Tri-county real estate market might not rebound until late 2010
Economist Kirk Lesh had no good news for attendees of the UCSB Economic Forecast Project lecture on Jan. 15. In fact, most of the UCSB-EFP findings proved worse than attendees had anticipated. Lesh said during the presentation that the real estate market will be flat until at least the second or third quarter of 2010 Read More →
Lehman Brothers decision will haunt Bush
Consider, if you will, the following sequence of events. On Sept. 15, Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy after the Treasury Department decided it was not too big to fail. On Sept. 17, with more than $600 billion in Lehman’s assets now practically worthless, a money market fund called the Reserve Fund faced insolvency as it Read More →
Women rise to lead roles in a male-dominated wine industry
Trivia question: How many of the Tri-Counties’ 25 largest wineries are headed by women winemakers? Answer: Two. Of all wine consumed in the United States, 57 percent is purchased by women, according to Adams Wine Handbook; but a scan of wineries across the Tri-Counties revealed that few women actually hold dominant positions within those wineries. Read More →
Nipomo nonprofit buys 29 acres of
After about 10 years of planning, negotiating and fundraising, members of a Nipomo nonprofit group were finally able to close escrow on 29 acres of land they’ve had their eye on for almost half a century. The Dana Adobe Nipomo Amigos purchased the parcel for $1.2 million in an effort to preserve what Dana President Read More →
Wood & Bender merges with niche firm from the Big Apple
The “merge urge” has struck the Ventura County legal scene again. Wood & Bender, a 14-attorney firm based in Ventura, has merged with New York-based Anderson Kill & Olick, a 79-attorney firm. The Jan. 1 deal gives Northeast-based Anderson Kill, a former competitor to Wood & Bender, a California presence. The new California firm is Read More →
Mental Health Association builds hope, homes in Santa Barbara
Just in time for the holidays, the Mental Health Association in Santa Barbara opened a new 113,000-square-foot living facility for people with mental disabilities. Through the persistence and generosity of numerous community members and organizations, MHA’s “Building Hope” program opened its doors in early December, offering what MHA Executive Director Annmarie Cameron calls “a comprehensive Read More →
Business Times wins award, adds new special reports
Pacific Coast Business Times is heading into 2009 with special recognition, new editorial projects and preview of what lies ahead as we enter our 10th year of publication. First, the recognition. It was pretty stunning to receive an e-mail shortly before New Year’s announcing that I would be joining legendary entrepreneur Paul Orfalea, Clipper Windpower Read More →
