Stories for June 2004
Monday, June 28
Developers Poised for Battle Against Inclusionary Zoning
Developers Poised for Battle Against Inclusionary Zoning
Tribune and IRS Head to Court on Times Mirror Bill
For all the hand wringing over Tribune Co.'s disappointing advertising revenues, cited in the decision by the Los Angeles Times to cut about 190 jobs, a much bigger shoe could drop sometime next year.
LABJ's LA STORIES / OUT OF THE PAST
Weekly Columns; More news and talk from around the town, behind the scenes. Plus, a long look back at past stories, celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Business Journal.
Review & Preview
Review of this week's other top news; Preview of upcoming stories and events.
BANKRUPTCIES
Weekly List of recent L.A. bankruptcies
FDIC Exam Finds "Deficiencies" In Cathay Bancorp's Safeguards
FDIC Exam Finds 'Deficiencies' In Cathay Bancorp's Safeguards
LABJ FORUM - Time Off
The Business Journal asks: How will you spend your summer vacation?
THE LABJ STOCK INDEX
Tracking 200 selected Los Angeles County-based companies; Market Diary, Market indexes, Industry analysis, 52-week performance, weekly top Gainers & Losers, Market summary, weekly profile
THE LIST - Environmental Firms
The L.A. Business Journal's list of top 15 Environmental Firms, ranked by number of L.A. County employees
Appeal Panel Revives Lawsuit Over Record Label Royalties
The Port of Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners is considering doubling the amount of work set aside for small businesses, with the goal of increasing the number of contracts it awards to women- and minority-owned enterprises.
Bankers Report Rise in Demand For Loans From Business Clients
Local bankers are reporting evidence of a robust increase in commercial lending over the past few months, a sign that business borrowers may be picking up the baton from the homeowners who have kept the economy afloat with cash-out refinancings over the p
Insurance Company Hitting Zenith as Workers' Comp Reform Takes Effect
Zenith National Insurance Corp. has posted five consecutive quarters of double-digit earnings increases while its stock has jumped more than 70 percent over the past year.
Stem Cell Research Initiative Would Bring Benefits to L.A.
Think aid, not cure-all. That's the potential benefit to the lagging L.A.-area biotech industry should a proposed $3 billion ballot initiative that would fund embryonic stem cell research be approved by state voters in November.
Rand Corp.'s Role in Airport Study Moving Into Different Flight Path
When L.A. Mayor James Hahn last month announced that the city would hire Rand Corp. to conduct a comprehensive review of the security issues surrounding his proposed airport renovation, he said the study would be done in time for the City Council to consi
CALENDAR
Calendar of L.A. business events, conventions, and announcements
ECONOWATCH L.A. COUNTY
Charts of Economic Indicators, Real Estate, Tourism...
Monday, June 21
THE LIST - Largest Technology Firms
The L.A. Business Journal's list of the 25 Largest technology firms, ranked by 2003 Revenues
LABJ's LA Stories / The Roving Eye
Weekly Columns; More news and talk from around the town, behind the scenes; looking back.
Multiple Hurdles Must Be Cleared
The compromise plan to overhaul Los Angeles International Airport that made its way through the airport and planning commissions last week has a long way to go before the shovels hit the ground.
CORRECTION
In the June 14 law column item '"Ladies Night' Litigants Rack Up Another Courthouse Loss," Marc Angelucci's role in the suit was misstated. He sued Charles Billiard as an individual.
ECONOWATCH L.A. COUNTY
Charts of Economic Indicators, Real Estate, Tourism...
CALENDAR
Calendar of L.A. business events, conventions, and announcements
Business Journal Receives Press Club Awards
The Business Journal was recognized last week by the Los Angeles Press Club's annual awards competition.
THE LABJ STOCK INDEX
Tracking 200 selected Los Angeles County-based companies; Market Diary, Market indexes, Industry analysis, 52-week performance, weekly top Gainers & Losers, Market summary, weekly profile
Producing Home-Grown Shows Brings New Prosperity to KCET
When the board of KCET, L.A.'s public television station, ventured north to Santa Barbara earlier this month to consider the proposed budget for the fiscal year starting July 1, it faced a dilemma other public stations might envy.
Tight Budget Impeding Redevelopment
Local redevelopment agencies are postponing projects as they scramble to deal with state budget cuts.
Mixed-Use Project Is Planned For Sears' Boyle Heights Site
A decaying warehouse complex in Boyle Heights may soon be home to one of L.A. County's largest single redevelopment projects.
