Orange County Business Journal back issues from August 2008:
Billionaire's Club
Aug 04, 2008; ... Wealthiest Here Estimated at $34.5B; Real Estate Down Orange County's 32 wealthiest people count a combined estimated worth of $34.5 billion, according to the Business Journal's annual list in this week's issue. The group is expanded from last year's 28 people, who were estimated ...
Corrections
Aug 04, 2008; ... We urge you to bring errors to the attention of the editor, either in ...
Asics America Expanding Headquarters in Irvine Spectrum
Aug 04, 2008; ... APPAREL: Company expects to see double-digit sales growth Irvine-based Asics America Corp. is. moving its headquarters within the Irvine Spectrum. The American subsidiary of Japanese athletic shoe and apparel maker Asics Corp. has outgrown its 44,716-square-foot office off Laguna ...
Ista's Shares Plummet On Analyst Downgrade
Aug 04, 2008; ... Shares of Irvine eye drug maker lsta Pharmaceuticais Inc. fell nearly 20% early last week after an analyst downgraded the company on concerns about it running out of money. Analyst David Windley of Jefferies & Co. downgraded lsta to "underperform" from "hold." The company has ...
Cleveland No Joke For City National; Obama Trails Drake
Aug 04, 2008; ... OCI Insider As if being caught in a tough financial environment isn't bad enough, City National Corp. also is dealing with the annoyance of mistaken identity. The L.A.-based bank, a big player in OC, has no subprime loans, is well capitalized and remains profitable. But soured loans to ...
Parker Lands $3.5B Contract, Set To Hire
Aug 04, 2008; ... Parker Aerospace, the Irvine-based unit of Cleveland's Parker Hannifin Corp., has won one of its biggest commercial contracts ever to make steering controls for Canada's Bombardier Inc. The contract should bring as much as $3.5 billion in the next decade to the company. The ...
Multimedia Cos. Slow Hiring as Business Drops
Aug 04, 2008; ... Orange County's multimedia production companies buckled down in the past year to weather a tough economy. And they're doing more of the same in 2008. "Things are tough," said Mike Strauss, producer at Vision Star Media in Irvine. "There are a lot of people losing their jobs ....
Harbor View
Aug 04, 2008; ... In Newport's Shadow, Huntington Harbour is Low-Key Coastal Wealth Huntington Harbour has million-dollar homes, yachts and exclusive islands. But it's no Newport Harbor. And people there like it that way. "You don't get the fleshiness you see in Newport Harbor," said Huntington ...
Qualcomm Pact Hits Broadcom
Aug 04, 2008; ... TECHNOLOGY: Deal with Nokia seen prompting cell phone chip shakeout For all of Broadcom Corp.'s court wins, some are seeing Qualcomm Inc.'s recent licensing deal with Nokia Corp. as a blow to the Irvine company's ambitions in cell phone chips. The licensing deal, struck last ...
Buy.Com, EBay Deal Sparks Online Uproar
Aug 04, 2008; ... TECHNOLOGY: Buy selling on eBay, gets lower listing fees Aliso Viejo-based online retailer Buy.com Inc. has raised the ire of the eBay faithful. The company struck a deal to list roughly half a million items for sale at set prices on eBay Inc.'s site, effectively making it a top eBay ...
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Aug 04, 2008; ... This past week's news from www.ocbj.com and other sources TOP STORIES Mission Viejo-based U.S. Education Corp. is being bought by vocational school operator DeVry Inc. of Illinois for $290 million. U.S. Education runs forprofit schools under the Apollo College and Western Career ...
PEOPLE
Aug 04, 2008; ... Hirings, promotions and other moves at local businesses ARTS Violinist Jessica Guider) and cellist Laszlo Mezö-Arruda joined the Pacific Symphony orchestra for the 2008-09 season. ARCHITECTURE Irvine-based Gkkworks hired Rafael Alvarez as digital design manager, ...
Avanath Correction
Aug 04, 2008; ... In my June 16 cover story on Irvine-based apartment investor Avanath Capital Partners LLC, I got the wrong Neff when listing some of the individual investors of the company. Avanath's investment partners include Doug Neff, ...
