Central Coast unemployment dips back below 5% in February
In an effort to catch up on previous reports, the California Employment Development Department has released unemployment numbers for February. Announced April 17, the unemployment rate for the Central Coast saw a shift in February, dropping from a 5.03% unemployment rate in January to a 4.8% in the most rate in the most recent report. Read More →
Elder fraud can have dire health consequences for victims
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Glimmer Wish strikes a deal on Shark Tank
A young startup from Santa Barbara County captured the eyes of millions when it appeared on ABC’s Shark Tank and managed to swim away with a deal. Glimmer Wish, a beauty products company founded by Sydney Myers, the 16-year-old daughter of Inogen co-founder Byron Myers, appeared on Season 17, episode 16 of Shark Tank, which Read More →
Comeback trail: Report analyzes 2025 capital raises on Central Coast
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Founders share secrets to launching successful companies
Santa Barbara is known for several things, but it’s not seen as a startup hub like its neighbors to the south, Los Angeles, or the north, San Francisco. But Dan Engel, the founder of FastSpring, a software e-service platform, sees Santa Barbara’s quietness as a positive, not a negative. When he founded FastSpring in 2005, Read More →
Ventura County to pay $3 million to settle sexual harassment suit against former CEO
Ventura County will pay $3 million to a former employee who sued her boss, then-county CEO Mike Powers, for alleged sexual and racial harassment and discrimination from 2019 to 2021. A notice of a conditional settlement of the lawsuit between the county and the plaintiff was filed in Ventura County Superior Court Feb. 24. But Read More →
Top women 2026: Melinda Cabrera
Nonprofit veteran passionate about youth development Melinda Cabrera says her brand-new job as CEO of the United Boys & Girls Clubs of Santa Barbara County is going great. “There’s a lot to learn, but I’m excited to jump in and really understand the organization, understand the needs of our families and just really devote myself Read More →
