VENTURA COUNTY Camarillo Trip: Business and economics students from California State University Channel Islands will spend 10 days touring Brazil in August and visiting multinational corporations, energy generating facilities, and other business entities. The trip was arranged by Claudio Paiva, a native of Brazil and an associate professor of economics in the university’s Martin V. Smith School of Business & Economics. Paiva arranged for students to observe operations in the various companies, asking questions and interacting with personnel. During each visit, company representatives will give a presentation, generally followed by a question and answer period, and a tour of the company. Some of the sites that students will visit are: energy company Petrobras; aircraft manufacturer Embraer; family-owned holding company Algar; the Brazilian Ethanol and Sugarcane Industry Association; and a hydroelectric dam. SAN FERNANDO VALLEY Mission Hills Policy: Providence Holy Cross Medical Center was one of five hospitals to be honored in Sacramento as California Baby-Friendly Hospitals for meeting the breastfeeding needs of both employees in addition to patients. The California Taskforce on Youth and Workplace Wellness presented the Mother Baby Friendly Workplace Awards to the five hospitals. “We are very strong advocates of breastfeeding for the health of both our new mothers and our babies,” said Betty Newsom, the hospital’s chief nursing officer. “The advocacy, of course, extends to our most important resource, our employees. This is essential to a healthy work-life balance.” Qualifying hospitals were those that provide clean, private spaces and time for employees to pump breast milk or breastfeed at work. They were also hospitals that had written breastfeeding policies in place and informed their employees about the accommodations. Burbank App: The City of Burbank website is now available for viewing on mobile devices. The site is compatible with all major smart phones including iPhone, Blackberry, Android, and Windows mobile phones. By logging in from handheld devices, visitors can access information from any location. “The touch navigation was developed through extensive research by Vision Internet and provides users the means to easily search through all levels of the site including the popular news and calendar items,” said city Public Information Officer Keith Sterling. Chatsworth Purchase: JustDeals.com launched a flash shopping site offering consumer electronic products at lower prices than other retailers. A flash shopping site is one in which deep-discounted priced deals are offered each day using a countdown clock to show the time remaining to buy the item. “The initial reaction has been fantastic,” said JustDeals.com President and Founder Frank Jadhavji. “Bargain hunters looking for high quality digital brands are finding a kindred spirit shopping at the site. All of us love to find deals.” JustDeals.com was launched in June and is a subsidiary of SSGi in Chatsworth. The site offers electronic items from overstock and excess inventories of major name brands. Canoga Park XXX: Adult industry trade group the Free Speech Coalition will host a fundraiser on Sept. 1 at the Whisky a Go Go in West Hollywood. The Freedom Party, presented in conjunction with Hustler Hollywood, will feature appearances by adult performers, product demonstrations from adult novelty companies, and contests. Tony Batman and Heather Chadwell from VHI’s “Rock of Love” will emcees the event. For advanced ticket sales or information, call (818) 348-9373. Calabasas Switch: National Technical Systems has moved its engineering services and testing lab to a new facility in Fremont in Northern California. The move to Fremont will enable National Technical to expand and upgrade its core testing services and offer a more complete and comprehensive range of services. This will be a significant step in expanding the company’s services in the Bay Area in addition to being able to provide complementary services to existing customers. “We assessed the level of demand for our services and ultimately decided that this was the right time to make this strategic move to invest in the future of the company,” said National Technical CEO William McGinnis. Auction: Props, costumes and set pieces from the ABC series “Lost” will be sold off by Profiles in History in a live auction Aug. 21 and 22. Items will be available from all six seasons of the show about the survivors of a plane crash on a South Pacific island. Among the items to be auctioned off are the DHARMA van and jeep; Jack’s Halliburton case; Man in Black’s ancient dagger; row of Oceanic Airlines plane seats; and Daniel Faraday’s journal with extensive handwritten notes from his time travel experiments. “This is a once in a lifetime auction event that will celebrate one of the most beloved shows in television history,” said Joe Maddalena, president of Profiles in History. Van Nuys Fancy: Town & Country Event Rentals was featured on the WE Network reality show “My Fair Wedding.” The crew from the show filmed a segment in the showroom of Town & Country’s new building. Company event director George Bernhard-Groppe gave his expertise and input to the bride to be. The crew also filmed as Town & Country employees set up for the ceremony attended by 150 guests at the Church Vineyards in Malibu. SANTA CLARITA VALLEY Santa Clarita Play: The United Soccer League W-League Championship took place in July in Santa Clarita. The event was a boon to the local economy as teams and their fans spent six days in the city for the tournament. Semi-pro teams from New York State, Georgia, and British Columbia qualified to participate. The Buffalo Flash beat the Vancouver Whitecaps 3-1 in the final game. ANTELOPE VALLEY Palmdale Barriers: Delta Scientific Corp. will begin shipping this month safety barricades to be used in Afghanistan as part of a $18.7 million order from the U.S. government. Barriers made by the Palmdale-based company are already in use in Iraq, Pakistan and other areas of Afghanistan. Delta Scientific is hiring 40 employees and running two shifts to meet the order of two models of quick deploy barriers that will be completed in March. The barriers will be used at forward operating bases used by U.S. and NATO forces. The self-contained barriers can be towed into position and control vehicle access within 15 minutes. “A major concern was that any vehicle barricades could be deployed quickly as installers are targets for snipers,” said Delta Scientific Senior Vice President David Dickinson. “Thus, these barricades not only help protect lives after they are installed but safeguard troops during the actual installation process as well.”