TVN Entertainment Corp. inked a deal with G4, a network catering to men between ages 18 and 34, the company announced Monday. Burbank-based TVN will provide video-on-demand services for G4, allowing the network to track, monitor and customize its video-on-demand menu on a site-by-site basis. TVN services also allow G4 to turn around live events and making them available to video-on-demand viewers within hours of the original live telecasts. “G4 is putting out great content that has tapped a core of the heavy VOD user,” said TVN Executive Vice President Jim Riley. “We are happy they have chosen TVN to support their industry-wide distribution.”

The high costs of gas seems to be driving the new auto models this year. Manufacturers have responded to consumers’ demands for a vehicle that doesn’t guzzle fuel when a gallon costs more than $3. Take for instance the brand new Acura RDX, a five-passenger small sport utility vehicle with a four cylinder turbo-charged engine. Acura of Glendale General Manager Jeanne Brewer has taken the vehicle out for a test spin and was impressed with how well it handled. “You get so much more economical gas mileage when there is no wasted energy going to the wheels,” Brewer said. Acura is not alone in introducing a turbocharged SUV into the market. Mazda has the CX-7, a crossover SUV with the sleek design of a sports car. The use of turbo engines in Acura and Mazda vehicles is an example of how the industry is addressing the fuel efficiency issue in the different vehicle segments, said Brian Chee, editor of Autobytel.com, an online automotive marketplace. “The application of turbo across various types of vehicles helps keep fuel economy at a solid level but also factors in performance, which when you come into the luxury market becomes more important,” Chee said. In the opposite end of the size spectrum are the new Dodge Caliber, Toyota Yaris, and Nissan Versa, which Chee described as small cars that get good gas mileage. Even the makers of larger vehicles are getting into the gas saving act. Increasing efficiency In advertising for its 2007 models of the Tahoe and Suburban SUVs and Avalanche sport utility truck, General Motors plays up the new technology in the power train that will increase the efficiency of the engines. “They see even in the large SUV category people want fuel economy even more so than they have ever had,” Chee said. What Brewer has seen at her dealership which moved to Glendale after 19 years in Pasadena is a move away from the large SUVs to smaller ones such as the MDX, redesigned for 2007. “It’s a compromise for people who still need a seven-passenger vehicle,” Brewer said. The RDX will be available in August. In late September, Brewer’s dealership takes delivery of the remodeled MDX, followed in October with three models of sedans. Unlike, say 10 or 20 years ago when most new cars were rolled out in September, now car makers release new product over an extended period. The CX-7 was released in June, and the Lincoln-Mercury MKX, a 5-passenger crossover sport utility with a V6 engine replacing the Aviator, and the CX9, a new 7-passenger SUV that will be the largest vehicle from Mazda won’t be available until December. New Toyota truck Early in the new year comes the new Tundra truck from Toyota, a vehicle that excites Lancaster dealer Jim Hawse. The truck segment is one that is open for opportunity and is in Toyota’s sights as an area for growth, said Hawse, owner of Sierra Toyota. With a new truck plant opening in San Antonio, the manufacturer plans to quadruple its production, Hawse said. “Ford, Chevrolet, and Dodge all have dominated in that segment and Toyota has always been behind with the smaller truck but now they’ve got the truck to go after them,” Hawse said. Volvo and Mazda introduce for hardtop convertibles for the new model year. The C70 from Volvo was released in small numbers for 2006 but production is being ramped up for 2007, said Patrick Herron, general manager of Galpin of Santa Clarita. Herron described the Volvo and the 2-seat Mazda Miata hardtop convertible s as being two cars in one. “You have the hardtop for inclement weather and completely soundproof,” Herron said of the Volvo. “Then it goes down electronically to a beautiful 4-seat convertible.”

