Octane’s Timely Take; Rome Is the New Beige

Octane does plenty of work to stir the atmosphere and foster an environment where “entrepreneurs, investors, executives, academics, clinicians, and business advisors come together to collaborate, create, and grow.” Add this to the Aliso Viejo-based nonprofit’s calling card: The Medical Device Investors Forum it’s hosting this week at the Hotel Irvine will likely bring the attention of the healthcare industry and global financial press squarely to OC, thanks to a lineup that includes Allergan PLC CEO Brent Saunders, who’s engaged in talks on a sale to Pfizer that would top $100 billion. There was no change as of press time on plans for Saunders to take the stage for a Nov. 3 keynote Q&A with Jim Mazzo, chair of Irvine-based AcuFocus and of this year’s forum … Huntington Beach-based Quiksilver has asked a bankruptcy court permission for a fire sale of its Ampla shoe line, seeking $200,000 from former execs Rob Colby and Charles Exon, who have set up shop as ColEx Inc. in Long Beach (see related item, page 8). Quiksilver founder and CEO Bob McKnight, meanwhile, is looking to make a sale from his personal portfolio, offering the 100-acre Sunset Paumalu property that he owns with a partner on Oahu’s North Sore for $15 million. “The property may be subdivided or developed with up to four homes that will be surrounded by organic agricultural farms or an equestrian ranch,” according to recent report in Pacific Business News in Honolulu … Here’s a last observation from the Insider’s recent jaunt to Rome—a note to keep in mind the next time some snidester dismisses Irvine as “beige.” It started with a late-afternoon run along the Tiber River, where the light slanted through the air more buttery than bright, making the narrow color palette of the cityscape—buildings clad overwhelmingly in Mediterranean tones from taupe to ochre—somehow seem broad and beautiful. It was all familiar for good reason, because Orange County is situated in one of a handful of regions in the world that also enjoy what’s known as a Mediterranean climate. The climate seems to foster that special quality of light—which seems to be at its finest when its shines on that narrow range of Mediterranean tones. Beige? Try best practices with a global view … No one ever calls Laguna Beach beige, thanks in no small part to touches such as the gorgeous wrought-iron balconies above the Wells Fargo on the 200 block of Ocean Avenue, which offer a great blend of art and commerce … The trend and blend continues at Rancho Mission Viejo’s Esencia project, where sales have been nearly as hot as the weather lately, and works of art in acrylics and watercolors by Debby Bloom add something cool to commons areas here and there. Wonderful stuff, especially Bloom’s study of one of the cows that still call South OC home not far from where Esencia is rising … FivePoint Communities communications honcho Carol Wold spends a lot of time around Great Park, to be sure, but she’s also loyal to Orange, where she grew up and still stands with folks who distinguish between the roadway that circles the intersection of Glassell Street and Chapman Avenue and the lovely patch of park you’ll find in the middle. It’s a distinction that’s inspired a bumper sticker—“It’s the Plaza—not the Circle”—not to mention a recent scolding from Wold after the recent use of “Orange Circle” in this space.