Los Angeles Business Journal back issues from July 2003:
Recall ushers in summer of political turmoil.(Gray Davis recall election)
Jul 07, 2003; ... With a measure to recall Gov. Gray Davis now virtually certain to make the ballot either this November or next March, the stage is set for one of the most bruising campaigns ever in the state of California. The unprecedented recall election will present a bewildering array of ...
Is the pricing right?(for Vivendi Universal S.A.'s entertainment properties )
Jul 07, 2003; ... Bidders for Vivendi Universal assets face a blockbuster of a valuation task ASK dealmaker Roy Salter how the handful of media companies bidding for Vivendi Universal S.A.'s entertainment properties have made their valuations and he'll tell you it's a lot of hard work. ...
LAX overhaul plans will be scaled back.( Los Angeles International Airport )
Jul 07, 2003; ... The proposed $9 billion overhaul of Los Angeles International Airport is being scaled back, with plans for a 1.5-mile underground baggage tunnel to be reduced or eliminated due to its $1 billion price tag, according to several sources who have seen parts of the plan. In ...
Direct route to the East by importers worries area ports.
Jul 07, 2003; ... Shippers who have used the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach as the gateway for nearly all imports from Asia are increasingly turning to East Coast ports as an alternative -- a development that potentially has serious economic consequences. The change, often requiring the use ...
For investor at center of Strouds probe, it's water off his back. (Up Front).(Walter Cruttenden III)
Jul 07, 2003; ... Walter Cruttenden III, the Newport Beach financier whose transactions with bankrupt Strouds Acquisition Corp. are being probed by the linen retailer's unsecured creditors, isn't the type of guy who gets obsessed with such complications. With more than $5 million riding on the ...
Satellite orders tumble earthward at Boeing's division in El Segundo. (Up Front).(Boeing Satellite Systems)
Jul 07, 2003; ... Boeing Co. responded to booming satellite demand by purchasing the El Segundo-based satellite division of Hughes Electronics Corp. in the fall of 1999 for $3.8 billion. At the time, Boeing officials predicted a 10 percent to 15 percent growth rate over the next three years, ...
Setting a place for 500: Beverly Hilton's booming banquet business lifts hotel's value. (Up Front).
Jul 07, 2003; ... It's the kind of publicity most hotel caterers can only dream about. Each January, as the Hollywood Foreign Press Association hands out its Golden Globes at the Beverly Hilton Hotel's International Ballroom, an audience of 80 million viewers can goggle at table after table of ...
Review & preview.(local briefs)
Jul 07, 2003 ... JUNE 27 - JULY 3 Cable Deal: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. has agreed to sell its 20 percent stake in three cable channels to Cablevision Systems Corp. for $500 million, raising cash that may help finance a bid for Vivendi Universal SA's U.S. media assets. The channels are American ...
Pier pressure. (L.A. Stories).(Venice Pier name may be changed)(Brief Article)
Jul 07, 2003; ... Seems name-changing is all the rage these days in the City of Los Angeles. Last month, the L.A. City Council created a firestorm by considering renaming Crenshaw Boulevard in South L.A. Tom Bradley Boulevard after the former mayor. That proposal was sent back to committee. Then ...
Easy breathing. (L.A. Stories).(Advanced Inhalation Revolutions Inc. develops aromatherapy machine to help smokers quit the habit)(Brief Article)
Jul 07, 2003; ... Take a deep breath. That may not be the advice of most products that purport to help smokers kick the habit, but Venice-based Advanced Inhalation Revolutions Inc. has its own ideas. The company is marketing an aromatherapy machine that manufacturers claim will ...
Merry marriage. (L.A. Stories).
Jul 07, 2003; ... William Shakespeare changed theater and "I Love Lucy" did the same for television. Shakespeare Festival/LA says the similarities don't end there. The group is drawing on the antics of Lucile Ball and Jackie Gleason to show the connections between the bard and the dawn of ...
Foliage for thought. (L.A. Stories).
Jul 07, 2003; ... For nearly 30 years, Hula Futterman has been leading amateur botanists, herbal medicine enthusiasts and health food extremists on hikes through the Santa Monica Mountains to learn how to identify, collect and prepare local wild edible foods. Futterman, a community college ...