Glendale Housing Authority 2:30 p.m. City Council Chambers, 613 E. Broadway, Glendale Contact (818) 548-2060

Back in the mid-1970s, Van Nuys Boulevard once a flourishing commercial corridor was in grim shape. Amid a bumpy economy, mom-and-pop and other small businesses were struggling. Many closed. The Van Nuys Chamber of Commerce decided something had to be done, and in 1976 they created Vitalize Van Nuys, a committee of business owners that came together to hash out ways to improve the business climate. One of their first events was a series of workshops on financing. The seminars brought in loan experts, who helped business owners understand lending. The events became popular, and participating businesses started seeing money. Slowly, commerce started to come back and Van Nuys Boulevard began to turn around. “They did a lot of loan programs (and) helped a lot of companies get off the ground,” said Nancy Hoffman Vanyek, a member of the Van Nuys Chamber of Commerce, now called the Mid Valley Chamber of Commerce. “It was doing all sorts of different things to help revitalize Van Nuys.” Three decades later, Vitalize Van Nuys has turned from a modest association formed to rejuvenate a single street to one of the region’s largest economic development groups, now called the Valley Economic Development Center. This November marks the 30th year the VEDC has been helping small- and mid-size businesses thrive through loan programs, a mix of access-to-capital seminars, loan workshops and entrepreneurial training sessions. With a $4 million annual budget and 45 employees, the nonprofit organizes dozens of events and consulting programs in locations from Santa Clarita to Ventura County to downtown L.A. In 2005 alone, the VEDC helped 11,500 businesses and residents that created 327 new businesses and 601 new jobs. Mel Kohn, an Encino accountant who serves as VEDC chairman, said those numbers prove that there is a strong need for smart, community-led groups that help small business locate resources. “In essence, we’re a conduit,” he said. “Part of our job is letting these people know about what’s available to them.” VEDC President Roberto Barragan agrees. “We’re the only economic development organization in the San Fernando Valley committed to business growth,” he said. “We have 70,000 members.” A unique path Early on, Vitalize Van Nuys relied almost entirely on seminars that taught participants everything from where to find overlooked funding avenues to how to pay for commercial storefront restorations. The one thread that linked the seminars was that each looked at how successful businesses operated. Eventually, that idea evolved into asking prosperous business owners to come and talk about their techniques. Hoffman Vanyek remembers one lineup in the 1980s that included Kinko’s, founder Paul Orfalea, future L.A. Mayor Richard Riordan and Trader Joe’s founder Joe Coulombe. None was quite famous yet, but they all had something in common a spark that showed they would do well someday, Hoffman Vanyek said. “You look at some of these companies, where they are now, they were talking to these small businesses about how to succeed back then,” she said. By 1989, the group took a first step to expand outside the central Valley. It adopted a new moniker, the Valley Economic Development Center. In 1991, it opened the first Small Business Development Center, a one-stop-shop for business owners to come and learn about tax breaks, management training and how to secure loans. The VEDC would eventually add similar centers in Ventura, Glendale, Santa Barbara, Santa Monica and central L.A. By 2000, nearly 4,000 businesses and businesspeople took part in 101 business education classes, along with more than 10,000 hours of business consulting. Nearly $11 million in financing was awarded. Kohn said the lending programs are the VEDC’s most important resources because loans are difficult for some business owners to secure. “They want to know the vehicle to get the money because it’s so tough in the areas that aren’t as wealthy. They need the knowledge. Having access to capital is a big step,” he said. By 1994, the VEDC’s budget topped $1 million and the organization was supporting hundreds of small Valley businesses each year. That number would swell to 10,000 in the aftermath of the 1994 Northridge earthquake. Within 30 days and with just 12 employees, the VEDC organized 55 workshops. The VEDC helped secure well over $100 million in loans. Later years brought more programs, including the Pacoima Workforce Development Initiative and the Entrepreneurial Training Program. A new board Despite the accolades, the VEDC has not been without controversy. In 1999, questions arose about whether President John Rooney had accepted consulting fees on the job. Riordan, then mayor, ordered an audit, which found that Rooney had accepted $5,700 in fees for helping a sign manufacturer secure $1.2 million from a venture capitalist. However, because his contract did not indicate that accepting fees was improper, the audit found no wrongdoing by Rooney. Regardless, the pressure forced Rooney to resign, along with chairman David Honda. The controversy caused the VEDC to shift gears, said board member Marvin Selter, who headed the transition after Rooney. They eventually hired Barragan, who had headed the South Los Angeles Community Financial Resource Center in the wake of the 1992 riots. Things began