Content about Los Angeles

March 26, 2013

Business leaders favor overturning DOMA, ending benefits discrimination

On Feb. 28, 2013, approximately 286 businesses and municipal employers filed an amicus brief in support of a challenge to the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), now before the U.S. Supreme Court.

On Feb. 28, 2013, approximately 286 businesses and municipal employers filed an amicus brief in support of a challenge to the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), now before the U.S. Supreme Court.

January 27, 2013

Home Depot stadium deal to expire

Just south of Los Angeles, the Home Depot Center soccer stadium will take on a new name by the end of the year.

The Home Depot Center, home of the Los Angeles Galaxy and Chivas USA of Major League Soccer, will get a new name at the end of the year.

Published reports indicate the Atlanta-based retailer will allow its 10-year, $70 million stadium-naming-rights deal to expire at the end of the year.

In addition to hosting soccer matches, the 125-acre Home Depot center located about 10 miles south of Los Angeles includes facilities for track and field, baseball, basketball tennis and other sports.

December 5, 2012

Strike ends, merchandise freed at Southern California ports

The strike that shut down the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach for eight days ended this afternoon, and retailers in Southern California heaved a great sign of relief. According to an article in the Los Angeles Times, the strike began when a clerical unit of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 63 walked off the job, over the issue of improved job security.

October 17, 2012

Orchard Supply to relaunch Los Angeles store

Orchard Supply Hardware Stores has announced the planned grand reopening of its expanded West Los Angeles store on Oct. 20, which marks the continuing rollout of its new neighborhood store format. The location (2020 S. Bundy Drive) has been operational since opening in 1994.

September 28, 2012

Thinking big

In what major metropolitan area does the nation’s largest independent hardware store call home?

One would think New York, Los Angeles or Chicago. One would be wrong.

July 9, 2012

KB Home Q2 net loss narrows

Los Angeles-based KB Home reported a second quarter net loss of $24.1 million, compared with a net loss of $68.5 million in the year-earlier quarter.

For the second quarter ended May 31, revenues totaled $302.9 million, up 11% from $271.7 million for the second quarter of 2011. The company pointed to an increase in the number of homes delivered and a higher average selling price.

July 3, 2012

Beacon Roofing acquires SoCal roofing distributor

Beacon Roofing Supply, one of the nation’s largest distributors of roofing and other exterior building products, has acquired Structural Materials, Co., a distributor of residential and commercial roofing products. Headquartered in Santa Ana, Calif., Structural has six locations in Los Angeles and Orange counties. The 64-year-old company had total annual sales of approximately $81 million in 2011.

June 22, 2012

New funding emerges for home builders

Oaktree Capital Management, a global investment firm headquartered in Los Angeles, is investing an undisclosed sum in a lender that specializes in financing home builders.

May 4, 2012

Osmose sold; management team remains

Buffalo, N.Y.-based Osmose Holdings, a manufacturer of wood preservation technology, will be acquired by investment funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management, of Los Angeles.

Osmose’s existing management team will remain in place, including James Spengler, president and CEO of Osmose.

April 25, 2012

Ruling seen as victory for California employers

The California Supreme Court, on April 12, 2012, issued a long-awaited ruling in the case of Brinker Restaurant v. Superior Court (No. S166350), concluding that employers only have to provide meal periods to workers, not make sure employees actually take them.

“An employer must relieve the employee of all duty for the designated period, but need not ensure that the employee does no work,” Associate Justice Kathryn Werdegar wrote for the unanimous court in a 54-page opinion.

March 28, 2012

Caught on tape: Cameras and the workplace

Telling employees where and why cameras are being used in the workplace is the best way to avoid legal problems, according to Lisa Guerin, co-author of "The Essential Guide to Federal Employment Laws" (Society for Human Resource Management/Nolo, 2011).

There is implied consent if an employee continues to work in an area where a camera is visible, said Ginger McCall, director of the open government program at the Electronic Privacy Information Center in Washington, D.C.

February 28, 2012

Domestic manufacturing profile: CARR

In March of 1945, Vernon Lester Carr started V.L. Carr & Son Pattern Co. in an old metal shop behind his house in Los Angeles. His son, Wendell Whittaker Carr, joined him later that year at the end of World War II after his return from serving as a patternmaker in the Navy.

Today, CARR is a third-generation, family owned, American-made manufacturer headquartered in Southern California.

February 8, 2012

LA County True Value store to close

A True Value store in Walnut, Calif., a suburb of eastern Los Angeles, has begun its liquidation sale and will close within the next 90 days, according to an article in the San Gabriel Valley Tribune.

Walnut True Value Hardware has been operated by Stuart Tielens, a 64-year-old businessman who eventually succumbed to his customers’ lack of spending from the poor economy and competition from a Home Depot that moved in two years ago.

