Looking for the economy’s silver lining
With the economic forecast season about to get underway, two things are absolutely certain: 1. The experts are going to have strong opinions. 2. Most of the time they’re going to be wrong. So, with the knowledge that my amateur views are likely to be better than at least a few of the pros, let’s Read More →
Editorial: Clean-air rules can be a disruption
News that J.W. Bailey Construction Co. in Santa Barbara was closing its doors after 60 years came as a surprise. The company had a reputation for building high-quality buildings, often in the classic Santa Barbara style. But after years of suffering with the growth curbs that are the hallmark of doing business on the South Read More →
Editorial: Toward a unified West Ventura County chamber
Tom Kelley’s announced departure from the Camarillo Chamber of Commerce raises a prospect worth considering — the creation of a larger and more impactful business organization for West Ventura County. That’s why we’d encourage the boards of directors of the Oxnard, Ventura and Camarillo Chambers to consider creating a West Ventura County Chamber of Commerce. Read More →
Totaling up the hefty price tag of Mozilo
The lifetime ban against former Countrywide Financial Corp. CEO Angelo Mozilo serving as an officer or director of a public company may be the most positive result to come from his settlement of a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission complaint. But Mozilo’s company and his conduct created a decade-long road to economic ruin that reached Read More →
From the editor: Mozilo’s ban a true black mark
The lifetime ban against former Countrywide CEO Angelo Mozilo serving as an officer or director of a public company may be the most positive result to come from his settlement of a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission complaint. As reported over the weekend, the SEC settled with Mozilo and two top lieutenants in a case Read More →
Editorial: Ventura on right road to revive auto mall
Apart from a half-abandoned exurban subdivision, there’s no clearer physical symbol of the Great Recession than the American auto mall. Carmakers both foreign and domestic have shut dealerships from coast to coast, leaving acres of empty concrete. The effects in the Tri-Counties have been relatively mild, but there are still plenty of vacant auto mall Read More →
‘J.R.’ takes on Wall St., and charities win
A generation after “Dallas” disappeared from the small screen, Ojai actor Larry Hagman has staged a comeback as a media star. The man who played J.R. Ewing was the subject of global news coverage — including a flattering column in the Sunday New York Times — after he won a big settlement against Citigroup and Read More →
