Los Angeles Business Journal back issues from April 2004:
Spotlight casts deputy mayors in a harsh glare.
Apr 05, 2004; ... They're often young, they're almost always ambitious, they have limited government experience--and they're running the city of Los Angeles. They are deputy mayors and their role is to implement the mayor's will. Until recently, they operated largely out of the public ...
Problems at Testing firm exceed initial disclosures.(Diagnostic Products Corp., investigation)
Apr 05, 2004; ... The ban that the Food and Drug Administration placed on new product submittals from Diagnostic Products Corp. last month resulted from a far broader set of problems with clinical trials than the company has disclosed to date. After a months-long investigation, the FDA found a ...
Turning Red? Bush breaks down barriers in quest for cash in some of L.A.'s Democratic strongholds.(Los Angeles)
Apr 05, 2004; ... President Bush has shown surprising fundraising strength in Los Angeles, even in Westside neighborhoods that traditionally have been considered liberal bastions. In the current election cycle, the Republican president has raised $5.1 million through direct contributions from ...
Downtown bubble seen as ready to burst.
Apr 05, 2004; ... A downtown land rush sparked by the explosive market for high-end condominiums has caused prices to jump so high that brokers and developers are concerned that the bubble could be about to burst. Per-square-foot prices for existing buildings targeted for conversion to ...
Baseball beyond the bleachers: Angels target L.A. in marketing push.(Up Front)
Apr 05, 2004; ... Arte Moreno's buffed-up Anaheim Angels plan to take it to Los Angeles this year--both on and off the field. The Angels owner, who counts Tuesday's game against the Seattle Mariners as the first opening day game under his tenure, has made an aggressive off-season play. ...
New ballpark bringing benefits.(Up Front)
Apr 05, 2004; ... JOHN Moores was relaxing in the cushy leather seats in the San Diego Padres' new locker room at Petco Park, recalling the time he showed up at nearby Qualcomm Stadium a decade ago to look over the offices of the baseball team he was thinking of buying. A woman working at a desk ...
Sustained rise in gas prices hurts spending in L.A.(Up Front)
Apr 05, 2004; ... A nickel more at the pump can be a pain, all the greater for drivers of gas-guzzlers. In the long run, however, a pain can become a major drain. Michael Bazdarich, a senior economist at UCLA's Anderson Forecast, said the recent rise in gasoline prices has taken $12 million a ...
Disney wins.(case against Stephen Slesinger Inc.)(Brief Article)
Apr 05, 2004 ... Disney Wins: Walt Disney Co. won the dismissal of a 13-year-old lawsuit brought by the owners of Winnie the Pooh merchandising rights. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Charles McCoy dismissed the suit after concluding that Stephen Slesinger Inc., which controls the rights to Pooh, Piglet ...
Amgen deal.(acquisition of Tularik Inc.)(Brief Article)
Apr 05, 2004 ... Amgen Deal: Amgen Inc. agreed to acquire biotech firm Tularik-Inc. for $1.3 billion in stock. The Thousand Oaks-based company, which already owns 21 percent of South San Francisco-based Tularik, is offering $25 a ...
Video sale.(Hollywood Entertainment Corp., Leonard Green and Partners L.P., acquisition)(Brief Article)
Apr 05, 2004 ... Video Sale: Leonard Green & Partners LP agreed to buy Hollywood Entertainment Corp., owner of Hollywood Video Stores, for $888 million, and will take the chain private with founder Mark Wattles, who would remain ...
Gas update.(natural gas prices)(Brief Article)
Apr 05, 2004 ... Gas Update: Ever so slightly, prices continue to edge downward. For the week ended March 29, an average gallon of self-serve regular in the Los Angeles area was $2.11, down from $2.13 the week before (but still the highest price of all the markets ...
Music enforcement.(cases of illegally swapping songs over the Internet)(Brief Article)
Apr 05, 2004 ... Music Enforcement: A group of record companies started 14 legal actions against 247 people in four countries for illegally swapping songs ...
More Leno.(March 26-April 1)(Jay Leno)(Brief Article)
Apr 05, 2004 ... More Leno: "Tonight Show" host Jay Leno has agreed to a five-year contract extension that guarantees he will remain on the NBC late night show until the end of the decade. Terms of ...
