A Superior Court judge has struck down a 2005 law passed by the Los Angeles City Council that barred large supermarkets from taking over a store and immediately firing all its workers, an industry group said Tuesday. The ruling was a victory for the California Grocers Assn., one of several business groups that have filed challenges against initiatives backed by the Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy, a pro-labor nonprofit that pushed the supermarket ordinance. The alliance, which focuses heavily on bringing higher wages and greater benefits to low-income workers, has served as a driving force behind a variety of decision-making at City Hall. Read the full story at http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-labor5mar05,1,4543834.story?ctrack=2 & cset;=true

Two public meetings will take place this month for public comment on the draft environmental impact report for a proposed extension of the Orange Line bus route. The open houses take place March 19 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in the multipurpose room of NEW Academy, 21425 Cohasset St., Canoga Park; and March 26 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in Chancellor Hall, Chatsworth High School, 10027 Lurline Ave., Chatsworth. The proposed four-mile extension links the Canoga Park station of the Orange Line with the Chatsworth Metrolink station. The options under consideration by Metro are extending the Orange Line on an exclusive right-of-way; operating the busway on a bus-only lane of a widened Canoga Avenue; transit system improvements and operational enhancements; and not building the extension. All comments gathered at the meetings will be incorporated into the final environmental impact report.

DIRECTV will continue carrying the Hallmark Channel following the signing of a multi-year distribution agreement with Crown Media Holdings Inc. The agreement also calls for the distribution of Hallmark Movie Channel in both standard definition and high definition formats. DIRECTV currently distributes the Hallmark Channel to 15 million homes. The agreement reflects an emphasis by Studio City-based Crown and DIRECTV on quality, fair price and service to subscribers and viewers, said Crown President and CEO Henry Schleif. Shares in Crown closed at $5.07.

An audit to determine the impact of backdating of stock options at Vitesse Semiconductor Corp. won’t be completed until the second quarter, the company announced. The Camarillo-based manufacturer had previously stated completion of the audit of fiscal years 2006 and 2007 by March 31. “This project remains the top priority for Vitesse’s management team and audit committee,” Vitesse CFO Rich Yonker said. “We will continue to work diligently to finish the audits as soon as practicable.” In December 2006, a special committee to the Vitesse board concluded that former senior management had improperly backdated the dates of stock options over a number of years and then tried to conceal the backdating by creating or altering documents. The backdating scheme is expected to cost the company as much as $120 million, the special committee reported.

The Semtech Corp. board of directors approved a $50 million stock buyback program, the company has announced. The purchases will be made through open market transactions and negotiations. The announcement was made the same day the Camarillo-based semiconductor manufacturer reported a significant increase in net income for the fourth quarter when compared with last year. Semtech had a net income of $14.9 million, or $0.23 per diluted share, on revenues of $78.6 million for the quarter ending Jan. 27. For the same period last year, the company reported net income of $4.6 million, or $0.06 per diluted share, on revenues of $58 million.

The sale of radio stations and discontinuation of a magazine contributed to Salem Communications Inc. posting a lower fourth quarter net profit when compared with the previous year. The Camarillo-based broadcaster, publisher and Internet content provider took a $1.9 million charge in connection with stopping in April the publication of music journal CCM Magazine. The company also lost revenue from the sales of stations in Cleveland and Milwaukee. For the fourth quarter ending Dec. 31, Salem reported net profit of $200,000, or $0.01 per diluted share, on revenues of $59.1 million. For the same period in 2006, the company had net income of $3.3 million, or $0.14 per diluted share, on revenues of $59.2 million. Salem shares closed at $3.22.