January 20, 2012

First stop for ECi Connect: Los Angeles

Ecommerce Industries announced the locations and dates for Connect Regional 2012. These meetings will be for users of the Advantage, RockSolid, Britannia, DDMS, M1, TeamDesign, Acsellerate and FMAudit solutions.

The first conference is slated for Los Angeles, April 24 to 26. Subsequent conferences will take place in Chicago and Orlando, with dates to be announced.

January 20, 2012

First stop for ECi Connect: Los Angeles

The first conference is slated for Los Angeles, April 24 to 26. Subsequent conferences will take place in Chicago and Orlando, with dates to be announced.

October 25, 2011

Glimmer of hope for home prices

The S&P/Case-Shiller Index, a leading indicator of U.S. housing prices, showed a 0.2% increase for its 10- and 20-city composites in August versus July 2011. In addition, 16 of the 20 MSAs and both composites posted improved annual returns compared with July’s data; Los Angeles and Miami saw no change in annual returns in August, and Atlanta and Las Vegas saw their annual rates of change fall deeper into negative territory.

October 12, 2011

Dunn-Edwards describes color trends for 2012

There's an old saying in the paint department: You're not selling paint, you're selling colors.

That theory is being tested by innovations that bring one-coat prowess or eco-friendly features to customers' walls, but color's importance cannot be ignored.

Los Angeles-based paint manufacturer and distributor Dunn-Edwards has studied the trends in color and produced a forecast that it calls "Simply Refocus."

September 26, 2011

Deliveries down but orders up at KB Home

Los Angeles-based home builder KB Home reported revenues of $367.3 million for its third fiscal quarter, down 27% from $50 million in the third quarter of 2010.

The decrease was mainly due to a 31% year-over-year decrease in the number of homes delivered to 1,603, the company said, which was partly offset by a 6% year-over-year increase in the average selling price to $227,400.

June 8, 2011

Dunn-Edwards introduces new “hybrid” enamel paint

Dunn-Edwards, the Los Angeles-based paint and sundries line, has introduced a premium interior enamel product line that has the performance and appearance of traditional oil-based paint but cleans up with soap and water.

Called Aristowall, the gloss and semi-gloss paint is a water-oil hybrid product designed for interior walls, trim, molding, cabinets, doors, kitchens, baths and high-traffic areas. It uses waterborne alkyd technology, according to Terry Chi, product manager. “The end result is a surface that looks like glass,” she said.

May 20, 2011

KB Home names senior VP marketing

Los Angeles-based KB Home has named Tom Silk senior VP marketing and communications. Silk will be responsible for the home builder’s marketing, advertising, communications and social media outreach across its U.S. home-building operations.

"We are pleased that Tom has joined KB Home as a member of our executive team," said Jeffrey Mezger, president and CEO of KB Home. "I believe having someone of Tom's caliber and expertise in this important role will help us to connect with consumers on a new level."

May 18, 2011

KB Home introduces LEED Platinum Calif. community

Los Angeles-based KB Home has unveiled Primera Terra, one of the largest communities of LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Platinum-certified homes in California, according to the home builder. The 52 luxury condominium homes in Playa Vista are built with sustainable materials and are equipped with energy- and water-saving features.

May 11, 2011

KB Home to build solar community in Calif.

Los Angeles-based home builder KB Home and Newhall Land have announced a land purchase agreement in the West Hills Village in Valencia, Calif. KB Home acquired 43 finished lots from Newhall Land and will begin construction on a new community in June.

The homes will be energy efficient and will include solar power systems. KB Home has also announced plans to open 10 communities in Southern California; all of the homes will be built with photovoltaic solar systems.

April 6, 2011

NAHB data pinpoint remodeling markets

A new index created by the National Home Builders Association (NAHB) shows county-by-county estimates for remodeling expenditures in the United States. According to the data, Los Angeles County, Calif., leads the country with $9.4 billion spent on remodeling. Other counties in the top five include Cook County, Ill.; Orange and San Diego counties, Calif.; and Maricopa County, Ariz.

April 5, 2011

Loss widens at KB Home

Los Angeles-based KB Home saw revenues drop 25% to $196.9 million in its first quarter ended Feb. 28. For the three months, the builder posted a net loss of $114.5 million, compared with a loss of $54.7 million in the same quarter last year.

President and CEO Jeffrey Mezger pointed to some positive trends.

March 24, 2011

KB Home embraces solar as a standard

Solar power is a standard feature in 10 Southern California communities built by Los Angeles-based KB Home.

KB has experimented with solar programs for years, said Jeffrey Mezger, president and CEO of KB Home. "With this announcement, we are raising the bar even higher and taking an important step in making our homes even more efficient and affordable for our home buyers over the long term, especially when compared with resale homes," he said.