The Los Angeles Business Journal Digital Edition
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2-Page Spread Single Page View Thumbnails | LABJ User Guide | Front Page | Table of Content Previous Page Zoom In Zoom Out Next Page labusinessjournal.com LOS ANGELES BUSINESS JOURNALL TM DIGITAL EDITION THE COMMUNITY OF BUSINESS www.labusinessjournal.com/digital WELCOME TO THE LOS ANGELES BUSINESS JOURNAL DIGITAL EDITION To read your copy of the Digital Edition INSTRUCTION Please select a reading preference FOR PC/MAC How to read LABJ Digital Edition on iPad in iBooks: 1 TAP CENTER 2 TAP ‘OPEN WITH’ 3 TAP ‘iBOOKS’ Wait for gray bar with Wait for scroll down menu menu buttons to appear on and tap the iBooks icon. top of the PDF. Wait for PDF to load in iBOOKS. 2-Page Spread Single Page View Thumbnails | LABJ User Guide | Front Page | Table of Content Previous Page Zoom In Zoom Out Next Page labusinessjournal.com LOS ANGELES BUSINESS JOURNAL Volume 33, Number 25 THE COMMUNITY OF BUSINESSTM June 20 - 26, 2011 • $3.00 Up SPECIAL REPORT BANKING AND FINANCE Painful Breakup Front In Development REAL ESTATE: Will partners’ split cost Casden properties? By ALFRED LEE Staff Reporter A dispute with a longtime partner has brought bil- lionaire residential developer Alan Casden to the brink Local firm cap- of foreclosure on six properties, including his prized tured time on a Palazzo mixed-used complex in Westwood Village. bottle with its Lenders led by Comerica Bank say that Casden has caps that say been missing payments since November and have filed when to take foreclosure lawsuits on the six properties, including your pill. PAGE 3 development sites in Los Angeles and Ventura counties. Representatives of Casden, whose privately held Casden Properties LLC is one of the region’s largest News & apartment builders, blame the missed payments not on financial troubles but on a dispute with Cerberus Part- Analysis ners LP, a division of New York private-equity firm Please see REAL ESTATE page 55 Prepaid Card King OneWest headquarters in Pasadena. Why Scott Gray’s RINGO H.W. CHIU/LABJ Draws a Big Rival patience with San Pedro’s PROFITS FINANCIAL: American Express parking meters Since early 2009 has expired. a threat to Green Dot’s top spot. PAGE 5 MONEY OneWest: $2.48 By RICHARD CLOUGH Staff Reporter Energy billion Suddenly rising competition in the prepaid debit card MACHINE market could leave Green Dot Corp. feeling blue. The Monrovia company is the nation’s top issuer ONEWEST BANK has made more in profit than all of the reloadable cards, but new pressure from one of other local banks combined in the two years since it All other L.A. County the largest financial firms in the United States could arose from the failed IndyMac Bank. Why? Because banks and thrifts threaten Green Dot’s position. of a lopsided deal handed to it by the FDIC, which combined: New York-based American Express Co. $186 million announced last week the launch of a prepaid debit expects to lose $10 billion as a result. This special card with much lower fees. It is the first of what could report examines how L.A.’s biggest failure was be many large financial companies to enter the transformed into a spectacular money machine for nascent but fast-growing market. the wealthy and influential buyers. “If you’re Green Dot and you wake up and read Hal Washburn is that American Express is introducing a prepaid debit buying oil fields BEGINNING ON PAGE 17 Source: FDIC anywhere but Please see FINANCIAL page 54 California. PAGE 10 Trade Group’s HQ Plan Draws Static MAIL TO: But Saul Levine, owner of Mt. Wilson Broad- RADIO: Some station owners casters and country music station KKGO-FM rip move-in with media giant. (105.1), believes that housing the trade group in the offices of a giant media conglomerate would com- By JOEL RUSSELL Staff Reporter promise its integrity and independence. He has formed an alliance with about six other local station When Mary Beth Garber left as president of the owners to fight the proposal. Southern California Broadcasters Association in “The SCBA must be restored to its independent April, the organization’s board wanted to restructure status and not be an arm of any station or station – a decision that set in motion a battle over the group,” he said. “It must have its own offices, apart future of the radio trade group. from any station or group.” The board discussed moving the association into Levine, a longtime critic of giant station groups offices provided by Katz Media Group, the sub- in the radio industry, noted that SCBA has decided sidiary of Clear Channel Communications that RINGO H.W. CHIU/LABJ hired Garber away from the association. Please see RADIO page 53 Ex-SCBA: Mary Beth Garber at Katz’s L.A. office. 