Review
March 26 – April 1
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 and other characters from A.A. Milne’s children’s books, “tampered with the administration of justice” by hiring a private investigator to take documents from Disney’s trash bins. The ruling spares Burbank-based Disney from having to pay royalties and damages that might have totaled “several hundred million dollars,” according to regulatory filings.
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 share in stock for the rest. Buying Tularik gives Amgen T67, a cancer drug in the last stage of testing. With Tularik, Amgen will be adding a large variety of drug candidates that can reach the market in five or 10 years.
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 chairman and CEO and own half the company. Leonard Green, the L.A.-based investment firm, will pay $14 a share in cash for the company, which has around 2,000 Hollywood Video locations and 600 Game Crazy videogame stores.
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 surveyed). The statewide average was $2.07, down from $2.08 while the nationwide average is $1.758, up 1.5 cents over the previous week. One discouraging sign for motorists: Saudi Arabia’s plans to proceed with a cut in oil production (see story, this page).
Music Enforcement: A group of record companies started 14 legal actions against 247 people in four countries for illegally swapping songs over the Internet. Those implicated face lawsuits for alleged illegal sharing of songs. Lawsuits against U.S. individuals started last September.
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 the contract were not announced, but one published report pegged his new annual salary at $27 million, which would still be below what David Letterman makes as late-night host on CBS.
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 force the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to consider evidence he submitted last year and revise the amounts power companies should refund to California. The state seeks $9 billion in refunds for what it claims were inflated prices during the energy crisis in 2000 and 2001. Meanwhile, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said that by December he would announce a plan to prevent price manipulation in the electricity markets and ensure the state has sufficient power to avert blackouts.
Preview
April 5 – 11
Easter, Passover: The Passover holiday begins at sunset on Monday (5th) with the traditional seder dinner. The holiday ends at sunset on Tuesday April 13. U.S. financial markets will be closed for Good Friday (9th), and on Easter Sunday most retailers take the day off, including many supermarkets.
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 Dodgers open the regular season at the Stadium on Monday (5th) at 1:10 p.m. against San Diego (followed by night games against the Padres on Tuesday and Wednesday and then a three-game weekend series against Colorado). The Avengers are home on Saturday (10th) against Colorado. Also this week: the NCAA Women’s Basketball championship game on Tuesday in New Orleans and the Masters from Augusta, Georgia (8th-11th).
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 (4th) at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. The exhibition, presented by Univision Communications Inc., includes around 110 paintings from private and public collections and runs through Aug. 8. For information: (323) 857-6000.
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 childhood hunger in Los Angeles. Among those participating are chefs Susan Feniger and Mary Sue Milliken, whose downtown restaurant Ciudad is one of the sponsors, along with the Downtown Central Business Improvement District. For information: (213) 624-2146.
Economic Reports: Wednesday (7th): February consumer credit. Thursday (8th): February wholesale trade, March producer price index. Friday (9th): State and county employment data for March.
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 Supercenters. Opponents argue that the initiative bypasses public hearings or reviews. The Bentonville, Ark.-based retailer says opposition is coming from labor unions and competitors.
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 luncheon will be Eli Broad, Richard Riordan, Cardinal Roger Mahony, Councilman Alex Padilla and TV weatherman Fritz Coleman. Tim Leiweke will receive the Heart of the City award.