When the Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously Jan. 15 to support the creation of a Neighborhood Council File Index, it seemed that neighborhood councils had won a long fought-for right. But when a motion was passed to require neighborhood councils that wished to open files to fill out statements of economic interest, a public outcry ensued that continues to be heard today. Was it necessary for neighborhood council members to disclose such detailed financial information, those who objected asked? Wouldn’t such a requirement dissuade members from opening files in the first place? Today, the public outcry over Greig Smith’s motion continues. Near mid-March, the Education and Neighborhoods Committee of the City Council will determine whether to require neighborhood councils to fill out Form 700 or a less intrusive financial disclosure form. “It’s asking too much,” said Jill Banks Barad, president of the Sherman Oaks Neighborhood Council and founder/chair of the Valley Alliance of Neighborhood Councils. “We’re all volunteers.” Barad worries that making a requirement out of the form, in which neighborhood council members would provide information about spouses, dependents and clients, might discourage people from running for council and influence present members of councils to resign. “People felt that this was not necessary but undue, administrative bureaucracy,” Barad said. “People worried about disclosing what they felt was private information.” Even Valley Industry & Commerce President Brendan Huffman, who objected to giving neighborhood councils the right to open files, feels that Form 700 is too intrusive. “In the spirit of more civic participation, VICA is open to disclosures not as detailed,” Huffman said. A proposed alternative to Form 700 is Form 52, which Huffman said fails to require enough disclosure. Instead, VICA suggested on Feb. 19 that a new form be drawn up that requires disclosure of information such as the names of individuals who have funded or contributed to neighborhood council candidates. The proposed form would also require members to indicate if they own property within the boundaries of the neighborhood council as well as if they have received gifts from entities with business before the neighborhood council. “Let’s say a developer is proposing a project and takes it to the neighborhood council for review and approval,” Huffman explained. “If the developer has invited any of the neighborhood council (members) to dinner or to a Dodgers’ game, we should know.” Richard Alarc & #243;n, chair of the Education and Neighborhoods Committee and Seventh District councilman, believes that mandating neighborhood councils to fill out Form 700, which city officials, commissioners and staff must submit, would be a bureaucratic nightmare of sorts. “What would happen if every neighborhood council decided to open neighborhood council files?” he asked in a statement. “That would mean over 1800 forms would be submitted to the Ethics Commission for their review,something that would undoubtedly stretch their capacity.” Additionally, the City Attorney’s Office expressed concern that the motion requires the Ethics Commission to review the forms for potential conflicts of interest,something that it has never done before and that is not done even for the City’s elected officials.” Backers of Form 700 have said that neighborhood councils should be required to fill out the forms because now that they have the authority to open files they are, in effect, legislators. “Neighborhood councils are not legislators,” Barad stressed. “We are still advisory to the City Council. The City Attorney and the Ethics Commission both have ruled that. If you file a council file, first, it has to go to committee. Then it has to be voted on. Then, it goes to City Council. Theoretically, it might never get to the City Council.”

