The Unhappiest Place in Burbank
Rumor has it that heads were rolling at Walt Disney Co. last week, with the fury emanating from none other than top dog Michael Eisner himself.
The controversy began after the Business Journal reported last week that Disney included the ABC logo in plans for a new building on its Burbank lot. The proposed logo prompted speculation that Disney might move its newly acquired and underperforming network from New York to L.A. to be closer to its parent.
Disney called the rumors unfounded, but that didn’t stop the buzz around town, which reportedly reached up all the way up to Eisner’s ears, according to a source.
To quash the speculation, a Disney representative was sent to the Burbank city planner’s office last week to remove and replace all plans Disney had filed there containing the ABC logo.
Giving Greif Grief
In our “Send ‘Em Back to P.R. School Dept.,” we have to acknowledge local investment banker Lloyd Greif.
The Business Journal last week was inundated by press releases from Greif, who was touting the sale of Rose Hills Mortuary & Memorial Park in Whittier to the Loewen Group, a large operator of funeral services, and a New York investment bank, for some $250 million. A notable deal indeed. Except for one problem: It’s almost a year old, having been announced last September.
LACMA’s Believe It or Not
The downtown office of the Los Angeles County Medical Association is something of a museum of medicine, but it also contains some pretty weird stuff.
Its walls display paintings and drawings of historical scenes of surgery and plagues, and old photos of hospitals and of buildings the association has inhabited through its 126 years. The organization’s former President Brian Johnston explained that the association’s doctors travel far and wide and sometimes donate such treasures. He stopped at a glass case containing two shrunken heads. “Sometimes when a doctor passes away and his family goes through his things they find some surprises. Sometimes they donate them to us.”
Message Service
While most voice mail messages at L.A. City Hall are purely informational name, position, pager number and “leave a message after the tone” Greg Nelson, City Councilman Joel Wachs’ chief of staff, is becoming known for his increasingly wacky outgoing messages.
The latest, recorded by a woman with a somewhat sarcastic tone: “I know you’re disappointed that Greg didn’t answer the phone, but I’m not exactly chopped liver, you know. You can reach him by either leaving a message at the ubiquitous tone, or pressing 03 to speak to a friendly staff member. Now if you want to reach me well, never mind. Here’s that tone.”
The messages, according to Nelson, are recorded by a member of Mayor Richard Riordan’s staff. Her sister who apparently passed on some of her knowledge was trained in radio announcing.
