The Sherman Oaks Chamber of Commerce holds its neighborhood council meeting. 6:30 p.m. Sherman Oaks Elementary School 14755 Greenleaf St., Sherman Oaks (818) 906-1951 shermanoakschamber.org

On Assignment Inc., the Calabasas-based healthcare staffing company, has priced its secondary offering of 6.65 million shares of common stock at $10 each. The company expects the offering to generate $66.5 million. On Assignment said it expects to use the funds for potential future acquisitions, working capital and general business purposes. In afternoon trading, the company’s shares rose more than 9 percent to close at $11.08.

Santa Clarita hotels scored the highest occupancy rate during September in the region, according to a study of hotels in 16 areas of Los Angeles County released this week by the hotel industry firm PKF Consulting. The average occupancy rate for Santa Clarita hotels was 85.54 percent during September, a 1.5 percent increase from 2005, the study found. That increase is the most significant in the region. The second largest increase registered at hotels around Los Angeles International Airport, where occupancy rated increased 1.2 percent. The average occupancy rate countywide was 77.22 percent, a 2.2 decrease from 2005. The San Fernando Valley rate stood at 80.01 percent, down 1.9 percent from the year before. At the same time, average daily rates increased in both areas. In the Valley, the number jumped from $114.68 last year to $122.67 in September. In the Santa Clarita area, the daily rate increased $8.7 percent to $126.98 a night. The county average was $142.64, up 6 percent from a year ago. West Los Angeles saw the largest increase in room rates a 15.5 percent jump to $245.08 a night while the most expensive place to get a room was in Beverly Hills, where the average daily rate came in at $342.98 during September.

Justice Armand Arabian won the Fernando Award on Friday night, the top Valley honor for public service. The announcement was made by L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa at a dinner at the Warner Center Marriott in Woodland Hills. Arabian, a former California Supreme Court justice, has donated funds to create Lawyers Resource Centers in the Van Nuys and San Fernando Superior Courthouses. He is a nationally recognized leader in the reform of rape laws. Annually, since 2002, Project Sister presents the Justice Armand Arabian Healing the Heart award to persons devoted to giving hope and dignity to victims of sexual assault. Since 1999, Pepperdine Law School’s Fall Moot Court Competition has been named the Armand Arabian Advocacy Tournament giving scholarships based on his endowment fund. Yearly, the Armand Arabian Leaders in Public Service awards and scholarships are presented by the Encino Chamber of Commerce. The other four finalists for the Fernando Award were Jill Banks Barad, Dorothy Jean Jauck, Ed Rose and Pauline Tallent.

Countrywide Financial Corp. said today that it has applied to change the charter of its bank unit to a federal savings bank charter. The conversion would allow Countrywide’s bank division to operate as a savings and loan under the Office of Thrift Supervision. Countrywide currently operates under a national bank charter. “In our continuous efforts to maximize efficiencies, the company has determined that Countrywide is better positioned for future growth as a savings institution with a single primary regulator as opposed to the current dual-regulator structure,” said Angelo R. Mozilo, chairman and CEO of Countrywide, in a statement.

Countrywide Financial Corp. reported its mortgage funding declined 12 percent to $41 billion in October compared to October 2005 and 7 percent to $375 billion on a year-to-date basis. Countrywide said purchase volume for the month was $17 billion, down 16 percent from Oct. 2005. Year-to-date purchase volume declined 10 percent to $173 billion. The Calabasas-based company said home equity lending was flat for the month at $3.6 billion and year-to-date home equity lending activity was up 11 percent to $39 billion. Mortgage loan servicing increased 18 percent to $1.26 trillion as of Oct. 31 compared to levels as of Oct. 31, 2005. “October operational results reflect both seasonal and economic mortgage market conditions,” said Angelo R. Mozilo, chairman and CEO of Countrywide.

The Walt Disney Co. ended its fiscal year with a 33 percent increase in its net income, the company reported Thursday. The Burbank-based entertainment giant posted record net income and its fourth straight year of double digit growth. During a conference call with analysts, Disney Chief Executive Officer and President Robert Iger outlined the company’s high points during the year and plans for the coming year. “Our goal is to connect more directly with the consumer and to connect the consumer more directly with us by investing in new platforms and new opportunities,” Iger said. Disney reported net income of $3.4 billion, or $1.64 per diluted share, on revenues of $34.3 billion for its 2006 fiscal year ending Sept. 30. That is an increase over the $2.5 billion in net income, or $1.22 per diluted share, on revenues of $32 billion, for the 2005 fiscal year. For the fourth quarter ending Sept. 30, Disney reported net income of $782 million, or $0.36 per diluted share, on revenues of $8.8 billion. That is an increase of more than 100 percent over the same period in 2005 when the company posted net income of $379 million, or $0.19 per diluted share, on revenues of $7.8 billion. High points for the year included “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest” bringing in more than $1 billion in worldwide box office receipts; breakout cable hit “High School Musical;” and more than 85 million downloads of Disney television shows and films via iTunes, ABC.com, and DisneyChannel.com. For the new fiscal year, the company will relaunch its Disney.com website in early 2007 and increase investment by 30 percent in its video game business. Over the next five to seven years, the company plans to invest up to $350 million, said Chief Financial Officer Tom Staggs. Disney has huge assets in both new and existing content that can be exploited in games as the company builds the video game division through low-cost acquisitions, Iger said. “Our goal is to end up with a significant games business,” Iger said. The company announced this week it would launch its own video game studio, Fall Line, in Salt Lake City to develop Disney-branded games for Nintendo systems.

The Simi Valley Chamber of Commerce holds its annual state of the chamber breakfast. 7:30 a.m. Paul’s Italian Villa 2585-I Cochran St., Simi Valley (805) 526-3900 simivalleychamber.org

A report from the California Motor Car Dealers Association forecasts that car sales will remain slow during 2007 before returning to normal growth. For 2008 and 2009, new car registrations are expected to approach the 2.2 million mark. For the third quarter of 2006, new registrations of cars and light trucks declined 7.6 percent as compared to the same quarter in 2005. The summer of 2005 had stronger sales due to employee discount incentive programs, the report said. The association releases the full report on Nov. 16. The association is the country’s largest state association of franchised new car and truck dealers with over 1,350 dealer members.

California United Bank said assets increased 12 percent to $159.7 million as of Sept. 30 from the prior quarter ended June 30. Deposits at the Encino-based startup bank increased 18.5 percent to $117.1 million versus the prior quarter. The bank, which has been in operation for five full quarters, reported a net loss of $583,000, compared to a net loss of $618,000 for the second quarter of the year. The bank in late October received regulatory approval to sell somewhat more than 1.2 million shares of common stock at $16.50 per share. The offering is expected to close on Dec. 29.