Dame Barbara Hay, the new British consul general in L.A., got a quick introduction to the U.S. healthcare system—she fell off a ladder and broke her arm. The first question was one she’d never been asked in Britain: Did she have insurance? (Yes.) She said her treatment at Cedars-Sinai was excellent, and the four firefighter-paramedics who answered her call “were all very handsome.” Hay attended a British American Business Council of OC event at the Hilton Orange County/Costa Mesa honoring local companies—drug maker Allergan, body-armor maker Ceradyne and business software makers Sage Software and Syspro. The consensus of the companies’ execs is that we are entering a slow recovery. It hasn’t been easy in recent months for any of them—Allergan, Sage and Ceradyne combined have eliminated more than 1,500 jobs worldwide. But smaller Syspro still has all 375 of its employees—Prez Joey Benadretti said he’s never made a layoff …
EE RR said it during the workers’ comp and energy fiascos of the 1990s, and with the state now in its biggest financial hole ever, he said it again on “Inside OC”: California is a natural wonder and a manmade disaster …
After reading about the high grad-placement rate at UCI’s Merage School of Business, Dennis Power let the Insider know that 91% of the 2007-08 grads of his Laguna College of Art & Design have found jobs in their field or are pursuing additional education …
To attract donors to her planned 2010 congressional campaign, Irvine Councilwoman Beth Krom has offered free yoga classes, a sunset party and a comedy night …
For those who don’t mind dropping $25 on a good breakfast, the Insider suggests a weekend morning visit to Javier’s in Crystal Cove. Unlike at night, there is no parking jam, no wait for a table and daylight gives another perspective to the stunning decor …
Conservative, provocative author Dinesh D’Souza keynotes Anaheim Mayor Curt Pringle’s Prayer Breakfast Oct. 15 at the Anaheim Convention Center …
Turning 50: Tom Tait, civil engineer (Tait & Associates, Santa Ana) and would-be Anaheim mayoral successor to Pringle, and Hyundai Motor America spokesman Jim Trainor …
Newport Beach investor and unconventional thinker Walter Cruttenden is one of the featured speakers at the annual Conference on Precession and Ancient Knowledge, Oct. 10 at the National Academy of Sciences Beckman Center at UCI …
Luis Villalobos, the embodiment of OC’s entrepreneurial and networking spirit, has died of complications from a lung infection. He was 72. Villalobos founded Tech Coast Angels, which earlier this year announced that it had reached the $100 million mark in capital invested in startups. He was, TCA member and podcaster Frank Peters fondly said, “a great mentor, a coach, a scold.”
