Kids Say the Darndest If you’ve ever wondered what your kids think you do at the office, check out a series of hand-painted murals recently installed in downtown Burbank. The artwork, called “Goofing Off at Work,” was created by students at Monterey High School and commissioned by Bill Tucker, a founding member of the Burbank Stakeholders Association, to decorate the side of a building at 150 N. San Fernando Blvd. It consists of three murals. In one a worker is snoozing; in another employees are getting in a little practice on their golf swing, only to break a window. In a third, a worker is flying a paper airplane while another plays solitaire at his computer. Each mural is made to look as if the scene is being viewed through a window in the building. The students chose the theme from several selections offered. No one’s saying where they got their ideas from. Lambchop and Me Staffers at DIC Entertainment Inc. had a surprise recently when Mallory Lewis, daughter of the late ventriloquist and actress Shari Lewis, did an impromptu performance with Lambchop, the sock puppet her mother made famous on television. “It was really quite a treat to see Lambchop and Mallory performing,” said Kathi Sharpe-Ross, a publicist for the Burbank-based animation firm. “She really went into character and everyone was having a really good time.” Lewis had come to the office to pitch a program featuring herself and Lambchop. But before she met with company bosses, Lewis couldn’t resist her mother’s trademark routine with the diminutive Lambchop before an appreciative office crowd. “It really brought back a lot of memories,” Sharpe-Ross said. Hit Me With Your Best Shot KVEA-TV Channel 52 reporter Rolando Nichols got a chance to live out a boyhood dream recently when he threw out the ceremonial first pitch at a Dodgers game. “I always wanted to play in Dodger Stadium, so this is the next best,” said Nichols, who threw the pitch on a night the team honored the Glendale-based television station on its electronic scoreboard. Nichols, who threw what he felt was a hard pitch to Dodger catcher Paul Loduca, said he practiced to get it just right. But it didn’t help much: The Expos clobbered the Dodgers 13-1. Give Me a Hand When MastersFX Inc. president Todd Masters received a call from film director John Singleton earlier this year thanking him for his special effects work on the film “Baby Boy,” Masters was surprised to hear from the Los Angeles-based director. “He’s a busy guy, so it was great to hear from him,” said Masters, “but we wanted to return the favor.” So Masters got his staff to make Singleton a “thank you” gift that he wouldn’t soon forget a realistic-looking severed hand made of rubber and silicon inside a specially carved wooden box. “We thought he’d get a kick out of it,” said Masters, who runs the Arleta-based special effects house. The box’s inscription read, “If you need a hand with anything in the future, give us a ring.”

Consulting Maxine J. Pollack was named senior partner and chief financial officer for J.D. Power and Associates. She will be responsible for the company’s finance, accounting and purchasing functions. Prior to joining J.D. Power and Associates, she served as chief financial officer at Pink Dot Inc. In the past, she has also been CFO at the computer education company Futurekids Inc. Entertainment Craig Hill was promoted to vice president of operations, production facilities and services at The Walt Disney Company. He will be responsible for the operations of Disney’s back lot facilities, the Prospect Studios Lot in Hollywood and the Golden Oak Ranch. In addition, he will serve as the single point of contact for talent and production unit service needs. Hill has a wide range of production service experience in the motion picture and television industries after a series of positions with MGM, Warner Brothers and Sony Pictures Studios. He joined Disney in 1994 as director of transportation. In 1997 he was promoted to his most recent position as director of operations. Government California State Assembly Speaker Robert M. Hertzberg named Stuart Waldman as chief of staff to replace Miriam Jaffe, who recently resigned to join the staff of Los Angeles City Councilman Jack Weiss. Waldman’s community involvement includes serving on the boards of directors of the Mid Valley Family YMCA, the Valley Community Clinic and the Matador Athletic Association. Previously, he served as a Cavalry Scout for an armored battalion of the U.S. Army’s First Infantry Division. Organizations Carol Ann Wentworth has been named president and CEO of the Woodland Hills Chamber of Commerce. Wentworth joins the chamber after an extensive career in business administration, special events, recruiting, career training and public speaking. Recently, she held positions as the director of placement at Globe College of Business in Minneapolis, owner of Carol Ann Design in Los Angeles and vice president, new business development for Stanton Chase International in Agoura Hills. Real Estate Burbank-based Meta Housing Corp., a developer and operator of affordable senior apartment communities, named Bill M. Yee vice president and project manager. Prior to joining Meta, Yee was a manager in the architecture and development unit of the Los Angeles County Community Development Commission, where he oversaw plans, entitlement, financing, design, bidding, construction and rehabilitation. Technology Woodland Hills-based Vertel Corp. has named Marc Maasen to the board of directors. He is currently a member of the board of Comtec International Inc. and also sits on the executive advisory board of Startsys Research Inc. Maasen has over 25 years of experience within the telecommunications industry and has held senior management and/or director positions, most recently with Netbeam Inc., ICG Communications Inc. and Xertex Technologies Inc. Walter Browski has been appointed cinema products development manager for DTS, an entertainment technology company. In his new position, he will oversee the development of new cinema products. Prior to DTS, Browski served as president for Neumade. In addition, he previously worked at DTS as marketing manager assisting in the development of cinema products and the introduction of the technology into the market.

