Aerospace
Boeing Co. is adding about 1,000 engineering positions in Seal Beach and Long Beach in the next two years as part of a companywide consolidation plan to meet the global demand for new aircraft production and related support. The hires are part of an effort to centralize its commercial airline support program at the Boeing Commercial Airplanes Engineering Design Center that stretches across the two coastal cities. Some of the positions will be moved from the Seattle area, and some will be filled by Boeing employees who stand to be affected by the upcoming closure of the C-17 program in Long Beach. There also will be some new hires, including recent college graduates, according to Boeing.
The Washington Post ranked two Orange County high schools among the most academically challenging in the country. Oxford Academy, a public school in Cypress, placed No. 33, up from the 42nd spot; Sage Hill School, a private school in Newport Beach, ranked No. 79 in its first appearance on the list of 2,025 schools.
Beverages
Genome Development Group Inc. agreed to acquire an 80% stake in Mission Viejo-based energy drink maker FITT Highway Products Inc. on undisclosed terms. FITT had been in the process of liquidating its inventory.
Healthcare
Memorial Care Medical Foundation partnered with Anthem Blue Cross in an accountable care organization that will reward Memorial Care with increased compensation when it decreases chronic-disease PPO patient costs based on improvements in care. The added funds will go to treat patients with a team of doctors, nurses, nutritionists, social workers and pharmacists. About 13,000 patients in Orange County and Long Beach are eligible for the program.
Manufacturing
Santa Ana-based pomade manufacturer Suavecito Inc. announced it will introduce the Suavecita line for women Friday. It will debut at the Viva Las Vegas Weekender car show this week.
Obituaries
Ken Forsse of Laguna Woods, who created the 1980s craze Teddy Ruxpin plush toys, died March 19 at his home of congestive heart failure, his wife told the New York Times. He was 77. The stuffed bear changed facial expressions as it sang or told stories and became a big hit when it debuted in 1985. The Toy Industry Association named it one of the 100 most memorable, creative toys of the century.
Restaurants
Aliso Viejo-based Johnny Rockets Group Inc. continued restaurant openings, saying it signed a deal with franchisee Fun Foods LLC to expand the chain to Hawaii and Guam. It said it’s also looking to grow its presence in Texas, where it currently has two locations, and is eyeing large cities there, such as Houston, Dallas and San Antonio. The company, which was acquired by an affiliate of Boca Raton, Fla.-based Sun Capital Partners Inc. last year for an undisclosed amount, has more than 300 restaurants. The company has said it will open more than 60 restaurants through the rest of this year and add another 100 by 2017.
Tourism
Some 7,000 visitors from China are expected to attend a conference at the Anaheim Convention Center in May. The centerpiece of the event is a seminar for Perfect (China) Co. Ltd., a marketer of health food, household, beauty and skincare products. Specific dates for the event have not been announced. The Orange County Visitors Association and Anaheim/Orange County Visitor and Convention Bureau (see related OC Insider item, page 3), along with other local organizations, are working in conjunction with China International Travel Service, a meetings and convention organizer based in China. The pending trip to Anaheim comes about a year after countywide efforts ramped up to market Orange County to Chinese tourists and meeting groups, with the OCVA opening two sales offices there last year.
Other
The city of Irvine abandoned a “friendship” pact with Vietnamese city Nha Trang after protests by Vietnamese-Americans against the program. It also suspended its overall Friendship Cities Program. Protesters said the Nha Trang pact insulted them because of the lack of freedoms for citizens in that country and for human rights abuses there.
