By last week, when Bank of America’s top executives took up positions in what amounted to a seven-hour conference call with Wall Street, there was barely a mention of the controversy over the company’s decision to offer credit cards to customers who may not have Social Security cards. Only one question came up at the conference call, asked and answered in a matter of minutes. And despite the loud protests and threats from those who saw BofA’s decision as a flagrant threat to the nation’s security, executives of the bank said they saw little reason to believe there would be any long-term impact on their business from the fallout. Which raises the question, will other banks follow? What such a program can offer is not just a few more credit card customers. It can help build multi-layered banking relationships that ultimately keep customers from moving to other banks, many say. “You can attract a new customer with a credit card, and maybe they’ll be enticed to open another account or maybe a certificate of deposit,” said Tracey Mills, a spokeswoman for the American Bankers Association. When news broke last month that BofA had quietly begun testing a pilot program to offer secured credit cards to customers with taxpayer identification numbers and other forms of identification in lieu of Social Security cards in somewhat more than 50 of its Los Angeles bank stores, the move caused an outcry from a number of groups who claimed that the idea threatened the country’s security. The BofA program requires customers to pay a security deposit of $99, refundable if the account remains in good standing for a period of time. The limit is typically $500 to start with an annual interest rate of more than 21 percent. To be sure, BofA got a few shredded credit cards returned and some customers did close their accounts, but by and large, the controversy passed uneventfully. And by last week, when BofA held its conference call with The Street, executives fielded only one question about their pilot, and reported that there was little impact from their move. “Customer originated account closures have been unchanged, and the noise level in our banking centers has subsided,” said Ken Davis, CEO of Charlotte-based Bank of America in the conference call. “Nobody’s profit plan has been changed as a result of this.” For Bank of America, the move comes amidst a larger push to build its consumer segment. BofA in recent weeks launched a major advertising campaign for the first time in several years as it moves to leverage a national presence created from recent acquisitions. According to published reports, the bank has lagged behind its rivals, spending just $154 million on advertising, about half of what Citgroup spent, in the first nine months of last year. BofA has made no secret of the fact that building its consumer business is central to its growth strategy and the credit card pilot is part and parcel of that initiative. In a letter to the Wall Street Journal when the controversy first broke, BofA’s Davis wrote, “We created this pilot program in Los Angeles to help Bank of America customers with little or no credit history build a solid credit history with a leading bank, and to strengthen our relationships with individuals and families we hope will become loyal Bank of America customers in the future as their financial needs grow.” So far, there have been no other banks that have stepped into the fray. “What I can tell you is we’re always exploring new ways to serve our customers, but beyond that we don’t discuss the details of our marketing strategy,” said Lisa Westermann, a spokeswoman for Wells Fargo Card Services, responding to a question about whether the bank would consider a similar program. But it’s unlikely that competitors will leave BofA to mine this untapped market alone. Wells, which was the first bank to allow customers to open accounts using matricula cards issued by the Mexican consulate, was soon joined by a number of rivals, all seeking new, untapped markets. That can be especially important in the credit card segment, which is among the most competitive in the industry. “There are more than 6,000 issuers of credit cards,” said Mills at the ABA. “It’s a very mature marketplace, so for a card issuer to grow their business, they basically have to lure customers from another card.” Not so with a new market of customers as are immigrants who, until now, have not been able to qualify for credit cards. But more important, the credit card business has the potential to be just the starting point for a longer-term banking relationship that all bankers seek. “Once you get a customer in the beginning you tend to keep them,” said David Pringle, an independent analyst and consultant in Baltimore who covers BofA. “And two, most (immigrants) who come here work like dogs and do better, so there’s more business to be done with them over time.” Among Hispanics particularly, a number of demographic factors help to support the notion that BofA’s credit card program is likely to reap benefits on a broader scale. Besides the sheer numbers of Latino immigrants, marketers say that, as a group, they tend to be more loyal to brands and businesses and more inclined to use a number of different products. “There’s a lot of potential there,” said Mills. “They are loyal customers, their desire for home ownership and it’s a tight knit community. If you’ve got a happy customer, word of mouth could bring them along. Research shows that it’s like planting a seed.”

