Ventura County Star (Ventura, CA) articles from December 2002

Ventura County Star (Ventura, CA) archives from December 2002

Hot Housing Market Keeps Ventura, Calif.-Area Appraisers Very Busy.
December 31, 2002... Byline: Roger Harris Dec. 31--Christmas Eve was only a few hours away, but real estate appraiser Kiorean Moss was on the job, nonetheless, cruising through a Camarillo neighborhood checking out recently sold homes off Las Posas Road....

Home Appreciation in Ventura County, Calif., Failed to Keep Pace with State.
December 31, 2002... Byline: Roger Harris Dec. 31--Home appreciation in Ventura County failed to keep pace with the rest of California last month, according to a real estate report released Friday. The median sales price of an existing single-family...

Buyout of Oxnard, Calif., Fruit, Vegetable Seed Producer Evaluated.
December 31, 2002... Byline: Jim McLain Dec. 31--Five independent directors of Seminis Inc., an Oxnard fruit and vegetable seed producer, were named this week to a committee that will evaluate the fairness of last week's offer to buy the company and take it...

Soaring Home Cost Is Top Business Story of Year in Ventura County, Calif.
December 31, 2002... Dec. 31--While corporate scandals rocked the economy nationwide, Ventura County appeared to thrive in an insulated world where record home prices, giant mergers, shopping mall developments and robust agriculture dominated the Ventura County...

Ventura County Star, Calif., Roger Harris Column.
December 30, 2002... Byline: Roger Harris Dec. 30--For California Lutheran University student Philven Sitton, access to a free wireless Internet network on campus makes it possible to keep on top of his hectic schedule and stay in touch with his family in...

Simi Valley, Calif., Businessman Makes Beer for Hispanic Market.
December 30, 2002... Byline: Frank Moraga Dec. 30--For Johnny Hernandez, the single star on his OTRA beer label signifies a couple of things -- his Lone Star State Texas roots and his determination to go out on his own and start his own beer company catering...

Ventura, Calif., Company Will Distribute Latino Foods, Drinks.
December 30, 2002... Byline: Frank Moraga Dec. 30--They held a fiesta recently in Ventura, and appropriately the party was for Fiesta Beverage Co. Hector Elizalde sipped on a beer and enjoyed a view of the Ventura Pier and the sunset over the Channel...

Housing Needs, Traffic Problems Top List of Ventura County, Calif., Issues.
December 29, 2002... Byline: Deborah Crowe Dec. 29--Aside from an anemic national economy and the state budget deficit, the greatest threats to local economic prosperity in the next few years include what university economist Bill Watkins found himself stuck...

Ventura County Star, Calif., Regional Stocks Column.
December 28, 2002... Dec. 28--CLASS-ACTION LAWSUIT: Tenet Spector, Roseman & Kodroff, P.C., a Philadelphia law firm, announced Wednesday a class action suit has been filed against Tenet Healthcare Corp. on behalf of people who purchased the company's shares Oct....

Camarillo, Calif., Agricultural Service Makes Use of Tree-Cutting Device.
December 27, 2002... Byline: Jim McLain Dec. 27--Just three weeks ago, John Swift's newly leased farmland near Oxnard Airport was alive, lush and green, its rich, sandy soil nurturing more than 5,000 lemon trees and some 450 tall eucalyptus. But it...

Ventura County Star, Calif., Business Profile Column.
December 27, 2002... Dec. 27--CAROLYN DEWEY Type of product or service: Provides administrative assistance to small business owners Where: Newbury Park Date established: August 1999 Telephone: 376-9556 E-mail: carolyndewey@adelphia.net ...

Blue Cross Pushes Claritin Alternative.
December 25, 2002... Byline: Deborah Crowe Dec. 25--Thousand Oaks-based WellPoint Health Networks is distributing temporary discounts for a new over-the-counter Claritin alternative to Blue Cross members who are losing prescription coverage for many of their...

Ventura County Star, Calif., Who's New in Business Column.
December 25, 2002... Byline: Maria de la Torre Dec. 25--Husband and wife Carl and Barbara Frova knew they could work well together, so why not run a business together? In February 1994, they did just that by entering the franchise business called The...

