How small cities can avert disaster
The budget tsunami that’s hit California in the wake of the May 19 vote will take its heaviest toll on smaller cities. Without big industries such as technology or entertainment to cushion the blow, smaller communities will face increased taxes and a money grab by the state to fill budget coffers. In the Central Valley Read More →
A fix for fairgrounds
Ventura County Fairgrounds folks have pushed back hard against Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s plan to sell off the fairgrounds to the highest bidder. But attention focused on this prized piece of real estate does raise a multi-million dollar question: What is the future of one of the most valuable pieces of oceanfront property in the Pacific Read More →
Amgen Tour
If sports marketing is an endurance race, the decision by AEG Worldwide to move the Amgen Tour of California bicycle race from February to May will pay off over the long haul. In the short term, there’s going to be some whining up and down the Central Coast because moving the race will have an Read More →
Businesses thank firefighters
We’ll join with the Santa Barbara Region Chamber of Commerce, the Downtown Organization, the Conference & Visitors’ Bureau and the Metropolitan Transit District with a hearty “thank you” to the more than 4,000 firefighters who saved the city. The heroes of the Jesusita Fire are being honored with a celebration on May 26 from 4 Read More →
SLO Chamber takes labor bill fight to D.C.
In early June, a small delegation from the San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce will head to Washington, D.C., on a mission of great importance to businesses across our region. Chamber President Dave Garth and several area business leaders will speak to a number of representatives, notably Sen. Dianne Feinstein, about the Employee Free Choice Read More →
UCSB gets last word on oil seeps
Scientists at the University of California, Santa Barbara, have documented something we’ve suspected for years. Those nasty seeps off the Channel coast are worse polluters than the Exxon Valdez — by a factor of 10 or more. Preliminary research from UCSB and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution has determined that the oil seeps have leaked Read More →
Give us a ballot that will really save the budget
The May 19 election offers California voters a couple of bad options in a terrible time. On one hand, we can follow the lead of several chambers of commerce and other organizations and vote for ballot measures 1A to 1F. That may or may not mean the end of the state’s budget crisis and buy Read More →