2-Page Spread Single Page View Thumbnails | LABJ User Guide | Front Page | Table of Content Previous Page Zoom In Zoom Out Next Page 2 LOS ANGELES BUSINESS JOURNAL JUNE 20, 2011 LOS ANGELES BUSINESS JOURNAL ® JUNE 20 - 26, 2011 VOLUME 33, NUMBER 25 FREEanywhere DELIVERY in Downtown LA! ” Power seats standard.” RINGO H.W. CHIU/LABJ Page 6: Founder Jake Winebaum at Brighter.com’s Santa Monica office. HEALTH CARE – Jake Winebaum’s (213)TICKETS SPECIAL REPORT: company named Brighter hopes to link the (842-5387) BANKING & FINANCE uninsured with dental deals. .6 QUARTERLY ENTERTAINMENT – Video game maker GROWTH – OneWest investors are Magic Pixel is aiming for console players reaping billions from the bones of despite the growing mobile device niche. .7 IndyMac thanks to unusually generous PUBLISHING – Energy drink maker Red terms from the FDIC, which is on the Bull is pouring its efforts into a new magazine hook to help cover many of the busted to promote the brand. .8 thrift’s loans. .17 SPORTS – Manhattan Beach has courted LENDING – OneWest homes in on a USA Volleyball and a marketing firm to help business model that downplays mortgage revive the city’s pro open. .8 loans. .26 ENERGY – BreitBurn’s chief says California AL BROOKS TICKETS CHARTS – Quarterly banking data.28-29 lawmakers’ thirst for oil taxes spurred him to THEATRE • CONCERTS • SPORTS expand operations out of state. .10 900 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, California 90017 Columns & features – Media Watch 10, ON THE COVER www.albrooks.com Health Care & Biotech 12, Banking & FINANCIAL – Analysts expect American Finance 12, News of the Week 14 Express to swipe more than a little business from prepaid debit card leader Green Dot. THE LIST RADIO – A proposal to headquarter a trade RANKING – The 20 largest foreign group in a media conglomerate’s office has companies with U.S. headquarters in Los generated bad buzz with some independent Angeles County, ranked by parent company station owners. revenue. .15 REAL ESTATE – Six local properties including Westwood’s Palazzo are at the INVESTMENTS & FINANCE center of bad breakup between billionaire Alan Casden and a partner. Columns & features – LABJ Stock Index 46, Econowatch 48 UP FRONT REAL ESTATE DINING – Self-ordering eatery Stacked thinks it will be better served focusing on food and Columns & features – Real Estate not games. .3 Column 48 HEALTH CARE – A Thousand Oaks company has captured time on a bottle with L.A. BIZ SEEN its caps that track when to take pills. .3 INVESTMENT – Criterion Capital is giving CELEBRATIONS – Photos from L.A. business community events. .56 investors something to chew on with its pickup of 10 Fatburgers. .3 Columns & features – Page 3, COMMENTARY Regional Report 4 COMMENT – The notion that more restau- rants may put touch screens on tabletops is NEWS & ANALYSIS causing heartburn for Charles Crumpley. .58 POLITICS – Joel Fox thinks L.A. voters will GOVERNMENT – San Pedro and have to make a close call if businessmen Wilmington merchants are hoping to drive off Austin Beutner and Rick Caruso run for parking meters after business plunged in the mayor. .59 wake of a 2009 rate hike. .5 ECONOMY – President Obama’s choices for APPAREL – The popularity of rivals’ his jobs panel just don’t work for Bill wide-leg denim lines have thinned out profits Gunderson. .59 for skinny-focused Joe’s Jeans. .5 Columns & features – LABJ Forum 58 Los Angeles Business Journal (ISSN 0194-2603) is published weekly. © 2011, Los Angeles Business Journal. Offices are located at 5700 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 170, Los Angeles, CA 90036. Periodicals postage paid at Los Angeles, CA and additional offices (USPS #492-930). Subscription prices: 51 issues and special issue, $99.95. For new and renewal subscriptions, call 1-800-404-5225. All other inquiries (323) 549-5225. Single copies, $3.00. Mailed copies, $5.00. Back issues, $8.00. Address and subscription inquiries to: Circulation Department, Los Angeles Business Jour- nal, 5700 Wilshire Blvd. Suite 170, Los Angeles, CA 90036. This newspaper is designed to inform decision-making executives, investors and man- agers on the trends, the growth and the ideas important to commerce and industry in Los Angeles County. Information in Los Angeles Business Journal is gathered from sources considered to be reliable, but the accuracy of this information cannot be guaranteed. Neither that information nor any opinion which may be expressed here constitutes a solicitation for the purchase or sale of any securities. Opinions expressed in letters to the editor and commentaries are those of the authors and not necessarily those of Los Angeles Business Journal. Member Audit Bureau of Circulations. LABJ has been adjudicated Nov. 1985 to be a newspaper of general circulation. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Los Angeles Business Journal, PO Box 16825, North Hollywood, CA 91615. 2-Page Spread Single Page View Thumbnails | LABJ User Guide | Front Page | Table of Content Previous Page Zoom In Zoom Out Next Page JUNE 20, 2011 UP FRONT LOS ANGELES BUSINESS JOURNAL 3 tion to bring in new customers.