Amgen Settles Patent Infringement Lawsuit Filed by Seattle Biotech Firm.
December 24, 2002... Dec. 24--Amgen Inc. has settled an Enbrel patent infringement lawsuit that a Seattle biotech company filed against Immunex Corp., the company which Amgen acquired this past summer. ZymoGenetics Inc. announced Monday that under the...

Home Sales in Ventura County, Calif., Remain Solid.
December 24, 2002... Byline: Roger Harris Dec. 24--Home sales remained strong in November to put Ventura County on pace for the highest yearly sales total since 1988. A total of 1,364 new and existing homes and condominiums were sold in November, an 8.8...

Ventura County Star, Calif., Roger Harris Column.
December 23, 2002... Byline: Roger Harris Dec. 23--Free speech on the Internet is as wild and woolly as ever, but increasingly that freedom is coming under attack, as a pair of recent court rulings illustrate. The rulings, one from the Australian High...

Ventura County Star, Calif., Business Briefs Column.
December 21, 2002... Dec. 21--AREA COMPANIES POST HEALTHY GAINS: Countrywide Financial Corp.'s shares rose $1.50 to $52.35 Friday. The Calabasas company (NYSE: CFC), formerly Countrywide Credit Industries Inc., is a holding company that originates, purchases,...

Ventura County Star, Calif., Business Briefs Column.
December 20, 2002... Dec. 20--DOLE'S SHARES SOAR $4.13 ON TAKEOVER: Dole Food Co.'s shares surged $4.13, a more than 14 percent gain, to $32.58 Thursday a day after CEO and chairman David Howard Murdock reached an agreement to take the company private by buying...

Ventura County Star, Calif., Business Briefs Column.
December 19, 2002... Dec. 19-- THQ, INAMED SUFFER DOWN DAY ON NASDAQ: Video game stocks, including THQ Inc. (Nasdaq: THQI) of Calabasas, were hammered after competitor Activision Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI) in Santa Monica cut quarterly and yearly earnings estimates,...

Lifting Rules Would Revive California's Economy, Development Group Says.
December 19, 2002... Byline: Roger Harris Dec. 19--Tearing down barriers to new home construction would breathe life into California's stagnant economy, create thousands of jobs and pump millions of new tax dollars into the state treasury, the Job-Center...

Dole Food Chief to Buy Up Remaining Shares.
December 19, 2002... Byline: T.J. Sullivan Dec. 19--Billionaire David Howard Murdock reached an agreement Wednesday night to purchase Dole Food Co. by paying $33.50 a share for the 42.5 million shares he does not already own, a 13.5 percent price increase...

Radio Stations Duke It Out in Ventura County, Calif., Market.
December 19, 2002... Byline: Jim McLain Dec. 19--Signaling the intensifying competition in the Ventura County radio market, Gold Coast Broadcasting has hired away a key manager and on-air personality from rival Cumulus Media Inc. to oversee programming at...

Southern California Venture Capital Remains Scarce in Third Quarter.
December 19, 2002... Byline: Deborah Crowe Dec. 19--Venture capital investment in Southern California continued a downward trend in the third quarter as investment firms, burned during 1990s tech boom, tighten their requirements for bankrolling...

Venture Capital Remains Scarce for Ventura, Calif.-Area Firms.
December 19, 2002... Byline: Deborah Crowe Dec. 19--Venture capital investment in Southern California continued a downward trend in the third quarter as investment firms, burned during 1990s tech boom, tighten their requirements for bankrolling...

Ventura County Star, Calif., Stock Profile Column.
December 18, 2002... Dec. 18--CHATSWORTH COMPANY GAINS NEARLY 8 PERCENT: North American Scientific Inc. (Nasdaq: NASI) in Chatsworth rose 63 cents, or nearly 8 percent, to $8.73 Tuesday. The developer of radioisotopic products reported a 1 cent net loss for the...

New Owner to Take Oxnard, Calif.-Based Seed Company Private.
December 17, 2002... Dec. 17--The San Francisco buy-out firm that is putting up $222 million to take Oxnard-based seed company Seminis Inc. private has owned seed companies before and sees solid prospects for growth, its president said Monday. Fox Paine &...

Auto Sales Slow as Consumers Appear to Be 'Shopped Out'.
December 16, 2002... Byline: Roger Harris Dec. 16--Michael Lewis doesn't have to offer buyers cash-back incentives, zero percent interest or other special deals to get them interested in his cars. Buyers come from all over the country to buy the classic Mini...

