Montecito Bank & Trust hands out nearly $1.2M in charitable grants
Montecito Bank & Trust upped the ante for the 2020 round of its corporate philanthropy, giving away $1.175 million at its 18th annual Community Dividends program on Nov. 23. The program was presented virtually on Zoom, and around 350 people participated from 194 organizations in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties. The program was the creation Read More →
Tri-county unemployment down to 6.8% in October
The unemployment rate dropped by a full percentage point or more in each of the region’s three counties between September and October, according to data released Nov. 20 by the California Unemployment Development Department. Ventura County’s unemployment rate in October was 7.1%, down from 8.3% the previous month. In Santa Barbara County, the rate was Read More →
Newsom issues COVID curfew for most of state
Gov. Gavin Newsom and the California Department of Public Health announced a limited “stay-at-home order” requiring all non-essential work, travel and gatherings to stop between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. for the vast majority of the state’s population. The curfew order applies to all counties in California that are in the most restrictive, or purple, Read More →
As COVID cases rise, region takes step back on road to re-opening
The entire tri-county region is going back into the most restrictive tier of California’s pandemic reopening system, as a rise in cases across the state forced Gov. Gavin Newsom to take emergency action. Under the state’s rules, all three counties would have re-entered the purple tier on Nov. 24, the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, if case Read More →
Ventura County voters say yes to cannabis in early returns
Preliminary election results looks like Ventura County has been given the green light for cannabis production.
Mission Bancorp reports growth in earnings, revenue, deposits
Mission Bancorp, which has business banking offices in Ventura and San Luis Obispo, set a new all-time record for net income when it announced its third quarter financial results. The bank reported a net income of $4.2 million, or $2.07 per basic common share, compared to the net income of $3.7 million, or $1.85 per Read More →
Santa Barbara County wine group abandons bid for BID
The Santa Barbara County Vintners Association has abandoned its two-year effort to establish the world’s first wine business improvement district, or BID, as an answer to its longstanding problem of lagging behind other wine regions in marketing spending. Vintners Association Executive Director Alison Laslett said in an Oct. 29 letter to members, co-signed by the Read More →
