Long Beach Angels?
Long Beach officials have approached the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim about a potential relocation of the baseball team to its city.
The team has been pitched as a potential occupant of what the city calls its “elephant lot,” a 13-acre waterfront property near the Long Beach Convention Center.
“We are in the early stages of our due diligence and are exploring a variety of options for this property,” Mayor Robert Garcia said in a statement.
The plans were first reported by the Long Beach Post.
“We have approached the Angels to express our interest and discuss the possibilities of this opportunity,” Garcia said. “This is very preliminary and discussions are ongoing.”
Long Beach isn’t the first city that’s tried to woo the Angels. In prior years, Irvine and Tustin took a stab at moving the team to their respective cities.
“It’s no surprise other cities would try to lure the Angels to leave,” Anaheim Mayor Harry Sidhu said in a statement.
Sidhu has been working to reestablish relations with the team after taking office late last year. The team has a lease at the city-owned ballpark that runs at least through 2020, after a recent good-faith extension reached between the two parties.
— Mark Mueller
Irvine-based nonprofit Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County named restaurant veteran Harald Herrmann chief executive.
He succeeds Nicole Suydam, who left to head Santa Ana-based Goodwill of Orange County, the area’s second-largest nonprofit, with about $130 million in revenue last year.
Second Harvest is OC’s seventh-largest nonprofit, with about $60 million in revenue.
Herrmann will step into the role March 25.
He has more than 35 years of experience in the restaurant industry, most recently serving as chief executive of Mendocino Farms. In 1995, Herrmann helped launch the flagship Yard House restaurant in Long Beach and became a partner and chief executive in the company.
After Yard House was sold to Darden Restaurants Inc. (NYSE: DRI), Hermann became president of the company’s specialty restaurant group.
Herrmann is no stranger to the nonprofit world, particularly food banks. He co-founded Round it Up America in 2009, an organization that allows diners to round up their check totals to apply the funds to local food banks and nonprofit organizations.
— Subrina Hudson
Terrence Dwyer is stepping down as president of the Segerstrom Center for the Arts, Orange County’s largest and most influential performing arts center.
Dwyer, who held the position for 12 years, will “pursue other opportunities,” according to a statement released last week.
During Dwyer’s tenure, the Costa Mesa center opened the Julianne and George Argyros Plaza, the Center for Dance and Innovation, and the School of Dance and Music for Children With Disabilities. He joined the center in 2006 as its fourth president.
The center will be co-led by Executive Vice President Judy Morr and Chief Financial Officer Brian Finck as it looks for a permanent replacement.
— Katie Murar
