TOP STORIES
Gov. Gray Davis vetoed two bills that would have increased workers’ compensation benefits Sicor Inc., Irvine, raised $203 million in a secondary offering Boeing Co. said it may halt production of its 717 jetliner, the last plane being made at the company’s Long Beach plant, which employs 3,000 Advisors to Gov. Gray Davis said the state will seek to renegotiate dozens of long-term electricity supply contracts it signed during the energy crisis Hyundai Motor America Inc., Fountain Valley, will build a $25 million, 90,000-square-foot design studio and technical center in the Irvine Spectrum.
ENERGY
The federal government announced it had formed a consortium of public agencies and energy companies to build a $300 million electricity transmission line linking Northern and Southern California to relieve a bottleneck that contributed to rolling blackouts in the north in January A federal judge refused to dismiss a suit by Duke Energy Corp. against the California Independent System Operator and Department of Water Resources seeking to bar the state from accepting power from electricity generators without paying for it.
TECHNOLOGY
FileNet Corp., Costa Mesa, posted better-than-expected third-quarter results, and its shares rose 33% to 13.37 on the news Shares of Powerwave Technologies Inc. rose 32% to 13.82 after the company reported third-quarter results in line with expectations following a competitor’s earnings warning MSC.Software Corp., Santa Ana, warned that its third-quarter results will not meet expectations, and its shares fell 22% to 9.90 on the news.
HEALTHCARE
J.W. Childs Associates, Boston, and Halifax Group, Washington, D.C., completed their $54 million acquisition of InSight Health Services Corp., Newport Beach Allergan Inc., Irvine, received FDA approval to market its Tazorac anti-acne cream Endocare Inc., Irvine, received FDA approval to market its cryoablation treatment for benign breast tumors Costa Mesa-based ARV Assisted Living Inc. offered $3.6 million for American Retirement Villas, for which C3 Capital had bid $3 million An OC jury ordered the Morningside of Fullerton retirement home to pay $1.7 million to the family of a resident who suffered a stroke but wasn’t found by caretakers for 15 hours and later died.
GOVERNMENT
Gov. Gray Davis ordered a freeze on state hiring and on some purchases of supplies and property Passenger traffic at John Wayne Airport in the first two weeks of October totaled 242,000, down 17% from the same period in 2000 but an improvement from the 46% year-to-year decline in the prior two weeks Anaheim City Manager James Ruth said he will retire in three months and the City Council approved a one-year consultancy contract with Ruth that will pay him $192,000 Fall enrollment at UCI reached 21,885, an 8.1% increase from 2000 The Fullerton City Council voted to withdraw from the pro-El Toro airport OC Regional Airport Authority, and Supervisor Chuck Smith said the county may take back the unspent portion of a $3 million grant to the group to promote the airport plan The Santa Ana City Council voted to join Irvine and Costa Mesa in studying the feasibility of a light rail line linking the three cities The Board of Supervisors voted to put deed restrictions on all county parkland requiring the approval of four of the five board members to sell any of the property Assistant District Attorney Wally Wade announced he will run against incumbent DA Tony Rackauckas in the March election; Rackauckas defeated Wade for the job in 1998.
REAL ESTATE
The Athens Group dropped a proposal to moor a 50-foot pleasure boat at its planned Treasure Island resort in Laguna Beach after learning it’s illegal in the city to operate a motor boat within 200 yards of shore.
FINANCE
Pacific LifeCorp, Newport Beach, acquired Princeton, N.J.-based College Savings Bank The board of Santa Ana-based Yates & Associates elevated James M. Yates from president to chairman and promoted executive VP James L. Hippard to president and chief operating officer.
WHAT ELSE IS NEWS
The Defense Department awarded a $31.6 million contract to PRO Petroleum Inc., Laguna Hills, for more than 30 million gallons of gasoline and diesel fuel The OC Performing Arts Center said it has raised $94.2 million of the $200 million needed to build a new concert hall Oakley Inc., Foothill Ranch, warned that its fourth-quarter results will not meet expectations, and its shares fell 16.5% to 11.80 on the news WhyRunOut.com, Aliso Viejo, paid an undisclosed amount for the right to market its services to former customers of the defunct Webvan (see related story on page 3) A poll of OC executives by the UCI Graduate School of Management found 20% expecting worse financial results this year, up from 4% in 2000 Lou Novak was named president of Playmates Toys Inc., Costa Mesa.
