Los Angeles Business Journal back issues from October 2000:
Fare and Foul.(Los Angeles aims to improve taxi services)
Oct 02, 2000; ... L.A. AIMS TO IMPROVE SPOTTY TAXI SERVICE WITH NEW FRANCHISE CONTRACTS EVER try to catch a cab in L.A.? It can be infuriating, and even more so since local transit workers went out on strike. Sometimes it takes taxis forever to respond to a pickup call, And in some ...
Restaurateur Won't Rest Until San Pedro Shines.(John Papdakis, chairman of the Los Angeles Harbor-Watts Economic Development Corp.)
Oct 02, 2000; ... John Papadakis may not be larger than life, but the former USC linebacker is larger than most people. And his vision for the waterfront along San Pedro is quite a bit larger than L.A. port officials want to accommodate. Where there are now tank farms and warehouses along the ...
Law Promises Relief From Housing Crisis.(allowing neighboring cities to pool redevelopment money earmarked for the creation of affordable housing)
Oct 02, 2000; ... One of the biggest obstacles to L.A.'s continued economic expansion -- a lack of affordable housing -- could be on the brink of being at least partially overcome. A new law allowing neighboring cities to pool redevelopment money earmarked for the creation of affordable housing ...
Minority Firms Struggle to Secure Funding.(Brief Article)
Oct 02, 2000; ... The future economic wellbeing of Los Angeles County hinges on the success of the growing number of minority-owned businesses located here. Yet a new study shows that minority-owned businesses are still finding it extremely hard to get access to capital, hampering their growth and ...
Animated Anchors.(V-Star's product allows web-based news through animated characters)(Brief Article)
Oct 02, 2000; ... WHY NOT GET YOUR NEWS FROM A CARTOON? WEB FIRM MAKES IT POSSIBLE SOME people think TV newscasters already act like animated talking heads, but one local company is taking that comparison literally. V-Star Inc. has developed a fast and easy way for animated characters ...
Fast-Growing Amp Firm Is Hitting Web.(Line 6 Inc.)(Company Profile)
Oct 02, 2000; ... Line 6 Inc. has already revolutionized the guitar amplifier industry. Now it's hoping do the same with the way online music is created. With the help of venture firm Redpoint Ventures, the Thousand Oaks-based digital amplifier company is developing ways to allow musicians to ...
Royal Pampering.(Georgette Klinger Inc., Beverly Hills)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
Oct 02, 2000 ... Anyone for a $35,000 day at the spa? Georgette Klinger, Beverly Hills will make its salon available for a private session to just one couple for this princely sum during the holiday season. "It is for the couple who really does have everything," said Suzan Gross, ...
Ready to Rumble.(California passes bill capping state tax on boxing matches)(Brief Article)
Oct 02, 2000 ... It may be several months down the road, but big-time boxing will return to Staples Center. Gov. Gray Davis has signed a bill that sets a $100,000 cap on the state tax that promoters must pay for boxing matches. Until now, the tax had been 5 percent of gate receipts, which forced ...
Big Oil Meets Its Match.(BP Amoco says it's unlikely that it will build refinery in California)(Brief Article)
Oct 02, 2000 ... California's reputation for being unfriendly to big oil has spread far and wide. That was evident when BP Amoco plc Group Chief Executive Sir John Browne paid his first visit to Los Angeles since BP Amoco bought L.A.-based Atlantic Richfield Co. Browne was in town to award $10 ...
Where the Real Shoppers Shop.(Fashion Square at Sherman Oaks )(Brief Article)
Oct 02, 2000 ... For years, Fashion Square at Sherman Oaks has been branded second class because it's one of the few malls around without a megaplex. Now the mall is fighting back with an image campaign that not only defends its movie-less experience, but celebrates it. With 100 ...
New Lease Means Health Net Isn't Leaving Valley After All.(Brief Article)
Oct 02, 2000; ... Following a yearlong search that threatened to remove one of the area's largest employers and taxpayers from Los Angeles, Health Net has settled on a new home in Warner Center. The HMO has inked a build-to-suit deal for about 288,000 square feet of office space at LNR Warner ...
Blue Line Agency Taps Subway Builder for Contract.(team led by Kiewit Pacific Co.)(Brief Article)
Oct 02, 2000; ... When San Gabriel Valley-area lawmakers met back in the mid-1990s to push for construction of a light rail line from downtown L.A. to Pasadena, they were so frustrated by the delays and controversy surrounding the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's subway project that they decided to ...
