Few things get Net users more upset than spam. For some reason, the appearance of junk e-mail in our computers’ in boxes inspires anger much greater than our annoyance at junk mail, telephone salesmen or any other real-world equivalent. Maybe we’re insulted that someone out there thinks we’d fall for their faux familiarity, exclamation-pointed pitches and other obvious come-ons. Perhaps we’re upset by the resources wasted when millions of useless messages are sent to millions of people who just delete them moments after they arrive. But we reserve most of our anger for spammers themselves, those squinty-eyed troglodytes who hole up in dark rooms littered with spent Thirstbuster cups and cackle at their clever plans to get rich quick a click at a time. At least, that’s how we imagine them. But if we really want to know what spammers look like, most of us need only look in one place: A mirror. Oh sure, we’d never send e-mail to thousands of people we’ve never met. Instead, we focus our aggravating, bandwidth-wasting efforts on our friends, relatives and co-workers. Have you ever called someone to check if a fax has arrived? Left someone the same message on their work voice mail, cell phone and home answering machine? Sent e-mail to confirm arrangements made by phone? Congratulations you’re a cross-platform spammer. Wasting time As our communications mediums have multiplied, we’ve gained new ways to make contact with the people in our lives. But even as we embrace each new technology, we don’t have enough faith in any one of them to use it exclusively. As a result, our efforts to communicate are multiplied by as many mediums as we can get our hands on. We end up spamming, wasting twice as much time as the people who sold us these technologies promised we’d save. It used to be that if you called someone and he didn’t answer the phone, he wasn’t there. Period. You’d climb back on your wooly mammoth, ride back to your cave and try again later. These days, though, you’d feel obliged to try his cell phone. If that didn’t work, you might boot up your computer and check if he’s logged on to his instant messaging software. If not, maybe you’d send e-mail asking him to call when he gets a moment that is, if your line isn’t tied up because you’re still online. But not to worry: He can always page you. If you think this sort of spamming saves you time, the clock on your PDA must have fallen more than a few milliseconds out of sync with the national atomic clock. Even if you end up reaching your friend earlier than you would have, you’ve devoted twice as much time to the task of communication itself. At my office, people are always faxing me story ideas. Which would be fine, if they didn’t also send the same press release by e-mail and follow them both up with a telephone call. New medium needed I want to tell these cross-platform spammers to pick a medium and stick with it. But I understand their uncertainty. They might have the wrong e-mail address. A receptionist might transfer them to the wrong number. Or maybe the fax machine was out of paper. The sad fact is that none of the communications mediums at our disposal are entirely reliable. So we spread ourselves thin across multiple platforms cell phone, pager, e-mail, home phone, work phone in hopes of making sure we’re never out of touch. Such inefficiency will vanish only if someone invents the perfect communications medium: a way to reach anyone anytime wherever they are in the fashion they prefer text, voice or video through a single, easy-to-remember number or address. But don’t hold your breath waiting for such a medium to emerge. The only ones who can stop us from repeating ourselves across the airwaves are the telecommunications companies. And wouldn’t you know it, they’re also the only ones profiting from it. To contact syndicated columnist Joe Salkowski, you can e-mail him at [email protected] or write to him c/o Tribune Media Services Inc., 435 N. Michigan Ave., Suite 1400, Chicago, Ill., 60611.

For some time now, local chambers of commerce have recognized the efficiencies of merging everything from saving on rent and salaries to the ability to attract members from a broader territory. Yet it took more than six years for the Northridge and Chatsworth chambers of commerce to finally reach an agreement to merge their organizations. Political considerations, turf battles and identity crises posed such obstacles that the groups failed to reach an agreement in two earlier votes. “It was a little bit like giving birth to an elephant,” said Leslie Himes, who has been appointed co-chair of the new entity called the Northwest San Fernando Valley Chamber of Commerce. The Northridge and Chatsworth chambers finally approved the union earlier this month, creating a new entity with about 500 members and encompassing an area that includes Porter Ranch. Concerns over retaining the identity of the different communities plagued the two groups since the consolidation idea was first proposed in 1994. By then the two chambers had jointly run a number of different events, and the advantages of a merger had started to become evident. But while the proposal won the approval of the boards of both chambers, the majority of Northridge members failed to green-light the move. “People didn’t really see it as combining,” said Maureen Fried, co-chair of what had been the Northridge chamber. “They saw it as a loss. (The thinking was,) we wouldn’t be gaining a new community, we would be losing our autonomy.” During the second attempt, chamber leadership attempted to assuage the loss-of-identity fears by adding a banner under the chamber name that specifically identified the individual communities involved, but that solution failed to pass muster with the Northridge chamber board. Last week, no one seemed really sure about what led to the final yes vote. But those involved pointed to a number of factors, including Fried’s willingness to rally the Northridge membership behind her and a growing desire to resolve the issue. Like a number of chambers that have or are considering a merger, the new entity hopes to attract larger corporations to its membership roster while at the same time reaping significant cost savings by consolidating headquarters offices, management and other operating and administrative tasks. Dwindling numbers Membership at many chambers has dwindled in recent years, largely because their programs geared to small, localized communities no longer meet the demands of many businesses in the community. But by joining forces, these organizations can often muster more funding to improve their programs. Last year, the Thousand Oaks and Westlake Village chambers merged. And the Pacoima, Mission Hills and Greater San Fernando chambers are currently in the process of merging. (See story on facing page.) But building consensus to merge can also pose almost-insurmountable problems. Member businesses pay dues with the expectation that the chamber will champion their particular interests, and there is a widely held perception that each chamber has a unique set of circumstances and issues to contend with. “I just think there are a couple of things that can go wrong,” said Walter Prince, a member of the board of directors of the former Northridge Chamber of Commerce who was one of a handful of members who opposed the merger. “One is the loss of community identity. The chamber should promote the community. When you have a combination, I don’t know how you get equal promotion for all the communities under that umbrella.” To some extent, successfully navigating a chamber merger requires a leadership willing to aggressively support the move. And because the issue often carries emotional overtones, many chamber heads are reluctant to take a firm stand. “This took a lot of work, and I don’t think there was anyone who was in favor of it enough to carry the flag to bring it forward,” said Fried. “When I was elected, I really saw it would be a good move, and I picked up that flag. When we put the emotions aside and said, ‘Let’s look at this as a business move,’ it started to look very good.” Savings on salary Even with a leader at the helm, though, the mechanics of chamber mergers can be tricky. An individual chamber can exercise control over its board of directors, its president and its chairman or chief executive. But once the organizations merge, members often regard officials from “the other side” with suspicion. To solve the problem, the Northwest Valley chamber will retain the directors of both chambers through their terms of office. The top leadership was drawn from both chambers as well. Himes had been head of the Chatsworth chamber and Fried led the Northridge group. But those positions are voluntary. One of the greatest advantages of chamber mergers is the savings realized on the salaried chief executive position, which can account for anywhere from $30,000 to $50,000 a year, depending on the size of the chamber. Obviously, retaining the salaried heads of both chambers would undercut much of the rationale for merging in the first place. For Northridge and Chatsworth, the problem was solved purely by coincidence when the former head of the Chatsworth chamber, Pam Campeau, resigned to take a similar post at the Thousand Oaks-Westlake Village Chamber of Commerce. Campeau’s departure left no dispute over which chamber’s chief executive would take the helm of the merged organization a job that went to the former Northridge chamber chief, Richard Hardman.

