ANTELOPE VALLEY LANCASTER There are now more than 200 homes in Lancaster powered by high efficiency solar power systems from SunPower Corp. The San Jose company teamed up with L.A. home builder KB Home to produce more than 1,000 such homes in the last 18 months in Southern California, Texas and Colorado. KB estimates that the standard 1.8-kilowatt system will save a homeowner up to 40 percent of energy costs. Cumulatively, the solar-powered homes also offset the production of more than 7,300 tons of carbon dioxide each year, the rough equivalent of taking 703 passenger vehicles off the road. PALMDALE Buckle Inc., a company specializing in trendy clothing, shoes and accessories, has opened an outlet in the Antelope Valley Mall in Palmdale. The company manufactures its own line of apparel, but also carries popular brands such as 7 for all Mankind, Affliction and Hurley. The Kearney, Neb. company operates 441 retail locations in 43 states. CONEJO VALLEY THOUSAND OAKS A subsidiary of Teledyne Technologies Inc. of Thousand Oaks has received a contract from NASA worth about $350 million. Teledyne Brown Engineering Inc., based in Huntsville, Ala., will provide engineering and technology services for space missions coordinated by the Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama. The five-year contract will have Teledyne Brown support the center with space systems design and development, hardware integration and testing, as well as prototype and process development. AGOURA HILLS In its second auction since filing for bankruptcy, video game publisher THQ Inc. will sell off its remaining game titles and licensed software. The Agoura Hills company has received interest from about 100 potential buyers of its popular titles, including its “Darksiders” series, “MX” and “Red Faction.” The company said bids will be accepted through April 15 and expects all sales to be completed by the middle of May. THQ filed for bankruptcy in December and raised more than $70 million by selling other game titles to five different companies in January. SAN FERNANDO VALLEY BURBANK Walt Disney Co. has released images of its Shanghai Disneyland, set to open in China in 2015. The Burbank company said the project will be comprised of two hotels, a 46,000 square-foot shopping area, a lake, recreational facilities and a dining and entertainment venue. The resort has a reported budget of about $3.7 billion with another $700 million set aside to build hotels and restaurants. Disney will own 43 percent of the nearly 1,000-acre resort, with state-owned Shanghai Shendi Group Co. Ltd. taking a 57 percent majority share. The Cinderella Castle in Shanghai will be the largest and tallest of all Disney castles. NORTHRIDGE Closeout retailer Big Lots Inc. is now open at 8960 Tampa Ave. in Northridge. The 19,600 square-foot store will sell groceries, home decor, electronics, toys, apparel and other goods at heavily discounted prices. The Columbus, Ohio, retailer operates more than 1,400 Big Lots stores in 48 states as well as more than 75 Liquidation World and LW stores in Canada. SYLMAR Circor Aerospace is closing its manufacturing plant in Sylmar, cutting 51 jobs in the process. The closure will take place on April 15, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notice filed with the state Employment Development Department. Headquartered in Corona, Circor manufactures landing gears and landing-gear components at the plant, in addition to conducting repairs and overhauls. The company announced in November that it expected to consolidate facilities and take other actions in the next nine months to boost profitability. Circor is a subsidiary of Circor International, a Burlington, Mass. manufacturer for the aerospace, energy and industrial markets.
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