Take a look at our special report on education in this issue. We’ve never done a report like this before. Although education is the focus, it has a big business bent to it. In our report, we take a look at connections between the business community and educational institutions in the Valley. As we found out, there are a lot of connections. And that’s great to see, because one thing business owners and managers can agree on is that having an educated workforce is first and foremost. Some things we found out that I think are worth highlighting here: There are some companies locally that have some pretty impressive tuition reimbursement plans for their employees and in some cases employee dependents. Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, Northrop Grumman and Sage Publications were judged the best locally. For the most, these are large companies with large resources and in the case of Sage, it’s a company that is focused on education in the first place. But I think all three of these firms can be models for others. It shows what can be done. As you look at our profiles for our winners of our first Education Leadership Awards which were presented at an event on Oct. 4, you’ll also see that there are banks and community organizations that put their money where there mouths are in providing scholarships, student loans and funds to our local universities. Education and business connections run deep in some industries. For instance, in the entertainment industry which relies so much on creativity and training, we found that even some small firms find ways to successfully train and mentor their workers so that they stay and move up the ranks. Police Response LAPD Deputy Chief for the Valley Michel Moore was quick to respond to an item in this column from our last issue where I addressed the recent spate of restaurant robberies across the Valley. Moore says he agrees with my call for the business community to become more actively involved as the police look for these bandits, but he thinks all these robberies need to be put in the proper perspective as to whether there is a huge spike in crime in the Valley. Here are some stats he gave. As of Sept. 23, there have been 2,078 reported robberies in the Valley compared to 2,042 two years ago. That’s not much of an increase, I will agree. There have been 50 restaurant robberies in this recent spate the past few years, but by far the most robberies in the Valley are so-called “street” bandit” robberies. That’s when someone is robbed just walking down the street, usually of cellphones or i-pods or things like that. Those robberies account for 75 percent of all robberies. As for LAPD resources being put to the capture of the restaurant robbers who have sent a chill throughout the Valley business community, Moore says there is a full-time team of two detectives assigned to these crimes. That’s a huge allocation of resources for just 50 crimes, he says. Resources are also being taken for these robberies from other areas of the LAPD that would be going to solve property crimes. Moore says they’ll catch the crooks and it’s one of Chief Bratton’s priorities. But businesses need to cooperate, he says, and adopt better business practices. Don’t let huge sums of cash mount up throughout the day. A restaurant that does this will get knocked off several times when word gets around the robber community that there are piles of money there. Simple things like better lighting in parking lots, locking side doors that are often left open and the immediate reporting of suspicious people that could be “casing” the place have become absolutely necessary, he says. “We have the best minds on this,” Moore says. Business Journal Editor Jason Schaff can be reached at (818) 316-3125 or at [email protected].

BEST SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAMS Telesis Community Credit Union The old adage warns that money isn’t everything, but it’s a sure bet that money problems can interfere with anyone’s quality of life. So goes the thinking behind many of the charitable efforts from Telesis Community Credit Union, which has made education a focus of its gift giving. The Chatsworth-based credit union, which has been providing scholarships for more than six years, this year provided some $9,000 in funding to community colleges and local high schools. Program: Brownie troops are taught financial literacy. This year’s recipients included College of the Canyons, Los Angeles Valley College and Moorpark College. The high school recipients, who this year received $7,500 of the total scholarship funding, are seniors in the credit union’s service area who have achieved a 3.0 GPA or better and have exhibited a strong commitment to community service. The credit union also partners with other agencies and schools, providing programs that encourage financial awareness and literacy. One such program, “It’s a Habit,” produced by Sam Renick’s It’s a Habit Co., has worked with Brownie troops to teach the children financial literacy. “Part of our mission statement is that, as a credit union, we take our role as not just a place to put your money but to make sure our community has a better life,” said Richard Cooper, vice president for government and community relations at Telesis. “We try to give people as many tools as we can so they avoid the pitfalls of managing money.” Shelly Garcia West Hills Hospital & Medical Center Nursing students will get a little help completing their course of study at Pierce College thanks to a scholarship fund set up by West Hills Hospital & Medical Center. The hospital has awarded a $95,000 grant to assist third-semester students who are on track to receive their associate degree in spring 2007. The funding will help cover the cost of tuition and financial living obligations while the students attend the nursing program. In return, the nurses agree to work at West Hills for one year. “Providing the funds for these students allows them to complete the last semesters of their study without interruption, reduces some stress and permits more focus in school,” said Janet Brooks, chief nursing officer for West Hills. West Hills officials say they currently have more than 50 nursing positions open as a result of the nursing shortage in California. The West Hills Hospital & Medical Center Auxiliary also runs a scholarship program that this year awarded about $50,000 in health care scholarships to students pursuing a range of health care professions from nursing to doctors to physical therapists, pharmacists and surgical technicians. The Auxiliary, which operates the hospital’s gift shop and has been running the program since 1967, uses those proceeds as well as those from other fundraising events for the scholarship programs. Some 36 students received awards in 2006. “As of next May when they give the 2007 scholarships, they will have reached the million dollar mark,” said Claire Plunkett, director of volunteer services. The scholarships are awarded based on need and academic performance, but Plunkett said that the primary yardstick is the students’ pursuit of a health care profession. Shelly Garcia

A hospital veteran who ran the San Fernando Valley operations for Kaiser Permanente has joined a local competing health care provider at its No. 2 position. Matt Gerlach has been named chief administrative officer for the Southern California region of Providence Health System. He took over the position Sept. 11 and is charged with the administrative functions at four regional Providence hospitals, including Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank and Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills, said spokesman Brian Greene. Gerlach will also supervise Providence Holy Cross Health Center in Valencia and two facilities in San Pedro and Torrance.

