Weak job growth, high cost of living spell trouble in Ventura County
By Tony Biasotti In May, the Ventura County Civic Alliance will release its 2017 State of the Region report. As in past editions of the report, the state of the county’s economy is a large part of the overall state of the region. The state of the economy is decidedly mixed. Ventura County is what Read More →
Our view: Two Trees preservation wonderful for Ventura
Concerned citizens, community advocates and one of Ventura County’s emerging power couples has made an impressive effort to preserve the city of Ventura’s iconic “Two Trees” hilltop gathering place. On Earth Day, Rich and Bonnie Atmore led a volunteer effort to plant a new eucalyptus tree to begin the process of replacing one of the Read More →
Our view: Shuttered oil pipelines too much for Venoco
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 →
Don’t throw all trade agreements out with TTIP
By Jamshid Damooei Our recent presidential election brought about a rare accord between the progressive and the populist fronts in rejecting the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership. I have no problem with the rejection of a trade agreement that focuses primarily on the interests of transnational corporations, international financial centers, agribusiness and giant chemical companies Read More →
Our view: Gillespie good choice for VCCCD chancellor
The Ventura County Community College District has taken a big step forward with the hiring of Greg Gillespie as its permanent chancellor. Gillespie, president of Ventura College since 2013, knows the area and its politics, he has a proven track record and he’s extremely familiar with workforce needs in critical industries such as agribusiness, technology Read More →
Our view: Mike Towbes’ legacy will live on
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 →
Our view: Common sense key trait for city council candidates
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 →
