WHO’S WHO HEALTH CARE THE SPECIALISTS
OVERVIEW L.A. is a haven for the elite of the medical field, with many of the best specialists in the country calling the city home. 1
LIFE Spending a day with Dr. Arthur Johnson, chief of staff at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. 11
TRIAGE When you’re the best at what you do, there inevitably will be more patients than you can handle. Who winds up getting treated? 12
PRICING Bills for services rendered by these world-class physicians are staggering. Can the average Joe find a way to afford them? 13
BUZZ Nothing helps the practices of elite doctors like word of mouth. 14
EGO OK, your life is in your doctor’s hands. But does he have to act like it? 15
LIST L.A.’s 20 best physician specialists. 16
ON THE COVER
PLAYA DreamWorks SKG’s decision to pull out of Playa Vista improves development prospects in the Valley.
PUBLIC The state of L.A.’s largest public companies isn’t a pretty picture.
UP FRONT
DISNEY The game of Katz and Mouse has been settled. 3
BILLIARDS Hollywood Billiards is on the ball after recovering from earthquake damage. 3
CHAMPAGNE Forget about stockpiling water. Saving champagne for Y2K is the current rage. 3
COOPER After serving as a retail outlet hub for years, a downtown building is reinventing itself. 4
MYSTERY What does L.A.’s paltry help-wanted advertising index say about the job market? 5
V-CHIP Television sets equipped to screen out violence and sex have finally hit the stores, but consumers don’t seem to notice. 6
LE MERIGOT Santa Monica’s newest hotel ups the ante in an increasingly competitive market. 7
CHIAT When advertising agency TBWA Chiat/Day moved to Playa Vista, executives thought they were on the cutting edge of L.A. development. 9
KOTKIN The pullout by DreamWorks is a reminder of how the entertainment industry has changed. 9
MEDIA & TECHNOLOGY
VAULT You can find some of the most-prized artifacts in Hollywood history in a nondescript building on a quiet side street. 24
XENON The Santa Monica company is the largest marketer and distributor of films targeted to African-American audiences. 24
Columns & features Tech Talk 24, Kathryn Harris 25, Computers 26, 27
SMALL BUSINESS
LANGUAGE The Beverly Hills Lingual Institute is bringing the world’s languages to L.A. 28
Columns & features Weekly Briefing 28, Jane Applegate 29, Ask Lorraine 30, Entrepreneur’s Notebook, 32
PEOPLE
LISA SPECHT The Westside attorney talks about being a political force in L.A. 36
Columns & features Newsmakers 37
INVESTMENTS & FINANCE
CORPORATE FOCUS Rexhall Industries Inc. 43
Columns & features Wall Street West 44, Econowatch 44, LABJ 100 45, Jane Bryant Quinn 46
REAL ESTATE
JOBS When real estate people go on vacation, they don’t stop working they just see different property. 55
Columns & features Real Estate 54
