Problems for automakers mean problems for OC auto dealers - one fourth of the county's dealers gone in two years... Where the private security firm formerly known as Blackwater goes intrigue and controversy follow... Can the CEO of OC's libertarian daily newspaper be leaving for the top spot at libertine Playboy?...

Click Button Below >> May 25, 2009

Previous OC Insider audiocasts:

May 18, 2009 The recession has been hard on charities - people have less to donate, but there are still big givers in OC... Forbes magazine has called Angels' owner, Artie Moreno, baseball's Best Boss. He has almost tripled the team's value... It might not always be fun to turn 40, unless you're this OC university campus radio station...

May 4, 2009 These guys are really playing chicken - its dueling ad campaigns!... meet the Santa Ana guitar maker for the stars; he plays, too... UC Irvine's new law school has passed its first test. By some measures it ranks in the top three nationally. How did they do it?...

April 27, 2009 Remember the AIG-bailout-OC hotel junket debacle? Well, other OC hotels are hurting too... The subprime mortagage crisis is proving to be a lot like one of those monsters in a sci-fi flick. Just when you think it's killed, it comes back in a different form... Here's a company that's getting a big piece of the pie, even in this economy... Plus, meet the #1 ranked Anteaters...

April 19, 2009 Why are all these people smiling? It has something to do with ice hockey and a court case... This high-speed luxury hybrid sports-car could make it big next year. Venture capitalist are betting on it... The recession has taken its toll on OC public companies. The top 75 have seen revenues drop by five billion dollars...

April 6, 2009 This former CEO of one of OC's largest companies is awating trial on securities fraud and drug charges... On the other hand, this local boy has made good. He's getting own musical comedy TV series... The Angels' management and owner are getting inventive to bring in more ticket sales - with new prime field seats...

March 16, 2009 When baseball stars retire they kick back and relax, right? Well, not this former Angels player... The surf's up in the advertising world - for the CEO of OC's Quicksilver, anyway... The recession has eaten into OC women-owned businesses, but not the biggest one...

March 9, 2009 The recession has even been tough on this royal family who invested in OC real estate... And now who is the largest financial institution on Orange County? You'll be surprised... Auto sales are down, But for two Korean automakers with HQs in OC, it's not so bad...

February 16, 2009 Yes, there is some good Karma in the troubled auto business...Bad News for OC's luxury hotels. They're cutting back and laying off... And OC will soon be home to a baseball team owner...

February 9, 2009 Mark Sanchez has decided to skip his final year of eligibility at USC and go pro... It doesn't happen very often at John Wayne airport, but there's a fare war going on... At UCL scientists are unlocking the mysteries of the genome, but even they are powerless when it comes to figuring out the state's budget mess...

January 26, 2009 At the Obama inauguration this OC power-broker was just the guy sitting next to Dustin Hoffman... Whatever happened to Sally Ride - the first woman in space? ... The rumors are swirling around this giant OC surf-wear maker... Don't shed any tears for out-of-work OC mortgage brokers. The FDIC could soon help...

January 12, 2009 Whoopi Goldberg has a sweet tooth, and that's good news for this OC cookie maker... It was a bad year for many corporate executives, but not for these two OCers... More milestones for this 100 year-old OC resident...

December 16, 2008 This Seal Beach-based fashion company has a bad-boy image, but this founder has been a little too bad recently... Four OC tech companies have lost a combined 20 billion dollars in value this year... Here's a gift idea: your name on the new media-arts building at UCI...

November 25, 2008 Orange County sheriff, Sandra Hutchins has been taking heat lately, for getting rid of "heat", but that's the least of her worries... So Ca, a new designer label, is trying for the younger shopper, again... For those who still have it, there's a new resort at Pelican Hill in Newport Coast...

November 18, 2008 Coming to California Adventure: the biggest makeover, ever, of one of Disney's amusement parks, including Cars-World... Forget cheerful and bright; awful and grim are what retailers are forecasting for this Holiday season... And three thousand cheers for this OC chipmaker's engineers...

November 11, 2008 Why is OC Democratic party chairman Frank Barbaro smiling? Could it because of Barack Obama? ... This Huntington Beach company is a winner in the surf, but a wipeout on the slopes... In this economy everything is tighter, except maybe, faces? And a Happy Birthday to a notable OC businessman...

October 27, 2008 AIG bailout causes outrage over execs' Monarch Beach vacation... What kind of companies managed to grow in a slow economy? Here's one of many in OC ... The Business Journal's fastest-growing company grew by a whopping 26,000 percent!...

