Santa Monica’s Week In Business

Michael Rosenthal

   I heard on KPFK the other day that there are over 400 million people worldwide who earn less then .78 cents a day. The report said that as a result of trade globalization wealth inequalities and income disparities are on the rise. The World Bank and the World Trade Organization attempt to ensure free trade for the world’s businesses. Only problem is, most agreements tend to neglect workers and the environment, so both get ignored, resulting in a rise in poverty in many nations and a degradation of the world’s environment. What the world needs is Fair Trade agreements with strong provisions to protect the environment and give special consideration to workers’ rights around the world.
   On the same station, I also heard California Treasurer Phil Angelides discuss the need for investing in our nation’s infrastructure as a means of securing our economic future. He is pressing for the Federal government to include this issue in their budget, tax and economic stimulus discussions currently on-going in Washington. Angelides pointed to history to support his case, mentioning that Abraham Lincoln began the transcontinental railroad during the Civil War, that FDR created massive public works projects during the depression and that Eisenhower began the interstate highway system during a recession in his administration. In California, the Pat Brown administration invested heavily in our University and State College systems, virtually ensuring an educated workforce that has made California an economic powerhouse. Looking 5, 10, 25 years into the future it seems obvious that our state will need to rebuild itself in various ways. Angelides wants work done on our grade school systems and serious effort towards high speed rail systems in heavily traversed corridors like San Jose-Sacramento and Los Angeles-San Diego. In Santa Monica, there is dramatic need for the Exposition rail line to downtown, which might help alleviate vehicular traffic near the Pier and promenade, though I still have not heard how people are to get from Bergamot Station to the shore.
   The Santa Monica City Council, at its November 27 meeting, adopted an emergency ordinance imposing a 45-day moratorium on certain permit applications related to conversion of properties from restaurant to retail use on the 3rd Street Promenade. A task force will be appointed and amendments to the Downtown Specific Plan may be considered to maintain an appropriate mix of uses on the Promenade. The action comes after a loss of several restaurants on the Promenade caused concern that without eateries the Promenade might lose a major draw to consumers. Recently, the popular Teasers restaurant, with significant outdoor seating, closed its doors, citing high rents. This was on top of the loss of Remi, which has been replaced by a Tommy Hilfiger store, and the food court adjacent to the Cineplex Odeon. Subway, however, has opened in the food court at 1315 3rd Street Promenade.
   Apple Computers plans to remodel two restaurants at 1218 3rd Street Promenade and convert them to a retail store, though the planning process was continued from the November 5 Architectural Review Board meeting to a later date.
   Also on the Promenade, Express women’s clothing store received a permit valued at $297,675 for improvements to the former Disney Store at 1337 3rd Street Promenade. The store will measure 6,615 square feet. Santa Monica- based Gensler is the architect.
   Santa Monica has a new wireless retailer, Pronto Wireless, which has opened at 408 Wilshire Blvd. This is the company’s fourth store in Los Angeles.
   As many readers will recall, a Target store was planned for 6th and Santa Monica Blvd., but was rejected by the City Council, primarily based on an anticipated increase in traffic. Instead, Three Coast Limited Partnership plans to build 52 to 57 residential units on the property it purchased for $11.5 million. The mixed-use project will include 4,000 to 5,000 square feet of retail.
   Another mixed-use property at 1531 6th Street received a permit valued at $5.23 million for a five-story, 48-apartment unit above one story of commercial. The contractor is JSM Construction. The architect is REA Architects.
   The properties just north of Pico Blvd. on Ocean Ave. and Main Street will be the site of intense commercial development. Already being built is the Maguire Partners commercial building directly across from the Loews Hotel. In redevelopment is the Pacific Shore Hotel, 1819 Ocean Ave., which closed on November 5 to complete renovations. It will reopen as the Viceroy with 170 guestrooms in the spring of 2002. Soon to come is the 300,000 square foot Rand building. After that come the Civic Center buildings.
   Santa Monica-based Caruso Affiliated Holdings has chosen Cynthia Chong as vice president and general manager of The Grove, the company’s urban lifestyle/entertainment center under construction in Los Angeles. Chong will have responsibility for day-to-day operations at The Grove along with long-term strategic planning, financial reporting, marketing, community and tenant relations. Chong comes to The Grove after 11 years as vice president and general manager of the Glendale Galleria, a Donahue Schriber property.

