Santa Monica’s Week In Business

   Simonson Benz To Acquire Claude Short 
   Dodge
   One of Santa Monica's oldest family-owned car dealerships, Claude Short Dodge, will be acquired by another venerable auto dealer, W.I. Simonson Benz. After 75 years as a family owned business, the Dodge dealer will officially merge with the Mercedes Benz dealership at the beginning of the year. 
   Last year in an interview with the Mirror, Walter Parr one of Claude Short's two owner/partner/brothers told us, "Our challenge is to bring Santa Monicans in to see domestic cars." That battle was lost when Mercedes Benz acquired Chrysler Corporation last year. 
   I have bought several vehicles from the firm over the past 25 years, mostly through the other brother/partner, Alan Parr. Despite the fact he has never found it easy to be a public person, he has faithfully fulfilled a variety of civic duties, serving on the boards of the Chamber of Commerce, the YMCA, the Salvation Army, the Foundation board at Santa Monica College, and he is a past president of the Lions Club. 
   W.I. Simonson Benz is one of the top Mercedes Benz dealerships in the country and a landmark in Santa Monica with its restored building on Wilshire Boulevard. The Claude Short Dealership will be in good hands under Simonson's banner. 

   Adelphia drops Spice Channel
   Our local cable company appears to be applying a bit of censorship to its programming. 
   Adelphia Cable has dropped the Spice Channel and has consistently refused to carry the Playboy Channel. Some people call these adult channels, but they never show x-rated fare, just lots of nudity with sexually suggestive themes. But nothing I have seen compares to HBO's "Sex in the City" in terms of explicit subject matter. I wonder if Adelphia is considering cutting out violent programming which I consider far more harmful then "soft porn."
   Ironic too that Adelphia has one of the country's finest community programming gurus in General Manager Bill Rosendahl. His talk and interview shows consistently inform a large and diverse audience about a wide variety of local topics not normally covered by commercial TV. Since his shows encourage a free flow of ideas, I should think any form of censorship would seem foreign to him. 

   Banks remove credit authority from 
   community
   Are the Federal Reserve and the large mega banks itching for a slowdown? It appears that the merger mania has forced banks to shift their focus from making loans to cost cutting as a primary source of profits. 
   FirstStar bank of Minnesota is planning to merge with USBank (the company that acquired Santa Monica Bank) to form the nation's eighth largest bank. Recently, USBank moved its loan-processing center to Portland Oregon, effectively moving local credit decision making authority out of our community. This further consolidation does not bode well for small businesses that require access to credit in order to grow. "Relationship banking officers" no longer have any loan approval limits and personal banking appears to be doomed. 
   Banks seem to forget that their large deposit base is our money, not theirs. First, they ask you to deposit all your money with them, then they secure loans by collateralizing your homes, buildings, stocks and bonds and then they agree to loan you money on your own assets...maybe. 
   When they invest in our communities, they are investing in their own futures and helping to secure ours. If they charge onerous interest rates and make borrowing rules too difficult, they head us straight into an economic downturn. Banks are making record profits and are generally considered to be in the best shape they've been in in over two decades.  The word in the banking community however is that a slowdown is inevitable, so they panic, tighten up credit and end up making their own worst fears come true.
   The major domos of these big banks are concentrating their efforts on making personal fortunes through mergers and stock trades. They have lost track of customer service and personalized banking. One officer we know of, from the old Security Pacific Bank was asked by Bank of America officials to replace longtime, fulltime employees with new, part-time employees so the bank could avoid paying benefits. He refused and resigned in protest. 
   There are options, however. Smaller banks are thriving, remain rooted in the community, and are eager to serve the needs of small business. Seek them out and reward them with your business. 

   Pier Restaurant
   The Marisol Restaurant located at the end of the Santa Monica Pier recently asked the planning commission to permit them to modify their floor plan. Ironic that this restaurant with one of the most beautiful views in the world was designed without a north/west facing view up the coast toward Point Dume. Instead, the layout of the restaurant forces diners to sit facing inward with a wall blocking the ocean view. This building, which was built and is owned by the City, needs a serious remodel.

   Hotels booming
   Santa Monicas hotels had a robust summer, with average occupancy rates nearing 93% and room rates increasing to an average of $211 a night up from 1999's average of $184. 
   Spieker Properties the owners of Santa Monica Business Park has signed Multilink Technology Corporarion to added square footage. The designer and manufacturer of circuit boards will now occupy nearly 30,000 square feet in a deal valued at $5.6 million.
   331 Santa Monica Blvd. at Fourth Street will be the site of a four-story, mixed-use building. Mixed use buildings in downtown Santa Monica are being touted by opponents of the Target store as the correct course for development. 
   A 25,429 square foot, three story, 11 unit condominium is seeking approval to build at 1751 Appian Way. 
   Santa Monica based Fandom.com has acquired Chicago based Cinescape a leading action/adventure/science fiction magazine.
   Santa Monica based Tree Media Group, a digital development and production company, has won a Communications Arts award for Design Excellence with Technical Innovation for their work on ElmoreLeonard.com.
   Santa Monica based RnetHealth has announced it will air "Tobacco Radio" with host Murray Kelly to help provide support for people trying to overcome tobacco addiction. The program is available 24 hours a day at www.recoverynetradio.com and www.rnethealth.com
   Santa Monica's CyberU, 3250 Ocean Park Boulevard, received $3 million on October 17, in a second round of equity financing. The primary funding source was ASI Solutions. The firm is involved in on-line education for corporations, small businesses and individuals. 
   Macpherson Oil Co, another Santa Monica company is battling for the right to drill for oil in nearly three dozen wells in the city of Hermosa Beach. Opposing them are the California Attorney General's office and several environmental groups. In a decision handed down in 1998, the courts ruled that the company had undergone extensive environmental review and could proceed unless significant new information about potential effects on public health, safety and welfare were discovered. If permitted to drill, the company anticipates revenues of $12 million a year for almost 25 years. 
   Santa Monica's Museum of Flying was ranked #25 in the LABJ listing of largest meeting facilities in L.A. County. Located at 2800 Donald Douglas Loop North (and host to my 20th high school graduation reunion--oops soon to be 30th!) the facility has nearly 30,000 square feet available. Lynne Duncan is the director of special events. 
   MGM Pictures has promoted Alex Gartner to president of production, overseeing all aspects of film development and production. 
   Pearson Television with offices in Santa Monica has appointed William Lincoln to Chief Operating Officer. Matt Laze was promoted to president of production, drama and long form, for Pearson and Sara Rutenberg was named president, business development and strategy. 
   Cleartop, an online customer solutions firm in Santa Monica, has appointed Vikki Yaller as vice president of operations. Yaller comes over from eHobbies.