California suffering from internal injuries
Just as the 1990s ended with global problems looking smaller and smaller, the first decade of the 21st century is ending with mega-problems looming everywhere. These are big things that really demand more than Band-Aids and quick fixes. Here is a closer look at four of them: • California’s budget mess. All of the parties Read More →
Time to rethink area economic development
You know that the economy is in deep recession when movers and shakers in greater Santa Barbara start using those two dreaded words: “economic development.” Never a shrinking violet when it comes to politics, Carpinteria City Councilman Joe Armendariz has come close to touching the third rail of South Coast politics by calling for “resurrecting Read More →
More is less when buyouts occur
The sale of Mentor to Johnson & Johnson, announced earlier this month, punctuates the need for a bigger conversation about economic development in the Tri-Counties. That’s because we are increasingly losing our middle class of companies and relying more and more on risky startups for job growth. True, J&J — like Allergan, Citrix, Teledyne, Raytheon Read More →
Joint ventures pay off for nonprofit sector
Let’s cut right to the chase. There are too many nonprofits in the Tri-Counties. In the best-case scenario, honest, well-meaning nonprofits are simply a little too narrowly conceived and they are a little too overhead-heavy. In the worst-case scenario, they are little fiefdoms for agenda-driven donors that simply duplicate the work of lower-cost providers. One Read More →
Budget troubles spur pessimism
Amid all the talk about bailouts and megabucks deals for automakers, there’s been precious little talk about the small-business owners who create most of America’s jobs. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is to be congratulated for convening a small business summit that presented a host of suggestions for improving access to bidding on state projects and for Read More →
A special editor's note on the Miramar project
Julia Louis Dreyfus, aka Elaine from the Seinfeld show, is about to take her long-running protest act before the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors. Dreyfus and a few neighbors have become the hecklers in the audience at one of the most interesting dramas to unfold on the South Coast in recent years. That is Read More →
Put transportation atop tri-county priority list
Government leaders across the Tri-Counties should be prepared to take President-elect Barack Obama up on his offer to spend federal dollars to fast track transportation improvements. From the eastern edge of Ventura County to Paso Robles, the Highway 101 corridor is in serious need of upgrades. Chief among these is the stretch between Santa Barbara Read More →
