Aitken on Angels; Segerstom Memorial; OC-China Update

Anyone who doubts Wylie Aitken’s will probably hasn’t seen him in a court of law. Whether Aitken can find a way to bring the City of Anaheim and Arte Moreno together on a new lease for Angel Stadium, meanwhile, could ultimately come down to the court of public opinion. The nationally known litigator and longtime Anaheim resident has been hired as the city’s lead negotiator, a move first suggested by Mayor Tom Tait and approved unanimously by the City Council last week at a rate of $350 an hour plus expenses. Aitken is not a politician, but he understands politics. That was clear when he told the Insider that the odds of getting a deal done are high—assuming Moreno is “an open-minded businessman.” Hard for anyone who accepts the implied compliment to refuse a fair hearing after a stall on talks of nearly a year—a period that’s seen Moreno engage the City of Tustin about possibilities at the old Marine Corps Air Station in that city … Bound to be good: Courage of Imagination, a memorial to Henry Segerstrom done in a “museum-style environment crafted to South Coast Plaza standards,” according to David Grant, the late retail impresario’s son-in-law and GM of the famed center. Look for the exhibit in the Jewel Court later this month … Irvine often gets the spotlight as a popular choice for legions of homebuyers from China—some who want to take up residence in the city and others who see it as a good place to invest. Costa Mesa gets less attention but holds its own when it comes to drawing entrepreneurs from the Middle Kingdom, as this week’s front page makes clear. Start with Mark Mueller’s piece on plans for a condo tower in Costa Mesa’s arts district. Chris Casacchia offers another example with his account of the Chinese billionaire who looks close to giving Fisker Automotive new life. Yet another comes in Mediha DiMartino’s page 1 report on Dragon Crowd, which runs a growing portfolio of production plants in China from its Costa Mesa HQ …Ed Fuller knows a thing or two about China, a market he got to know when he ran Marriott’s international business and continues to work as CEO of the Orange County Visitors Association. China will have the chance to get to know Fuller better now that a Chinese-language edition of his well-received business book, You Can’t Lead with Your Feet on the Desk, is set for the press. Fuller emphasizes relationships as “the currency of every culture,” and says that’s a fact that’s “more actively embraced” in China than anywhere. He walks it like he talks it, too—the OCVA has opened office in Beijing and Shanghai under his leadership … The Beall Family Foundation might have put up the seed money for UCI’s Institute for Innovation, as our Paul Hughes reports on page 1, but the Beall family itself knows when a product needs no further fiddling. How else to explain Ken Beall’s role as boss of Irvine-based Precision Hospitality & Development, the franchisee behind the Dunkin’ Donuts first entry in OC (see related item in Real Estate column, page 75). … Notable: the late litigator, writer, radio host, all-around bon vivant and Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher Partner Robert Palmer will be honored at the the Anti-Defamation League Orange County/Long Beach dinner on April 16. The organization also will honor Marc Schneider of Stradling Yocca and Edwards Lifescience GC Aimee Weisner.