Antelope Valley LANCASTER The Lancaster City Council has put its stamp of approval on the efforts of a grassroots campaign that seeks to reform the way rates are set by private water companies. The council on Nov. 13 gave its unanimous approval for a resolution that calls for the state to reassess its process for determining how for-profit water firms can set rates in areas under their jurisdiction. It also expressed its support for Coalition to Reform Private Water Rates and Regulation, a group comprised of consumer activist organizations across the state. The California Public Utilities Commission is responsible for regulating the state’s 113 investor-backed water and sewer utilities. These companies service 16 percent of Californians; of those, 95 percent are under the jurisdiction of nine water companies, which together generate annual revenue of $1.4 billion, the resolution stated. Rates set by these firms can be as much as five times higher than those charged by public utilities companies, according to the movement’s organizers. “The CPUC’s Office of Ratepayer Advocates consistently favors the interests of investor-owned utilities over the interests of California residents and ratepayers,” resulting in exorbitant water rates in areas where utilities are provided by those private companies, the resolution stated. Conjeo Valley Camarillo Semtech Corp. has joined with other technology companies and organizations to create a college curriculum based on its long-range radio frequency technology. The Camarillo semiconductor developer will oversee the curriculum, coursework and technical expertise of the LoRaWAN Academy that will teach the next generation of engineers and computer scientists to develop and operate applications on the Internet of Things, a network of connected devices. The College of Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh is among the first schools to use the curriculum. Jaap Groot, vice president of system business development for Semtech’s Wireless and Sensing Products Group, said that by establishing the academy the company and the co-sponsors are providing universities with tools to prepare their students for the Internet of Things. “The LoRaWAN Academy program will give way to a new generation of engineers prepared to tackle the world’s toughest challenges with IoT technology and equip universities with the infrastructure to conduct LPWAN (low power wide area network) research,” Groot said in a prepared statement. Moorpark The Moorpark manufacturing and warehousing complex formerly occupied by Kavlico, the specialty sensor manufacturer now in Thousand Oaks, has been sold, according to brokerage Newmark Knight Frank. MCA Investments bought 14401 Princeton Ave., a 92,000-square-foot vacant industrial building, and 14399 Princeton, a 46,000-square-foot industrial building occupied by Turbonetics, for an undisclosed price, said Newmark Knight Frank Executive Managing Director Rick Sheckter. He and Executive Managing Director Robert Griffith brokered the sale on behalf of the seller, Sunbelt Enterprises. “The attraction here is that the properties are right off the 118 freeway,” Schekter said. Kavlico, which was bought by Sensata Technologies in 2015, was founded by the late Norwegian physicist Fred Kavli. San Fernando Valley Burbank Zetta Jet Pte. Ltd. has received $8.5 million from a company it owes money to, allowing the private aviation company to continue operations while working through bankruptcy. The money provided by Scout Aviation II LLC will be used by Zetta to pay for aircraft usage, fuel, employee wages and other obligations. Zetta Jet, headquartered in Singapore, has its charter sales and operations center at the Hollywood Burbank Airport in Burbank. The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy to restructure its debt in September. Scout Aviation was listed in the Chapter 11 filing as being owed $1.4 million for aircraft maintenance by Zetta. In the financing term sheet, Scout Aviation said it will sponsor Zetta’s restructuring plan, acting as a stalking horse bidder. The company’s Chapter 11 Trustee Jonathan King said the funding will allow it to pursue a plan to reduce costs and operate its aircraft fleet more efficiently. The process will culminate in a competitive sale and emergence from bankruptcy by early next year. Chatsworth California Resources Corp. has closed a $1.3 billion loan facility, the company announced Nov. 17. The Chatsworth oil producer said the money will repay outstanding debts under a 2014 credit facility. The new loan has a five-year term and bears interest at a rate of LIBOR plus 4.75 percent. “This new term loan and the amendment of our 2014 credit facility extend the maturity of that facility, provide additional liquidity for CRC and relax certain financial covenants. Combined, these transactions provide a pathway to further deliver our balance sheet,” Chief Executive Todd Stevens said in a statement. Glendale In an updated filing with state regulators, Nestle USA said it will close its headquarters in Glendale on July 6, 2018. The food giant previously disclosed plans to move its headquarters to Virginia, affecting 1,200 employees at its offices at located at 800 N. Brand Blvd. In August, the company informed the California Employment Development Department it would cut its workforce by 340 employees. In the updated filing, the company said it is conducting layoffs both in Glendale and an Oakland facility “necessitated by business reasons separate from the headquarters relocation.” It listed 273 jobs impacted by the Glendale closure and 55 voluntary departures from the Glendale offices. An additional 170 positions in either Glendale or Oakland could be cut for business reasons. The company said the first involuntary departure in Glendale occurred in April, and the last will occur next July. Sherman Oaks Epic Medical Group has opened a clinic at Sherman Oaks Hospital to help close the gap between hospital stay and home for patients recovering from complex and chronic conditions. Doctors at Epic Medical will care for patients at the hospital and then continue the care when they are home, transferring the patients to their primary care doctors once their conditions are stable. The company has partnered with three home health agencies – Assisted Home Care, Accredited Home Care and Pegasus Home Health Care – to provide home-based care. “The gap between discharge and follow-up appointment with a primary care physician is when patients are the most vulnerable to relapse or re-injury,” Dr. Keino Rutherford, leader of the clinic, said in a statement. “The goal of the clinic is to educate patients and provide the services to help them manage their condition and regain better health until they are connected with their primary care provider.” The clinic is located at 4911 Van Nuys Blvd., Suite 307. Epic Medical Group is a group of hospitalist doctors who practice at Sherman Oaks Hospital. Studio City Tix Corp. said the Las Vegas shooting and new ticket policies at the MGM hotel chain have impacted its revenue. The Studio City company, which sells discount tickets for Las Vegas shows, reported net income of $240,000 (1 cent a share) during the third quarter ended Sept. 30, compared to income of $455,000 (3 cents) for the same quarter a year ago. Revenue declined 10 percent to $4.8 million. The company said MGM has opened its own discount ticket booths at its hotel properties in Las Vegas and has restricted Tix’s ability to sell certain Cirque du Soleil tickets. MGM, which has four Cirque shows on its properties, effected the change in September. MGM now sells the tickets on its website and at its booths. Tix said that after the quarter ended, revenues continued to drop. “The company experienced a significant and unusual decline in the volume of tickets sold during the month of October 2017,” Tix said in a statement. “While difficult to assess, the company believes the recent Oct. 1 Las Vegas Strip shooting and to a lesser extent, the opening of MGM booths discussed above, contributed to the decline.” Woodland Hills Bristol Farms has opened its first San Fernando Valley store at the El Camino Shopping Center in Woodland Hills, according to CBRE Group Inc. in Los Angeles. The supermarket chain has taken 30,500 square feet in the center at 23381 Mulholland Drive, CBRE said. The space was previously occupied by a Haggen Food & Pharmacy supermarket. CBRE brokers Tim Genske represented the grocery chain while Patrick Conway represented the landlord, Regency Centers Corp. in Jacksonville, Fla. The shopping center underwent a renovation in conjunction with the opening, according to Genske.
