Flying visits fast and loose

Talk about surreal. Just a few hours after climbing off my afternoon flight into LA, I’m slurping retro cocktails – complete with jaunty mini-umbrellas – in a cosy neighbourhood tiki bar. The Purple Orchid is in El Segundo, a neighbourhood whose main attraction to international travellers is that it’s a very short shuttle ride south of LAX.

My room for the night is at the Hacienda Hotel, also in El Segundo, so whether I like it or not I’m about to become a whole lot more familiar with this lesser-known Los Angeles neighbourhood.

Surprisingly, I do like it – a lot – especially if The Purple Orchid, which bills itself as an “exotic tiki lounge”, is anything to go by. The bar is resplendent with tikis: glowing neon tikis; towering tikis; Solomon Island and PNG tikis. Even the drinks are served in tikis. To add to the feeling that we’ve stepped back in time to 1950s Hawaii, the walls are covered with split bamboo, the lights are made of bamboo and, if we were here on a Monday night, we could order a manicure with a martini on the side.

Second City Bistro – right next door to The Purple Orchid – proves a great choice for dinner. As we tuck into huge steaks and plates of seafood, it emerges that a Kiwi chef is running the kitchen.

Read the entire article at:
http://www.smh.com.au/travel/flying-visits-fast-and-loose-20091130-jzwn.html

Posted in Business | No Comments »

International Rectifier to close El Segundo plant – Los Angeles Times

Quoting from International Rectifier to close El Segundo plant – Los Angeles Times By Martin Zimmerman

The semiconductor maker reports a quarterly loss and says it is cutting its global workforce 18%.

International Rectifier Corp. said Thursday it would close its El Segundo semiconductor plant as part of a plan to slash its global workforce 18%.

The El Segundo company announced the closure after reporting a fiscal second-quarter loss of $186.1 million, or $2.56 a share. The company reported a profit of $313,000 in the same quarter a year earlier.

International Rectifier said it planned to eliminate 850 jobs in the current fiscal year, which ends June 30. More than half of those job cuts have already been made.

It is not clear how many of the job cuts will come in Southern California. The El Segundo plant, which is used for research and development and small production runs, employs fewer than 70 people. However, it’s likely that jobs will also be trimmed at the company’s plant in Temecula, which employs around 600, and at corporate headquarters, where 650 people now work.

The El Segundo plant will be shut and its production capacity shifted to the Temecula plant by the end of 2010. The company also plans to consolidate its operations in Wales. The company said the restructuring would save almost $54 million by the end of 2010.

Posted in Business | No Comments »

International Rectifier to close El Segundo plant – Los Angeles Times

Quoting from International Rectifier to close El Segundo plant – Los Angeles Times By Martin Zimmerman

The semiconductor maker reports a quarterly loss and says it is cutting its global workforce 18%.

International Rectifier Corp. said Thursday it would close its El Segundo semiconductor plant as part of a plan to slash its global workforce 18%.

The El Segundo company announced the closure after reporting a fiscal second-quarter loss of $186.1 million, or $2.56 a share. The company reported a profit of $313,000 in the same quarter a year earlier.

International Rectifier said it planned to eliminate 850 jobs in the current fiscal year, which ends June 30. More than half of those job cuts have already been made.

It is not clear how many of the job cuts will come in Southern California. The El Segundo plant, which is used for research and development and small production runs, employs fewer than 70 people. However, it’s likely that jobs will also be trimmed at the company’s plant in Temecula, which employs around 600, and at corporate headquarters, where 650 people now work.

The El Segundo plant will be shut and its production capacity shifted to the Temecula plant by the end of 2010. The company also plans to consolidate its operations in Wales. The company said the restructuring would save almost $54 million by the end of 2010.

Posted in Business | No Comments »

Main Street U.S.A. in El Segundo – The Daily Breeze

Quoting from Main Street U.S.A. in El Segundo – The Daily Breeze

And just a few days later, I pulled into the small but adequate parking lot, wandered through the front door and started contemplating the virtues of chicken piccata versus some nice grilled salmon, while sipping from an oversized tumbler of icy iced tea.