Prop. 35 Pits Civil Engineering Firms Against Union.(California state workers and engineers union)(Brief Article)
Oct 02, 2000; ... Here we go again. Civil engineering companies -- in L.A. and throughout the state -- and the union for state engineers are squaring off over Proposition 35, a measure on the Nov. 7 ballot that would make it easier for the state Department of Transportation to contract out ...
Singleton Papers React to Closure of Times Local Sections.(MediaNews Group changes local newspaper coverage in the Los Angeles area)(Brief Article)
Oct 02, 2000; ... Fast on the heels of the Los Angeles Times' closing of 14 community-based outlets two weeks ago, Publisher Dean Singleton's Denver-based MediaNews Group has begun shutting down sections and shuffling personnel in an apparent adjustment to the new ground rules of local coverage in Los ...
New Business Magazine Finds Profits Early On.
Oct 02, 2000; ... It isn't often that a new magazine is in the black on the day it launches; an industry rule of thumb says it takes about five years, on average, before a new magazine turns a profit. Yet the publisher of E-Merging Business, a Los Angeles-based magazine offering Web resources and ...
It's Hip to Be Pregnant With New Fashions.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
Oct 02, 2000; ... It has been a long time coming, but pregnant women are finally getting a makeover. Chic maternity clothing is becoming big business in cities like Los Angeles, with a large number of new high-end boutiques for pregnant women popping up around town and a group of local designers ...
Good Times Don't Flow to North County.
Oct 02, 2000; ... When it comes to reaping the benefits of the booming L.A. economy, Antelope Valley is losing out to western San Bernardino County. The cities of Lancaster and Palmdale, which make up the economic hub of the Antelope Valley, have seen relatively little positive impact from the ...
Owners of Hot Sushi Joint on Major Expansion Drive.
Oct 02, 2000; ... The owners of Sushi Roku, the popular sushi eatery with West Hollywood and Santa Monica locations, have leased two of the trendiest locations on the Sunset Strip and a third in Pasadena as they embark on a major expansion drive. "When you're hot, you're hot," said restaurant ...
Transformation of Terminal Annex Building Progresses.
Oct 02, 2000; ... Infomart, the Dallas-based company that purchased the historical Terminal Annex building adjacent to downtown's Union Station, is beginning to flesh out its plans for assembling a "technology community" on the site. As envisioned, the project would combine technological ...
Sports Site Hitting Home Run on Web.
Oct 02, 2000; ... Business-to-consumer models in e-commerce are generally considered passe, but that's not stopping financiers from pouring money into a local dot-com that promises to revolutionize community sporting leagues. StreetZebra.com offers information about league play and other ...
Holiday 'Grinch' Film Gets Fall Promotion.
Oct 02, 2000; ... Summer might be barely a memory, but that's not stopping Universal Studios Inc. from running a series of television and billboard promotions for its upcoming "The Grinch Who Stole Christmas" feature film. If that seems a little premature, consider the tie-in: The summer Olympic ...
CitySearch Now Has Guide for Its Own Hometown.
Oct 02, 2000; ... AFTER years of building a network of online guides to cities across the globe, Ticketmaster Online-CitySearch Inc. last week celebrated its five-year anniversary with the launch of an owned-and-operated online guide to Los Ange1es. The Pasadena-based company previously had a ...
Content Distribution Is Hot Topic at Media Gathering.
Oct 02, 2000; ... LAST week's Monday-through-Thursday Digital Hollywood confab at the Beverly Hilton Hotel covered the digital media universe from creation to distribution and consumption. Sponsors of the event read like a Who's Who of the computer industry, from AboveNet to Microsoft Corp. and ...
With Little to Lose, Lots of Government Sites Fall Short.
Oct 02, 2000; ... No bureaucrat ever got fired because his or her dot-corn division had a lackluster quarter. You won't see division managers at the Department of Labor sweating an IPO. And the friendly folks at the state revenue department have never spent 48 hours straight hammering out code to ...
Picknicking in High Style.
Oct 02, 2000; ... BROTHER-SISTER TEAM EVOLVES PRODUCT OFFERINGS FROM SIMPLE WICKER BASKETS TO INSULATED COOLERS ON WHEELS AND BACKPACKS IN 1992, Jill Brown noticed that visitors to the Hollywood Bowl who like to arrive early and spread out a blanket while waiting for the show were often missing ...