Shear entertainment. (The Roving Eye).(advertisements shown at hair salons)(Brief Article)
Jul 07, 2003; ... WITH TV monitors looping canned promotions in elevators and supermarket checkout lines, it was only a matter of time before the hair salon was targeted. Ava DuVernay, founder of the DuVernay Agency public relations firm and originator of the Urban Beauty Collective, aims to ...
U.S. takes action against alleged apparel smugglers. (Up Front).
Jul 07, 2003; ... In what could be the biggest apparel smuggling ring in over a decade, three local businesses have been cited by the U.S. Attorney's office as having participated in a scheme to get $418 million worth of goods past customs. In a complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Los ...
Corrections.(Correction Notice)
Jul 07, 2003 ... In the June 30 story, "Office Out, Hotel in as Sunset Millennium Plans Alter," the name of the hotel firm buying two properties in the project was misidentified. It is Wolff Urban Management. In the June 30 "Who's Who in Real Estate," the Urban Partners Gold ...
Kaiser and Health Net team up to share risk and lower rates.
Jul 07, 2003; ... Two of the state's largest health maintenance organizations have launched an unusual joint health plan they claim will lower premiums while offering employees choice amid an environment of soaring health costs. Normally competitors, Kaiser Permanente and Health Net Inc. have ...
Accounting spat a new twist to partisan budget battle. (Politics).(Brief Article)
Jul 07, 2003; ... IT sounds deceptively simple: a budget cut is supposed to be a reduction in spending from current levels. And with the current state budget $38 billion in the hole, billions of dollars in cuts must be made. So when Democrats in Sacramento say there are $11 billion in proposed ...
Union ties? (Up Front).(workers' compensation)(Brief Article)
Jul 07, 2003 ... The L.A. County Grand Jury report on the impact of workers' compensation costs on public agencies could expand the issue beyond the purview of business and Republican interests. With public agencies spending so much on workers' comp, there is less in the till for raises and ...
Damn those artifacts. (Up Front).
Jul 07, 2003 ... The most uncomfortable moment at President Bush's fund-raising stop at the Century Plaza Hotel came courtesy of late-night comedian Dennis Miller. In his warm-up, Miller -- a Democrat turned Republican - started out on predictable ground (pot shots at Gray Davis, Howard Dean, ...
Common cause exits. (Up Front).(Brief Article)
Jul 07, 2003 ... When California Common Cause reopened it's L.A. office last year after a fiveyear hiatus, expectations were high that the government watchdog group would finally close the loopholes that critics have said allow lobbyists to have undue influence at City Hall. But the City Council ...
Brooks Brothers gambles with Beverly Hills flagship location.(new store on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills )
Jul 07, 2003; ... Brooks Brothers' new West Coast flagship on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills marks the beginning of a new strategy for the venerable retailer, which is trying to expand outside its traditional locations. Since its founding 185 years ago, Brooks Brothers has purposely concentrated ...
Italian pottery retailer files for bankruptcy, closes Vegas location.(Cottura Inc.)
Jul 07, 2003; ... High overhead, sagging sales and the devaluation of the dollar against the euro have forced Cottura Inc., a high-end retailer of Italian pottery, to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The company's owners, who shuttered a store in Las Vegas on May 31, are still deciding ...
UCLA flubs test of patient care in new state survey. (Health Care).(Brief Article)
Jul 07, 2003; ... UCLA Medical Center may be one of the top hospitals in the country, but when it comes to bedside manner it apparently has some room for improvement. The hospital was rated "below average" in the largest-ever survey of patient satisfaction in the state. The survey asked nearly ...
Rainy day fund. (Health Care).(Medi-Cal providers)(Brief Article)
Jul 07, 2003; ... In the last California budget standoff in 1997, providers of Medi-Cal services were cut off from state funding until it was resolved. But thanks to legislation passed in 1998, nursing homes, hospitals, doctors and others have access to a $2 billion pot of money set aside just ...
Quality pays. (Health Care).(PacifiCare Health Systems Inc.)(Brief Article)
Jul 07, 2003; ... PacifiCare Health Systems Inc. has announced its first payments to physicians under a seminal program intended to improve medical care. Last year, Cypress-based PacifiCare and other major insurers, including Blue Cross of California and Health Net Inc., agreed to pay the ...
Court to decide whether hospital firing was retaliation. (Up Front).
