Refugio oil spill raises important questions for South Coast
The estimated 105,000-gallon oil spill that will ruin Memorial Day for thousands of visitors to Refugio State Beach in Santa Barbara County is a reminder of how much environmental issues have become economic stories. Santa Barbara County is so heavily dependent on hotel-related taxes that it literally can’t afford the kind of environmental disaster that Read More →
One year later, Isla Vista faces murky future over safety
A year after the murder of six UC Santa Barbara students shook the beachside community of Isla Vista, residents grapple with public safety issues while a bill providing the community of 20,000 with a quasi-independent governing body sits in the California state legislature. Just about 2 square miles wide and situated alongside the UCSB Read More →
MIT forum in Santa Barbara focuses on remote healthcare technology
A white, rolling 5-foot robot mounted with an LCD screen roamed around the Cabrillo Arts Pavilion Wednesday night. While it’s not a typical sight at the pavilion, it’s a growing presence in the healthcare industry. Yulun Wang, the founder and CEO of Goleta-based telehealth firm InTouch Health, used the robot, called RP-VITA, to demonstrate how Read More →
AppFolio files for $100M IPO
Goleta-based AppFolio filed with U.S. regulators May 18 for an initial public offering. The developer of cloud-based property management software listed $100 million as the initial fundraising target, however the size the IPO could change. The company did not stipulate how many shares it plans to sell. The move comes on the heels of Read More →
Bureaucrats move in to locale where winery irked neighbors
The Department of General Services, business manager for the state on the Central Coast, will consolidate a handful of offices into a renovated warehouse just outside of downtown San Luis Obispo. DGS recently signed a $15.4 million, 15-year lease for the former home of The Workshop Urban Wine Collective, a custom crush winery operation at Read More →
Virtual currency is finding global niches
By Lisa Spiwak This month, there has been a major event in the world of American finance. On May 7, itBit became America’s first national regulatory-compliant Bitcoin exchange. This is a very big deal because it paves the way for customers to now feel more comfortable with virtual currency, which appears to be one of Read More →