The Valley-area’s 2007 chambers of commerce have spent the first quarter of the year prepping for a daunting variety of installation ceremonies. On Feb. 24, the Encino Chamber of Commerce hosted its ceremony under the theme “An Evening of Comedy,” which featured a silent auction, 2007 board installation and comedy routines from performers Fred Willard and Bruce Baum. The chamber also gave its annual Business Person of the Year to the owners of Paul Davis & Alberta Bellisario Insurance Services for their work with the 71-year-old organization. Outgoing president Joel M. Simon, an attorney with Alperstein, Simon, Farkas, Gillin & Scott in Encino, said he leaves the position content at what the chamber completed. “I’m so proud of what we accomplished under my tenure over the past years,” said Simon, later passing the gavel to incoming chair Michael S. Turner, an executive with Bearsworth Communications Inc. Turner told the crowd the chamber is looking to build off the successes of 2006, add new programs and expand community outreach. “We are excited we have a lot of things happening,” he said. “As I look at the board, we have a lot of people who want risk and are part of a good team.” Installed to the 2007 board were President-elect Mark Levinson; CFO Rickey Gelb; vice presidents Stanley Goldenberg, Juli McKitterick and Hank Yuloff; Secretary Jamshid Javidi; CEO Kirsten Y. Chong; past presidents J. Richard Leyner and Simon; and board members Armand Arabian, David Asplund, Marty Bogoratt, Stacy Bond, Harvey Branman, Larry Cohen, Liat Cohen, Susan DuBrin, Richard Hernandez, Leon P. Woods and Lou Woolf. Additional Ceremonies Previous chamber events include the Jan. 27 ceremony for the newly merged Woodland Hills Tarzana Chamber of Commerce, which installed Chairman Gordon Luster; Executive Vice Chair Deborah Sable; Government Affairs Co-Chair Sean McCarthy; Programs Vice Chair Susan Hamersky; CFO Tracy Myall; Special Events Co Chair Paul Lawler; Corporate Secretary Stephen T. Holzer; Immediate Past Chair Sherry Keowen; and board members Jim Kinsey, Chandler Vadhera, Debbi Lund, Deane Leavenworth, Collen Buescher, Jennifer Miller, Roger Sterling, Rocky Rhodes, Cynthia Elkins, David Tillman, Jill Dolan, Dale Surowitz and Steven H. Horstein. Also in January, the Calabasas Chamber of Commerce installed 2007 board members Chairman Stephanie Warren; First Vice Chair Doug Ridley; vice chairs Barbara McDaniel, Tina Klaas, Martin Seda and Sue Orgen; Immediate Past Chair Toni Yamin; and members Jeff Blum, Joe Donato, Brenda Johnson, Marie White, Jeff Morton, Jerry Magel, Matthew Pime, Adam Adair and Kimberly Bordonaro. Last month, the Santa Clarita Valley Chamber of Commerce installed its 2007 board, which includes Chair Pam Ingram; Chairman Elect-Vice Chair Charlie Gill; Immediate Past Chair Chris Fall; CFO Tony Tartaglia; Corporate Secretary Marlee Lauffer; Vice Chair of Economic Development Anna Frutos-Sanchez Vice Chair of Education Dena Maloney; Vice Chair of Events Kim Kurowski; Vice Chair of Film & Tourism Jay Schutz; Vice Chair of Government Affairs Carl Goldman; Vice Chair of Membership Kris Hough; Vice Chair at Large RandyWrage and board members Greg Amsler, Chris Angelo, Jim Bizzelle, Hunt Braly, Richard Budman, Elizabeth Hopp, Bill Kennedy, Bill McClendon, Doug Sink, Lloyd Sreden, Diana Vose, Connie Worden-Roberts, Art Donnelly and Jeffrey Hacker. The Chatsworth/Porter Ranch Chamber of Commerce also named President Bill Powers; vice presidents Melissa Phillipp, Steve Oliver and Tom Elias ; Treasurer Jerre Reimers; Secretary Les Himes; CEO Nanette Phelan; and directors Affie Bahar, Stan Bryant, Ian Gardner, Karen Gross, Kevin Huling, John Jamgotchian, Sean Kane, Julie Lewis, Nick Montano, Dr. James Pasternak, Gloria Pollack, Ron M. Schulkin, Maria Serna, Mona Strehler, Dick Styke, Brent Vallens, Linda Van Der Valk and Mari Weiner. The North Valley Regional Chamber of Commerce installed Chair Victoria Bourdas; Vice Chair Dennis DeYoung; Treasurer Sharon Wolfe; Secretary Pam Allison; directors Lisa Avakian, Pam Branner, Thomas Christopher, Dave Compton, Deborah Cours, Janet Hartley, Christian Hayes, David Honda, Valerie Jordan, Leslie Kaz, Ike Krieger, Marty Laff, Lauretta Martin, Rich Miller, Judith Nutter, Greg Saran, Scott Sterling, Janet Snyder and Dale Verderano; and President and CEO Wayne Adelstein. _________________________________________________________ Business Leaders to Hear City Attorney’s Proposal for Fighting Crime With Valley crime on the rise and local gang activity the focus of police and city officials, the United Chambers of Commerce of the San Fernando Valley is sponsoring a forum for businesses to address the issue. City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo will present his plan to combat crime and gang issues in the Valley at the UCC’s General Assembly meeting at 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, March 14, at the Porter Valley Country Club in Northridge. United Chambers Executive Director Debi Schultze said the forum should give chamber members a chance to sound off about concerns and learn about plans in the works. “Business members wanted to know what was going to curtail the gang activity and how that plan worked with businesses,” Schultze said. “This will tell how businesses can be involved and what (Delgadillo) expects.” Last month Delgadillo secured a 435-day jail sentence for a member of the Canoga Park Alabama gang who violated a gang injunction. He also recently charged three members of the Blythe Street Gang in Panorama City Last month the Los Angeles police named 11 of the most violent street gangs in the city and called for a “gang czar.” The LAPD reported homicides in the Valley were up 10 percent in January compared to last year. Chris Coates