Main Street Cafe is the sort of salt-of-the-earth place that’s rarely written about by food critics.

My brethren, as a rule, are obsessed with fizzy foams and impossible jellies, with margaritas served as a solid and foie gras wrapped in cotton candy, to settle down to the pleasures of a good old-fashioned chef’s salad or an avocado half-packed with tuna salad – dishes that aren’t even vaguely cutting edge.

But the fact that they aren’t edgy doesn’t mean they aren’t good. As they say at the end of “Death of a Salesman,” “Attention must be paid.”

Dinner is served Monday through Saturday at Main Street Cafe (breakfast and lunch are available seven days a week). Actually, the dinner menu is pretty much the same as the lunch menu, though the penchant is probably for burgers and sandwiches for lunch, and for more substantial entrees for dinner.

Whatever your druthers, the house style is large portions of chow that’s clearly made in the kitchen.

I have to admit I was taken aback by a bowl of chicken soup I ordered. I expected something with roots in the land of Campbell’s. Instead, I got a bowl of soup that would have done them proud at Nate ‘n Al’s or Art’s.

What arrived in the bowl was more a stew than a soup – a thick morass of chicken and vegetables, cooked until they were in harmony with each other – the sort of chicken soup a mother would happily serve to her progeny on a cold winter’s day. (Or, in the case of El Segundo, not especially cold. But there was a hint of fog blowing in.)

If a restaurant can make a good bowl of soup, it can make a lot of other things. And in the case of Main Street Cafe, you can pretty much choose anything from the menu without hitting a glitch.

If I have any complaint, it’s that the french fries weren’t crisp enough (you can always ask to have them made crisper), and the fish dishes are cooked a little long for my taste. (Most folks, though, would be happy with well-cooked fish; serve a piece of underdone salmon to anyone in my family but me, and they’ll send it back). But I quibble.

Main Street Cafe is a fine neighborhood eatery. And for those stuck at LAX, it’s a reasonably close destination, unless you’re obsessed with eating at Encounter.

Posted in Business, El Segundo | No Comments »

David E. Kelley Wants to Give You His Equipment | MovieMaker Magazine

David E. Kelley Wants to Give You His Equipment | MovieMaker Magazine

by Kyle Rupprecht | Published December 4, 2008

Premiere Props, the entertainment industry’s leading movie memorabilia company, is holding an industrial auction and sale featuring a variety of unique home and office furnishings, set dressings, props and household items from David E. Kelley Productions’ hit TV shows, which include “The Practice,” “Ally McBeal” and “Boston Legal.” High-end industrial and post-production equipment will also be made available, including late model and state-of-the-art Avid post-production systems and Mac servers.

The post-production auction and sale kicks off online live at www.naalive.com on Saturday, December 6th at 9 am. Afterwards, David E. Kelley Productions will open its warehouse doors (located at 345 South Douglas Street, El Segundo, CA) to the general public on December 6th and 7th from 11 am-6 pm. Premiere Props will also be holding a live auction, for one day only, December 6th at Premiere Props’ Warehouse (128 Sierra Street, El Segundo, CA) with key hero costumes from “The Practice” and “Boston Legal” up for bid. Fans can place live bids online at www.icollector.com or www.ebay.com.

A portion of the proceeds from the sale and auctions will benefit the Entertainment Industry Foundation, which raises awareness and funds for critical health, educational and social issues.

“We are excited to partner with David E. Kelley Productions,” says Dan Levin, vice president of marketing for Premiere Props. “The two auctions and sale will give fans…the chance to buy these items at an excellent price.”

For more information, visit www.premiereprops.com or call 310/322-PROP.

Read the entire article at David E. Kelley Wants to Give You His Equipment | MovieMaker Magazine

Posted in Business, El Segundo, Events, Interesting | No Comments »

Retailer sought for El Segundo site – The Daily Breeze

Retailer sought for El Segundo site – The Daily BreezeBy Andrea Woodhouse

Developers are floating an undeveloped portion of a massive El Segundo shopping center on the real estate market in hopes of attracting a major retailer needed to complete the project.