Over the past 30 years that I have been involved in civic affairs, I have watched plans and proposals come and go. In 1975-76 I personally collected transportation planning documents from, what I believed to be, every available source. Even limiting my search to those affecting the San Fernando Valley, I was still able to harvest about four shelves full of planning pulp. That was 25 years ago, and we’re still having trouble getting anything off the drawing board. In the bureaucratic world, this is exactly what is supposed to happen lots of planning, but no action. This is partly because nobody can be held accountable unless planning is implemented. We’ll never know if it was a good plan or a bad plan. But try building something, like the Valley Circle-U.S. 101 interchange in Calabasas, and we find out soon enough what bad planning really looks like. As president of the L.A. City Planning Commission, I presided over the adoption of the city’s new General Plan in the mid-1990s. At that time, I criticized the lack of sufficient transportation infrastructure to support the plan. Recently, homeowners were successful in a valiant lawsuit on that very point. The solution? Something called a “Statement of Overriding Considerations.” In plain English this means we recognize the problem but we aren’t going to fix it. These Statements are available under CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act) for individual projects, but it is hard to imagine them being used as justification to correct the faults of an entire General Plan. Clearly, what affects the Los Angeles portion of the Valley also impacts L.A.’s neighboring jurisdictions. But past regional planning in the San Fernando Valley has not included our cities of Burbank, Calabasas, Glendale, San Fernando or Hidden Hills. Nor has it included the many unincorporated areas of Los Angeles and Ventura counties such as Bell Canyon, Chatsworth Lake and portions of Sylmar and Universal City. Jurisdictional lines have always been barriers to holistic planning. At times, it can take more than an hour to drive from Woodland Hills to Glendale. Yet, transportation planners have chosen to focus on getting people from North Hollywood to downtown Los Angeles at a capital cost of $300 million-plus per mile, and do little or nothing about intra-valley transit. Some would argue that even the proposed at-grade busway falls short of a real east-west solution for the 101 Corridor. Twenty-five percent of the residents of Ventura County are cross-county commuters. This would help explain the overload on the Valley portion of Ventura and 118 Freeways. Little or no consideration has been given to Ventura County when making local planning decisions in L.A. and the Valley. Transportation is only one element of a planning/visioning process, albeit an important one. The same types of issues can be raised in other areas, such as housing, resources, environment, recreation and even governance in general. This is not to criticize our planners since they are only executing policies established by the officials we ourselves have elected. We need to recognize that this process ultimately is the responsibility of the residents of the San Fernando Valley, and it is critical that we develop consensus and provide our input in a constructive, orderly and meaningful fashion. But what makes Vision2020 different from any other visioning project? What will keep this ambitious plan for the San Fernando Valley from ending up gathering dust like its forerunners? Many excellent ideas and innovations have been lost because there was no orderly process to capture them, to develop them, and ultimately to fold them into the planning process. Many more have been discarded during heated discussions or because of personal rivalries. On the other hand, faulty elements have been adopted where there was poor judgment, inaccurate information or insufficient public input. Boards, commissions and councils are limited in their ability to conduct hearings or to make personal investigations. Not everything can be explained or adequately debated in the few short minutes available for discussion and input at public forums. On top of this is the fact that a large percentage of the population is unable to participate because of calendar conflicts, physical inconvenience, poor communications skills or lack of understanding of the arcane public process. Thus, we lose out on the wisdom of most of the population, and only hear from a dedicated few. The Economic Alliance of the San Fernando Valley, established in response to the 1994 Northridge Earthquake, has been able to act as a convener and mediator of important Valley issues. In this role, and with the support of The James Irvine Foundation and the Pepperdine University School of Public Policy, we are working to bring together the diverse factions of Valley leadership. These range from people who invest in development, to those who fight to protect the environment from those who pack public hearings to those who serve in official public posts. It is a challenge to bring these outspoken leaders and activists together, but it is essential to a credible product. Vision2020 establishes an innovative forum where all can be heard, and ideas and concerns can be discussed proactively. Beginning with the Vision2020 Kickoff conference on Sept. 11, we are engaged in a four-month-long series of live meetings and 24-hour-a-day electronic e-dialogues. Participants are able to voice concerns, make proposals, and share ideas with the group that now numbers over 200. At the Vision2020 Forum to be held in January 2002, participants will reconvene to review the draft consensus plan, to present and debate some of the more controversial proposals, and to move into the implementation phase. This is the biggest difference from prior initiatives. The Alliance is already committed to providing long-term resources and facilitation to several initial implementation workgroups and to establishing programs to make Vision2020 a reality. The Alliance’s record of real tangible achievement is remarkable. In the last few years the organization has helped establish a sense of place with hundreds of “Valley of the Stars” light pole banners. It has defined the Valley in new ways with its Valley Information Project, and has made a commitment to livable communities with it Community Indicators Project and Livable Communities Council. It has served as a catalyst for millions of dollars in transportation improvements now underway, resulting from meetings where the Alliance has “set the table” and convened a broad group of experts, leaders and community stakeholders as participants. Commitment to implementation of the vision is what makes the difference. If you would like to participate or learn more, log on to Vision2020: San Fernando Valley at http://www.economicalliance.org. Bob Scott is the executive vice chair of the Economic Alliance of the San Fernando Valley, member of the Los Angeles City Planning Commission, and director of CivicCenter Group, a Calabasas-based civic consulting and public policy firm.