As top human resources officer for Valley Presbyterian Hospital in Van Nuys, Gregg Yost is something of an expert on the fervent demand for nurses in California hospitals and the perks some hospitals use to recruit caregivers to their facilities. It’s been true for years, Yost said, but there’s one type of nurse that Valley hospitals aren’t clamoring for this time of year: foreign nurses. “Although we will sponsor individuals that present themselves at Valley Pres., our problem is it is extremely time consuming,” he said. “It’s not an easy process.” While that may seem counterintuitive given the state’s dearth of nurses, Valley Presbyterian is far from alone. New immigration standards imposed after 9/11 have made sponsoring nurses far costlier and trickier than in previous years. Some hospitals are shying away, saying sponsoring nurses once seen as a reasonable solution to the state’s nursing shortage is simply too risky. “You’re going to invest in that amount of time and it won’t work,” reasoned Yost, but admitting later: “It completely flies in the face of a nursing shortage.” Those familiar with the immigration system contend the worries are based on misunderstandings. “I find an abysmal amount of ignorance in the healthcare community about how this all works,” said Carl Shusterman, an L.A. immigration attorney who specializes in helping nurses enter the country. Hot button ratios The resistance to sponsoring abroad is an odd reversal for the health care industry, which has used foreign nurses to fill its ranks for decades. After World War II, nurses came primarily from the United Kingdom and Canada. In the 1960s, the trend shifted to the Philippines, India, Nigeria, the Pacific Islands and China; by the 1990s, 10 percent of American nursing licenses were going to non-natives. That continued through 1999, when Gov. Gray Davis made California the first state in the union to have minimum staffing levels at its hospitals. The mandate, which went into effect in 2004, required hospitals to employ a certain number of nurses for each patient depending on the ward; from one nurse for every two patients in intensive care to one nurse for every six in psychiatric. While heralded by nurses and patient rights groups, over the past two years the ratios have effectively tapped the local pool of nursing candidates dry. The current shortage is pegged as high as 21,000, a number expected to double by 2010, according the Center for California Health Workforce. To address the shortage, hospitals have lured local nurses and recent graduates to their facilities through perks and signing bonuses while others pay overtime and hire temporary nurses through staffing firms; expensive options given that traveling nurses can make up to $100,000 a year. Others have also taken the most complex option: look overseas. The long route The primary method most immigrants become permanent American citizens is through sponsorship by a U.S. citizen or prospective employer. The U.S. approves a minimum of 140,000 employment-based visas a year and gives preferential treatment to immigrants with advanced training and those that already have a job in the U.S. Consequently, some hospitals send recruiters abroad to seek out nurses, pay for them to come to the United States and make sure they take tests. Shusterman said the process costs around $11,000, although Yost said it’s closer to $20,000. Hospitals also agree to pay the prevailing wage, around $50,000 in L.A. While that may seem efficient compared to signing bonuses or traveling nurses, some hospitals are wary of the cost of sponsoring foreign nurses. That’s one of the reasons the largest healthcare provider in the Valley Providence Health System, which runs Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank and Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills does not look abroad, said spokesman Dan Boyle. “Sponsoring foreign-born nurses for visas is expensive, and we have not put a policy in place to provide sponsorship, especially since our employee vacancy rate is below the state average for both Providence Saint Joseph and Providence Holy Cross medical centers,” he said. West Hills Hospital and Medical Center also has an informal rule to staff locally and not overseas, said Director of Human Resources Marty Alpert. Encino-Tarzana Regional Medical Center also doesn’t use foreign nurses either and opts to fund about 30 scholarships for the nursing program at Pierce College, said spokesman Mitch Zevin. A matter of trust He said that by putting more nursing students in school, Encino-Tarzana can entice them into permanent positions at the hospital once they graduate. “We want some quality assurance we’re getting a nurse we can trust on the floor,” he said. “An internationally-trained nurse is a bigger unknown.” Caroline Esparza, senior vice president of patient care services for Simi Valley Hospital, said time is also a big factor, since the green card approval process can drag on for months, if not years. She said that when Simi Valley has a staff opening, they can’t wait that long to fill the spot and they usually hire temporary help and look locally for a permanent nurse, even though traveling nurses are expensive and registered nurses are scarce, she said. “I’m sure (sponsoring foreign nurses) could be an option, but between our local recruitment and our ability to fill spots pretty quickly, it works,” she said. “In our situation, we can’t really wait a year down the road to get somebody.” A risky situation More than costs, the more pressing aspect of sponsoring nurses for many hospital execs is the finite number of visas available, a product of tougher post-9/11 immigration standards and caps on how many green cards are issued. That’s because every year, the U.S. sets certain limits on the number of immigrants from each country allowed into America. Once a country exceeds that number, visas are generally capped for the year. Accordingly, the