Pacoima The San Fernando Valley Financial Development Corporation received a three-year federal contract to provide business consulting services in the northeast San Fernando Valley. The services target small- to medium-sized businesses looking to create jobs. The SFV Financial Development Corp. is an affiliate of the Valley Economic Development Corporation. That the financial development corporation was one of 12 nationwide recipients of the grant given by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services shows there is a need for the consulting services and the organization was the right one to do it, said VEDC President Roberto Barragan. “It’s an extremely competitive process,” Barragan said. “As an organization you have to be well run and as a program you have to be well designed and be able to perform.” The two consultants will work out of the organization’s Pacoima office and provide one-on-one consulting services, training and financing assistance. While any business can receive the consulting services, the program targets handymen who want to get a contractor’s license and women looking to provide at-home day child care, said Circe Cox, a program manager in the Pacoima office. Those two professions were chosen because of a lack of childcare in that area of the Valley and to help handymen provide legal and licensed construction work, Cox said. The VEDC has been successful in the past with securing federal dollars to support businesses in the Valley, Barragan said. The consulting services target businesses in the Northeast Valley Enterprise Zone, an area which helps provide financial incentives for business located there and the employing of local workers. There had been concerns several months ago that the zone would lose its designation but an application for renewal has been submitted and is expected to be approved by the state, Barragan said. The Northeast Valley Enterprise Zone was created in 1986 and renewed in 2001. The boundaries take in much of Pacoima and portions of Sun Valley and Panorama City. “We have numerous businesses that have located there or continue to be there because of the support of the tax credits,” Barragan said. Businesses within the boundaries are eligible for local tax incentives, the most popular being an employee tax credit of $31,000 per employee over a five-year period. Other incentives are a rebate on sales tax for certain equipment and parts purchases; a business expense deduction capped at $20,000; and a five-year subsidy from the L.A. Department of Water and Power. Currently, 165 businesses take advantage of the employee tax credit. Precision Dynamics Corp. and SDI Industries are among the zone’s largest employers Precision has 350 employees at its headquarters in San Fernando and a warehouse in Pacoima, while SDI, a consulting and design firm for the retail trades, has 200 employees in Pacoima, many of whom come from within a 20-mile radius. SANTA CLARITA VALLEY Santa Clarita Law: A new attorney’s office has opened in Valencia. Agoura Hills-based Drescher, Quisenberry, Ridley & Shiffman opened an office at 28494 Westinghouse Place. The firm handles business and property insurance, family law and personal injury. Loans: With home building and sales slowing, it’s important to go where the action is. And in the greater San Fernando Valley, what action there is can be found in Santa Clarita. So it’s no surprise that Chase, the home mortgage division of JPMorgan Chase & Co., has opened its first Valencia location. The office joins 3,000 branch locations across the country and two in the greater Valley area, including Woodland Hills and Westlake Village. Kimberly Patterson, manager of the new office and a Stevenson Ranch resident, noted that being close to consumers is a plus in the marketplace. “We wanted to make it more convenient for homebuyers and real estate professionals to find a mortgage lender in the vibrant and fast-growing Valencia area,” Patterson said. Chase held its ribbon cutting on Oct. 26. SAN FERNANDO VALLEY Calabasas Writing: Final Draft Inc. honored the winners of its 7th annual Big Break Screenwriting Competition Oct. 26 at a party at Montmartre Lounge in Hollywood. Calabasas-based Final Draft creates and distributes software used by scriptwriters all over the world. The contest winners were Stinson Carter of California, Tom Cosgrove of Dublin, Ireland, and Yehudi Mercado of Texas. The event also honored writer, lecturer, and teacher Syd Field with the Hall of Fame Award. Glendale Autos: Acura of Glendale hosted “Take the Ride of Your Life” career open house on Oct. 25 as part of Automotive Career Month. The dealership welcomed students from Glendale schools to learn more about careers in the automotive industry. The students met with dealership management, viewed a DVD and toured the facility, which celebrated a remodeling in July. “Auto dealers need to educate the public on the amazing career opportunities for sales, technical service and parts support that exist in a dealership,” said Jeanne Brewer, president and general manager of Acura of Glendale. The dealership donated a 2004 Acura MDX to Los Angeles Trade Tech so that students can experience updated technology on newer vehicles. Mission Hills Honored: Providence Holy Cross Medical Center has been awarded three HealthGrades Excellence Awards for its stroke, pulmonary and gastrointestinal care programs. HealthGrades also ranked the 255-bed hospital as the best California facility for overall pulmonary services. Holy Cross earlier this year received the 2006/2007 HealthGrades Specialty Excellence Award for Women’s Health. San Fernando Clinic: A new branch of a Los Angeles multi-specialty group has opened in San Fernando. Clinica Medica San Miguel opened Nov. 2 at 1500 Glenoaks Blvd. and offers clinical and internal medicine services, medical tests, urgent care, vaccines and weekly health seminars. It is the 15th branch of the clinic, founded 25 years ago in Huntington Park to provide healthcare to the community. There are also locations in Panorama City and North Hollywood. Copy Cats: An annual competition at FedEx Kinko’s has named the Woodland Hills and Calabasas office and print centers as the best in the country. The competition recognizes the best-of-the-best at delivering superior financial performance, customer services and care for the environment. The two locations were chosen as the Cluster of the Year from among 1,300 U.S. retail locations. A cluster consists of a hub and one or more spoke locations that operate together as a business unit. FedEx Kinko’s Chief Operating Officer Brian Phillips and other company executives visited the Woodland Hills location on Oct. 27. ANTELOPE VALLEY Lancaster Permits: The city is offering a 30-day amnesty period for businesses operating without a license to receive proper permits without worries of prosecution. The grace period, which started Nov. 1, is part of an effort to crack down on the number of businesses operating illegally in the city, said Mayor Henry Hearns. “In the past, the city has been a bit casual about enforcing violations, but it’s time we took business licensing more seriously,” he said. “Businesses need to understand that licensing is not a penalty, but rather a protection.” Through the end of the month, businesses found to be operating without proper permits will be issued a warning letter. Starting Dec. 1, businesses will be fined. SIMI VALLEY Moorpark Medical: The Moorpark City Council has approved a new medical office building on a four-acre site on Shasta Avenue. The two-story, 79,000-square-foot structure developed by property owner Menashe Kozar will house physician and other medical support offices. It is slated to break ground next summer. Simi Valley Prism: TBM Associates received an Award of Excellence at the 2006 Public Relations Society of America Los Angeles Chapter Prism Awards. The firm received the Award of Excellence for its entry in the Corporate/Brand brochure category. The Prism Awards recognize outstanding work of local public relations firms and entries are judged by public relations professionals in other markets. TMB clients include Simi Valley Ford, CareNow Foundation, Inc. and Simi Valley Pontiac-GMC-Buick.