Those experiencing an especially dangerous type of heart attack in the Santa Clarita Valley will now be transported to facilities in the San Fernando or Antelope valleys instead of closer Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital, which does not meet new county standards. A new policy put into place Jan. 1 by the Los Angeles County Emergency Medical Services Agency calls for all victims of ST-elevated myocardial infarction, or STEMI, heart attacks in L.A. County to be taken to the nearest hospital equipped with a special lab to treat victims. The idea is to offer victims the fastest and best care possible. However, the Santa Clarita Valley has justone acute care facility, Henry Mayo, and it does not have a cath lab. For the moment, that means patients will have to be taken somewhere else, said Dr. William Koenig, EMS medical director for the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services. “What will happen now is those patients will go to the closest one, which is Holy Cross,” he said. STEMI heart attack victims from northern Santa Clarita Valley may also be taken to Antelope Valley Hospital, which also has the designation, he said. Officials from Henry Mayo are aware of the problem and are trying to find a solution, said hospital spokeswoman Andie Bogdan. “We’re working toward that designation, but we don’t have it now,” she said. “We’ve always been a little behind in the arena of cardiology because we have not had the ability to provide the interventional emergency treatment.” Bogdan said Henry Mayo is working to construct a cardiac catheterization lab, part of a master plan approved by the Santa Clarita planning commission this month. The 2,500 square-foot facility is expected to open this year. Henry Mayo receives about 250 patients a year experiencing a heart attack. The Los Angeles County Department of Health Services estimates as many as 5 percent of those are actually the more serious STEMI attacks, which can cause permanent damage to heart muscle if not treated early enough. Is it faster? Under the new system, paramedics in the field will determine if a heart attack victim has suffered a STEMI attack. If that’s the case, the paramedics will contact the closest STEMI receiving center, which will have cardiologists and cardiovascular surgeons on call 24 hours a day and special equipment. “These hospitals all have (heart catheterization) labs but in addition, they have made a commitment to setting up systems of care in the hospital that will respond immediately to the patient with a STEMI,” Koenig said. Paramedics will then take the victim directly to the closest receiving center within 30 minutes even if that means passing up other hospitals on the way. So far, the county has designated the special centers at Encino-Tarzana Regional Medical Center, Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, Valley Presbyterian Hospital in Van Nuys, Northridge Hospital Medical Center, Antelope Valley Hospital in Lancaster and Glendale Adventist Medical Center. The county could have as many as 36 STEMI hospitals and any hospital that meets certain standards can apply for the designation. “Whether the hospital decides whether they want to enroll in this is up to the hospital themselves,” Koenig said. Glendale Adventist President and CEO Morre L. Dean said the designation is important to both the hospital and the community. “Residents of Glendale need to have that available to them,” he said. “Every minute is important, from the time that paramedic arrives at the scene to the time we are dilating that person in the cath lab.” It also keeps Adventist’s doctors on their toes, he said. “All of our areas are better because of that: our ER is sharper, our lab is sharper, imaging is sharper,” he said. “Everything is sharper.” As for Henry Mayo, Bogdan said the hospital plans to apply for the designation once the hospital’s cath lab is completed, although that’s still years away. Until then, victims will be taken outside the Santa Clarita Valley for treatment. Koenig said that despite the long distances Holy Cross is about 14 miles from Henry Mayo in Mission Hills the arrangement is the best possible option for heart attack victims. “There’s a lot of stuff that’s going on concurrently. So when paramedics are transporting a patient, it’s not like that is lost time,” he said. “This is the best.”