Since the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, D.C., the airline industry has suffered greatly, resulting in losses in the billions of dollars and the elimination of tens of thousands of jobs. Given the impact on the national economy of the airline industry’s problems, the San Fernando Valley Business Journal asks: How did the attack affect your business or personal travel plans? Keith Green Executive Vice President, Office Services DAUM Commercial Real Estate Services Woodland Hills I was in New York on Sept. 11 and subsequently was stuck there for five days. We were able to rent a car in Philadelphia and then begin our additional five-day trek across the country. Although in the big picture this was insignificant, it did take 10 productive days away. As for my business, I primarily do local and regional work, so the airline issue is somewhat mitigated by my type of business. In terms of business, I have noticed increased caution displayed by decision-makers. Everyone seems to be afraid to move forward. Jared Kaplan President A Neighborhood Management Group, Inc. Canoga Park The airport is safer now than ever before. I flew last weekend with no problems. The increase in security and less congestion with traffic and people made it a pleasant trip for me. David Walker President New Perspectives Consulting, Inc. Westlake Village I do not travel much outside the L.A. area, but to the extent that I do, I have not changed my travel plans in light of the Sept. 11 attacks. If I am scheduled to be traveling between cities in the Northeastern U.S. and Washington, D.C., I now may consider Amtrak, but that is more a time consideration: all the delays at airports make train travel a bit more competitive. Linda Tabbush President Linli Travel Tarzana I am an advocate of providing tourists attractions and traveling by air isn’t a discouragement. The nature of our business has been volatile since the event. There were many cancellations of business trips and airlines, and postponement of traveling from our customers. By reevaluating the changes, many discounts were offered helping increase the attendance of travelers. I know travelers are faced with fear, but I believe that this is only temporary. The show must go on! Rozan Mardosian Marketing Director Super Shuttle Sun Valley The incident hurt our business, but we are slowly recovering again. I currently have no travel plans but when I do, I will consider traveling by air. As far as safety is concerned, I would rather drive a car or take a train. I believe taking precautions is the best method, for example, traveling to a less populated airport and flying in smaller planes.

Media Distributors Inc. Core Business: Videotape and film stock sales Revenue in 1998: $2 million Revenue in 2000: $12 million Employees in 1998: 5 Employees in 2000: 35 Goal: To provide cost-effective videotape and film stock to entertainment firms Driving Force: The rapid growth of the use of video in Hollywood Steve Klein has turned Media Distributors into a $12 million business by buying surplus videotape and film stock at the right price AND RESELLING IT When Steve Klein got a bad case of burnout in 1982 from his job editing for film and television, luckily he had a longtime friend, Stuart Wallach, who had a plan: join him in his new venture of reselling surplus film stock. “It was kind of a crazy idea, but I thought Stuart was on to something,” said the 52-year-old Klein, who today is among the most successful videotape and film stock dealers in Hollywood. “He would buy cans of unused and undeveloped film that was left over from one film and then he would resell it to another. It was great.” Wallach taught Klein the ropes and a few years later, in 1986, Klein struck out on his own with Hollywood Raw Stock. He expanded into surplus videotape and ended up selling that company to Los Angeles-based Steady Systems Inc. for $12 million in 1998. Within a few months, Klein was back in business again with Media Distributors Inc. in Burbank. The company has grown from $2 million in revenue its first year to $12 million last year, eventually moving into a 6,000-square-foot facility on Ventura Boulevard in Studio City earlier this year. “It’s all due to the relationships we’ve been able to build over the years,” said Klein, who credits the company’s success to a growing customer list derived from word of mouth and a knack for ferreting out cheap film and videotape. Klein sells his surplus film for about 15 percent below what it would cost to buy directly from the manufacturer. But surplus film has become harder to come by in recent years, so he also distributes Fuji Film. Even though more than two-thirds of his revenue is still derived from the sale of surplus materials, he has moved on to audio tape and digital data storage disks for the entertainment industry. And he has agreements to distribute fresh film stock for some of the top film stock producers. Just last month, the company signed a five-year agreement with Sony Electronics to resell Sony professional quality videotape. Klein said the deal is worth $10 million to Media Distributors over the life of the agreement. Klein also distributes film for Fuji Photo Film Co. and surplus film for Eastman Kodak Co. Audio tape sales to radio stations and recording studios make up about 25 percent of the company’s total revenue. Videotape accounts for 35 percent, film 25 percent and the growing field of computer storage hard disks the remaining 15 percent. “I’ve been very fortunate to be able to make it in a very difficult business,” said Klein, who credits good luck, sound business instincts and being in the right place at the right time for his success. Shelly Christy, co-owner of Burbank-based film and video supplier Christy’s Post Digital Film and Video, said the