Health care: The small business view
Dear President Obama: You recently sent out an e-mail asking small business owners to comment on health care reform. So, here is what I think. When I started the Pacific Coast Business Times 10 years ago, I made a commitment to paying fair wages and providing quality health care for all full-time employees. I have Read More →
Commercial vacancies on rise, but still below U.S. average
In its latest quarter report, Hayes Commercial Group said the overall vacancy rate now exceeds 5 percent in South County. That number stacks up favorably when compared to national rates, but is up 25 percent since the beginning of the year. The report showed that the number of lease transactions is up on an annualized Read More →
Radio Square developer faces foreclosure on Yanonali property
The company facing foreclosure on Radio Square in Santa Barbara is now battling litigation on a second project in the city. Laguna Hills-based DBN Development allegedly failed to repay a $5.5 million loan for the Yanonali Street property it purchased in 2006. The project’s lender, San Francisco-based United Commercial Bank, filed a lawsuit in Read More →
The region
When University of California, Santa Barbara, Chancellor Henry Yang spoke at a UCSB economic forecast event in April, his remarks underscored how deeply embedded the university is in the business community. “Our faculty, staff, students and alumni have all been a fundamental part of the development of the Central Coast’s high-tech economy,” he said, adding Read More →
Real estate market may be slow, but press releases keep rolling in
If my inbox is any indication, the real estate market could be bouncing back much sooner than any of us have predicted. I’ve been inundated with deals in recent weeks, so for this column I figured I should just open the floodgates. Deals of the Week • Best Interest Financial & Insurance Services just leased Read More →
Towbes thrives in tough times
Michael Towbes likes to keep busy. In the face of the worst recession he can remember, Towbes, one of the region’s most successful builders and bank owners, will not be slowing down anytime soon. The best evidence for that is a wall full of plans in the Towbes Group conference room in downtown Santa Barbara. Read More →
Banking: New rules for a new game
More than a decade ago, a pair of expansion-minded competitors, Mid-State Bank & Trust and Pacific Capital Bancorp, parent of Santa Barbara Bank & Trust, rewrote the rules for the banking game. • Simpler structures will be the name of the game. Bank of America is selling off First Republic, a longtime player in South Read More →