Asking for $35.4 million, Plaza El Segundo backers have offered an eight-acre site on the immediate corner of Rosecrans Avenue and Sepulveda Boulevard, a chunk of land already approved by the city for 70,000 square feet of retail.

Calling a sale “highly unlikely,” developer Dan Crosser said he and his partners have offered up the land mostly to spur interest from a larger tenant badly needed to anchor the Plaza’s long-delayed second phase.

“We kind of feel that because the leasing market is slow, it’s a way to bring in a potential user tenant,” said Crosser, of Comstock, Crosser & Associates. “It’s an effort to get our leasing done.”

Developers had hoped by the end of this year to open The Pointe at South Bay, the Plaza’s luxury boutique-filled second phase.

But a sputtering economy has stalled the project, as developers have not managed to attract the right mix of businesses, Crosser said.

While workers have removed much of the site’s unsuitable soil and completed about 90 percent of grading, Crosser said major construction would not begin until at least half of the space had been leased.

“We’re after a pretty high-end tenant out there,” he said. “We’re not changing our direction out there in that respect.”

Posted in Business, News | No Comments »

The Beach Reporter – City approves design of new directional signs

The Beach Reporter - by Jennifer Evans

One of the new directional signs that will be going up at various locations in the city.

Although El Segundo is one of the oldest South Bay cities, its downtown is not considered the most popular destination for shopping or dining. City officials and business owners want that to change with the installation of new signs that will hopefully lead Sepulveda Boulevard traffic to downtown Main Street.

During the Oct. 21 City Council meeting, Cris Bennett, owner of Good Stuff restaurant in El Segundo and chairman of the Downtown Committee, presented the design and locations of the proposed signs to the El Segundo City Council.

“We wanted to create ‘wayfinding’ signs with the goal of getting people to the downtown area,” Bennett said. “We feel that we have come up with something that has the look of downtown El Segundo.”

The signs were broken into four colors with the three bold colors being red, green and black and the letters in white. Bennett presented a total of four welcome signs, 44 directional signs and nine public parking signs. The welcome signs will be on the corner of Main Street and El Segundo Boulevard, Grand Avenue and Concord Street, Main Street and Mariposa, and at Grand Avenue. Each of the welcome signs will be 10 feet high from the ground in a visible location. The directional signs are placed throughout the city. The directional signs that are located along Sepulveda Boulevard, Vista del Mar and Imperial Highway will be 4 inches wide while all others are 3 inches wide. Bennett originally proposed that a sign also be placed on Sepulveda Boulevard leading traffic through Mariposa. However, City Councilman Carl Jacobson was opposed to that particular entryway to the city. “First off, we already have enough traffic on that street and I know residents are already not happy with the trucks that always pass by on Mariposa,” Jacobson said. “Also I think that too many signs can be a problem and can end up confusing people instead of helping them with direction.”

One of the new directional signs that will be going up at various locations in the city.
Although the other four councilmen approved the design of the signs, Jacobson didn’t agree that the signs preserved the city’s historical charm. “We have a historical city and although I think these signs are beautiful, I don’t think they are fitting for an historic city.”

Jacobson abstained from voting leaving the mayor and three other councilman in agreement that the new signs were the way to go. “Carl’s concern may turn out to be a valid one,” Mayor Kelly McDowell said. “But if it is valid, we can take signs down.”

Before approving the signs, the City Council did honor Jacobson’s request of not putting a sign leading traffic through Mariposa. However, the other 56 signs and locations were approved by the four councilmen.

“I think the signs look great,” Councilman Bill Fisher said. “Matching the font to the other signs we have in town is helping us create a brand for our city and that is what we need to do. I am very excited about these signs.”

Mayor Pro Tem Eric Busch said he agreed that the idea for the sign at Mariposa should be removed but that he approved of everything else about the presentation. “I appreciate the committee’s hard work, and I think these signs will have a positive impact for our downtown,” he said.

Read the entire article at The Beach Reporter -.

