Amusement
The Disneyland Resort in Anaheim could benefit from an investment Burbank-based parent Walt Disney Co. has made in a virtual reality filmmaker. Disney Co. joined several other companies in a Series C $65 million investment in Palo Alto-based Jaunt Inc. Part of the money is expected to fund movies and build the company a production studio in Santa Monica. Content would be available across Disney operations, including at its theme parks, which are in the process of building new lands and rides, a Jaunt executive said. Disney executives said this month that the Disneyland Resort will break ground this year on its new Star Wars Land. Resort officials announced last week that they will temporarily close several attractions there to make way for the Star Wars addition, including the railroad, Fantasmic and most features along Rivers of America. Big Thunder Ranch will close permanently in January.
Healthcare
Laguna Hills-based Glaukos Corp. said a court ruled against it on three pending summary judgment motions in a patent lawsuit with a competitor. The U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware said Menlo Park-based Transcend Medical hadn’t infringed Glaukos patents. Glaukos makes the iStent Supra Suprachoroidal Micro-Bypass Stent, which is being evaluated in a U.S. IDE pivotal trial. Transcend makes the CyPass Micro-Stent. A trial on the patent issues is scheduled to start Nov. 2. Glaukos said it “is evaluating its options with respect to the rulings related to non-infringement and invalidity” to include a possible appeal.
Two state legislators have introduced bills designed to preserve emergency healthcare in South Orange County by making Saddleback Memorial Medical Center’s campus in San Clemente a satellite emergency room of Saddleback Memorial in Laguna Hills. Fountain Valley-based owner MemorialCare Health System wants to covert the 72-bed San Clemente hospital into an ambulatory center offering outpatient services. It currently operates the only emergency room between Mission Viejo and Oceanside. State law bars transport of emergency patients to outpatient facilities. The bills were introduced by Sen. Patricia Bates, R-Laguna Niguel, and Assemblyman Bill Brough, R-Dana Point.
Hospitality
An affiliate of Pacific Hospitality Group in Irvine bought the 220-room AC Hotel New Orleans from an affiliate of Dallas-based NewCrestImage LLC. Terms were undisclosed, but industry sources said the price was about $60 million, or $273,000 per room. News reports said Supreme Bright New Orleans LLC paid $17.8 million to buy it in 2013 and put another $18 million into a renovation.
Irvine-based Pacifica Hotels sold the 134-room Hilton Garden Inn Marina del Rey to Chatham Lodging Trust in West Palm Beach, Fla., for $44.5 million, or about $332,000 per room. About half that came through the assumption of debt on the property, Chatham said. Pacifica bought the property, then called the Marina International Hotel, in 2006 for $20.2 million, renovated it, and relaunched it as a Hilton property in June 2013.
Retail
A jobs fair last weekend for positions at the Outlets at San Clemente sought to fill nearly 900 full-time, part-time and seasonal spots, including with retailers and restaurants at the outlets mall. The jobs are in sales, food service, management, security, custodial and other categories. An earlier jobs fair attracted about 600 job seekers, according to the mall, whose first phase is scheduled to open in November.
Services
Laguna Beach architect Mark Singer, whose work in contemporary design over three decades helped bring a more modern feel to the Orange County coast, died Sept. 17 at 67 after battling pancreatic cancer. He designed many homes, business buildings and other structures in the area, in addition to contemporary furniture. Recent designs included primitive elements juxtaposed with modern technology, according to his website.