Here are some practical strategies for dealing with a person we all come face-to-face with sooner or later: our banker. While all small businesses may face problems with their bankers from time to time, women small business owners seem to encounter all of the usual problems, plus a few more. Recent research into the credit situation for small firms has revealed a number of unique problems faced by women business owners. Knowing what to watch out for, and possible ways to handle certain problems if they arise, can go a long way toward helping women business owners reduce their banking costs while maximizing the quality of service received from their banker. As a starting point, all of the advice normally given to small business owners naturally applies to women business owners as well. In fact, since many lenders do seem to be more wary of women as good credit risks, women would be well-advised to be especially well-prepared for that first encounter with a prospective lender. Choose your banker carefully The initial selection of a financial institution is crucial. Once your business accounts are established with a particular institution, it is quite time-consuming and potentially costly to contemplate a move, not to mention aggravating. Furthermore, lenders all talk to one another, especially if you are located in a community where there are few financial institutions. So although there are some areas in which the financial institutions do compete, the continued dominance of a few very large banks means that the general environment is not truly competitive , especially for the small business client. Your best source of information on choosing a financial institution is other businesses especially those similar to yours in terms of age, size, and sector. Research indicates that the services offered by most financial institutions are very similar, and that the most important variable is the individual you will be dealing with most often , notably their competence, sensitivity, and responsiveness. Surveys have shown that women business owners put an especially high value on having an account manager who has a good operating knowledge of the industry, the local market area, and the business owner herself. Banks are not the only players in the game Research has shown that the smaller financial institutions , the credit unions and trust companies , consistently receive a higher satisfaction rating among women business owners than the large banks. This is likely a result of these financial institutions having a more community-based character, and therefore being more in touch with local market conditions and local businesses. As well, the frequent rotation of staff in the larger financial institutions is an ongoing source of problems to smaller firms, who may find themselves having to “break in” a new banker every year or so. The problem of staff rotation is worse in large urban areas than in smaller centers or rural areas, and seems to occur more frequently in the special business branches of the banks than in regular branches. A lower rate of staff rotation in the smaller financial institutions may well be another reason women business owners find them better than the large banks. So, although there is no question that finding a good individual with whom to conduct your business banking is essential, the type of institution that individual is attached to may determine how long that person will stay there. Some banks have started to assign more than one person to an account, so that if the key person were to leave there would be some back-up. Given the importance of some personal knowledge of your business on the part of your lender, it may be worth inquiring as to what back-up provisions the institution has for your account and familiarizing more than one person at your financial institution with your business, where possible. The explosive growth in the number of businesses owned by women over the past few years and complaints regarding their treatment at the hands of the banks has raised the financial institutions’ awareness of these issues. Although problems undoubtedly remain, the continued success of women business owners has meant that discriminatory treatment of businesswomen by the banks is not only unacceptable from a social perspective, but is also bad business. Some problems are worse for women … such as collateral. Studies have shown that a persistent problem of women business owners seeking credit is the amount of collateral required to obtain a loan or line of credit. One study found that while the average collateral/loan ratio for small firms generally was about 2.7:1, almost twice that amount on aver age was required of women business owners. The reasons for this higher collateral requirement are not clear, unless the lender perceives that a woman business owner is more risky than a man and compensates for this perceived higher risk by backing a credit with a great deal of collateral. Whatever the reasons, if you think your banker’s collateral requests are excessive, do some research on what is being required of businesses similar to yours and negotiate with your banker. Experience has shown that some bankers will seek as much collateral coverage as they can get and negotiating down to a more reasonable level may be helpful to avoid tying up all of your assets in one place. Your type of business In addition, studies have indicated that women in areas of business not “traditionally” viewed as those likely to be owned by women , the construction industry, for example , can have a harder time obtaining credit than a woman business owner in a more “typical” area such as a retail store. Old attitudes die hard, and if a lender believes a woman business owner is only competent to run certain types of businesses, this is likely to be reflected in a higher cost of credit to women operating “non-typical” businesses. The best advice in this case is that if you are running a business in what could be viewed as a “traditionally male” industry sector, compare terms of credit offered to you with those offered to similar firms owned by men to ensure you are receiving competitive treatment. Another research finding is that although women business owners do eventually end up being granted credit, they often have to go to more financial institutions than do men before that credit is granted. The moral of this story is don’t give up if you are turned down by the first or even second financial institution you approach. The evidence suggests that perseverance pays off. Although the issue of women having to have a cosigner on a loan more frequently than men has received a lot of attention, recent research suggests that, these days, everyone is asked to provide a co-signer more frequently, regardless of gender. The likely reason for this is a change in family law which provides for an equal division of assets on dissolution of a marriage, so that lenders want to be sure that, in such an eventuality, they will not have problems with the collateral hacking up a loan or credit line. Once you have found the best financial institution, branch and individual banker for your needs, the onus is on you to provide the type of information on your business needed to establish a mutually beneficial relationship. Access to term loans and lines of credit Most