Los Angeles Business Journal articles from May 2006

Los Angeles Business Journal archives from May 2006

New federal courthouse project faces more delays.
May 1, 2006... Los Angeles will have to wait even longer for its oft-delayed new federal courthouse building. The General Services Administration quietly canceled the bidding process on the project--initially approved in 2001 and targeted for completion...

Latin roots: telenovelas in English anchor new Fox network.
May 1, 2006... THE Latinization of U.S. culture will step into the riving room this fall with the debut of two telenovelas in English. Twentieth Television, a unit of News Corp., has already taped "Desire', in San Diego. Another show, "Secret...

Uneducated labor posing challenge for L.A. business.
May 1, 2006... For Clayton Frech, high school dropout rates and low school test scores aren't just headlines in the local papers. They're hits to his company's bottom line. As director of operations for El Segundo-hased Classic Party Rentals Inc., Frech...

Profession lacking real estate experts.(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... There has always been strong demand for good accountants--but never like today. The booming real estate market has created a hunger for accountants who understand the complexities of that industry. More and increasingly complex regulations...

Milken's confab draws extremely healthy turnout.(Michael Milken)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... IT seems that Michael Milken, the creator of "junk bonds" who pled guilty to securities violations and served nearly two years of a 10-year sentence in the 1980s, is putting his past further behind him all the time. He's devoted...

Los Angeles' master networker Carl Terzian (he claims to literally know everybody) is kicking off his 38th year at the helm of his public relations firm, Carl Terzian Associates, by hosting several upcoming events honoring Dr. Robert Beart.(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Los Angeles' master networker Carl Terzian (he claims to literally know everybody) is kicking off his 38th year at the helm of his public relations firm, Carl Terzian Associates, by hosting several upcoming events honoring Dr. Robert Beart....

For parents with autistic children, help from the government is better late than never.(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... For parents with autistic children, help from the government is better late than never. State Senate President pro Tem Don Perata and Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez (D-Los Angeles) just finished appointing members to a Legislative Blue...

Heavy lifting: company supplies equipment for obese patients.
May 1, 2006... As goes the waist line of America, so goes the bottom line of Dynamic Medical Systems Inc. The Dominguez Hills-based company has been supplying nursing homes and hospitals from California to Colorado with everything from wheelchairs and...

Vitesse launches internal stock inquiry.(Up Front)
May 1, 2006... Vitesse Semiconductor Corp. has placed three top executives on leave and said it won't file its second-quarter financial report on time due to an internal probe into its stock options accounting. Camarillo-based Vitesse, which cancelled its...

Rare Hispanic bank opening in Los Angeles.(One American Corp.)
May 1, 2006... Cinco de Mayo may get a lot of attention this week, but Hispanic entrepreneurs have something else to celebrate. Last week the first Hispanic-focused bank in more than 25 years was incorporated in California. The new institution,...

Gas update.(average price)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Gas Update: The average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline in the Los Angeles area climbed for the seventh consecutive week, rising 16 cents to $3.081 for the week ended April 24. L.A. prices are 50 cents higher than they were a...

Disney woes.(Hong Kong Disneyland Management Ltd.)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Disney Woes: There's more misery in store at seven-month-old Hong Kong Disneyland this week as unions threaten to disrupt the park and two more execs have left. Senior vice president of marketing and-sales, Roy Tan Hardy, and director of...

Radioactive OK.(North American Scientific Inc.)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Radioactive OK: North American Scientific Inc. announced that the Chatsworth-based brachytherapy company had received clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to market a low-dose radiation treatment version of its recently...

Labor pains.(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Labor Pains: After finding wages and benefits for hotel workers around Los Angeles International Airport below industry standards, a new report released from a union and community activist-sponsored commission recommends the city extend its...

Off track.(Metropolitan Transportation Authority )(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Off Track: A bill that would reduce Los Angeles' influence on the Metropolitan Transportation Authority board sailed through a Sacramento legislative committee after nobody from L.A. City Hall showed up to oppose it. Senate Bill 1507 calls for...

TV talk.(planning of Television programs )(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... TV Talk: An AUG television network senior network executive said that the network's decision to sell its content online, while angering affiliates, was aimed at preventing piracy from eroding the broadcasting business, Reuters reported. ABC,...

Earnings roundup.(THE LABJ Online Journal)
May 1, 2006... Earnings Roundup: VCA Antech Inc. reported first-quarter net income of $29.7 million compared with $17.2 million a year ago. Revenues for the Los Angeles-based animal healthcare company increased 25 percent to a first-quarter record of $234...

