New NFL Rumor; OC Execs Recount Their 9/11 Roles
O.C. Insider by Rick Reiff
It must be time to vote on The Great Park: Daniel Williams hears that a prominent developer is eyeing El Toro and the Boeing property in Long Beach for a new stadium to house a relocated NFL franchise
Businessperson of the Year Robert Martini has already recounted for the OCBJ his dramatic brush with the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center. At the time, Martini was just three blocks away in the New York Stock Exchange with other top officials of the newly formed AmerisouceBergen Corp., preparing to ring the opening bell that would never sound; the exchange remained closed for a week following the attacks. What hasn’t been noted, until now, is that another Orange County executive also figured in the Wall Street history: Lincoln Mercury’s Mark Hutchins rang the NYSE’s closing bell the day before, Sept. 10, the last time it sounded before the terrorists hit. Hutchins and other Ford VIPs were marking the launch of the Lincoln Blackwood truck. Hutchins flew out that night for meetings in Germany and was enroute to his Berlin hotel when he learned of the terrorist attacks
What did PIMCO’s Bill Gross think of David Rynecki’s glowing, 4,000-word profile of him, “The Bond King,” in the current (March 4) issue of Fortune? Rajiv Vyas hears that Gross has offered Rynecki a contract to write a book about PIMCO. Rynecki spent a week at Gross’ side, joining in hour-long meditation sessions at Gross’ Laguna Beach home, riding in his Mercedes CL500 and observing Gross in meetings and on the trading floor at the Newport Center office. Besides catching Bill Gross Fever, Rynecki came down with the flu during his visit
Bernard Goldberg, author of the best-seller “Bias,” will speak at the OC Business Council’s annual dinner April 2 at the Hyatt Regency Irvine
Roth Capital Partners has contributed $25,000 to launch a fellowship fund at The Anderson School honoring “Renaissance Woman” Kimberley Wilson, a UCLA sports star, standout MBA and Roth corporate finance principal. She died last June at age 39 after suffering a head injury in the national rugby club championships in Rockford, Ill.
Hard to believe, but Park Newport Hair owner Lee Long turns 75 this month
OC Treasurer John Moorlach sent the Insider a 1985 copy of Congressional testimony, “On the Quality of Independent Audits,” with note attached: “The more things change, the more they stay the same”
Who’s that with license plate RAMS 61? Rich Saul, of course
Lou Correa (D-Santa Ana) has joined the Assembly Banking and Finance Committee, which oversees financial institutions, real property finance and corporate securities
The team the Insider said couldn’t lose, did. The team led by Dwight Decker won. The Chief Executive Roundtable Basketball Extravaganza raised $65,000 for UCI sports, down from $100,000 last year.