businesses maintain an operating credit line on an ongoing basis, and may also hold a term loan at any given time for a specific purpose such as the purchase of a new piece of capital equipment. Data shows that women have a more difficult time than men in obtaining a credit line from a bank, whereas the experience of the two groups with term loans seems to be fairly similar. Other studies have also shown that women face more obstacles than men in obtaining credit lines. A term loan is a more rigid form of credit than a credit line, has a fixed repayment schedule and is usually secured several times over by hard assets. On the other hand, a line of credit tends to be a floating form of credit with a maximum amount, which is also secured with collateral but because of its floating character is less fixed and predictable for the banker. Research has repeatedly shown that when the perception of risk is higher, such as a credit line being considered riskier than a term loan, women tend to be treated differently than their male counterparts. This is borne out by the greater difficulty women business owners seem to face in establishing credit lines as opposed to term loans. A floating credit line is a very important component of a well-rounded overall financing package for a small firm. The best advice in this instance is to be well-prepared for more resistance from your lender when you seek a credit line than when you want a term loan, and counter that resistance with thorough information on your business, its plans, financial projections and its financing needs. As always, it is helpful to know what other businesses comparable to yours are receiving in the way of financial treatment. Some final words In summary, never be afraid to negotiate with your lender, ask for a better deal, a better price or better service. Don’t hesitate to bring all of your cards to the table , such as personal or other business banking you or your family may conduct with the financial institution including personal loans, and so on. All the lender can say is no, and that may be your first hint that it’s time to shop around.. Too often the small business owner feels that the bank is doing them a favor by lending them money. Don’t forget that small business lending is one of the most profitable areas of bank business, and that they are not in it for the good of their health. The banks will compete, but only if they are forced to. Otherwise, they tend to charge what the market will bear, and the sky’s the limit. Women business owners are a growing force in the San Fernando Valley business community, and lenders are increasingly aware of this important and expanding market. If you are well-prepared and confident in your business prospects, there is no reason why any lender should not be delighted to do business with you. Andrea Sandor is an independent business consultant based in Woodland Hills.

Garden concepts in santa clarita jumped into the outdoor accessories business just as consumer demand took off Eight years ago, Rick Moat was struggling with his Santa Clarita auto body repair shop and in search of a hobby to keep busy, when one of his customers came in looking to sell $1,500 worth of garden fountain molds, mostly cracked and aging. Moat bought the molds and began repairing them during his downtime from fixing car bodies. He soon started mixing different concrete formulas and churned out several fountains that he sold to people driving past his Sierra Highway shop. In late 1992, Garden Concepts was born. The first year, the business was still a side project, taking in just $12,000 in revenues. The first fountains were simple frog figures, said Moat’s wife Melissa, who helps run the company. “They were ugly,” she said. “But people liked them.” Moat concentrated on expanding his product line, according to customer requests. He began making benches, garbage cans, stepping stones and other garden decorations. He also added to his line of fountains, even putting out a catalog that he sent to garden contractors and garden supply retailers throughout Southern California. Business slowly began to grow by word of mouth. Today, the company makes and sells a popular line of Koi ponds, along with more than 1,000 different kinds of fountains and a full line of garden accessories. Its revenues jumped to $1.2 million in 1999. Backyard boom Moat couldn’t have started his garden business at a better time. Nationwide, the amount spent on backyard ponds and decorations has doubled from $367 million in 1994 to $806 million in 1999, according to the National Gardening Association based in Burlington, Vt. “Water gardening is really growing, it provides a nice focal point and having a fountain along with a pond is a nice way to make white noise,” said Bruce Butterfield, research director at the association. Moat’s strategy at first was to seek out all the areas of gardening that most shops were reluctant to enter. He began selling Koi fish, making water ponds, cleaning the ponds and making such prosaic items as outdoor garbage cans. “Seven years ago I wasn’t making money, so I went off in eight different directions,” Moat said. “I figured I’d throw a bunch of ideas against the wall, some would stick and some would fall. That’s basically my philosophy.” About the time the Moats began their business, Feng Shui, the Chinese art of arranging furniture and decorations to achieve balance, was taking hold. The fad drove up business for the fledgling garden supply store after the Moats began carrying Eastern-style fountains, red bricks and other earth elements required to give a garden balance under Feng Shui principles. Playing Koi Koi ponds are a popular element in Asian gardens, and they have become particularly trendy in Los Angeles hence they have become a specialty for Garden Concepts. “For Southern Californians, it’s one way of denoting status,” Butterfield said. “If you have a Lexus and Mercedes Benz, then you’ve got to have a Koi pond.” The Moats have sold the ponds to everyone from owners of tract homes to apartments and business complexes. “For some reason it’s become very faddish,” Melissa Moat said. “A lot of customers are dual-income families who don’t have time for long vacations. Rather than going on expensive vacations, they turn their home into a vacation place.” Ponds start at $5,000 and take about one week to build. Along with the Koi phenomenon, another major coup last year helped kick Garden Concepts into high gear. The Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena, which spent $5 million to renovate its fountains and facilities, chose Garden Concepts to install the filtration system on the fountains. The company’s name is now listed on a plaque at the museum, which has in turn boosted business. “Our business went from a mom-and-pop type operation, and they boosted us into a different bracket,” Melissa Moat said. “People trust us because we did the museum.” The Moats are now preparing for even further expansion. Next month, they will begin carrying wind chimes and bird feeders for backyards. And for ponds, they are launching a series of videos to teach construction and maintenance. In the next year, the Moats expect to double their staff from the current eight, with plans to hire an artist and mold-maker to expand on the manufacturing side of the business.