to change, Selter said. “It was under Roberto and a rather aggressive board, that we got more involved,” he said. That meant expanding even more, especially outside of the Valley. Today, the VEDC operates nine locations, including the Women’s Business Center in Santa Clarita, a market and credit union in Pacoima and the Capital Access Center in downtown L.A. Its Historic Downtown L.A. Retail Project helps link businesses with vacant storefronts in downtown Los Angeles; the Northeast Los Angeles Business Assistance Center serves areas like Mount Washington and Atwater Village; and the San Fernando Learning Center assists owners in the city of San Fernando. Kohn said the rapid expansion is due to the 13-member board, which he called “human assets.” Each one has a different take, which results in lots of new ideas, he said. “The board members are very diverse and their talents are diverse,” he said. “We’ve really gone out there more. It isn’t just lending, its training, it’s workforce development.” Barragan also credited the board with pushing for change. “We’re a board with a bigger vision,” he said. “Our organization has gone through a transformation over the past six years.” That transformation will hopefully continue over the next 30 years, Barragan said. “We’re going forward with more access to capital, loaning a bigger variety of financial services,” he said. “It will benefit the business quarter.” Selter hopes other business developments will notice that the VEDC model is working. “I think we’re going to be emulated through other development centers across the county,” he said. “The backbone of this country is small business.”

Aled Miles spent most of his career as a CEO in a stuffy suit and tie, which explains why on a recent visit to his new second floor office at Helinet Aviation Services, Miles was dressed in a simple white T-shirt, Diesel jeans and sneakers. “I have 14 suits at home,” the Welch-born Miles said. “Now I wear this.” A former European software developer, Miles in March was named president and chief operating officer of Helinet, an aerial television and film company poised for expansion. Founded in 1987 by pilot Alan Purwin, the company based at the northern end of Van Nuys Airport operates a fleet of 42 helicopters across the nation, many of which are leased to television stations and film companies. Its Cineflex lenses are also frequently used by police departments, including the Los Angeles Police Department, and in motion pictures, such as the recent “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest.” Helinet copters were also the first aircraft to beam images of the destruction from Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf States last summer. Purwin would not talk about the expansion of the company, but said in a statement that its continued development prompted him to add more corporate oversight to his company. “As Helinet has grown to include a full portfolio of products and services for a variety of markets, we decided it was important to appoint a president/(chief operating officer) with global high-tech business credentials, as well as a diverse, accomplished and unique board of directors to assist with expansion and corporate governance issues,” Purwin said. For the second directive, Purwin created a five-member board of directors of aviation, military and media figures: Barry Frank, a vice president at IMG Media; Louis Caldera, secretary of the Army for President Clinton; Bison Capital Asset Management Managing Director James Hunt; Helinet CEO David Calvert-Jones; and Purwin. He also found Miles, who for 13 years was vice president and managing director of European, Middle East and African operations for Symantec Corp., a Cupertino, Calif.-based security software company. Miles, 41, said Helinet captured his attention because it combined several of his interests, including technology and security. Matching interests “I was ready for a challenge,” said Miles, who now lives in the Hollywood Hills. “It was the technology of the aviation and it was the technology of the cameras. The high-tech angle is a continuation of what I did before.” Miles said he understands why the company needs a board. “This is a larger operation for a family-owned company with very demanding clients,” he said. On a recent visit, Miles steered a white golf cart around his company’s fleet stationed at Van Nuys airport. About 12 are stationed here, including the hulking blue Sikorsky S-76 used by Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, which can be dispatched to transport patients or organs. Another Sikorsky shuttles heads of state and celebrities. Nearby, crews were readying SkyFox, a black Eurocopter used by the Los Angeles Fox affiliate KTTV-TV. (Helinet also owns the KTLA- and KABC-TV copters, which are also docked at Van Nuys.) The cameras, attached to the nose of the copter, are usually Sony-made products, which are equipped with the gyro-stabilized mounting devices made by Helinet in Sacramento. Together, the devices cost about $500,000, and another $1.5 million to $3.5 million to outfit the aircraft in Seattle, Miles said. “It’s highly technical,” he said. “But the appetite for newsgathering is incredible.” Watching SkyFox lift off the tarmac, Miles said he’s excited about his new gig. “It’s very easy to get enthusiastic about it,” he said. “It’s hard not to. These are extraordinary flying machines.”

