ANTELOPE VALLEY LANCASTER Interview Service of America LLC is closing its Lancaster call center and transferring the operations to Las Vegas. The Van Nuys company will eliminate 58 positions in the Antelope Valley as of Feb. 8, according to the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification filed with the state Employment Development Department on Dec. 7. “The high cost of operating the business in California makes it economically unfeasible to justify keeping the Lancaster office open in addition to the Van Nuys location,” the company’s notification stated. “As a result, we are relocating the Lancaster location to Las Vegas.” Interview Services provides telephone, online and face-to-face data collection; telephone and online survey programming; data processing; and telephone and online sampling services. The positions being terminated at the call center located at 639 W. Avenue L-14 include 53 telephone-based data collectors and five supervisors. SAN FERNANDO VALLEY NORTH HOLLYWOOD A major movie studio prop company has leased 89,452 square feet of North Hollywood warehouse space. CBRE Group Inc.’s Matt Dierckman, Dave Harding, Greg Geraci and Billy Walk represented the landlord in the transaction. The tenant, Faux Library Studio Props Inc., was represented by Christopher McKenzie of Delphi Business Properties. The lease has a total value of $5.6 million and a term of seven years. Located at 11501 Hart St., the new digs include 11,861 square feet of office space with 10 ground-level doors and vintage-style aesthetics. Faux Library Studio Props Inc. is relocating from Hollywood. SHERMAN OAKS Cherokee Inc. has agreed to license its Tony Hawk apparel line to India clothing distributor Batra Group. Under the agreement, Batra Group will distribute the streetwear line — inspired by professional skateboarder Tony Hawk — in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. “We are pleased to expand our successful relationship and grow the Tony Hawk brand strategically with the Batra Group through this new license partnership,” Chief Executive Henry Stupp said in a statement. “The positive momentum of the skate and streetwear segments combined with the addition of skateboarding to the 2020 Summer Olympics will raise the profile of skateboarding globally.” Sherman Oaks accounting firm Bessolo Haworth has appointed Sasha Baluka as a principal. Baluka is a certified public accountant who previously worked for Tarzana-based B&G Accounting and Consulting Services. She will manage client accounts and provide accounting, audit and tax advisory services. “We have worked with Sasha in numerous engagements and know her to be exceptionally focused on providing excellent client service,” said Managing Partner Larry Haworth. At the Business Journal’s Trusted Advisors Awards in August, Baluka won the Client Service Excellence Award. VAN NUYS Sen. Robert Hertzberg of Van Nuys will become majority leader of the California Senate. Hertzberg said he looks forward to working with the Democratic Party’s super majority to pass legislation in Sacramento. “For as much as our Democratic majority has been able to accomplish, from building up a Rainy Day Fund to leading the way on climate change, we must continue to push the envelope,” he said in a statement. Earlier in his career, Hertzberg served two years as Speaker of the California Assembly. In addition to Hertzberg, Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins named other Valley-region officials to chairmanships with an impact on the economy, including Sen. Anthony Portantino (D-La Cañada-Flintridge), who will chair the Appropriations Committee; Sen. Henry Stern (D-Canoga Park) to chair the Natural Resources and Water Committee; and Sen. Scott Wilk (D-Santa Clarita), who will be vice chair of the Agriculture, Education, Governmental Organization and Rules committees. TRI-CITIES URBANK The Los Angeles Kings hockey team and American Sports Entertainment Co. have acquired the Pickwick Ice facility in Burbank. The ice-skating rink will be renamed LA Kings Ice at Pickwick Gardens and new signage will be put up starting in June, when the new owners plan to temporarily shut down the facility. American Sports Entertainment, in Elmsford, N.Y., will lead a $1 million remodel and improvement project at Pickwick. “We are excited to acquire the Pickwick ice facility business as we continue to invest in growing the game of hockey in Southern California,” Kings President Luc Robitaille said in a statement. Deluxe Entertainment Services Group Inc. will lay off 68 employees starting later this month from two facilities in Burbank. The post-production company notified the state Employment Development Department of the layoffs at the end of November and said they would be permanent. There will be 10 employees let go from the facility located at 2400 W. Empire Ave. that will include a senior director of network operations, a director of business intelligence, a vice president of product marketing and a vice president of global real estate and facilities. At the location at 2130 N. Hollywood Way, the terminations include 16 quality control technicians and operators, six account managers, plus encoding, packaging and duplication operators. The layoffs will begin Jan. 29. GLENDALE Joseph Russell and Tom Boyle became chief executive officer and chief financial officer, respectively, at Public Storage in Glendale on Jan. 1. Russell has served as president at the real estate investment trust since 2016. He was previously chief executive at sister company PS Business Parks Inc., also in Glendale. Boyle has served as chief financial officer of operations at Public Storage since 2016 after working with the company as an investment banker at Morgan Stanley for more than a decade. Ron Havner, the company’s chief executive officer since 2002, will become chairman of the board. A Glendale office building has sold for $11.1 million, or $326 per square foot, according to CoStar Group. KDG Construction Consulting bought the building at 1025 N. Brand Blvd. from recorded seller 1025 N Brand LLC. Dave Maron of NAI Capital Inc. in Pasadena represented the buyer. Gregory Barsamian at Colliers International’s Glendale office listed the property. The three-story structure features 34,000 square feet of office space. Dine Brands Global Inc. has purchased 69 Applebee’s Grill and Bar restaurants from franchisee Apple Gold Group, the Glendale parent company of Applebee’s and IHOP announced. Dine Brands intends to own and operate the restaurants in North and South Carolina but may refranchise them to new owners in the future. “I’m pleased with this transaction and confident in our plans to evolve and selectively refine our restaurant portfolio,” Applebee’s President John Cywinski said in a statement. “We are consistently reviewing our portfolio and making strategic decisions to better position our brand for the future. VENTURA COUNTY THOUSAND OAKS Teledyne Technologies Inc. has acquired the scientific imaging business of Roper Technologies Inc. in a deal valued at $225 million. With the transaction, the Thousand Oaks aerospace, marine and energy products manufacturer gains products that have similar capabilities and are highly complementary to Teledyne’s existing products and markets. Roper’s scientific imaging businesses include Princeton Instruments and Photometrics, which makes cameras and optics for physical and life sciences research; and Lumenera, which makes rugged customized cameras for traffic management and life sciences applications. WESTLAKE VILLAGE A division of Dole Food Co. paid homage to the company’s Hawaiian heritage with its ninth annual float in the Tournament of Rose Parade on New Year’s Day. Dole Packaged Foods, in Westlake Village, also honored its commitment to hunger relief with the float titled “Rhythm of Paradise.” The 24-foot float features lush floral gardens, a cascading waterfall, tiki torches, drummers, dancers and a 20-foot sculpture of Lono, the Hawaiian deity of music and peace. The float won the Wrigley Legacy Trophy for the most outstanding display of floral presentation, float design and entertainment. The parade’s theme was “Melody of Life.”