Banks use a variety of names for online banking services, such as PC banking, home banking, electronic banking or Internet banking. Regardless of the name, these systems offer certain advantages over traditional banking methods. F Consumers can use their computers and a telephone modem to dial in from home or any site where they have access to a computer. F The services are available seven days a week, 24 hours a day. F Transactions are executed and confirmed quickly, although not instantaneously. Processing time is comparable to that of an ATM transaction. F And the range of transactions available is fairly broad. Customers can do everything from simply checking on an account balance to applying for a mortgage. Services vary from bank to bank What services are available varies from bank to bank. Virtually all of the banks that offer electronic services allow consumers to check the balances in their accounts, transfer funds among accounts, and order electronic bill payments. More sophisticated systems allow customers to apply for loans, download information about accounts into their own computers, trade stocks or mutual funds, and look at images of their checks and deposit slips. Online banking: The basics The following services are applicable to on-line banking. Most banks offer: Checking account balances Transfer funds among accounts Pay bills electronically Some banks offer: Loan applications Download information about accounts Trade stocks or mutual funds View images of checks and deposit ‘Client-based’ online banking The “client-based” systems, in which customers use their own software, generally use personal financial managers specialized computer programs that help customers carry out a variety of personal finance activities. The most popular programs are: Intuit’s Quicken, MECA’s Managing Your Money, and Microsoft’s Money. These programs typically allow consumers to do much of their work off-line, and then dial in to complete their bank transactions. These client-based systems have the advantage of allowing consumers to integrate all their banking information with other personal finance data using a single program. Although these software products can be purchased at computer stores, the versions offered by the institutions are enhanced to adapt to their systems. Some banks will allow customers to download the program for free, or will mail a copy to customers free or for a small fee. Shopping elsewhere is likely to reduce the efficiency of the system. Why bank online? Most electronic banks offer basic services such as the ability to check savings and checking account balances and transfer money between accounts. The draw is that customers can do these things without waiting in line or listening to muzak while on hold waiting for telephone customer service. It’s the extras that are enticing more and more people to use electronic teller services. Customers can schedule their bill payments, or even make sure that they add to their dividend reinvestment plan (DRP) account at the same time each month. If your bank has a brokerage arm, you may be able to buy and sell stocks through your checking account and check the current value. If it issued your credit card, you can check your account balance and transaction status. And should it hold your mortgage, you can see where you are in your payment cycle. Some banks will even e-mail you a note when your account balance drops below a certain amount. Should you bank online? If you’re reading this, chances are you’re sufficiently wired to bank online. All it requires is about eight megabytes of RAM (if you’re using a bank that requires customized software) and around 20 megabytes of free hard drive space for downloadable account information. The real question is whether you really need to do your banking electronically. How many accounts (checking, savings, money market, CDs, IRAs, credit cards) do you have with your bank? Do you frequently transfer balances among them? How many bills do you pay each month? Is the paperwork a monthly nightmare? If your accounts are spread across several institutions, or you write just a few checks a month, it may not pay to do your banking online. How much does it cost to bank online? Banks calculate fees for online transactions much the same way they do for their offline clientele. Many charge a flat rate for the account (usually from $5 to $10 per month) and additional transaction fees for the extras. When banks first went digital, they charged for the software that enabled customers to use their services. Now those that require special software give it away. Here are a few things to look for when comparing fees: F Is there a free trial period? How long does it last and what exactly is “free”? F Does the institution charge a flat-rate monthly fee or is it based on account activity? F Is the online banking fee in addition to or in lieu of your regular checking account maintenance fee? F Will the bank waive any fees if you keep a minimum amount in your checking account? F Is there a charge to get a paper copy of a cancelled check? F Is there an additional charge to pay your bills online? (Those that do typically charge between $3 and $6 for the privilege.) F Is there an additional charge to use any teller services? F Are there any time/transaction limits when you’re online? F If you transact via your bank’s brokerage or money market accounts, are you charged a percentage of your assets or a flat rate? Add it all up Look at your bank statements from the previous year to get a general sense of the number of checks you wrote and the transfers you made. Compare what you’d spend banking online vs. offline. Remember to include the value of any freebies. Fools should find the bank that offers all the services you need at the lowest annual cost. Make each dollar count , from the one they charge you to talk face-to-face with a teller to the cost of printing checks instead of paying bills them via computer. Other things to consider Before you make your final decision, consider the following: F If you often use the ATM machine to withdraw cash or transfer balances among your accounts, you should probably use a local electronic bank. Otherwise you’ll be forced to pay heavy fees if you use another bank’s ATM. F Make sure the merchants, lenders, and utility companies that you pay most often are on your bank’s payee list. F Make sure the monthly statements are readable. In fact, see if you can get a sample monthly and year-end account summary. The bank’s record-keeping prowess may be key around tax time. F Want to access your bank account from your home, your office, or any computer? Choose a bank that offers Internet services. Otherwise you’re beholden to the computer on which you downloaded the bank’s software. F f you’ll be transferring data from your online bank account to other personal finance programs, you should probably choose an Internet bank. F If you’re concerned with security, ask the bank what measures it takes and if it can handle encrypted