Biz Buzz

Dec. 4-10

By ANDREA ESTRADA

South Coast Beacon

Pro Sports & Entertainment Inc., an owner and operator of live entertainment events headquartered in Santa Barbara with offices in Los Angeles, has acquired ownership of the Verizon Milrose Games, one of the premiere indoor track and field invitationals in the United States. The 2004 games, slated for Feb. 6 at Madison Square Garden, will mark the event’s 97th anniversary. Previously televised on the ESPN and NBC networks, the Milrose Games is not only the nation’s oldest invitational track meet and the Garden’s longest running sporting event, but it highlights the USA Track & Field’s annual Golden Spike Tour.

A signature event in New York City since 1908, the Milrose Games has produced 87 indoor records with 117 Milrose winners also becoming Olympic champions. Recent participants include 2000 Olympic gold medalists Maurice Greene, Jon Drummond, Nich Hysong, Stacy Dragila and Chandra Sturrup. Among the other notable athletes are Jesse Owens, Mary Decker-Slaney, Renaldo Nehemiah, Carl Lewis and Jackie Joyner-Kersee.

Lynn Hamilton of the Montecito-based educational consulting firm Hamilton & Associates recently attended the 59th National Conference of the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) in Long Beach. She attended several comprehensive seminars, including “Have We Looked at Life from Both Sides Now,” presented by a panel featuring Laura Davidson Ross, a former student of Hamilton’s and now the admissions officer at Columbia University.

Montecito Bank & Trust has reported third quarter net income before taxes of $3,043,000 and $9,895,000 for the first nine months of 2003. The figures for the same period last year were $2,886,000 and $8,234,000, respectively.

Montecito Bank & Trust received approval from the Internal Revenue Service to convert to an S corporation from a C corporation, effective Jan. 1, 2003. To more fairly compare financial results between 2003 and 2002, quarterly and year-to-date income is reported on a before-tax basis.

On September 30, total assets were $541.9 million, up from $506.2 million the prior year.