Results tagged “finance”

The Sports Museum of Los Angeles opened with much fanfare on November 28th last year, but just three months later has already closed its doors to the general public, according to the Downtown News.

After things scenes like this--see photo above (and more here)--this was bound to happen.

Los Angeles' beleaguered Museum of Contemporary Art has been resuscitated by the generous purse-strings of a well-known benefactor. According to the LA Times, MOCA's board "has voted to accept a $30-million bailout offer from billionaire philanthropist Eli Broad, a founder and life trustee of the museum and the city's largest arts patron." This means that MOCA will not opt for a merger with LACMA and will instead to continue to operate independently. Broad has said that despite his philanthropic connection to LACMA, he feels there will be no damage to his relationship with them in light of his move to rescue MOCA.

Electronics retailer Circuit City announced recently that they were going to close 155 stores nationally in efforts to curtail their financial woes. According to a November 3 press release, "the stores identified for closure are located in 55 U.S. media markets, of which Circuit City will exit 12 U.S. media markets." Although not exiting California, they are planning on closing 24 stores in the state, including ones locally in Industry, Compton, Foothill Ranch, Thousand Oaks, Riverside, North Fontana, Pomona, Santa Maria, and Santa Barbara.

If you bank at Security Pacific, your money's now with Pacific Western. Following Friday's shut down by the California Department of Financial Institutions, the four branches of the Los Angeles-based bank were taken over by the FDIC, who then "entered into a purchase and assumption agreement with Pacific Western Bank of Los Angeles to assume all deposits of Security Pacific, whose four branches will reopen on today as Pacific Western branches," according to MyFox Los Angeles. Customers are being assured that there has been no changes to their accounts, and their monies remain insured through the FDIC. Security Pacific is the 19th bank nationally and the 3rd in California to fail.

Today, Wendy Greuel announced a top ten list of sorts on new measures to save the city millions of dollars. It's good timing. On February 5th, we go to the polls and vote on Measure S, which will determine if $270 million will be taxed on our phone bills or not. If no is the answer we give, you can probably kiss goodbye more parks and other quality of life aspects like the Governor has proposed in his budget cuts. Additionally, we're already a city that cries poor every hour, currently lachrymose with $75 million in the red ($345 if Measure S doesn't pass). And even if we were not a city with financial problems, getting fiscally lean is always responsible government.

Starting a business in Los Angeles is what thousands of people do. In fact, in the City alone there are over 300,000 registered business, which means their is one business for every 13 residents (no matter their age). Starting a business is the realization of a dream for many, and can be lifechanging. But how do you start?

• Tribune Company CEO Dennis FitzSimons will be stepping down at the end of the year, letting Chicago businessman Sam Zell take over the company. The Tribune Company owns the Los Angeles Times.
• President Bush signed a huge Energy Bill yesterday, in hopes of "reducing our dependence on oil, confronting global climate change, expanding the production of renewable fuels and giving future generations of our country a nation that is stronger, cleaner and more secure."
• Looks like Sean Preston and, uh, the other little Chee-to whose name escapes us will have a little fucked up cousin very soon! Jamie Lynn Spears, following in her sister's dirty, unshod footsteps, got herself knocked up.
• California's population has grown by 11.5% since 2000 -- but the annual growth rate has slowed overall, possibly due to slower job growth: "Those who left... were fleeing an economy in which just 5,800 jobs per month were created -- down from more than 20,000 per month the previous year."
• Sean Penn's road-trip flick "Into the Wild" garnered four SAG Award nominations, including one Best Lead Actor nod for star Emile Hirsch. SAG has reached an agreement with the writers guild that will allow the ceremony to proceed as planned.
• This week's rainfall brings California's yearly total up to the seasonal norm. More relief may still be on the way.
• Approximately 25,000 residents in Northridge and other parts of the Valley were affected by power outages yesterday. Cal State Northridge shut down classes, but power has been restored to most customers.
• There may be hope yet for television in the New Year! Stephen Colbert & Jon Stewart will return to cable on January 7th without their writing staff. Stewart and Colbert commented: ""We would like to return to work with our writers. If we cannot, we would like to express our ambivalence, but without our writers we are unable to express something as nuanced as ambivalence."

MGM and New Line will co-finance and co-distribute two films, "The Hobbit" and a sequel to it. New Line will distribute in North America and MGM will distribute internationally.

Continue reading "Rejoice, My Prrrecious: Peter Jackson Signs on to "The Hobbit""

The LA Times has definitely had its fair share of scandals in the near past with firings and hirings. Yet recently, content wise, the watchdog coverage of scandalicious politicians has been riveting. There is Mayor V and then there was the daily pounding of Rocky Delgadillo. The newest politician in the ring is 74-year-old 2nd district county supervisor Yvonne Burke who represents Watts, Culver City, Compton, South LA, Hollywood, Marina Del Rey, Inglewood to...

Just when you thought the public transportation and traffic situation in Los Angeles couldn't possibly get any worse... it did. Yes, in a true stroke of brilliance, the State Assembly decided to cut close to $1.3 billion in funding from mass transit transportation in this year's budget bill. As Siel over at green LA girl notes, this means we can probably kiss that planned Expo line expansion from Culver City to Santa Monica good-bye....

· The 210 freeway's last 7.25 mile stretch will open Tuesday, thus completing its route. · A 17-year-old girl dinged her car when out too late with her boyfriend. Fearing her strict father and his would-be punishment, she told the police a made up story about being kidnapped from Valley College, locked in a trunk and left on a dirt road near Santa Clarita. · "Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa says he didn't use a penny...

File this under the "no kidding" category: according to a new report just released by the state Department of Finance, California's population is expected to surge by almost 75% over the next half-century with Riverside the likely recipient of a large fraction of the influx. Analysts predict it will surpass its neighbors to become the second most populous county in the state after Los Angeles. The state's population will have almost doubled in size...