messages. If you’re accessing your account through the Internet, most of the newer browsers scramble messages. The online banking battle Bankers fight for profits online while consumers win. Secure Electronic Transactions are in place as Internet moves to the forefront for financial institutions. The competition is global. Financial institutions and technology firms want to set standards that advocates say will mean cheaper, quicker and more complete services. Online banking is a multibillion-dollar battle. It’s an opportunity – and a threat. By connecting retailers with consumers, capital with borrowers, and investors with securities, the Internet threatens to push bankers and other middlemen to the sidelines. The nation’s biggest banks are bringing their customers onto the Internet, cutting costs and boosting choices for borrowers, investors, savers and bill-payers alike. But first, they have to learn to talk the same language. In a race to set safe, reliable ground rules for online commerce and streamline the often antiquated array of computer systems, IBM and Microsoft have set up competing software standards and are rushing to sign up big banks as clients. Either way, online banking advocates say the changes will mean more choices and better prices for bank customers. It’s an arcane struggle of changing alliances between longtime competitors who admit they’re having a hard time following their rivals’ moves. The effort echoes the banks’ creation of Visa and MasterCard, which unified a confusion of credit-card labels into a worldwide payment system in the 1960s. Reality and trends You do business online, stay in touch with friends and relatives via e-mail, and you’re an old hand at Internet shopping. So why not bank online? Online banking is a natural step for you and your PC. It’s all a matter of putting your computer to work doing what it does best: transferring data and performing calculations. Just over half of all home PCs are used to manage finances, but home banking hasn’t emerged as a must-have application for PC users with modems. According to Jupiter Communications, 14 million Americans will be banking online this year. But there tens of millions of people equipped to bank at home today. So what’s the holdup? The main concerns consumers have with home banking are security, ease of use, and cost. The bottom line is, trading human tellers for the virtual variety is safe and convenient, and it offers a range of other benefits,as long as you follow our banking tips. Switching banks doesn’t have to be difficult For those who already own a personal finance program or enjoy learning how to use new software, the client-based approach works well. However, switching accounts from one bank to another may also require switching to new personal finance software, and customers will have to invest some time (and possibly the purchase price of the new program) in order to make the switch. It could also entail transfer of a lot of information from one program to another. A few banks have developed proprietary software for online banking, which is usually free. Again, changing banks would present the drawbacks associated with learning a new program. A handful of banks currently allow customers to choose between the older online banking systems or the Internet. However, this is expected to be a transitional approach that will stay in place only until all the online banking customers switch to the Internet. Less versatile, but less expensive The newer Internet-based systems allow users to dial in and then use the bank’s own software (or that of an Internet service provider, such as AOL). Many consumers will find them easier to use than the older systems, especially customers who want electronic banking services but are not interested in doing a lot of other personal finance calculations. This interaction can be initiated from any computer, anywhere. But an Internet system is less versatile as well. It cannot consolidate extensive personal finance information within a single program. Using an Internet-based system, however, may be less expensive in most cases. In general, a bank’s costs will be lower when it provides a single electronic banking service via the World Wide Web section of the Internet. The bank then supports a single computer system instead of a multitude of personal finance programs that its customers may use. Cost savings allow the banks to charge lower fees for online banking, or to simply eliminate them completely. A few large banks that have set up Internet-based systems charge no monthly fee for online banking services and electronic bill payment. Banks originally viewed PC banking as “a pilot program” or a process to be tested. But the Internet is finally taking online banking mainstream. Nick Harper is a Van Nuys-based internet consultant.

The work of most balloon artists revolves around inflated dogs, giraffes and other animals. But Drake Diamond has taken his art to another level, creating everything from balloon houses to a 40-foot airplane replica. Fifteen years ago, he started TubeWorks in Calabasas, a business devoted to making balloon designs for any occasion, even events staged at Hollywood studios. His has since expanded his business to make confetti. Diamond recently spoke to reporter Jennifer Netherby about his art. “I had been in aerospace, and my wife decided she wanted to open a balloon shop. She showed me a magazine with houses made of balloons and it got me interested. “At the time, Disney had a contest at Northridge Mall to build something out of balloons for Toon Town. I built a version of Toon Town itself and won the contest. It took two to three days to make, with a crew of five. “It was exciting. We started a school to teach others to make balloon designs and then put out a how-to videotape. “Our original products were ‘sky dancers,’ these giant cloth figures that can be hoisted into the air by hand-held poles they dance around at parades and will be used at the Olympics. We put confetti in them and it shoots out. Universal Studios came to us because they saw the dancers. “The weirdest balloon creation we’ve done was a 40-foot airplane for a 65-year-old man in Malibu for his birthday. It was a replica of his plane. “We have 30 employees now. I started Confettiwerks (a division of TubeWorks) four years ago after inventing a device for Universal called the ‘Confetti Storm.’ We installed it in their Nickelodeon Theater. It shoots out a wall of confetti at the audience. At the time we were buying confetti, but we decided to start making it instead. “The busiest time of the year for confetti is New Year’s. We work 24-hours a day the month before to make enough. The confetti is made in a computerized equipment shop. We can do custom shapes. Right now, we’re making some for Disney to create the effect of falling leaves for a movie. “It takes four weeks to do custom-made confetti. We sell it by the pound. Cost ranges from $5 to $75 depending on the material. Our typical order is for 25 pounds.”

