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Holiday crowds: LAX expects 810,000 travelers to depart and arrive on flights from Friday to Monday, an increase of 4 percent over the same Labor Day weekend last year. One reason for the increase is that the airlines are finally adding more flights - 4.2 percent on the domestic side and 1.9 percent international. It's the first significant increase in more than a year.
KB cutting back: LAT reports that the L.A.-based homebuilder has sold its 49 percent stake in a 2,000-acre master-planned community in the Antelope Valley. The buyer is the project's majority owner, Empire Cos. of Ontario. Terms were not disclosed. It's another example of homebuilders trying to lower their exposure in a slumping market.
Half-hour commute: Actually 29 minutes. That's the mean travel time for L.A. County commuters, according to the Census Bureau's 2005 American Community Survey. And in case you're wondering, it's not the highest time in the nation. I don't have county comparables, but the states with the highest travel times are New York (31.2), Maryland (30.8) and New Jersey (29.5).
Pricey rents: Century City had the third-highest asking rents of the 39 markets surveyed by Grubb & Ellis, at $38.52 per square foot. Tops on the list was Newport Beach, at $39.24. Newport Beach was also one of six smaller metro districts that had second-quarter vacancy rates of under 10 percent (actually it was 6.7 percent). Survey results were in this morning's WSJ. OC's overall vacancy rate is 7 percent, one of the lowest in the nation.
Emmy bounce: Some of the winning shows at Sunday's awards bash have seen a sales surge in DVDs over the last couple of days. Among those doing well: Best drama series "24, best comedy series "The Office" and the HBO movie "Elizabeth I." Season three of "24" went from 168 to 66 on the Amazon.com sales chart.
Gas confusion: Misleading story in the Daily News over the prospects of a brief jump in pump prices for the Labor Day weekend. Nowhere is it mentioned that prices have headed downward for most of the month. Also, there's a mention of oil prices being at record highs, which just ain't true. Oil has actually been going down (it was under $70 a barrel in trading yesterday). No wonder people get so confused over business stuff.
Port deal: As part of a class action settlement, 12,000 nonunion dockworkers will be given a total of $12.9 million in back pay they were shorted a few years back. The suit was filed on behalf of all part-time longshoremen, known as "casuals." The dockworkers charged that employers shaved off time from the payroll.
Caruso at war: The L.A. Times finally catches up with the years-long battle by Grove developer Rick Caruso to build one of his open-air centers right next to the Westfield Santa Anita mall. Westfield has launched a campaign to block Caruso's project; Caruso is offering free office space to the local school district. A referendum is expected next year.
Last-minute pleas: Long Beach officials lobby state legislators to pass a measure that would priovide tax credits for worker wages and materials used in the manufacture of the KC-X tanker, the next generation U.S. Air Force air refueling program. The hope is to offset the losses from Boeing's decision to end the C-17 program.
Chapter 11 filing: Spectrum Restaurant Group, owner of the Spoons Bar & Grill and National Sports Grill chains, has filed for bankruptcy protection. Cash-flow problems and a dispute over the sale of several restaurants apparently pushed the Irvine-based company over the edge.
Mark Lacter created the LA Biz Observed blog in 2006. He posted
until the day before his death on Nov. 13, 2013.