Ivy Weiss Contributor Nearly 250 people took the opportunity to breakfast with their state political representatives, fire chief and mayor at the Chatsworth/Porter Ranch Chamber of Commerce 8th annual State of the Community breakfast Feb 1. Chamber President Bill Powers presided over the morning’s events, which featured talks and Q & A’s with state legislators Lloyd Levine, Cameron Smyth and Audra Strickland; County Supervisor Michael Antonovich; Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa; LA City Councilman 12th District Greig Smith, LA Fire Chief Douglas Barry; Deputy Chief of Police for the Valley Bureau Michel Moore; LAUSD Board member Tamar Galatzan; Metro San Fernando Valley representative Kathy Drayton, and former state assemblyman Dr. Keith Richman. Topics included the economy of the city and the state, public safety, health care, term limits and education. Both the Mayor and Deputy Chief Moore spoke to lower crime rates stating that homicides, per capita, in Los Angeles are at the lowest they have been since 1956. Gang homicides are down 40 percent. Mayor Villaraigosa candidly answered questions about education, raises that were recently given to City employees and, along with Councilman Smith, promised to work toward keeping Chatsworth the equestrian-friendly community it always has been. “There is no excuse for students not learning and teachers not being able to teach,” the mayor said with respect to education. He specifically referenced Markham School, where safety issues on campus are an issue. The school will be instituting longer hours, school uniforms and other measures to ensure the safety of the students. Supervisor Antonovich, who also conducted the Installation of the Chamber’s 2008 Board of Directors, was the first to speak. Among the topics he covered were the successful fire abatement and the seizure of 8,500 weapons and $290 million in illegal drugs. Assemblyman Levine talked about term limits, and answered questions about legalized gambling both in line and in casinos. Assemblyman Cameron Smyth informed the audience that he introduced legislation to have the Rocketdyne’s Santa Susana Field Lab property become a state park also to break-up LAUSD into smaller districts. Assemblywoman Strickland spoke about the state economy and cited problems with the state lottery which she said is so mismanaged that $87 million has not made it into the education system. Councilman Smith spoke of programs to reduce speeding, the new police station and the issues of street repair. Fire Chief Barry thanked everyone for the public support of the fire department during the difficult fires last fall and said he is fostering partnerships between communities, businesses and the LAFD. Deputy Chief Moore cited crime has been going down steadily for the past five years. “The job of public safety never ends,” he said, referring not just to crime but also to natural and man-made disasters that LAPD deals with on a daily basis. Tamar Galatzan spoke about a new school in Porter Ranch and what LAUSD is doing to bring back middle-class families who have abandoned the public school system in the Valley. With six vacant campuses, the Board is determining the best way to utilize the land. Metro’s Kathy Drayton lauded the overwhelming success of the Orange Line and said there are plans to extend it to the Chatsworth Depot. She also said that ridership is so high, new busses are being added to the system. Keith Richman gave an “outsider” view of the state legislature and cited the need he sees for stricter controls, which was echoed by Assemblymember Strickland. <!– –> Encino Teachers to be Honored The annual Teacher of the Year awards luncheon hosted by the Encino Chamber of Commerce will take place March 14, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Warner Center Marriott. Every year, the chamber and various community business leaders come together to honor local teachers. Each school in the Encino area nominates one teacher for the Teacher of the Year Award. Cash awards are given to 19 nominees from schools serving the Encino area with a larger cash prize for Teacher of the Year. Guest speakers will include LAUSD District 3 Board Member Tamar Galatzan and New York Times best selling author D.J. MacHale who writes the children’s book series Pendragon Journal of an Adventure through Time and Space. His list of credits also includes writer, director, executive producer and creator of several popular television series and movies. Mr. MacHale will have a book signing at the end of the luncheon and will donate autographed books to the schools. Another exciting addition this year will be a special musical performance by Broadway performer Phil Jeffrey who starred in the original cast of Jesus Christ Superstar. Phil will be singing songs from the great American song book, with a special tribute to Frank Sinatra. Tickets to the luncheon are $45 per person. Please call the Encino Chamber office (818) 789-4711 for tickets or more information.