Posted in Business, El Segundo, News | No Comments »

Welcome to El Segundo … your copper plumbing has just been stolen – The Daily Breeze

Welcome to El Segundo … your copper plumbing has just been stolen – The Daily Breeze By Denise Nix

The theft of copper pipes continues to climb. Five new El Segundo businesses got a fine welcome with the theft of some pricey copper water fixtures. The retail and restaurant facilities at The Edge near Maple Avenue and Nash Street discovered the missing outdoor pipes early Saturday, according to El Segundo police officer Glenn Delmendo.

Five new El Segundo businesses got a fine welcome with the theft of some pricey copper water fixtures.

The retail and restaurant facilities at The Edge, a new business park development near Maple Avenue and Nash Street, discovered the missing outdoor pipes early Saturday, according to El Segundo police officer Glenn Delmendo.

The thefts left the businesses without water, Delmendo said.

The pipes, which Delmendo said are worth an estimated $1,300 each, were cut about two inches from where they go into the ground and then pulled out.

“It’s a pretty big piping contraption,” Delmendo said of the three-foot long pipes and brass fittings that were stolen.

Police don’t have any suspects, and the investigation is continuing.

Copper theft is on the rise recently, with filchers taking everything from wiring to headstones to make a quick buck, according to recent news reports.

However, Bloomberg reported late last week that the price of copper, currently at just over $3 a pound, is dropping. The article blames the failing economy and a drop in home building for the projected price decline.

Read the entire article at Welcome to El Segundo … your copper plumbing has just been stolen – The Daily Breeze.

Posted in Business, El Segundo, News | No Comments »

Plaza in El Segundo now feeling economy’s pinch – The Daily Breeze

Plaza in El Segundo now feeling economy’s pinch – The Daily Breeze By Andrea Woodhouse, Staff Writer

A dismal economy is beginning to tarnish the once-gleaming Plaza El Segundo, where a big-box store is already calling it quits and plans are on hold for a second phase of luxury boutiques.

After less than two years in business, Linens ‘n Things, one of a handful of large national chains at the massive El Segundo shopping center, is closing and now hawking merchandise at deep discounts, said Rich Tauberman, a corporate spokesman.

The area’s primary purveyor of towels and sheets for the past two years, the Sepulveda Boulevard store is one of 120 underperforming Linens ‘n Things nationwide to get the ax following the company’s recent Chapter 11 filing, he said.

Posted in Business | No Comments »

One year on, Fresh & Easy is struggling to lure shoppers | Los Angeles Times

One year on, Fresh & Easy is struggling to lure shoppers | Money & Company | Los Angeles Times From Times staff writer Jerry Hirsch:

Like the redcoats of old, British retailing giant Tesco is learning that America is a big and difficult place to conquer.

Tesco’s Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market chain of small grocery stores continues to struggle, Piper Jaffray senior analyst Mike Dennis said in a research report this week. There aren’t enough shoppers, and the ones that do come don’t buy very much, he said.

The chain, which is based in El Segundo, also is falling behind on store openings in California, Nevada and Arizona that are needed to leverage the huge investment the company has made in a distribution center and kitchen facility in Riverside, according to Dennis.

What’s more, nearly one year after opening its first U.S. stores, the retailer hasn’t established much brand recognition and has been forced to offer deeper-than-expected discounts to generate even sluggish store traffic.

“Poor locations and high value coupon discounts will not make them much profit,” Dennis said. Fresh & Easy doesn‚Äôt accept product coupons but frequently offers $5 off of any purchase of $20 or more.

Dennis said his research shows that most Fresh & Easy shoppers limit their purchases to produce and a few other items. Sales of major brand-name items amount to only a fraction per store of what Ralphs, Vons, Stater Bros. and Albertsons garner, he said.

He predicted that Tesco’s woes would only worsen as major U.S. chains, including Safeway, Kroger, Wal-Mart, SuperValu and others, jump into the small-grocery-store format over the next couple of years.

Read the entire article at One year on, Fresh & Easy is struggling to lure shoppers | Money & Company | Los Angeles Times.

Posted in Business, News | No Comments »