A FIRST PERSON ACCOUNT OF RUNNING A SMALL BUSINESS.
Oct 02, 2000 ... FURS are for those who want to live in the lap of luxury, whether or not they need to keep warm, which is precisely what's kept Woodland Hills Furriers in business for the past 34 years. Vatche Mekhjian began working for the shop's former owner when he was 18 and bought the store eight ...
Backlash Against Casual Friday Calls for Dressy Day.
Oct 02, 2000; ... HAS casual Friday gone too far? Absolutely, according to a newly formed association of menswear retailers, who kicked off a campaign on Sept. 28 to promote "Dress Up Thursdays" at big and small businesses. "When my firm went casual on Friday, you couldn't find a staff person ...
Devising Overall Strategy Helps Sales Reps Get Results.
Oct 02, 2000; ... TAKE a moment to quickly evaluate your sales staff. Do some people consistently bring in a high volume of good margin sales? Statistics show that 20 percent of salespeople make 80 percent of sales, so not everyone on your staff will be a superstar. However, you can create ...
L.A.'s Business Anchor.
Oct 02, 2000; ... Covering the West for CNN's 'Moneyline News Hour' came as a natural progression for Willow Bay after the network realized it's such a hot snot and her husband became president of Disney WILLOW Bay, co-anchor of CNN's "Moneyline News Hour," packed her bags this summer and moved ...
Newsmakers.
Oct 02, 2000 ... Accounting Michael E. Wilford has been named partner at King, King, Alleman & Jensen in Burbank. He specializes in tax, audit and quality control matters. Wilford was previously an associate. Advertising & P.R. Peter Bemis has been promoted to partner and ...
RESIDENTIAL REAL ESTATE BROKERAGES.(rankings for Los Angeles businesses)(Brief Article)
Oct 02, 2000 ... Ranked by sales EXECUTIVE SUMMARY JUST about all of the residential real estate brokerages on this year's list reported increases in sales volume for the 12 months ended June 30, with the average annual growth rate for all 25 brokerages being 10.9 percent. ...
Grocer's Profitability Does Little to Boost Share Price.(Smart and Final Inc.)(Brief Article)
Oct 02, 2000; ... SMART & Final Inc.'s bottom line is looking a lot smarter these days, but its stock price is still floundering. The warehouse grocery chain was toiling under a heavy debt load for some time, which led to an $8.7 million loss in 1998. But last year, Ross Roeder, the new chairman ...
Landmark L.A. Firm Looks Closely at Small-Cap Plays.(Wedbush Morgan Securities)(Brief Article)
Oct 02, 2000; ... THE name Wedbush, as in Wedbush Morgan Securities, has been a part of the Los Angeles financial scene since 1925. But these days, the old finance house is taking a new look at small-cap securities. Geoffrey Bland, co-managing director of E-Capital Corp., which owns ...
Will the Net Bring Realtors' Big Commissions to End?(how online realtors operate)
Oct 02, 2000; ... REALTORS have had amazing success in keeping their commissions up. Whether you sell your house through a chain operation or an independent office, everyone in a given city will probably charge the same. Typically, you pay 6 percent. Now, however, the real estate business is ...
Disclosing Fund Deals Leaves Firms at Disadvantage.(mutual fund activity)(Brief Article)
Oct 02, 2000; ... IN the great debate over how much information mutual funds should disclose about the stocks they own, Firsthand Capital Management Inc. has been a model of openness. The $7.5 billion firm, which manages six funds of various high-tech flavors in San Jose, made a practice of ...
E-Toys Comes Up a Winner In Short-Sellng Competition.(Brief Article)
Oct 02, 2000; ... JEFFREY Newman, an executive with a mortgage security administration firm in Phoenix, won this column's second annual Short Sellers Don't Have Horns contest as his pick, eToys Inc., plunged 91 percent. A short sale is a bet that a stock will fall. A speculator borrows shares in ...
China Trade Pact Might Be Terrific News for the Dollar.(Brief Article)
Oct 02, 2000; ... THE Senate's passage of China's most favored nation status gives King Dollar another jewel in its crown. The China trade deal may support the dollar with favorable trade flows and, in the longer term, cement the dollar's status as the premier reserve currency. What ...