Prices, Selling Times for Richest Homes Tempers from Boom
Aug 04, 2008; ... The strength-and limits-of Orange County's luxury housing market are on full display in Dana Point's The Strand at Headlands, where multimillion-dollar homes are under construction along one of the few undeveloped coastal areas in the county. The 121-acre beachfront development counts ...
Spectrum Set To Sell First Branded Drug
Aug 04, 2008; ... HEALTHCARE: Move follows branded drug setback last year Generic drug maker Spectrum Pharmaceuticals Inc. is set to start selling its first brand-name drug this month. Irvine-based Spectrum plans to introduce Fusilev, a chemotherapy injection for osteogenic sarcoma-a rare form of ...
Coto de Caza: Rich Living off the Water
Aug 04, 2008; ... You've seen Goto de Caza on television with Botoxed trophy wives partying and driving luxury cars while their husbands play golf behind its pearly gates. On Bravo channel's reality show, "The Real Housewives of Orange County," Goto de Gaza is seen as a home to wealthy businessmen and ...
Residents Buying Smart Cars as Just Another Gadget
Aug 04, 2008; ... Local Malls see Slew of New Stores; Style Week Set for Sept., features 'The Hills' Star LC MARKETPLACE By now, you've probably seen a smart fortwo car on the streets of Orange County. The micro-car, made by Daimler AG, is good on gas and easy on the environment. But ...
Construction Down, New Buildings Having Trouble
Aug 04, 2008; ... At the end of the second quarter, commercial property under construction in Orange County totaled more than 1.3 million square feet. New construction is down significantly in comparison to last year at this time when buildings under construction totaled more than 5.3 million square ...
Western Digital Consolidates Disk Drive Operations
Aug 04, 2008; ... Aliso Viejo Startup Lands Monster.com as Client; Gateway Eliminates Direct-to-Buyer Sales TECHNOLOGY Western Digital Corp. Chief Executive John Coyne spoke of a small acquisition at a recent day with analysts. The Lake Forest disk drive maker bought the controller chip ...
ASR Expo Expected to Be Smaller, More Tame in Sept.
Aug 04, 2008; ... Hank Blank Searching for Ad Company for Villeroy & Boch; Paul Frank Licenses in Canada MEDIA & MARKETING You may see a sober side to the next Action Sports Retailer Trade Expo slated for September in San Diego. The tradeshow typically draws thousands to party as ...
Valeant Cut 52 Jobs in Aliso Viejo, 1,250 Companywide
Aug 04, 2008; ... Standard & Poor's Highlights Edwards for Growth Potential; Endologix Reports Higher Losses HEALTHCARE Valeant Pharmaceuticals International is shedding jobs, including at its Aliso Viejo headquarters. The drug maker said in a state Employment Development Department ...
Studley: Office Availability at 25% in Second Quarter
Aug 04, 2008; ... Fisker Auto Moves HQ to 19 Corporate Park; Argyros, Hopkins Open Imperial Promenade COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE Two weeks ago, I wrote a cover story on the state of Orange County's slumping office market, which saw continued low levels of leasing and occupancy in the second ...
What Will the Next Congress Do for Me ... or To Me?
Aug 04, 2008; ... Viewpoint Before I lost my mind and went into politics, this is the question I used to ask before every election when I was running a business: "What will the next Congress do for me, or to me?" I'm not sure anyone ever knows the full answer to this question in part because you ...
Beyond Check Writing: Some Wealthiest Start Own Charities
Aug 04, 2008; ... William Podlich, retired chief executive of Newport Beach's Pacific Investment Management Co., is launching something of a nonprofit incubator. He's starting Orange County Shared Spaces, which plans to offer low rent and office equipment to community services groups. There are ...
Region's Richest: Kerkorian, Bren Tops in Southern California
Aug 04, 2008; ... BILLIONAIRES: Region's real estate, entertainment fortunes down The soft economy has hit even the richest in Southern California, dropping the total net worth of the area's wealthiest by billions of dollars in the past year. That's not surprising as the Southland's biggest ...
Wealthiest Here Estimated at $34.5B, Nine Billionaires
Aug 04, 2008; ... What real estate gives, real estate takes away. Lower fortunes from real estate was the dominant theme on this year's Business Journal list of the wealthiest people in Orange County. Six real estate entries on the list saw a combined billion-dollar drop in estimated worth in the ...
