CONEJO VALLEY Calabasas Textmunication Holdings Inc., a cannabis and hemp holding company, announced an investment in Joiant, a CBD brand formerly known as Prism Blends. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. The company is in the process of acquiring and incubating companies such as Joiant to expand its reach in the wellness lifestyle sector of cannabis, Textmunication said. Prior to Joiant, Textmunication acquired Resonate Blends in late October. The company believes the distribution and supply chain infrastructure established by Joiant will help it launch Resonate Blend’s products in the first quarter of next year. Joiant, based in the Bay Area, was founded by former Kiva Confections brand ambassador Lindsey Kirk, Textmunication said in a statement. The company was named the No. 1 CBD pre-roll brand in California, according to BDS Analytics. SAN FERNANDO VALLEY Los Angeles City Councilmember Nury Martinez was elected as the new president of the City Council. Martinez, who represents District 6 in the northeast San Fernando Valley, is only the second woman to be elected by the other Council members as president and the first Latina to hold the position. Stuart Waldman, president of the Valley Industry & Commerce Association, the Van Nuys business advocacy group, called Martinez a friend and extended his congratulations. “I’ve known Nury for 25 years since our undergraduate days at CSUN, and as Council president, I know that she will be a dynamic leader who will continue her fierce advocacy for her constituents, for Los Angeles and for the San Fernando Valley,” Waldman said in statement. “I have enormous respect and admiration for the tireless work that Nury does day in and day out and wish her well in her leadership role.” Martinez replaces Councilmember Herb Wesson, who is stepping down as president effective Jan. 4 to concentrate on his run for L.A. County supervisor. He has served in the president’s role since 2011. Northridge A multi-tenant medical office building in Northridge has sold for an undisclosed price that — according to a source close to the deal —approaches $12 million. Northridge Medical Center, located at 18433 Roscoe Blvd., is comprised of various professional medical tenants and sits across the street from Dignity Health’s Northridge Hospital Medical Center, a 409-bed facility. Built in 1977, the 30,353-square-foot Northridge Medical Center counts among its 14 tenants HealthCare Partners of California, Valley Clinical Trials Inc., Oncology Institute of Hope and Innovation, Northridge Dentalworks and Active Life, according to CoStar. Yair Haimoff and Matt Sreden, commercial real estate brokers with Spectrum Commercial Real Estate, represented both the buyer and seller. Studio City Universal CityWalk will lose one of its cornerstone restaurants early next year when the Hard Rock Café closes its doors for good. A notice sent by parent company Hard Rock International Inc. to the California Employment Development Department indicates its last day of operations will be Jan. 7, 2020. All 136 of the restaurant’s employees will lose their jobs. Affected positions include dozens of servers, hostesses and line cooks, nine retail associates, six bussers and a few supervisors and managers. CityWalk has not confirmed what will replace the Hard Rock Café, but a report from Inside Universal rumors the vacancy will be filled with a Toothsome Chocolate Emporium, a 19th-century Steampunk-themed full-service restaurant. One opened in CityWalk Orlando in 2016. The Universal CityWalk is located at the entrance to the Universal Studios Hollywood theme park in Universal City. Van Nuys Deborah Flint, chief executive of Los Angeles World Airports, the city agency that runs Van Nuys and Los Angeles International airports, will step down in March to take the helm of Toronto’s airport authority. Flint is a native of Hamilton, Ontario, which is located 40 miles from Toronto. LAWA’s Board of Airport Commissioners announced it would soon launch a search for her replacement. Flint, who was appointed LAWA chief executive in June 2015 by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, has overseen many elements of the massive $14 billion overhaul now underway at LAX. Last year, Flint spearheaded the awarding of multi-billion-dollar contracts for construction and operation of two key LAX projects: the $2 billion automated people mover to connect airport terminals with rail, bus and rental car stops, and the $1 billion consolidated car rental facility. Flint is also overseeing construction of a major new terminal on the airfield behind the Tom Bradley International Terminal as well as the renovation of virtually every terminal at the airport. Also on Flint’s watch, LAWA ceded control of Ontario International Airport to a separate authority centered in the Inland Empire. An entity affiliated with Malibu-based Weintraub Real Estate Group has filed plans with the city of Los Angeles to construct mixed-income housing west of the Van Nuys Airport. Per an Urbanize.LA report, the plans call for the creation of a five-story building containing 127 dwelling units. Roughly half of the units would be designated as affordable housing. The proposed development, to be erected at 7650 Balboa Boulevard, would replace part of what is currently a mobile home park. The developer will pursue entitlements that include a zone change and density bonus incentives to provide relief from a transitional height requirement. Weintraub Real Estate Group is also seeking a reduction in required parking to one space per affordable unit. West Hills Exer Urgent Care opened its latest location in the San Fernando Valley at 6440 Platt Ave. in West Hills. The new location marks Exer’s 15th facility in Southern California, and its eighth in the Valley area, according to a statement from the emergency room alternative group. It is headquartered in Calabasas. Exer aims to “ease the strain” on local emergency departments in the area, with on-site X-rays, labs, a pharmacy, intravenous, splinting, laceration and diagnostics services. The group can handle 80 percent of cases that pass through hospital emergency rooms, Exer said. The West Hills Exer location will be open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., seven days a week. Woodland Hills Digital real estate brokerage Rex has raised $40 million in a Series C funding, bringing its total investment to $115 million. The Austin, Texas-based real estate tech company was founded and still has a large office in Woodland Hills. The company plans to use the money for national expansion and hiring. Rex uses data science, machine learning and artificial intelligence to price homes more accurately than traditional brokerages and targets them to qualified buyers through websites including Zillow, Google, Facebook and Trulia. It also charges a lower commission than traditional real estate brokers. Lynley Sides, co-founder and president of the firm, said it offers buyers and sellers a less expensive, more effective and easier way to conduct the most important transaction of their lives. Ken Griffin, founder and chief executive of hedge fund firm Citadel LLC, is a lead investor in the newest round of funding. Other investors in Rex include Scott McNealy, co-founder and former chief executive of Sun Microsystems; Dick Schulze, founder of Best Buy; and Gordon Segal, founder of Crate & Barrel. SANTA CLARITA VALLEY Canyon Country A new T.J. Maxx will replace a Bed Bath & Beyond that had closed its doors in September in Canyon Country. The Santa Clarita Signal identified the incoming store as Santa Clarita Valley’s third T.J. Maxx store, as well as the second location for Canyon Country. There is no date announced yet on when the new T.J. Maxx outlet will open, but the clothing store, at 19211 Golden Valley Road, currently has permits for tenant improvements, according to City of Santa Clarita Planning, Marketing and Economic Development Manager Jason Crawford. At the same mall, The Plaza at Golden Valley, the Signal noted that another store, Dress Barn, will close Dec. 26.