Power grab.(March 26-April 1)(energy price manipulation)(Brief Article)
Apr 05, 2004 ... Power Grab: California Attorney General Bill Lockyer said federal energy regulators are defying a court order and ignoring new evidence of power-seller manipulation of energy prices that could bolster the state's bid for more refunds. Lockyer asked the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to ...
Easter, passover.(April 5-11)(Brief Article)(Public Notice)
Apr 05, 2004 ... Easter, Passover: The Passover holiday begins at sunset on Monday (5th) with the traditional seder dinner. The holiday ends at sunset on Tuesday ...
Sports beat.(basketball game schedule)(Brief Article)(Calendar)
Apr 05, 2004 ... Sports Beat: It gets pretty interesting for the Lakers these last days of the regular season as they host Portland on Tuesday (6th) and Memphis on Friday (9th). The Clippers, meanwhile, are home on Wednesday (7th) against Houston and Sunday (11th) against San Antonio. Meanwhile, the ...
LACMA exhibit.(Los Angeles County Museum of Art)(Brief Article)
Apr 05, 2004 ... LACMA Exhibit: The West Coast's first-ever exhibit of a genre known as casta (caste) painting in which family portraits celebrate racial mixing among Mexico's 18th century Indian, Spanish and African populations opened on Sunday ...
Baked goods.(Great American Bake Sale at Ernst & Young Plaza)(Brief Article)
Apr 05, 2004 ... Baked Goods: Some of the area's top restaurants participate in what's billed as the Great American Bake Sale on Wednesday (7th) at Ernst & Young Plaza (735 S. Figueroa) to benefit Share Our Strength, which will then make grants to non-profits fighting ...
Economic reports.(Brief Article)
Apr 05, 2004 ... Economic Reports: Wednesday (7th): February consumer credit. Thursday (8th): February ...
Wal-Mart election.(Wal-Mart Stores Inc.)(Brief Article)
Apr 05, 2004 ... Wal-Mart Election: Inglewood voters go to the polls on Tuesday (6th) to vote on a ballot initiative that would clear the way for Wal-Mart Stores Inc. to build one of its ...
Celebrating downtown.(Annual Treasures of Los Angeles)(Brief Article)
Apr 05, 2004 ... Celebrating Downtown: The 10th Annual Treasures of Los Angeles event will bring plenty of city leaders to the Staples Center on Thursday (8th). Participating in the ...
Deeper Mean-ing.(The LABJ'S: L.A. stories)(pop culture magazine Mean)(Brief Article)
Apr 05, 2004; ... Mean, an irreverent pop culture magazine that shut down after the 2001 terrorist attacks, plans to relaunch in June. Publisher and creative director Kashy Khaledi said the Hollywood-based mag, which had a four-year run with a circulation at its peak of 50,000, is looking to ...
Dem Bones.(The LABJ'S: L.A. stories)(Brief Article)
Apr 05, 2004; ... The USC Institute for Genetic Medicine may seem an unlikely place to house an art gallery, but not when considering the latest show: "Bones--Interior & Exterior Architecture." Through June 30, the gallery features the works of artists who either find inspiration in things ...
Beaming up.(The LABJ'S: L.A. stories)(Brief Article)
Apr 05, 2004; ... Gravity tends to cause steel beams, among other things, to sag. In order to offset this effect in construction, structural engineers compensate by "cambering," forming beams opposite to the expected pull. The science is the subject of an exhibit called "Camber" at the SCI-Arc ...
Branching out.(The LABJ'S: L.A. stories)(Brief Article)
Apr 05, 2004; ... After a recent L.A. Stories report on city tree-planting projects in North Hollywood, Palms and the Hancock Park area, a reader emailed to question whether this was the same program that resulted in the San Fernando Valley's Woodley Avenue trees, which were beautiful at first, but later ...
Knit fit.(The Roving Eye)(knitting)(Brief Article)
Apr 05, 2004; ... Is knitting the new yoga? What once was assumed the province of the geriatric crowd has captured the interest of young women--thanks to new yarn styles that make knitted garments look less like your grandmother's scarf, according to Lisa Garcia, manager of The Knot Garden, a ...