wait to enter the states from countries like the Philippines, China and India have ballooned to three years. And hospitals aren’t willing to start the process only to find out there aren’t any visas. “With the number of visas pretty much exhausted at this time, it makes it very difficult for a healthcare facility to go into an agreement with someone,” said Wes Schmidt, head of human resources for Simi Valley Hospital. “It make take a year, two years, it may take five years for that person to come back working for you.” He said the hospital has sponsored in the past, but is resistant these days because of the restrictions. “It’s a market situation. It’s not that we’re making a stand,” he said. “There’s just nothing available.” Shusterman, however, notes that the backlogs have been largely eliminated since President Bush last year signed a bill providing 50,000 additional green cards for registered nurses. He said nurses could be on the job within a few months. “That’s really helped,” Shusterman said. Yost, however, said the openings still run out quickly. His hospital sponsors about 20 nurses early in the year. By October, the openings have run out. “This is the time of year that we really can’t do anything,” he said. “They are tapping out really fast.” Where it works In all, 1,693 foreign nurses were added in the Los Angeles area in 2003 to 2004, according to the most recent estimates by the Center for California Health Workforce Studies. One of those was Lancaster Community Hospital, which regularly brings in nurses from abroad for around $8,000. The cost and time are well worth it, according to CEO Robert Trautman. “The return on that comes pretty quick,” he said. “It’s a lot less expensive than relying on temporary employees hired through agency and you pay a premium dollar.” Glendale Adventist Medical Center and Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital in Valencia also sponsor, officials from those hospitals said. Trautman thinks he knows why there are so few hospitals that sponsor. “Some of it could be a cultural thing. Just acclimating the foreign nurses to your community could be an issue,” he said. Additionally, neither the California Nurses Association nor Service Employees International Union have a formal position against foreign nurses, officials from those unions said. In the end, the most logical solution to the nursing shortage is to boost funding for local nursing education programs, said Sue Albert, the director of the nursing program at College of the Canyons in Valencia. “So they’re grown at home,” she said. That way, more nurses can be entering the system here; hospitals won’t have to tap other countries for talent; and foreign nurses could use their skills in their native lands, she said. “We’re pulling nurses out of countries that need them,” she said. “They’re a natural resource.”

If you didn’t know better, you’d think the imaging and medical device maker Iris International Inc. is preparing for a full-out assault on its Chatsworth headquarters. The company’s board recently voted to amend its stockholders rights agreement to strengthen the company’s anti-takeover measures in case of a “hostile takeover,” according to filings with the Security and Exchange Commission. In a statement, President and CEO C & #233;sar M. Garc & #237;a said the move should help prevent any outside influences or distractions as the company builds its revenue. “The board of directors unanimously approved this amendment after determining it was in the best interests of the company’s shareholders to maintain strong, up to date, effective defenses against a potential unwanted takeover,” he said. Salomon Kamalodine, an equity researcher with L.A.-based B. Riley & Co. who follows the company, said the amendment is par for the course for a company undergoing change. “They used to be a fast grower and they weren’t investing a whole lot of their earnings back into (research and development) and product development,” he said. But two quarters ago, Iris elected to spend 13 percent of revenue on research and development, he said. “That cut their earnings growth rate,” Kamalodine said. “And that’s what sent their stock down.” Kamalodine said the so-called “poison pill” amendment is likely purely precautionary. “I haven’t heard of any takeover attempts,” he said. “It’s pretty standard procedure to have a poison pill in place. He said the company appears healthy. “It’s doing well,” he said. “It’s got a solid balance sheet.” Fill ‘er Up While the cost of gas has gone from sky-high levels to just plain high, the effect of month after month of $3-plus a gallon is still being felt in the Valley. To wit: the price of gasoline is one of the reasons Sherman Oaks’ own Earl Scheib Inc. said it reported lower sales for the first quarter of the fiscal year ended July 31. “The impact of soaring gasoline prices, rising interest costs and other general economic and market factors beyond our control continued to negatively affect our retail shop intake,” said President and CEO Chris Bement in a report. The company, which operates 102 paint shops nationwide, credited a reduction to a 0.2 percent same-day downturn in car volume in the retail paint and body shops for the quarter and the operation of five fewer outlets. Net sales for the first quarter dropped 2.8 percent to $12.7 million from the same period in 2006. The company reported net income of $57,000, or $0.01 per diluted share, compared to net income of $136,000 $0.03 per diluted share in the first quarter last year. At the same time, operating income increased from $236,000 in 2006 to $241,000 for the latest quarter. While disconcerting, Bement is hoping that people will get used to paying so much to fill up. “We continue to believe that the decrease in car volume will abate as time passes (as) consumers become more oriented to higher gasoline prices and the economic climate settles down,” he said. Image, Lions Gate