San Fernando Valley Business Journal

Browse past and current articles from this publication.

Creating a new corridor: Lancaster focuses on green in annexation attempt.
The City of Lancaster is seeking to annex more than 7,000 acres north of its borders to create ah alternative energy corridor. If approved by the Los Angeles County Local Agency Formation Commissi . . .

Building alternatives: with commercial down, companies look elsewhere.(SPECIAL REPORT: VALLEY-AREA CONSTRUCTION)
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] New commercial construction in the greater San Fernando Valley area is at almost a standstill. And rising vacancy rates, decreasing rents, and lack of available financing ar . . .

Chatsworth plant cuts valley staff by nearly half: Cosmetic Laboratories sends jobs to Arkansas.(SPECIAL REPORT: VALLEY-AREA CON
Cosmetic Laboratories of America will begin this month a phase-out of manufacturing positions at its Chatsworth plant and transfer the jobs to a facility in Arkansas. When completed by January, th . . .

Temping is refuge on rough road for law school grads: best and the brightest not getting full-time offers.
Newly minted lawyers are finding their opportunities for work are few and far between, a fact that is sending many to temporary assignments as their first out-of-school jobs. "I met a recent grad . . .

Valley apparel businesses jittery over financing: major source of funding trying to stave off bankruptcy.
The troubles of commercial lender CIT Group Inc. have the local apparel industry in uncertainty. CIT, the financial institution that most of the businesses in the apparel industry rely on for fina . . .

Funding boost for youth employment: stimulus money allowing groups to expand services.
Preparing local youth for the workforce is a large piece of the economic recovery formula set forth by the federal government, and stimulus dollars are already boosting local youth employment progra . . .

College of the Canyons' big plans for its new University Center: unscathed by budget woes.
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Despite the California budget fiasco, College of the Canyons is moving forward as planned with the opening of its much anticipated University Center this month, growing acad . . .

Openings bring continued changes to downtown Lancaster: gallery, New York-style deli highlight activity.(ANTELOPE VALLEY)
The plans for transforming downtown Lancaster into a lifestyle destination are moving forward with the opening of an artist's gallery and a new deli on Lancaster Boulevard. Residents received a pr . . .

Change in bus lines between valleys drawing criticism: workers at major employers claim longer travel time.
The City of Santa Clarita has eliminated three bus lines serving the San Fernando Valley and added one new line with fewer stops but with more connections to Metro trains and buses. The move has d . . .

San Fernando hurting from State budget cuts.
The approved state budget has left the already strained City of San Fernando facing revenue losses of approximately $2.9 million, directly impacting the City's General Fund and Redevelopment Agency' . . .

Court limits employer options for avoiding bias claims: companies need to be watchful in promotion standards.(EMPLOYMENT LAW)
A central focus of Supreme Court nominee Judge Sonia Sotomayor's confirmation hearing is her decision in a controversial reverse discrimination case brought by white firefighters in Connecticut. The . . .

Reporter takes a walk and gets snapshot of crisis: recession has devastated some firms along boulevards.(RETAIL)
Plagued by bankruptcies, store closures and layoffs, the retail industry in the greater San Fernando Valley, like elsewhere in the country, has been hit hard by the economic recession. A two-hour . . .

Bi-weekly top gainers.(VALLEY STOCKWATCH: STOCK ACTIVITY FOR 50 SELECTED GREATER SAN FERNANDO VALLEY-BASED PUBLIC COMPANIES)(Sta
Bi-Weekly Top Gainers TOP 10 GAINERS BY PERCENTAGE Jul 29 Jul 15 Point Company Close Close Chang . . .

Bi-weekly top losers.(VALLEY STOCKWATCH: STOCK ACTIVITY FOR 50 SELECTED GREATER SAN FERNANDO VALLEY-BASED PUBLIC COMPANIES)(Stat
Bi-Weekly Top Losers TOP 10 LOSERS BY PERCENTAGE Jul 29 Jul 15 Point Company Close Close Change . . .

The Valley 50 stock index.(VALLEY STOCKWATCH: STOCK ACTIVITY FOR 50 SELECTED GREATER SAN FERNANDO VALLEY-BASED PUBLIC COMPANIES)
The Valley 50 Stock Index Company Jul 29 52-Week 52-Week Name Ticker Price High Low AeroVironment, Inc. . . .

Market summary.(VALLEY STOCKWATCH: STOCK ACTIVITY FOR 50 SELECTED GREATER SAN FERNANDO VALLEY-BASED PUBLIC COMPANIES)(Statistica
Market Summary MOST ACTIVE STOCKS BY VOLUME (7-Day Average Daily Volume) Thomson S.A. 33,651,720 Walt Disney Co. 11,026,200 Amgen Inc. . . .