Ventura County Star, Calif., Roger Harris Column.
December 16, 2002... Byline: Roger Harris Dec. 16--Putting an electronic charge into Christmas It's beginning to look a lot like an electronic Christmas. Still got some holiday shopping to do? Head for your favorite electronics and computer stores....

FDIC Approves Applications of Two Ventura County, Calif., Banks.
December 14, 2002... Byline: Jim McLain Dec. 14--Two start-up, independent banks that organizers hope to open in Ventura County early next year were approved this week by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., one of the last major hurdles before the banks can...

Ventura County, Calif., Unemployment Rate Is up 0.2 Percent.
December 14, 2002... Byline: Deborah Crowe Dec. 14--Despite merchants adding workers for the holiday shopping season, Ventura County's jobless rate edged up to 5.7 percent last month, the state reported Friday. November's preliminary unemployment rate,...

United's Problems Having No Impact on Operations at Oxnard, Calif., Airport.
December 13, 2002... Byline: Jim McLain Dec. 13--Phil Buky owns Oxnard Airport's only restaurant, but he says he's not losing sleep over the possibility the one commuter airline that flies in and out of the airport might drop or reduce its local operations....

Discipline, Lists Can Help Keep Spending within Budget.
December 12, 2002... Byline: Deborah Crowe Dec. 12--It's the most wonderful time of the year -- especially if you're a reformed Christmas shopaholic. Michele Tracy of Westlake Village and her mother, Doris Lewis of Studio City, admit they've had years...

Oxnard, Calif., to Gain 500 New Jobs from Sysco's Newest Distribution Plant.
December 12, 2002... Byline: Raul Hernandez Dec. 12--The largest food service marketing and distribution company in North America wants to build a 300,000-square-foot distribution center in Oxnard, which would provide from 450 to 500 new jobs, a company...

Ventura County Star, Calif., Technology Stock Column.
December 12, 2002... Dec. 12--THQ'S SHARES FALL, BUT WELLPOINT GAINS: Shares of videogame maker THQ Inc. (Nasdaq: THQI) in Calabasas fell 70 cents, or 4.5 percent, to $14.83 Wednesday, despite more optimistic growth predictions for the industry from CEO Brian...

Oxnard, Calif., Hopes to Convince More Tourists to See Sights.
December 12, 2002... Byline: Deborah Crowe Dec. 12--Oxnard often gets pegged as a place for travelers to spend the night -- after seeing the sights elsewhere. But a new promotion by the city's tourism bureau is trying to encourage visitors to check out...

Ventura County Star, Calif., Business Briefs Column.
December 11, 2002... Dec. 11--REGIONAL STOCKS United Online sees shares jump $1.44 United Online Inc.'s shares rose $1.44, more than 9.5 percent, to $16.45 Tuesday. The Westlake Village provider of low-priced Internet access (Nasdaq: UNTD) announced Tuesday...

Ventura County Star, Calif., Who's New in Business Column.
December 11, 2002... Dec. 11--WHO'S NEW IN BUSINESS: Creation Station OWNERS: Linda Easley and Karen Williams TYPE OF PRODUCT OR SERVICE: Recreational plaster-painting and crafting WHERE: 1121 E. Los Angeles Ave., Simi Valley DATE ESTABLISHED:...

Ventura County Star, Calif., Business People Column.
December 10, 2002... Dec. 10--HOFFMAN HIRED AS ACCOUNT MANAGER: Dominique Hoffman has joined Haines and Co. Inc. as a national account manager specializing in complete direct marketing services. Haines and Co. publishes the Ventura County Criss+Cross Directory....

Show in Thousand Oaks, Calif., Spotlights Modified Computer Units.
December 10, 2002... Byline: Roger Harris Dec. 10--Instead of moaning about that boring beige computer sitting on your desktop, check out the PC Hot Rods show in Thousand Oaks today. On display will be highly customized PCs filled with neon and ultra...

Ventura County Star, Calif., Roger Harris Column.
December 10, 2002... Byline: Roger Harris Dec. 10--With the economy limping along we're not supposed to be in the mood for big-ticket items this holiday season. Maybe so, but what fun is that? We can window-shop, can't we? We can dream of hitting the...