Jul 07, 2003; ... The administrator of a 49-bed hospital in Gardena may soon go to trial against his former employer, alleging he was fired for shedding light on various industry violations at the facility. Ron Kupferstein, who was administrator of Community Hospital of Gardena from July 1997 to ...
Early effects of budget impasse to be felt most in public sector.
Jul 07, 2003; ... When it comes to California's economy, the sky is not falling -- not yet anyway. Despite Sacramento's inability to pass a budget for the 2003-04 fiscal year and a looming $38 billion deficit that has sharply lowered ratings on California bonds, the short-term effect on the ...
It's fairly simple: state must either spend less or tax more.
Jul 07, 2003; ... CALIFORNIA is the scariest place in the U.S. municipal bond market. For 2003-2004, the state is looking at a $38 billion budget shortfall -- a gap bigger than the budgets of all other states except New York. The state's lawmakers are deadlocked over what to do about it. ...
Pac Bell dials wrong number in pre-paid calling card case. (Law).(Brief Article)
Jul 07, 2003; ... HERE'S a phone call one local business chose not to accept. A now-defunct provider of pre-paid calling card machines at Los Angeles International Airport won $4.6 million in damages last month in a lawsuit against Pacific Bell Telephone Co., now SBC Communications Inc. ...
Bar matters. (Law).(Brief Article)
Jul 07, 2003; ... Robin Meadow, a partner at Greines Martin Stein & Richland LLP, said Los Angeles Superior Court's budget crisis will be the top issue facing him as the new president of the County Bar Association. Meadow, whose one-year term began July 1, said he will be making more calls and ...
Maguire IPO. (Law).(Brief Article)
Jul 07, 2003; ... Maguire Properties Inc., the largest owner of Class A office space in Los Angeles, brought in several local law firms to handle its initial public offering, which raised about $700 million on June 25. Latham & Watkins LLP, the lead firm on the IPO, assigned a team lead ...
Gump jump. (Law).(Brief Article)
Jul 07, 2003; ... Another labor and employment partner at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP will leave the firm to join Winston & Strawn. Paul Coady will join Winston & Strawn's 45-attorney office, including three existing labor and employment ...
Fox cleared in 'Goosebumps' beef.(Brief Article)
Jul 07, 2003; ... Harry Potter's magic can't make Scholastic Corp.'s legal problems disappear. Scholastic, the New York publisher of the Potter books, lost a June 18 ruling in a Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit against Fox Entertainment Group Inc. The suit involves the children's ...
Fat Rock looks back in bid to put kids in empty seats. (Media & Technology).
Jul 07, 2003; ... DAVID Pritchard is out to change the way children's entertainment is marketed. But to realize his vision of the future, Pritchard, onetime head of "The Simpsons" animator Film Roman Inc., is taking a page from the past. Beginning early next year, Pritchard's Santa Monica ...
Cal Tech scientist seeks market to grow wireless sensor system. (Media & Technology).
Jul 07, 2003; ... Kevin Delin thinks there's a market for puffing plants onto the Internet. The project manager at the California Institute of Technology's Jet Propulsion Laboratory has developed a wireless sensor system that monitors all kinds of conditions - from too much water to too little ...
Focus on Hispanics: the two founders behind dot-com survivor Focus Multimedia believe they are well positioned to benefit form the fast-growing Spanish advertising marketplace.
Jul 07, 2003; ... WHEN Jose Villa graduated from Harvard in 1998, the W Internet revolution was in full swing and he and his old high school buddy, Luis Jimenez, wanted a piece of the action. But unlike many of their contemporaries, they're still around to talk about it. After several starts and ...
Puppet master happy to be pulling strings. (Weekly Briefing).(Rene Zendejas)
Jul 07, 2003; ... RENE Zendejas started making puppets when he was 10. He's 75 now and has no intention of quitting. The Central American native began as a child actor at age seven and, during his entertainment career, he has worked with stars from Joan Crawford to Jim Carrey. Zendejas' Rene and His Artists ...
Industrial nook becomes target for new residential buildings. (Spotlight on Marina Del Rey).
Jul 07, 2003; ... THERE'S a quiet stretch of Marina del Rey that until recently has resisted the area's ongoing transformation toward shopping centers and residential towers. The neighborhood, bordered by Lincoln and Washington boulevards and Redwood and Maxella avenues, contains small industrial ...
