Check page 8 for a quick look at the winners of the Business Journal’s 19th Annual Women in Business Awards, which drew a big crowd to the Hyatt Regency Irvine last week. Check next week’s issue for profiles of the five women of distinction chosen from a field of more than 200 nominees this year. And you can think about this in the meantime: OC landed a couple of entries on a recent list of Top 10 Cities for Women by Movoto, a blog dedicated to the “lighter side of real estate.” Movoto compared median incomes for women and the percentage of single men in various cities, among other socio-economic data. It also looked at the numbers of women’s health physicians and “fun stuff” such as the prevalence of women’s clothing stores and salons. Not exactly scientific, but the results were kind to OC, with Santa Ana at No. 3 in the U.S.—trailing only Washington and Pittsburgh—and Anaheim in the No. 4 spot, ahead of cosmopolitan centers such as San Francisco and Seattle …
The Insider hears that Five Point Communities boss Emile Haddad is incoming board chair of the UCI Foundation, succeeding Dr. Hazem Chehabi …
Kevin Hauber, president of George Argyros’ Arnel Commercial Properties and Arnel Management, is the newest director of the Orange Catholic Foundation … Gregory Cox is the new vice president of development for Pacific Symphony …
PBS SoCal talker and OCBJ exec editor Rick Reiff recently checked in with this reaction to the recent revelation that the scandal at the IRS now includes the fact that the agency pulled an AIG—albeit for a relative bargain with a soiree at the Hilton Anaheim rather than the St. Regis Monarch Beach: What happens in OC doesn’t stay in OC, notes Reiff …
Journalist-turned-politico-turned-Irvine Company-vet-turned-journalist-again Larry Thomas weighs in with word that some public servants still know better. Seems he recently met up with his one-time boss George Deukmejian—Thomas served as his top press guy and also ran his successful re-election campaign—to mark the former governor’s 85th birthday. Thomas drove up from Newport Beach, and Deukmejian came down from Long Beach. They met at Duke’s in Huntington Beach, where the valet attendant asked Duekmejian his first name. “Duke,” said the Guv, going with his longtime nickname. “Are you an owner of the restaurant?” the valet persisted. “Don’t I wish,” replied Deukmejian, who has lived a modest life with wife, Gloria, in the same Long Beach house for the past 60 years …
Congratulations and go get ’em to Emerald Bay resident and HÔM Sotheby agent Harold Noriega, who won a gold medal as part of Team USA-RBC Life at the recent USA Open Indoor Volleyball Championships in Louisville. It’s Noriega’s second-straight gold medal at the national event, and he’ll make his third-straight appearance with Team USA at the World Master’s Games, with this year’s event set for August in Torino, Italy …
Reporter Chris Casacchia told you awhile ago about Plump Engineering, which played a key role in getting the 250-ton retired space shuttle Endeavor through a 12-mile journey from LAX to California Science Center, where it remains on display. The firm got more notice last week when the Structural Engineers Association of Southern California gave it an Award of Excellence during its annual banquet.
