SanLuisObispo.com: Business

Calif. fiscal experts see late August as deadline

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 16:46 PDT

By By JUDY LIN -- It was only weeks ago that lawmakers, finance officials and the governor were warning that California was headed over a financial cliff.

Without a balanced budget by June 30, they said the state was at risk of running out of money and its government would grind to a halt. Then the calendar changed, and nothing much changed: The sky didn't fall when the new fiscal year started July 1, even though California remained without a balanced budget.

The state's deficit has only grown since then, but the only thing that has come to a standstill are the negotiations over closing California's $26.3 billion deficit.

Biz Buzz: Meathead Movers to relocate, expand

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 21:45 PDT

Meathead Movers is making its own move to a new location and expanding its services in San Luis Obispo.

Demolition of the former 84 Lumber building is under way at 3600 S. Higuera St., said Aaron Steed, chief executive officer and president of Meathead Movers.

The company purchased the six-acre property and accompanying 17,500-square-foot building in April 2008 to open a mini-storage business.

Biz Buzz: Company adds fueling to mix of services at SLO airport

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 21:26 PDT

Despite a troubled economy, one local aviation company is setting its sights higher. Pigs Can Fly Aviation, which offers flight training, aircraft rental, charter and maintenance, will soon add aircraft fueling to its mix, making it a full-service fixed-base operator at the San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport.

Fixed-base operators are businesses at an airport that provide fuel, charters and other services. The San Luis Jet Center is currently the only fixed-base operator offering fuel service at the airport.

�I think anybody who is willing to spend money in a down economy will be more prepared when the economy turns around,�� said Patrick Mallon, co-owner of Pigs Can Fly Aviation. �When you wait until it turns around, maybe the opportunity will be lost.�

Barry VanderKelen: How two firms successfully merged

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 21:15 PDT

By Barry VanderKelen -- Two local nonprofits merged at the beginning of this month: Creative Mediation and Wilshire Health and Community Services.

I spoke with Jesse Sostrin, executive director of Creative Mediation, about the process that led to the merger. This case study provides a number of lessons for all nonprofits.

Creative Mediation provides dispute resolution and facilitation services. Its board and staff noticed shifts in its sources of funding. They began reaching out to new markets. One group that seemed to be underserved was seniors.

Biz Buzz: SLO high-tech company honored for part in laser-fusion research

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 21:35 PDT

Next Intent, a San Luis Obispo high-tech company best known for making some of the nuts and bolts in the wheels of the Mars land rover, was recently honored as one of 100 companies using outstanding technological innovation in progressive manufacturing.

The company got the attention from the Managing Automation Media because of its part in a laser-fusion research project by the U.S.

Department of Energy�s National Nuclear Security Administration, said Rodney Babcock, the company�s president. That program is based at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in the Bay Area.

Central Coast Tech: Learn some of Google’s tools

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 21:50 PDT

By Dan Logan -- Many of us know Google because it’s our favorite search engine, but the company is constantly releasing new software products and services that make your computer ever more useful as an organizational tool.

At this week’s meeting of the Cambria Computer Club Mac Users group, Jack Hennessy will offer a look at what all these Google services can do for you.

His talk is dubbed “Google and Mac,” but much of the information applies to Windows or Linux users as well. (You can get a sense of the Google toolkit at www.google.com/intl/en/options/. A question-and-answer session precedes Hennessy’s talk.

Biz Buzz: Idler’s to expand SLO, Paso stores

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 21:52 PDT

Longtime local retailer Idler’s BrandSource is expanding its San Luis Obispo and Paso Robles stores this summer.

Despite its recent downsizing of staff earlier this year, the Idler’s expansions are taking

place in building space it already owns, which keeps the projects manageable, merchandising manager Will Anderson said.

Biz Buzz: Judge orders $120,000 in legal fees to Guth�s defense frozen

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 21:04 PDT

San Luis Obispo Superior Court Judge Jac Crawford has ordered that $120,000 given to the defense of Estate Financial former President Karen Guth be frozen, along with her other personal assets, until the defense can prove the money did not come from ill-gotten gains or that it was used to benefit victims of alleged fraud.

The ruling is based on a California law that is intended to preserve funds to provide restitution to victims of fraud, said criminal defense expert and attorney Harold Mesick.

In effect, the ruling also limits Guth�s ability to pay her attorney, Steve Smith, who has worked for at least eight months in pretrial discovery and hearings on her behalf, and may leave her little recourse but to use a public defender instead, say attorneys familiar with the case.

Biz Buzz: Grover Beach flag makers celebrate 25 years of patriotism

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 07:40 PDT

American Flag and Gift of Grover Beach recently celebrated its 25th anniversary.

John and Bridgett Solley opened what began as a mail-order flag business in Redondo Beach in 1984 in preparation for the summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

The Solleys moved to the Central Coast in 1989 and continued to operate a mail-order business until 2002, when demand for flags after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks enabled them to open a retail location in Arroyo Grande for a time.

Biz Buzz: Suit seeks to force bankruptcy of Hurst Financial's Jay Miller

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 06:53 PDT

Three Hurst Financial creditors have filed a petition with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court to force company president Jay Hurst Miller into an involuntary Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

Miller, who ran the $100 million lending company in Atascadero until he surrendered his license under allegations of fraud last year, is facing at least 10 lawsuits and a criminal investigation into his business dealings.