Company highlight: Move, Inc. (Nasdaq: MOVE).(VALLEY STOCKWATCH: STOCK ACTIVITY FOR 50 SELECTED GREATER SAN FERNANDO VALLEY-BASE
Move, Inc., headquartered in Westlake Village, CA, operates online network of Web sites for real estate search, finance, and moving and home enthusiasts. It operates in two segments, Real Estate Ser . . .

Market indexes.(VALLEY STOCKWATCH: STOCK ACTIVITY FOR 50 SELECTED GREATER SAN FERNANDO VALLEY-BASED PUBLIC COMPANIES)
Market Indexes Jul 15 Jul 29 Point 2-Week YTD 52-Week Index Close Close Change % Chg. Change % Chg. Dow Jones Industrial 8,616.2 9,070.7 . . .

Valley econowatch.(INVESTMENTS & FINANCE)
VALLEY ECONOWATCH % [+ or -] GENERAL From INDICATORS . . .

Agoura-Oak Park-Conejo Valley Chamber of Commerce.(Chamber Briefs)
Agoura-Oak Park-Conejo Valley Chamber of Commerce: On Tuesday, July 21, the Chamber sponsored a Luncheon featuring Senator Tony Strickland addressing the issue of California's budget crisis. The eve . . .

Calabasas Chamber of Commerce.(Chamber Briefs)
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Calabasas Chamber of Commerce: The Calabasas Chamber of Commerce introduced the 2009 Education and Scholarship Award honorees during a Calabasas City Council meeting held on . . .

Canoga Park/West Hills Chamber of Commerce.(Chamber Briefs)
Canoga Park/West Hills Chamber of Commerce: The Canoga Park/West Hills Chamber's "Tour de Vin" held an evening of wine and music on Thursday, July 30, 2009, 6 -8 p.m. at the Hidden Chateau and Garde . . .

Encino Chamber of Commerce.(Chamber Briefs)
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Encino Chamber of Commerce: The Encino Chamber of Commerce presented its Business & Professional Development Lunch on Tuesday, July 21 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. The Lunch . . .

North Valley Regional Chamber of Commerce.(Chamber Briefs)
North Valley Regional Chamber of Commerce: If you want more referrals for your business, and/or wish to learn how to effectively network, join the North Valley Regional Chamber of Commerce (NVRCC) a . . .

Universal City-North Hollywood Chamber of Commerce.(Chamber Briefs)
Universal City-North Hollywood Chamber of Commerce: On Saturday, July 25, the Universal City-North Hollywood Chamber held a Fitness Challenge at the East Valley Y.M.C.A. at 5142 Tujunga Avenue, Nort . . .

Tri-Chamber Event.(Chamber Briefs)(Conference news)(Brief article)
Tri-Chamber Event: Congressman Brad Sherman will address a Tri-Chamber Business Luncheon Wednesday, August 19. This luncheon will Congressman be held at Maggiano's at Westfield Promenade, 11:30a.m.- . . .

Largest construction companies 2009: Greater San Fernando Valley-based firms ranked by revenues in 2008.(THE LIST)(Company ranki
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY IN order to qualify for this year's Construction Companies List, firms had to either be headquartered in the San Fernando Valley or had to have projects in the area that are acti . . .

Competition stiff for public works construction projects: with slow commercial office sector, firms bid for projects they once m
Hathaway Dinwiddie Construction Company's portfolio used to consist of about 70 percent commercial, and 30 percent higher education facilities. But recently, that ratio has flip-flopped. "It's obv . . .

Largest construction projects 2009: ranked by total square footage.(THE LIST)(Statistical table)
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY PROBABLY coming as no surprise, the volume of construction projects is down this year compared to last year. While more companies responded to surveys this year, the number of pr . . .

New life given to medical facility at Victory and Tampa.
Decron Properties Corp. has given a much needed face-lift to the Victory-Tampa Medical Square at 19231 Victory Blvd. in Reseda. The company recently completed a $10 million renovation of the five- . . .

The big bad media and breathing new life into old things: facts show negative trends, but it's not all terrible.(REAL ESTATE)
For the past month I've been spending most of my time writing special reports about banking and construction in the greater San Fernando Valley area. And as all who've read these stories know, the p . . .

Construction unemployment continues upward trend: jobless workers can't just go somewhere else anymore.(SPECIAL REPORT: VALLEY-A
Brett Curry knows all about job cuts in the local construction industry. Right after Christmas, the state pulled the plug on the partially complete 166.000 square foot CSUN Valley Performing Arts Ce . . .