Edwards Slumps on Heart Valve Concerns
Aug 11, 2008; ... Investors drove down shares of Irvine heart valve maker Edwards Lifesciences Corp. after an analyst downgraded the company's stock on concerns about a new type of heart valve. In a note to clients, JPMorgan Chase & Co. analyst Michael Weinstein downgraded Edwards to "underweight" ...
Alcon's Irvine Operations Embrace Swiss Handover
Aug 11, 2008; ... HEALTHCARE: Novartis seen as better fit for device, drug maker than Nestlé Alcon Inc., an eye device and drug maker with 750 workers in Irvine, is undergoing an ownership change from one of Switzerland's biggest companies to another. Drug maker Novartis AG last month took a $10.7 ...
No Second Place At Irvine Co.; Gustavo Does OC
Aug 11, 2008; ... OCInsider Mike McKee's departure from The Irvine Company is a reminder there really is no No. 2 at the giant landowner-there's Donald Bren and then there's everybody else. Last week, as Bren ($10.5 billion estimated net worth) again topped the Business Journal's list of the richest ...
Wanted: Fast-Growing Private Companies for Annual List
Aug 11, 2008; ... We know you're out there. The Business Journal is producing its second list of fast-growing privately held companies in October. The list seeks to capture private companies that have seen their yearly sales grow rapidly from 2006 to 2008. Are you amazed by your company's ...
Wet Seal Swims Against Rough Tide
Aug 11, 2008; ... APPAREL: CEO leads turnaround; shares up for year, despite pullback Foothill Ranch-based Wet Seal Inc. is in a turnaround that's not above some fits and starts. In July, the operator of mall stores selling clothes for girls and young women saw a disappointing 8.2% drop in sales ...
Emulex Expanding Campus in Costa Mesa
Aug 11, 2008; ... TECHNOLOGY: Company adds fourth, final building to complex Costa Mesa's Emulex Corp., a maker of electronics for data storage networks, is set to expand its local office presence. But the news won't help fill any of the new, vacant offices already built across the county. Emulex ...
Turnaround Illusive for Telescope Maker; Buyout in the Stars?
Aug 11, 2008; ... To some, Irvine-based telescope maker Meade Instruments Corp. has lost its focus. The maker of telescopes, binoculars and microscopes has been dogged by supply issues since moving the last of its manufacturing from Irvine to Mexico earlier this year. Last month, Meade reported a ...
Atlanta's Flip Flop Shops Targets Irvine for Expansion
Aug 11, 2008; ... MARKETPLACE Fletcher Jones Motorcars Reports $277M in Midyear Revenue, Driven by Repeat Business Drawing from the outdoor lifestyle of Southern California and the collection of sandal makers that call it home, Atlanta-based Flip Flop Shops has targeted Orange C'ounty as its ...
Company Recruits Students, Fans as Potential Employees
Aug 11, 2008; ... Wannabe Wii players need not apply. Irvine's Blizzard Entertainment Inc., the world's top maker of online video games, is looking to local colleges and universities to recruit the best software engineers, programmers and graphic artists to build out its billion-dollar ...
Game Companies Taking Office Space at Faster Clip
Aug 11, 2008; ... Orange County's video game industry is in overdrive. And this isn't a moment too soon for the county's lethargic office market. Online game developers and console-based video game companies occupy a little less than 500,000 square feet of office space in the county-small for a county ...
AROUND THE COUNTY
Aug 11, 2008; ... Projects, developments and other activity in cities in and around OC FULLERTON GMI Construction Services is finishing work on a medical office condominium building at Providence Center, at the intersection of Harbor Boulevard and Bastanchury Road. Providence Two spans 24,000 ...
Grubb & Ellis Executives: Company Misunderstood
Aug 11, 2008; ... REAL ESTATE: Dual nature of company undervalued, they say Executives with Santa Ana-based Grubb & Ellis Co. say they're making progress forging a unified real estate investment and brokerage company. Getting Wall Street to understand those gains has proven to be a bigger ...
GIVING
Aug 11, 2008; ... Fundraisers and charitable donations from companies and people Children's Hospital of Orange County honored Walt Disney Co. for its $1 million donation to help fund construction of the hospital's new Ambulatory Care Center. The center's lobby is named The Disneyland Resort Main Lobby in ...
