EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Compiled by Mike Mason
TOP STORY
California voters overwhelming approved Prop-ositions 57 and 58, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s budget bailout package. Proposition 55, which provides money to renovate public schools, narrowly passed, with Proposition 56, which would have allowed the Legislature to pass tax hikes and the budget with 55% of the vote, failing. Meanwhile, in a closely watched race for the Orange County Supervisors 1st District seat, Assemblyman Lou Correa and Garden Grove Mayor Bruce Broadwater prevailed to face off in the Nov. 2 election. Dana Rohrabacher crushed Bob Dornan in the race to represent the Republican Party in the 46th District in the fall election … Workers with the United Food and Commercial Workers union ratified a three-year contract with Alberstons Inc., Kroger Co. and Safeway Inc. The deal ends the five-month grocery store strike and lockout at Southland stores. The union agreed to a two-tiered wage system that gives them full healthcare benefits for the first two years of the contract.
TECHNOLOGY
Santa Ana-based TTM Technologies Inc., executives and some big shareholders and have filed to sell 7 million shares of the circuit board maker’s stock. Funds raised in the offering will be used to buy capital equipment and for other corporate purposes. The underwriters of the deal have the option to buy another 1.1 million shares.
HEALTHCARE
Costa Mesa-based Valeant Pharmaceuticals International said sales of its hepatitis C drug Ribavirin fell 64% in the fourth quarter amid competition from Switzerland’s Roche Group. Valeant said its operating profit in the quarter rose 17% to $19.8 million, versus a year earlier, despite a 12% decline in sales to $176.2 million. Shares of Valeant rose 6% to 24 after the earnings report and the publishing of clinical data for an experimental hepatitis C treatment, Viramidine … Cypress-based PacifiCare Health Systems Inc. said Chief Executive Howard G. Phanstiel was named chairman of the managed care health plan provider. Meanwhile, PacifiCare said it planned to offer a pilot healthcare plan for Medicare recipients in Southern California nursing homes. The plan, called SecureAdvantage, is being tested in Orange, San Diego and Los Angeles counties … Nurses at Chapman Medical Center in Orange voted to join the California Nurses Association. Chapman Medical is the second OC hospital owned by Santa Barbara-based Tenet Healthcare Corp. to join the union after nurses at Coastal Communities Hospital in Santa Ana voted to become members last month.
REAL ESTATE
Irvine-based Standard Pacific Corp. said orders for its new homes in January and February rose 31% to 1,890, versus a year earlier. The homebuilder’s California sales were up 41% to 741.
FINANCE
Mutual fund rating group Morningstar Inc. recommended investors hold on to shares of Newport Beach-based Pacific Investment Management Co.’s bond funds amid allegations of improper market timing trading by a hedge fund manager. Morningstar did suggest investors should consider selling stakes in equity funds owned by Pimco parent Allianz AG. Those funds are run out of New York by PEA Capital LLC. Pimco bond fund manager Bill Gross said the company would fight charges filed last month by New Jersey regulators, accusing Allianz, PEA Capital and Pimco of allowing improper trading … Commercial Capital Bancorp said it plans to move its headquarters from 1 Venture in Irvine to the former Western Digital Corp. building in the Irvine Spectrum in July.
GOVERNMENT
University of California, Irvine named Debra J. Richardson as the permanent head of its School of Information and Computer Science. Richardson has been interim dean of the department since December 2002 … The Coast Community College District said it likely would open bidding for Huntington Beach-based PBS affiliate KOCE-TV Channel 50 or keep the station, rather than sell to religious broadcaster Daystar Television Network. A court date on Daystar’s challenge of the sale of the station to the KOCE Foundation is set for March 26.
WHAT ELSE IS NEWS
Anaheim-based Pacific Sunwear of California Inc. said its same-store sales in February jumped 14.1%, versus a year earlier. Total sales rose 26.8% to $67.7 million … Foothill Ranch-based Wet Seal Inc. was granted a temporary restraining order against Greg Scott, former president of its Arden B. unit, who left to join Bebe Stores Inc. as chief executive. Scott is prevented from hiring Wet Seal workers or using trade secrets at his new job. Wet Seal has sued Bebe and Scott, saying he violated terms of his employment contract with the teen retailer. Meanwhile, Wet Seal said its same-store sales in February fell 12.5% … Los Angeles-based Wasserman Media Group bought Fountain Valley-based action sports video maker 411 Productions for undisclosed terms … Aliso Viejo-based Fluor Corp. said it won a deal from units of Royal Dutch/Shell Group of Cos. and BP PLC to provide engineering, design, procurement and construction management work for a project at the two oil companies’ oil refinery facility in South Africa.
ECONOMIC INDICATORS
Up: Orange County’s jobs picture in January, with total nonfarm payroll at 1,418,000, up 1.2% versus a year earlier, and the unemployment rate at 3.5%, down from 4.1%, according to the state Employment Development Department. Meanwhile, the state agency revised 2003 employment results upwards, with 22,000 new jobs added in OC, versus an earlier forecast of 400.