'Broken' condos: upside down multi-family world: distressed regional market results in complicated situations.(SPECIAL REPORT: V
Decreased property values, slow housing sales, and lack of access to financing are a few of the factors that have led to a spate of "broken" residential condominium projects in the Los Angeles area. . . .

Developing a relationship: once wanting to tear it down, Philip MacDonald holds a huge place in his heart for Bob's Big Boy.(Peo
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The historic Bob's Big Boy restaurant in Burkbank is turning 60 years old and owner Philip MacDonald couldn't be happier. Some fifteen years ago he would have eagerly leve . . .

Be aware: reduction in salaries or hours may reduce your employees' benefits.(HR & Staffing Guide)
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] As companies are reducing hours and wages, the human resources professional may need to review the impact towards the employee benefit program. If your company has reduced t . . .

Will healthcare reform kill quality care in America?(HR & Staffing Guide)
Stakeholders closest to the Washington healthcare debate are watching with increasing frustration as the legislative wrangling focuses more on who will finance health care and how we will expand and . . .

Facebook: not just for fun anymore.(HR & Staffing Guide)
Remember when Facebook was simply a great way to stay connected with friends and family? Perhaps you don't. Perhaps you were never caught up in the "What are you doing right now?" age and could care . . .

Communicating effectively with your staff.(HR & Staffing Guide)
To understand how to effectively communication in the workplace, you have to first understand some basic psychological truths about how we, as people, tend to communicate. If we communicate to a p . . .

Staffing opportunity spotlight: about the Valley's Build WorkSource Center & Build Rehabilitation.(HR & Staffing Guide)
The Build WorkSource Center is a community based non-profit corporation successfully serving San Fernando Valley businesses and job seekers. Build WorkSource is federally funded through the City of . . .

Eats.(SANTA CLARITA VALLEY: Valencia)(La Salsa Holding Inc.)(Brief article)
Eats: Quick-casual fresh Mexican grill chain La Salsa has opened a new location in Valencia. The 1,200 square-foot location is in a high traffic area in the Westridge Shopping Center. Discounted f . . .

Connecting.(SANTA CLARITA VALLEY: Valencia)(Vyoom)(Brief article)
Connecting: Online social networking website Vyoom went active this summer offering real-time communication between users and their friends, family and co-workers. With its advanced labeling and f . . .

Festival.(SANTA CLARITA VALLEY: Santa Clarita)
Festival: Wine merchant and storage facility All Corked up will hold a one-day International Wine Festival at College of the Canyons in October. Proceeds from the festival will benefit the Santa C . . .

Recycle.(SAN FERNANDO VALLEY: Chatsworth)
Recycle: NorthStar Moving Corp. has teamed up with E-Cycle Environmental to recycle consumer electronics products left behind during the moving process. E-Cycle Environmental will take computers, . . .

Service.(SAN FERNANDO VALLEY: Burbank)(Brief article)
Service: Testronic Labs has become a founding member of the Media and Entertainment Services Alliance. The alliance is a global federation assisting its members in the efficient creation, producti . . .

Medical service expands with new call center.(Around The Valleys)
One Call Medical is growing in the San Fernando Valley, moving from Woodland Hills to a new, expanded location in West Hills to help patients throughout Los Angeles County schedule diagnostic tests. . . .

Insight.(SAN FERNANDO VALLEY: Burbank)(conference on 3-D movies)(Conference news)(Brief article)
Insight: Directors Tim Burton and Robert Zemeckis and animation pioneer John Lasseter took part in panel discussions on behalf of Walt Disney Motion Pictures at Comic-Con in July. Zemeckis and Bur . . .

Travel.(SAN FERNANDO VALLEY: Van Nuys)(Van Nuys Flight Center Inc.)(Brief article)
Travel: Beginning Aug. 1, only credit and debit cards will be accepted for ticket purchases for the Van Nuys FlyAway service to Los Angeles International Airport. The availability of credit and pr . . .

Awards.(SAN FERNANDO VALLEY: Encino)(Brief article)
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Awards: Inter/Media Advertising and Inter/Image Productions won two Aurora Awards for their work on behalf of Marinello Schools of Beauty and Cor Cash Loans. The Aurora Aw . . .

Gathering.(SAN FERNANDO VALLEY: Encino)(Visual Effects Society )(Conference news)(Brief article)
Gathering: The Visual Effects Society will host a Production Summit 09 in October to bring together leading creatives, executives and visionaries. The one-day event will bring together an internat . . .

Finalists.(SAN FERNANDO VALLEY: Woodland Hills)
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Finalists: The 51st Fernando Award Annual Finalist Dinner will honor this year's five finalists. The Fernando Award is the highest honor for volunteerism and civic accompl . . .