Calmont Makes Tubes for Hula Hoops to Space Ships
Aug 11, 2008; ... SMALL BUSINESS AltoE-Verify Navigates Free Immigration Status System; Fräulein Design Expands to T-Shirts Santa Ana-based Calimrat Wire and Cable Inc. evolved from making tubes for hula hoops to making cables for space ships. The company generates $6 million to $7 million ...
Pageant of the Masters, Irvine Bowl, Laguna Beach
Aug 11, 2008; ... Pageant of the Masters, Irvine Bowl, Laguna Beach The Pageant of the Masters this year celebrates its 75th production with the theme "All the World's a Stage." The tableaux vivant (living pictures) program has evolved through the years from a staid presentation to a lively show that ...
JSP Creative Cuts Full-Time Jobs by 20%, Hires Freelance
Aug 11, 2008; ... MEDIA & MARKETING Mob Media Keeps Focusing on Direct Marketing; Binary Pulse Gives Clients Reusable Campaigns Orange-based production shop JSP Creative LLC has cut jobs to survive the economic downturn. Creative director and producer Jerry Stanley said the shop ...
High-Rise Space in Airport Area, South County Sees Moderate Leasing
Aug 11, 2008; ... More than a quarter of Orange County's office space is in high-rises that are seven stories or higher. The two primary submarkets for the 26 million square feet of high-rise space in OC are the John Wayne airport area, which includes Newport Center/Fashion Island, and Central County. The ...
Dental Insurance Companies Grew Membership 5%
Aug 11, 2008; ... HEALTHCARE: HMOs growing as companies, people watch costs Delta Dental of California kept its top spot among dental insurance plans operating in Orange County, according to this year's Business Journal list. The 13 dental health maintenance organization and preferred provider ...
PacSun July Sales Fall, Profit Outlook Upped
Aug 11, 2008; ... Anaheim-based mall retailer Pacific Sunwear of California Inc. saw sales at stores open at least a year fall in July, missing Wall Street's expectations. Pacific Sunwear, which runs stores selling surf-inspired clothes, said same-store sales fell 4% last month. Weak sales of ...
Nexus Development To Rent Out Costa Mesa Condos
Aug 11, 2008; ... REAL ESTATE New Century Legal Bills Could Top $100M; Guardian To Franchise Sperry Van Ness in West RESIDENTIAL In early July, officials with Santa Anabased Nexus Development Corp. dismissed speculation that part of the company's most prominent local project under ...
Beckman Shines with Blood Analyzer, Tradeshow Booth
Aug 11, 2008; ... Hoag Gets $2.3M for Endowed Chair at Heart and Vascular Institute; LifeModeler Raises $2M HEALTHCARE Beckman Coulter Inc., the Fullerton maker of medical diagnostic equipment and supplies, got a positive review by a Lazard Capital Markets analyst for its blood analyzer and its ...
Kaiser Permanente Reaches Rescission Policy Settlement
Aug 11, 2008; ... State regulators said they have finalized a settlement with Kaiser Permanente that will compensate 1,092 former or current members whose policies were canceled after they got sick. Kaiser, the largest managed care organization in Southern California, said it will offer affected ...
Viewpoint
Aug 11, 2008; ... The South Coast Diet Orange County is now the epicenter of agitation against asinine federal spending. Two local players, Rep. John Campbell and The Lincoln Club of Orange County, are pushing Congress to go reverse-Atkins and start a pork-free diet. Campbell has staked ...
Corinthian's Thriving on Wall Street in Down Economy
Aug 11, 2008; ... A slowdown in the economy is giving Santa Ana-based vocational school operator Corinthian Colleges Inc. a boost on Wall Street. The company has spent more than a year rebuilding its business with better marketing and customer service to improve student retention after a number of ...
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Aug 11, 2008; ... This past week's news from www.ocbj.com and other sources TOP STORIES Michael McKee, chief executive of The Irvine Company, is retiring. McKee has been the longtime No. 2 at the real estate owner and developer, behind chairman and owner Donald Bren (see Insider column, page 3) ....
Palomar Pomerado Health Touts High-Tech Development
Aug 11, 2008; ... HEALTHCARE: Construction part of bigger expansion, renovation plan Orlando Portale, chief technology and innovation officer for Palomar Pomerado Health, is working on the "hospital of the future." Before the hospital of the future makes its present-day debut in Escondido, Palomar ...