video business has grown tenfold in the past five years and figures to double by next year. “There are a lot more productions going on today than five years ago and there is a constant demand for product,” she said. Christy said TV producers are turning more and more to video instead of film to reduce costs. A high-quality video cassette capable of taping an entire show will cost $20, while a 1,000-foot reel of 35 millimeter surplus film would cost $500 (or $590 from the manufacturer), and would only record 10 minutes worth of action, Klein said. Even though film stock sales continue to shrink, Klein has a small group of sales people constantly on the lookout for surplus film they can purchase from production companies or studios at a reasonable price. “It’s still a pretty good business for us,” Klein said. Klein’s customers include the producers of TV shows like CBS’s “Yes, Dear” and USA Network’s “Danny.” Post-production firms, advertising agencies, colleges and universities and film students also patronize Media Distributors. “We don’t do any advertising; only now have we started to market ourselves,” he said. But with the advent of digital filmmaking and its high definition digital film cameras making inroads in the industry, Klein says he’s ready to make the switch to digital video as soon as Hollywood is ready. “There’s no problem in getting the digital tape or the disks. But I just don’t think the industry is quite ready to abandon film,” he said. Bob Mayson, general manager of Eastman Kodak’s Cinema Operations Division, said the digital technology’s expense has kept it from replacing film altogether. But he added that once it happens, the company must adapt to the new technology. Eastman Kodak produces most of the estimated $1.5 billion worth of film stock used in U.S. films each year. Klein said that also presages an increase in the sale of digital storage tapes and disks. “It’s going to be phenomenal. I can’t even think how much it’s going to grow. It’ll be huge,” he said.

Kansas City-based AMC Entertainment Inc. has revived stalled plans to bring a 16-screen, state-of-the-art cineplex to downtown Burbank, a modest move out of the retrenchment mode the entire theater industry has been in for more than a year. AMC received city approval earlier this month to tear down the 14-screen theater it already operates at First Street and Palm Avenue and build a new stadium-style theater across the street. The new 4,200-seat theater will be part of a $60 million, two-story, 80,000-square-foot complex with restaurants and stores on the lower level and roughly 885 parking spaces, according to Jack Lynch, senior project manager with Burbank’s redevelopment agency. The existing theater was built in 1986 as a 10-screen facility. Four more screens were added in 1989, but it still has only 3,850 seats and an older, sloping floor plan. The new theater, originally scheduled to open by this Christmas, is now expected to open in April 2003. AMC is one of the nation’s top three movie theater operators with 180 theaters and 2,800 screens in 21 states and the District of Columbia, as well as the Asian and European markets. But like its top competitors, including New York-based Loews Cineplex Entertainment Corp., the company suffered during the late 1990s, primarily because of overbuilding throughout the industry. As a result of the slowdown, nine theater chains, including Loews, were forced into Chapter 11 reorganization. While some have successfully reorganized, all have shut down many of their older theaters. AMC closed 279 theaters across the country. “AMC substantially curtailed its building plans over the last couple of years,” said Matthew Harrigan, an analyst with Denver-based Janco Partners, but it did not eliminate them altogether. “Their anticipated capital expenditures went from $90 million to $75 million just over the last year alone.” While other theater chains continue to founder, Harrigan said, AMC has struck the right balance between theater closures and renovations. “Clearly AMC remains the frontrunner in terms of a turnaround, primarily because it has managed its capital expenditures closely and is a proven winner in key markets,” said Harrigan. AMC’s first-quarter losses this year narrowed slightly to $11.9 million on revenues of $309.5 million compared to a loss of $12.9 million on revenues of $288 million for the same quarter in 2000. AMC’s stock was trading at $10.52 on Friday. Its 52-week high was $14.10 on July 20; its 52-week low $1 on Oct. 24, 2000. “Unfortunately, not all theater chains are enjoying the kind of market strength they are,’ Harrigan said, “and it’s a little soon to say how much longer it will take for the others to move forward again.” Elsewhere in the Valley, Pacific Theaters Corp. closed its five-screen complex in the Sherman Oaks Galleria last year to make way for a new 16-screen theater set to open when mall renovations are completed in November. In Woodland Hills, Pacific closed its Topanga Theater and United Artists Theater Co. closed its six-screen Woodland Hills cineplex. Both moves followed the opening of AMC’s 16-screen theater in the Woodland Hills Promenade. Pacific will also open the Paseo 14 in the new Pasadena Paseo project just outside of Old Town soon. “We are looking ahead, we have lots of stuff on the table and we are excited,” said Kevin Mortesen, a spokesman for Pacific Theaters. Pacific is also adding 14 screens at the landmark Cinerama Dome in Hollywood as part of its Cinerama Dome Entertainment Center scheduled to open by spring of 2002. Newport Beach-based Edwards Theaters Circuit Inc., the company that pioneered the first multi-screen theater complex in 1939, is set to open a five and a half-story Edwards Giant Screen Theater in Valencia in January. The theater is one of several