Larry kurzweil, head of l.a.’s biggest theme park and its citywalk mall, has been overseeing some big changes at the growing attractions Larry Kurzweil has been very busy since he arrived at Universal Studios in 1997 as vice president and general manager of CityWalk. He immediately began working on a 93,000-square-foot expansion of the shopping, dining and entertainment venue that was completed this spring. Among the newcomers are 12 restaurants, including Pitfire Pizza and Versailles; five entertainment offerings, including a virtual speedway attraction; the Rumba Room, a Latin dance club; and seven new retail shops. In the midst of that expansion project, Kurzweil was promoted to president and chief operating officer of the Universal Studios Hollywood. As a result, he now oversees the theme park and studio tour in addition to CityWalk. Earlier this year, the tour was updated to incorporate videos and narratives about the movies made on the sets, and several new attractions were added to the theme park, including a ride based on the most recent “Mummy” film and a live show called “Rug Rats Magical Adventure.” Researching restaurants, nightclubs and other entertainment options may sound like a dream job, but as Kurzweil points out, the amusement business is not exactly all fun and games. Competition for leisure-time dollars is fierce. Bigger and better movie theaters are proliferating all over Los Angeles and, in addition to theme parks such as Disneyland and Magic Mountain, Universal also competes with local dining and retail areas like Santa Monica’s Third Street Promenade and Old Pasadena. Although Universal had developed a master plan with the intention of expanding its theme park to better compete with the likes of Disney, that effort was suspended in November 1998, and Universal has made no move to revisit the plan since then. Further complicating the picture is the move earlier this month by French conglomerate Vivendi to acquire Universal’s parent, Seagram Co. Kurzweil would not comment on that pending $34 billion takeover. But he did discuss Universal’s focus on building its San Fernando Valley-based entertainment venue. Question: What were some of your objectives when you began the expansion project for CityWalk? Answer: At the end of the day, you have to know that Los Angeles has a lot of choices. CityWalk is still largely about locals and in an ever-increasing landscape where new stores and shopping centers are built all the time, we wanted to make sure we created our own contemporary relevance. It was very important that we chose what was the best in the category for each particular concept. No. 2 is that any well-known brand names had to make a commitment to doing something different at CityWalk. We didn’t want to look like the mall center down the street, nor did we want it to be confused with any other entertainment centers. Q: What kinds of things did some of these companies bring to the center that they don’t do elsewhere? A: Take the Daily Grill. It committed to the best Daily Grill offerings in a shorter menu. It’s got architecture and design you won’t find anywhere else, like the world’s largest coffee cup, which you won’t find anywhere but at Universal CityWalk. Sometimes it will be the design. Sometimes it will be the menu, but there will be enough elements that you will say, “Wow, this really is different from what I’ve seen before.” Q: Did the tenants have to sign exclusivity agreements that keep them from opening similar outposts elsewhere in L.A.? A: There were certain requirements, many of which I won’t talk about in a public forum. But there’s a good number of requirements that when you sign up with CityWalk you won’t see in the next couple hundred years anything in this state that looks like that because of how we construct our leases. Q: Some of the deals you made with tenants are not traditional lease deals. Can you talk about that? A: We own approximately one-third of the street in some way, shape or form. Sometimes we fully own a unit. Sometimes we’re a joint venture in a unit. But most of the deals are straight tenant deals and all tenant deals have a participation in some percentage of sales (that go to Universal, over and above the lease rates.) Q: How has the response to CityWalk been so far? A: Our attendance is up big double digits vs. a year ago, and most tenants will tell you they’re hitting some record numbers. Q: What kind of sales per square foot performance are your retail tenants experiencing? A: I’d rather not say for competitive reasons. But our sales per square foot are in the top 10 percent in the United States. Q: What impact has the expanded CityWalk had on Universal Studios theme park? A: It’s hard to link them together. The good news is we’re having a very good spring and early summer at the theme park. I think we have the momentum of the “Terminator 2” ride introduced a year ago. There’s also the “Rug Rats Magic Adventure” and the new studio tour that we introduced two and a half months ago, so it already had momentum. It’s hard to ascribe what specifically belongs to the park. Both businesses are rocking and rolling. Q: What was the reasoning behind updating the studio tour? A: (We wanted to) take an experience everyone is familiar with and bring it to a new era of technological advancement. What guests want are numerous textures of information. And rather than giving them one texture looking at all those great sets it’s now other layers of texture for sight and sound. Q: To an outsider, it seems as if you had a dream job, going around the country for 18 months picking the best entertainment and restaurants. What was it like? A: It’s not quite that simple. It’s every bit as much fun in terms of having to create something for a great brand like Universal Studios, but you have some real challenges. Here it’s about land use. Try developing that 93,000 square feet to the needs of 25 tenants when you’re totally landlocked. Q: What do you mean by landlocked? A: The 93,000 square feet is a very specific footprint that goes around the Hard Rock Cafe. Some tenants might have some very specific needs in terms of how they need their space to be configured. We don’t have the flexibility to lay down big boxes. Space management here is very, very difficult. Then you’ve got financial challenges in developing a center in a major urban property where costs are just forever escalating. And last, but not least, you’re working furiously toward a timetable. It’s like getting 25 trains across the country to come into Chicago at about the same hour. That’s a challenge. Q: How did you get involved in the amusement industry? A: I started here in 1997 as general manager of CityWalk. My background was in marketing. Universal was looking for an individual with marketing background. There was a little bit of a question because I had no real estate experience. But I quickly tried to identify competencies that would help us manage the project. Q: Your master’s degree is in industrial administration. What is that and how did you transition to marketing? A: Industrial administration is an advanced analytical MBA program, a computer-oriented curriculum. At the time, I was looking at a career in market research. I quickly moved over into brand marketing. I thought it was far more exciting managing the various aspects of a business, rather than just one specific area.