Saga It’s been a tumultuous month for Image Entertainment Inc., the Chatsworth DVD distributor. The company has been in a quarrel with one of its largest shareholders, the Santa Monica movie maker Lions Gate Entertainment Corp., which last month urged other shareholders to replace Image’s board of directors with a slate of six board nominees it supports. An independent shareholder advisory group called Institutional Shareholder Services, however, rejected five of the candidates and last week Image struck back, asking shareholders to re-elect the entire board sans the Lions Gate nominees. The move follows a bid by Lions Gate last year to buy out Image, which the company rejected. In a letter to stockholders, Image CEO and Chairman Martin Greenwald said the hostile takeover is hurting the company, which in fiscal 2005 tallied net earnings of more than $5 million. “This year, with the distraction, cost and expense of Lions Gate’s repeated attacks, we have become unprofitable,” he said. “Our ongoing analysis of strategic alternatives will seek to maximize value for all of our stockholders, Not to placate a single dissident.” Briefly The Woodland Hills managed care group Health Net has rolled out a new consumer-driven coverage called EZAccess HSA. It’s a low-cost, high deductible PPO health insurance plan paired with an individually-owned health savings account from Wells Fargo, said spokesman Brad Kieffer. The Van Nuys semiconductor company Trio-Tech International has had an impressive year, with net income increasing to $705,000 for the quarter ending June 30 an increase from $72,000 the previous quarter. <!– Panavision –> Panavision The Thousand Oaks biotech juggernaut Amgen Inc. has paid $290 million for Avidia, a Mountain View, Calif., drug maker developing an inhibitor for the treatment of inflammation and autoimmune diseases. Woodland Hills-based Panavision Inc. has acquired the digital camera rental company Plus 8 Digital for an undisclosed sum. The company has an office in Burbank. Staff Reporter Chris Coates can be reached at (818) 316-3124 or at [email protected] .

BEST JOB TRAINING PROGRAMS Crane Hydro-Aire When aerospace manufacturer Crane Hydro-Aire began a training program at Glendale Community College more than 10 years ago it was a dramatic change for the Burbank company. “This is mind boggling by today’s standards, but there were six people with (personal computers),” said Michael Smalley, director of communications and advertising for Crane’s aerospace group. Factory: Crane, Glendale Community College work together. Among the first training programs Hydro-Aire employees took part in was computer education which expanded into other areas including English as a second language and quality management, Smalley said. Today, Hydro-Aire is one of the long-standing companies receiving technical, office and leadership training through the Professional Development Center at the Glendale College. Companies often come to the center with a specific training need, get a taste of the quality of the training and it builds from there, said Pamela Welden, program manager at the Professional Development Center. “Our instructors are very well experienced in the areas they are training,” Welden said. “They were presidents, vice presidents, and operational managers of significant organizations.” In a four-year period, Crane reported $10 million in savings that it credited to the training and its boosting of efficiency at the company. Smalley personally knows about the training as his job as a photographer for Crane was deemed obsolete. Through this training program, Smalley said he became computer literate and learned other skills that led to his current position. Mark R. Madler Superior Super Warehouse Superior Super Warehouse operates 29 locations including two Valley locations in North Hollywood and Pacoima making it the largest independently owned chain of grocery stores in Southern California. Superior collaborates with local and state agencies, including work source centers and community-based organizations to hire its employees. Starting in 2005, the chain partnered with L.A. Valley College to provide training for new hires, cashiers, customer service representatives and managers. Each store has about 180 employees, including 20 managers. The company is run by Chief Executive Officer Mimi Song. Those employees are drawn from people who live in the community where the stores are located, said Lennie Ciufo, the director of the job training program at Valley College. “Most of the jobs are living wage jobs with benefits,” Ciufo said. “They are using resources available from the city and state to find these people.” Superior wants to be a strategic partner in the neighborhoods where it locates stores and make a positive contribution, said Aneisa Young, training and development manager for the company. Any employee who has a desire to succeed can do so at the company through the training program, Young said. “A lot of employees come in with low skill levels and the training provides opportunities in growth and career advancement,” Young added. Superior also gives back to the community in other ways, Ciufo said. Valley College received a $10,000 gift from the chain to use for scholarships, he added. Mark R. Madler Galpin Motors By assisting Pierce College with its automotive service program, Galpin Motors secures its future in having a supply of trained technicians. The relationship is a “good marriage” between the dealer, the school and students, said Karl Boeckmann, vice president of Galpin Motors. “They need to be brought up to the educational standards that the cars require,” Boeckmann said. “A junior college is the best place to find people because they are there for the love of automotive repair.” Galpin the largest Ford dealer in the world in terms of volume played a vital role in persuading Ford Motor Co. to make Pierce the site of authorized classes in light maintenance and repair. The dealer also helped in getting late-model vehicles for the students to work on. “We have currently three late-model Fords,” said instructor Tom Rosdahl. “We’re supposed to get three more fairly soon.” The donation of a hoist and its no-cost installation was also the doing of Galpin. Ford offers the training program nationwide but Pierce is the only location in the San Fernando Valley. Students completing the two courses are ready for entry-level work at a dealership and many have ended up working at Galpin, Rosdahl said. Getting a foot in the door is often the hardest part for young people starting a career and the training program eases that entry, Rosdahl said. “It is a very good path to get them an entry level job where they can then get in and get additional training and move up through the ranks,” Rosdahl said. Mark R. Madler

