Obama’s Asian trade strategy could keep China in check

Striding confidently across the tarmac at the Palm Springs International Airport on Feb. 16, President Barack Obama was leaving what has become his favorite winter getaway spot with a bit of swagger. He had just come from a press conference where he argued that he, not the GOP-controlled Senate, held the constitutional high ground in Read More →
Downtown SLO development raises issue of building heights

The San Luis Obispo City Council gave a preliminary nod to the concept of a mixed-use development slated for the heart of downtown SLO. It was not a formal action, the developers were just looking for feedback prior to submitting a final project. While the development isn’t necessarily pivotal to SLO’s economic vitality, the conversation Read More →
Artisan winemakers star at Solvang Garagiste Festival

The winemakers who gathered to pour at the Garagiste Festival in Solvang on Feb. 13-14 are mostly unknown in the marketplace, have limited equipment of their own and produce in such small quantities that financially, as one artisan told me, “it’s not for the faint of heart, to put it mildly.” This is the world Read More →
Scalia’s death will impact cases of regional concern

The untimely death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia over President’s Day weekend will likely alter the trajectory of any number of cases before the court. Two of them are particularly relevant to the Tri-Counties. In Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association, the justices appeared to be closely divided on the question of whether to uphold Read More →
Succession planning critical for business

Entrepreneurs know that businesses are like children. You know they will leave you at some point in the future, but you really don’t want to think about it. Small-business entrepreneurs who think of a business as their favorite child too often avoid the important task of exit planning. It is never too early to plan Read More →
Oxnard’s Clean Diesel Technologies gets delisting notice

Oxnard-based Clean Diesel Technologies received a delisting notice from the Nasdaq Feb. 12 because it’s stock price was not above the $1 minimum listing price. Clean Diesel Technologies makes diesel emission control systems for cars and other diesel powered vehicles. The company made the announcement in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission after Read More →