LABJ FORUM - Opportunities Wanted
The Business Journal asks: Do you have a job yet?
Far East National Bank Sets Plan For Branch in Ho Chi Minh City
WALL STREET WEST - Far East National Bank is set to open a new branch in Vietnam this fall, becoming only the third U.S. bank with an outpost in the Communist country.
Home Prices May Expose Economy to Credit Peril
L.A. continues to defy the pressures of skyrocketing home prices and massive consumer debt, according to several economists whose mid-year forecasts project increasing job growth for the rest of the year and into 2005.
Review & Preview
Review of this week's other top news; Preview of upcoming stories and events.
Prices Climb as Supply of Off-Lease Vehicles Dwindles
Shoppers kicking tires in used car lots around Los Angeles may be experiencing the equivalent of sticker shock these days.
BANKRUPTCIES
Weekly List of recent L.A. bankruptcies
Monday, June 14
Labor Litigation Landslide Hits L.A. Entertainment Companies
Television and movie producers have found themselves defending a spate of litigation resulting from an amendment to the state's employment code that enables employees to seek damages for workplace violations.
Earthquake Safety Standards Must Be Enforced
Earthquake Safety Standards Must Be Enforced
Extended Hours Will Help Ease Traffic Problems at L.A. Ports
Extended Hours Will Help Ease Traffic Problems at L.A. Ports
THE LABJ STOCK INDEX
Tracking 200 selected Los Angeles County-based companies; Market Diary, Market indexes, Industry analysis, 52-week performance, weekly top Gainers & Losers, Market summary, weekly profile
THE LIST - Colleges & Universities
The L.A. Business Journal's list of the top 25 Colleges & Universities, ranked by full-time student equivalents enrolled in fall 2003
ECONOWATCH L.A. COUNTY
Charts of Economic Indicators, Real Estate, Tourism...
LABJ's LA Stories / The Roving Eye
Weekly Columns; More news and talk from around the town, behind the scenes.
Review & Preview
Review of this week's other top news; Preview of upcoming stories and events.
Resolve Lawsuits and Cooperate With EPA to Clean Beaches
Resolve Lawsuits and Cooperate With EPA to Clean Beaches
Hotels Finally See Heads Returning to Beds
After sputtering along for nearly three years, local hotels are eyeing the coming summer months as a comeback season.
Borough System Would Invigorate Civic Participation
Borough System Would Invigorate Civic Participation
Make the Park Atop Bunker Hill a Redevelopment Priority
Make the Park Atop Bunker Hill a Redevelopment Priority
Making a Mark
Making a Mark
Goodwill in WellPoint Merger Gets Thumbs Down From S
WALL STREET WEST
Employ Existing Financing to Ring L.A. With a Green Necklace
Employ Existing Financing to Ring L.A. With a Green Necklace
Technology Will Allow LAPD To Protect and Serve Efficiently
Technology Will Allow LAPD To Protect and Serve Efficiently
Public Safety Hinges on Communications
Public Safety Hinges on Communications
A Football Team Belongs at the Coliseum
A Football Team Belongs at the Coliseum
Reduced Business Tax Rates Will Create Jobs, Enterprise
Reduced Business Tax Rates Will Create Jobs, Enterprise
Online Newspaper Could Thrive in This Market
Online Newspaper Could Thrive in This Market
New Wave of Offerings Tests Investor Demand
After a three-year slump, the IPO market has finally awoken from its slumber, and a handful of Los Angeles firms are lining up to tap the public markets.
Paid Family Leave Law Raising Questions
Funding, Job Security, Taxes at Issue
Surveys of Gas Prices Designed To Track Both Trends and Cents
What's the real cost of an average gallon of gasoline in Los Angeles? It all depends on whom you ask.
Funding Better Foster Oversight Will Save Lives, Money
Funding Better Foster Oversight Will Save Lives, Money
Cut Back on Landfill Trash Flow By Targeting Mass of Packaging
Cut Back on Landfill Trash Flow By Targeting Mass of Packaging
Happy Anniversary
Just as L.A. Has Done, the Business Journal Has Taken Significant Strides in Itss 25 Years
Don't Believe All the Hybrid Mileage Ratings
How good is the gas mileage for Toyota's hot-selling Prius or the Honda Civic hybrid? Not as good as advertised, it turns out.
