OC INSIDER

Weekly Column by Pete Weitzner, editor, OCBJ

The Distinguished Businessman

Congressman Ed Royce, (R-Fullerton), took a victory lap last week before an OC Forum lunch crowd in Irvine … 36 years in office, 10 Sacto, 26 D.C. “When I was 40, putting term limits on committee chairs seemed like a good idea,” Royce joked.

OCInsider

Not all Retail is roiled

Marijuana is a criminal, gateway drug. Marijuana should be legal in 50 states and the Marshall Islands. Or … something in-between. Regardless of your take, you’ll enjoy Peter J. Brennan’s stories on Kush Bottles, a publicly traded everything-but-cannabis, cannabis co. Kush opened in 2010.

When 95% Equals Nothing

Anthony Maglica is shining a big flashlight on CA’s manufacturing rules.

‘Favorite Issue’

In managing this week’s OC’s Wealthiest issue—my first, our 17th—I placed a call to a source to confirm a few figures in our write-up.

Dale and the Dominoes

We all know Pacific Life, the humpback whale, but I’m betting there are revelations for readers of Peter J. Brennan’s wide-ranging conversation with the 149-year-old insurer’s 14th CEO, Jim Morris.

OC runs middle leg in LA Olympic win

L.A. gets the Olympics—2028. This Olympics won’t be OC-centric like 1984, when Laguna Beach’s Peter Ueberroth helmed the effort, $0 in the bank and national malaise—finished with a $250 mill surplus and the Games’ financial viability restored.

Big Week for Deals; Big Month in Sports

Holiday slow?

Spreading the word: “Pro-Tech Beach Hub”

One month into my burst into the middle of OC business—every day three yards and a cloud of everything, and a standout observation. There is—at last—progress on a unified, OC economic-growth strategy.

If It’s Not Fun, It Will Never Work

Jim Morris goes to Washington every June.

22 Years Later Bonds Away for OC

On July 1, Orange County makes its last bankruptcy-bond debt payment.

Black Monday to Thank

In the ‘80s I had the best accounting jobs—Johnson & Johnson sent me at 22 to Cape Town, Hong Kong, and Sydney …

Wylie and George Walk Into a Bar…; Re: Leader Board

Call it a St. Patrick’s Day miracle—or maybe just a simple, human reminder that it’s possible for folks to line up as political opponents rather than enemies, a distinction that can keep friendships alive, come what may.

Steel-y Approach; Monkey Business; NB’s Shipyard

Give OC Supervisor Michelle Steel credit on understanding what government can actually do to help the local economy, and for sticking to the task at hand.

Feuerstein’s Low Profile, High Impact; Caan-Do at Chapman

Members of OC’s Jewish community are sitting Shiva with the latest passing of a nonagenarian giant.

Octane’s Timely Take; Rome Is the New Beige

Octane does plenty of work to stir the atmosphere and foster an environment where “entrepreneurs, investors, executives, academics, clinicians, and business advisors come together to collaborate, create, and grow.”

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