A former account vice president for a Valencia brokerage firm has pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit securities fraud. Justin Paperny of Studio City admitted that he and Keith G. Gilabert, the founder of Capital Management Group Holding Co. in Valencia, lied to investors about the risks and performance of the firm’s GLT Venture Fund in order to convince them to contribute. An investigation by the FBI found that Paperny, who received kickbacks from Gilabert, had told management and supervisors at the brokerage firm that GLT was not following its stated investment strategy and that many were aware of the illegal activities. The deception resulted in more than 40 investors losing at least $2.5 million, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Paperny, 31, pleaded guilty to mail, wire and securities fraud and agreed to cooperate with investigators in an ongoing criminal probe into Capital Management and the venture fund. Sentencing is scheduled for July 30. Paperny faces up to five years in prison. Gilabert pleaded guilty last year to conspiring to commit mail, wire and securities fraud and is awaiting sentencing. Chris Coates

Growing up in Colorado, Morre Dean found his lifelong passion in an unlikely place: the hospital. He knew it well Dean was just 5 when his mother died of Hodgkin’s disease then watched as his brother grappled with cardiac problems. The experiences were challenging, but for Dean they also laid the groundwork for a career in health care administration, one that would eventually take him from Denver to Central Florida and on to the Pacific Northwest. There, and still in his 30s, he starting running the 72-bed Walla Walla General Hospital, an Adventist Health facility in Walla Walla, Wash. Dean is credited with spearheading the community hospital’s $4 million financial turnaround and building a $20 million retirement center The stunning about-face was enough to attract the attention of Adventist execs, who appointed the 38-year-old to a new and more prominent post: President and CEO of Glendale Adventist, the largest facility owned by the Rosemont, Calif., company. The 448-bed, nearly 2,200-employee hospital is also undergoing a massive expansion, including the construction of a multi-million-dollar- patient tower opening next month. Dean sat down with the Business Journal to discuss the hospital’s future, what brought him to California and the challenges of moving from tiny Walla Walla (pop. 29,686) to Glendale (pop. 200,065). “We think the people here are wonderful and the hospital is doing an incredible mission in this community,” he said. “Sure, it’s big. But it’s only as big as you make it. I love it.” Question: How did you get into the health care business? Answer: Pretty early on in life, I wanted to be a physician, (which was) partly formed by my family’s history of dealing with health care. But I met a hospital administrator when I was 16, about the time I started to realize I really didn’t enjoy science He was able to work each and every day with people to make a positive difference at the bedside. And he got to do it in the realm I enjoyed, which is the business side and the relationship side. I built my educational experience and my summer jobs around that. My first health care job out of college was at Florida Hospital for a few years. Then I came back to Denver, where I was president of two south Denver hospitals (Porter and Littleton Adventist hospitals). Then I went to Washington for the past seven, where I was CEO (of Walla Walla General Hospital). Q: And then you came here. Did Adventist Health come after you for this position? A: They asked me if I would be interested in coming down here and really felt that my skill set matched what Glendale Adventist needed at this time. The answer was absolutely yes after I met this team and saw what this organization was all about. It was easy for me to get excited. Q: Why do you think you were picked? A: I think because of how I interact with people. I believe what the people at Adventist thought Glendale needed was somebody to build relationships in a positive way. Q: How is this hospital different from the one in Walla Walla? A: Obviously, size. It’s a lot bigger. The range of specialties we offer is much bigger and is compared to those you would see in an academic center. In