Saddam's Impact on Oil Prices Unclear.(Brief Article)
Oct 02, 2000; ... Here we are in a period of energy turmoil and who has to poke his head up, looking to make trouble? Iraq's President Saddam Hussein, that's who. Saddam is accusing Kuwait of poaching Iraqi oil; The Kuwaitis are responding by denying that they are stealing oil and by accusing ...
Flynt Puts Beverly Hills Site Up for Sale for $60 Million.(Flynt Publications)(Brief Article)
Oct 02, 2000; ... PUBLISHING giant Larry Flynt has put the landmark Flynt Publications building in Beverly Hills up for sale, for an asking price of $60 million. Known to many as the Great Western Bank building because the thrift formerly housed its headquarters there, the 225,000-square-foot ...
Old JPL Campuses Sold.(Jet Propulsion Laboratory)(Brief Article)
Oct 02, 2000; ... Three low-rise office campuses formerly occupied by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory have been sold by a long-established Pasadena family for $24 million to an investor group, Pasadena Business Park LLC. The properties contain 280,000 square feet of building space and will be ...
Turnaround Story.(Hines Interests renovates office building)(Brief Article)
Oct 02, 2000; ... Hines Interests' renovation of 10100 Santa Monica Blvd. in Century City is nearly complete. Two years after starting a $4 million redo to strengthen the building's design and identity, it is now 97 percent full. Leases totaling 150,000 square feet have been signed since January, ...
L.A. Mall Deal.(Burnham Pacific Properties buys shopping centers)(Brief Article)
Oct 02, 2000; ... A. Carlsbad company has agreed to buy three grocery-anchored shopping centers in L.A. County from Burnham Pacific Properties Inc., part of a liquidation plan approved by San Diego-based Burnham Pacific's board last month. GMS Realty LLC has signed an agreement to buy 19 ...
Global Crossing Sells Unit.(Brief Article)
Oct 02, 2000 ... Exodus Communications Inc. agreed to buy Global Crossing Ltd.'s GlobalCenter unit for $6.53 billion in stock, strengthening its position as the world's biggest operator of companies' Web sites. Global Crossing, which has executive offices in Beverly Hills, will take a ...
Malone Ups Stake in News Corp.(Brief Article)
Oct 02, 2000 ... John Malone, chairman of Liberty Media Corp., has agreed to double his 18 percent stake of nonvoting stock in News Corp. He is also expected to become a member of the News Corp. board of directors. As part of a complex deal, Malone will trade his stake in Gemstar-TV Guide ...
Studios Address Violence Issue.(Brief Article)
Oct 02, 2000 ... Admitting to competitive zeal in marketing violent movies to children, eight Hollywood executives offered varying acts of contrition to a U.S. Senate committee but were divided over whether to end the practice. Four executives provided a firm commitment to stop such marketing. ...
Utility Seeking Help.(Brief Article)
Oct 02, 2000 ... Southern California Edison said it will ask regulators to allow it to recoup its wholesale costs of electricity -- an unpaid bill of $2 billion and growing -- from customers. California's electricity crisis is running up a huge tab for the state's big investor-owned utilities ...
Garment Industry Targeted.(self-monitoring not working)(Brief Article)
Oct 02, 2000 ... Self-monitoring by garment manufacturers -- once touted by the Department of Labor as a low-cost way to clean up the industry -- has done little to reduce wage and hour violations, especially in Los Angeles, according to recent state and federal investigations. Only one-third of ...
Capitol to Stay in Hollywood.(Brief Article)
Oct 02, 2000 ... The Community Redevelopment Agency board has agreed to invest $4 million in a development deal that will keep Capitol Records in Hollywood. CRA officials said the agreement the board sent to the City Council for final action will result in Capitol Records spending more than $21 ...
Hospital Operator Probed.(Catholic Healthcare West)(Brief Article)
Oct 02, 2000 ... California Atty. Gen. Bill Lockyer has opened an investigation into whether the nonprofit hospital chain Catholic Healthcare West may have violated state laws governing charities and anti-competitive behavior. The probe of California's largest hospital operator could signal a ...
Feds Want 'Cornfield' Review.(in Chinatown, California)(Brief Article)
Oct 02, 2000 ... Federal officials have ordered a full environmental review of the proposed "Cornfield" industrial park adjacent to Chinatown, a significant setback for Mayor Richard Riordan and his allies who have tried to win speedy approval of the project. Responding to protests and lawsuits ...
