REVIEW
May 23 – 29
Living Wage: After years of hearings and debate, the Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency recommended passage of a living wage law. If approved by City Council, it would require developers and other contractors on CRA projects to pay their employees $8.53 an hour with benefits or $9.78 an hour without benefits. It would also require subcontractors receiving more than $100,000 from the agency to pay prevailing wages. The proposal is expected to go before Council later this month.
CSC Deal: Computer Sciences Corp. won a 10-year, $735 million contract to manage telephone equipment maker Marconi Corp.’s information systems. El Segundo-based Computer Sciences will handle help-desk services, manage desktop computers and develop software for London-based Marconi. About 360 Marconi employees will transfer to Computer Sciences as part of the deal.
Store Closings: After struggling for several years, Walt Disney Co. said would close more than 100 of its Disney Store outlets and sell the remainder to a group that would operate them under a licensing arrangement. The Disney Stores began in 1987 to mostly strong results, but demand for Disney merchandise has declined over the years, resulting in operating income for the consumer products unit to plunge.
Newhall Passage: The County Board of Supervisors approved the controversial Newhall Ranch development, which would bring more than 20,000 new homes to an area 30 miles north of downtown Los Angeles. The proposed development, which has faced opposition by environmental groups for 10 years, still faces a court challenge over the plan’s environmental soundness. Meanwhile, Tejon Ranch Co. announced plans to sell more than a third of its 270,000 acres to a land trust as part of a proposal to establish a wildlife corridor. The potential sale would cover a 25-mile section of the Tehachapi Mountains.
ATM Ruling: The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal of lower court rulings that overturned laws that the cities of Santa Monica and San Francisco had enacted barring banks from imposing ATM service charges for customers of other institutions. The laws were challenged because they conflicted with federal banking laws.
Bronfman Financing?: A group led by Wachovia Corp. has committed to about $9 billion in financing to help Edgar Bronfman Jr.’s possible bid for Vivendi Universal SA’s U.S. entertainment assets, the Los Angeles Times reported. Merrill Lynch & Co. also agreed to help with the debt financing, the newspaper reported, as Bronfman tries to regain assets his family’s Seagram Co. sold to Vivendi for $34 billion in 2000.
Barbakow Resigns: Tenet Healthcare Corp. Chief Executive Jeffrey Barbakow quit amid a federal investigation of the company’s Medicare billing practices that has sent shares tumbling. Trevor Fetter, the Santa Barbara-based hospital company’s president, will temporarily succeed Barbakow as a search begins for a replacement. Barbakow, a former investment banker, was hired 10 years ago to turn Tenet around at a time when a fraud investigation threatened to bankrupt the company, then known as National Medical Enterprises.
Olympic Challenge: CBS will ask its affiliated local stations to pay part of the cost of a planned bid for broadcast TV rights to the 2010-2012 Olympic Games. The announcement, made at the annual affiliates meeting in Las Vegas, did not indicate how the affiliates would help pay the network. In 1998, the affiliates agreed to help pay for National Football League broadcasts. All four networks have said they would bid for the games.
PREVIEW
June 2 – 8
Fed Talk: Robert Parry, chief executive of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco discusses the economic outlook for the nation and the region on Monday (2nd) at a luncheon at the Omni Hotel sponsored by the National Association for Business Economics and Technolink Association. For information: 949-443-4026.
Land Talk: The UCLA Anderson Forecast releases its quarterly national and state economic update on Thursday (5th) as part of day-long session on real estate markets. Session will be sponsored by the Richard S. Ziman Center for Real Estate and held at the Skirball Cultural Center. For information: 310-206-9424.
Galaxy Lunch: The L.A. Galaxy is honored by the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday (3rd) during a lunch at the Galaxy’s Carson training facility. Information: 213-482-6352.
Sports Beat: The Dodgers are in town all week, with a three-game series Tues-Thurs. (3rd-5th) against the Kansas City Royals and a three-game weekend set (6th-8th) with the Chicago White Sox as inter-league play continues. On Saturday (7th), it’s the Belmont Stakes, where Funny Cide has a chance to be the first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed did it 25 years ago. There’s also the last week of French Open tennis, as well as the McDonald’s LPGA championship. And the Stanley Cup Finals will stretch into this week.
Jewish Politics: Rabbi David Dalin discusses his book “The Presidents of the United States and the Jews” on Tuesday (3rd) at 7:30 p.m. as part of a lecture series at the Skirball Center. The book chronicles Jewish-White House relations and presidential appointments of Jews. For information: 310-440-4500.
Water World: Students from Belmont, King Drew and five other local high schools are showcasing “The Power of Water” at the Los Angeles Department of Public Works’ inaugural Hydro-Power Contest on Saturday (5th). The winners get to travel to Buffalo to compete in a national contest. Information: 213-978-0329.
Budget Showdown: L.A. Mayor James Hahn has until Wednesday (4th) to follow through on his announcement to veto portions of the city budget approved May 28 by the L.A. City Council. The veto sets the stage for a final showdown between Hahn and the council over Hahn’s plans to hire an additional 320 police officers. The council passed its version of the budget, which postpones the funding for these new police officers for six months, by an 11 to 3 margin, enough votes to override Hahn’s expected veto. But there were indications late last week that two or three more councilmembers could move into the Hahn camp, thereby allowing his veto to stand.
