Updated at 12:05 p.m. April 24: When a Plains All American pipeline broke, spilling 142,000 gallons near Refugio Beach two years ago, few would have foreseen the unintended consequence that played out in a Delaware bankruptcy court on April 17. Venoco, a capable operator and the largest corporate taxpayer in Santa Barbara County, announced it Read More →
The Central Coast will be remembering the late Mike Towbes for a long time. By creating a trust to ensure local ownership of Montecito Bank & Trust, the Princeton-educated engineer created a vehicle for community philanthropy that will stretch on for future decades. The people around him, family members, his widow Anne Smith Towbes, Montecito Read More →
As Goleta, Santa Maria and other municipalities contemplate district elections for city council — with dire predictions about anti-business bias among candidates — James Fenkner has a better idea. Fenkner, a self-described “radical centrist,” has launched a talent search for candidates in the upcoming Santa Barbara city elections. He is hoping that through informal networking Read More →
At a time when hand wringing over the high cost of housing has become more of a political cop out than a panacea, a new study underscores the benefits of infill development. Next 10, a group that relies on interdisciplinary research from UC Berkeley’s law, environmental and business experts, has cited infill housing for many Read More →
In fits and starts, the inevitable widening of Highway 101 from Carpinteria to Santa Barbara is proceeding at a steady pace. The latest sign of progress on the project is the Santa Barbara County Association of Governments’ approval for building HOV lanes in the Linden Avenue to Casitas Pass Road portion of the project. It Read More →
Amid the turmoil of November’s election results, it was easy to overlook passage of the Measure O sales tax increase for the city of Ventura. The Business Times took some heat for endorsing Measure O, which clearly struck a chord with voters who rejected a countywide transportation tax measure. A transportation tax initiative in San Read More →
A bill making its way through the General Assembly holds out the promise of bringing a four-year degree to an area of the Tri-Counties often described as the state’s biggest “academic desert.” State Assemblywoman Jacqui Irwin, a Democrat from Thousand Oaks, has introduced AB 405, a measure that would create a pilot program for a Read More →