Edwards took over from IMAX Corp., according to Fred Bell, company spokesman. The slowdown in theater construction contributed to delays for another planned Burbank project. Until the late 1990s, Regent Properties had hoped to build a mixed-use complex on the site of the old police headquarters on Olive Avenue that would have included offices, shops, a hotel and a movie theater. But the troubles in the theater business made it difficult for Regent to secure a theater tenant. Legacy Partners Commercial Inc. later offered Burbank a plan that also included a movie theater. But by October of last year, the city, concerned that Legacy’s plans would also fall through, accepted a second proposal from local developer Cusimano Group. Then Cusimano dropped out of the running earlier this year when the city refused to reduce the asking price for property. The Burbank City Council is now preparing to select a fourth developer, whose project includes primarily housing with some retail and office components, but no theater. Because its Burbank project was on the table prior to the slowdown, AMC always intended to move forward with it, according to company spokesman Rick King. However, he conceded closing so many older theaters across the county has alleviated some of the industry’s woes, making it possible to start thinking seriously about expansion once again. “What we did do, however, was slow down our expansion plans while we studied markets for new, larger multi-screen theaters, and where we could either eliminate or renovate some of our smaller theaters,” King said. King said AMC policy prohibits him from discussing plans for new theaters in the Valley and elsewhere. “I think we are starting to see the market level out now,” said Lynch. “I can’t speak for the other theater companies, but for AMC I know we have confidence in them and they have always known it was a proven market for them here in Burbank.” King said it’s likely industry leaders will close more older theaters over time because market trends indicate moviegoers prefer multi-screen theaters to smaller single-screen theaters. “Clearly the megaplex is the product that today’s audience chooses overwhelmingly, Burbank is an important trade area, and we think this is a good business decision,” said King. The proposed Burbank project was put on hold in 2000 when AMC failed to secure construction funding.

MPH Entertainment Inc. has learned it isn’t just movies about sex that sell. The documentary film production company has managed to make a few dollars off of Napoleon Bonaparte too. And Las Vegas. And ghosts, space exploration and even the Loch Ness monster. Thanks to an insatiable hunger for product fueled by the cable television industry, MPH is one of several production companies in the San Fernando Valley that has ridden the recent wave of growth in the documentary film business, making made-for-cable documentaries. In taking advantage of that need for programming, MPH has grown from a three-person operation in 1996 to a busy production company that employs 35 people today in an office complex in Studio City it is quickly outgrowing. The company had $2 million in revenues its first year and topped $10 million last year. “I don’t think anybody 10 years ago could have foreseen the growth of this business,” said Jim Milio who, along with Melissa Jo Peltier and Mark Hufnail, owns MPH. “It’s been incredible to see how far things have progressed.” Richard Propper, director of international licensing for Santa Monica-based documentary film distributor Solid Entertainment Inc., estimates U.S.-based documentary film production for television has gone from about 2,000 broadcast hours five years ago to about 5,000 hours this year, due mostly to the growing demand from cable broadcasters. Networks like the Discovery Channel and Lifetime have been filling their lineups with documentaries, and even broadcast networks can’t seem to get enough “reality” programs. “Because of the expanded reach of cable, there are more channels and a bigger need for documentary programming,” Propper said. While business for MPH has grown from a handful of projects in 1997 to 20 last year, the company like others in the documentary industry has remained a bargain for the television industry. With budgets averaging between $100,000 and $150,000 per broadcast hour (by comparison, a half-hour episode of “Frasier” costs $8 million), the company has gained a reputation for efficiency and cost-effectiveness. MPH has produced 125 hours of programming since its inception five years ago, now averaging between 15 and 25 documentaries broadcast on television each year. But it wasn’t always like that, Peltier recalled. One of its first projects, “Las Vegas: Gamble in the Desert,” became one of A & E;’s highest rated programs, earning MPH a Golden Eagle Award in 1996 from Cine, a Washington D.C.-based documentary filmmakers organization. “We sold this ‘Las Vegas’ project to A & E; and, based on that, we got another project and it slowly started,” she said. Propper said cable systems are under pressure from subscribers all the time to provide more channels. Consequently, once overlooked networks like Animal Planet, The Learning Channel, the Court Channel and even the History Channel are attracting more viewers and, consequently, requiring more programming to satisfy them. “It’s a cheap source of material for them,” he said. Alexandra Middendorf, executive producer of documentaries for Discovery Networks Inc., said the growing cable viewership has prompted her company to order more and more product from companies like MPH. “With Discovery Channel, we had 52 million viewers three years ago and now it’s up to 89 million,” she said. “That means you have to show more original programming.” Amitai Adler, a spokesman for the