Amusement
Disneyland and its counterpart in Florida will get a dedicated “Star Wars” section, Disney Chief Executive and Chairman Bob Iger announced at the company’s D23 Fan Expo in Anaheim (see related graphic, page 22). The 14-acre addition will include two big rides and a cantina. Iger didn’t give a schedule for the attraction’s opening. The city of Anaheim this summer agreed to extend an admission ticket tax exemption at Disneyland for 30 years on the condition Disney spend at least $1 billion on upgrades there.
Education
Eight local schools are on Newsweek magazine’s America’s Top High Schools 2015 list, which ranks 500 U.S. public high schools for “college readiness.” Oxford Academy in Cypress was the highest-ranking local school at No. 26 and the third highest statewide. Three Irvine schools qualified: University High at No. 74, Irvine High at No. 191, and Woodbridge High at No. 220. Corona del Mar High School in Newport Beach was No. 116. Santa Ana’s Foothill High School, Trabuco Hills in Mission Viejo, and Yorba Linda High School ranked 282, 334, and 437.
Finance
Santa Ana-based mortgage lender Stearns Holdings LLC agreed to sell a majority stake to the Blackstone Group LP, a New York-based global asset manager. Financial terms and the percentage ownership sold weren’t disclosed. Stearns is the parent company of Stearns Lending LLC, which provides wholesale and retail mortgage loans and other services. Stearns Lending has more than 1,700 employees and notched $521.7 million in revenue last year, up 250% over three years. Founder Glenn Stearns will “retain a significant ownership stake” in the company, according to a statement.
Healthcare
UC Irvine Health, the medical enterprise of the University of California-Irvine, said its division of geriatric medicine and gerontology received a three-year, $2.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The money will be used to strengthen medical training and healthcare delivery to Orange County’s senior population.
Media
MFour Mobile Research in Costa Mesa is moving to space in Irvine that’s more than triple the size of its current headquarters. The mobile market research company is scheduled to move into the more than 14,000-square-foot office by November. Chief Executive Chris St. Hilaire said, “It is important to get our growing staff on one floor so we remain collaborative …”
An auction of PennySaver USA LLC’s former OC facilities will be held Sept. 16 and 17, according to the Orange County Register. The auction was authorized by a bankruptcy court. The weekly Brea-based ad publication abruptly closed operations in May, laying off about 680. Auction items will be available for review from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sept. 14 and 15. Auctioneer The Brandford Group will conduct a live webcast of the auction and has photos of merchandise on its website at thebrandfordgroup.com.
Technology
QLogic Corp. announced that two women will lead the top management posts of the Aliso Viejo-based networking equipment maker. Jean Hu, who served as interim chief executive from May 2013 to February 2014, will take the helm on a permanent basis. Before that, she’d held vice president and chief financial roles there since 2011 and will retain those roles. She replaces Prasad Rampalli as chief executive. Rampalli resigned “to pursue other opportunities,” the company said. QLogic has now made three chief executive changes since the abrupt resignation of Simon Biddiscombe a little more than two years ago. QLogic said independent director Christine King was named executive chairman, replacing George Wells, who’d held the seat since June 2014. King, a board member since 2013, previously served as chief executive of Standard Microsystems Corp.
DealerSocket Inc. in San Clemente said it will buy the Inventory+ suite of technology products from Lake Success, N.Y.-based Dealertrack Technologies Inc. for $55 million in cash. Inventory+ software and related products help dealers “centralize and standardize the inventory management process, gain data-driven insights, and maximize profitability” according to the company. The deal includes Dealertrack’s AAX product in the U.S. and Canada, as well as its eCarlist websites. The company employs more than 850 and serves about 7,500 dealerships in the United States, Canada and Australia.