The workmen moving the planter outside of Acura of Glendale created a loud scraping noise but Jeanne Brewer knew it could be worse. As the general manager of the dealership, Brewer endured a recently completed remodeling the gutting of sections of the main buildings to give it that Acura image. “When you are in a remodeling project it disrupts the process; dust is everywhere,” Brewer said. “I liked my contractor but it was a happy day when they moved their stuff out.” Located on the Brand Boulevard of Cars, the Acura dealership is not alone in having its space revamped for a modern look inviting to potential buyers. Within walking distance of Brewer’s business numerous dealerships can be seen in various stages of expansion and remodeling projects. From the San Fernando Valley up to the Santa Clarita and Antelope valleys, car dealerships are expanding. Nearby to the Acura dealership, Pacific BMW is constructing a brand-new four story facility to give customers what operations manager Reggie Louie calls the “BMW experience.” Pacific is in the top 10 BMW dealerships in the nation, selling 250 to 300 cars a month, Louie said. While both the Glendale Acura and Pacific build for the future, the short-term challenge was continuing cars sales in the face of construction work. “We’ve actually maintained sales through all this construction,” Louie said. “We’re operating out of half of our showroom area. We used to have two lots and one is knocked down.” The two dealerships faced different circumstances leading to their building projects. The Acura’s home in Pasadena wasn’t cutting it anymore after 19 years, leading to the move to Glendale that provided more space. In her office, Brewer kept a picture of what the Glendale location looked like when she moved in January 2005 and would ask herself what she needed to do to change the look of the building. “It’s good motivation when it is staring you in the face,” Brewer said. With land at a premium along Brand Boulevard, Pacific had no choice but to build up to accommodate a showroom, administrative offices and two floors of parking. Car dealers also find a surge in sales in areas with booming populations, including Santa Clarita recently ranked No. 18 in Money magazine’s best small cities to live list and Lancaster, the fastest growing city in Los Angeles County. “We have a commuter economy,” said Vern Lawson, Lancaster’s director of Economic Development and Redevelopment. “We have close to 55,000 people who drive out of the area every day. Because of that cars are obviously very important to our citizens.” Two dealerships look to expand at the auto mall in Lancaster. Lancaster Honda will expand onto a six-acre site, while Sierra Toyota purchased four acres that owner Jim Hawse said will eventually be turned into a new dealership. In the short term, a remodel will take place to triple the size of the showroom and double the size of the service department. The reason for the expansion is growth in his business and with Toyota in general, Hawse explained. The appeal of Toyota’s products are in their reliability and design, Hawse said, plus the company overall gets a product to the market at the right time. As an example, Hawse pointed to the hybrid lines of vehicles Toyota produces that are selling well. “They have the technology and they have the product,” Hawse said. “They’ve gotten the jump on everybody on that.” Mercedes-Benz captured a growing market in the Santa Clarita Valley with the December opening of its first new dealership in Southern California in 20 years. Co-owner Kevin Malone had approached officials with the German car maker previously about opening a dealership but was rebuffed. Six months later, Mercedes changed gears after researching the potential market and now Mercedes-Benz of Valencia outperforms its expectations by selling nearly 100 cars a month. “This area was a secret for such a long time,” said Malone, who moved to the area in 1998 when he came to work for the Los Angeles Dodgers. “But it’s grown so fast and there’s so much growth taking place and planning going on that Mercedes Benz recognized the need for a dealership out here.” While Malone’s venture which he co-owns with businessman Lenny Sage and Hall of Fame baseball player Eddie Murray found getting the dealership sited and built took five years. Getting the city, Newhall and Mercedes-Benz all on the same page presented a challenge. “All three recognized this was a good opportunity and over the course of time and through many meetings we were able to overcome those challenges,” Malone said. Malone and his partners first faced establishing a relationship with Santa Clarity city officials to move ahead with permitting and other requirements. Then came finding the right site, which turned out to be the Valencia Auto Mall, part of the Valencia Gateway project developed by Newhall Land and Farming Corp. A lawsuit against the city and Newhall over environmental concerns took nearly 18 months to resolve.