The FBI most recently seized hundreds of thousands of dollars from the sale of Miller�s personal residence, alleging that he engaged in racketeering and money laundering.

Biz Buzz: Paso airport restaurant closes

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 22:08 PDT

Matthew�s At the Airport � an eatery once deemed the �Best Airport Restaurant� by the �$100 Hamburger� guide for pilots � has shut down its operations at the Paso Robles Municipal Airport.

The restaurant, on the ground floor of the airport terminal and owned by chef Matthew Riley, suffered from lack of business and owed at least six months in rent, airport manager Roger Oxborrow said. Some of that may have been because of the drop in private air travel at the airport, which was down by about 30 percent from last year, Oxborrow added. The city does not have a new vendor to fill Matthew�s space.

Riley could not be reached for comment. His main restaurant in downtown Paso Robles, Matthew�s on Spring, remains open for lunch Monday through Friday and dinner each night.

Central Coast Tech: Atascadero company breaks down its success

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 22:56 PDT

By Dan Logan -- I ’ve written about iFixIt before. The Atascadero-based company got its start tearing apart iPods and other Apple equipment and providing users with an inside look at the hardware.

Recently, the company introduced an online teardown creation application that enables anyone to easily develop and publish a teardown guide on his or her own favorite piece of hardware, complete with disassembly photos and technical details.

If the Web page at www.ifixit.com/Teardownis any indication, the software is producing terrific results, as everything from a banana to a Sky TV remote to a 13” Mac-Book Pro have been dissembled for the world to see and understand. Very cool.

Biz Buzz: Car-sharing service to rent eco-friendly rides around SLO

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 22:43 PDT

An alternative car rental-type business touting to tourists, government workers and locals who prefer to be �eco-friendly� will debut in San Luis Obispo in mid-July.

Fun Ride, an enterprise local businessman Mark Shaffer has brainstormed over the last several years, is a car-sharing service where users pay a membership fee to check out one of five alternative-energy fleet vehicles by the hour and mile.

Car-sharing has built followings in larger urban areas, such as with Bay Area businesses Zipcar and City CarShare, according to Shaffer, Fun Ride founder and chief executive officer.

SLO County economic profile for June 29

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 10:27 PDT

Biz Buzz: Paso nightspot to change hands, style

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 21:01 PDT

A deal is in the works to move one of downtown Paso Robles� nightclubs into new ownership, bringing with it a slightly different business model and plans for new decor.

The Old Custom House in Avila Beach and businessman Ted Keller of Paso Robles have picked up Level Four Restaurant & Lounge, a club and eatery accessible by elevator in the Acorn Building at 1216 Park St.

The transaction is also lead by Darren Smith, chief operating officer of Compass Health, which co-owns Old Custom House and the Downtown Brewing Co. locations in San Luis Obispo and Paso Robles.

Biz Buzz: Atascadero wine festival to have new evening hours

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 21:42 PDT

The Atascadero Lakeside Wine Festival is debuting new evening hours for Saturday to take advantage of the city�s warm, summer evenings.

From 4 to 8 p.m. more than 70 San Luis Obispo County wineries will showcase their wines.

Food vendors will share their culinary skills and suggest wine pairings based on the varietals available at the event.

Biz Buzz: Avila project is half finished

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 21:42 PDT

The Landing, a mixed-use development in downtown Avila Beach under construction since 2006, is expected to be partially complete in the next couple of weeks.

The development is comparable to the Court Street project in San Luis Obispo in which the buildings have been designed around a pedestrian walkway. The Landing�s walkway leads to the Avila Pier and the beach, said Greg Moore, the project�s general contractor.

Half of the project�s eight buildings are being finalized, and the rest of the units will be complete in the fall, Moore said. The 15 ground-level commercial units between San Francisco and San Miguel streets can be used as cafes, retail shops, offices and possibly wine-tasting rooms, said Tracy Ronca, one of the property owners.

Barry VanderKelen: New law applies to every nonprofit

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 21:26 PDT

By Barry VanderKelen -- Since the beginning of the year, California nonprofits have been subject to the Uniform Prudent Management of Institutional Funds Act.

Recently I heard two nonprofit leaders say that the act is helping them survive these tough economic times because, as one person said, �it makes it easier to spend out endowments.�

This is a dangerous attitude. And one that could entangle a nonprofit�s board of directors in donor relations, public relations and legal problems.

Biz Buzz: Hunger campaign yield is down

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 21:48 PDT

The Hunger Awareness Day held earlier this month raised $110,000 for the Food Bank Coalition of San Luis Obispo County, organizers said this week.

At that, it is about $10,000 below last year�s mark, but donations continue to come in, said Cathy Enns of the Food Bank.

Despite the lower total, Food Bank officials consider the mark strong, given the down economy. More people contributed in person and online than last year, Enns said.

Central Coast Tech: How businesses can use social networks

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 22:58 PDT

By Dan Logan -- Using social networks to advance one’s personal and business interests has been a hot topic at local technology-oriented gatherings so far in 2009.

At Wednesday’s meeting of Softec, the Central Coast Software and Technology Association, Justin Couto will offer his own take with a talk dubbed: “Tweet, Tweet, Tweet … Is there room for the social Web in your enterprise?”

Couto is the founder of Couto Solutions, a San Luis Obispo design development firm that specializes in creating custom social networks for businesses.