Kudos to title insurer First American Financial Corp., the lone OC-based representative on Fortune’s recent national list of “100 Best Companies to Work For.” (A nod to Blizzard Entertainment in Irvine, which can claim bragging rights as a rider with Santa Monica-based parent Activision Blizzard Inc.’s listing by the magazine) … Might a lot more workers get the “Best Places” experience under First American in the near future? Check Mark Mueller’s story on the local field of title insurers on page 31 for some speculation from First American CEO Dennis Gilmore on possible consolidation in the industry … The Business Journal’s local list of Best Places to Work won’t publish until July 25, but Research Director Dana Truong reports that interest continues to grow, with the number of applications already at a record level as the March 18 deadlines nears. Visit bestplaces
toworkoc.com to apply … Gary Jabara gave the crowd at the Business Journal’s Excellence in Entrepreneurship Awards last week a compelling keynote on the importance of thank-you notes. The founder of Mobilitie LLC and Villa Real Estate also provided a tangible take-away—everyone got a box of high-quality thank-you cards. Here’s one more take-away: The pitch for the old-time medium of stationery came from a fellow who made his first fortune by providing the cellphone towers that are the backbone of the digital revolution—a clear example of the counterintuitive instincts so often found in entrepreneurs (see related news item, page 6; see next week’s issue for profiles of honorees) … Daily newspapers account for another medium that has sagged with the rise of digital communications, but a couple of them still managed to make waves around here last week … Start with the L.A. Times, whose parent, Chicago-based Tribune Publishing, was in the bidding for Santa Ana-based Freedom Communications and its OC Register as the Insider went to press. The Times’ interest didn’t stop it from reporting—just a day before a bankruptcy court deadline for bids—that local real estate developer Mike Harrah was at the head of another group of potential bidders that “includes Freedom co-owners Eric Spitz and Rich Mirman.” No word from Spitz or Mirman on how Harrah’s newly minted top billing sat with them … The Wall Street Journal, meanwhile, sent a nice chunk of business to Tim Busch. A full-page ad in the daily listed a lineup ranging from U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon to Ford Motor CEO Mark Fields for a conference dubbed Eco:Nomics Investing in the Future of Energy, slated for April 6 to 8 at Bacara Resort & Spa in Santa Barbara, an establishment that’s part of Busch’s Pacific Hospitality Group in Irvine … The WSJ will once again hold its All Things Digital conference at the Montage in Laguna Beach in October with the likes of Apple boss Tim Cook, IBM Chairman and CEO Virginia Rometty and entertainer-cum-entrepreneur will.i.am lined up as speakers… There are ways to enjoy Laguna Beach without a limo and driver. You can get a framed view of the Pacific and selections from a Sunset Menu of specials to top off a hard day’s work with a visit to Sapphire Laguna on PCH. Need more? Consider that Sapphire Chef Azmin Ghahreman brings special credentials to the “Spice Plates” that are part of the menu. Ghahreman hails from Mashhad, a town in Iran on a branch of the Spice Road—also known as the Silk Road, which has connected East and West for more than 1,000 years.
