SHIRLEY KIMBERLIN Everything I list turns to SOLD! 805-886-0228 skimberlin@aol.com
This week’s listings on the back page
lynda.com receives $186 million investment
One of Carpinteria’s largest employers, lynda.com, recently announced a $186 million investment into the company led by TPG, a global private investment firm with $65 billion in assets under management. The financing will be used to accelerate acquisitions, growth and new content initiatives, according to a press release. An online learning company, lynda.com provides content covering business, creative and technical skills through video tutorials taught by experts in the fields and accessed on a subscription basis. With this investment, the company plans to increase its library of more than 5,700 courses and 255,000 video tutorials (inclusive of English, French, German and Spanish content). Customers of lynda.com include half of the Fortune 50 companies, 30 percent of U.S. colleges and universities and many government entities. With the investment, David Trujillo of TPG will join the board, which also includes co-founders Lynda Weinman and Bruce Heavin. “This investment is a tremendous vote of confidence in lynda.com’s ability to empower more people everywhere to learn the skills they need to succeed,” said Eric Robison, CEO. “We are thrilled also to have David Trujillo join our board and look forward to drawing on his operational expertise to build on the success of lynda.com and to help grow the company.” ––CVN Report
Rincon Classic arrives this weekend
Organizers for the 2015 Rincon Classic recently decided that optimal swell and weather conditions would line up nicely this weekend and pulled the trigger on the long-running annual surf contest at Rincon Point. The competition, which has local surfers vying for prize packages and trophies, begins on Friday, Jan. 23 at noon and continues all day Saturday and Sunday, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Divisions include mens, womens, professionals, longboarders, gremlins and legends. The awards ceremony will take place Sunday at 6:30 p.m. at the Santa Barbara Maritime Museum, 113 Harbor Way. This year, a free shuttle will transport attendees to the contest from overflow parking at Channel Islands Surfboards, 1160 Mark Road, in Carpinteria. To find out more, visit rinconclassic.com.
Up and at ’em
DUBOCk
Beach walkers greeted a glorious sunrise on Jan. 17 with their feet in the waters of the high tide. Salutations to sunny mornings will soon begin before 7 a.m. as daylight hours expand ever-so-slightly each day. Regular Coastal View News photographer Glenn dubock was focused on the sandy silhouettes at Carpinteria State Beach proving that the early bird truly gets the worm.
Second Franklin Trail phase set to open soon By LeA Boyd
In county offices and on chaparral-covered hillsides, work is underway to open the rest of Franklin Trail. The gate to phase two is expected to swing open in the next 90 days, giving hikers, bikers and horseback riders access to another 3-plus miles of wide trail leading to the edge of the Los Padres Forest, 1,750 feet above Carpinteria. Then, in 2016, completion of the project’s final phase is anticipated. The trail will realign with the historic Franklin Trail in the last phase and reach a crest 7.34 miles from the trailhead at a 3,704-foot elevation. “Thrilled” is how Jane Murray, co-chair of Friends of Franklin Trail, described the way she feels about the imminent opening of the second phase. “It has been a community effort and I am happy to say I see light at the end of the tunnel.” Murray and Bud Girard formed Friends of Franklin Trail four years ago and managed to clear more bureaucratic red tape, fundraising and construction hurdles
TRAIL continued on page 14
SUBMITTeD PHOTO
From left, Bea and edie Abbott and Agatha and Gwendolyn McTigue enjoy the view from the Frank Louda memorial bench near the top of Franklin Trail’s first phase. A similar bench will be accessible to the public another mile-plus up the trail when phase two opens this spring.