Region loses reputation as safe haven for jobs
UncategorizedThe Tri-Counties have historically faired well in bad times, but the latest unemployment figures released by the U.S. Labor Department show that California’s budget woes and the nationwide recession may have finally begun to catch up to the region. While the highest unemployment rate in the Tri-Counties is in Ventura County, Santa Barbara and San Read More →
San Luis Obispo holds its own in commercial real estate market
ColumnsWhile San Luis Obispo was busy weighing the pros and cons of a possible Target or an Ernie Dalidio development, Lee & Associates released its commercial real estate update, which showed that vacancy is actually down 33 percent from a year ago. The commercial vacancy rate for San Luis Obispo County is relatively small at Read More →
South Coast needs a path for recovery
ColumnsUp until the crash in the global financial markets last September, it looked like the South Coast region of the Tri-Counties would escape the recession largely unscathed. That turns out not to have been the case. And now the stretch of coast from Carpinteria to Goleta is in danger of losing its status as Read More →
Civic Alliance helps stitch Ventura Co. up
OpinionNot so very long ago, Ventura County was defined by its differences. Oxnard and Ventura came to legal blows over the future of some large retail shops that abandoned the Esplanade Mall for new digs across the Santa Clara River. Agricultural and environmental interests teamed up to pass SOAR, dealing a blow to urban interests Read More →
The lesson learned from BuenaVentura
OpinionOne of the things we are learning about the current financial crisis is that banks operate best when they really operate as banks. When it was launched a year ago, Banco Buenaventura looked like a great idea for serving the Hispanic community. And we gave the brains behind the institution the benefit of the doubt Read More →
Riding it out
Small BusinessTri-county surf shops have taken quite a beating during the past year’s storm of changing retail trends, poor surfing conditions and a down economy. Now they’re looking for new ways to ride it out. Doug Yartz, owner and manager of Goleta-based surf shop Surf Country, could only sum up his store’s sales performance in one Read More →