Washington, we were a small hospital, very community-based. So this organization has much more going for it because that’s what Glendale residents need and are asking for. But from my perspective, health care is health care. It’s delivered from a person to a person. So it doesn’t matter if you’re in a small hospital or a big hospital. Q: But isn’t the health care business itself different in California? A: California is a more difficult business environment for health care organizations than Washington is or Colorado is. I don’t see it as drastically different. I think there’s differences in any state you’ll go to. Q: Do you think it’s easier for you to come from the outside to address the challenges? A: I think it comes down to the fact this organization has a lot of people that understand the dynamics of running an organization in California and I don’t have to be one to get up to speed. It’s already happening. Q: Are there challenges unique to this hospital that you see? A: Just meeting the needs of the community. Growing into our vision. That’s the biggest challenge. I don’t see it as insurmountable. I’m a piece to make that happen. Q: Part of that is the new patient tower A: Yes, which should be finished in April. We’re going to start moving in and see patients May 14. Q: Is that a challenge that you’re coming on mid-stream versus seeing from the beginning? A: No. (Chief Operating Officer) Warren Tates has that very much under control. What I add to the expansion is not really the operational side, but the next steps to growth from that. Q: The bulk of your patients comes from Glendale or is that changing? A: As we’ve grown, our volume over the past few years has come from secondary service areas. And that’s mainly because of the hospital’s ability to grow into being more than just a community hospital. So as we grow our neurosciences program, as we grow our cardiac program, we’ve really branched out to people not only in Glendale, but those in other areas. We do things here that you wouldn’t get in most medical centers. Q: Where would you like to see this hospital in 10 years? A: I’d really like to keep capitalizing on our tertiary growth and moving this from a community-based hospital to a regional medical center. There’s a lot of opportunities for us. We can continue to help not only the residents of Glendale, but the surrounding communities. That’s really my vision, taking that next step. I think we’re on the brink. The team has really led us to that point. And I think I’m one more piece to make that happen. SNAPSHOT Morre L. Dean Title: President and CEO, Glendale Adventist Medical Center Age: 38 Education: BA, business administration, Union College in Lincoln, Neb., MA, University of Central Florida in Orlando. Source of Inspiration: “Every day, I work in a job that not only affects people but one that raises the bar in health care. That inspires me.” Personal: Married to Katrina; two children, Tyler and Jillian, 10 and 7.

Back in the early 1990s, Toyota of North Hollywood staked a claim in a new-fangled venture: the Internet. The dealership at Lankershim Boulevard and the Ventura (101) Freeway snapped up an address, hired a web developer and starting wheeling and dealing online. It was a novel concept and not everyone was convinced car-buyers would bite. But more than a decade later, that little website accounts for a considerable chunk of the company’s business, said Noel Graham, who runs the dealer’s Internet sales department, which has swollen to 10 employees in recent years. “The Internet’s been around long enough that it’s helped a lot of people get a better price on a car because they know where the market is,” Graham said. Toyota of North Hollywood is hardly alone. Across the Valley, dealerships have grabbed onto the web as a key advertising avenue and revenue generator. Dealers are developing ever-complex sites that provide far more than just technical information about cars, from online quotes and finance pre-approvals to extensive contact information and even biographies about dealership staff. (Volkswagen of Van Nuys, for example, has photos of company President Fritz Pflock right down to Shop Foreman Wolfgang Schutze.) Galpin Motors, which sells nine car brands in the Valley area, lets customers value their trade-in, order parts and schedule