Clarification.(Correction notice)
May 1, 2006... Shane Rodgers, a principal of Signal Capital Management, a start-up hedge fund that was featured in an April 10 article headlined "Hyping Pipe," said his firm seeks to invest in established, well-managed companies with a clear path to growth...

Making things stick; Avery Denison's Dean Scarborough looks to new technology and emerging markets.(News & Analysis)(Interview)
May 1, 2006... DEAN Scarborough's mantra for his first year on the job as chief executive of Avery Denison Corp., the $5.5 billion label materials and office supply giant, was "building credibility and confidence." The company's former chief operating officer...

Telecommunications boom sending satellite business higher.(Hi-Shear Technology Corp.)(Company overview)
May 1, 2006... There aren't many companies flying higher than Hi-Shear Technologies Corp. this month. Now the question is whether the Torrance-based aerospace firm can sustain its orbit or end up falling back to Earth like one of the satellites it helps...

Smoothie operator looking to juice revenues at Robeks.(Company overview)
May 1, 2006... Tony Gioia loves to eat--and that's a good thing. During some 30 years in the food service industry, he has had to do a lot of it. He's sipped lattes as chief executive at Tully's Coffee Corp., sampled mint chocolate chip ice cream as president...

K-Swiss developing holes in shoe sales on home front.(MARKETPLACE)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... FOOTWEAR company K-Swiss Inc.'s style mainstay--it s Classic shoe--is getting scuffed up. Sales of the Classic dipped 14 percent for the quarter ended March 31 from the same period the prior year, even with some offsetting due to a price...

Top priority.(French West Inc)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... French West Inc. came in at the top of the denim market--literally. Founder Daniel Bohbot started the company based on Hale Bob tops, which are designed to accent pricey jeans for a stylish night on the town. Together, the jeans and shirt...

World vision.(MARKETPLACE)
May 1, 2006... Denyse Selesnick fortuitously stumbled into her role on the trade show circuit by producing events abroad. Now, the world has come to her. The president of Woodland Hills-based International Trade Information Inc. is helping spice up...

Bankruptcy attorney turns in peak performances at 64.(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... IT appears there is no mountain too high for Bill Burke, a 64-year-old bankruptcy attorney with Sheppard Muffin Richter & Hampton LLP in Los Angeles. Burke recently climbed 16,067 feet to reach the peak of Vinson Massif in Antarctica. Next...

Arnold's appointments.(LAW)(Arnold Schwarzenegger)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has been busy recently, appointing four judges to the Los Angeles County Superior Court. Ray G. Jurado, 45, of Los Angeles, has served as an attorney for the Los Angeles County Office of Independent Review and...

Thinking green.(LAW)
May 1, 2006... The European community's concerns over environmental issues are expected to grow in the next decade, and so are the regulatory constraints officials there will try to put on businesses. With that in mind, L.A.'s Mayer Brown Rowe & Maw LLP...

Restaurateurs fuming over rewards network 'advances'.(Patrice Lambert)
May 1, 2006... Patrice Lambert said he should have read the writing on the wall when the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks occurred just three weeks after he opened his first restaurant, Tournesol, in Studio City. Lambert had received a rave review in the...

Diagnostic Products picked up by European giant Siemens.(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Siemens AG, Europe's largest engineering company, has agreed to buy Los Angeles-based Diagnostic Products Corp. for about $1.86 billion in cash, the companies announced April 27. The acquisition would expand Siemens' medical division, which...

Mossimo pact.(Iconix Brand Group Inc., Cherokee Inc.)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Persisting in its intention to acquire Mossimo Inc., Iconix Brand Group Inc. said April 27 that it now has a definitive agreement with rival Cherokee Inc. to buy out Cherokee's Mossimo finders agreement for $33 million. As part of the...

Stormy outlook.(NEWS ROUNDUP)
May 1, 2006... Still feeling the sting of damage from Hurricane Katrina, Northrop Grumman Corp. posted a loss and faced opposition in the Senate last week regarding language in a spending bill that would have the Navy re-coup storm-related damages. The...

Univision bait.(television broadcasting industry deals)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... The media world has come calling since Univision Communications Inc. announced it was open to a sale, according to published reports. A New York Times article stated that CBS Corp. and Walt Disney Co. had discussions with Univision...

Port containers.(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Container traffic at the ports of Los Angels and Long Beach continued to surge last month, according to the latest figures. The Port of Long Beach saw a 32 percent increase in the number of 20 foot equivalent units, or TEUs, that came into...

