ENERGY
Assembly Democrats proposed a rescue plan for Southern California Edison that could triple rates for some businesses but hold residential rates steady; other lawmakers have proposed letting the utility fall into bankruptcy Gov. Gray Davis late last week was nearing a plan likely to include further rate hikes to pay for $13.4 billion in power-related borrowing planned this fall A federal mediator said he believes California may be owed as much as $1 billion in refunds from wholesale electricity suppliers, but that will be more than offset by unpaid bills still owed to the suppliers The state Energy Commission voted to lift a requirement that electricity produced by two generators now undergoing refurbishment at AES Corp.’s Huntington Beach plant be sold in California Enron Corp. sued to quash a subpoena by a state Senate committee chaired by Sen. Joe Dunn, D-Santa Ana, seeking the company’s records relating to wholesale electricity charges; the committee extended its deadline for compliance to this week A joint venture of Duke Energy Corp. and Aliso Viejo-based Fluor Corp. was awarded a contract to build a 1,789-megawatt power plant near Dallas.
TOP STORIES
Newport Corp., Irvine, laid off 182 workers, about 10% of its workforce Conexant Systems Inc., Newport Beach, will lay off 450 employees,325 at its headquarters facility,and farm out production to Asian factories (see related item in the Technology column, page 47) Bergen Brunswig Corp., Orange, will be the exclusive distributor of health and beauty products, vitamins and dietary supplements sold online by Longs Drug Stores Corp. SenoRx Inc., Aliso Viejo, received a $19 million investment from a group led by MPM Capital LP and including previous investors.
TECHNOLOGY
Western Digital Corp., Lake Forest, unveiled a 100-gigabyte hard drive with a spin rate of 7,200 revolutions per minute, the fastest on the market Rainbow Technologies Inc., Irvine, and the e-commerce division of Softbank Corp. formed a joint venture, Rainbow Technologies-K.K., to sell information security products in Japan Masaaki Nomi was named president of Irvine-based Toshiba America Electronic Components Inc., succeeding Hizashi Izumi, who will return to Toshiba Corp.’s Tokyo headquarters Shareholders of Core Inc., Irvine, approved its acquisition by Fortis Inc., New York, for $45 million NQL Inc., Santa Ana, is seeking a buyer for its software technology division and will move its headquarters to Teeterboro, N.J. Irvine Sensors Corp., Costa Mesa, won a $1 million defense contract to develop a combat targeting system that could lead to a $20 million contract after one year Blizzard Entertainment, Irvine, won a preliminary injunction against New Line Cinema Corp. prohibiting it from naming an upcoming film “Diablo,” the trademarked name of a Blizzard computer game Shareholders of Tickets.com Inc., Costa Mesa, approved a 1-for-8 reverse stock split intended to boost its share price and avoid delisting by Nasdaq TekInsight.com Inc., Irvine, named Chief Executive Steven J. Ross chairman.
HEALTHCARE
ChromaVision Medical Systems Inc., San Juan Capistrano, raised $12.5 million in a private placement of preferred shares and warrants with a group led by Halifax Fund LP and including Safeguard Scientifics, ChromaVision’s largest shareholder Imagyn Medical Technologies Inc., Irvine, completed the sale of its remaining surgery devices to ConMed Corp., Utica, N.Y., for $34 million Interpore Cross International, Irvine, completed its acquisition of Virginia-based American OsteaMedix for $21 million An FDA panel recommended against approving the laser angina-treatment systems of Foothill Ranch-based CardioGenesis Corp., and its share price fell 71% to 85 cents on the news BioLase Technology Inc., San Clemente, received FDA approval to market its dental laser for additional soft-tissue uses.
GOVERNMENT
Cindy Quon was named director of Caltrans’ Irvine-based District 12 A Superior Court judge threw out fraud charges against former assistant county treasurer Matthew Raabe stemming from the 1994 county bankruptcy.
REAL ESTATE
Irvine’s Planning Commission approved 2,553 homes near the former El Toro Marine base, despite potential conflicts with a planned airport William Lyon Homes, Newport Beach, sold $31 million in notes to Chairman and Chief Executive William Lyon, a trust for his son, director William Harwell Lyon, and director William McFarland The 70-room Inn at Laguna was sold by UBS Warburg to Phoenix-based Classic Hotels & Resorts for $19.25 million The Newport Beach City Council approved a proposed 10-story, 250,000-square-foot addition to Koll Center Newport and next month will set a date for a special election on the plan under the Greenlight Initiative (see related story on page 22) The Anaheim City Council rejected an appeal by homeowners, clearing the way for the Disneyland Resort to submit applications for a third theme park.
WHAT ELSE IS NEWS
Delphi Automotive Systems Corp. reported $40 million in contracts from automakers and retailers for batteries made at its Anaheim facility Pacific Sunwear of California Inc., Anaheim, said second-quarter results will be at the low end of estimates because of weak sales of summer lines Tangible Asset Galleries Inc., Newport Beach, will acquire Beverly Hills-based Superior Galleries Inc. Monarch Bay residents filed suit to keep the new St. Regis resort from offering its guests access to the Monarch Bay Club The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints approved plans for a 17,000-square-feet Mormon temple in Newport Beach A transformer blew out at Disney’s California Adventure, cutting power to nearly the whole park and stranding some visitors on rides for about a half-hour; Disneyland’s Roger Rabbit ride reopened with modifications after a September accident that left a boy with brain damage.