With so little office space available in the hot high-tech corridor along the Ventura (101) Freeway, landlords have no trouble finding tenants. But the Johnston Group figured it wouldn’t hurt to carve out a competitive advantage for its Corporate Center at Malibu Canyon anyway. The company earlier this month installed a fitness center in its 320,000-square-foot complex along Malibu Canyon Road and the Ventura Freeway in Calabasas. “Today, it’s a very competitive environment to attract new employees, so companies are helping to sponsor this,” said Cal Johnston, chairman of Calabasas-based Johnston Group. The 4,500-square-foot fitness center focuses on providing personal training programs. Johnston, which subcontracts operation of the center to One-On-One Fitness, does not intend for the gym to compete with large, national chains, but rather to provide an amenity that tenants can use. Employers will be able to contract for discounts and other programs that they can then pass along to their employees. When it is fully staffed, the center will provide about 10 personal trainers and a variety of memberships customized to each tenant’s needs. Although Johnston does not participate in the revenues of the center, the company did invest a considerable sum in renovating the space, adding such amenities as locker rooms with showers, Johnston said. After researching the fitness center industry, company officials decided that rather than build a gym on the scale of large operators such as Spectrum Club and others, it would design a smaller facility where employees can work out with personal trainers. Corporate Center at Malibu Canyon consists of seven buildings. An eighth building of 140,000 square feet is slated for completion in the fourth quarter of 2001. The park has been almost fully occupied since construction was completed. (The first phase was built in 1985, the second phase in 1990.) Johnston just inked a deal with Physical Therapy Provider Network, which has leased 8,300 square feet of space for its corporate headquarters. On the Block It’s official. Tourney Pointe, a 219,991-square-foot office building in Valencia Corporate Center, has been listed for sale. Arden Realty Inc., which owns the property at 27200 Tourney Road, has hired NAI Capital Commercial to market the class-A building. Tourney Pointe is one of several Valencia facilities that have experienced high vacancy rates as a result of overbuilding in the office sector in that market. The property is about 30 percent occupied. NAI will handle the sale and leasing of the property, which was renovated in 1998. Sylmar Acquisition Local investors acquired a 127,000-square-foot warehouse in Sylmar for $7 million. The purchase, by Desert Sierra Properties, includes about five acres of land at 13291 Ralston Ave. The facility, which includes about 6,000 square feet of office space, is currently about 50 percent occupied by Advanced Bionics. Jerry Scullin and David Hoffberg of Delphi Business Properties represented the buyer. Ross Thomas, also of Delphi, represented the seller, Ralston Investments. User Acquisition Universal Framing Products purchased a 48,500-square-foot industrial building in Sylmar for $2.7 million. The company, which imports picture frame materials, had been leasing the space at 12432 Foothill Blvd. for warehousing, distribution and offices. Richard Kyler and Nigel Stout of Grubb & Ellis Co. represented the seller, the Kapadia Family Trust of Chatsworth. Ross Thomas, a broker with Delphi Business Properties, represented the buyer. Sega Moves Sega GameWorks subleased 15,974 square feet of office space in Glendale. The offices at 600 N. Brand Ave. are leased by Walt Disney Co. Sega will be relocating from 10 Universal City Plaza. Forrest Blake, a broker with Cresa Partners, represented Sega. Toy Story Toy importer Overbreak LLC leased a 5,208-square-foot warehouse in the Celis Industrial Park, bringing that San Fernando complex to full occupancy. Overbreak will relocate its headquarters and distribution facilities from Agoura. Celis Industrial Park, developed by Bernards Bros. Investment Co., consists of five freestanding buildings ranging in size from 3,100 square feet to 5,200 square feet. Jack Mikail, a broker with Westcord Commercial Real Estate Services, represented the landlord. Joe Lopez, also with Westcord, represented Overbreak. News & Notes P & N; Builders Inc. leased a 2,250-square-foot warehouse facility at 14730 Arminta St. in Van Nuys, according to Jason Sweener, a broker with R.J. Feder & Associates NAI Capital Commercial brokers Jack Dwyer and J.P. McDonald were appointed exclusive leasing agents for a 40,000-square-foot R & D; facility in Newbury Park. The complex at 3353 Old Conejo Road will be available for occupancy by the middle of 2001. The owner is CPL Inc. Staff reporter Shelly Garcia can be reached at (818) 710-2731 or by e-mail at [email protected].

Smog Check The state Department of Consumer Affairs recently held a poetry contest for elementary school kids to promote the smog check program and to encourage people to carpool or take public transportation to work. Given the Valley’s congested freeways and streets, is it any surprise that some of the top entries, including the winner, came from Valleyites? With plenty of inspiration, Galina Tucker, a fifth-grader at San Jose Highly Gifted Magnet School in Mission Hills, penned the winning words in her poem, “Listen My Children.” A sample of her work: On short errands, ride a bike, carpool, turn off the lights Galina won a television and VCR. Unfortunately for her, they’re for her school classroom. Star-Struck The next time you gaze up into the heavens, consider this: the planets may be giving you zits. Well, not exactly. But Agoura Hills-based spa owner Monique Moore will argue that people with different astrological signs require different kinds of skin treatments. She’s devised a zodiac facial to help her clients match their treatments with their signs. She says Virgos do well with chamomile. Libras and Tauruses can often benefit from ylang-ylang oil. Aries… well, you get the idea. “We’ve done a lot of research and devised a program of aromatherapy because there are oils best suited for each astrological sign,” said Moore. “People may think it’s far-fetched, but everything is affected by the planets and the Earth, so it’s really self-explanatory.” Vivendi La Difference The move by French water and media conglomerate Vivendi to buy Seagram Co. and all its local entertainment businesses has Hollywood in a buzz, with many wondering how a French parent might affect operations at Universal Studios Inc. The irony of a French company buying one of the biggest purveyors of American pop culture isn’t lost on Hollywood insiders; the French are notorious for turning up their noses at American cinematic fare, taking steps to protect their own film industry while the intelligentsia rails against anything produced on this side of the pond. So what will happen when Vivendi takes over Universal? Will studio employees get eight weeks of vacation a year? Will burgers be replaced with brie-stuffed baguettes in the studio commissary? One Hollywood publicist thinks he knows one immediate impact: “Jerry Lewis movies are going to have a huge comeback,” he predicted. Air Raid Talk about taking corporate advertising of baseball games to new heights. During a recent Dodgers game at Chavez Ravine, a plane carrying a banner for Yellow Pages Publishing Co. circled the stadium continuously for the first four innings, driving some fans and presumably some of the ballplayers to distraction. “OK already, why doesn’t that plane go away?” was a common refrain in the stands after about the third inning. One person even threatened to go home early and throw out their Yellow Pages if the plane didn’t move on. Officials from the Yellow Pages didn’t return calls for comment about the plane, which finally stopped circling the stadium after it got dark. Choice of Napkin Diners at the Peninsula Hotel in Beverly Hills who arrive attired in dark suits are now offered a choice of napkins the traditional white or a new color, dark green. Why the choice? It seems that all too often lint from white napkins is left on the trousers of men in blue and black suits after they get up from the table. Green doesn’t shed, and if it does, it can’t be seen like all those white specks from the lighter-colored napkins. “We cater a lot to businessmen, especially leaders in the entertainment industry in Hollywood,” said Gabby Reims, the hotel’s spokeswoman. “It’s important they don’t have lint all over the pants of their dark suits. We want to have out guests put their best foot forward.” The idea for green napkins came after hotel consulting firm Richey International made a series of recommendations to Peninsula General Manager Ali Kasikci about differentiating his Beverly Hills hotel from others in the high-end Los Angeles market. Other suggestions included having servers greet guests and take their drink orders within 30 seconds of them being seated. Pricey Pennies What’s a penny worth these days? More than you might think. At a recent auction of rare coins at Superior Galleries in Beverly Hills, pennies were going for a king’s ransom. The highest price was $83,375 the winning bid for an 1876 “Flying Eagle” cent. Another coin from a collection of Indian pennies fetched $77,625. And even a 1955 Lincoln cent commanded $6,612. Officials with Superior said a number of winning bids exceeded expectations. “We are so pleased for all the people who got to take a piece of history home with them,” said Stephen Deeds, Superior’s director of numismatics (the study of coins).