In the face of budget cuts, the Family Business Center of California State University, Northridge, will go on hiatus indefinitely. “While we’re very proud of the contributions we’ve made to the community over the years, we lack the resources to take the center to the next level,” Center Director David Russell said. The university faces across-the-board budget cuts because of the state’s fiscal crisis, prompting CSUN College of Business Dean William Jennings to examine the feasibility of keeping the center open. But with both financial and staffing troubles, it was determined that center activities would need to be suspended. “Both (Russell) and I are huge fans and believers of the Family Business Center, and we value a number of supporters, including, especially, Barry Gump,” Jennings said. “We did a really outstanding job of (educating). Others can pick up the slack until we get back.” Jennings estimates that the center will be on hiatus for the next three years. Precipitating its closure was not only budget cuts but also the exit of Professor Patricia Born. Because Born teaches the same subject matter that Russell does, he is needed to cover her classes, giving him less time to focus on the center, he explained. “We’ll be on hiatus until such time as we can get more traction and that will require an input of time and money the college and the university don’t have in the current hostile budget environment,” Russell said. “On a personal note, I’m saddened that it came to this, but I take some responsibility in not doing as good a job marketing the center as I would have liked.” The center has struggled to attract a large audience beyond a core group of family businesses, students and occasional attendees, according to Russell. Moreover, it was often difficult to convince family business executives to take time out of their day to participate in the center’s activities, Russell added. “I would have liked to have done a better job convincing family businesses that they couldn’t be without the resources that we offered,” Russell said. But Barry Gump, chairman of the center’s advisory board, praised the work Russell has done. “His dedication and effort over the past few years is exemplary,” Gump said of Russell. “It is so sad to realize such a valuable opportunity for family business will not be there.” Russell said that CSUN isn’t the only university to cut its family business center, citing USC’s making a similar move. On the flip side, Russell said that California State University, Fullerton, has an exemplary family business center, primarily because the director there has successfully assembled family business participants, as well as support, from Orange County. Russell attributes that center’s effectiveness, in part, to the fact that it has full-time staff support. Though CSUN’s center is closing due to shortcomings in certain areas, it has been markedly effective in others, Russell and Gump said. “We brought a lot of family business center experts from the Valley as well as outside of the area and even out of state,” Russell said. “We’re particularly proud that we focused on family business, rather than just small business issues. A lot of people confuse the two.” Gump of Andy Gump Temporary Site Services said he can attest to what a valuable resource the center has been for he and his daughter Nancy in succession planning and other family business issues. “I can only hope somehow, some way, we can resurrect it in the not too distant future,” he said. Russell also considered the activity of board members in center programs and recruitment as a success. Members were willing to invest both their time and money in the center, according to Russell. “We’re really proud of what we’ve accomplished,” he said. “We’re very grateful for the support we’ve received from both our core members as well as people in the community. Without that, we wouldn’t have gone on as long as we did.”