New hires at Xytech Systems endure a 13-week program termed a boot camp. Rather than a drill sergeant barking orders and ordering 20 pushups, these employees who become consultants to the Burbank’s company’s big name clientele learn business and analytical skills, the ins and outs of Xytech’s software and a bit about the industry themselves. At the conclusion, that new hire is not only ready to represent Xytech in the field but an idea of whether the company is a good fit for them. “They get to give us feedback,” said Tony Johnson, vice president of professional services. “They tell us what they think, whether they feel this is the right job for them.” Two employees have completed the boot camp program and two others are now undergoing the training. <!– Achieve: New Wave Entertainment helps workers pursue career goals. –> Achieve: New Wave Entertainment helps workers pursue career goals. For those coming to Xytech with previous software and technical experience, the program can be shortened to five or nine weeks, Johnson said. Small businesses in the San Fernando Valley Xytech employs 60 people – are showing that even without multi-million dollar budgets they can still provide skills training and other educational opportunities to their employees. These companies recognize that a well-trained and educated workforce contributes to remaining competitive and offering value to their clients. These companies also recognize the importance of mentoring programs pairing veteran employees with new hires to learn the ropes. In a time when cost-cutting is standard, these companies find the expense of training to be worthwhile. Tickets for the three-day FITC rich media development festival taking place in Los Angeles the first week in October range from $249 to $949 yet Avatar Labs, an Encino company that designs rich media advertising for clients in the entertainment industry, is sending four employees to attend. “Tickets are expensive but there are a lot of classes that are very specific and appropriate to what we do for a few (clients),” Avatar founder and executive creative director Rex Cook said. Avatar is one company with a mentoring program in which for a two to three month period a new hire is taken under wing by a veteran. Xytech has a similar program and purposely pairs a younger employee with a mentor outside of their industry sector. Exposed to new things So a studio segment worker gets paired with a mentor who works with clients in the broadcasting or post-production sectors. What this does is expose the new employee to other parts of the entertainment industry and allows for more room to grow at Xytech, Johnson said. SADA Systems, an information technology provider in North Hollywood, doesn’t have a formal mentoring program but tends to pair its two-person support teams with one veteran employee and one newer one, said President and Chief Executive Officer Tony Safoian. The 18-employee firm is fortunate to have corporate partners, such as Microsoft, Cisco Systems and Google providing training either online or in person, for which the company picks up the expense, Safoian said. But SADA also recognizes the importance of its employees receiving non-technical training in skills that help the company and increase earning potential. For instance, several employees received English language training for which the cost gets picked up on a less formal basis. “No matter how long they stay with us, even if they move on to a different company, they are going to be more marketable if their English skills are better,” Safoian said. At New Wave Entertainment, new hires start in the mailroom literally. These employees make deliveries to the studios who are clients for New Wave’s production, post-production and graphics services. They are also building relationships with those working in the areas they want to pursue. New Wave prides itself on being a teaching facility and giving an opportunity to pursue one’s career goals, said Marisol Ordonez, director of human resources for the Burbank company. “Some of our most successful editors and producers have started out in the mailroom,” Ordonez said. Job shadowing New employees, however, do have access to equipment during off hours or can shadow a colleague working in the area that interests them. It’s an opportunity given to all different job descriptions, from editor to producer to graphic designers and audio mixers. “All the resources are available in all the departments,” Ordonez said. It works well for New Wave in that promotions can be made internally with someone already familiar with the company, its clients and its equipment, she added. Senior editors are developing short seminars for their assistants on the different elements of what it takes to be an editor and taking a project from infancy to delivery. In New Wave’s graphics department a weekly showcase highlights its new talent so that the company gets an idea of the creativity among its ranks. Further training, partially subsidized by the state with the company picking up the balance of the tuition, takes place at Video Symphony.

