Our view: Trump’s delay in picking ag secretary taking toll
Secretary of Agriculture has become the only cabinet position without a nominee from Donald Trump. At press time, literally hours before Inauguration Day, there was no signal from the incoming president about who a nominee might be. Though some believe the front-runner is former Lt. Gov. Abel Maldonado of Santa Maria, the administration has been Read More →
Sonos visionary hears call to mentor successor
In his typically understated way, Sonos founder John MacFarlane has quietly stepped away from his role as chief executive of the Santa Barbara-based audio company. MacFarlane, who has built one of the largest enterprises in the tech sector on the Central Coast, took to the Sonos blog on Jan. 10 to post the fact that Read More →
Legislators should help manufacturing rebound
While the South Coast is reveling in its waterfront makeover, tri-county tourism is getting stronger and economists are heralding a boom in craft spirits, the manufacturing core of the region is looking more and more hollowed-out. Large sections of Simi Valley and west Ventura County and North Santa Barbara County are losing head-of-household jobs. San Read More →
Kurland stepping down but influence continues
PennyMac Financial’s Stanford Kurland has a habit of working in mysterious ways. A veteran of Countrywide Financial, he joined that company in the late 1970s and rose through the ranks to become its president, leaving without fanfare in 2006 — just as the excesses in the mortgage market were beginning to become apparent. In 2009, Read More →
No more delays in widening Highway 101
There they go again. The no-growth crowd is crowing about a newly-released environmental impact report that shows a handful of intersections on Highway 101 will experience slowdowns after the highway is widened between Carpinteria and Montecito. But to anybody who’s been following the buzzing of political gadflies around the estimated $428 million project, the complaints Read More →
PG&E pact will mitigate Diablo Canyon closure
San Luis Obispo County got an early Christmas present of sorts on Nov. 28. That’s when PG&E agreed to set up a $75 million fund plus an estimated $50 million to $70 million in additional payments to mitigate the impact of the closing of the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant by 2025. The agreement includes funds Read More →
New vision needed for Ventura County
You might call it the Ventura County conundrum. By many measures, Ventura County has recovered nicely from the recession with relatively low unemployment at 5.3 percent, steady job growth and a nascent boom in the travel and leisure sector. But a deeper dive shows some disturbing trends. Jobs have not recovered to their pre-recession peak, Read More →
