President Bush authorized the National Parks Service to begin its study of a proposal to create a Rim of the Valley Corridor after signing the Consolidated Natural Resources Act of 2008. The proposed Rim of the Valley Corridor encompasses around 500,000 acres of land in the mountains encircling the San Fernando and Santa Clarita valleys, as well as areas within the Santa Susana Mountains, just north of Granada Hills. The NPS will consider whether to designate the land in the study area as protected parkland. One large real estate project that could be adversely affected by the plan is the controversial proposed Las Lomas mixed-use development that is located within the study area.

Superior Industries Inc. reported a net income for the first quarter despite a three-month strike that slowed production on General Motors vehicles. The Van Nuys-based manufacturer of aluminum wheels for the major automakers had a 40 percent drop in units shipped in the first quarter due to a strike by workers at auto parts supplier American Axle and Manufacturing Holdings Inc. The strike began in February in a dispute over lower wages and benefits. GM announcing it would kick in $200 million could bring an end to the walkout. For the quarter ending March 31, Superior reported a net income of $3.2 million, or $0.12 per diluted share, on revenues of 222 million. That is a 55 percent increase from the net income of $2.1 million, or $0.08 per diluted share, on revenues of $244.9 million for the same period in 2007. Shares in Superior closed up at $21.78.

The stakes in the industry’s most competitive moviegoing season are high for all Hollywood studios, which spend heavily to sell their big-budget popcorn titles around the world. This summer, the risks are particularly steep for Time Warner Inc.’s Warner Bros. studio, which has hundreds of millions of dollars riding on three major releases: “Speed Racer,” the Batman sequel “The Dark Knight” and “Get Smart,” a big-screen adaptation of the 1960s sitcom. “Get Smart,”And “Speed Racer” by far is the riskiest of them all. Warner and its financial partner Village Roadshow Pictures committed about $250 million to make and market a hopeful blockbuster: a “family friendly” pre-sold concept based on an iconic 1960s cartoon show, written and directed by Larry and Andy Wachowski — the filmmakers behind the studio’s hit “Matrix” movies — all under the guidance of their collaborator, Warner producer Joel Silver. For the full story visit http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-speed9-2008may09,0,6368348.story

Four Valley shopping centers will be losing a large anchor tenant sometime soon when home goods retailer Linens ‘n Things shuts down 120 of its lowest-performing stores. The action was announced as one of LNT’s first restructuring moves in its Chapter 11 filing. One-third of LNT’s 67 stores in California are on the chopping block. The stores are at the Glendale Marketplace; the Moorpark Marketplace; the Riverside Shopping Center in Sherman Oaks; and the Fallbrook Center in West Hills. On May 5, LNT received authorization from the bankruptcy court to continue honoring gift cards and store credits, and to continue paying employee salaries and benefits. The company has not provided information on expected dates for the store closings.

SACRAMENTO — As state leaders hunt for politically palatable solutions to the swelling budget shortfall, some Democrats are proposing unorthodox ways to generate cash. Strip clubs, six-packs, grocery bags and iTunes downloads are all in their sights as alternatives to broad income or sales tax hikes. So are gas guzzlers and yachts — and a tax loophole for criminals. Despite tough odds of overcoming an oath signed by their Republican colleagues to stop any tax hikes, Democratic lawmakers seem confident that their ideas will carry the day. They predict the public won’t stand for painful cuts to schools and healthcare to close a shortfall the governor now pegs as high as $20 billion, and say anti-tax forces will ultimately have to accept that more revenue is needed to bring the state into the black. For the full story visit http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-taxes9-2008may09,0,5137016.story

Price-conscious shoppers pushed retail sales to their highest level in more than a year last month, but the numbers didn’t impress economists who are focused on rising oil prices and the struggling housing market. “This report gives us some evidence that the downturn in consumer spending is likely to be relatively mild, which is good news,” said Ross DeVol, director of regional economics at the Santa Monica-based Milken Institute. “It does not suggest that it will allow us to avoid a recession.” Although the federal tax rebates that have begun flowing to about 117 million American households could help fuel spending over the next few months, the strength, or weakness, of the second half of the year will probably be linked to how high oil prices climb and whether the housing market finds its bottom. For the full story visit http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-retail9-2008may09,0,3857331.story

The strike by Los Angeles janitors has been a peculiar one, involving not just the typical rallies and walkouts but also videos posted on YouTube, workers who are still largely on the job and now a cooling-off period brokered by Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, a onetime labor organizer. The janitors union agreed May 8 to resume contract talks during a meeting with Villaraigosa, one day after they voted to authorize a strike and staged spot walkouts at locations across the county. The janitors also agreed to scrap plans for more walkouts during the negotiations with cleaning contractors. Contract talks are expected to continue into the weekend. For the full story visit http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-janitors9-2008may09,0,2425983.story

General aviation advocates described as disappointing the failure of the U.S. Senate to advance a bill funding the Federal Aviation Administration. The Senate in a 49 to 42 vote on May 6 fell short of limiting debate on the FAA reauthorization bill and sending it to the floor for a vote. The House passed its version of the bill in September. “We are going to have to redouble our efforts to show Congress we support this issue,” said Lisa Piccione, senior vice president of government affairs for the National Business Aviation Association. Piccione and other representatives of trade groups representing general aviation interests spoke on the reauthorization bill May 8 during the AAAE General Aviation Issues Conference taking place in Van Nuys. Several of the speakers were critical that non-aviation amendments related to the Highway Trust Fund and tax-credit bonds for railway infrastructure got tacked onto the bill that resulted in the failure to for a full vote. Congress has extended funding for the FAA six times and it will expire on June 30 unless extended for a seventh time.

The Townhomes of Westlake Village, a 253-unit townhouse and apartment property in Ventura County, was purchased by Los Angeles-based IMT Capital, LLC from Wilshire Equities for $68.5 million. The new owner plans to spend $3 million to upgrade 13-acre property. The acquisition is IMT’s first foray into Ventura County. Dean Zander of Hendricks & Partners brokered the deal.

A subsidiary of National Technical Services Inc. has acquired a Florida manufacturing process standards certification firm. The acquisition of International Management Systems Inc. expands the presence of National Quality Assurance in the Southeastern United States. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. National Quality is jointly owned by Calabasas-based National Technical Services and National Quality Assurance Ltd. of London. National Technical provides engineering services to the defense, aerospace, telecommunications, automotive and high technology markets. The acquisition is the third in recent months by National Quality of firms registering companies meeting international standards for manufacturing processes. “National Quality has demonstrated its ability to complete successful transactions in the past few years and ensure success for all the parties involved,” said National Technical President and CEO Bill McGinnis. “These transactions are proving to be very beneficial for the entire organization.”