Center stage: peeved at the leadership vacuum in Sacramento, moderate GOP Assemblyman Keith Richman watches the budget impasse drag on. (People).(an outspoken moderate Republican in the California Legislature)
Jul 07, 2003; ... WITHIN hours of taking office in December 2000, State Assemblyman Keith Richman, R-Northridge, put forward a health reform bill that would have ensured coverage for the working pool: It failed, but Richman, a practicing physician, hasn't slowed down yet. One of the few outspoken moderate ...
Banking. (Newsmakers).(Brief Article)
Jul 07, 2003 ... Wescom Credit Union has named Yesceni Ramirez vice president of business and government affairs. She formerly was director of corporate and community relations with Univision Inc. Hawthorne Savings, a subsidiary of Hawthorne Financial Corp.; has appointed Larry Goswiller senior ...
Construction. (Newsmakers).(Kajima Construction Services)(Brief Article)
Jul 07, 2003 ... Albert L. Koch has been named chairman, interim president and chief executive of Champion Enterprises, a homebuilding company. Koch recently was interim chief financial officer of Kmart ...
Consulting. (Newsmakers).(M2 Inc.)(Benefit Advisors Network)(Brief Article)
Jul 07, 2003 ... M2 Inc., a placement firm for consultants and interim managers, has named Sondra Kiss vice president of business development for its Southern California office. Kiss will be responsible for technology and ...
Finance. (Newsmakers).(AlixPartners named Kelly L. Melle a senior associate to its Los Angeles office)(Brief Article)
Jul 07, 2003 ... AlixPartners, a financial advisory firm, has named Kelly L. Melle a senior associate ...
Health care. (Newsmakers).(HemaCare appointed Rose Marcario chief financial officer)(Brief Article)
Jul 07, 2003 ... HemaCare, which customizes blood management services for health care facilities, has appointed Rose Marcario chief ...
Human relations. (Newsmakers).(Brief Article)
Jul 07, 2003 ... Morgan Samuels, an executive search company, has promoted F. Michael Budd to ...
Ex-consultant carves niche marketing L.A.'s Airports. (People).(Mark Thorpe)(Los Angeles World Airports)(Brief Article)
Jul 07, 2003 ... MARK Thorpe likes the idea of juggling projects, so it's natural that his airport consulting experience led him to Los Angeles World Airports, the branch of city government that operates four separate airports. As new director of air service marketing, the 31-year-old Thorpe's ...
Insurance. (Newsmakers).(Mel Spinella named senior vice president and chief financial officer for 21st Century Insurance)(Brief Article)
Jul 07, 2003 ... Mel Spinella has been appointed senior vice president and chief financial officer for 21st Century Insurance. Prior to ...
Law. (Newsmakers).(Amanda Massucci named principal at Navigant Consulting, Los Angeles office)(Brief Article)
Jul 07, 2003 ... Amanda Massucci has joined the litigation and investigations practice of Navigant Consulting as a principal in the Los ...
Marketing. (Newsmakers).(Brief Article)
Jul 07, 2003 ... Leslie Poliak has been named senior vice president, director of marketing, West Coast for KSL Media Poliak previously was president of the company's San Francisco offices. FremantleMedia Licensing Worldwide has appointed David Luner as director of brand licensing, North America ....
Media. (Newsmakers).(Brief Article)
Jul 07, 2003 ... Deborah Morrison has been named senior vice president, finance for Twentieth Century Fox International. She will oversee worldwide financial analysis, budgeting, forecasting, accounting and business administration. Prior to joining Fox, Morrison was senior vice president of finance for ...
Non-profit. (Newsmakers).(Hugh O'Brian Youth Leadership)(Brief Article)
Jul 07, 2003 ... Hugh O'Brian Youth Leadership has named Christopher J. McCarty president and chief executive. McCarty will ...
Real estate. (Newsmakers).(Brief Article)
Jul 07, 2003 ... Alliance Residential has appointed Andrew Colquitt to the position of partner/managing director of development and acquisitions for the Southern California region. Prior to joining Alliance, Colquitt served as ...
Retail. (Newsmakers).(Brief Article)
Jul 07, 2003 ... Hot Kiss, a manufacturer of junior apparel, has appointed Felicia Breault vice president of sales. Prior to joining Hot Kiss, Breault was president of sales at XOXO. KIM3 International Furnishings has appointed Sue Scheimann as ...
