The city of Santa Clarita was ranked as one of the top 25 city retail markets in California based on retail sales in 2005 in the California Retail Survey. Santa Clarita ranked higher in the survey than the cities of Glendale, Pasadena, Thousand Oaks and Santa Monica. The city’s “Auto Row,” which is located on Creekside Road in Valencia, as well as Town Center, which includes a mall and miles of outdoor retail stores and restaurants, are the top sales tax sources for the city. One hundred cities were chosen to be part of the survey, which included markets with recorded sales in excess of $1 billion. The top 100 retail markets are based on dollar volume, growth rates and sales per outlet. The survey bases its rankings on sales results from each of the 490,000 retailers in California.

Airprotek International Inc., a distributor of safety jackets and vests utilizing air bag technology, has named two sales representatives to develop retail and direct to consumer sales channels in Mexico. Camarillo-based Airprotek said it has already introduced the products, which are designed for equestrians and motorcyclists, to Guadalajara’s largest motorcycle riders group. There are about four million registered motorcycles and scooters in Mexico and sales inquiries from the country have grown considerably in the past year, according to Bob Kay, Airprotek’s director and marketing advisor.

Production standards certification firm National Quality Assurance, USA acquired TRA Certification, giving the company access to new customers in the Midwest. The terms of the deal for TRA, based in Elkhart, Ind., were not disclosed. NQA, USA is a joint venture of Calabasas-based National Technical Systems, Inc. and National Quality Assurance, Ltd. headquartered in London. National Technical Systems provides engineering services to the defense, aerospace, telecommunications and technology industries. The acquisition adds 400 customers to NQA’s client base, a significant number for the company, said NTS CEO and President Bill McGinnis. “This allows us to offer the full breadth of services provided by both to a broader audience, increasing audience, increasing opportunities for revenue growth all around,” McGinnis said.

Beverly Hills Bancorp Inc. has declared a $0.125 cent per share dividend for stockholders of record as of June 15. The dividend is payable July 2. Calabasas-based BHBC operates First Bank of Beverly Hills.

Wal-Mart , which has lately seen sales in some of its categories weaken, said it will scale back the planned number of superstore openings this year to between 190 and 200. Last year, the retailer was projecting opening 265 to 270 superstores. The decision will reduce its capital expenditures by $1.5 billion in its current, 2008 fiscal year. Company executives said they are making adjustments in the real estate division through a more strategic selection of U.S. real estate sites.

Registered nurses and service and tech employees at Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank have served notice they intend to strike at 6 a.m. on June 12. The approximately 600 nurses, who are members of the SEIU 121 RN union, and the approximately 850 service and tech workers, who are members of the SEIU UHW union, have been in negotiations with the hospital since Feb. 12. The two sides are hoping to be able to stave off a strike by reaching an agreement at scheduled negotiations on June 4 and 7. “We’re quite disappointed that they gave us notice to strike,” said Chief Medical Officer Dr. Bernie Klein. “Our hope is we reach an agreement with them as soon as possible.” Temporary nurses and service and tech workers will replace the striking employees on that day. According to Sue Weinstein, a registered nurse and executive director of SEIU 121 RN, the nurses and service and tech workers are frustrated because the hospital is refusing to acknowledge key issues. “There are several different issues, but what’s really important for the nurses is patient care,” Weinstein said. The nurses, Weinstein said, want a dispute resolution system with a binding third party able to make decisions in areas where two sides can’t come to an agreement. Other hospitals, she said, have that system in place. “Providence St. Joseph is refusing to agree to the same language,” Weinstein said. The service and tech employees are frustrated, Weinstein said, because the hospital has been sub-contracting laundry services for the last few years to save money instead of using their own employees. “It decreased the quality of the laundry and the care,” Weinstein said. But the most important reason for the strike, she said, is constant staffing shortages and concerns about employee pay. The hospital, she said, doesn’t have enough nurses and ancillary help to provide quality care. The nursing assistants are given too heavy of a workload and are stretched way too thin, Weinstein said. In addition, she said, the nurses may get paid an average salary compared to other area hospitals when they are hired at St. Joseph, but the pay scale doesn’t keep up with pay rates as nurses gain more experience. Weinstein says if the issues continue to not be resolved, other strikes may be on the horizon. “At this time, they see no other way to deal with these specific issues,” Weinstein said.

DIC Entertainment, Inc. added the girl’s property Eloise to its line of products after being named as the exclusive global licensing agent, the company announced. Burbank-based DIC will develop a licensing and merchandising program for Eloise targeting girls ages 4 to 8 years old with toys, books, apparel and accessories. The rollout of the merchandise program begins in spring 2008. The timing to launch the Eloise products coincides with the premiere of a new movie and Broadway show slated for next year, said DIC Chairman and CEO Andy Heyward. “We look forward to introducing this classic brand to a new generation of young girls,” Heyward said. The DIC catalogue also includes “Strawberry Shortcake,” “Madeline,” and “Mommy & Me.”

The owners of Baja Fresh Mexican Grill have reached an agreement to acquire La Salsa Fresh Mexican Grill restaurants from CKE Restaurants Inc. Terms of the deal, which includes 96 La Salsa restaurants, were not disclosed. Thousand Oaks-based Baja Fresh was recently acquired by its current management group, led by David Kim and M Plus Capital, from Wendy’s for $31 million. “I am pleased that we will have two great Mexican concept brands in La Salsa and Baja Fresh,” said Kim. “We welcome La Salsa’s employees and franchisees to our family. The combined efficiencies and resources of these two national brands create a dynamic growth company to compete in the Mexican food restaurant market.”

WellPoint Chief Financial Officer David C. Colby has been asked to resign, effective immediately, after an investigation concluded he violated the company’s code of conduct. The board of directors appointed Wayne S. DeVeydt as executive vice president and chief financial officer. The resignation came after Larry C. Glasscock, Wellpoint’s chairman, president and chief executive officer, and incoming president and CEO Angela F. Braly, along with the board of directors, asked Colby to resign. According to company officials, the conduct investigation was performed by external legal counsel but didn’t reveal illegal conduct, and policy violations weren’t related to business at WellPoint. Company officials wouldn’t comment further about the violation, saying it didn’t relate to WellPoint business. “Our company is committed to adhering to the highest standard of conduct,” Glasscock said. “This resignation is in no way related to the company’s performance or financial condition, both of which remain strong.” DeVeydt has served as WellPoint’s senior vice president and chief accounting officer since March 2005.

Net income for semiconductor manufacturer Semtech Corp. dropped in the first quarter of fiscal 2008 when compared with the previous year. The Camarillo-based maker of analog and mixed-signal semiconductors reported a net income of $7.9 million, or $0.11 per diluted share, on revenues of $60.6 million for the quarter ending April 29. That is a 32 percent drop from the same period in 2006 when the company reported a net income of $11.8 million, or $0.16 per diluted share, on revenues of $66 million. New orders were up 7 percent in the first quarter compared to the fourth quarter of fiscal 2007. Semtech President and CEO Mohan Maheswaran called the first quarter performance encouraging with improvements in sequential revenue growth, gross margins and earnings.