Of Gender & Jobs; Zee Is for Zelma; ‘Creekside Chic’

There’s been much consternation about the relatively slow pace of employment growth nationally, even with last week’s report of a big gain on jobs in June. There wouldn’t be much to gripe about if everyone made like the female business owners of OC, who have apparently been doing more than their fair share to make jobs part of the recovery (see related story, page 1; list of largest Women-Owned Businesses based here, starting on page 16) … The Insider hears that In-N-Out heiress Lynsi Snyder, whose company tops this week’s list, is back to her maiden name, with a divorce from race car driver Val Torres Jr., her third husband, either recently done or pending … Zee Allred counts a divorce from the late Marvin Allred among the many challenges that have crossed her path as she’s balanced family and business over the years. It was an amicable parting and business split for Marvin and Zee, who’s full name is Zelma, by the way (see more on Allred in Jane Yu’s story on page 1) … Back to jobs with a note on Steve Wilburn, who’s done his bit to add some beef to the recovery as chief executive of Newport Beach-based FirmGreen Inc. Wilburn figures his company’s work on a power plant in Brazil—a deal done with the help of the Export-Import Bank—played a role in creating 165 jobs in the U.S. Our Chris Casacchia reports that Wilburn toted that figure around on a recent visit to Capitol Hill, where talk of doing away with the Ex-Im Bank has gotten serious. Give Wilburn credit for loyalty to the lender: He’s swimming against what looks to be a growing tide that includes recently elevated House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, the highest-ranking Californian in Congress … Vinny Smith is a veteran jobs generator—he had nearly 4,000 employees at Quest Software before selling to Dell, and his Irvine-based Toba Capital has invested in dozens of tech companies. Casacchia heard Smith tell a crowd at the Eureka Building in Irvine that OC’s tech industry has a significant advantage over the red-hot Bay Area when it comes to retaining top talent. “The Bay Area is a hard place to operate,” Smith told the crowd for the Tech Coast Venture Network event on June 26. “I think in Orange County you can build a team for the long haul easier than you can in the Bay Area. You can still get the creative types—the incredible talent types—they’re here” … Some local employers have undoubtedly seen productivity drop as workers use desktop computers, laptops, tablets and phones to tune into World Cup games. They aren’t the only ones paying a price for the confluence of a jump in soccer’s popularity here and the global trend toward mobile media. Hyun Sok of Teriyaki Taro at the Palm Court food court on Michelson off Von Karman said her lunch crowd was about half its usual size on the day the U.S. team lost to Belgium in an overtime thriller last week … Anyone else notice the slick new look that’s not Mediterranean at Irvine Company’s apartment development at Park Place? The Insider calls it “Creekside Chic” … Our Mark Mueller provides a first look at the Irvine Co.’s plans for an office tower in the Spectrum that would mark another architectural departure for the developer. His front-page story leads to a preview photo on page 41.