Clip-on hair extensions were all the rage when Beth Orenstein returned to work as a hair stylist after an illness in the late 1990s. Applying the extensions was time consuming, and since Orenstein had not yet built up her client base, the other hairdressers often asked her to pitch in when women wanted the service. That serendipitous event has led to a full-fledged business for Orenstein, whose Woodland Hills company, Hair Incorporations, now specializes in hair replacement techniques for women who are balding. Hair Incorporations has grown five-fold since it opened in 2000, now employing three stylists. And the salon is currently undergoing its second expansion. But Orenstein’s specialty began almost by accident when she started applying extensions, not to women who just wanted a more glamorous look, but to those who needed to cover bald spots. “Women at the time went to men’s hair replacement centers,” said Orenstein of her start in the industry about 10 years ago. “It was hit and miss for a long time. But I had a group of very loyal women letting me do research and development on their heads.” According to the American Academy of Dermatology, some 30 million women are affected by hair loss, either through illness, genetics, hormonal changes or other conditions. Nationwide, about 3,500 studios and salons work in the area of hair replacement, but the majority of hair restoration services are targeted at men or handle both men and women, although that is changing, said Darla Smith, vice president of International Hair Goods, a manufacturer of hair replacement products based in Chanhassen, Minn. “In the last two years, there have been more specialized women’s studios popping up,” said Smith. “We’ve had a lot of men’s salons have to convert to women’s to get business because now, it’s okay for a guy (whose hair is thinning or balding) to shave his head.” But women experience hair loss differently than men, and that difference is what Hair Incorporations has always addressed. “Beth is so feminine, so caring,” said Smith. “She’ll spend hours designing to make it just right. We do a lot of her custom work, and her orders are so much more complex than the normal studio.” Emotionally, women’s hair loss is still a taboo subject, and the physiology of women’s hair loss is different often occurring in patches across the whole top of the head. “They’re miracle workers,” said Laura Katz, a client of the salon whose hair loss stemmed from weight loss and a pregnancy. “I didn’t know where to go. And they just made such a difference with the way I look and the way I feel.” When she began experimenting with different solutions, Orenstein was a stylist renting out a station at a Valley hair salon and helping women who simply wanted to have more hair by applying clip-on extensions for special occasions and such. Experimenting She noticed that the clip-ons did not stay on the heads of women who didn’t have enough hair, and she started jury-rigging solutions by tying commercial hair to the hair already on the head. “Covering the top of the head is very different from puffing up the hair and augmenting the hair you have,” Orenstein said. Pretty soon, Orenstein was developing a variety of techniques to solve different problems. “She’s an artist,” said Susan H., a client, who, like many, is especially enthusiastic about the fact that, since discovering Orenstein, no one need know that she is balding. “We all don’t walk out looking alike. Others shave your head and glue the hair on. That’s not Beth.” Orenstein, who was experimenting in a typical hair salon in the early years, began to face a unique problem. The more women discovered her services, the more difficult her job became. Most women experiencing hair loss do not want to visit a salon and sit side by side with women who are getting their plentiful mane blow-dried. “I could not do their hair in public in front of everyone else, so I was working at night,” Orenstein recalled. “That got to be difficult on my family.” The owner of the salon put up a wall to give Orenstein some privacy, but curious customers would peek over the wall. She left the salon for another that was able to provide her with a private room, but Orenstein still had to take customers to a common shampoo area, something she likens to asking a woman to walk around in her underwear. When her husband and daughter located an available space in the French Quarter center on Ventura Boulevard, Orenstein and an esthetician who had been working at the same salon decided to partner up to lease the space. In 2006 each of the women applied for and received a $25,000 micro-loan from the Valley Economic Development Center to open the salon. Client donations The funding was not sufficient to fully appoint the space, but Orenstein’s clients, and in particular, one customer who was redecorating her home, donated many of the things she needed. “I got beautiful chandeliers and marble sinks and French doors and lacquered kitchen cabinets,” Orenstein recalled. Orenstein figured she could make do