In Iran, consumers are forbidden by law from owning satellite dishes. But that isn’t stopping a North Hollywood businessman from shelling out millions of dollars on a for-profit satellite TV channel he’s beaming into the Middle Eastern nation sort of a modern-day TV equivalent of Radio Free Europe. Zia Atabay, who was a professional singer when he lived in his native Iran, officially launched his National Iranian Television this month, calling it the first 24-hour Farsi-language station. He hopes to reach millions of Iranians around the world, particularly in his native country. Atabay, a Valley businessman who has co-owned a cosmetic surgery clinic in Encino for the last decade, has invested $3 million of his own money so far into NITV and expects to pour more into the venture over the coming months to fund its $250,000-a-month budget. So far, advertisers are slow to sign on, but there has been some interest. One of the first sponsors was upscale Beverly Hills clothier and Iran native Bijan, who runs perfume ads on NITV. Atabay says he has also executed advertising contracts with several Porsche/Mercedes Benz dealerships in the Middle East. Relying on the black market Though satellite dishes are illegal in Iran, Atabay said the law isn’t enforced and he estimates several million people there have bought dishes on the black market to receive international broadcasts. Though his target audience is scattered throughout several different countries, Atabay believes that by featuring famous Iranian performers and open talk about Iranian issues, the content will appeal to Iranians no matter where they live. “It’s very difficult to make everybody happy,” he said. “We’ll make the majority happy. My background is art and I’ve been on television. I know what they want.” In Los Angeles, Iranian-oriented television programming has been growing over the last 20 years, with more than 100 L.A.-produced programs targeting the exile community. More than 90 Iranian newspapers and magazines operate out of the Los Angeles area, according to Hamid Naficy, associate professor of media and film studies at Rice University in Houston, who wrote a book in 1993 about the exile community in Los Angeles. There are an estimated 600,000 Iranian Americans living in Los Angeles County, one of the major centers of Iranian immigration following the 1979 revolution. Many settled in Beverly Hills, where Iranians are the largest minority group, according to the Iranian Information Center in Van Nuys. But they also moved to Valley communities such as Encino and Sherman Oaks. “The Iranian population in L.A. is large and relatively well off,” he said. “They are highly educated. And a very high number, around 85 percent, are self-employed. Rather than being the busboy, they own the restaurant.” Naficy said NITV is the first station he’s heard of that is trying to broadcast programming from the exile community into Iran. But he said, even discounting the Iranian population, there is ample advertising support for a station targeting Iranian immigrants in the United States. He estimates that smaller Iranian stations in L.A. are generating around $5 million a year in revenues. Atabay said he expects to reach at least 7,000 viewers in the L.A. area, and potentially an audience as big as 60 million around the world mostly in Europe and the Middle East. Actual viewer numbers won’t be available until NITV begins scrambling its signal to non-paying satellite TV watchers in the next few months. In the U.S., subscribers have to buy a special satellite dish to receive and unscramble NITV signals, at a cost of $289 plus $20 a month for the programming. The dishes aren’t available in stores, and have to be bought directly from NITV. So far, the company has sold around 2,000 dishes, officials say. In the Middle East and Europe, viewers can receive NITV programming through their existing satellite systems, after calling NITV to order a chip that unscrambles the signal. Subscriptions cost about $200 a year in Europe and $150 a year in the Middle East. Atabay is hoping smugglers will soon put NITV chips on the black market in Iran, and he is working with them to accomplish that. An Iranian CNN Atabay, a former executive at CBS Recording Co. in Tehran, left the country in 1980 after the revolution that brought the Ayatollah Khomeini to power, leaving behind his sister and mother. Atabay is hoping to create a sort of Iranian CNN. He has a dual goal of giving people in Iran a dose of independent news and information about their countrymen abroad while simultaneously keeping expatriate Iranians in touch with their culture back in the motherland. The station will not take political positions, though some local groups have pressured Atabay to support the removal of Iran’s current government. He insists such sentiments must come from within the country. “When I say I don’t want to take a political side, it doesn’t mean we’re not political,” Atabay said. “When we show women without a shawl, when we talk about freedom, we are political. When we broadcast the news without government regulation, we are political. I just don’t want it to become a platform. By not being political, we are political.” Programming consists of talk shows, news, a cooking show, and European movies and cartoons. The shows are produced primarily in NITV’s 5,000-square-foot studio in North Hollywood.