October 13, 2008 Follow the money! 700 billion dollars and maybe more, but OC has apparently dodged a big bullet ... The Angels fell short, but let's hear it for a local team that did go all the way... An OC group may have a hit this holiday season...

September 29, 2008 Here's another relay swimmer with Olympic gold medals... More than home prices are falling. Office buildings are going down, too... Do you recognize the celebs behind these sunglasses?

September 15, 2008 The slumping economy is affecting high rollers, too... Yet, another record land sale here in OC - 60 million per acre! ... Call it crazy, but the Republican party is trying to put CA into play for McCain... Another star for the Angels, in the kitchen...

August 25, 2008 What do these Olympic gold medalists have in common? ... They're back! The Real Housewives of Orange County on Bravo... The National Democratic Party is sending in troops to help Huntington Beach mayor, Debbie Cook...

July 21, 2008 How many supermodels does it take to replace actress Angelina Jolie?... Move over Cade (McNown), and make room for another ex-Bruin... Happy 50th anniversary to this OC chapter of Big Brothers and Big Sisters... Harley Davidson has been on a Wild Ride!...

June 30, 2008 Not everyone is moving their manufacturing to China. Made in America makes good business sense... With the economy, the OC office market is slowing down, too... Plus: Meet the Bean Queen...

June 23, 2008 Poor Henry Nicholas. The co-founder of Broadcom is under Federal indictment, and the internet is watching him, too... This iconic surfshop is planning to open two new stores... and this OC swimsuit maker is going upscale...

June 2, 2008 Misery loves company. How else to explain this sudden friendship... A big OC manufacturer wins one lawsuit, then gets hit with another... This OC leader has scaled mountains and ran the Boston marathon. Now he's dancing...

May 26, 2008 The City of Fullerton is turning down the volume, and some restaurants and bars aren't happy... UC Irvine is thinking big, about raising 1 billion dollars... Meet this Thai immigrant who has turned his passions into a thriving business complex...

May 12, 2008 You'll need a scorecard to keep up with the number of prominent OC people targeted by Federal investigators... he used to complete passes, now he's trying to complete deals... times and Jerry Brown have changed. His new tune on energy is music to others' ears...

April 28, 2008 Remember SunCal vs. Disney? Buzz is, there's more real estate trouble... An OC company is feeling the heat, and moving to Mexico... New luxury car sales are down, but used luxury car sales are up...

April 21, 2008 A Federal judge settles an OC surfwear battle... Known for skimpy bathing suits, there's nothing skimpy about this company's plans to grow... Here's one more OC surfwear company to watch... And, he used to be the King of the old media...

April 14, 2008 Expect two OC fashion icons to be popping up in commercials, fast food joints, and cereal boxes... Economic pain! OC companies lost a billion dollars last year... In this age of the internet, a young pro-quarterback shouldn't take pictures of himself having too much fun...

April 7, 2008 For sure inspiration, it doesn't get better than this: an OC hero and a famed physicist joining efforts to help others ... the Angels report that ticket sales are ahead of last year's pace ... and, Hollywood has been popping up in the OC...

March 17, 2008 An OC Pop Star is auctioning tour items on Ebay to help two local children's charities... What does this libertarian CEO have in common with Barack Obama?... Orange County has a new tourism logo, and it looks familiar...

March 10, 2008 More bad news for the OC housing market: it's serverely distressed, according to Wells Fargo... And a farewell to Norm Watson, founder of KOCE and one of OC's leading educators...

Feb. 25, 2008 Something's up! The film industry has discovered OC's Red Digital secret HD movie camera... But the video biz is a tough biz. Just ask Irvine-based Vizio... There's a new Democrat mayor in Fullerton. That makes six in Rep-dominated OC...

Feb. 18, 2008 Good news and bad news for OC Auto dealers... Las Vegas developers pay record prices for OC homes... Shares of Irvine-based Allergan fell on news the FDA is reviewing the safety of Botox...

Jan. 28, 2008 When it comes to global competition, this is the final insult: America has lost it's shopping edge... It's been a total makeover, and even more is coming to Huntington Beach... OC's CalState Fullerton now has a name on it's school, too...

Jan. 14, 2008 What do Tom Hanks and OC Assemblyman Chuck DeVore have in common? ... Sleepy seaside Dana Point isn't sleepy anymore. It has awakened into a luxury hotspot... Not much bigger than a golf cart, this fuel efficient car is coming to OC...