Elizabeth Engages; OC’s Asian Edge

Maria Hall Brown is the talent behind KOCE’s upcoming documentary on the late Henry Segerstrom, and the Insider hears that her project has attracted the keen interest of Elizabeth Segerstrom, who’s joined Sandy Segerstrom Daniels as co-managing partner at C.J. Segerstrom & Sons and its South Coast Plaza since her husband’s passing last year … Put all the presidential politics and cable news palaver to the side and consider what it means to have the various Asian-American communities in OC combining to offer a cross-section of the ethnic niches that bring influences from the other side of the Pacific to markets here. You can dig deeper with a visit to the sixth annual Orange County Asian Business Expo, which will feature more than 100 exhibitors from nearly 20 ethnic chambers and trade groups, among other business organizations, at the Embassy Suites Anaheim South Hotel on Sept. 8. This year’s theme is ambitious: “Redefining Our Mainstream Economy” … Overly ambitious? Maybe, but there’s plenty of evidence at street level that Asian-Americans, as well as immigrants and native-born members of other ethnic communities, are playing—at a minimum—key roles in a redefinition of OC’s mainstream in ways less obvious than the much-chronicled effects of the large Latino-American population here … You can get your first clue at the Ralphs at Main & Harvard in Irvine, where a recent renovation made room for a number of delicious Middle Eastern-style cheeses, including the types pictured here—and these are made in California, by the way. Such merchandising used to be left to Ansar Gallery and Super Irvine and other ethnic markets around OC … Irvine’s large population of folks who track their heritage to South Asia means it’s nothing new to see movies from India on the bill at Edwards Westpark 8. The trend more recently has spread to the AMC Orange 30, and it could hardly be missed earlier this month, when an action film and a romantic comedy from Bollywood both made the bill there … Visit theasianbusinessexpo.com for more information on the upcoming confab—and kudos to the local organizers for nabbing that domain name … Back to the Embassy Suites, this time the chain’s property on Main in Irvine, which recently celebrated a $12 million renovation that made it the latest airport-area hotel to up its game. The place got plenty for all that dough, including spiffy updates to its atrium, event space, and all 293 rooms. Parent Hilton Worldwide calls it a “a modern, California-fresh look.” What’s that? Start with the eye-catching wood used for the framing and wall treatments at the lobby elevators and go from there … Also upping its game is the School of Business at Concordia U in Irvine, where Stephen Christensen signed on as founding dean in 2014 and set a goal of making OC “a 4-university region,” aiming to gain a footing alongside UC-Irvine, Chapman U and Cal State Fullerton on biz ed. Concordia took a step in that direction this month when it earned accreditation of its MBA program and various undergraduate studies from the International Assembly for Collegiate Business Education … Open question: What will the media and fans call Banc of California Stadium for short? Sullivan says: You won’t find a better coffee fix than a hot LVTM at BLK on the Google Center campus on Jamboree.