AROUND THE VALLEYS

Conejo ValleyCAMARILLOLassen’s Natural Foods and Vitamins, the family-owned chain of 11 stores that started in Camarillo and spread across the Valley region and beyond, is currently celebrating its 50th anniversary. Lassen’s, now headquartered in Ventura, has been continuously owned and operated by the Lassen family since its founding in 1971. The company is now managed by the family of Peter Lassen, founder Oda Lassen’s son. Valley area stores include Thousand Oaks, Ventura and Simi Valley.  San Fernando valleyCALABASASRiver cruise company AmaWaterways in Calabasas has announced its  partnership with Metropolitan Touring, a leading South American tour operator, to launch a new cruise route in Colombia. The new tours, available in December 2023, will become the first luxury river cruises to sail the Magdalena River. Upon launch, guests will board a custom-built ship for seven-night itineraries exploring Cartagena, Barranquilla and other cities. “It is incredibly exciting to be able to launch a new river cruise destination like Colombia, with such a colorful history and artistic background,” Kristin Karst, executive vice president and co-founder of AmaWaterways, said in a statement. “We are celebrating 19 years of creating authentic river cruise experiences in Europe, Asia and Africa, and now, with our world-recognized destination partner, Metropolitan Touring, we will be able to offer our guests an opportunity to explore a fourth continent while discovering the hidden gems of Colombia along the majestic Magdalena River.  Specific itineraries are in development, but passengers on the Magdalena will be able to choose from activities such as kayaking, hiking, and birdwatching, the company said.

SYLMARLunda Construction Co. in Black River Falls, Wisc., a subsidiary of Sylmar-based construction and engineering services firm Tutor Perini Corp., has secured a contract with the Missouri Department of Transportation to design and construct the new interstate 70 Missouri River bridge. Lunda will lead the design team that also includes Parson Corp. in Centreville, Va., Dan Brown & Associates in Sequatchie, Tenn. and HZ United in Plymouth, Minn.   The bridge project near Rocheport, Mo. consists of design and construction of two Missouri River spans, one in each direction with three lanes each. The construction will take place with a limited impact to traffic. Construction is scheduled to begin later this year with a completion expected by the end of 2024. The project’s construction budget: $220 million.VAN NUYSTwo San Fernando Valley men who earlier this year pled guilty to participating in a counterfeit document scheme received federal prison sentences, the Department of Justice announced. Carlos Ayala Hernandez of Granada Hills and Miguel Juarez Guerrero of Van Nuys were respectively sentenced to 30 months and 20 months in federal prison for forging and selling false identification documents. For five years, according to the Justice Department statement, Hernandez, Guerrero and Nestor Perez of Van Nuys operated an illegal business in which they created and sold false identification documents, including passports, permanent resident cards or “green cards,” Social Security cards and driver’s licenses from multiple states. In January, police executed search warrants on Hernandez’s residence and a Van Nuys apartment. In the residence – where Guerrero also lived – law enforcement reportedly found a counterfeit document lab, including approximately 243 completed false identification documents, about 1,000 fraudulent authentication seals, 14 printers, a scanner and an ultraviolet light used to test the security features on counterfeit ID documents.

Tri-CitiesBURBANKLow-cost Canadian air carrier Flair Airlines has added Hollywood Burbank Airport to its list of six new U.S. destinations. The Edmonton, Alberta airline will begin service between the San Fernando Valley’s only commercial airport and Toronto, Vancouver and Calgary starting Oct. 31 and fares will range between $79 to $109 (Canadian dollars) one-way aboard Boeing 737 aircraft, the company said in a statement. Stephen Jones, chief executive of Flair Airlines, said that he wants Canadians to hear the company loud and clear that they don’t have to go into debt or save for months to travel to the U.S. “For years, Canadians have been over-paying for air travel to domestic and U.S destinations,” Jones said in a statement. “Flair is here to ensure that Canadians are no longer taken advantage of and receive low prices for even better service.” Flair would be the second new airline to start service this year at Hollywood Burbank Airport. This spring, Avelo Airlines began service from the Valley airfield to 11 cities in seven western states.

Woodbury University has qualified for inclusion in Colleges of Distinction, a guide for college-bound students and parents, for the seventh consecutive year. According to the nonprofit Burbank school, the selection process included research and interviews about each institution’s freshman experience and retention efforts alongside its general education programs, career development, strategic plan and student satisfaction. “Woodbury’s inclusion is informed by the unique ways it commits to achieving success,” Wes Creel, founder of Colleges of Distinction, said in a statement. “It’s inspiring to see the university’s commitment to the learning styles and community involvement that will best allow their students to succeed in and beyond their college years.” Woodbury received three additional designations from Colleges of Distinction based on accreditation, breadth of program and a track record for success. They are: Business School College of Distinction, Career Development College of Distinction and California College of Distinction.  GLENDALEConstruction on a museum in Glendale devoted to Armenian history and culture will begin this month. In development for more than seven years, the Armenian American Museum, a two-story, 50,000-square-foot contemporary building, will rise at the southwest corner of Glendale Central Park. The park block itself will soon after undergoing an $18.5 million upgrade. Designed by Glendale architecture firm Alajajian Marcoosi Architects, with a distinctive contemporary exterior inspired by rock formations in Armenia, the museum building’s first floor will include a lobby, auditorium, administrative offices and learning centers. The second floor will feature permanent and temporary exhibition galleries. The structure will also house a single level of basement parking. The museum has also retained the services of Gallagher & Associates to create its permanent exhibition. The museum has been made possible through a $1 per year ground lease agreement with the city of Glendale, which owns the park property and is also host to a sizable Armenian American community. The museum’s initial lease will run for 55 years with four decade-long extension options for a total of 95 years.

The chief executive of a Glendale medical imaging company was found guilty of fraudulently submitting claims worth more than $250 million through the state workers’ compensation system. Sam Sarkis Solakyan was chief executive of Vital Imaging Inc. in Glendale and other imaging centers in California. According to prosecutors, he conspired with the head of a patient scheduling service to set up a scheme where doctors were paid bribes and kickbacks for referrals of workers’ comp patients for magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI scans. The compensation offered to the corrupt doctors consisted of either cash or referrals of new patients in what is known as a “cross-referral” scheme. The scheme was perpetrated from no later than mid-2013 to November 2016, according to trial evidence. Solakyan had recruiters require physicians to meet a patient referral quota, according to the evidence. Two recruiters, Fermin Iglesias of Glendale and Carlos Arguello of Bonita, were paid more than $8.6 million for obtaining MRI referrals. The payments were concealed from patients and health insurers. Solakyan was found guilty of one count of conspiracy to commit honest services mail fraud and health care fraud, as well as 11 counts of honest services mail fraud. A sentencing hearing in U.S. District Court for Solakyan is scheduled for Oct. 4.