service. Galpin’s site also has a feature that allows would-be buyers to input features they want in a car and view it online. Dealers say the features are worth the considerable investments because so many car buyers are turning to the web to research cars. A study released last fall by Westlake Village-based J.D. Power and Associates found that 87 percent of consumers are visiting at least one website in the car-buying process. For dealers, getting their name out front is important, but Dave Baker, Internet marketing manager for the Van Nuys dealership DriveTime said the other benefit is that buyers are far more educated when they show up at the lot. That’s helped level the playing field between dealers and buyers, which have historically not always seen eye-to-eye. “Let’s face it: many people have an instinctive distrust of used car dealers,” Baker said. “If a customer comes to a dealership after doing a lot of research about makes and models and so on, that customer is going to feel better prepared to make an informed decision.” And it’s not just the economy brands indications are that luxury car buyers are more likely to thoroughly research what they’re buying, possibly because the vehicles represent a larger investment. Tim Smith, president and CEO of Bob Smith BMW in Calabasas, said the vast majority of customers buying cars at his lot have looked at the web. He said car dealers that don’t have an online presence are at a major disadvantage. “The dealers that have embraced the Internet as a marketing tool do really well,” Smith said. ‘They’re ahead.” Benefits dealers But as the web has taken off, so too has the authority of non-dealer sites, such as those run by Edmunds, the American Automobile Association, Kelley Blue Book and Auto Trader. Howard Polirer, director of industry relations for Auto Trader, which specializes in both auto research and classifieds, said third-party resources are accepted because they’re seen as objective and unbiased. “It’s very consumer-driven,” he said. “It’s because of the consumers.” But among dealers, some of the sites raise doubt. Graham said it’s sometimes a challenge for consumers to figure out what sites are legit and what information is important. “We’re starting to see it backfire,” Graham said. “There’s so much information out there that what some customers are doing is they’re coming in and trying to start at that lower price and negotiate from there.” That’s triggered an odd role reversal dealers find themselves being pressured into making a sale. “It puts (all dealers) in this weird position,” Graham said. “Every dealer out there says ‘no haggle,’ ‘no hassle,’ but we’re kind of forced into that position because we have to artificially put the Internet price at least a couple hundred dollars higher than we normally would just to give us that extra wiggle room.” “I wish they would do a better job educating (consumers) about a realistic price to pay for a vehicle,” Graham said later. That tension could increase as the tech-savvy younger generation of today starts to purchase vehicles and dealers start adding more and more web features. “They accept this technology and will expect interactive advertising,” Polirer said. With more and more online features, it begs the question: are physical dealerships on the way out? Baker doesn’t think so cars are just too nuanced, not to mention being a significant investment and car-buyers need to see what they’re buying up close. “Bricks-and-mortar dealerships will still continue to be a critical component, but much more of the shopping will begin online. It’s just too convenient not to begin at your own computer,” he reasoned. But it will certainly change, Pollier said. A generation from now, he expects the typical car-buying experience will start by consumers looking at some type of virtual showroom that offers consumers reams of information about various cars. The test drive and kicking the tires, however, will remain, he said. “The consumer will do all their researching as much as they can in the virtual world, but ultimately they’ll have to go in to touch and feel the car,” he said. “That won’t change.”

Cherokee Inc. has extended its contract with Target Corp. through January, 2009. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. It covers clothing, shoes, furniture and recreational products.