Seminar Speaker Stacey Miller of Tharpe & Howell, Sherman Oaks, spoke at the Residential Landlord-Tenant Law Seminar in Pasadena, on Feb. 28, hosted by Sterling Educational Services. Miller’s presentation concerned the respective obligations of both landlords and tenants, and the judicial eviction process. Miller is a Partner I and focuses her practice on all phases of civil litigation in both federal and state courts, including arbitration, mediation and trial. An Appealing 50 Years Ellis J. Horvitz, founder of the Encino firm Horvitz & Levy, celebrated 50 years in the business at the end of last year. In 1957, Horvitz started a civil appellate practice, the same year that Sputnik was launched and “The Cat in the Hat” was published. The firm has 33 attorneys specializing exclusively in civil appeals and the firm touts that it appears more frequently in civil cases in the California appellate courts than any other firm in California. Since 1990 Horvitz & Levy has participated in more than 90 cases before the California Supreme Court. Bad Faith William A. Daniels of Schwartz, Daniel & Bradley in Newbury Park, will moderate a one-day seminar covering Insurance Bad Faith Claims in California on April 25 at the Sheraton Downtown Los Angeles. The event is designed for attorneys and other legal professionals, claims managers, risk managers and other insurance professionals. Presented by Lorman Education Services, the seminar will present strategies for constructing a bad-faith case. Topics will include “Punitive Damages Issues and Arguments,” “Unique Issues in HMO Litigation,” “The Duty to Defend” and “Effective Selection and Use of the Expert Witness,” among others. For information, see www.Lorman.com New Litigators, Deal Maker Musick, Peeler & Garrett in Westlake Village welcomed Donna Noushkam, Patty Matias and Ethan Watts. Noushkam and Matias come on board as litigators; Watts is a litigator and transactional attorney. Corporate partner Brent Reinke, recently named a “2007 Deal Maker of the Year” by the Pacific Coast Business Journal, was recognized for his extensive activity in representing companies in merger and acquisition transactions and his active involvement in the region’s business community. Only three professionals in the three county area (Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties) were selected for the recognition. Workplace Issues on Tap Lewitt, Hackman, Shapiro, Marshall & Harlan in Encino is hosting two seminars focusing on workplace issues at their office. The first, on March 10 is titled “Supervisory Training on Unlawful Harassment, Discrimination and Retaliation.” The second, on March 12, will address “Immigration: Generally and Its Impact on Employment and Family Law.” The latter is free to attend. Both seminars are geared for executives, managers, human resources personnel and supervisors. For information visit www.LewittHackman.com New Associate David A. Bernardoni recently joined Kulik, Gottesman, Mouton & Siegel as an associate. He will specialize in civil litigation. He has represented a diverse range of clients, including large and small businesses in the communications, construction, entertainment, insurance and retail industries. Prior to joining KGM & S;, Bernardoni was associated with Ropers, Majeski, Kohn & Bentley. Speaking Out and About William C. Staley, Woodland Hills, speaks frequently on tax and business law subjects. Last month he addressed the Los Angeles Chapter of the California Society of CPAs on the topic of “Don’t Treat ‘S’ Corporation Distributions Like Partnership Draws.” In April he will speak at the American Association of Attorney-CPAs in West Los Angeles on “Disregarded Entities: Single-Member LLCs and Qualified Subchapter S Subsidiaries (QSubs).” Holidays With Habitat The employees of Ezra, Brutzkus & Gubner of Woodland Hills spent part of their holidays with Habitat For Humanity. EBG partners and staff rolled up their sleeves and spent the day painting and building at a Habitat for Humanity site in Pacoima. “I walked away at the end of the day with the good feeling of sharing our good fortune with those in our community that need assistance,” said partner Bob Ezra in a statement. Habitat for Humanity is based on volunteer labor and materials with the efforts of the future homeowner to provide a path toward home ownership and out of poverty. Radio Guests Clifford Pearson and Bruce Simon of Encino-based Pearson, Simon, Soter, Warshaw & Penny, were guests on the “Champions of Justice” radio program on KRLA 870 AM, hosted by attorney Thomas Girardi, late last year. Pearson and Simon were selected to discuss their experience and insight into antitrust laws. Treasurer Twice Ballard Rosenberg Golper & Savitt of Universal City announced that partner Linda Miller Savitt is serving as the 2008 treasurer for the Los Angeles chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates. She has been named secretary-treasurer for the Association of Southern California Defense Counsel, where Savitt will chair the executive committee chair. She is slated to become president of that organization in 2011. Event Sponsor Jackson DeMarco Tidus Petersen & Peckenpaugh served as host sponsor of the First American Title 2008 Real Estate and Economic Outlook Ventura County conference on Feb. 7 at the Hyatt Westlake Village. The conference, now in its 11th year, includes a comprehensive review of the California and Ventura County economies and trends shaping the near-term real estate and economic outlook. Ralph E. “Skip” Balfour has joined Jackson DeMarco Tidus Petersen & Peckenpaugh as a senior counsel at the firm. Balfour, an experienced business and real estate transactional lawyer, has been involved in the formation, operation, financing, structuring, sale and acquisition of business entities of all sizes, and in the purchase and sale of commercial real estate properties. Balfour was a founding partner of the Orange County firm of Balfour McDonald & Olmstead. Two Firms Included With Best Two local law firms were included in the 2008 national list of Best Lawyers. Best Lawyers compiles lists of outstanding attorneys by conducting exhaustive peer-review surveys in which thousands of leading lawyers confidentially evaluate their professional peers. Ken Ballard, Richard Rosenberg, John Golper and Linda Miller Savitt all partners at Ballard Rosenberg Golper & Savitt in Universal City were named for their contributions to the field of labor and employment law. The Maher Law Firm of Woodland Hills, formerly Maher, Guiley & Maher, was cited for work in the areas of personal injury and wrongful death. The Best Lawyers in America, which includes 29,575 attorneys in 78 specialties, covers all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The current edition of The Best Lawyers in America is based on more than two million detailed evaluations of lawyers by other lawyers.