2014 Amgen Tour set to cycle through four of region’s cities
By Staff Report / Tuesday, November 5th, 2013 / Central Coast, East Ventura County, South Coast, Tourism, Tri-County Economy / Comments Off on 2014 Amgen Tour set to cycle through four of region’s cities
The 2014 Amgen Tour of California, the largest cycling race in the U.S., will visit four cities in the Tri-Counties in May. The eight-day annual event will roll through Cambria, Pismo Beach and Santa Barbara before concluding at the finish line in Thousand Oaks.
Economists call on Santa Barbara County to embrace economic development
By Staff Report / Monday, November 4th, 2013 / Central Coast, Latest news, South Coast, Tri-County Economy / Comments Off on Economists call on Santa Barbara County to embrace economic development
Santa Barbara County needs to rethink the role of economic development if it is going to retain upper middle class and head of household jobs.
That was the theme of the Oct. 31 annual summit of the Santa Barbara Technology & Industry Association. Held on Halloween day at the Santa Ynez Valley Marriott hotel in Buellton, the event painted a scary economic future for the county.
Treasury nets $3.2M loss on TARP in region
By Marlize van Romburgh / Friday, November 1st, 2013 / Banking & Finance, Banking Industry, Top Stories, Tri-County Economy / Comments Off on Treasury nets $3.2M loss on TARP in region
As the last bank in the region exits the Troubled Asset Relief Program on the five-year anniversary of the federal aid program, the U.S. Treasury has recouped most of its investment in the Tri-Counties, taking a loss of $3.2 million on the $259.6 million it disbursed to area lenders.
By paying off $2.1 million in federal aid it received at the height of the financial crisis, Ojai Community Bank becomes the last of the region’s banks to exit TARP. All told, the U.S. Treasury received $256.4 million on the $259.6 million in aid it disbursed to nine banks in the Tri-Counties.
On a 40-year roll: P&G paper plants set to mark milestone in Oxnard
By Tom Bronzini / Friday, November 1st, 2013 / Features, Top Stories, Tri-County Economy, West Ventura County / Comments Off on On a 40-year roll: P&G paper plants set to mark milestone in Oxnard
Procter & Gamble will celebrate the 40th anniversary of its Family Care Plant in Oxnard this month, a remarkable milestone when viewed against the decline in manufacturing jobs in California and across the nation. The Oxnard plant makes Bounty paper towels and Charmin toilet tissue in huge quantities that supply California and parts of the western U.S.
Refinery rail project would ease crude oil supply concerns
By Patrick Kulp / Friday, November 1st, 2013 / Central Coast, Technology, Top Stories, Tri-County Economy / Comments Off on Refinery rail project would ease crude oil supply concerns
A Phillips 66 refinery on the Nipomo Mesa is hoping to supplement its dwindling inflow of California crude by extending a rail spur that will allow it to import oil from out of state.
The refinery — tucked away off of Highway 1 in South San Luis Obispo County — is a little-known yet critical part of the Golden State’s petroleum infrastructure. It processes the state’s heavy, sour crude into semi-refined products that flow through 200 miles of pipeline to Conoco’s 128,000-barrel-a-day facility in Rodeo in the Bay Area, where it is turned into gasoline.
Special comment: Ventura County’s energy landscape
By Henry Dubroff / Friday, October 25th, 2013 / East Ventura County, Latest news, Opinion, Tri-County Economy, West Ventura County / Comments Off on Special comment: Ventura County’s energy landscape
Ventura County has an diverse array of energy assets, but the rules are going to have to change if innovation is going to flourish in the region.
That was my takeaway after moderating two panels on the future of energy at the Ventura County Economic Development Association’s annual business outlook conference on Oct. 25.
Heritage buy sets stage to compete in big leagues
By Marlize van Romburgh / Friday, October 25th, 2013 / Banking & Finance, Banking Industry, Central Coast, East Ventura County, South Coast, Top Stories, Tri-County Economy, West Ventura County / Comments Off on Heritage buy sets stage to compete in big leagues
With its $56.4 million purchase of another Central Coast bank, Heritage Oaks Bancorp lays the foundation to build the region’s next big community banking franchise and emerges as the dominant player in the market.
Paso Robles-based Heritage Oaks said Oct. 21 that it is buying Mission Community Bank, based in San Luis Obispo, in a cash-and-stock deal expected to close in the first quarter of 2014. The combined bank would have $1.5 billion in assets, making it the largest bank based in the Tri-Counties.