Subject: Company Activities and Information

• The Undead (Financial edition)

  Like the unstoppable killer in a horror movie, an unfeeling entity who once menaced OC and was believed to be long gone, is now poised to return. Just in time for Halloween, no less. If nothing else, you have to admire the timing. A county finance committee voted yesterday to add Merrill Lynch to the list of approved underwriters with which the county may do business. The reason Merrill Lynch hasn't been on the list, despite the fact that it is one of the county's leading brokerage houses,

  October 27, 2006

• Squeezing Money from Corpses in Irvine

  That companies which use magical accounting practices to rewrite history to fatten the bank accounts of their executives would try to squeeze money from corpses isn't really too surprising, but it is still disgusting. And it's happening in Irvine. The Wall Street Journal reports that dozens of companies used the collapse of prices in the stock market following the 9/11 attack as an opportunity to shovel more money into the troughs of their executives via the backdating of stock options. (The

  March 7, 2007

• Good Times At OC Defense Co.

  Thanks to the ongoing U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Ceradyne, Inc.'s profits have skyrocketed. Late last month, the Costa Mesa-based company reported record first quarter sales of $188 million and a whopping 54 percent increase in net income. Indeed, it's gross profit margin for the period was 41 percent of sales. Ceradyne, which "develops, manufactures and markets advanced technical ceramic products and components for defense, industrial, automotive/diesel and commercial applications,"

  May 30, 2007

• OC's leading indicator an economic downturn looms

  Forget sky-high gas prices, stagnant home sales and shaky consumer confidence. Around here, all you need to know that rotten times are ahead is Sharper Image quarterly profits have sunk 62 percent.

  April 18, 2006

• Great Park of Empty Homes?

  According to the funny papers, the justification for tripling the number of homes in Irvine's Great Park is the tremendous demand for new homes. But this just came from the Orange County Business Journal e-mail alert. (We'd link you to the story, but those slick-haired OCBJ money-grubbers make you pay!): PROFIT FALLS AT IRVINE HOMEBUILDER Higher interest rates, more unsold homes, falling affordability and weaker home-buyer confidence contributed to a drop in profit at Irvine-based Standard Paci

  July 27, 2006

• OC Magazine Bought

  Emmis Publishing announced this morning that it has purchased Orange Coast Kommunications, Inc., publisher of 33-year-old Orange Coast magazine. This should be excellent news. Among it's media (radio, television, books and magazines) empire, Emmis owns one of the nation's longtime, superior regional magazine: Texas Monthly. Earlier this month, Emmis Chairman and CEO Jeff Smulyan announced first quarter net revenue of $87.3 million. Terms of the Orange County deal were not disclosed, but Ruth K

  July 26, 2007

• Friday's Headlines & Surprises: All Big Money Issue!

  Yet Another USC Criminal: Laguna Beach billionaire Igor Olenicoff has pleaded guilty in a massive tax fraud scheme involving $346 million and Bahama bank accounts. A product of USC after fleeing the Soviet Union and Iran, Olenicoff lied to the IRS about the existence of the off shore accounts. He’ll have to pay back taxes and penalties of more than $52 million. He also faces up to three years in a federal prison, although I bet it’s a couple of months if at all. Footnote: Igor and his wif

  December 14, 2007

• XM Merges With Sirius

  Earlier today, the Justice Department approved Sirius Satellite Radio's proposed $4.59 billion (!) aquisition of satellite old-schooler XM Satellite Radio. This decision created one single US satellite radio provider. In response to questions fearing a monopoly, the Justice Dept. said " the combined company won't be able to raise prices profitably because of competition from such forms of audio entertainment as broadcast radio and MP3 players." Read the rest of the article here.

