Remember when Top Ten lists were really new and cool? That was about 30 years ago when David Letterman was still a fresh face on television. These days, it’s nothing but lists, lists, lists, especially on websites whose lists tend to well, disappoint, to be charitable. So, without further ado, here is my list of 10 observations – in no particular order – about some stories that appeared this year in the Business Journal. Most Absurd Controversy: And the winner is … the dispute between Irwindale and Huy Fong Foods Inc., the maker of the popular Sriracha chili sauce. The city threatened to close Huy Fong down over alleged odors, prompting the owner to threaten to leave the state. Caught in the middle was Camarillo farmer Craig Underwood, the company’s sole chili supplier. Then the odors mysteriously disappeared when Gov. Brown’s office got involved and Irwindale backed down. Score one for Ventura County chilis. Should Have Invested: In Surf Air, the membership-only airline that flies props from Burbank airport to Silicon Valley and other destinations. Founding members pay as little as $1,600 a month for all the flights they want. The airline has defied predictions it would fail and has expanded to locales such as Las Vegas, a fun place to lose investment gains. Glad I Didn’t Invest: In GrowLife Inc., a Woodland Hills seller of marijuana supplies with a vision to create a pot empire. It then proceeded to use its penny stock like Vegas chips to buy other companies. Then the SEC got involved, halted trading for a while and it all went up – you guessed it – in smoke. The company decided the, err, greener fields might be in Seattle, where it moved mid-year. Shares were under 4 cents last I checked. Most Bogus Lawsuit Ever: The filing by a little-known Woodland Hills environmental group over plans by Ikea to build its largest store in the country in Burbank. Citizens Advocating Rational Development alleged the city didn’t do enough to mitigate the store’s possible effects on global warming. The only problem? The store will feature multiple energy efficiency measures. The group withdrew the lawsuit and instead promised to target Ikea’s confusing assembly instructions. OK, that was a joke, but it did withdraw the suit. City Most Taken for a Ride: And that would be Simi Valley, which approved plans for a resort on the Hummingbird Nest Ranch, a 126-acre property in the Simi Hills owned by wealthy Houston businessman David Saperstein. Local partner Dean Kunicki said the development could be his last major project – only to have Saperstein put it on the market for $49.5 million after receiving the entitlements. Hey, maybe the next owner is hiring. Bet You Didn’t Know: That there’s gold in thar hills, specifically Soledad Mountain north of Lancaster in Kern County. It’s where Golden Queen Mining Co. is digging a gold and silver mine near shafts abandoned some 100 years ago. The company expects the gold haul for the expected 15-year life of the mine to hit about $1 billion. I don’t know about you, but I’m buying a metal detector at Home Depot. Don Quixote Would Have Been Proud: Of the effort being led by the Valley Industry & Commerce Association to site a new MLS soccer team in the Valley. When the team was finally formed and the ownership disclosed on Oct. 20, its members included Hollywood producer Peter Guber, Magic Johnson and other big names. Missing? A Valley connection. No goooaaalll here. Leaving the Valley Behind: Billionaire Alfred Mann, who still owns a palatial home on the north side of Mulholland Drive with spectacular Valley views but rarely spends any time there, preferring instead Las Vegas. Now, the recent sale of his business parks in Santa Clarita and Sylmar loosens his local ties even more, though his major companies such as MannKind and Second Sight are still headquartered here. A fond farewell. Biggest Development Under the Radar: The High Desert Corridor, a freeway that could cost $8 billion and connect the Antelope and Victor valleys, much of it through virgin desert scrub. A recent huge EIR on the proposal was released to a collective thud. The freeway promises electric-vehicle charging stations powered by solar cells but expect this proposal to heat up – both literally and figuratively. A Corner Office to Avoid: No one is exactly crying for Jeffrey Katzenberg, but after a series of box office duds he can’t get the price he wants for DreamWorks Animation SKG, the Glendale studio he co-founded. Here’s hoping for a huge box office hit that will raise the studio’s stock price. After all, we wouldn’t want one of the Valley’s most famous CEOs to have nothing but Shrek to keep him company during the holidays, even if he is one lovable ogre. Laurence Darmiento is editor of the Business Journal. He can be reached at [email protected].
