You’ll likely know by the time you read this whether a win in the Kentucky Derby has boosted the value of Yorba Linda entrepreneur David Kenney’s 20% stake in Goldencents, which was slated for the May 4 Run for the Roses as the Insider went to press. We had already learned by then what last year’s win meant for J. Paul Reddam of CashCall Inc. in Anaheim, who owned 100% of I’ll Have Another and got a lot more than the Derby prize money when he recently sold the horse to Japanese investors who paid $40 million and now aim to profit on stud fees. Word of Reddam’s deal came from trainer Doug O’Neill—who handled I’ll Have Another and is with Goldencents this year—during an appearance on the Dan Patrick Show on the eve of this year’s race …
George and Julia Argyros have apparently decided to extend their Golden wedding anniversary. The couple spent much of last year celebrating their 50th with millions of dollars in gifts to various institutions, including Chapman University and CHOC, among others. It looks like the celebration continues this year, with a $2.5 million gift to Hoag for nursing education last month and word that another $2.5 million was pledged to the Alzheimer’s Association during the organization’s annual gala in Dana Point this past Saturday …
Did the woman who arrived with just the right name and what appeared to be the right credentials for the Santa Ana Unified School District cut her losses or just cut and run? Thelma Meléndez de Santa Ana recently announced her plans to retire as superintendent later this year to spend more time with her family—although word around the hallways says she already has left the building. Seems a scathing letter of grievance from Santa Ana Educators Association President Susan Mercer last month might have been the last straw for Meléndez. Informed sources tell the Insider that the veteran of Beltway politics—Meléndez was a highly regarded educator and administrator who went on to become an assistant secretary of education in the Obama Administration before her stint in Santa Ana—could have taken whatever heat flared up in OC but saw a point of no return in the scorched-earth tactics of the teachers union. Others wonder how Meléndez went from talking the talk on a turnaround to walking away without much of a fight. …
Ducks fans who notice improved cellphone reception at home games next season—or maybe this season if there’s a lengthy playoff run—can thank Gary Jabara and his Mobilitie LLC, which just inked a deal to provide the Honda Center with a distributed antenna system that should boost wireless connections there. It’s one of numerous deals at sporting arenas across the U.S.—part of the reason Jabara will be one of a number of new entries on our annual OC 50 issue next week …
Jabara will be listed with other movers and shakers in real estate despite the high-tech nature of his Mobilitie LLC. Irvine Company can probably attest to Jabara’s real estate acumen: Mobilitie’s rents currently are the cheapest of any large tenant at 660 Newport Center Drive, according to documents related to the landlord’s recent $875 million CMBS loan transaction (see related story, page 1) …
Belated birthday wishes to little Ava, whose father Andre Wright snuck away from his CFO duties at Verify Inc. to take her out for a very OC celebration: lunch at Wahoo’s Fish Taco at Park Place, followed by a trip to Disneyland.
