TOP STORIES
The Board of Supervisors voted 3 to 2 against firing County Executive Officer Jan Mittermeier; Irvine Co. exec VP Gary Hunt said he lobbied the board to retain the strong-CEO structure, but did not back Mittermeier specifically … A proposed parcel tax to fund schools failed to pass for the second time this year in a special election in Irvine; The Irvine Co., the Donald Bren Foundation and the Irvine Schools Foundation together pledged $3.9 million to the Irvine school district to prevent planned cuts in programs and staffing … Boeing Co. and UK-based BAE Systems were reported in merger talks … John Puerner, publisher of the Orlando Sentinel, will become publisher of the LA Times and John Carroll, editor of the Baltimore Sun, will become the Times’ editor after the Tribune Co., Chicago, completes its acquisition of Times Mirror, it was reported … DDi Corp., Anaheim, raised $168 million,less than expected,in an IPO that saw its share price fall nearly 20% on the first day to $11.25, giving it a market cap of $465 million … Board of Supervisors chairman Chuck Smith said that the passage of anti-El Toro airport Measure F in March could force the county to scrap the airport plan … Claire Trevor Bren, stepmother of Irvine Co. chairman Donald Bren, died in Newport Beach.
GOVERNMENT
The Coastal Commission decided to hold a public hearing in June on the Treasure Island hotel and residential project approved by the Laguna Beach City Council; the commission also voted to allow Robert Mayer Corp. to proceed with a 23-acre residential project near Pacific Coast Highway and Beach Boulevard in Huntington Beach … The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service designated the Santa Ana sucker as threatened, meaning landowners will need to get authorization from the service to do anything that would disturb the fish’s habitat … Newport Beach has yet to renew its dredging permit for Newport Harbor, which expired in August, because of a dispute with the Coastal Commission over water and bottom testing.
DEALS
Conexant Systems Inc., Newport Beach, said it will acquire Ottawa-based Philsar Semiconductor Inc. in a stock deal worth up to $213.8 million, and it acquired Applied Telecom Inc., Lisle, Ill. … Sync Research Inc., Irvine, said it will merge with a unit of Santa Monica-based Osicom Technologies to form Entrada Networks; Sync and Osicom shareholders each will own 50% of Entrada, which will be headquartered in Irvine, and no layoffs are planned … SM & A; Corp., Newport Beach, received a two-year, $10.3 million NASA subcontract for software development … Emulex Corp., Costa Mesa, signed a distribution deal with ACAL Fibre Channel Solutions … The Glacier of Anaheim LLC retained the operators of Mammoth Mountain to oversee snow-related operations of the planned Gotcha Glacier indoor ski and surf park in Anaheim.
WHAT’S NEW
Stirling Enterprises, Laguna Hills, said it had allied with Koll Development, Pacific Gulf Properties, Pacific Development Group, all of Newport Beach, and Colorado-based ProLogis Trust to pursue development rights to the former Tustin Marine base … The Irvine Co. submitted plans to the city of Orange to build 1,886 homes in Phase II of its Santiago Hills community … Conexant Systems Inc., Newport Beach, completed an $80 million expansion and upgrade of its Newbury Park fab.
FINANCIAL
Prison Realty Trust Inc., Nashville, Tenn., accepted a $200 million restructuring plan proposed by shareholder Pacific Life Insurance Co., Newport Beach … KPC Medical Management, Anaheim, said it would receive a $12 million loan from a group of HMOs to enable it to keep operating … NeoTherapeutics Inc., Irvine, received $10 million in a private placement of debt convertible to common shares … WholesaleExchange.com, Irvine, said it received $2.5 million from a group headed by the Tech Coast Angels and named Charlie Hobbs and John Kensey to its board … Trimedyne Inc., Irvine, raised $2.1 million in a private placement … Deloitte & Touche LLP resigned as outside auditor of First Alliance Corp., Irvine, which is in Chapter 11 bankruptcy … Trading of shares of Irvine-based PharmaPrint Inc. will move from the Nasdaq national market to its small-cap market.
PERSONNEL
Marilyn Alexander was named CFO of the Disneyland Resort; meanwhile, maintenance workers at Disneyland rejected a proposed two-year contract extension that included work rules for the under-construction California Adventure park to open next year … Bruce R. Hallett, lead partner of the Irvine office of Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison, was named to the board of ECatalystOne, Newport Beach … John A. FitzRandolph will retire as dean of Costa Mesa-based Whittier Law School on July 1 and be replaced by associate dean Frederick G. Slabach pending a search for a permanent dean … C. Richard Piazza resigned as chairman and CEO of Irvine-based PharmaPrint Inc. but will continue to oversee day-to-day operations as a consultant until a replacement is found … New Century Financial Corp., Irvine, said it laid off about 200 employees in the first quarter, including 20 in OC, and closed some unprofitable branches … Michele Finney was named CEO of Los Alamitos Medical Center and two affiliated centers … Newport Beach-based Masterpiece Productions’ co-founder and president Scott Jones said he will leave the company and co-founder and COO Steven M. Norton was named president and CEO.
LITIGATION, INVESTIGATIONS
David Colton and his wife, Linda, settled two lawsuits stemming from his alleged role in the Hill Williams fraud case; terms were not disclosed … A bankruptcy trustee overseeing Irvine-based DFJ Italia, which is being investigated for securities fraud, said he believes founder Luigi DiFonzo may have fled to Costa Rica … Ruben L. Gomez was removed as business manager of the Santa Ana-based Laborers’ International Union Local 652 for allegedly misusing union funds.
IN CONCLUSION
Disneyland lowered the maximum age for child-rate admission from 12 to 10 … A UC Berkeley research team is surveying LA and OC beach usage to determine the beaches’ economic value … Coastal salt air may contribute to smog, UCI researchers said.