International Documentary Association in Los Angeles, said it’s hard to document the growth in the industry because there isn’t an organization that keeps track of overall documentary film production. “No one can agree on what a documentary is,” he said. “Anyone shooting a home video can call it a documentary, not to mention things like ‘Survivor’ or ‘Big Brother.'” Veteran Santa Barbara-based documentary filmmaker Gordon Forbes said that, even while the industry is growing, it remains highly competitive. “It’s a tough business any way you look at it. Television needs product, but the price isn’t always right and there are more and more people competing,” he said. Reba Merrill, a Woodland Hills-based documentary filmmaker, credited increased demand for the wide range of documentaries now being produced, everything from profiles of forgotten TV actors to traditional wildlife features. Veteran Valley-based documentary filmmaker Suzanne Bauman said she’s encouraged by the rapid growth of the industry. “It shows that documentaries are being more accepted and that more people want to watch them,” she said. Woodland Hills-based documentary filmmaker Harry Gantz, who with his brother Joe, produces HBO’s acclaimed “Taxicab Confessions” series of documentaries, said the popularity of so-called reality shows has brought about more opportunities for documentary filmmakers. “It came out of necessity when fiction programming had prices going through the roof and the talent demanding astronomical fees,” he said.

This is a story about simpler times, and someone who’s trying to bring them back in his own way. I don’t know about you, but I needed it what with the terror, sadness and uncertainty of the past few weeks. Larry Janss, a Thousand Oaks developer whose family’s history of building Los Angeles goes back to the 19th century, hopes to restore an old theater in Moorpark, combining a nostalgia for the old movie house of the past with some new twists. Janss, president of Lawrence Janss Co., purchased the Melodrama theater in Moorpark at a bargain price $275,000 and plans to pump another half million bucks into it before it reopens this spring. His idea is to create a local arts center that shows newly-released films in English and Spanish, children’s movie matinees, plays and concerts, all on a rotating schedule. “When you have only one screen, you have to use your one screen in many ways,” Janss said. “It also reflects my schizophrenic nature,” he deadpanned. In what he calls the “far, distant, hazy past,” Janss used to run a single-screen theater with some friends in Venice. They featured art films, second-run and Spanish-language movies, and, at 99 cents for a double feature, they would often sell the house out. Janss jokes that the salaries he and his hippie partners took, $1.25 an hour, which accounted in part for their profitability, is about what he may end up making on this venture. But his eccentric notion, made all the more unusual by the wholesale shuttering of single-screen theaters in recent years, does have some business strategy behind it. Moorpark’s only megaplex, an eight-screen Regal theater, was shut down when it failed to deliver the audience required to make any money, leaving the suburban community without a single movie theater. But, Janss figures, if Moorpark, with 55,000 people in a five-mile radius of the theater, could not support eight screens, maybe it can support one, provided that screen offers something for everyone, Janss figures. When the Melodrama, built in 1928, closed in 1999 because its owners filed for bankruptcy, Janss started eyeing it. But at a listing price of $600,000, his negotiations with the bank that repossessed it were short. “I called the banker religiously a couple times a month,” Janss said. Then the bank was bought by another bank, which had a different philosophy better to dump the property and clear the balance sheet. Janss, whose great-grandfather Peter Janss and grandfather Edwin Janss developed or donated land to build much of the west side of Los Angeles, made his move. Through the years, the theater had been seismically retrofitted and furnished with quality theater seats. But it had no film equipment and needs engineering improvements before the first movie can be run. “So the half million bucks is not an extravagance,” Janss said of the repair budget. “It’s a necessity.” Once the repairs are completed, the Melodrama will open with a somewhat complex entertainment schedule. The meat of the business will be feature films, run from Thursday through Sunday. On Wednesday nights a Spanish language-dubbed cassette will be substituted for the English version of the movie showing. (Janss hopes to persuade distributors to provide him with first-run releases, which would be affordable, even for the 300-seat theater because they are rented at a percentage of the ticket gross.) Late night horror movies or shows like the classic “Rocky Horror Picture Show” will be added on Fridays and Saturdays. And Saturday afternoons will be devoted to children’s programming. When concerts or plays are booked, they will be scheduled around the films. “One of my greatest challenges will be to make my case to the audience,” said Janss. “I don’t want to piss them off by having them come to see Cinderella and ending up with Gargantua.” “I’m hoping to open the door and have them rush right in,” he said. “The trick is, after the honeymoon is over and everyone is shaking off their hangover, will they come back?” Burbank Redevelopment Officials in Burbank have given the green light to a proposal from The CIM Group and Olson Development to redevelop the site of the city’s former police station. CIM, based in Hollywood, and Olson, based in Seal Beach, joint venture partners on the project, won the assignment out of a field of