Mexican Retailer Targets Oxnard, Calif. with Deals Only It Can Offer.
December 10, 2002... Byline: Jim McLain Dec. 10--Grupo Famsa, a fast-growing Mexican retail chain that targets customers who frequently cannot get credit elsewhere, opened a store last weekend in Oxnard, its eighth Southern California outlet. Housed in a...

California Employers Tempted to Skirt Rules as Workers' Comp Premiums Rocket.
December 10, 2002... Byline: Deborah Crowe Dec. 10--Rich Heyl pays $30,000 a year in workers' compensation premiums for his company, Thousand Oaks Roofing, but he doesn't dare file a claim for anything other than a major accident. If a worker gets injured,...

Health Insurance Is Major Concern for Ventura County, Calif., Employers.
December 8, 2002... Byline: Deborah Crowe Dec. 8--Soaring insurance premiums have forced Ventura printer Brad Bibey to reduce employee health benefits and cancel hiring two more workers. It's not that business is bad, said Bibey, who opened Vision...

Ventura County Star, Calif., Business Briefs Column.
December 7, 2002... Dec. 7--REGIONAL STOCKS: National Technical Systems (Nasdaq: NTSC), in Calabasas rose 15 cents or 6 percent, to close at $2.60. Shares of NTSC, which provides integrated testing, systems evaluation and other technical services to aerospace,...

Ventura County Star, Calif., Business Briefs Column.
December 6, 2002... Dec. 6--POSTAL CONNECTIONS HOLDS GRAND OPENING: Postal Connections is a national chain of postal and business services stores. Chris and Sherry Kerdman Andrade will celebrate the opening of their new Postal Connections franchise today and...

Home Sales Spark Big Increase in Property Taxes in Ventura County, Calif.
December 6, 2002... Byline: Jim McLain Dec. 6--Just as it has over the past few years, the area's red hot real estate market is again pumping lots of badly needed additional cash into the beleaguered coffers of local governments, but it isn't happening...

It Gets Even More Difficult to Afford a New Home in Ventura County, Calif.
December 6, 2002... Byline: Roger Harris Dec. 6--Rising home prices continued to put the squeeze on Ventura County's housing affordability index in October, a real estate organization reported Thursday. Only 31 percent of Ventura County households could...

Ventura County Star, Calif., Technology Briefs Column.
December 5, 2002... Dec. 5--TWO AREA COMPANIES POST STRONG GAINS: PerfectData Corp.'s shares jumped more than 13 percent, increasing 11 cents to 91 cents Wednesday. The Simi Valley company (Nasdaq: PERF) manufactures computer cleaning supplies for...

Ventura County Star, Calif., Business Briefs Column.
December 4, 2002... Dec. 4--The Thousand Oaks-Westlake Village Chamber of Commerce will hold its T.G.I.F. Breakfast 7 to 9 a.m. Friday at the Clarion Palm Garden Hotel in Newbury Park. Theme: "Leap Frog Networking." Cost is $25. For more details, call...

Ventura County Star, Calif., Business Profile Column.
December 4, 2002... Dec. 4--BRILLIANT GROUT & TILE CLEANING --Owner: Mark Brown --Type of product or service: Clean and seal grout, tile, marble, granite, stone and concrete, and grout re-coloring. --Where: Based in Ventura. --Date...

Ventura County Star, Calif., Business People Column.
December 3, 2002... Dec. 3--DOUGHERTY APPOINTED TO THQ BOARD: Brian Dougherty has been appointed to the board of directors of THQ Inc. (Nasdaq: THQI), a developer and publisher of interactive entertainment software for a variety of hardware platforms. ...

Marketing Is All Business for Ventura County, Calif.-Area Stores.
December 3, 2002... Byline: Roger Harris Dec. 3--Daniel Chavez knew a big crowd would show up for the opening of the new Circuit City store in Oxnard. After all, a pair of Los Angeles Lakers basketball players would be signing autographs and the Laker Girls...

Ventura County Star, Calif., Roger Harris Column.
December 2, 2002... Byline: Roger Harris Dec. 2--KEYSTER'S THE KEY TO BACKING UP VITAL DATA: Backing up critical business data is one of those things we know we're supposed to do, but too often too many of us don't do it. We are convinced it's too much...