ENERGY
A state Energy Commission study recommended that the permit process for AES Corp.’s plan to restart two generators at its Huntington Beach plant be fast-tracked to 60 days from six months, but the company objected to the commission’s proposal to put a five-year cap on a fast-track permit; meanwhile, the Coastal Commission approved the AES plan, while AES refused a Huntington Beach offer to support the plan if the company agrees to pay up to $14 million for remedies in the event of pollution; in a separate action, the Federal Regulatory Energy Commission ordered AES to show why it should not be forced to pay refunds to California utilities for taking generating units in Huntington Beach and Long Beach offline in the spring, forcing the utilities to buy more expensive energy from other AES plants Gov. Gray Davis’ order that retailers reduce outdoor lighting or face criminal charges and fines of as much as $1,000 took effect; police agencies are unsure of how to enforce the order and are looking to voluntary compliance U.S. Energy Secretary Spence Abraham said power blackouts “appear inevitable” in California this summer.
TOP STORIES
Joan Irvine Smith put a 2-acre oceanside blufftop parcel in Laguna Beach up for sale for $40 million CKE Restaurants Inc., Anaheim, plans to sell its Taco Bueno unit to Jacobson Partners, New York, for $72.5 million Mervyn Phelan Sr. will invest $69 million in Senior Care Industries Inc., Laguna Beach, and was named chairman and CEO, replacing Stephen Reeder, who resigned Rep. Chris Cox, R-Newport Beach, and Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., are sponsoring a bill to extend the federal moratorium on new taxes on Internet access indefinitely and on e-commerce until 2006.
TECHNOLOGY
VSK Photonics Inc., Irvine, received $18 million in financing from Morgenthaler Ventures and Intel Capital Western Digital Corp., Lake Forest, will break its Connex Inc. network-attached storage unit in two, forming SANavigator Inc. from its software development group Wayne R. Inouye, who became CEO of Irvine-based eMachines this month, will receive a $2.36 million signing bonus, an annual salary of $480,000 and options for 4 million shares Buy.com Inc., Aliso Viejo, completed the sale of its U.K. operations to John Lewis Verizon Wireless contracted with Aliso Viejo-based Smith Micro Software Inc. to offer advanced wireless data services to Verizon customers Sunyvale-based Proxim Inc. sued Irvine-based Intersil Holding Corp. and five others alleging patent infringement; Intersil said the suit is without merit and will be defended Bill D’Agostino Jr. was named president and COO of Mericom Holdings Corp., Lake Forest Equitive.com, Newport Beach, laid off 43 of its 53 employees and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
HEALTHCARE
VitalCom Inc., Tustin, agreed to be acquired by Seattle-based Data Critical Corp., for $10.5 million; VitalCom president Frank T. Sample will become vice chairman of Data Critical IAT ReInsurance Syndicate Ltd. increased its stake in Irvine-based NeoTherapeutics Inc. to about 13% by acquiring warrants and 1.25 million shares from the firm for $5 million Biomerica Inc., Newport Beach, received regulatory approval to market its prostate cancer test in Japan.
GOVERNMENT
Superior Court Judge Robert Gallivan ruled a Huntington Beach property tax unconstitutional and ordered collection stopped; the ruling could result in more than $13 million in refunds The Newport Beach City Council allocated $3.7 million to promote the proposed El Toro airport Government auditors said a unit of Aliso Viejo-based Fluor Corp. was paid $3.4 million for “questionable” costs in connection with a sale of uranium that realized $76,000 for the government Tenants agreed to vacate the cottages at Crystal Cove State Park by July 8 and drop a suit against the state parks department over their eviction The state Coastal Commission OK’d the storage of spent nuclear fuel rods at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station for 20 years.
REAL ESTATE
Lusk Co., Irvine, withdrew its proposal for a residential and retail development on the Marblehead bluff in San Clemente in the face of opposition by members of the state Coastal Commission A class-action suit was filed against Arnel Management Co., Costa Mesa, alleging it retained security deposits for cleanups and repairs that were unneeded and overpriced Pacific Gulf Properties Inc., Newport Beach, sold its last multifamily apartment property, a 204-unit complex in Diamond Bar, for $10.9 million.
WHAT ELSE IS NEWS
Thousands of former and current employees of Irvine-based Taco Bell Corp. in Oregon won a class-action suit for back wages, alleging managers altered time cards to meet productivity targets and get bonuses Casanova Pendrill Publicidad Inc., Irvine, won the Hispanic portion of the $30 million to $50 million Verison SuperPages account Disneyland agreed to pay $1.7 million to about 10,000 current and former employees to settle complaints that some were required to stay at the park to change out of their uniforms, while others were allowed to go home to do so Fluor Corp., Aliso Viejo, said it expects an unusually high volume of stock sales by top executives over the next 20 months, because of a looming deadline for the exercise of options granted in the past 10 years Diedrich Coffee Inc., Irvine, received $6 million in a private placement and will ask shareholders to approve a 1-for-3 reverse stock split The OC-based U.S. units of Kia Motors Corp. and its parent, Hyundai Motor Co., said they will begin sharing Hyundai’s parts distribution center in Illinois and Kia’s in Atlanta Investor Kurt Butenhoff has acquired a 5.6% stake in Aviation Distributors Inc., Lake Forest Tangible Asset Galleries Inc., Newport Beach, will merge with Hotel Interactive Inc. Reed Elsevier Inc., Newton, Mass., publisher of “Who’s Who in America” and other biographical directories, sued Laguna Beach-based Baron’s Who’s Who and Baron’s Who’s Who (USA) for alleged trademark infringement Dan Bon was named CEO of Nirve Sports, Fountain Valley, replacing founder Bill Duehring, who also is stepping down as co-chairman but will continue to assist in design and product development Edwards Theatres Circuit Inc., Newport Beach, said it will leave its lease and not reopen its Westminster Mall theater, following its closure this month because of a burst pipe.
