State Of Labor On Central Coast

It's always good to start the New Year with a firm grasp of last year's economic facts for the state of California.

Unemployment and Labor statistics, for example. How bad or how good is the jobless rate? What's the change since last year? The US Bureau of Labor provides a handy reference in their website. The data is fresh from their October, 2008 tabulations.

Here's the info for the Central Coast. To make easier for you, I've set the following three links:

Santa Barbara-Santa Maria, San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles and Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura.

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The 100 Mile Per Gallon California Car

The American auto industry may be in the throes of its reinvention, over the next painful transition years. But here's my bit to help us all through it.

Look on the bright side--there's an entrepreneurial, start-up car company that makes today what Detroit may not manage ever to do.

Build the 100 mpg car! It is the Aptera and is priced in the mid-$20,000 range; it's a winner.

One of Detroit's Big three could buy this company and make the car for the national market.

On second thought, Aptera would be better to stay away from the old mindset of Detroit. This is a complete reinvention of the automobile, from top to bottom, complete with a new company culture.

The inventors are headquartered in Vista, California and produce the composite body parts in Carlsbad, California. What fun and only from the west coast!

(I don't drive one of these yet, but would not turn down the opportunity to represent the manufacturer if asked.)

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2009: Newest Bank Bailout News

Happy New Year's Day! And an even happier new year for some bankers on the central coast.

Curious to know which central coast banks are getting federal "bailout" money? Here's a list, courtesy ProPublica.org:

>> Santa Lucia Bancorp, Atascadero: $4 million.
>> Pacific Capital Bank Santa Barbara, operating First Bank of San Luis Obispo: $188 million.
>> Community West Bancshares, Goleta: $15.6 million.
>> California Oaks State Bank, Thousand Oaks: $3.3 million.
>> Mission Community Bancorp, San Luis Obispo: $5.1 million.

Source material also from: US Department of the Treasury; Bloomberg; Dow Jones; and the companies.

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