Look who’s feeling fresh in brand-new digs—Bill Gross, who joined the rest of the Pimco crew for hot dogs and burgers on the porch of their recently completed HQ in Newport Center last week. The place pulsates with understated class and a cool vibe that lines up with Pimco’s one-off rep in the world of investing … Gross gave nods to several Pimco pioneers—a lineage that includes Walter Gerken, who stopped by for the company picnic, along with Bill Podlich, Jim Muzzy and Bill Thompson, among others … Gross thanked his current crew, tossing in a teaser about what seems to be a reversal in fortune that’s shaping up on bonds, which look to be moving to Pimco’s advantage just a few months after the departure of one-time co-Chief Investment Officer Mohamed El-Erian had much of the blogosphere and print press anxious to take Gross to task. Look for him to change the direction of the conversation in coming weeks as he talks about the “new neutral” from the TV studio at the new HQ … Who is Mary Dempster? First consider the Business Journal’s 20th Annual Women in Business Awards set for June 17 at the Hotel Irvine, where Preferred Hotel Group’s Lindsey Ueberroth will give a keynote and Zee Allred will get a Lifetime Achievement Award. Now back to Dempster, a pioneer among female power players in OC more than 20 years ago when she ran the back office for Pimco. Gross fairly glowed when he introduced the 85-year-old Dempster at last week’s gathering, chalking up her contributions alongside some of the best-known names from Pimco’s past … Marybelle Musco’s name won’t be forgotten anytime soon in downtown Santa Ana, thanks to the belated birthday gift her husband, Paul, was set to deliver as a surprise during the Orange County School of the Arts Season Finale at the Segerstrom Center on Saturday. The $4 million from the couple will go toward a 60,000-square-foot building where one of three wings will be the Marybelle Musco Dance Center. OCSA is halfway to the $20 million price of the project, and a groundbreaking is planned for Main Street this week … Another groundbreaking came with a formal blessing last week as Tim Busch’s Pacific Hospitality Group and Bob Olson’s R.D. Olson Development started work on a hotel in Huntington Beach. The public expression of faith is nothing new for Busch. He maintains a Roman Catholic chapel that’s open to the public at the offices of the Busch & Caspino law firm in Irvine … David Wilson managed to come to terms with fellow super-dealer Fletcher Jones last week, adding a Toyota shop in Las Vegas to the holdings of his Orange-based Wilson Automotive Group for $75 million (see related item, page 7). Wilson can’t get anywhere with the guy who holds the rights to davidwilson.com, which offers visitors little more than a photo from a 1992 safari. Must have been quite a trip—David Wilson the auto dealer says David Wilson the safari buff has turned down $100,000 for the domain name … Sir Eldon Griffiths was a transatlantic traveler to the end, flying from OC to his native England just before he died last week at 89. Griffiths worked for Time, Newsweek and the Washington Post and served as a member of Parliament for 28 years. He spent his later years commuting between Bury St. Edmunds and Laguna Niguel. His passing was noted locally but received even more coverage in the British media.
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