running the business with an assistant, but it quickly became apparent that she needed more help. “At first I thought I would just have a big, private room and put a bell at the door and we would pop our heads out when someone rang it,” Orenstein said. “In the first couple of weeks it was a mad house with people coming in.” Orenstein soon hired a receptionist, and within a year, business had grown to where she had to expand again. Today, Hair Incorporations employs three stylists in addition to Orenstein and an independent contractor who rents out space in the shop. More recently, Orenstein has expanded her services as well. Women experiencing hair loss due to chemotherapy began hearing about the shop through word of mouth, and Orenstein, on a limited basis, was offering wig fittings. Now she has added a line of wigs as well. Hair Incorporations now provides a number of different hair replacement products as well as scalp treatments. And business continues to grow. Hair Incorporations clients, ranging in age from 3 to 70, come from as far away as Virginia, Houston, Utah and Washington. “I’m getting to where I don’t always have a chair for a client to sit in,” said Orenstein. “So I have to expand again.” Orenstein’s own personal life has also been marred with tragedy and loss. During the years she was building her business she lost her parents and her in-laws, and her own health problems began flaring up again several years ago. Orenstein looks at it all philosophically. “If I can get through what I’ve gone through, I can go wherever I want to go,” she said. She has taken up invitations to be a guest lecturer for other stylists, and she is exploring new technology to bring into her shop. “My goal is to have it become a place that other women who want to own salons can look at and learn from my triumphs and failures,” said Orenstein. “I’d like to mentor people the way I’ve been mentored. I’m at that point where I’m ready to give back.” Hair Incorporations Year Founded: 2000 Revenues in 2000: $39,576 Revenues in 2005: $254,000 Employees in 2000: 1 Employees in 2005: 4 Driving Force: Advancements in hair replacement technology are providing many more options for different types of conditions and problems. Goal: To meet the needs of women, whatever the hair loss problems they are experiencing.

Los Angeles World Airports staff moved ahead with a study on possibly banning certain types of noisier jet aircraft at Van Nuys Airport following a meeting July 17 at which concerns were raised on what the ban would mean for aviation businesses based there. At the meeting, the LAWA Board of Airport Commissioners faced residents supporting the discontinued use of Stage 2 aircraft at the Valley airfield as well as a handful of business owners. Some residents took pot shots at the airport’s aviation companies that fear a ban. One speaker charged the aviation companies with delaying an implementation of a ban, while another said the businessmen need to move on from using the older, noisier jets. “They must go,” said resident Charles Brink. “They must leave and let the community operate.” But Duke Tonry, director of air medical operations for Clay Lacy Aviation, said it’s financially impractical to replace the charter service’s 10 Stage 2 aircraft. “When we look at our future, our staff and our employees, if these rules are adopted 60 middle class people who work for us will be unemployed,” Tonry told the commissioners. Stage 2 is a designation by the Federal Aviation Administration for aircraft with a certain noise level when operating. Stage 1 aircraft are banned in the United States while Stage 3 aircraft are the quietest. Manufacturers stopped making Stage 2 aircraft in 1986. Van Nuys is home to 34 Stage 2 aircraft, airport manager Selena Birk said. The airport commissioners directed its staff to conduct studies on a ban that could be implemented in one of two ways. One path is to ban the aircraft under a 1990 resolution that calls for a seven-year phase out, starting with the noisiest planes. The other path is a prohibition that could be done in less than seven years and be more restrictive on the types of planes banned but needs approval from the Federal Aviation Administration.

Long-time Walt Disney Co. board member Gary Wilson resigned his seat effective Monday, the company announced. Wilson has been on the board since 1985 and was required by the company’s corporate governance guidelines to submit a resignation at the end of 12 years of continuous service and then again every three years. Wilson, 65, is a former chief financial officer for the Burbank company. Wilson also is chairman of Northwest Airlines Corp. and serves as a director of CB Richard Ellis and Yahoo! Inc.

Blue Cross of California has announced a new dental insurance program called Dental Blue, a partnership with BC Life & Health Insurance Co. The new plan has three tiers of provider networks with various price points, allowing employees to access a larger network with controlled out-of-pocket costs, the company said.