   Hi Tech Briefs
   Santa Monica based Xdrive Technologies, Inc., and United Online, Inc., announced a marketing agreement through which United Online may promote Xdrive’s Internet Content Management, collaboration, backup and file synchronization capabilities to NetZero and Juno subscribers. “NetZero and Juno both have great reputations and loyal customer bases,” said Karl Klessig, President and CEO, Xdrive Technologies. “The combination of our Internet information management tools and United Online’s dependable service will be of tremendous value to everyone involved. We’re very happy to be working together.”
   “We are pleased to be working with a leading-edge company like Xdrive Technologies, which offers products and services that will give our users the ability to enhance their online experience,” said Jon Fetveit, United Online’s executive vice president and chief strategy officer. “We believe that Xdrive’s services will make an attractive offering, particularly to anyone who needs assurance that their content can be backed up, automatically synchronized and shared, whether it’s digital content, digital photos, or important documents.” The company commenced operations in September 2001 as the result of its acquisition of NetZero and Juno Online Services.
   Santa Monica based Dynamic I-T, Inc., a provider of executive education to major companies worldwide via distance learning formats under its L-earnbiz brand, announced that it has commenced production of Jim Ritchie-Dunham’s seminar, Managing From Clarity. English, Spanish, and Chinese versions will be produced, with Signorelli & Associates (http://www.signorelli.info), on CD-ROM and DVD incorporating Internet links. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., the global publisher of Ritchie-Dunham’s book “Managing From Clarity: Identifying, Aligning and Leveraging Strategic Resources,” will join Dynamic I-T in marketing the seminar worldwide. “The addition of this seminar to our course catalogue demonstrates how Dynamic I-T is utilizing its high-powered strategic resources and partnerships to remain on the cutting edge of our industry,” stated Spencer Young, President and CEO of Dynamic I-T.

   Digital Theater advances…
   Santa Monica-based Avica Technology Corporation announced it will utilize Dell hardware to meet worldwide demand for Digital Cinema. Dell will provide Avica with server hardware tailored specifically to meet the requirements of the Avica FilmStore Digital Cinema Platform and be distributed to theaters around the globe.
   “This relationship addresses key issues related to the deployment of a viable Digital Cinema playback solution, such as the ability to meet ramp-up demands, the cost of converting to the new technology and the reliability of the product once installed,” said Andrew Maltz, Avica President and CEO. “With Dell’s global presence and ability to manufacture highly reliable industrial servers in large quantities, Avica is ready and able to meet the growing demand for Digital Cinema systems worldwide.”
   First deployed in early 2001, the Avica FilmStore is currently the only theater player based on an open system architecture designed specifically for Digital Cinema applications. Avica’s “Platform for Digital Cinema” integrates software technologies and user interfaces for theater management applications. It also employs a modular “plug-in” approach designed to accommodate evolving industry standards for compression, encryption and content distribution.
   Avica also announced that it has joined with EVS and the Grass Valley Group and have achieved compatibility for the playback of MPEG2 encoded content on their respective systems.
   In related news, the companies have formed the MPEG Interoperability Initiative, which is chartered to facilitate interoperability between multiple manufacturers. The results of the Interoperability engineering effort were verified at the Hollywood Digital Cinema Lab in a technology demonstration that marks substantial progress made toward deployment of interoperable Digital Cinema playback systems. Each manufacturer provided encoded content to the others and tests were conducted to verify that regardless of the source, content could be loaded, recognized and played back on all three systems. “By joining forces in this Interoperability Initiative, Avica, EVS and the Grass Valley Group have demonstrated a willingness as competitors to work on facilitating the success of Digital Cinema,” said Don Bird, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Avica Technology.