Angeleno Publisher's Expansion Plans Bank on Affluence
Modern Luxury Publishing Inc., publisher of glossy luxury lifestyle magazines, is planning an expansion that could solidify its West Coast operations and also involve a risky eastern push.
Variety of Reforms Needed to Fix Broken Court System
Variety of Reforms Needed to Fix Broken Court System
Banks Offer Incentives to Move Online
Ask Not for Whom the 101 Tolls It Tolls for Construction
Ad Slump Hits Hard at Times As Cuts Loom
A slowdown in retail advertising is at the center of poor results at the Los Angeles Times, which has prompted the newspaper's parent company, Tribune Co., to institute cost-cutting measures over the next few weeks that include voluntary buyouts and perha
To Increase Accountability, Add Supervisors to Board
To Increase Accountability, Add Supervisors to Board
LAX-Green Line Link Will Be Key to Commute
LAX-Green Line Link Will Be Key to Commute
Watermarke Apartments Now Are Marked for Sale
Videogame Companies Deserve Enterprise Zone
Public Transportation Should Get You There From Here
Public Transportation Should Get You There From Here
Resistance to Recycling of Water Will Wear Down Drop by Drop
Resistance to Recycling of Water Will Wear Down Drop by Drop
Time to Tear Down City's Commission System
Time to Tear Down City's Commission System
Personal Agendas
GOALS Four Angelenos discuss their personal agendas for the future.
Health Authority Could Best Address Hospitals
Health Authority Could Best Address Hospitals
Immigration Problems Require Multi-Pronged Approach
Immigration Problems Require Multi-Pronged Approach
IRS Settles Tax Case With Card Player in $8.6 Million Shuffle
Poker player George Chang had raked in more than $8.5 million in tax savings when the Internal Revenue Service folded its hand.
BANKRUPTCIES
Weekly List of recent L.A. bankruptcies
CALENDAR
Calendar of L.A. business events, conventions, and announcements
Give Principals More Authority, Greater Accountability
Give Principals More Authority, Greater Accountability
Monday, June 7
Energy Costs May Stunt Economy
Former Fed. Chairman Alan Greenspan on Wednesday offered a grim view of the world's rising vulnerability to high crude oil prices, saying he was skeptical that oil producers can pump enough crude to meet future demand.
AEG Courts Disney, Viacom for Complex
Anschutz Entertainment Group is negotiating with both Walt Disney Co. and Viacom Inc. to anchor a planned 200,000-square-foot media and entertainment facility next to Staples Center.
Review & Preview
Review of this week's other top news; Preview of upcoming stories and events.
THE LABJ STOCK INDEX
Tracking 200 selected Los Angeles County-based companies; Market Diary, Market indexes, Industry analysis, 52-week performance, weekly top Gainers & Losers, Market summary, weekly profile
LABJ's LA Stories / The Roving Eye
Weekly Columns; More news and talk from around the town, behind the scenes.
Manchester Square, LAX's Money Pit
Manchester Square is ground zero in L.A. Mayor James Hahn's $9 billion plan to modernize Los Angeles International Airport
Federal Court Project Downsized as Squeeze On Dollars Intensifies
Plans for a new federal courthouse in downtown Los Angeles are being scaled back and the timeline pushed out, apparent results of the deepening federal budget deficit.
NEWSMAKERS
Businesspeople and businesses in the news, on the move...
CALENDAR
Calendar of L.A. business events, conventions, and announcements
... As Profitable Infinity Radio Unit Told to Stay the Course
The chain of command at Infinity Broadcasting Corp., the Viacom Inc. unit that formed one leg of departed President Mel Karmazin's power base, has been sending out reassuring signals to the troops.
Pollo Loco Sued Over Labor Issue
In a potential test case for a new California law allowing workers to sue their employers over labor law violations, three managers of El Pollo Loco Inc. charge that they were misclassified as exempt from overtime and are seeking back pay and other compen
ECONOWATCH L.A. COUNTY
Charts of Economic Indicators, Real Estate, Tourism...
BANKRUPTCIES
Weekly List of recent L.A. bankruptcies
"Standing Eight" Count Started As Gym Operator Gets Notice
WALL STREET WEST - Sports Club Co., operator of the high-end Sports Club/LA, is getting more pummeled than one of its punching bags.
LABJ FORUM - Cutting Power
The Business Journal asks: What is your company doing to conserve energy?
THE LIST - Money Management Firms
The L.A. Business Journal's list of top Money Management firms, ranked by assets managed as of Dec. 31, 20031