Kazali to golf and cook

The Ballard Inn’s Chef Budi Kazali will participate in the Celebrity Chef Classic in Ojai Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The event brings together five chefs from around the country to cook up a gourmet weekend for Ojai’s guests, even while pitting them against each other on the golf course.

The five participating chefs include Jamie West of the Ojai Valley Inn & Spa; Todd Gray of Equinox in Washington, D.C.; Ming Tsai from Blue Ginger in Massachusetts; Alan Wong from the Pineapple Room in Honolulu, and our own award-winning local chef, Kazali.

“I’ve been taking golf lessons for two weeks,” Kazali said. “I don’t want to hurt anyone; that’s my main priority.”

The event benefits Share Our Strength, which aims to conquer childhood hunger. strength.org

Pacific Capital posts 3Q loss

Pacific Capital Bancorp, a community bank holding company, announced financial results for the third quarter ended Sept. 30, posting a net loss of $47.5 million or $1.03 per share versus the same period last year. The company was a recipient of $180 million in TARP funds last fall.

For the third quarter of 2009, the company generated $1.0 million in pre-tax, pre-provision income, compared to a loss of $4.6 million in the same period the prior year. The company lost a total $411 million during the first nine months of the year.

The Santa Barbara Independent reported Nov. 5 that 22 percent of the company’s workforce has been laid off since March. Pacific Capital Bancorp is the parent company of Pacific Capital Bank, N.A., a nationally chartered bank that operates 46 branches under the local brand names of Santa Barbara Bank & Trust, First National Bank of Central California, South Valley National Bank, San Benito Bank and First Bank of San Luis Obispo.

 

Marshall named VP

Shannon Marshall has been appointed vice president and branch manager of the Lompoc and Vandenberg Village offices of Santa Barbara Bank & Trust.

Marshall has served in several capacities since joining the bank 11 years ago, most recently as assistant vice president and assistant branch manager of the Lompoc office.

She has served on the Youth Leadership Lompoc Valley board and the La Honda Elementary School PTA and volunteers for the United Way of Santa Barbara County, North County Rape Crisis Center and Cabrillo High School Senior Project.

Marshall also is currently a member of the Lompoc Valley Women in Chamber of Commerce and is a 2003 graduate of Leadership Lompoc Valley.

 

Harrington out of NASDAQ?

Harrington West Financial Group, the parent of Solvang-based Los Padres Bank, could be removed from the Nasdaq exchange if the firm doesn’t boost its stock price, said the company in a press release Nov. 2.

Harrington announced it received a NASDAQ “Staff Deficiency Letter” indicating that it was not in compliance with NASDAQ rules because the company’s Market Value of Publicly Held Securities had fallen below $5.0 million for 30 consecutive trading days.

Harrington West received a cease and desist order from federal regulators in October mandating the bank raise more capital. Harrington West agreed to raise its level of core capital to 4 percent and risk-based capital to 8 percent of assets by Nov. 6 with a further boost to 8 percent and 12 percent respectively by Dec. 31.

 

Lighthouse Chiropractic open

Lighthouse Chiropractic has been opened by Mary R. Kaltenbach, D.C. in downtown Solvang. The Solvang Chamber of Commerce will welcome the new business with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 9 a.m. Nov. 20. A grand opening event for the public will be held 3 to 5 p.m. Nov. 15. Call (805) 350-0578 to schedule an introductory session.

 

Leadership conference

Young conservatives from 12 states and 44 colleges and universities will gather near the Reagan Ranch for Young America’s Foundation’s West Coast Leadership Conference Nov. 13 and 14. The speakers include Mitt Romney, Congressman Joe Wilson, Victor Davis Hanson, Andrew Breitbart and Hannah Giles a student credited for “exposing ACORN’s corruption,” according to a conference press release.

 

Cirone re-elected chair

Bill Cirone, Santa Barbara County superintendent of schools, was re-elected chairperson of the national board of trustees of the Teachers Network.

Teachers Network is an almost 30-year-old national and international non-profit organization that supports teachers throughout their professional lives to keep teachers in the classroom, create better schools and improve student achievement.

Santa Barbara was the first county in the nation to become a Teachers Network site, starting as the Impact II program. teachersnetwork.org

 

Channel 3 sued

KEYT Channel 3 in Santa Barbara has been accused of committing a host of labor code violations in a lawsuit filed last week in Santa Barbara County Superior Court.