CurtCo Media may fetch $500 million in upcoming sale.(CurtCo Media Group)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Malibu-based CurtCo Media Labs LLC, publisher of super-luxury titles, is looking to cash in on the high-end market that it serves by putting its catalog of titles up for sale. Goldman Sachs LLC will manage the auction and provide financing...

Salem radio seeking Christian music stars.(Salem Communications Corp)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... It may not have the popular following or star quality of "American Idol," but Salem Communications Corp.'s search for the next big Christian music artist was here first. The Camarillo-based Christian radio broadcasting company's Salem...

Thompson hardware provides hi-definition lift for DirecTV.(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... El Segundo-based DirecTV Group Inc. has begun receiving Thomson H20 set-top boxes for its high definition service expansion last week. The firm plans to offer more than 1,500 local broadcast channels and more than 150 national channels in...

The library card: emerging platforms boost value of film, TV archives.
May 1, 2006... FILM and television libraries have always been valuable in Hollywood. Now, however, the plethora of emerging distribution platforms--and the uncertainty as to which will become the gold standard of content delivery--is spiking interest in...

Toyota revs rollout of Yaris with 'Mobisodes' from Fox.(Toyota Motor Corp., Fox Broadcasting Co.)
May 1, 2006... TOYOTA and Fox are teaming up for a promotion that could give the term "cell phone" new meaning. The Fox show "Prison Break" will serve as a vehicle for a cross-platform marketing blitz on behalf of Toyota Motor Sales USA. The promotion...

Singleton's strategy.(MEDIA)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Now that McClatchy Co. has agreed to purchase Knight-Ridder, a partnership led by William Dean Singleton's NewsMedia Group has emerged as the front-runner to buy four newspapers from McClatchy. Three of those papers--San Jose Mercury News,...

Radio responses.(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... CBS Radio reported its first-quarter financials last week for the first time since Howard Stem left the network. Revenues declined 6 percent. Although the announcement never mentioned Stem's name, a report from Lehman Bros. blamed the soft...

Mediawatch.(MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT)(Statistical table)
May 1, 2006... MOVIE BOX OFFICE Weekend Gross Total Gross Rank Title (mils) (mils) 1 Silent Hill $20.2 $20.2 2 Scary Movie 4 ...

Feet first: Piloti steps on the gas with shoes designed for drivers and race fans.
May 1, 2006... KEVIN Beard's mother told him that the first word he uttered as a baby was "Jaguar." So it makes perfect sense to those close to Beard that he's melded his passion--racecars--with his profession, designing shoes. Beard, 45, designs driving...

Stamps.com claims it didn't take a licking in Acacia settlement.(TECHNOLOGY)(Acacia Research Corp.)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... STAMPS.COM Inc. recently settled a patent infringement lawsuit with a Minnesota company over the stamp company's use of the two-dimensional bar code that appears on each personalized stamp. VCode Holdings Inc. is a subsidiary of Newport...

Vitesse options.(TECHNOLOGY)
May 1, 2006... Vitesse Semiconductor Corp. abruptly canceled its second-quarter earnings call days after it suspended three top executives. The Camarillo computer chip maker announced that Chief Executive Louis Tomasetta, Chief Financial Officer Yatin Mody...

Five pillars of wisdom in online advertising.
May 1, 2006... I get up with my 2-year-old old son at around 5 a.m., but then we go back to sleep for another hour before we get dressed. My wife also works, so she is getting ready at the same time. I don't eat breakfast. I don't function well with...

Quick Control Collar.(Stuff)(Bamboo Pet Center introduces new dog collar)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Manufacturer: Bamboo Pet Center, North Hills Description: Padded dog collar with a built-in leash Price: $19-$22 BAMBOO'S Quick Control Collar looks like a typical dog collar, but it has a soft handle in the back that quickly...

Bicycle bracelet.
May 1, 2006... Manufacturer: Icelink Watch, Los Angeles Description: Bracelets designed to look like they are made from bicycle chains Price: $99-$179 ICELINK Watch has come out with a new line of jewelry for this spring--bicycle bracelets. The...

Accountant deficit: regulations, real estate fueling demand for high-end auditors.
May 1, 2006... ACCOUNTANTS are in such high demand in Southern California that Haskell & White LLP has offered to pay its employees $20,000 if they refer an experienced accountant to the firm and the candidate is hired. "That's how competitive it is and...

Industry leaders offer their take on real estate pinch.
May 1, 2006... The Business Journal asked the top real estate accountants in Los Angeles about the state of their field and what they saw as the reasons behind the sudden personnel crunch. Christopher Tower Partner and Director of Real Estate...