Technology. (Newsmakers).(Teledyne Technologies Inc. names Dale A. Schnittjer as interim chief financial officer)(Brief Article)
Jul 07, 2003 ... Teledyne Technologies Inc. has appointed vice president and controller Dale A. Schnittjer as interim chief financial officer. Schnittjer replaces ...
Transportation. (Newsmakers).(Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority)(Brief Article)
Jul 07, 2003 ... John Doherty has been named interim chief executive of the Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority. Doherty previously was director of construction and ...
Largest cities in Los Angeles County: ranked by population.
Jul 07, 2003 ... EXECUTIVE SUMMARY THE PACESETTER CITY OF LOS ANGELES EVEN as L.A.-area cities face one of their toughest budget years ever, their populations continue to increase. Local governments face at least $1.2 billion in cuts from the yet-to- be-passed ...
Firm gives wrong directions on Wall Street, pays the price. (Corporate Focus).(First Consulting Group Inc.)
Jul 07, 2003; ... FIRST Consulting Group Inc. is an exercise in frustration for Wall Street. The Long Beach-based information technology consulting firm has slowly recovered from the tech bust by cutting costs and pursuing new growth opportunities. After two years of successive ...
The LABJ stock index.(Los Angeles-area stock prices)
Jul 07, 2003 ... TRACKING 200 SELECTED LOS ANGELES COUNTY-BASED COMPANIES MARKET DIARY Driven by sizable gains in overseas markets, all three major indexes were up. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1.5 percent, the S&P Index gained 1.9 percent, and the Nasdaq composite index ...
Econowatch L.A. County.(Los Angeles County economic statistics)
Jul 07, 2003 ... <Pre> ECONOWATCH L.A. COUNTY GENERAL INDICATORS % - from Latest Previous previous period periodperiod Employment (000's) (May) (1) ...
Facing restatements, eUniverse turns to venture group veteran. (Wall Street West).(Lawrence Moreau to chair audit committee)
Jul 07, 2003; ... WITH a stock that's been suspended from trading for weeks and a looming restatement, eUniverse Inc. turned to former LA. Venture Association President Lawrence Moreau to help sort out its finances. Late last month, the formerly high-flying Internet company brought in Moreau to ...
Timing, timing, timing. (Wall Street West).(Maguire Properties Inc. initial public offering)(Brief Article)
Jul 07, 2003; ... Whatever his shortcomings, Maguire Properties Inc. founder and co-chief executive Rob Maguire has good timing. His company, the owner of downtown Los Angeles trophy properties such as Library Tower and Gas Co. Tower, didn't exactly set the world on fire with its June 25 initial ...
Counterpunch. (Wall Street West).(Brief Article)
Jul 07, 2003; ... Pasadena-based Overture Services Inc. fought back against naysayers and archrival Google Inc. last week with the launch of a new contextual advertising product. The product, called Content Match, can place the company's paid search results on relevant content-based Web pages of ...
Driving convertibles. (Wall Street West).(Froley, Revy Investment Co. to manage two Nuveen Institutional Advisory convertible securities funds)(Brief Article)
Jul 07, 2003; ... Froley, Revy Investment Co., a Los Angeles manager of convertible securities, has been picked as a sub-advisor for two funds managed by Nuveen Institutional Advisory Corp. of Chicago. The two closed-end funds, Nuveen Preferred and Convertible Income Funds 1 and 2, invest ...
Anderson continues buying up properties on Westside. (Real Estate).(John Anderson)(Brief Article)
Jul 07, 2003; ... BILLIONAIRE investor John Anderson is making his way down Westwood Boulevard. Duesenberg Investment Co., of which Anderson and his wife Marion are principals, is in escrow to purchase the 31,000-square-foot retail property at the northeast corner of Pico and Westwood boulevards ...
Landlord once again. (Real Estate).(City of Los Angeles buys Marvin Braude San Fernando Valley Constituent Service Center in Van Nuys from developer Voit Development Co. )(Brief Article)
Jul 07, 2003; ... The low interest rate bug has bitten Los Angeles. The city purchased the recently completed Marvin Braude San Fernando Valley Constituent Service Center in Van Nuys from developer Voit Development Co. The purchase price for the property on Van Nuys Boulevard was $31.5 million, ...