PEOPLE
Aug 11, 2008; ... Hirings, promotions and other moves at local businesses ACCOUNTING Cindy E. Gonzalez of Mendoza Berger & Co. in Irvine was promoted to tax partner. Gonzalez will manage all tax department operations for her office. She also is a founding member of Women Looking Forward of the ...
Under the Weather
Aug 11, 2008; ... HMOs' Stocks Have Taken a Hit in 2008 as Competition, Economic Pressures Dropped Value Health insurers, including health maintenance organizations, have suffered from a lingering financial sickness this year. The industry has seen profits weaken as several big players, including ...
Doctor's Orders
Aug 11, 2008; ... Health insurance officials are carefully watching what the upcoming presidential election between Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., will mean for their industry. Both candidates have put out healthcare plans, although health issues have taken a backseat in the ...
HMOs Saw Drop in Growth After Years of Increases
Aug 11, 2008; ... HEALTHCARE: PPOs grew its members by 2.6% in the past year After years of growth, Orange County's health maintenance organizations saw a slight membership decline during the past year. The eight HMOs on this year's Business Journal list reported a 2.4% drop to 1.19 million ...
Analyst Suggests Broadcom as Suitor for TV Chip Buy
Aug 11, 2008; ... TECHNOLOGY Mavent Awarded Patent for Instant Credit Approval Software; $100 Laptop Still Years Away Irvine's Broadcom Corp. could be a likely contender to buy the digital television chip business of San Jose's Advanced Micro Devices Inc. Speculation about possible suitors ...
Building Still Booms On Local Campuses; OCBJ Office Tower?
Aug 18, 2008; ... OCInsider Don't blame the construction slowdown on OCs universities. UCI, CaI State Fullerton and Chapman University combined have been putting $350 million a year into brick and mortar. With a building crane visible outside his office window, UCI Chancellor Michael Drake boasts about ...
Analyst Questions Edwards Valve, Others Remain Upbeat About Trial
Aug 18, 2008; ... HEALTHCARE: Report dents stock gain, buyout speculation An analyst earlier this month took aim at what's behind a big run-up in shares of Irvine medical device maker Edwards Lifesciences Corp.: a new type of heart valve that doesn't require major surgery. The company's clinical ...
Olen Building Brea Apartments
Aug 18, 2008; ... REAL ESTATE: 260 apartments going up amid office park Newport Beach developer Olen Properties Corp. has started on a 260-apartment complex in Brea, the largest to go up in the North County city in the past decade. Olen, which owns more than 11,000 apartments in Arizona, Nevada ...
China Push Impacts Circuit Board Maker's Profits
Aug 18, 2008; ... TECHNOLOGY: M-Flex revenue growing, 'disconnect' with profits China's on a lot of people's minds this summer. None more so than executives and investors of Anaheim's Multi-Fineline Electronix Inc., a circuit board maker that's seen construction delays on a plant there and higher ...
D-Link's Pitch: Cheaper than Cisco
Aug 18, 2008; ... TECHNOLOGY: Company adds products, courts businesses D-Link Systems Inc. wants to sell more to businesses that have tighter purse strings these days. The Fountain Valley-based maker of networking gear, part of Taiwan's D-Link Corp., is pitching its routers and other products as a ...
Taking Flight
Aug 18, 2008; ... Swift Engineering Got Start Doing Racecars, Now Does Military Spy Drones, Luxury Jets San Clemente-based Swift Engineering Inc. is a self-described "shop of geeks" with roots in racecars and ambitions in the sky. Hiro Matsushita, a former racecar driver and grandson of the ...
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Aug 18, 2008; ... This past week's news from www.ocbj.com and other sources TECHNOLOGY An analyst upped his rating on Emu lex Corp. early last week to "buy" from "sell." He also raised his price target to $16 per share from $10. Emulex shares were trading at $14 last week with a market value of ...
Video, Film Budgets Holding Up, Blackstone Media Says
Aug 18, 2008; ... New Business Could Spur Hyperdisk Hiring; Innovate Media Focuses on Producing Web Video MEDIA & MARKETING Irvine-based video and production company Blackstone Media Group has watched some clients shift tactics to weather the tough economy. Some accounts have made ...