nine companies. The companies offered $5.1 million to Burbank’s redevelopment agency for the site, a 3.2-acre parcel bounded by Olive Avenue, San Fernando Boulevard, Angeleno Avenue and Third Street. Theirs was the highest offer received, said Ruth Davidson-Guerra, senior redevelopment project manager in Burbank. The proposal by the companies involves about 85,000 square feet of office space, 48,000 square feet to 58,000 square feet of retail space, 30 residential loft units for lease and 110 condominium units. Davidson-Guerra said that, in addition to their offering price, the companies were chosen because of the design of their residential project and their experience. CIM has developed numerous commercial projects in Brea and Santa Monica, among other locales, and Olson has done extensive residential development throughout Southern California. Down Under Up Here Coogia Australia Inc., a maker of sportswear for men and women, has leased a 40,000-square-foot facility in Santa Clarita to expand its distribution capacity. Coogia, which also has offices in downtown L.A. and other U.S. locations, is moving from a 12,680-square-foot facility in Valencia to the new building at 28606 W. Livingston Ave. The six-year lease is valued at $1.7 million. Chris Jackson, a broker with Grubb & Ellis, represented Coogia in the deal. Michael Stevens of Daum Commercial Real Estate Services represented the landlord, Patricia Corp. Senior reporter Shelly Garcia can be reached at (818) 676-1750, ext. 14 or by e-mail at [email protected].

A ROUNDUP OF SAN FERNANDO VALLEY NEWS Valley Firms in Fast 50 Three Valley firms were listed in the top 10 firms in the Deloitte & Touche Fast 50 list of the fastest growing technology companies in the Los Angeles area. Calabasas-based Internet banking software maker Digital Insight Corp., which last year led the list, held the second spot overall with 3,387-percent growth in the past five years, followed in sixth place by guitar amplifier manufacturer Line 6 Inc. of Agoura Hills with 1,665 percent. In seventh place was Chatsworth-based electric generator firm Capstone Turbine Corp. with 1,484 percent. The Fast 50 ranks the fastest growing technology firms in the five-county Los Angeles area based on the growth of revenues from 1996 to 2000. Among the Valley winners of Deloitte & Touche’s Rising Star Awards for area firms which have exhibited rapid growth in the three years of their existence were, in first place, Westlake Village-based Internet real estate firm Homestore.com, with 17,838-percent growth and in third place, electronics testing equipment maker Ixia of Calabasas, with 1,447 percent. Power-One Expects Bad News Power-One Inc., a Camarillo-based maker of power conversion equipment for Internet and telecommunications companies, expects a fourth-quarter loss wider than analysts’ estimates. The company expects to lose 5 cents to 8 cents a share in the period ending Dec. 31. Analysts on average had forecast a loss of 2 cents, according to Thomson Financial/First Call. For the current quarter, Power-One said it expects a loss of 13 cents and sales probably will be $50 million to $55 million, less than the $65 million to $70 million the company had forecast. Power-One took a third-quarter charge of about $7 million to $8 million for job cuts and plant consolidations and an asset impairment charge of $5 million to $6 million. Power-One also will write off about $7 million of technology investments and take a charge of about $7 million to $10 million for excess and obsolete inventory. The company, which has cut its work force to 2,500 from 7,500 this year, said demand isn’t expected to recover until 2003. Van Nuys Airport Cancels Expo The Van Nuys Airport Aviation Expo scheduled for June 22-23 has been canceled due to increased security concerns, limited military support and the need to reduce airport expenses. “The aviation industry has been severely impacted by the tragic events of Sept. 11,” said Van Nuys Airport Manager Selena B. Birk. “We deeply regret that heightened security and financial concerns have caused us to cancel this San Fernando Valley tradition.” Northridge Hospital Nurses Unionize Registered nurses at Northridge Hospital Medical Center have voted to join the Service Employees International Union Nurse Alliance. The 381-108 vote to join the union was made public Sept. 24 after three days of balloting supervised by the National Labor Relations Board. Over the next few weeks, the nurses will organize a bargaining team to work with hospital management on negotiating the union’s first labor contract at Northridge. The 75-year-old union, the largest in the health-care industry, includes more than 110,000 nurses nationwide with 35,000 in California. State Fines Health Net for Delays The state Department of Managed Health Care fined Health Net Inc. $100,000 for failing to pay claims in a timely manner. The department said Woodland Hills-based Health Net, the state’s fourth-largest HMO, stretched hospitals and physicians beyond the 45-day statutory limit. Health Net also failed to pay interest on the late payments. The fine is the second largest ever levied against a health maintenance organization. The department fined PacifiCare Health Systems Inc. $250,000 in March for similar violations. Health Net acknowledged the delays, which occurred between 1996 and 2000. The company blamed a faulty “internal tracking system” that failed to flag overdue claims. Health Net also is paying $54,000 in interest on overdue claims to health-care providers. Amgen gets FDA Clearance The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has given approval for Aranesp, an anemia treatment Amgen Inc. has had in the works for years and its first significant new drug in a decade. The FDA approved Aranesp as an alternative to