Off-balance sheet financing curbs are double-trouble.
May 1, 2006... DEPENDING on how you look at it, two federal regulations passed in 2003 are giving accountants--particularly real estate specialists--some real headaches... or some real job security. The Financial Accounting Standards Board and the...

View skew: Jordan Levin developed the WB network's successful shows. His new company is positioning content for emerging mediums.(People)(Interview)
May 1, 2006... JORDAN Levin had a keen eye for the kinds of shows that would get teens and twenty-somethings to tune in when he was entertainment president and later co-chief executive of the upstart WB broadcast network. Levin, who spent 10 years at the...

Wescom Credit Union.(Banking & Finance)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Wescom Credit Union has named Melissa Doxsee as vice president of branch operations in the Los Angeles and Ventura County regions. Doxsee was recently manager of member services and the member service center for the firm.

Neuberger Berman.(Banking & Finance)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Neuberger Berman, an asset management firm in the investment management division of Lehman Brothers, has hired Reva Shakkottai as regional vice president in the private asset management group of its Los Angeles office. Shakkottai was formerly...

FTI Consulting Inc.(Consulting)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... FTI Consulting Inc., a provider of technology services, has hired Joseph Doloboff as senior managing director of the transaction advisory services group in Los Angeles. Doloboff previously was a partner at Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton.

Parsons.(Engineering)(promotions)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Parsons, a Pasadena-based construction and engineering company, has promoted Walid Hatoum and Richard Trembath to senior vice president of Parsons Water & Infrastructure and Gregory Wieland and Richard Berry to vice presidents of the unit....

Los Angeles County Commission.(Insurance)
May 1, 2006... The Los Angeles County Commission on Insurance has re-elected Scott J. Svonkin as chairman. Svonkin has been on the commission since 1997.

White & Co. Insurance Inc.(Insurance)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... White & Co. Insurance Inc. in Santa Monica has named Andrew J. Valdivia president and Dennis White chief executive. Valdivia served as executive vice president and White was president of the company.

Artiano Guzman & Toomey LLP.(Law)
May 1, 2006... Joseph Burton has joined Artiano Guzman & Toomey LLP as an associate attorney. Burton formerly served as general counsel to the Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority.

Luce Forward Hamilton & Scripps LLP.(Law)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Luce Forward Hamilton & Scripps LLP's Los Angeles office has hired Jill Vincent as an associate in the firm's real estate practice. Previously, Vincent was an associate at Robert Smylie & Associates in Los Angeles. Michelle Sugihara has joined...

Cordova grows into the top post at Childrens Hospital.(Richard D. Cordova)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... IT was a summer internship 30 years ago in Los Angeles County s Department of Health Services that did it for Richard D. Cordova. He'd instantly found his calling in health management. Today, as the president and chief executive of...

Roncelli Plastics.(Manufacturing)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Monrovia-based Roncelli Plastics, a customer manufacturer of plastic components, has promoted Riley Cole to president. Cole was previously vice president and general manager of the company.

Phoenix Marketing Services.(Marketing)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Michael DeRemer has joined Phoenix Marketing Services, a Claremont-based print marketing communications company, as vice president of sales. DeRemer formerly was director of sales at DataFile Business Graphics.

Fandango.(Media)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Los Angeles-based Fandango, an online and phone movie ticketing service, has promoted Ted Hong to vice president of marketing and product development. Hong was recently director of marketing for the company.

Genlux.(Media)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Los Angeles luxury fashion magazine Genlux has named Melissa Rodwell as photo editor and John Hartigan as director of digital imaging. Rodwell is a fashion and fine art photographer; Hartigan is an independent digital artist.

Entravision Communications Corp.(Media)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Susan Knoll has been promoted to vice president and director of research of Entravision Communications Corp., a Spanish-language media company. Knoll recently served as director of research for the radio division.

KTLA/WB.(Media)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... KTLA/WB has hired Lissette Gonzalez as a weathercaster for the weeknight edition of "Prime News". Gonzalez previously was co-host and special correspondent for the English and Spanish editions of "Livin' Large."

Getty Research Institute.(Non-Profit)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Getty Research Institute has hired Thomas Moritz as associate director for administration and chief of knowledge management. Moritz previously was the Harold Boeschenstein director of library services at the American Museum of Natural History...

Five Acres.(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Five Acres child and family services agency has appointed David Alaynick, Reggie Barnes, Gwen Gordon, Roger Molvar, Pamela Neiman, Diane Severino, Cathy Simms, Marilyn Wells to its board, and Christine Davis as chairwoman. Alaynick is a...

