VALLEY BRIEFS Schmidt Exits VICA Scott Schmidt, who served as government liaison for the Valley Industry and Commerce Association, has left the organization for a position with the Los Angeles office of Nichols Dezenhall Communications Group, a Washington D.C.-based crisis and issues management firm. During his tenure at VICA, Schmidt assisted with the mobilization of a regional coalition of business groups in support of a reform campaign of the city’s gross receipts tax code. He also helped draft the text for SB 165, the Local Agency Special Tax and Bond Accountability Act of 2000 and joined in forming a nationwide small business/labor coalition to fight runaway film and TV production. Schmidt will serve as senior counselor, working to develop the Southern California market for Nichols Dezenhall, and provide client services to corporate and celebrity clients on the West Coast. HIPAA Hurts CCA HIPAA, the recent legislation focusing on privacy rights for patients and employees, put a crimp into the most recent operating results for Creative Computer Applications Inc., the company said. Calabasas-based CCA, which develops software and other solutions for healthcare providers, laboratories, and other related settings, saw earnings decline to $66,747 or $0.02 per share in the three months ended May 31, from $118,369 or $0.04 per share in the comparable period a year ago. Revenues declined as well to $2 million from $2.1 million in the third quarter of 2002. CCA officials attributed the lackluster results to what it referred to in a press release as “the daunting task of providing new HIPAA compliant software enhancements for all our products to hundreds of client sites.” HIPAA, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, which went into effect earlier this year, limits access to medical records and provides for other privacy protections to patients and employees. In order to comply, healthcare providers and others that handle personal records have had to upgrade computer security systems. CCA said that it experienced delays and higher marketing expenses associated with the new legislation. For the nine months ended May 31, CCA reported income of $131,593 or $0.04 per share on revenues of $5.7 million. That compares with net earnings of $207,020 or $0.06 per share on revenues of $5.6 million for the nine months ended May 31, 2002. Paychecks All Around Simulations Plus Inc. reported its net income doubled in the third quarter of 2003 to $226,988 or $0.06 per diluted share from $109,037 or $0.03 per share in the comparable period last year on a 12.5 percent increase in revenues. But that wasn’t the only good news for the Lancaster-based developer of simulation software used in drug research. With the completion of the quarter ended May 31, the company has repaid salaries owing its executives. Simulations Plus, beginning in 1998, had been paying reduced salaries to some of its officers and managers in order to protect its cash assets. The unpaid portions had been accruing since that time, reaching somewhat more than $330,000 as of August, 2002, when the officers and managers began receiving their full salaries and some of the accrued back pay. In announcing its operating results for the third quarter ended May 31, Simulations Plus said it had several weeks earlier paid back all the accrued salaries and the company is now debt-free. Simulations Plus now plans to expand its research team. For the nine months ended May 31, Simulations Plus reported net income of $427,237 or $0.11 per share on sales of $3.5 million. That compares with earnings of $337,474 or $0.10 per share on sales of $3.2 million in the nine months of 2002. Homestore Teams With MSN Homestore Inc. has teamed with MSN network’s House & Home Channel to provide some content for the MSN site. Homestore will provide new home listings and apartment and rental listings for the channel. Westlake Village-based Homestore will provide the content through its Homebuilder.com and Homestore Apartments and Rentals site. Benefits for All The Economic Alliance of the San Fernando Valley is hosting the Healthcare Summit 2004 “Mandated Healthcare,Is There Another Way”, Thursday July 31, from 7:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. at the Airtel Plaza Hotel at the Van Nuys Airport. Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky will serve as moderator for the event, which is free and open to the public. The summit is being co-sponsored by the Valley Community clinic, RGEB, Inc., ValleyCare Community consortium, the City of Burbank, Kaiser Permanente and BlueCross of California. For more information, call Verity Compton at (818) 379-7000.