Company Activities and Information

Gary Thomas, National Association of Realtors President, Swears That He is Broke

The National Association of Realtors president, who resides in Mission Viejo, is denying allegations he and his two sons fraudulently pulled nearly $580,000 out of their South County real estate company before seeking bankruptcy protection."Exhibit A," as far as Gary Thomas is concerned, would be h ... More >>

In the Spotlight 'A Winter Spectacular' with Liza Minnelli and Men Alive

Segerstrom Center for the Arts

Kia and Hyundai Go to War in Santa Ana Court

When Kia and Hyundai were forced to recalculate their gas-mileage claims after a government audit, the top two South Korean automakers may have believed regulatory fines and a consumer compensation plan would have ended the financial bleeding.Think again, unless Kia and Hyundai can fight court chall ... More >>

[UPDATED with Board's Memories:] Chuck Smith--No, Not That Chuck Smith; We Mean the Former County Supervisor--Dies

See the update at the end of this post about county supervisors remembering Smith before adjourning today's Board meeting in his honor.ORIGINAL POST, OCT. 1, 2:18 P.M.: Charles V. "Chuck" Smith, who as an Orange County supervisor during the Weekly's toddler years became our face for good (advocating ... More >>

Bodas de Sangre

Art Theatre

Orange County Register's Freedom Overlords Sell 8 TV Stations to Conservative Concern

Freedom Communications, the Irvine-based media company whose flagship newspaper is the Orange County Register of Santa Ana, has completed the sale of its eight television stations to the company that famously ordered its ABC affiliates not to show an April 30, 2004, Nightline tribute to American sol ... More >>

Former TBN Finance Head: Board Illegally Took $50 Million; Attorney Grabbed Breasts to "See How They Feel"

​A former executive for the Trinity Broadcasting Network has accused the company of illegally funnelling more than $50 million in charitable assets to its board of directors. In a federal lawsuit, Brittany Koper, granddaughter of TBN founders Paul and Jan Crouch and the former chief financia ... More >>

Schuller Shakeup at Crystal Cathedral: Reverend Robert's Daughter 'Temporarily' off board

​The Crystal Cathedral announced in a statement Wednesday that Senior Pastor Sheila Schuller Coleman is temporarily leaving the board of directors. "The leadership changes to the Board of Directors for Crystal Cathedral Ministries are temporary and we believe that they will be good for the Cr ... More >>

Why Does John Urell, Pedo-Priest Protector Supreme, Sit on the Board of a Catholic School?

​If there were justice in this world, Monsignor John Urell would've been in San Quentin long ago, in prison in a culture where child molesters and their protectors aren't welcomed with open arms like they are at the Diocese of Orange. But there is no justice, and so not only does John Urell remain ... More >>

Rayford Brothers

Pike

American Airlines' Parent Company Files For Bankruptcy, No Immediate Implications For John Wayne Airport

​This morning, American Airlines' parent company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, but, for now at least, it won't impact passengers.AMR Corpororation, the company over American Airlines and American Eagle, voluntarily filed for Chapter 11, saying it was the next logical step in ensuring ... More >>

Newport Beach Hotel Company Dishes Out $132k for Firing of Front Desk Clerk with Autism

​Comfort Suites and its parent company Tarsadia Hotels of Newport Beach have agreed to pay $132,500 to settle a discrimination lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on behalf of an autistic front desk clerk who was fired.The companies must also change its employment p ... More >>

Sade

Honda Center

FBI Database Architect Says He Was Victimized in Orange County

Eye Gotcha​Gary Bender, a veteran biometrics expert who has been called an architect of the FBI's highly-touted fingerprint system, says he was tricked out of at least $940,800 by a business partner in Newport Beach.In a lawsuit filed this week in Orange County Superior Court, Bender alleges that ... More >>

All Dean Goetz Wants for Christmas is His Two Blocks of Shares Daughter Unwittingly Tipped Him About

Goetz​Let this be a lesson to all you law firm associates working on big corporate mergers: DO NOT leave your documents about the pending deal lying around the family home during the holidays--lest your personal injury attorney father scan them and wind up facing accusations of insider trading.Tha ... More >>

Robert Schuller's Glass House of God

[Moxley Confidential] Picking through the shards of the bankrupt televangelism empire.

Orange County Register Owner Freedom Communications' Papers, TV Stations for Sale

​Update, November 18, 5:20 p.m.: A media industry watcher suggests Freedom Communications may have a strategy behind what would seem to be a counter-intuitive move to sell the modern-day equivalent of buggy whips, daily newspapers."Might the strategy be to sell some of the properties, keep othe ... More >>

Skate for a Cause

etnies Skate Park

944 Magazine Files For Bankruptcy, Mocks It

​944 Media, which publishes fashion/entertainment/lifestyle magazines in 10 different regions, including Orange County, has filed for bankruptcy.But, not only does the company plan to keep publishing, it is having fun with its financial pickle by posting on its website, "The Top 9 Fun Facts About ... More >>

5 Hard-Ass Ways the Government Should Treat a Blockbuster Bankruptcy

​Blockbuster Inc. reveals in its annual financial report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission that the video-store chain may have to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.The one-time king of DVD and videotape rentals reveals in the filing it ended the last year in the red, the ne ... More >>

Prepare to be Screwed: Ticketmaster-Live Nation Merger Approved

When it comes to the law, my knowledge is pretty much limited to drinking, drugs and anything else that at some point in my life might have gotten me fined, incarcerated or both. Despite my ignorance, though, I'm fairly certain that the Ticketmaster-Live Nation coupling will not only result in many ... More >>

Stuff-a-Bus

Honda Center

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 e ... More >>

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 th ... More >>

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 billi ... More >>

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 f ... More >>

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 wit ... More >>

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, ha ... More >>

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 sellin ... More >>

Surf City Marathon

Huntington Beach

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 ... More >>

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 Just ... More >>

Heart of 
Orange County

Mary J. Blige and Jay-Z

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 combin ... More >>

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 co ... More >>

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 ... More >>

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.

Vitamin C

Even Dr. Chaudhuris critics say hes a genius

The Brothers and Sisters Grim

Brad Silberlings Lemony Snicket Movie

Diary of a Mad County

Flush TwiceIts a Long Way to Huntington Beach

Why wont the sanitation district clean up the massive sewage plume off the countys coast? Follow the money

Sympathy for the Devil

The Register's upside-down campaign for sprawl

Letters

Letters

Sequelitis Hits Gaming!

Are megamergers healthy for the industry?

A New Breed of E-Horror

Who's behind the Net Profit e-mails?

Out of Sight

They Froze Silva's Brain

Head Supervisor lacks the vision thing

Ask Not For Whom Mike Capizzi Works

DA's aggressive defense of Wall Street firm

Merrill Lynched? Hardly

Capizzi Let the Big Boys Off