The Food and Drug Administration has allowed Valencia drug maker MannKind Corp. to begin human testing on a cancer treatment it is developing. Enrollment in clinical trials on the experimental cancer drug MKC1106-PP will begin before the end of the year, the company said. The test will examine the effects on patients with solid tumors.

The Encino Chamber of Commerce holds its education committee meeting. 1 p.m. Buca Di Beppo Restaurant 17500 Ventura Blvd., Encino (818) 789-4711 encinochamber.org

The Federal Trade Commission has given the green light to the acquisition of Trammell Crow by CB Richard Ellis Group Inc., Trammell Crow Co. said today. The FTC approved a shortened waiting period required under antitrust law. The deal, for about $1.8 billion, is expected to close next month. It is subject to the approval of Trammell Crow shareholders. CB announced in October that it planned to acquire the Dallas-based real estate company.

Video game publisher THQ, Inc. received a letter from Nasdaq that it is not in compliance to be listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market, the company announced Wednesday. The Agoura Hills-based firm anticipated the letter because it was late in filing its financial results for the second quarter of 2007 fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, the company said. THQ is requesting a hearing before a Nasdaq Listing Qualifications Panel, which will automatically stay delisting of the company’s common stock pending the panel’s review and determination. THQ intends to file its second quarter results as soon as possible following completion of a review of the company’s historical stock option grant practices by a special committee of the board. Preliminary financial numbers released by the company earlier in the month show a net income of $13 million, or $0.19 per diluted share, on revenues of $240 million for the second quarter. That is an increase over the net loss of $1.5 million, or a loss of $0.02 per diluted share, on revenues of $143 million for the same reporting period in 2005.

Guitar Center has agreed to purchase the assets of The Woodwind & The Brasswind, a music retailer in South Bend, Ind. that is currently in bankruptcy. The agreement includes the company’s inventory of band, orchestra and combo instruments as well as trade names, accounts receivable and other intangible assets. The transaction is subject to several conditions including bankruptcy court approval and the results of a bankruptcy auction scheduled for January.

ABC Television hits “Lost” and “Desperate Housewives” will be made available via Comcast Corp.’s video-on-demand service in select markets under a new agreement reached between Comcast and the Walt Disney Co. It is the first time ABC programming has been made available via video-on-demand by a cable company. The service begins in the fall of 2007 and includes two other ABC shows to be determined. The shows will be made available through Comcast’s On Demand service the day after their broadcast television viewings. The long-term agreement between Disney and Comcast also includes continued cable distribution of programming from the Disney Channel, Toon Disney, SOAPnet, and five ESPN channels. Walt Disney Company President and Chief Executive Officer Robert A. Iger called the agreement one of the broadest in the history of the company. “Disney’s great brands and great content combined with Comcast’s leading distribution platforms provide an incredibly compelling consumer experience in sports, family, news and entertainment,” Iger said. The agreement also included Comcast purchasing Disney’s 39.5 percent ownership stake in E! Networks for $1.23 billion.

The Los Angeles City Council officially passed a motion Wednesday to require a dozen hotels near Los Angeles International Airport to pay workers a living wage, igniting fear in the business community that the ordinance sets a dangerous precedence that could spread to other industries. The council voted 10-3 to approve the measure, which requires hotels to pay housekeepers, servers and some kitchen staff $9.39 an hour with benefits or $10.64 an hour to those without benefits. Before today’s vote, the living wage ordinance passed in 1997 was applied only businesses under contract with the city. The City Council’s action Wednesday expands that interpretation to include hotel workers along Century City Boulevard because, the council said, those hotels benefit chiefly from Los Angeles International Airport a city-operated entity. Those voting in opposition were City Council members Dennis Zine and Greig Smith of the Valley and Bernard Parks. The City Council also approved two less-contentious measures addressing wages. One calls for hotels to pass tips generated from conferences to servers and another requires hotels to keep workers for at least three months if it is sold to a new owner. The changes have been widely criticized in the business community. The Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, Hotel Association of Southern California and several other business groups are working to place a referendum on the March ballot.

Bob Hope Airport in Burbank is adding more drop-off zones and traffic cops today through Sunday to stymie the logjam of traffic expected during the busiest travel period of the year. “Our biggest problem is use of the curb area,” said airport spokesman Victor Gill, adding that the airport expects up to 20,000 passengers through its terminals on peak travel days. “We have such constrained space out there.” To address the expected increase in pick-ups and drops offs, the airport will allow vehicles to stop in the two lanes closest to the curb, Gill said. A full-time traffic officer will also direct vehicles in and out of the terminal area. Airport officials are also reiterating that passengers follow Transportation Security Administration restrictions on liquids in carry-on bags. Passengers are limited to a single one-ounce quart plastic bag with three-ounce liquid containers. For more information about what can be carried aboard plans, visit the Transportation Security Administration.

The Santa Clarita Planning Commission has approved the master plan for Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital. The proposal, approved 3-2, creates a 25-year blue print for the facility and its campus. The plan has been met with community opposition largely because of its scale and possible effects on traffic and noise. It now awaits City Council approval.

Officials at The Cheesecake Factory will give back a reported $1 million in pay they received as a result of improperly dated stock option grants. The company said that it “incorrectly applied the measurement date” in granting stock options to executive officers in fiscal years 1997 through 2001, to non-executive officers and other employees between fiscal years 1997 and 2004 and to outside directors in the fiscal years 2000 and 2001. Cheesecake also said it would restate its financials to record expenses totaling about $5.5 million as a result of the improperly applied options. The executives will repay the difference between the stock option proceeds received and the proceeds that would have been received had the options been granted using different dates. According to a report in the Los Angeles Times, David Overton, CEO of Cheesecake, along with its former CFO Gerald Dietchle, are among the executives involved in the stock option grants.