American Express Targets L.A.'s Korean Community.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
Oct 02, 2000; ... In an effort to serve a largely untapped market, American Express Financial Advisors recently opened a large branch office in the middle of Los Angeles to go after the Asian-American, and especially Korean-American, community. The 36-member staff is largely made up of Korean ...
Thin Resources Complicate Crackdown on Bandit Cabs.(in Los Angeles, California)(Brief Article)
Oct 02, 2000; ... With the MTA strike proving to be a field day for bandit taxis in L.A., officials are calling for stepped-up enforcement of what they call the city's meager effort to get control of the problem. Officials estimate that there are as many as 2,000 bandit taxis roaming the streets ...
Old Pasadena Survivors.(businesses in Old Pasadena, California)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
Oct 02, 2000; ... With enduring appeal, a handful of longtime businesses remain amid the new chain stores and restaurants WHILE the Thursday night crowd at Freddie's 35er bar in thriving Old Pasadena isn't nearly as large as the one at the Cheesecake Factory just down Colorado Boulevard, it's ...
What Makes a House?(exhibition of architects in California)(Brief Article)
Oct 02, 2000 ... The UCLA Hammer Museum unveils "The Un-Private House," an exhibition examining the private house as it is reflected in the contemporary work of 26 internationally known ...
THE ROVING EYE.(Puppy Park dog litter box service)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
Oct 02, 2000; ... Los Angeles apartment and condo dwellers with dogs could be in for a little relief with a service called Puppy Park. The service, the brainchild of local documentary filmmaker Loy Norrix, consists of a plastic box filled with real sod to be placed on the balcony. The idea is ...
Gagging on the Aftertaste of Australia.(eating kangaroo and crocodile meat)(Brief Article)
Oct 02, 2000; ... I did not waltz with Matilda. I ate her. I admit it. I ate kangaroo. And I feel terrible. I need to get this off my chest -- er, stomach. I ate kangaroo. I dipped it in sauce, bit and swallowed. I ate kangaroo. At the time, I thought no more of it than a ...
Paying the Price For Wasting Power.(gas, oil and electricity in California)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
Oct 02, 2000 ... THE free market is often a better regulator than the government, as our current energy crisis is making all too clear. The soaring prices of oil and electricity have jolted Americans, who had become somewhat complacent during these many years of prosperity. While government can ...
Watch Much Sports on TV?
Oct 02, 2000 ... It seems people just aren't as interested in watching sports on TV as they used to be. NBC is struggling with low ratings on the Olympic Games and, although the Fox Network last week offered $2.5 billion for the rights to air post-season Major League Baseball games through 2006, ratings ...
Present Shock.
Oct 02, 2000; ... The Tofflers Are Alive and Well, And They Don't Like What They See THE visionaries of the recent past are largely forgotten in the world that they predicted and, to some extent, helped create. Daniel Bell's classic 1973 masterpiece, "The Coming of Post Industrial Society," ...
Racial Segregation Still a Problem in L.A.(Brief Article)
Oct 02, 2000; ... FOR the past couple of years, Los Angeles city officials have loudly boasted that L.A. is a world-class showpiece of inter-ethnic harmony. They cite the near-record-low jobless rate among blacks and Latinos, the surge in the number of minority-owned businesses, increased ...
ECONOWATCH L.A. COUNTY.
Oct 02, 2000; ... [TABLE HAS ...
THE LABJ STOCK INDEX.
Oct 02, 2000 ... [TABLE HAS ...
INTEREST RATES & INCOME LOANS.
Oct 02, 2000 ... [TABLE HAS ...
Garment Industry Mired in Conflict.(Department of Labor report)
Oct 09, 2000; ... FEDERAL survey results released a few weeks ago, finding that rampant labor law violations persist in L.A.'s garment district, have touched off a flurry of finger-pointing over who's to blame and what should be done. The U.S. Department of Labor report determined that only one ...
Workers' Comp Crisis Deepening in L.A.: Fremont Averts Insolvency.(Mid Ocean Reinsurance Company Ltd. invests in Fremont General Corp.)(Brief Article)
Oct 09, 2000; ... Santa Monica-based insurance carrier Fremont General Corp., teetering dangerously close to insolvency and a state takeover, has signed a critical reinsurance deal that will allow it to keep operating, at least for a while. The deal, finalized Sept. 29 and still subject to state ...