EPO for patients with anemia caused by chronic kidney disease, including those on dialysis. Amgen Chairman and Chief Executive Kevin Sharer has predicted that Aranesp will become Amgen’s best-selling drug, a spot now held by EPO, which posted $1.96 billion in sales last year. Before Aranesp, the only alternative to EPO was a blood transfusion. Airport Expansion Tabled Burbank Airport’s governing board has voted to put on hold indefinitely all terminal development plans in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the East Coast. With the airport expected to lose between $750,000 and $1 million in operating revenue in September alone, the Glendale-Burbank-Pasadena Airport Authority voted to halt expansion plans as it monitors finances and new federal safety measures. The authority voted 5-0 on Sept. 27, with one member absent and three Burbank commissioners abstaining, to hold off on plans for the terminal. The authority also voted to put on hold selling the Burbank portion of the former Lockheed land, which has been discussed as a possible location for the airline terminal. However, the authority’s Thursday vote will not affect Burbank’s Oct. 9 mail-in election, when voters will weigh in on Measure A, which requires that any terminal plan include a mandatory nighttime curfew. The terminal has been the focus of debate over noise and traffic issues for years. Officials hoped the proposed 250,000-square-foot terminal with 14 aircraft gates would help relieve congestion. In the wake of the attacks, federal restrictions and passenger fears have led to a decline in the numbers of travelers at airports nationwide. At Burbank, officials have recorded about 70 departures a day, compared with 82 a day before the attacks.

The Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, D.C. and subsequent airline industry layoffs are creating ripple effects across all economic sectors in the San Fernando Valley along with the rest of the nation. Travel agencies, already reeling from cuts in airline commission fees, competition from online travel sites and a sagging economy, are feeling substantial aftershocks. And the actions of one local operator indicate a developing trend in consolidations as smaller mom-and-pop travel agencies grope for alternatives to simply closing their businesses and the larger agencies look for ways to cut costs. Joe McClure, owner of Montrose Travel in Glendale, said two local agencies have signed agreements to move their operations to his corporate offices. He is also planning to solicit other travel agents for the same reason, hoping to both provide space for them and cut down on his own overhead. At the same time he is looking for other agencies to share the pain, Montrose Travel is taking its own cost-cutting measures. McClure has cut his staff by 10 percent. Salaries for the remaining 150 employees were slashed by 10 percent until further notice, and he has stopped paying himself completely until he sees strong evidence of a turnaround. “These are drastic times and it’s time to batten down the hatches,” said McClure. “I predict 25 percent of the smaller agencies won’t be around at the new year, but Montrose Travel will definitely be one of the companies left standing amongst the rubble in January.” McClure said he has enough cash reserves to carry the business through March, adding that the average travel agency typically carries about a three-month reserve. Glendale-based Maxi Travel and Seavers & Seavers Travel in Pasadena will move their offices into Montrose Travel between Oct. 15 and Nov. 1, as will two independent contractors from a local competitor whom McClure declined to name. The operators will use Montrose Travel’s basic infrastructure, including computer systems and office machinery, in exchange for a percentage of their commissions. “We are simply going to absorb all of their operational costs and they will pay us a part of their commission fees,” said McClure. McClure said he’s calculated the four will generate between $4 million and $4.5 million worth of new business annually and bring him an additional $350,000 in annual commission fees. “That’s not so much a significant amount for our company, but this isn’t about our survival, it’s about the survival of those agents who have been in business most of their working lives,” said McClure. Verena Palmstrom, owner of the 20-year-old Maxi Travel, confirmed she is closing her business and she and her two independent operators would be joining forces with Montrose Travel, but was reticent about details. “What can we do? The bigger ones are eating the smaller ones,” Palmstrom said. According to McClure, commission fees at his agency dropped by about 83 percent immediately following the terrorist attacks. He said they have managed to climb back up to nearly 79 percent of normal levels a surprise even to him. McClure said, “I thought we were going to be hovering at about between 20 and 50 percent decline in commissions for the next three months.” But many of the smaller agencies are still waiting for that kind of recovery, and even McClure said it was difficult to predict how long it would be before business returns for them. Even the relatively quick recovery for Montrose Travel, coupled with the consolidations, hasn’t stopped him from implementing a restructuring plan of his own. McClure, who appeared on a KCET-TV business forum last month to discuss the industry fallout from the attacks, suggested then that if the airlines get a financial bailout from the federal government, some of it ought to be used to raise agents’ fees. Early last week representatives for the Arlington, Va.-based American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) went to Washington D.C. to ask for an assessment of their industry and for lawmakers to consider aid.