Group boosts housing investment

The Religious Communities Investment Fund has increased its investment in the San Luis Obispo County Housing Trust Fund from $25,000 to $150,000, a housing fund spokesman said.

Religious Communities Investment Fund is an Oakland-based collaboration of Catholic religious congregations.

Its members pool their assets to promote economic justice through investments that benefit low-income communities worldwide, a group spokesman said.

The group's investment in the Housing Trust Fund is a loan with a 3 percent interest rate and a five-year term.

Loan proceeds will be used to provide financing for affordable housing projects in San Luis Obispo County.

The investment is the seventh the Housing Trust Fund has received from religious communities and its 13th overall.

Other investors include Mission Community Bank, Rabobank and Catholic Healthcare West.

For more information, visit www.slochtf.org or www.rcif.org.

Cal Poly No. 2 for aerospace workers

Aviation Week & Space Technology recently named Cal Poly second in the nation for industry workforce recruiting in the aerospace and defense fields.

The publication is the largest multimedia information and services provider to the global aviation, aerospace and defense industries.

Cal Poly tied for the No. 2 ranking with Purdue and Penn State, while Virginia Tech ranked first.

According to Aviation Week's study, the ranking was based on lists of the top five schools from industry organizations.

First Bank thanks designated drivers

More than 75 designated drivers received complimentary tasting certificates and First Bank thermal travel mugs during the Santa Barbara County Vintners Association's Celebration of Harvest held Oct. 10 at Rancho Sisquoc Winery in the Santa Maria Valley.

First Bank employees provided the certificates, good for future visits to the winery, and mugs to the designated drivers, who also received discounted tickets to the celebration from the Santa Barbara County Vintners Association.

On hand from First Bank were Keri Canady, assistant vice president and branch manager in Solvang; Ricardo Garcia and Maria Harshbarger of First Bank's Santa Maria branch; and Terry Munz of First Bank Mortgage.

First Bank is one of the largest privately owned banks in the country with more than $10.3 billion in assets and more than 209 locations in California, Missouri, Illinois, Texas and Florida.