  March 24, 2008

• California High Court Okays Prosecutor-Movie Director Deal

  California's Supreme Court yesterday reversed a lower court's finding that a Santa Barbara County prosecutor should have been disqualified in the sensational Jesse James Hollywood (pictured, upper left) murder trial after forming a partnership with a movie director. Veteran deputy district attorney Ronald Zonen confided in and loaned his official files to Nick Cassavetes in 2003 so that the filmmaker could write what eventually became Alpha Dog starring Justin Timberlake, Sharon Stone and Bruc

  May 13, 2008

• Toll Road Collision

  December 6, 2001

• "Confusion" at Register over buyouts

  "Breaking" news in its "Newspaper Deathwatch" category: Media Bistro reports Orange County Register employees are unsure whether to take the buyout currently being offered or risk having future buyout offers lowered: Nervous staffers at the Orange County Register had been considered asking for voluntary layoffs this week, after news spread that future layoffs would include less generous severance packages. (Currently, staffers are offered to two weeks' pay per each year worked.) But when sta

  October 17, 2008

• Flush TwiceIts a Long Way to Huntington Beach

  May 16, 2002

• Times and Register Anti-Trust or Bust Lust in the Dust

  As merger mania sweeps through the ownership suites of the L.A. Times and Orange County Register, some may find it odd that the fierce competitors: 1) are even considering joining forces, and B) would even be allowed to merge After all, it was not that long ago that those U.S. Department of Justice anti-trust meanies slapped the wrists of the former New Times and previous Village Voice Media for doing much the same thing, albeit on a much less impactful, Southern California alternative news

  October 27, 2008

• We're Doomed

  I just read this from Editor and Publisher: "'[M]ore newspapers and newspaper groups will default, be shut down and be liquidated in 2009, and several cities could go without a daily print newspaper by 2010,' the Chicago-based credit ratings firm Fitch Ratings said in a report on the outlook for U.S. media and entertainment released Wednesday." Does this mean that by this time next year The Register will be regarded the same way as opera houses and sports franchises--as a status symb

  December 5, 2008

• Things Are Looking Up for 2009 ASID Design Tour

  It's a fact of barely contested sprawl that with little room left to build out, residences are being  built up. And so we now have high-rise living spaces popping up in Irvine, Santa Ana and places you really don't want to be caught dead in. And so we now have a charity tour of some bitchen high-rise abodes.   The American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) Orange County Chapter today announced that its 2009 Design Tour will trek through s

  February 5, 2009

• Live Nation So-Cal Offers $13 Tickets on Friday the 13th

  Live Nation hasn't had the best PR lately, what with nearly unanimously negative response to their plans to merge with Ticketmaster--but who says that giant corporations don't have some neat ideas every now and then? This Friday the 13th (tomorrow, for those non-calendar inclined), they'll be selling tickets to a bunch of southern California shows for just $13 each, for 13 hours from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Additional services charges apply--of course!Full list of eligible Orange County shows (like L

  March 12, 2009

• Panera Is Out Of The Danger Zone--But Other Chains Aren't

  It's hard to keep on top of the glut of depressing news about the economy, especially when it comes to restaurants--that is, which ones are struggling and which ones appear to be financially robust. Although fast-food chains are so far weathering the storm better than many high-end eateries, several of those found and/or based in the OC are now reported to be in trouble. Industry reports this week brought news that El Pollo Loco, Del Taco and Real Mex Restaurants, which owns El Torito Grill (amo

  March 16, 2009

• OC Restaurant Closures During March

  A list of places that closed in March. Lake Forest seems particularly badly hit.Islands, Laguna Hills Black Angus, Tustin and Lake Forest. The parent company filed for bankruptcy in January, although reps currently aren't forthcoming on whether other locations are on the danger list.Izakaya Zero, Huntington BeachThai Spice, Lake ForestCherry Berry, Lake Forest Wendy's, Foothill RanchSavannah, Costa Mesa (last service is dinner on March 31)If you know of any others, please chime in below. Th

  March 27, 2009

• Old World Village's Rep As a Haven for Skinheads Is the Least of the Huntington Beach Oddity's Problems

  March 19, 2009

• A Decade of Talent

  February 5, 2009

• Surf City Marathon

  January 29, 2009

• Save Scrooge

  November 13, 2008

• Four Eyes

  September 11, 2008

• Monkeys Might Fly

  July 24, 2008

• Heart of 
Orange County

  April 17, 2008

• Fatburger Divisions File For Bankruptcy, While CPK Booms

  Seems we're not even buying burgers any more. On the other hand, maybe we're starting to think that it's not all doom and gloom, and that we might live beyond 2010. Two divisions of the struggling Fatburger chain, Fatburger Restaurants of California and Fatburger Restaurants of Nevada, have both filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. There's no talk so far of locations shuttering, and parent company Fog Cutter Capital Group, which has been struggling to repay loans, says the move