Chalk up another vote of confidence for the Warner Center real estate market. LNR Warner Center, a complex of five buildings totaling 808,274 square feet, has been sold to Hines, an international real estate firm, for a whopping $385 a square foot. The most recent sale at LNR Warner Center, two buildings totaling 358,684 square feet, brought about $290 a square foot. That was just last year. Hines, which acquired the center through a subsidiary Hines-Sumisei U.S. Core Office Fund L.P., paid a total of $311 million for the property, which was built in stages by LNR between 2001 and 2005. Each of the buildings was sold off once completed, and RREEF North America eventually acquired the entire campus. The acquisition is the first in the local area for Hines, a privately-held firm whose portfolio totals about 915 properties with about 360 million square feet of office, mixed use, industrial, residential, land and other real estate. The company has developed numerous landmark office buildings including Bank of America Center in Houston, Wachovia Financial Center in Miami, 53rd at Third in New York, 101 California in San Francisco and 191 North Wacker in Chicago. Its Woodland Hills acquisition will join a portfolio of core office buildings in geographically diverse areas of the country. “Our acquisition of LNR Warner Center represents a strategic move for our firm in a submarket that we have been closely monitoring for years,” said Colin Shepherd, senior vice president at Hines. LNR Warner Center, located at Canoga and Burbank avenues, has been on a winning streak literally since it was built, with the buildings leasing up as quickly as they were built. The roster of tenants currently includes Net- Zero, Univision Music and Health Net. RREEF was represented by Eastdil. Hines represented itself. Warnings Issued Despite all recent evidence to the contrary, real estate firms and brokers are beginning to express concern about the commercial market as a result of the slowdown in the residential housing sector. In a letter to clients, Colliers International Senior Vice President John DeGrinis warned of “storm clouds” on the horizon, noting that the bull real estate market of recent years, paralleling the bullish housing market, may be in for a down cycle. In his letter, DeGrinis noted that the consumer economy shows signs of unraveling. “Most American consumers are spending more than they are earning,” DeGrinis said. “What will the impact to real estate be when the consumer pulls the reins?” Similarly, a report by Grubb & Ellis suggested that real estate closely tied to the housing market may be in for a correction. “Landlords and investors should be aware of their exposure to housing-related tenants in their properties and their submarkets and adjust their management and leasing plans accordingly,” said Jim Lindvall, senior vice president for Grubb in Sherman Oaks. The warnings come even as commercial real estate, particularly in the greater Valley region, continues to show considerable strength. A Colliers report noted that extremely low industrial vacancy rates in the San Fernando Valley and Ventura County industrial market continued to bolster sale prices in the second quarter of the year. Industrial sale prices rose 24 percent in the region to $127 per square foot and rental rates climbed 6 percent in the same period. Over the past five years, average sale prices for industrial properties in the region have soared 80 percent, the report revealed. Grubb concluded that the impact of the slowdown in the housing market will have a modest effect on the commercial real estate sector. At the same time, the report noted that the sharpest impact is likely to be felt in the West where housing prices have increased most dramatically. Chatsworth Lease A maker of aircraft repair products has leased a 100,000-square-foot facility in Chatsworth. The 10-year deal is valued at about $7.5 million. Ontic Engineering and Manufacturing, a unit of BBA Holdings in the U.K., is relocating from a building next door. The property is located at 20400 Plummer St. John DeGrinis and Patrick DuRoss, brokers with Colliers International, represented the tenant and the landlord, Rabinovitz Family Trust. Westlake Deal The Walking Company has leased a 15,271- square-foot office space in Westlake Village for total consideration of $3.3 million. The terms of the deal were not disclosed. The office building is located in Townsgate Tech Center at 2475 Townsgate Road. Marc Spellman, Mark Leonard and Mike Tingus, all with Lee & Associates-LA North/Ventura, represented the landlord. The Walking Company was represented by Gary Wagmeister of Corporate Realty Consultants. Appointments Rory Ferlauto, Don Hudson and Nancy Uy have joined Colliers International’s Private Capital Advisors group, focusing on the multifamily market. The team was most recently with Sperry Van Ness. They will be based out of Colliers San Fernando Valley office. The PCA practice group was developed by Glen Esnard, who was recently named president of Colliers International Brokerage Services USA. NAI Expands NAI Capital has opened its 15th office location in Riverside. The Encino-based commercial brokerage said the office reflects the growth pattern in the Inland Empire. The brokerage has named David Moore and Julia Corona Thompson to head brokerage activities at the new office. Senior reporter Shelly Garcia can be reached at (818) 316-3123 or by e-mail at sgarcia@ sfvbj.com