Frederick's considers offer to sell controlling stake.(Up Front)
Apr 05, 2004; ... The board of Frederick's of Hollywood Inc. is considering an offer for a controlling stake in the Los Angeles-based lingerie retailer, according to a source familial" with the discussions. The identity' of the potential buyer was not disclosed, but the source said that the ...
Corrections.(Up Front)(Correction Notice)
Apr 05, 2004 ... In the March 15 story, "Hahn Donor Gets Nod in Bid for LAX Design Deal," the total campaign contributions of Parsons Brinckerhoff and its employees should have been $8.000. The company did not contribute to LA United. The March 29 story "Playing to Win" included an outdated ...
Disney shareholders content to wait for Comcast drama to end.(Up Front)
Apr 05, 2004; ... Almost two months after Comcast Corp.'s all-stock bid for Wait Disney Co., many investors and analysts remain convinced that the Philadelphia-based cable giant would have to up its offer for the deal to have a chance. Since the proposed acquisition--initially valued at $54 ...
Investors' flight to stability marks first quarter trading.(Up Front)
Apr 05, 2004; ... Investors fled risky, speculative stocks ill the volatile first quarter and ran back into the arms of stability: banks, brokerages and homebuilders. Despite predictions that a stronger economy would continue to lift the stock market this year, the reverse has happened. Stocks ...
Reebok runs for Robertson to rake in VIP shoe shoppers.(Marketplace)(Robertson Boulevard)(Brief Article)
Apr 05, 2004; ... THE trend of deep-pocketed national chains moving into tony neighborhoods has come to the boutique-dominated 100 North block of Robertson Boulevard. Reebok International Ltd. leased a two-story building with 13,000 square feet at 145 N. Robertson Blvd., where it plans to open a ...
Rehab begins.(Marketplace)(Westfield America Inc.)(Brief Article)
Apr 05, 2004; ... Westfield America Inc. has taken the first steps in its $120 million overhaul of the Westfield Shoppingtown Century City, as fencing and storage facilities went up two weeks ago in what was a parking area. Westfield, which bought the 30-year-old mall two years ago, hasn't set an ...
New Wetzel twist.(Marketplace)(iSold It L.L.C.)(Brief Article)
Apr 05, 2004; ... A Pasadena-based company that sells items on consignment though online auctioneer eBay has signed franchise and development agreements for 38 new stores in L.A., Houston, San Antonio and Austin, Texas. The company, iSold It LLC, sets up retail locations where customers drop off ...
Restaurants, etc.(Marketplace)(La Salsa Inc.)(Brief Article)
Apr 05, 2004; ... The newest culinary creation of Anton Posniak and Alan Nathan opened last week in Santa Monica. The partners, who are responsible for Tengu in Westwood Village and Paladar in Hollywood, opened Lincoln Steak House Americana at 2460 Wilshire Blvd .... Leonardo Pratt, part owner of Cuban ...
Open primary initiative bears sweeping consequences.(Politics)
Apr 05, 2004; ... IT was supposed to lead to more moderate candidates being elected to state offices. But an initiative now almost certain to be on the November ballot would do more than that: it would completely overhaul state elections. The so-called open primary initiative now awaiting ...
Initiative Overload.(Politics)(Brief Article)
Apr 05, 2004; ... Speaking of statewide initiatives. 14 of them face signature-gathering deadlines over the next eight weeks, and at least six are expected to submit enough signatures to qualify. Among them: a measure to raise commercial property taxes to fund education programs, a phone tax to ...
Minimum Wage Hike?(Politics)(minimum wage legislation)(Brief Article)
Apr 05, 2004; ... California employers face yet another issue from Sacramento: an Assembly committee approved a bill that would boost the state's minimum wage from the current $6.75 an hour to $7.75 an hour by 2006. The bill--AB 2832, sponsored by the California Labor Federation and carried by ...
District attorney bounced from case after victim funds probe.(Up Front)
Apr 05, 2004; ... In a rare decision by a state appellate panel, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office was disqualified from a counterfeiting case because prosecutors relied too much on the victim to gather evidence, issue search warrants and negotiate the unfreezing of bank accounts. ...
