Campaign 2006: Support is Slipping For Big Bond Package
Likely voters favor four of the five public works bond measures on the November ballot, but overall support for the record $42.6 billion package is waning — particularly among Republicans, according to a new Field Poll, the Sacramento Bee reports. Propositions to upgrade ports and roads, schools, water projects, and levees and flood control enjoy double-digit leads. But an affordable housing measure is trailing. Democrats and nonpartisan voters strongly support each of the five bond proposals, California’s most ambitious public works package in generations.
Santa Monica Plans Smoking Ban on Promenade
Santa Monica has opened a new front in the battle against secondhand smoke: the Third Street Promenade, the Los Angeles Times reports. The City Council voted 5 to 1 this week to order the city attorney’s office to write an ordinance that would ban smoking at the promenade , one of Southern California’s most popular tourist attractions , as well as at outdoor cafes, automated teller machines, movie ticket lines and farmers markets throughout the city.
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Hollywood Agency ICM Acquires Small Rival
One of Hollywood’s largest deal makers cut a deal Thursday to make itself even bigger, the Los Angeles Times reports. International Creative Management said it bought Broder Webb Chervin Silbermann Agency, a boutique shop known for putting together such hit TV shows as ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy,” NBC’s “My Name Is Earl” and the CBS comedy “Two and a Half Men.” Although neither agency would disclose terms of the transaction, which took five months to forge, people familiar with the details said it was valued at about $70 million, with ICM paying cash for the agency’s assets. For his part, ICM Chairman Jeffrey Berg, 59, said only that the investment was hefty.
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Developer Buys Site For $9.5 Million
lack Equities Group, a Beverly Hills-based developer, has acquired a multitenant office building totaling 51,396 square feet in Woodland Hills for $9.5 million, the Ventura County Star reports. Roger L. Beck, vice president of Colliers International’s Encino office, represented the buyer.
Pension Returns Hit 13.2% for Year
There’s nothing like beating your big sister, the Sacramento Bee reports The California State Teachers’ Retirement System, the nation’s second-largest public pension fund, announced Thursday that it had posted a 13.2 percent return for the 2005-06 fiscal year. That result beats the 12.3 percent return posted Tuesday by the larger California Public Employees’ Retirement System. It’s only the second time in the past six years that CalSTRS has had a higher return than CalPERS.
Vitesse Executive is Optimistic Despite Stock Option Inquiry
Investors tried questions from every angle to get some insight into the future of Vitesse Semiconductor Inc., but management provided few specifics when giving an update on the business during a conference call Thursday, the Ventura County Star reports. The Camarillo company is trying to sort out its financial position after an investigation into the timing of stock options for executives expanded to recognition practices and accounting policies that changed the company’s cash position near the end of reporting periods.
