Dubroff: COVID-19 is changing the course of global travel
Memorial Day is the traditional kick off to the summer tourism season on the Central Coast. This year will be different. With airport schedules sharply curbed, cruise ships not sailing, entertainment venues shut and restaurants just figuring out what reopening will look like, the short-term looks pretty bleak. As months progress and things get sorted Read More →
Dubroff: Radical changes necessary to recover from pandemic
With no sign of a quick return to health for retail and tourism, universities going virtual and signs of reshoring for manufacturers, some of the contours for a post-pandemic economy are beginning to emerge. The numbers are striking — even before the full impact of Nordstrom and others closing stores takes effect. Before the pandemic, Read More →
Dubroff: COVID-19 kills Garman’s Pub in Santa Paula
For Santa Paula entrepreneur Clint Garman, the eponymous tavern he ran for more than a decade was never about the Guinness he poured or the happy hour specials he served. It was, he told me, “about bringing people of all cultures together under one roof. About bringing conversation back to the table.” With conversations muted Read More →
Dubroff: It’s Giving Tuesday, so donate to your favorite charity
May 5 being Giving Tuesday, my inbox has been filled with emails from worthy charities reaching out for funding. This year’s appeals take on additional urgency give the state of the economy, stock market volatility and what could be a decline in giving. Among the more recent items that caught my attention was a $5,000 Read More →
Dubroff: COVID-19 pandemic prompts chambers to merge
Merging the chambers of commerce for Santa Barbara and Goleta is a logical step but it took a global economic crisis to force the decision. In case you missed it, the Chamber of the Santa Barbara Region and the Goleta Chamber of Commerce announced April 24 that they will combine memberships, creating an organization with Read More →
Dubroff: A personal view of why COVID-19 testing matters
Reports that a resident of Santa Clara County died of COVID-19 in early February sent me scrambling back to the weekly diary I’ve been keeping about life at the Business Times for the past 20 years. My barely legible notes, plus a few emails, make it clear that sometime around the Martin Luther King Day Read More →
Dubroff: When it comes to the PPP, we’re not in it together
This does not feel like a team effort. I’m stepping out of my role as pundit this week and putting on my hat as a small business owner. And I am here to state that the rollout of the Paycheck Protection Program has been a nightmare for many small business owners. Every day I get Read More →