Ex-cochran client wants to complain.(Law)(OJ Simpson case)
Apr 05, 2004; ... A former client of attorney Johnnie Cochran has convinced USC law professor Erwin Chemerinsky to petition the U.S. Supreme Court for a review of his civil suit against the famed lawyer. Cochran filed a defamation suit more than three years ago against Ulysses Tory, whose 1983 ...
Starling out.(Sizing Up The Staffs)(deputy mayors)(Brief Article)
Apr 05, 2004; ... Starling Out: Sam Yorty started the deputy mayor trend nearly 40 years ago, naming ...
Hard and soft.(Sizing Up The Staffs)(deputy mayors)(Brief Article)
Apr 05, 2004; ... Hard and Soft: Tom Bradley continued the tradition of having two deputy mayors. One ran the staff and had oversight over the city's "hard operations" ...
Big expansion.(Sizing Up The Staffs)(deputy mayors)(Brief Article)
Apr 05, 2004; ... Big Expansion: Under Richard Riordan, the ranks of deputy mayors started at four and grew to six, ...
The peak?(Sizing Up The Staffs)(deputy mayors)(Brief Article)
Apr 05, 2004; ... The Peak?: L.A. Mayor James Hahn has swelled the ranks of deputy mayors, starting with nine and reaching 11 before the departure of four last month ....
Valedictorians.(Sizing Up The Staffs)(former deputy mayors)(Brief Article)
Apr 05, 2004; ... Valedictorians: Among the prominent deputy mayors from the early years of the Bradley Administration were Ray Remy, who was chief of staff and then left to head the L.A. Area Chamber of Commerce for 13 years, and Grace Montanez Davis. In the 1980s, the most prominent deputy mayor ...
Other cities.(Sizing Up The Staffs)(deputy mayors)(Brief Article)
Apr 05, 2004; ... Other Cities: New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has five deputy mayors. Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley has no deputy ...
Close-knit group under Riordan never forgot who was boss.(Up Front)(Riordan, Richard)(Bradfield, Stephanie)
Apr 05, 2004; ... For two years, Stephanie Bradfield was separated from Richard Riordan by a few steps and one word. As one of Riordan's four deputy mayors (later one of six) Bradfield said she was part of a tight-knit team that developed policy, implemented the mayor's plans and met regularly ...
Dual inquiries set federal, local investigators at odds.(Up Front)(Federal Attorney's Office Investigation)
Apr 05, 2004; ... Xandra Kayden, a senior fellow at UCLA's School of Public Policy, said she wasn't surprised to be contacted last month by the L.A. County District Attorney's Office, which is investigating whether contracts have been let based on political contributions. What did surprise her ...
Distractions deflect from issues--even around city hall.(Up Front)
Apr 05, 2004; ... Comedians get paid good money spoofing Angelenos and their lack of attention to serious items in the news, such as grand jury investigations into how city contracts are divvied out. Is the local reaction to the current round of government inquiries disproving the myth? A random ...
Activist attacking catholic hospitals' bills to uninsured.(Health Care)
Apr 05, 2004; ... The activist who convinced Tenet Healthcare Corp. to discount its charges for uninsured patients has taken on Catholic Healthcare West. K.B. Forbes, who runs East L.A.-based Consejo de Latinos Unidos, took out full page ads in the Washington Times last month, accusing the San ...
Board may let the diesel hybrid buses roll.(Up Front)
Apr 05, 2004; ... The California Air Resources Board, historically an opponent of pollution-causing diesel use, will consider relaxing its standards to allow transit agencies to purchase diesel hybrid fleets. Under an amendment proposed by the board's staff, CARB would allow the use of ...
Port urges operators to set plan for 'green' terminal.(Up Front)
Apr 05, 2004; ... The Port of Los Angeles is pushing steamship lines into transforming the former Matson Navigation Co. into the nation's first green terminal. In a request for proposals issued to 20 companies, the port asked prospective tenants to come up with their own environmentally friendly ...
Tribune, Google team to micro-target online advertising.(Media & Technology)
Apr 05, 2004; ... Taking the first step to gain a share in the rebounding online advertising market, Los Angeles Times parent Tribune Co. has rolled out a cooperative deal with Google Inc. to sell targeted messages keyed to specific stories on the paper's Web site. The sponsored links, in which ...
