A long fall from the top of the bubble
In the heyday of the housing boom, Bob Fowler and Ron Hertel cut a wide swath across the West Coast. By Fowler’s own account, their flagship company, R.W. Hertel & Sons, built some 1,100 homes in and around the tri-county region. They were active as far north as Oregon and as far south as Woodland Read More →
Anchor Blue, in Chapter 11, could close Santa Barbara store
Anchor Blue Retail Group, a 177-store casual wear retailer that filed for bankruptcy protection under Chapter 11 in May, may close one of its five tri-county locations as it attempts to restructure out of bankruptcy. The store at 820 State St. in Santa Barbara is on the tentative closure list. Brian Johnson of Radius Group Read More →
A first-hand look at future of automakers
Listen to the CNBC gang talk about the collapse of the automotive industry and you just might believe we have witnessed a catastrophe equal to the dinosaur extinction. But to Jamey Power, whose family pioneered the idea that customer satisfaction could be a driver for auto sales, the bankruptcies of General Motors and Chrysler signal Read More →
In this fight the winner, by split decision, is plaintiffs
CallWave’s attempt to take itself private caused a brief flare-up in Santa Barbara County Superior Court that likely will result in a payday for some out-of-town attorneys. The former Santa Barbara company hit the markets with a $40 million initial public offering in 2004. But its flagship products — most notably, a service to let Read More →
Forever 21
Forever 21, a trendy Los Angeles-based clothing store, has run into trouble in its bid to take over a Gottschalks location in Santa Maria vacated by that company’s bankruptcy. Officials behind the company that owns Santa Maria’s Town Center have objected to Forever 21 because they say the property’s lease agreements say that the former Read More →
Camarillo firm outfoxes Sean Hannity
Fox News commentator Sean Hannity has picked a fight with the wrong guy. He’s gotten under the skin of Matt Kolb, the president of National Coatings Corp., a small, successful roofing materials company based in Camarillo. Kolb, to put it mildly, is steamed about Hannity’s inopportune wisecracks about white roof coatings. National Coatings Corp. is Read More →
With Cisco
The recession has sped up the U.S. economy’s ongoing shift from forging iron to moving electrons and ones and zeros. That will become clear June 8, when the Dow Jones Industrial Average kicks out General Motors and replaces it with Internet backbone giant Cisco. Dow Jones announced the move — along with the replacement of Read More →
