Word around the waterfront has a sale of the Balboa Bay Club and sister Newport Beach Country Club just about done. The buzz at the 19th hole puts hotelier, vintner and JSerra High benefactor Tim Busch together on a bid with Richard Pickup, a major shareholder and director of Epicor Software in Irvine before it went private in a $976 million sale to London-based Apax Partners. The fate of the two clubs has been the subject of a guessing game since a deal with Chinese battery magnate Winston Chung fell apart in January. Informed sources say details on a Busch-Pickup buy could come within a week …
There also could be a local in the mix of the presidential election—or on the edges of it, anyway. The Insider hears that retired Superior Court Judge James Gray—known for favoring the regulation of marijuana distribution, school vouchers and a repeal of healthcare reform—is the Veep of choice for former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson, who looks likely to land the top spot on the Libertarian Party’s ticket at its convention in Las Vegas later this week. Johnson made a brief run for the GOP nomination …
Here’s a number that could be the key to whether Anaheim still has a shot at luring the Sacramento Kings basketball team to the Honda Center: $500 million. That’s how much would be cut from the Lakers’ cable deal—reportedly $3 billion over 20 years from Time Warner—if a third team comes to Southern California, a well-placed source tells the Insider. No word on what sort of cable deal the Clippers have, or the particulars on how the two L.A. teams might be indemnified if the Kings and Anaheim get serious again …
The Insider was at least half right with its report a few months back that VP of Operations Jerome Hoban was the top contender to replace Steven Beazley as CEO of the OC Fair. Hoban got an interim appointment starting this week, with an offer for the permanent post pending an “executive background check” …
Real estate reporter Mark Mueller had a flashback to the go-go years of the last housing boom during a recent week-long stretch that saw a trio of residential projects—the upscale, for-sale Lambert Ranch development along with Cypress Village apartments in Irvine and a Costa Mesa luxury retirement community called Vivante on the Coast—roll out the ceremonial hard hats, mayoral appearances, and hor d’oeuvres for groundbreakings or grand openings. The latest projects appear to have another similarity to the last boom—solid sales (see related coverage, page 1). About 20% of Vivante has already been pre-leased, Cypress Village has seen more than 120 apartments snapped up, and Lambert Ranch has caught the eye of one notable couple, Mueller’s in-laws …
There’s also getting to be a go-go feel to OC’s medical device industry, with Abbott Medical, Cameron Health and Edwards Lifesciences all gaining approvals or making progress toward them for various new products. Healthcare reporter Vita Reed has more in stories on pages 3, 4 and 9 …
Chalk up a record year for Dana Wharf Sportfishing & Whale Watching, which surpassed 400 gray whale sightings for the season, which runs from November through April. That’s up more than 40% over the 2010-2011 season.
