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Tuesday, Mar 19, 2024
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Business Bites

Automotive

Kia Motors America Inc. in Irvine hired Bill Peffer as vice president of sales, a position Michael Sprague held until he was promoted to chief operating officer in 2015. Peffer starts on July 24.

— Mediha DiMartino

Education

Orange Coast College Foundation received a gift of $1 million from retired Spanish Professor Mary McChesney. The donation will fund a Foucault Pendulum for the Costa Mesa college’s planetarium, which the college said it plans to complete in the fall of 2018. McChesney, 91, is making the donation in honor of her late partner, Adelyn Bonin, who died in January 2016. Bonin taught German and retired from OCC in 1983 after 24 years of service. The college said its planetarium will be the first of its kind in Orange County, serving students from grade school through college.

— Deirdre Newman

California State University-Fullerton’s Center for Insurance Studies was named a Global Center of Insurance Excellence by the International Insurance Society. The Center for Insurance Studies was established in the Mihaylo College of Business and Economics in 1998. CSUF will offer a new master’s of science program in financial engineering and risk management this fall.

— Deirdre Newman

Media

The Securities and Exchange Commission said it started the process of revoking the stock of Irvine-based Ubiquity Inc., which was due to update its filings with the SEC by June 30 but missed the deadline. On June 29, Ubiquity filed for a deadline extension until Aug. 15 to become current, according to SEC documents. Its request says its progress was hampered by a series of “unfortunate events,” such as being locked out of its offices for two weeks, lack of cooperation by outside vendors, and unavailability of key people. The SEC granted Ubiquity a partial extension until July 10.

— Deirdre Newman

Nonprofits

Costa Mesa-based Project Independence announced it received a $10,000 grant from the Stockton-based Louis W. Foster and Gladyce L. Foster Family Foundation. The nonprofit group will use the money to restore its Access2Adventure Program, which provides supervised outings for people with developmental disabilities, such as attending Angels baseball games, bowling, and kayaking.

— Paul Hughes

Obituaries

Newport Beach resident Paul Matt, whose Santa Fe Springs general contractor company worked on many high-profile Southern California projects, died on June 30 at age 85. Matt worked on the Crystal Cathedral before establishing Matt Construction with his brother and son in 1991, and later performed a restoration of the Hollywood Bowl. He had battled non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. A public memorial is being planned.

— News reports

Services

Fisher Phillips said client TrafFix Devices Inc. won a race discrimination and wrongful termination case in Orange County Superior Court. The Atlanta-based labor and workplace law firm has an office in Irvine. San Clemente-based TrafFix makes products to control traffic and reduce auto collisions. Ex-employee Barbara Ijeh Egbuta, a Nigerian immigrant, sued for $12 million alleging discrimination based on race and national origin, unlawful retaliation, and wrongful termination. Fisher Phillips argued that wrongful termination applies only if a complaint is filed in good faith, and that based on Egbuta’s complaint, its investigation and employee interviews, she couldn’t reasonably believe her actions were protected.

— Deirdre Newman

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