TOP STORIES
FutureLink Corp., Lake Forest, filed for bankruptcy protection for its U.S. operations, laid off most of its 580 employees and said it intends to shut down; trading in its shares was halted on Nasdaq Kaysun Holdings will acquire Fullerton-based Day Runner Inc. by converting $27 million of $65 million in debt it holds into a 90.6% stake Founder Scott Blum will pay $12.9 million for the 63% of Buy.com Inc., Aliso Viejo, he does not own and will provide the company with $9 million in interim financing An unnamed company has filed with the FDA to market a generic version of Costa Mesa-based ICN Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s ribavirin anti-hepatitis drug.
ENERGY
Huntington Beach agreed to drop its appeal of a permit for AES Corp. to refurbish and restart two generators at its plant in the city, in return for AES making electricity available at a low price to city businesses.
TECHNOLOGY
Autobytel Inc., completed its acquisition of Autoweb.com Inc. for $9.4 million (see related story on page 1) French firm Titus Interactive SA converted bonds into 6.7 million shares of Interplay Entertainment Corp., Irvine, giving it 51.5% of Interplay’s common shares 3Com Corp. sued Broadcom Corp., Irvine, alleging default on two quarterly payments on a $21 million promissory note; Broadcom called the dispute a “difference of opinion on a financial debt instrument” Boeing Co. will cut 600 jobs at its Long Beach plant Cannell Capital LLC, San Francisco, a 9.5% stakeholder in Tustin-based Quality Systems Inc., called on that firm to buy back shares TransDimension Inc., Irvine, added Alan E. Ross to its board Dense-Pac Microsystems Inc., Garden Grove, changed its name to DPAC Technologies Corp.
GOVERNMENT
The Board of Supervisors approved a redistricting plan that consolidates Santa Ana into Supervisor Chuck Smith’s 1st district, removes much of Anaheim from Supervisor Cynthia Coad’s 4th District and moves Newport Beach and Irvine out of Supervisor Tom Wilson’s South County 5th District, into Supervisor Jim Silva’s 2nd District and Supervisor Todd Spitzer’s 3rd District, respectively The state Supreme Court refused to dismiss a suit by Riverside County alleging the 91 Express Lanes were built illegally and should be opened to the public The Board of Supervisors voted not to appeal a judge’s ruling that the title and summary prepared by the county counsel’s office for an anti-El Toro airport initiative were misleading; the judge voided 128,000 signatures gathered under that title and summary Water testing showed a plume of sewage from an outfall four miles offshore from Huntington Beach extending to about 1 mile from shore The Board of Supervisors named Benjamin de Mayo county counsel, replacing Laurence Watson, who is retiring Mark Rocha resigned as president of Santiago Canyon College to become president of Argosy University’s LA-OC campus.
REAL ESTATE
The Hearthside Homes division of Newport Beach-based California Coastal Commun-ities filed an application with the county to build 387 homes on the upper Bolsa Chica Mesa The Irvine Company, Newport Beach, offered apartment rent discounts of up to 6% to long-term tenants.
FINANCE
Fidelity National Financial Inc., Irvine, sold $250 million in 10-year notes Pacific Republic Mortgage Corp., Anaheim, acquired the West Coast operations of Old Kent Mortgage Del Mar Financial Services Inc., Irvine, its owner and an associate were ordered by an SEC judge to pay $1.8 million for fraudulently promoting stock of now-defunct Newport Beach-based Comparator Systems Corp.
WHAT ELSE IS NEWS
Elizabeth Taylor and Michael Jackson will attend a fundraiser for the Laguna Art Museum and the AIDS Services Foundation in Laguna Beach in February, the Register reported The Consumer Price Index fell 0.3% in July A survey of leading economic indicators by California State University, Fullerton, predicted modest economic growth in Southern California in the next six months A bankruptcy court granted interim financing to Krause’s Furniture Inc., Brea, to fulfill customer orders and keep 57 of its 89 showrooms open through September; meanwhile, the American Stock Exchange said it will delist Krause’s Hines Horticulture Inc., Irvine, hired Credit Suisse First Boston to explore options for its peat moss unit, which accounts for about 30% of its sales A group of founding members of the Newport Beach Country Club sued its owner, International Bay Clubs Inc., saying they had the right of first refusal on a proposed $23.5 million sale of the club to a third party in 1999 and asking the court to force the company to sell the club to them at that price Lynn Miles, former executive assistant to Foothill Ranch-based Oakley Inc. founder and CEO Jim Jannard, filed a sexual-harassment suit against him Company president Eric C. Nielsen and Edward R. Muller were added to the board of Costa Mesa-based Keith Cos. Trinity Golf Inc., Tustin, will acquire Freedom Golf Corp and change its name to Trinity Golf Holding Corp. An employee of Anaheim-based Ameritech Lighting died in a fall while installing lighting fixtures in a new Santa Ana office building.