As a student attending James Monroe High School, Talin Jabourian enrolled in a class on finances and insurance primarily because it fit in with her schedule. The then-junior at the North Hills school had little interest in the insurance industry yet taking that class led to part-time work at a Calabasas agency that then turned into a full-time position following college. Today, Jabourian is the accountant and commercial line manager at Calabasas Tri-County Insurance and gets invited back to speak before the Monroe High class, part of the national InVEST program from the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America. “It’s an amazing program,” Jabourian said. “When I go to the class and speak to the kids I know they have a familiarity with insurance. It seems to be producing very smart people who are interested in the field.” The insurance industry is not alone when it comes to professional groups and organizations in the San Fernando Valley making efforts to recruit people into their particular fields. Accountants, lawyers, and segments of the entertainment industry all do their part. While high school and college students are a main target they are not the only ones. Career changers or those looking to move up in their career paths also take advantage of what professional groups have to offer in the means of scholarships and mentoring programs. Image building Some professional organizations find that getting in the classroom not only promotes their industry but also helps in building up the image of those employed in it. Really, what kid dreams of growing up to be an accountant? John McWilliams, an accountant and instructor at San Francisco State University, admits the field lacks a “sexy” role model. So when promoting the profession to high school students, the California Society of CPAs uses to its advantage glamorous accounting assignments in sports franchises, the music industry and the FBI. “We try to put a spin on it in the most positive way that we can as far as environments in which you can work,” said McWilliams, chair of the society’s financial literacy committee. The insurance industry falls into the same category, so when the San Fernando Valley chapter of the Independent Brokers of America sends representatives into schools they will speak on the variety of roles. Job titles in insurance include sales representatives, customer service representative, marketing people, even mathematicians, said David Kern, who also works at Calabasas Tri-County and serves on the national InVest board. “You have just about every walk of life,” Kern said. “It does not necessarily require a college degree but a majority of insurance brokers went to college.” Both the accounting and insurance organizations provide financial assistance to students through their scholarship programs. Local chapters of the CPA society tackle the monetary needs of those going to school, while the state organization targets graduates wanting additional education. The Valley chapter of the IBA awards several thousand dollars in scholarships for students in the InVEST programs at Monroe and Sylmar high schools who stand out, Kern said. Promoting law Lawyers, however, don’t have much of an image problem. Attorney Marcia Kraft credits the television and film industries with playing a big role in promoting the profession to the public. As president of the Valley Community Legal Foundation, Kraft oversees a program that awards scholarships to students at five area schools, including four in the Valley. Money for the scholarships is raised at the annual Law Day Gala and a committee with representatives from Pierce College, Valley College, California State University, Northridge, Pepperdine University, and the University of West Los Angeles choosing the recipients. Students don’t need to eye a career as an attorney to be eligible. Those seeking law enforcement, courthouse or domestic violence assistance jobs can also receive a scholarship, Kraft said. The amounts given by the foundation range from $500 and $1,000 with between 25 to 30 scholarships awarded each year. “We like to keep our money local and see a community benefit,” Kraft said. “By giving these scholarships we are ultimately benefiting the community.” Not for students only Professional organizations, however, reach out to more than just students to get people interested in jobs in their industries. The Hollywood Post Alliance recognizes that while there are schools offering classes in post-production much of the learning for those positions takes place on the job. Still, the organization does award scholarships with CSUN students being recipients in recent years and hardware and software used in post-production. HPA Executive Director Eileen Kramer said that when the organization hears back from scholarship winners she has been surprised by what the money and equipment means to getting a career off the ground. “It surprised me that it had such a strong effect on them and their careers,” Kramer said. “It was nice. It seems like you are making a difference.” The Los Angeles chapter of SCORE, an organization serving small business owners and a partner with the U.S. Small Business Administration, also seeks an audience beyond students to pursue careers as entrepreneurs. As a not for profit the chapter cannot afford scholarships so instead it drums up interest through a free lecture series featuring high profile and successful entrepreneurs as David Gold, founder of 99 Cents Only stores, and Joe Coulombe, founder of the Trader Joe’s grocery chain. The chapter’s “missionary work” also includes free workshops and invitations to give talks, said co-chairman Al Portnoy. Recently, he spoke at the Fashion Design Institute in Los Angeles, Portnoy said. “We are always out in the community,” Portnoy said. “We do a half a dozen to a dozen speaking engagements a year whether it be a college class or an association.”