EMachines executives move quickly to reshape Gateway.(Media & Technology)(Brief Article)
Apr 05, 2004; ... Gateway Inc. may be founder Ted Waitt's baby, but it's now firmly in the hands of Wayne Inouye. The former chief executive of Irvine-based eMachines Inc. is reshaping computer maker Gateway, less than three weeks after its purchase of eMachines for nearly $300 million. ...
High overhead has BuyMusic singing the blues.(Media & Technology)
Apr 05, 2004; ... Just because it's legit doesn't mean you can make money on it. Subscribers to BuyMusic.com, one of the first legal music downloading services, received notices last month that the service would be integrated with Aliso Viejo-based Buy.com Inc. BuyMusic.com also closed a Los ...
Tiny QwikFliks seeks to carve out piece of Netflix's DVD action.(Media & Technology)(QwikFliks Entertainment Rentals)(Brief Article)
Apr 05, 2004 ... Now comes Laguna Niguel-based QwikFliks Entertainment Rentals Inc., which rents DVD movies online, and has hopes to compete with Los Gatos-based Netflix Inc. Netflix easily rules the online DVD rental business with 1.5 million subscribers and 12 million DVDs spread around 23 ...
Mediawatch.(Media & Technology)(Illustration)
Apr 05, 2004 ... <Pre> MOVIE BOX OFFICEWeekend Total Gross Gross RankTitle(mils) (mils) 1 Scooby Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed $29.4 $29.4 2 The ...
Tasty freeze: in the nearly 30 years since she took over her father's frozen fruit business, Susan Kendall has lined up an impressive client roster.(Small Business)
Apr 05, 2004; ... WILLY Wonka had a chocolate river. Susan Kendall has a wall of fruit. Strawberries, mostly, her best-selling frozen product. In an Encino office adorned with brightly colored paintings of the fruit, her Kendall Frozen Fruits Inc. has emerged as a major player in the frozen and ...
Shop sells the gear for making wine and beer.(Weekly Briefing)
Apr 05, 2004; ... MOST people buy their wine, beer and cheese at the store. But a few hobbyists like to make their own. John Daume sells the materials and equipment and provides the know-how to do it. He had worked as a department store buyer, first at Gimbel's in New York, then at Bullocks in downtown ...
Parking shortages, other woes hit South Fairfax neighborhood.(Spotlight on Little Ethiopia)
Apr 05, 2004; ... LITTLE Ethiopia, a two-block stretch along Fairfax Avenue between Olympic Avenue and Pico Boulevard, is bursting at the seams. While the appearance over the last two decades of so many Ethiopian restaurants in the small area is a sign that the tiny community has made economic ...
Bank shot: as a boy, Richard Hartnack watched as his father wrote home loans; now he's a leader of one of the state's largest financial institutions.(People)(Interview)(Biography)
Apr 05, 2004; ... Richard Hartnack was indoctrinated into the world of banking at a young age. He remembers his father, Carl, who was chairman of the old Security, Pacific Bank, holding meetings with bankers at their home in San Diego. Hartnack later served as a Marine Corps pilot in Vietnam. After spending ...
American Airlines' Western region.(Airlines)(Cathy Bradley Berg appointed)(Brief Article)
Apr 05, 2004 ... Cathy Bradley Berg has been named managing director of sales for American Airlines' Western region. Berg, who will be ...
Countrywide Bank.(Banking & Finance)(Countrywide Banking Corporation Ltd. appointments)(Brief Article)
Apr 05, 2004 ... Countrywide Bank, a division of Treasury Bank N.A., appointed Joel Biechele as vice president and regional sales manager ...
Sonnenblick-Eichner Co.(Banking & Finance)(Nicholas Speno appointed)(Brief Article)
Apr 05, 2004 ... Nicholas Speno has joined Sonnenblick-Eichner Co. as an associate. ...
The Construction Industry Research.(Construction)(James M. Halverson elected)(Brief Article)
Apr 05, 2004 ... The Construction Industry Research Board has elected James M. Halverson president ...
MWH.(Consulting)(David Ebersold appointed)(Brief Article)
Apr 05, 2004 ... David Ebersold, vice president with MWH consulting firm, has been named office manager of the firm's new ...