Our view: Oil price crash cause for celebration on Earth Day
As we approach the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia and Russian President Vladimir Putin have done what 50 years of protests could not accomplish. Their ill-timed decision to launch a price war has made it more economical to leave oil in the ground than to drill for it anywhere Read More →
Tri-county stocks mixed as market falls
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Garufis: Bankers want to fund small business loans
By Janet Garufis Last week, Henry Dubroff stepped out of his usual pundit role to share his impression of the Paycheck Protection Program rollout. I echo his sentiments and agree that it has been “a nightmare for many small business owners.” It has also been a challenging experience for many of your local bankers. I Read More →
Tri-county tourism, hospitality hurting but region suited for recovery
Keeping the economy closed has saved lives, but it has hurt and will continue to hurt tri-county residents in the pocketbook. A webinar put on by UC Santa Barbara on April 16 probed the different ways the community’s businesses were hurting and panelists talked about solutions to help ease the pain. “I think we can Read More →
More questions than answers as PPP runs out of loan funds
Questions remain as the Small Business Administration ran out of funding for the Payroll Protection Program on April 16. The fund started with $349 billion, which was quickly loaned out to businesses across the nation — but not to everyone at the same time. Independent contractors and self-employed people were able to apply for the Read More →
COVID-19 pandemic crushes the tri-county wedding industry
Hundreds of weddings in the Tri-Counties have been canceled or postponed since governmental orders forbade people from gathering in groups to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The ban cratered the industry on the Central Coast, which saw weekends in half of March, all of April and now parts of May become untenable. “It’s devastating to Read More →
Tri-county airports get federal grants as ridership plummets
Several tri-county airports received federal funding through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act Airport Grant Program as they faced steep declines in ridership. Of the three largest airports, San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport received the most —$20 million. Santa Barbara Municipal Airport got $9.6 million, and Santa Maria Public Airport, which lost Read More →
