George and Julia Argyros are at it again on behalf of Chapman University. The couple continued to celebrate the year of their 50th wedding anniversary with gifts for others—the latest an $8 million donation to the Marybelle and Sebastian P. Musco Center for the Arts that’s under construction at the Orange campus. Word of the gift was part of the lineup at Chapman’s annual American Celebration fund-raising gala last Saturday, when Richard Dreyfuss received the school’s Lifetime Achievement in the Arts Award, and Catherine and James Emmi got Citizens of the Year honors. The Argyroses and daughter Stephanie gave $5 million for a pediatric emergency room at CHOC a few months back, another in a long string of philanthropy. Chapman’s business school is named for George Argyros, and the main venue at the new arts center will be called Julianne Argyros Orchestra Hall. That makes it official, but Julia already had a claim on the performing arts at Chapman. The Insider has seen her dance with Jim Doti, and her tango owns the stage…
Judy Rosener sent along compliments on our recent coverage of the passing of former Irvine Company exec Ray Watson, adding a few points of her own. “I knew him well, and worked with him when I was on the Coastal Commission from 1973-1980,” Rosener wrote. “He was very much involved in saving the area where the popular Beachcomber restaurant and rental housing in Crystal Cove is located. It was going to be high-rise, with no access to the public to the ocean. I notice that no one has mentioned how … he was always concerned about their development and … development in the coastal area” …
Aaron Kushner has bold plans for the Register, as our story on page 4 points out. They look bolder still considering his Boston-based 2100 Trust has some debt to service on its buy of the daily’s parent, Freedom Communications. Kushner is tight-lipped on financials, but he did acknowledge that Crystal Financial in New York financed a “modest amount” of the buy, which the Business Journal estimates at $200 million. Crystal Financial is known for taking on risk for a price. It gave American Apparel an $80 million credit line at 9% earlier this year, when the L.A.-based retail chain was cash-strapped. The loan to Freedom is secured by accounts receivable, inventory, equipment and real estate, according to Crystal Financial, which said it did “all business and legal diligence” in 13 business days …
Buzz about a possible third gate to go with Disneyland and California Adventure at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim had revolved around the company’s Marvel franchise. Last week’s buy of Lucasfilm Ltd. and its Star Wars portfolio suggests another possibility, and at least one informed Disney-watcher now refers to an expansion in Anaheim as a foregone conclusion. “While I don’t foresee any standalone Lucaslands, I do think it’s likely that we’ll see the Star Wars franchise along with Marvel taking center stage at the Disneyland Resort’s third park,” wrote Al Lutz, founder of MiceAge.com, who only posts reports “when he has reliable news and rumors to share”, according to the website.
