Sherman Oaks By SHELLY GARCIA Senior Reporter Driving along Ventura Boulevard in Sherman Oaks it is hard to miss the gleaming steel and glass studio that is the newest tenant at the Galleria. It is Paul Mitchell The School, the latest of about 70 beauty schools founded by John Paul DeJoria, a stylist turned legend in the beauty industry. The Sherman Oaks school is the first in the Los Angeles area, and it occupies a 15,000-square-foot space in the Galleria designed to train as many as 400 students at a time. Paul Mantea, co-owner and director of the school in Sherman Oaks, said he chose the space to fill a gap for a school in Los Angeles because of its central Valley location and the layout and design opportunities that the Galleria space afforded.> DeJoria started opening beauty schools in 2001 and now has locations across the country. Including the new Sherman Oaks location there are five schools in Southern California. Are there enough potential students to fill so large a school? “If I can quote John Paul, this is like filling the Grand Canyon,” said Mantea. “The beauty industry has been neglected for so long. The quality of the schools doesn’t match the quality of the salons.” Beauty school, where students get a certificate in cosmetology, have long been mom and pop operations, not much different from the salons they supplied with talent. But while salon demographics have changed, now with large corporate owners, multiple locations, nationally known brands and marketing efforts, the schools have remained small, often shoestring operations. “John Paul is larger than life,” said Mantea. “Everything that he does is pretty much global, so looking at his persona, I had to build something that would get closer to who he is. I could not just throw a place randomly together and put his name on it, so I had to build a space that would be comparable to what he stands for.” About 20 students are enrolled in the first program offered at the school, which takes about 11 months to complete for full time students. And there are close to 30 students already enrolled in the second program that starts January 9, Mantea said. But that pales compared to the number of would-be clients for the school’s low cost haircuts, colors and such. Already Mantea said there is a waiting list of about 200 customers. Paul Mitchell the School is still accepting applications for students for its Jan. 9 course. For a cut and/or color, clients can call (310) 801-9918 (Mantea registered the phone number before settling on a location). “Or if they’re in the mall, they can walk in and see if there are any openings,” Mantea said. ANTELOPE VALLEY Lancaster Kudos: Antelope Valley Hospital has been recognized for improving performance measures in patient care. Texas-based supply chain management service company VHA awarded the 379-bed hospital for improvements to heart attack, congestive heart failure and pneumonia. Palmdale Renamed: The City Council has voted to change the name of a local park to honor a longtime civic leader and war veteran. Palmdale Plant 42 Heritage Airpark will be renamed Joe Davies Heritage Airpark at Palmdale Plant 42 to honor Retired U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Joe Davies, who served on the Palmdale City Council from 1988 to 1999. Davies, 83, was also mayor pro tem for four years and is currently serving as a commissioner on the city’s aviation and aerospace commission, which administers the five-acre park. The five-acre facility, which opened in 2004, features nine planes on display. CONEJO VALLEY Camarillo Award: California State University Channel Islands Foundation is seeking nominations for the 2007 Business Community Leader of the Year and 2007 Technologist of the Year awards. The awards will be presented at the 2007 Business and Technology Partnership dinner scheduled for Tuesday, April 24, at 5:30 p.m. at the Mandalay Beach Resort in Oxnard. The partnership promotes regional collaboration between the school and Ventura, Santa Barbara and L.A. county businesses and promotes technological excellence. For award criteria and to submit names, visit csuci.edu/about/btp/ or call (805) 437-3271. The deadline is Dec. 15. Westlake Village Tech Award: Inphi Corp. was recognized for its outstanding financial performance by the Fabless Semiconductor Association at an awards ceremony on Dec. 7 in Santa Clara. The association honored the privately-held electronics component company for achieving doubled revenue or net-income with no negative quarters over eight consecutive quarters ending in June 2006. Being nominated for the award is a testament to the company’s commitment to provide the market with innovative, high-performance products that meet the needs of our customers as well as to its sound financial and management practices, said Inphi Vice President of Operations Bill Forster. “We are honored by the nomination and recognize that it is not only a tribute to our company but to the passion and dedication of our employees and the strong relationship we have with our partners and investors.” Inphi was founded in 2000. SANTA CLARITA VALLEY Santa Clarita Build: The engineering and environmental consulting firm Dudek has opened an office in Santa Clarita to serve northern L.A. County and Kern County. The office at 25152 Springfield Court will offer environmental planning, biology, habitat restoration, urban forestry and engineering to developers and municipal agencies. It is the Encinitas-based firm’s fifth Southern California office. Rich: Specialty chocolate maker Chocolates & #341; la Carte has opened a new store at its Valencia factory. The store at 28455 Livingston Ave. offers the company’s full line of desserts and chocolates. The company moved into the 111,000-square-foot production facility in January 2000. Saugus Bank: A new Washington Mutual branch has opened in Saugus. The facility, at 26500 Bouquet Canyon Road, will offer personal and business banking, a loan center and a business-planning center. It is the sixth Washington Mutual location in the Santa Clarita Valley. Santa Clarita Ride: A new limousine service has opened in the Santa Clarita Valley. KLS Limousine and Transportation provides chauffeurs to transport clients to area airports or events. Alan Keffer, who spent 15 years as a limo driver, opened the company in October. Film: Santa Clarita saw movie and television productions in the city continue to increase in November. The city’s film office recorded 80 film days and 32 film permits issues for the month, both records for the city. For July through November, film permits also jumped 7 percent from the same 2005 period to 140 permits. The five-month period also saw 387 film days, 30 percent more than last year. The increase in production is expected to generate $10.03 million for the regional economy for the first five months of fiscal year 2006-2007, the city said. SAN FERNANDO VALLEY Canoga Park Amusement: Westfield partnered with Paramount Pictures to create a kids’ interactive venue at the company’s Topanga shopping center among others. The center will feature a recreation of “Zuckerman’s Barn: Charlotte’s Web” with displays of the animals that appear in the movie along with games, videos and other elements. The experience includes a lifesize replica of Wilbur, and Charlotte will appear on video. Glendale Move: PCL Construction Services has moved its offices to 700 N. Central Ave., Ste. 700. The new digs, a 17,619-square-foot space, were designed by Gruen Associates. Panorama City Center: Crews have wrapped construction on Casa Esperanza, a new 5,700-square-foot community center. The facility at 14705 Blythe St. features a computer lab, kitchen and library. It will host community events and activities. Van Nuys Take Off: Hollywood Aviators offers for the holiday season a chance to fly a plane from take-off until the time of landing. The Deluxe Discover Flight has the citizen pilot meet with an FAA-certified flight instructor to take a half-hour flight from Van Nuys Airport in a 4-seat single-engine plane. The package also includes a photograph and certificate. The flights are FAA-certified and each plane has dual controls.