bystanders in the financial meltdown that gripped Wall Street a year ago, community banks have been walking around with targets on their backs. A severe crackdown by regulators, including threats to get capital ratios up, shrink loan portfolios or face seizure, has put bank executives on the defensive. “We’re getting speeding tickets for Read More →
Area elections show voters back business
OpinionReading the minds of voters is always difficult. But in elections in Santa Barbara and Ventura there are stirrings of an electoral backlash against the extreme regulation of business in the Highway 101 corridor. By substantial margins, voters turned back height-limit measures in both Santa Barbara and Ventura. In Ventura they also turned back an Read More →
Cabrillo Business Park breaks ground, 12 years in the making
ColumnsIn 1997, Bill Clinton was president, Harry Potter was introduced to the world, and the development process began on an office project in the as-yet-unincorporated city of Goleta. Now, almost 12 years later, the Cabrillo Business Park has finally broken ground. It will eventually have 956,000 square feet of space on Hollister Avenue and 42 Read More →
Sieg Borck finds niche in aerospace
ColumnsSieg Borck is not a rocket scientist, but he certainly knows a lot of them. Products built by his Camarillo-based company, Hi-Temp Insulation, have helped carry astronauts into space and every day they keep thousands of airliners flying by dissipating the heat from their high-tech engines. As Stephen Nellis reports on this page, his 500-person Read More →
