The mortgage meltdown has some savvy OC investors ready to pounce. Newport Beach-based Pimco is forming a $2 billion distressed mortgage fund. Spokesman Mark Porterfield says Pimco “was ahead of the curve …
No SIV issues.” Meanwhile, Newport Beach-based Stoneridge Capital Partners has plans to expand beyond domestic and international commercial real estate by investing in California residential land. CEO Greg Merage politely says that he sees “opportunity to work with developers, investment groups and homebuilders who may have a little extra land or property available these days.” Stoneridge has funds built up by the Merage family,Greg’s uncle is UCI’s Paul Merage School of Business namesake …
EE RR took a ride on the Merage helicopter,a great way to see the snow on the Santa Ana Mountains, survey scores of halted housing projects in the Inland Empire and beat the 91 traffic. Only 53 minutes from John Wayne to Palm Desert for a round at Stone Eagle, the ultra-exclusive Lowe development whose investors include Stoneridge and Microsoft’s Bill Gates. What’s the Tom Doak-designed golf course like? Incredible …
Greg Merage’s real estate advisers include the guy who used to advise Donald Bren,Dick Sim, retired The Irvine Company group president. Sim, who is also playing plenty of golf, recently got a hole-in-one on No. 7 at Big Canyon …
Chapman U’s law school hosted a reception for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas down the hall from the classroom named after Wylie Aitken, who was miles away attending the UCI law school reception at the Pacific Club. “Do we need two law schools in town so we can have competing events?” quipped Tom Phelps, who opted for Chapman …
Incoming dean Erwin Chemerinsky flew in from Duke for the UCI event and gave new meaning to the term “legal brief,” speaking for 30 seconds. Other UCI recruits in attendance: the law school’s just-hired fundraiser, assistant dean for development Charles Cannon, who had the same duties at UCLA’s law school; and Mark Aydelotte, new assistant vice chancellor for marketing, from Cal State Fresno …
The aforementioned Aitken was in Iowa last week helping the John Edwards campaign …
Makar’s annual over-the-top party at the St. Regis Monarch Beach featured an elephant, camel, boa constrictor and a monkey that tore a lady’s dress. Hard to blame the ape, given the 1,400 beautiful people, many done up for the Moroccan theme as belly dancers, princesses, sultans and Humphrey Bogart look-alikes …
Frankie Valli wowed with his music, Raquel Welch wowed with her dress and the Candelight Concert wowed by raising a record $1.3 million for the OC Performing Arts Center …
Leave it to the indomitable Harriett Wieder: She reports that intensive treatment with new “stereotactic body radiation” at UC San Diego’s Moore Cancer Clinic has put her lung cancer into remission. And, having gotten a dose of Harriett, the clinic has asked her to join its board.