For many years, the United States automobile industry enjoyed the position of being one of the most, if not the most, profitable industries in the country and perhaps, the world. Now the best way to describe the industry is by the use of words such as: eroding, decaying, disintegrating and failing. General Motors and Ford have been feeling the negative impact of the tremendously successful Japanese auto industry for a number of years and now, Chrysler Corporation which had enjoyed recent successes with its bold style designs is feeling the crunch as well due to a significant decline in the demand for its trucks, minivans and sport utility vehicles (which accounted for 71% of its unit sales.) GM and Ford are implementing significant restructuring plans. Earlier this year, GM offered a buyout and retirement plan which was accepted by 34,000 of its 135,000 union workers. Ford, after losing $1.4 billion in the first half of this year and expecting a far greater loss in the second half, announced its plans to cut 14,000 white collar jobs in the near future and up to 30,000 hourly manufacturing jobs by the end of 2008. Ford also offered buyout and early retirement packages to all of its 75,000 U.S. hourly employees. Chrysler is projecting a $1.5 billion loss for its current fiscal year and announced production cuts in the third and fourth quarters of the year to reduce dealer inventories. Whenever a major industry has significant job cuts, many other industries are affected. The automakers’ job cuts are expected to cause a wave of job losses across the entire United States where an estimated 13.3 million jobs are dependent on the auto industry and a significant number of these jobs are in California. As you can see, the auto industry is suffering severely and the last thing our country and our state need is more trouble for the industry. Just when one thinks that nothing can happen to make matters worse, something does. Amid all of the turmoil, a new threat has emerged. The new threat to the auto industry and potentially many California jobs is political motivation, specifically that of California’s Attorney General Bill Lockyer. Mr. Lockyer has decided that now, several weeks before the election wherein he is running for State Treasurer is the time to sue the nation’s “Big Three” auto manufacturers for billions of dollars for causing global warming by flooding the air with greenhouse gases emitted from automobile tailpipes. The suit contends that the greenhouse gases are a public nuisance and that automakers should pay for damages to the state’s environment and public works. Whether or not Lockyer is successful in his suit (which seems doubtful since there doesn’t appear to be any factual proof that man is the cause of global warming), the defense will cost the automobile industry an immense amount of money at a time when it is struggling for its life. Cleaner cars The fact is that the automakers are complying with current emission laws and that newer cars are significantly cleaner (estimated at more than 90% cleaner) than those of a generation ago. If this is not adequate, the standards should be increased instead of the industry being sued. In addition to causing significant damage to the auto industry, the lawsuit will cost the state substantial amounts of money for what could ultimately be determined to be a frivolous lawsuit. The only party that appears to be benefiting from the filing of the suit is Mr. Lockyer, who has received significant additional name identification through the media at no cost to him. It appears that the main reason for the filing of this lawsuit is political gain and the result is potentially huge costs to an industry and a state that neither can afford. If this is true and this is the way Mr. Lockyer, as Attorney General, spends our money and exercises judgment that can have a substantial effect on our economy, what will happen if he becomes our state’s Treasurer in November? This month I have chosen to profile the following Business/Job Killer bill: – SB 768: This bill would prohibit the use of radio frequency identification (RFID) in four types of government issued identification documents. Due to the use of rapidly expanding technology at the federal level, it is contemplated that soon many federal services and privileges will be utilizing RFID and smart-card technologies as their only means of access. Unfortunately SB 768 would prohibit California from utilizing the technology based on false fears of identity theft. RFID technology improves accuracy in transmitted information, incorporates state-of-the-art privacy protections and is much more cost effective than previous technologies. Unwarranted restrictions on the use of RFID will reduce California’s competitiveness and potentially cause the loss of business and jobs. Status: Passed Senate and Assembly, vetoed by Governor on 10/2/2006. Valley Legislators voting for bill: Senate: Alarcon, Kuehl, Scott, McClintock; Assembly: Frommer, Koretz, Montanez, Pavley. Valley Legislators voting against bill: Senate: Margett; Assembly:Richman,Strickland, Sharon Runner. Valley Legislators absent, abstaining or not voting: Senate: Runner; Assembly: Levine. Gregory N. Lippe, CPA, is Managing Partner of the Woodland Hills-based CPA Firm of Lippe, Hellie, Hoffer & Allison, LLP and a Director and Vice-chair of the Valley Industry and Commerce Association (VICA).