More than 20 L.A.-area women with Mexican backgrounds recently completed Consular Entrepreneurship Program for Mexican Women Abroad. The five-month program provides education, mentorship and training in entrepreneurship. This was the fourth class, and it is put on by the Consulate General of Mexico in Los Angeles; Curacao, the store chain based near Westlake that serves a mostly Hispanic clientele; and the Curacao Foundation.

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Victor Vener, founder of the California Philharmonic, died Dec. 31, it was announced recently. The maestro took an entrepreneurial approach to music, founding the Pasadena POPS, Chamber Orchestra of Pasadena and Burbank Symphony in addition to the Cal Phil, which performed at the Walt Disney Concert Hall beginning in 2003. 

Vener was known as an approachable figure who often talked with the audience during his concerts. And his ensembles were known for their range of guest performers, including recording artists, pop sensations and dancers and actors.

The Insider is compiled by Editor-in-Chief Charles Crumpley. He can be reached at [email protected].