Irvine’s master plan has it set to keep adding population for decades, as our story on page 1 points out. A developer who has something to do with the trend made another point recently: politicians aren’t the only ones who can campaign in the city. Emile Haddad and FivePoint Communities are on the campaign trail on behalf of a plan to put $211 million toward a sports village and entertainment center at the Great Park in exchange for land and approvals to add 5,700 home to the 5,000 or so it already plans on 3,700 acres around the park. The developer also wants a guarantee that none of the 1,347 acres designated for the park itself will be sold off in the future. The offer has become subject to Irvine’s famously factional politics as city elections near. FivePoint has gone straight to residents lately with a glossy mailer that gives an explanation and seeks comments on its plan, which includes ready money for the amenities at the park, something elected officials can’t offer. FivePoint has begun work on the first 726 homes on the former Marine base, with sales slated to start next year. No word yet on whether the developer’s mailers are getting attention amid the slew of brochures hitting voters’ mailboxes in advance of the local elections set for Nov. 6 …
Joel Moskowitz had reason to celebrate and be celebrated lately. The president and chief executive of Costa Mesa-based Ceradyne Inc. oversaw the company’s pending $860 million sale to 3M on Oct. 1. He followed that with a trip to Pittsburgh to receive a Distinguished Life Member Award from the American Ceramic Society. Moskowtiz founded Ceradyne in 1967 with $5,000, and has grown it to $572 million in annual sales of ceramics-based body armor and other products for the defense, industrial and commercial markets. Joining Moskowitz for honors were Noboru Ichinose, a Toshiba Corp. veteran and professor emeritus at Waseda University in Tokyo, and Brian Lawn of the National Institute of Standards and Technology …
A tip of the hat to Kim Letch, partner at Ernst & Young’s OC office, who was one of 70 women nationwide honored as a 2012 “Working Mother of the Year” by Working Mother magazine. The mother of two kids under 10 counts some big-name clients, including Allergan and Pacific Health Systems, among others. She’s also a board member of the Forum for Corporate Directors of Orange County and United Cerebral Palsy of Orange County.…
Lineup change in Laguna Beach, where restaurateur Chris Keller has a deal to buy local landmark Marine Room Tavern from Kelly Boyd, with the switch in ownership set for Nov. 26. Keller is the operating partner of the Casa del Camino hotel and head of the LB Chamber of Commerce. Boyd is a member of the city council who’s rehabilitating after back surgery, and balked at new lease terms. “Chris will make some cosmetic changes and keep the name,” Boyd told Stu News Laguna, a popular website that’s been growing lately under founder and editor Stu Saffer and publisher Shaena Stabler, a former OCBJ sales staffer.
