Other news items of interest from the Orange County Business Journal
OC’s jobless rate dipped to 7.2% in October from 8.5% a year earlier but was up from a revised figure for September of 7.1%, according to the state Employment Development Dept. The jobless rate was 9.8% statewide and 7.5% nationally last month.
Clean Energy Fuels Corp. agreed to buy from Connecticut-based General Electric Co. what the Seal Beach-based company called “plug-and-play plants” to produce liquefied natural gas by 2015 in sites yet to be determined. A purchase price wasn’t disclosed, but officials said GE will provide $200 million in financing under terms of the deal.
Irvine City Council member-elect Christina Shea told the L.A. Times she wants a “forensic audit” of expenditures on Orange County Great Park. Critics of the park’s slow-moving redevelopment of the former El Toro Marine Corp. Air Station have questioned why there was no competitive bidding on up to one-half of $221.3 million in authorized park expenditures. Shea is one of three newly elected officials expected to form a majority on the Irvine City Council.
Santa Ana Planning Commission recommended City Council approval of a site plan and a parking ordinance amendment to allow a $62 million expansion of Discovery Science Center. Plans call for new pavilions, exhibits and attractions at the center, which has an estimated 525,000 visitors annually.
Irvine-based drug maker Allergan Inc. has agreed to buy the skin care business of Carlsbad-based SkinMedica Inc. for $350 million. The deal includes its topical aesthetics skin care business, including prescription and non-prescription products.
Irvine-based celebrity-marketing company Brand Affinity Technologies added to its board Al Weiss, former president of worldwide operations for Burbank-based Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. Brand Affinity connects celebrities and advertisers for endorsement deals.
St. Louis-based agriculture chemicals producer Monsanto made a $7 million equity investment in Irvine- based biotech manufacturer Biosynthetic Technologies LLC. The companies also struck a licensing and supply agreement.
Santa Ana-based Ingram Micro Inc. promoted Paul Bay, a regional executive vice president, to North American president. Bay replaces Keith Bradley, who will remain a consultant with the company through February.
The Santa Ana City Council voted 4 to 1 to spend up to $9.6 million on continued development of a $319 million streetcar system in the city. The system would run trolleys on 3.2 miles of track to link tourist, convention and shopping venues. Mayor Tom Tait cast the lone “no” vote. The city aims to tap county and federal grants for the project.
Mexican airline Interjet will add 40 Airbus A320 NEO planes to its fleet, as the low-cost carrier expands its services in the U.S. The $3.2 billion transaction sets deliver of the aircrafts for 2018. Interjet—whose existing fleet is comprised of 35 Airbus A320 jets—launched daily service to Mexico City and Guadalajara from John Wayne Airport last month.
The Dirk family of Newport Beach, owners of Costa Mesa-based printing equipment and software maker Troy Group Inc., acquired Pasolivo, an olive oil company and ranch in Paso Robles with the intent of broadening the product line and also developing vacation rentals on a portion of the 131-acre property. Financial terms weren’t disclosed, but Troy President Brian Dirk said the purchase price was in excess of the property’s $1.4 million assessed value.
A report by advocacy group Detention Watch Network named the Theo Lacy Facility in Orange as one of the 10 worst immigration detention facilities in the U.S. The group is calling for the closing of the facilities, alleging inadequate medical care and other deficiencies.
ECONOMIC INDICATORS
UP: The outlook on bankruptcies in OC, with a drop of 27% in the number of cases filed by individuals and businesses in September compared with a year earlier. The county’s 1,073 monthly filings made for a 13th-consecutive monthly decline.
UP: Home sales in OC in October, which rose 40% from a year earlier and 12% compared with September, according to San Diego-based DataQuick. The media-sale price in October was $455,000, a four-year high.