Two former employees of the television station allege the company committed several labor code violations, including failure to pay overtime.

The lawsuit seeks class-action status. The Daily Sound reports attorneys for the two plaintiffs, Carolyn Ann Diacos and Darren Andrew Penquite, said the suit could impact as many as 60 current and former employees at the station.

There are eight alleged violations, which range from failure to pay overtime wages and lack of meal periods and rest breaks, to a failure to provide accurate wage statements. Most importantly, the lawsuit accuses station managers of directing employees to misrepresent hours worked to reduce overtime costs.

The 27-page lawsuit calls the alleged violations “immoral, unethical, oppressive, fraudulent and unscrupulous.”

Bruce N. Anticouni, one of two lawyers working the case, said it could be several months before a judge can determine if the suit deserves class action status.

 

Stepanek makes donation

Cancer Center of Santa Barbara has announced a $500,000 gift for state-of-the-art equipment.  The donation was made by Montecito resident Elaine Stepanek. Stepanek and her late husband, Edward, have been generous supporters of the Cancer Center for many years.

In October 2009, and in recognition of the couple’s long-standing support, the Board of Trustees of the Cancer Center unanimously voted to name their Planned Giving Donor Club “The Elaine and Edward Stepanek Society.”

The Cancer Center of Santa Barbara is an independent, not-for-profit corporation, providing state-of-the-art cancer treatment.

 

Artists Guild holds show

Local artist and teacher Nadya Brown has been selected to be the juror for the Artists’ Guild December juried show at the Gallery Los Olivos, 2920 Grand Ave. Ingathering for the show is 11 a.m. to noon Dec. 2. All submissions must be properly framed and prepared for hanging.

Brown is well known in the local art area as a member of the faculty of Allan Hancock College since 1998. She received her original education in art in England at the Brighton Polytechnic and University of London. She followed up that training by getting her master’s degree in fine arts from Ohio University. Brown taught painting and print making on the East Coast as well as the Midwest  before coming to California.

 

Buellton bits …

Buellton will celebrate its last mixer for the year from 5 to 7 p.m. Nov. 18 at Classic Party Rentals, 55 Industrial Way in Buellton. Businesses are invited to attend and enjoy great food, wine and networking. If you would like to promote your business by donating a raffle prize, please contact the chamber at (805) 688-7829.

The Buellton Chamber of Commerce will install its new board of directors at a luncheon at noon, Dec. 9 at the Marriott. The luncheon is $25, which includes a buffet, holiday party favor and a change to win door prizes.

You can win a drawing for a Christmas Tree — already decorated and ready for the holidays. Tickets are $1 each or seven for $6. The drawing will be held Dec. 15, and all proceeds benefit the Buellton Senior Center. The trees will be on display between Nov. 16 and Dec. 14 at Rabobank and Santa Barbara Bank and Trust in Buellton and at Rabobank and Los Padres Bank in Solvang. The Valley Gardener will help you transport the decorated tree, if you win.

 

State finances for Oct.

State Controller John Chiang released Nov. 10 the October report covering California’s cash balance, receipts and disbursements. While year-to-date revenues remain below the amended 2009-10 budget’s estimates by $854 million, October receipts alone were up $285 million (7.1 percent).

“October’s receipts are a welcome break from a largely negative trend line for the last two years,” said Controller Chiang in his press release. “However, high unemployment, excessive borrowing, an ailing construction industry and legal challenges to the budget remain real threats to the State’s cash outlook.”

The state started the fiscal year with an $11.9 billion cash deficit in the General Fund, which grew to $23 billion Oct. 31. Those deficits are being covered with a combination of $14.2 billion of internal borrowing from special funds and $8.8 billion in short-term revenue anticipation notes.

With expenditures running $1.2 billion below projections and $1 billion in additional external borrowing, the state’s overall cash position on Oct. 31 was $1.2 billion ahead of projections.

Personal income tax revenues for the month were $10.5 million above estimates (0.4 percent), corporate taxes were up $248 million (151.3 percent), yet sales taxes came in $102 million lower than expected (-8.9 percent).

The October financial statement and the summary analysis can be found on the Controller’s Web site at sco.ca.gov.