Younan Properties Inc.(Real Estate)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Younan Properties Inc., a Los Angeles-based real estate investment group, has appointed Joy DeBacker to director of asset management. Previously, DeBacker was first vice president of property management for the CIM Group Inc. in Hollywood.

Galit Ofengart.(Real Estate)
May 1, 2006... Galit Ofengart has joined Beverly Hills-based Escrow of the West as senior escrow officer. She was previously escrow officer at Heritage Escrow.

American Realty Advisors.(Real Estate)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Glendale-based American Realty Advisors, has appointed Greg Baarson and Gerald Goldman to senior managers of the firm's portfolio and asset management teams. Baarson previously served as equity manager with GE Asset Management. Goldman rejoined...

True Religion Apparel Inc.(Retail)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... True Religion Apparel Inc., a subsidiary of Guru Denim Inc., has named Michael Buckley president. Buckley was formerly president and chief executive at Ben Sherman Group Ltd.'s North America division.

Manask & Associates.(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Burbank-based Manask & Associates, a food service consultancy, has hired Andrew Andoniadis to head the retail store consulting practice. Andoniadis continues his position as chief executive of Andoniadis Retail Services.

Magnetek Inc.(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Chatsworth-based Magnetek Inc. has appointed David Weatherford as Central regional sales manager of its power electronics group and Frank Gurley as Eastern regional sales manager for the group. Weatherford was vice president of sales and...

Companies team up to design and build the backyard fort of a boy's dreams.(Joshua Bailey)
May 1, 2006... TODAY, he's a shy but confident fourth grader. But a few years ago, when he was a 6-year-old, Joshua Bailey was diagnosed with leukemia. And all he wanted then was a fort in his back yard, which would be his own private hideout. Joshua's...

Stanley Black.(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Stanley Black, real estate investor and philanthropist, will receive the 2006 Business Leadership and Philanthropy Award at the JVS Strictly Business Luncheon on May 11. JVS is a non-profit organization dedicated to career and employment...

Stanley Black. <TIKay Lang.(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Hospitality and Design magazine has chosen designer Kay Lang of Los Angeles-based design firm Kay Lang + Associates, as a recipient of the Platinum Circle Award. The award honors excellence in the field of hospitality design.

Five Acres, a child and family services agency, has given a special recognition award to law firm Latham & Watkins for its pro bono efforts.(Kudos)
May 1, 2006... Five Acres, a child and family services agency, has given a special recognition award to law firm Latham & Watkins for its pro bono efforts. The agency also gave special services awards to Bible Club of Glendale and Los Angeles Churches of...

Timothy J. Noonan, president and chief executive of Lockton Insurance Brokers Inc., has received the 2006 Public Service Award from Phoenix House at its "Triumph for Teens" awards gala.(Kudos)
May 1, 2006... Timothy J. Noonan, president and chief executive of Lockton Insurance Brokers Inc., has received the 2006 Public Service Award from Phoenix House at its "Triumph for Teens" awards gala. The award acknowledges Noonan's professional and...

Port of Los Angeles.(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... The Environmental Protection Agency has honored the Port of Los Angeles with the Clean Air Excellence Award for its Alternative Maritime Power program. Under the program, also known as "cold ironing," ships run their engines on electricity...

Borruso.(Giorgio Borruso awarded )(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Marina del Rey design company Giorgio Borruso was honored with five awards at the National Association of Store Fixture Manufacturers Retail Design Awards 2006, including the top honor of store of the year. That honor was granted for his Fila...

The American Board of Trial Advocates.(Kudos)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... The American Board of Trial Advocates has named three associates in the Los Angeles area: Roger Gordon, a personal injury litigator with Gordon Edelstein Krepack Grant Felton & Goldstein; Jeffrey B. Smith, of Law Offices of Jeffrey B. Smith in...

Biotech/biomed companies: ranked by total employment.(The List)(Calendar)
May 1, 2006... EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AMGEN Inc. tops the Business Journal s list of locally based biotech/biomed companies. With 16,500 employees, it is far larger than No. 2 Diagnostic Products Corp., a medical test maker with 2,600 employees. Private...

Calendar.
May 1, 2006... Monday, May 1 Long-Term Care Sponsor: For You Network 6 p.m. Edwards Steakhouse 9600 Flair Drive, El Monte $20-$25 (6261 442-2400 Tuesday, May 2 Sir Emyr Jones Parry, permanent representative of the...