  April 14, 2009

• A New Breed of E-Horror

  February 4, 1999

• Peace Conference

  April 16, 2009

• Vitamin C

  Even Dr. Chaudhuris critics say hes a genius

  September 22, 2005

• The Regulatory Disaster That Isnt

  September 15, 2005

• The Brothers and Sisters Grim

  December 16, 2004

• Diary of a Mad County

  June 19, 2003

• Glad to Meet Me

  April 13, 2000

• Opting Out

  March 2, 2000

• Not Ready For Prime Time

  September 16, 1999

• Sympathy for the Devil

  May 20, 1999

• Letters

  May 13, 1999

• Letters

  May 6, 1999

• Merrill Lynch Mob

  April 29, 1999

• Sequelitis Hits Gaming!

  March 18, 1999

• Out of Sight

  October 1, 1998

• They Froze Silva's Brain

  January 29, 1998

• Ask Not For Whom Mike Capizzi Works

  August 7, 1997

• Merrill Lynched? Hardly

  July 10, 1997

• New Chapter 11 available now

  Long Beach's Chapter 11's new record, Premium Blend, is available now. Click here to buy that shit, yo. Founded in 1998, Chapter 11 has played a blend of reggae and hip-hop at probably every local venue you could think of (and probably some you can't). They've got a show July 18 in San Bernadino with Eek-A-Mouse.

  June 30, 2009

• Dishney: D23 Full Schedule Revealed!

  ​How much do you like Disney? Annual Passport holder? Fine. But are you dedicated? Or rather: Are you 23? Like we discussed previously, the first ever d23 Expo is coming to town September 10-13. It's four whole days dedicated to all things Disneyana at the Anaheim Convention Center. The schedule for the event has recently been announced and even for an admitted closet Disney fanatic, it seems pretty promising. Thursday's highlights brings us speaker and CEO of the Walt Disney Company Bob Iger

  August 26, 2009

• Dishney: Disney Seeking to Acquire Marvel Comics in $4 Billion Transaction

  Flickr user KingKong21Nemo finding Doctor Doom.​Just this morning, the Walt Disney Company released a press release announcing their intention to purchase and acquire Marvel and its portfolio of 5,000-plus characters--including Iron Man, Spider-Man, X-Men, the Fantastic Four and more--for $4 billion.  "Disney is the perfect home for Marvel's fantastic library of characters given its proven ability to expand content creation and licensing businesses," said Ike Perlmutter, Marvel's Chief Ex

  August 31, 2009

• Healthcare Workers to Protest Job Cuts at Kaiser Orange County

  Coming to Anaheim Thursday.​Kaiser Permanente employees will picket outside the Kaiser Orange County facility Thursday to protest the health behemoth's plans to slash 1,350 jobs in coming months.Kaiser workers in purple shirts are scheduled to chant, carry signs and speak with patients about the effects of job cuts on patient care from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at 411 North Lakeview Ave., Anaheim. The picketing is part of five weeks of events held by SEIU-UHW members, who have scheduled simultan

  September 30, 2009

• From the Mixed-Up Bankrupcty Filing of Mr. Robert Bisno

  Bisno: Doesn't pay bills​A source sent us the Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing of Robert Bisno, the man who essentially bought an election for SanTana Mayor Don Papi Pulido's regime by pouring tens of thousands of dollars into a campaign that extended term limits for the SanTana city council. Maybe the developer of the desolate City Place Lofts on the city's north side should've been paying his bills instead of fucking with democracy, though. In his August 31 filing, Bisno claims to have between

  September 22, 2009

• OC Register Overlord Freedom Communications Kills a Paper

  ​Officials from Irvine-based Freedom Communications, whose flagship newspaper is the Orange County Register, told employees of Arizona's East Valley Tribune newspapers that they will cease operations on Dec. 31.Freedom's official announcement is contained in this company news release. It's also backed into in the second paragraph of this Register blog post, which leads instead with their corporate overlords saying they expect to see a profit by 2012.Perhaps they are applying the Bob Dylan Law

  November 2, 2009