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Not rich enough: The Malibu-based publisher of the Robb Report and other glossy pubs for the super-rich has taken itself off the selling block because it couldn't attract a big enough offer. Curtco Media wanted as much as $500 million. The company's chairman, William Curtis, says he now wants to be a buyer.
Foley went Hollywood: Turns out that the disgraced ex-Florida congressman lobbied heavily to become head of the Motion Picture Association of America. He also liked to party in town, or so says NY Post columnist Tim Arango.
Two years ago at a pre-Grammy gathering honoring Sting in Los Angeles, the congressman was seated next to this columnist at a table hosted by music giant EMI. Over the course of the evening, Foley proceeded to get quite tipsy - and handed over his phone number along with an offer to fly me back to New York in a private jet. (For the record: The overture was rebuffed.)
Bailing out: Having lost in its bid for Univision, Mexico media giant Televisa is selling its 11 percent stake in the L.A.-based Spanish-language broadcaster. Televisa still has a long-term programming commitment with Univision that it has been trying to change, with llittle success.
Clearing the air: The South Coast Air Quality Management District wants to cut smog-forming emissions by 50 percent by 2020. It's looking at several dozen areas, including the use of low-sulfur fuel by cargo ships and replacement of older diesel trucks. Keep in mind, though, that the AQMD can only regulate stationary sources of emission, such as oil refineries and factories.
Downloading woes: Those new services from Apple and Amazon have gotten, at best, mixed reviews. WSJ talks to some frustrated users who waited two hours or more to download a movie. Some are also not wild about picture quality. Could be the usual glitches encountered for any new tech product and the story notes that there have been satisfied customers. But two hours?
News Corp. pushing Google: Rupert Murdoch missed out on buying YouTube, but he's still looking to expand Google's relationship with News Corp.'s MySpace. Google CEO Eric Schmidt will meet with Murdoch in Los Angeles this week to discuss possibilities, reports the WSJ. Google's purchase of YouTube is, of course, a potential threat to MySpace.
Office crunch: This won't come as a big shock to anyone looking for office space, but vacancy rates are reaching a record low and rents keep climbing. Cushman & Wakefield's third-quarter report shows that Santa Monica rents jumped to a county high of $3.73 a square foot per month, from $3.26 a year ago. The vacancy rate is 5.4 percent. One reason for the tight market is the dearth of new construction.
Gas prices: Yet another dime is lopped off of the average per gallon price in the L.A. area, according to the weekly survey from the Energy Department. Pump price is now $2.595 (still higher than any of the other major U.S. cities, except Honolulu).
Disney's Vault 28: Seems like a curious move for a company that was moving away from its over-diversification in the 90s, but Disney is opening its first high-end apparel store at Downtown Disney in Anaheim (Disney Vault 28 is a reference to the year Mickey debuted in the cartoon "Steamboat Willie"). T-shirts are running $75. Doesn't anyone remember what happened to the Disney Stores?
Take our picture: South Pasadena has become more friendly when it comes to film production, thanks to lower permit fees, a streamlined application process and better relations with production companies and location managers.
Mark Lacter created the LA Biz Observed blog in 2006. He posted
until the day before his death on Nov. 13, 2013.