Editorial: Give till it helps
The Business Times encourages tri-county businesses to follow the lead of Montecito Bank & Trust, which gives away $1 million in Community Dividends each fall.
Read More →Editorial: Economic development needs a regional touch
All of a sudden, economic development is the talk of the Tri-Counties. San Luis Obispo County is out with a blueprint for its economic future — the first such effort in decades. Santa Barbara County is talking — and so far it’s just talk — about becoming more business-friendly, at least as far as retaining Read More →
Read More →Editorial: Banks turning a big corner
Third quarter results on the banking front hint at a long-awaited turnaround in the region’s financial services industry. Pacific Capital Bancorp., the region’s largest banking institution, posted a profit for the month of September after getting a $500 million infusion from the Ford Financial group out of Texas. The bank has essentially got a new Read More →
Read More →Editorial: Keep Oxnard business-friendly
There’s a bit of a “reform” movement afoot in Oxnard, the region’s largest city. Mayor Tom Holden won re-election even in the face of a district attorney’s investigation of some city officials, but the City Council has undergone some big changes. We hope the newly elected council members, Tim Flynn and Carmen Ramirez, remember Oxnard’s Read More →
Read More →Editorial: Safe seats aren’t forever
Right now it’s hard to imagine the Central Coast represented in Congress by someone other than Elton Gallegly, R-Simi Valley, or Lois Capps, D-Santa Barbara. And it’s hard to imagine Assembly districts safer than the ones won by Democrat Das Williams or Republican Jeff Gorrell. But the day is coming when, thanks to redistricting, congressional Read More →
Read More →Editorial: Memo to Abel: Keep political options open
As we watched him speed across the state in search of votes for a long-shot bid for statewide office, Lt. Gov. Abel Maldonado’s passion for small business and the small-business owner left a big impression. Yes, in the crazy world that is California politics, the former Santa Maria city councilman finished short of the mark Read More →
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