The term “gerrymandering” is defined as dividing a state into districts for the choice of representatives, in an unnatural and unfair way, with a view to giving a political party an advantage over its opponent. The word “gerrymander” represents a blend of the name of a former Massachusetts Governor, Elbridge Gerry (1744-1814) with the name “salamander” which was used to describe the appearance of an odd-shaped electoral district created by Gerry to disadvantage his electoral opponents. Today the best known example of such a district is California’s 23rd Congressional District known as the “Ribbon of Shame,” created in 2001 when California’s Democrats and Republicans banded together and, utilizing highly advanced computers and an extensive political and ethnic database, drew the most sophisticated gerrymander in the history of politics. The “Ribbon of Shame” is a contorted district covering nearly 200 miles from Monterey County to San Luis Obispo County to Santa Barbara County and ending in Ventura County. It is no more than five miles wide in most places and sometimes only 100 yards. It was designed to capture the Democratic households and avoid the Republican households. In order to create this “safe” Democratic district, Democrats removed the interior portions of both San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara Counties and extended the district south into Ventura County. California has been at the center of the gerrymandering controversy since 1962 pushing the concept to the extremes in 1981 and 2001. In 1971 and 1991, Republican governors blocked efforts to gerrymander the state and sent the redistricting to the Supreme Court, which appointed panels of three retired judges to serve as “Special Masters” in charge of drawing the districts. In 2005, Governor Schwarzenegger attempted to reinstate the use of “Special Masters” on a permanent basis through Special Election Proposition 77 which failed at the polls. Gerrymandering creates “safe seat” districts which cause the extremists from each party to be elected. With “safe seat” districts, since whichever party has the “safe seat” is assured election, the most important race is the “primary.” If the district is Democratic, to get the support of the party, a candidate must not be outflanked on the left by his or her opponent. If the District is Republican, to get the support of the party, a candidate must not be outflanked on the right by his or her opponent. The result is the election of the most extreme candidates. This creates roadblocks in the legislature because the extremists of each party find it difficult to agree or compromise on issues, therefore, unless one party is in control of at least two-thirds of the legislature, many potentially valuable bills will not pass. What two-party system? In addition to creating “safe seat” districts and assuring the election of extremists, gerrymandering compromises the effectiveness of the two-party system in the following ways: the minority party usually wins far fewer seats than its percentage of the total vote; promising local leaders are blocked from opportunities to run for higher office; incentives to recruit the best qualified candidates and establish strong ties to the grassroots voters are eliminated and potential voters’ motivation to be involved in the political process is stifled. Although California has been unsuccessful thus far, other states have succeeded with redistricting reform. The most successful models to date utilize Independent Redistricting Commissions composed of bipartisan citizens. No state currently uses a commission composed of retired judges or “Special Masters.” In December, 2006, a proposed constitutional amendment (ACA 1) was introduced into the California Assembly, by Assembly Member Dymally requiring the appointment of an Independent Redistricting Commission, composed of 5 members that would be charged with establishing, by February 28 of each year ending in the number one, congressional, Assembly, Senate, and State Board of Equalization districts of equal population in compliance with the United States Constitution, pursuant to a mapping process for each district in accordance with specified goals. The Commission would be required to approve a redistricting plan that includes the final maps for all districts. Any challenges to the Commission’s redistricting plan would fall under the exclusive jurisdiction of the California Supreme Court. Once again trouble is brewing for redistricting reform. This time it is coming from Washington, as reported in the Sunday, February 25, 2007 edition of the Los Angeles Times. “Fresh from their victories in the November election, Democrats in Congress don’t want to risk their fragile majority. Many Republicans don’t want their relatively safe seats threatened either.” As a result, California Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez who is also crafting redistricting reform legislation said he thinks he will have to exempt Congress from his legislation. It seems that as long as incumbents are fearful of losing their seats, redistricting reforms are in jeopardy. Whatever happened to the concept of performing well in order to keep one’s job? Gregory N. Lippe, CPA, is managing partner of the Woodland Hills-based CPA firm of Lippe, Hellie, Hoffer & Allison, LLP and Vice-chair of the Valley Industry and Commerce Assoc. (VICA).

