French firm plucks Dole division
Dole Food Co. said Sept. 20 that it was selling its ripening and distribution businesses in Spain and Portugal, known as Dole Spain, to the Compagnie Fruitière Group. Terms of the sale, expected to close in November, were not disclosed. Westlake Village-based Dole holds a non-controlling 40 percent stake in Compagnie Fruitière. The other 60 Read More →
Cox wireless debuts
Atlanta-based Cox Communications has rolled out wireless service in Santa Barbara. Cox, which has a cable monopoly in the city, announced earlier this year that it planned to bundle in mobile phone services with its Internet, telephone and cable services for an all-in-one bundle. It is buying airtime from Sprint at wholesale prices to resell Read More →
Venoco’s Ellwood pipeline approved
Venoco said Sept. 12 that it has received final approval to build an 8.5-mile pipeline to transport crude oil from its South Ellwood field, off the coast of Goleta, to the shore. “After almost three years in the permitting process, we are very pleased to announce we are ready to begin construction of this pipeline, Read More →
UCSB snags $20M grant
UC Santa Barbara’s materials researchers have received a $20 million grant to carry on their studies until at least 2017. The money came from the National Science Foundation. UCSB houses one of the foundation’s Materials Research Science and Engineering Centers and has received support since 1992. “Competition for these flagship centers is fierce,” Craig Hawker, Read More →
Puzder: CKE won’t leave before 2015
Andy Puzder, CEO of Carl’s Jr. parent CKE Restaurants, has for the first time publicly put a hard date on the fast-food firm’s possible move to Texas.
Hold that thought: Thousand Oaks entrepreneur Turpel pens book
Pete Turpel opens “Holding Power,” his recently released book, with a story about how he did something all of us think about doing — sometimes more than once a day. He threw away his smart phone. In fairness to smart phones, it was a BlackBerry, a less cool and perhaps more intrusive device than the Read More →
Calavo Growers’ Q3 profits bruised
Food marketer Calavo Growers saw earnings slide 54.4 percent to $2.7 million, or 18 cents per diluted share, despite higher revenues in the third quarter, it said Sept. 7. Its profits were constrained by high fruit costs in its fresh foods segment and a smaller supply of fresh avocadoes, it said, although sales jumped 44 Read More →
