– San Fernando Valley Burbank Walt Disney Co. is offering 400 movie titles through a new cloud-based streaming service, Disney Movies Anywhere. The service will allow viewers to buy live action and animated feature films from Disney, Pixar and Marvel from iTunes for streaming on their desktop and laptop computers, and through an app on Apple mobile devices. Dolby Laboratories is acquiring Burbank’s Doremi Labs for $92.5 million in cash and a possible $20 million earn-out over the next four years. Doremi manufactures and develops digital cinema products such as format converters and digital servers. Dolby, based in San Francisco, is a leading maker of audio technologies used in theaters, home entertainment and other consumer electronics. The deal is anticipated to close by the end of the year. Private membership airline Surf Air is expanding its service from Burbank Bob Hope Airport with flights to Las Vegas and Truckee. The Santa Monica firm plans to provide direct weekend service from Burbank to Las Vegas starting March 21. Weekend service to Truckee, near Lake Tahoe, begins May 2. Surf Air began service last year and offers unlimited flights for a membership fee starting at $1,350 per month on a small turboprop. The monthly fee will increase after the new service offerings begin, pending FAA approval. Glendale DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. has licensed characters from its hit film franchise “Shrek” to a British theme park operator that will create attractions based on the green ogre and his companions. The animated film studio and its new partner, Merlin Entertainments, said the first of six family entertainment attractions to be built over nine years will open in London in the summer of 2015. Universal City Craig Kornblau, long-time president of Universal Studios, left the company late last month. Kornblau, who has been with Universal for 16 years, has been replaced by Eddie Cunningham, who has been the president of Universal Pictures International Entertainment since 2006. The move was made to bring all home entertainment operations under a single president to give greater global focus and meet strategic goals. Mission Hills Eden Memorial Park has settled a class-action lawsuit for $35 million that accused it of digging up and dumping remains in order to reuse burial sites. When all costs are included, it could reach $80 million. The suit against the Mission Hills cemetery alleged it removed human remains over a period of 25 years. The cemetery is owned by Service Corp. International of Houston, one of the largest companies in the funeral industry. The settlement sets up a $35 million reimbursement fund for people who bought plots as well as those who want to remove the remains of deceased loves ones from the park. La Canada Flintridge Sport Chalet Inc. will be the official apparel and equipment provider for Cal State University Northridge’s Matador athletic teams. Under the agreement, Sport Chalet will provide the gear for CSUN’s 19 men’s and women’s NCAA Division 1 sports teams. Earlier this month, Sport Chalet entered into a three-year agreement with Pepperdine University in Malibu to be the exclusive apparel and equipment provider for the Waves’ athletic teams. Van Nuys Valley Presbyterian Hospital has received a grant from the Ahmanson Foundation to fund the purchase of 21 cardiac monitors for its intensive care unit. The non-profit Van Nuys hospital said the new monitors can interact wirelessly with other medical devices, and nurses and doctors can receive data on patients remotely. Valley Presbyterian has 350 beds, including 20 in its intensive care unit. The hospital did not specify the monetary value of the grant from the Beverly Hills foundation. Woodland Hills Australian mall developer Westfield Group LLC will hold off on its plans to build a hotel as part of its Village at Topanga development. The 158-room hotel, which some had speculated would be flagged as a Hyatt, was to be constructed in the first phase of the 550,000-square-foot, $500 million project that connects the Westfield Topanga and Westfield Promenade malls. Westfield said the delay was due to market conditions. Last summer, Westfield recieved approval for up to $59 million in tax breaks over the next 25 years, which the company said was necessary to fast-track construction of the development. It is expected to be completed in the next three years. – Conejo Valley Thousand Oaks The Amgen Tour of California will ride through several Valley-area communities when the weeklong bicycle race takes place in May. The race, sponsored since its inception by Amgen Inc., will begin May 11 in Sacramento and make its way through the Central Coast before arriving in Santa Clarita. Newhall will host the start of Stage 6 on May 16 with cyclists following a route that will take them through Palmdale. Santa Clarita also will play host to Stage 7 of the race with the start at the Valencia Town Center Mall. The final and eighth leg on May 18 will begin and end in Amgen’s base of Thousand Oaks. Construction has begun on Twenty Oaks, a 20-home gated community in Thousand Oaks. The homes are being built by New Home Co. of Aliso Viejo. The houses will range from about 2,900 square feet to more than 4,000 square feet on lots averaging 14,000 square feet. Prices are expected to start in the $900,000s, with a grand opening anticipated this fall. The 25-acre site is at Mayflower Street and Warwick Avenue, just north of the Janss Marketplace. Agoura Hills Peter J. Nelson, chief financial officer of American Homes 4 Rent, is resigning. Nelson is leaving to “pursue other interests” but will remain through the second quarter as a replacement is sought. He joined the Agoura Hills company in 2012 prior to its initial public offering last summer. American Homes has struggled as the recovering home market has raised its acquisition costs, and it has yet to turn a profit since going public. – Antelope Valley Lancaster KB Home has opened a new home in Lancaster that produces as much energy as it uses and significantly reduces water usage. The ZeroHouse 2.0 model from the Los Angeles builder was built in the Dawn Creek community where homes have a starting price of about $245,000. KB claims it’s the first ever home of its kind. The home includes a water recycling system treating “gray water” from bathroom showers, tubs, sinks, and washing machines and using it on the landscaping; solar technology to produce power used by the home; enhanced insulation and sealants that reduce energy consumption; and real-time water and energy monitoring systems. Simulations Plus Inc. has signed a five-year research agreement with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for work on test-tube experiments. The company, which develops software that simulates drug clinical trials, will license software for use by FDA researchers, who will also receive training by the company on the software. – Around the Valleys To be considered for publication, submissions should be emailed to [email protected]. Please put ATV in the subject line. For more information, call (818) 316-3123.
Around The Valleys