Nearly a year ago, a crowd of almost 70 people came to the California State University Northridge campus to discuss how the Daily News could better cover Latinos in the San Fernando Valley and increase its number of Latino reporters. What has changed in those 12 months since the paper joined the Parity Project of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists? An advisory committee of educators, students, business people, media relations professionals and retirees has met twice to discuss coverage in the paper and ways to improve its reporting on Latino issues. Managing Editor Melissa Lalum likes the feedback she gets from the sessions and appreciated CSUN journalism instructor Jose Luis Benavides bringing a group of his students to report on a six-week study comparing Daily News coverage with that of Spanish-language publication La Opinion. <!– Spacious: The restaurant’s main dining area. –> Spacious: The restaurant’s main dining area. “We tend not to run as much Central and South America and Mexico news off the wires whereas La Opinion would run a lot more,” Lalum said. “They definitely saw that as an area where we could grow.” The advisory committee, however, could use more members. Lalum said she would like to see representatives from the education field and a religious leader or two. Lalum’s enthusiasm for taking part in the project is encouraging to Rosa Maria Santana, the associate director with the Parity Project on the West Coast. Visiting other western state newspapers taking part in the project, including the Ventura County Star, Santana said she recognizes that newspapers run on their own schedules of hiring and that some papers have cut staff. Successful participation in the project comes from recognition within newsrooms of its long-term goals, Santana said. “Ultimately it comes to the individual newspapers saying we are going to do this and see the importance of diverse voices in the newsroom,” Santana said. At the time of last year’s meeting, 10 percent of the newsroom staff was Latino. A year later it is 13 percent. Over the summer the paper hired an intern it had found through a program with the California Chicano News Media Association. The paper is also eyeing pairing up with San Fernando High School to get an intern through a program sponsored by the American Society of Newspaper Editors. “That’s a nice way to cultivate young journalists,” Lalum said. Santana does her part in getting potential candidates on the Daily News’ radar screen by getting names and resumes when visiting journalism schools and conferences and passing them along to Lalum. Map to the Star’s Home The Ventura County Star is in the midst of a move from its long-time facility in Ventura to a new 50,000 square foot building in Camarillo. The move started on Feb. 23 and was expected to be completed by mid-March. Save for bureaus in Simi Valley and Thousand Oaks, all operations will be consolidated in the new building on Camarillo Center Drive near the Premium Factory Outlet. “It’s almost like you find us by accident,” said Star Publisher Tim Gallagher. Relocating has been in the works for nearly 10 years, ever since the paper’s owner E.W. Scripps had need for bigger press facilities after consolidating into the Star the smaller newspapers covering Ventura County. Scripps bought a plot of land and opened up the printing press building in 1998. “We’ve always had a big, empty unused amount of space surrounding that production building because we were waiting to build our office headquarters there until the timing was right,” Gallagher said. It was decided two years ago that the timing was right to sell the Ventura building and relocate to Camarillo, Gallagher said. As near as he can tell the employees look forward to the move as the Ventura building is small and has poor lighting and plumbing, Gallagher said. The new building allows for the Star to change the way it does business in terms of its classified ad sales. While a front counter will be available for placing ads, the lobby will have three computers at which readers can place ads themselves. “Statistics show us that when they place the ads themselves they tend to spend more money,” Gallagher said. Making a Statement Calabasas is shrinking. Not the affluent city on the west edge of the Valley but the name of the high end lifestyle magazine published by Richard Bleiweiss. The name Calabasas will gradually shrink on the cover as the publication transitions to its new name Statement and expands its circulation to a nationwide readership. Bleiweiss chose to call the magazine Calabasas when launching it two years ago as a way to represent an upscale lifestyle in the Valley. But with the magazine going national, Bleiweiss didn’t want there to be any confusion about what the magazine was about. “We didn’t want to have the question arise anymore of if I don’t live here why I would want to read a magazine about Calabasas,” Bleiweiss said. What will make Statement a national publication is its advertising package and not the content inside, which is geared toward celebrity news and features. Advertisers will have the option of choosing which edition they want to be in for the Valley, the Pacific Palisades-Santa Monica region, or nationally. The magazine is sent out via direct mail to specific target demographics, and newsstands and bookstores. The international market will also be tested with a limited number of copies, Bleiweiss said. The new name was chosen because everything a person from the car they drive, the places they visit, to what charities they contribute to- makes a statement, Bleiweiss said. “Having this magazine on their coffee table will make a statement about who they are,” Bleiweiss said. There are plans to add to the magazine’s sales staff but not to the editorial staff. For the time being, the magazine’s office will remain in Calabasas although Bleiweiss foresees a move but with an eye toward staying in the west Valley. Staff Reporter Mark R. Madler can be reached at (818) 316-3126 or at [email protected] .

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced Monday that he plans to release $82 million from a city trust fund to help pay for 21 housing projects for low-income families and seniors. Citywide, the funds will help pay for 1,222 units, including five projects in the Valley: the 64-unit Columbus Square senior apartments and 32-unit Orion Garden large-family apartments both in North Hills and the 69-unit Asturias Senior Apartments, 81-unit Cantabria Senior Apartments and 69-unit Montecito Terraces Los Angeles senior apartments all in Panorama City. Those projects will receive a total of $24.4 million, according to the mayor’s office. The funding will come from the city’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund, which the city pays into each year to finance housing projects. The plan awaits approval from the Committee on Housing, Community and Economic Development and City Council. The motion is scheduled for committee action Tuesday.