Even when you are an dishonest person, a tiny bit of honesty can go a long way. LA City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo could have avoided a week of scrutiny if he only told the truth a week and a half ago when asked by reporters if his wife was using his city-assigned vehicle when it was damaged and paid for by the taxpayers. Instead, he avoided questions for a simple answer until the LA Times...

I interviewed Jamie Denenberg, International Marketing Exec for Sony Pictures Home Entertainment and Democratic Fundraiser (currently for Senator Obama's Presidential Campaign) to find out how she got started in fundraising, her political influences and what she thought were the best things about the LA political arena. What's your background in Los Angeles politics, how'd you get started fundraising? I first came out to LA in 1999 where I got my master's degree in journalism...

The US Postal Service this week implemented their newly inflated rates, again. And to distract us from the fact that the government agency is sticking it to us despite continuing making hundreds of millions of dollars in profit, they rolled out the new Forever Stamp. The Forever Stamp allows you to buy a 41-cent stamp today and use it for a regular letter, like, say, a nice card to your favorite city-based blog with...

In like a fox and out with a yodel? Microsoft wants to buy Yahoo for $50 billion. Many have speculated that Microsoft would eventually spring for big Y, as a marriage with the online media giant increasingly appears to be the most viable option to compete with Google in the great war of search and online advertising. Always a fun rumor to kick around, but today it's being corroborated by the WSJ, and considering...

Some interesting tech-related news from around the web this week. • Imitation may be a form of flattery (the sincerest kind, so they say) but AOL, I think you might have taken it a bit too far. • AT&T Chief Edward "Moneybags" Whitacre is retiring. His going away present? $158.5 Million. Not a bad present. I bet he won't try to return it. • Apple issues a fix for the battery issues that plague...

UPDATE: The deal went down this morning according to the Tribune. It's liberation day. The LA Times reports:Billionaire real estate mogul Sam Zell has reached an agreement to buy Tribune Co. in a two-stage deal valued at $8.2 billion, or $34 a share, the company said this morning. The Tribune Company auction has been all show -- nice bids but no bite -- kind of like those "30 percent chance of rain" days when there's...

- Mack Reed steps down from LA Voice, hands over the reigns to two new editors, Ryan Knoll and Scott Schmidt. Congratulations, Mack for your years of dedication and great blogging - LA Voice - Ozzfest will be free this year, and it will kick off in LA - Ozzfest - LAPD's story is different than witnesses stories in the death of a 31 yr old who some say was beaten while handcuffed -...

So, you get into work this morning, and the first thing that happens is you hear Janine from Finance complimenting the "fine, muddy grog" as she gestures toward her coffee mug. Then Andre claims his papercut is actually a swashbuckling injury. Uh oh. It's International Talk Like A Pirate Day again already? Your attempt last year to participate by adding "arr" to the end of every sentence came off a little limp, and your...

Tuesday, 6/6/06 is Election Day again in California. You can download a voter guide and find your polling place here.

Sometimes there are stories that slip through the cracks, big and small, around LA and we don't get to them during the week. Stories We Missed is here to catch them and bring them to you. Better late than never, right?

As members of the excellent American Cinematheque, we couldn't help but notice that the film-screening nonprofit recently launched a second venue: the newly-restored Aero Theatre in Santa Monica. The Max Palevsky Aero Theatre, to be exact. We keep seeing the name, in the Cinematheque e-mails, on the wall at LACMA, on the cover of this book, even in the credits of a handful of films. Once shrouded in mystery, now Google explains all: Max Palevsky, a philosophy major, founded the computer company Scientific Data Systems in the 1960s, making computers for NASA and getting bought out by Xerox before the decade came to a close. Then came the movie-produing, art collecting, and politicking — an active democrat, Palevsky supported Tom Bradley in his first mayoral run and major campaign finance reform initiatives in recent years. Not to get all gushy, but it's kinda cool that he's investing in his home city, financing the restoration of a theater so we can see, say, a 1950 noir about a frustrated mailman. More captains of industry should be so bent.

REMEMBER, DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME STARTS ON SUNDAY, APRIL 3RD SO SPRING YOUR CLOCK AHEAD ONE HOUR ON SAT NIGHT.

The biggest loser in this battle is Mayor Hahn. He coveted having the measure on the ballot for the May runoff, when he could not only use it as part of his campaign, trumpeting drops in crime and the hiring of Chief Bratton simultaneously, but also because of its financial implications: such a ballot measure would facilitate setting up an independent expenditure (IE) committee to support the measure, where normal campaign finance laws don’t apply. With IEs, campaigners can raise an unlimited amount of money from contributors instead of the normal $1,000 limit. In addition, they can send out mailers that support a particular candidate, as long as they’re not connected to the candidate’s campaign. Had this measure gone to the ballot, the Police Protective League (the Police officers’ union), which has endorsed Hahn, would have undoubtedly sent out hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of mailers to support the measure–and Jim’s reelection.

Traffic in LA is bad. The State of California is unable to provide money to help alleviate said traffic. What's a cash-strapped transit authority like the MTA to do?

LAist has just learned that Pasadena's Fuller Theological Seminary, which is among the world's largest seminaries, has embarked on a 10-year, $79 million expansion project.

Thanks for nothing, H.D.! It's true - everything costs money, thus, anything can be linked to a budget debate. Why is Arnold caving to his apparent Republican masters? He whomped Davis and Bustamante handily because he's a towering figure in the public consciousness - because of the "genius" of his Wilsonista advisors. It's time for Arnold to step up to the plate, before someone like Ben Affleck or Leo DiCaprio decides to take him on.