San Fernando Valley NORTH HILLS Discovery Channel has renamed the new show featuring staff from Galpin Auto Sports, a division of Galpin Motors in North Hills. Previously known as “Driven,” the show is now called “Car Kings” and will air at 10 p.m. local time, after “Fast & Loud,” a show featuring entrepreneur Richard Rawlings of Gas Monkey Garage, in Dallas, as he searches for derelict classic cars. “Car Kings” follows Galpin Motors Chief Operating Officer Beau Boeckmann, custom car builder Dave Shuten and customization specialist “Mad Mike” Martin as they restore historic one-of-a-kind cars and reintroduce them back into the automotive history books. Episodes have documented such projects as revitalizing a classic Mustang for NASCAR star Joey Logano and restoring “The Bathtub,” a vehicle originally built by Rob Reisner in the late 1960s and promoted by George Barris, the “King of the Kustomizers” whose car shop was in North Hollywood. Galpin Auto Sports, the customization division of Galpin Motors, previously hosted two seasons of “Pimp My Ride” on MTV. A Motel 6 in North Hills has sold for $9 million in a transaction that opened and closed during the coronavirus pandemic, according to Calabasas-based brokerage Marcus & Millichap Inc. The 131,412-square-foot hospitality property is located at 15711 Roscoe Blvd. Senior Managing Director Brandon Michaels and First Vice President Steven Schechter and Associate Sean Brandt in Marcus & Millichap’s Encino office held the exclusive listing to market the property on behalf of the seller, a limited liability company. The same team also represented the buyer, a private investor. RESEDA A 13,000-square-foot retail property, anchored by Walgreens and Yogurtland in Reseda, has sold for $9.3 million. Brandon Michaels and Lior Regenstreif, both senior managing director investment specialists at the Encino office of Calabasas-based brokerage Marcus & Millichap Inc., had the exclusive listing to market the property on behalf of the seller, a partnership. The buyer, a partnership, was also secured and represented by Michaels and Regenstreif. The Walgreens was dark at the time of sale at the 6400 N. Tampa Ave. location. The pharmacy had vacated the premises, but still holds a lease through 2034. SHERMAN OAKS Cinedigm Corp. has grown the viewership on its free and ad-supported digital networks by more than 108 percent since October. The distributor of entertainment content said that its free ad-supported television and advertising video on demand networks, or AVOD, reached about 9.4 million active viewers during March. That compares to 4.5 million reported in October. With shelter-in-place restrictions due to COVID-19, the company reported its total viewing hours were up 28 percent in March compared to February. Total viewing hours were up 636 percent in March when compared to the same month a year earlier. Erick Opeka, president of Cinedigm Digital Networks, said that the company’s focus on linear and scale AVOD channel deployment continues to pay off. WEST HILLS Optical communications company Source Photonics has raised $40 million to grow its data center and 5G business and to enhance its existing product lines. Specifically, the funding will be used to expand the company’s 5G products and upgrade its laser chip production facilities while strengthening the research and development of low-cost products and next generation technologies. Source Photonics did not name the source of the capital, only saying it came from “new financial and strategic investors.” Chief Executive Weiming Li said the company values its investors’ trust and confidence during the challenging times of the coronavirus crisis. “Our next step is to seize the global market opportunity as demand for networking and cloud services skyrocketed as millions of people around the world are working and learning from home,” he said in a statement. Ventura County BURBANK The Los Angeles Times will close three community newspapers in the Valley region because of advertising declines during the coronavirus outbreak. The final editions of the Glendale News-Press and Burbank Leader published April 18, while the weekly La Cañada Valley Sun ceased operations after its April 23 issue. In a letter to readers posted at the papers’ websites, management said closing them was a difficult business decision compounded by the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic. “The three titles, while journalistically sound, are operating at significant losses,” the letter said. Fourteen staffers have been laid off with severance from the three papers. The job losses affect members of the Los Angeles Times Guild, as well as managers, the letter said. Ventura County CAMARILLO Interlink Electronics Inc. has increased production of a sensor used on ventilators to treat COVID-19 patients. The company said it has quadrupled its output of ventilator components, including its patented Ring Sensor, a touch-operated, wheel-shaped sensor used in noninvasive ventilators. The sensor can be operated by users wearing gloves and can withstand deep cleanings. The benefit of gloved operation makes all of Interlink’s force-sensing human-machine interface technologies effective in curbing the spread of the coronavirus, the company said. Interlink Chief Executive Steven Bronson said the company was committed to playing its part in making sure that all coronavirus patients had access to ventilators. “As the virus spreads across the globe, it is vital for hospitals and doctors to have access to the equipment they need to save lives,” Bronson said in a statement. Qualstar Corp. announced it will voluntarily delist from the Nasdaq and suspend its public reporting obligations. Chief Executive Steven Bronson said the decision was made by the board at the Camarillo data storage and power supply manufacturer based on the amount of money that could be saved by not reporting to the Securities and Exchange Commission. “The resulting reduction in operating expenses will allow us to invest greater amounts towards product development and sales, which is a superior use of our resources,” Bronson said in a statement. “The cessation of public reporting will also enable us to better direct our management resources on the commercialization of our products.” The Nasdaq delisting is expected to become effective on or about April 30, at which time trading on Nasdaq will cease. Qualstar is expected to continue trading on the over-the-counter market. WESTLAKE VILLAGE At a time when many other biotech companies have curtailed clinical trials, Arcutis Therapeutics has enrolled its first patient in a Phase 1 study of hand eczema topical drug ARQ-252. The company stated in an announcement that the study will be broken down into two parts, dictated by drug potency and number of times per day the topical would be applied to patient skin. Data from the study will be compiled through the second half of next year. “Hand eczema is one of the most common skin diseases, affecting approximately 8 million Americans, and currently there are no FDA-approved therapies for this affliction,” Dr. Howard Welgus, chief medical officer at Arcutis, said in a statement. The Verona, a 16-unit multifamily property in Westlake Village, has sold for $8.15 million, according to listing brokerage Marcus & Millichap Inc. in Calabasas. Part of the Bellagio Villas residential park, the Verona at 3200-3240 Foothill Drive encompasses three floors and a total of 17,878 square feet. The $509,375 per unit price marks the highest per-apartment sale ever in the Westlake Village submarket, the brokerage said. Rick Raymundo, executive director of National Multi Housing Group at Marcus & Millichap Los Angeles, represented seller 7337-7341 Variel LLC, which had owned the asset for more than 15 years. Todd Leslie of JP Morgan Chase Bank provided the financing for the deal. The Verona sale closed high despite bleak economic conditions suddenly brought on by the coronavirus outbreak.