AROUND THE VALLEYS

Note to unruly Santa Clarita Valley canines: “The Dog Whisperer” may be coming your way. Chris Albert, a spokesman for Washington, D.C.-based National Geographic Channel, said tough love dog trainer Cesar Millan is considering relocating the training facility featured on his popular cable television show to North L.A. County. “He’s looking at Santa Clarita. There’s more land out there,” Albert said. For the past 10 years, Millan has operated The Dog Psychology Center of Los Angeles on a two-acre plot in South Los Angeles. The facility, which specializes in rehabilitating unruly dogs and their owners, spawned “The Dog Whisperer” television show in 2004 and a series of books on dog obedience. A statement on Millan’s website said the facility closed in December as he looks for a larger facility “where he can live on the property to be even closer to the dogs.” Millan, a native of Mexico who immigrated to the states in 1990, said he also wants to open a non-profit organization that will educate the public on animal welfare and help rescue groups and shelters nationwide. Albert said Millan, who would not directly comment about the relocation, said Santa Clarita is appealing because it can house all aspects of burgeoning cottage industry. “It’s growing what he wants to do, which is (to) take care of dogs,” Albert said. Albert said plans are in the very early stages, and he would not disclose specifically where Millan is looking. Gail Ortiz, a spokeswoman for the city, said she hadn’t heard of Millan’s interest in the area but welcomed the attention. “We would be thrilled to have a popular show like ‘The Dog Whisperer’ located here,” she said. “This would fit in with what Santa Clarita has evolved into in 2007.” If the move goes through, it would add to an already booming television, motion picture and commercial production scene in Santa Clarita, which has experienced a huge boost in shoots over the past few years. The first six months of last year saw 387 production days 30 percent more than the same 2005 period and the industry is expected to generate $10.03 million for the region, according to the Santa Clarita Valley Film Office. Much of that is from frequent shows that shoot in the area, including “Deadwood,” “The Unit” and “Big Love.” Jason Crawford, film liaison for the city, said “Dog Whisperer” has also filmed several times in the city, which may make it familiar to Millan and his crew. Another factor, Ortiz said: the city fancies itself canine-friendly. “We do have a dog park on the drawing board right now,” she said. “We don’t have one quite yet, but with Cesar here, we would definitely have to put that on the front burner.” SANTA CLARITA VALLEY Santa Clarita Anniversary: This year is the 20th anniversary of the formation of the city of Santa Clarita. The city was officially designated on Dec. 15, 1987, and was formed out of several unincorporated areas including Valencia, Saugus, Newhall and Canyon Country. The city initially had 130,000 residents. Today, estimates put that number closer to 178,000. Advertising: Entries are now being accepted for the 2007 ADDY Awards given out by the Advertising Professionals of North Los Angeles County, the chapter of the American Advertising Federation serving the Santa Clarita and San Fernando valleys. Entries can be submitted in 70 categories for print, broadcast and digital media and must have been published or broadcast during the 2006 calendar year. The deadline to enter is Feb. 16. The awards will be presented on March 25. “The awards are not just a way for our industry to garner kudos from our design peers, but they also alert the business community about advertising and design firms who can help them grow their business,” said awards committee Chairman Will Sherwood. Entry forms are available at www.adprosla.com. Chilled: The first North L.A. County outlet of a popular health-conscious smoothie chain has opened in Valencia. Smoothie King kicked off a grand opening last month for its new location at 23886 Copper Hill Drive in Tesoro Village. The New Orleans-based chain specializes in smoothies of fruit, natural juices and natural enhancers. It has nearly 400 outlets across the country, including a Calabasas location. SIMI VALLEY Simi Valley Catchy: The Simi Valley Chamber of Commerce has launched a new marketing slogan to advertise the area to visitors: “Stay. Play. Get Away.” The new slogan is part of a marketing effort started by the chamber and its tourism bureau, which it created in 2005. It will appear in advertisements, brochures and a promotional magazine published next month. Wi-fi: Simi Valley Hospital has installed wireless Internet access for patients and visitors at its facilities. The free service is part of IntelliCare, a program developed by the hospital’s parent company, Adventist Health. SAN FERNANDO VALLEY Burbank Riders: Burbank Bus, the city-owned bus service, had a 40 percent increase in riders in 2006 over the previous year. The peak-hour local transit system provided over 320,000 trips to commuters, residents, and visitors alike. Contributing to the increase in ridership was the launch of the NoHo Empire route serving the Metro Red Line and Orange Line stop in North Hollywood and the Bob Hope Airport area. “The goal of Burbank Bus is to provide convenient and affordable transportation that is environmentally-friendly and at the same time accessible to all Burbank residents and commuters,” said the city’s Transportation Manager Andrew Carrasco. Burbank Bus operates five routes for the morning and evening commutes. Calabasas Changes: A grand re-opening was held Jan. 25 at Volvo of Calabasas, which changed owners this summer. Steve Lapin, owner of Infiniti of Thousand Oaks and an active member of the Thousand Oaks Auto Mall, bought the dealership at 24400 Calabasas Road in August. The dealership had been owned by Blue Sky Ventures Inc. Glendale Software: Nero Inc. scored a Shopper’s Choice Award for its Nero 7 Ultra Edition of management software for media content. Computer Shopper Magazine named it the best DVD/CD Utility Software. This was the third consecutive year that Nero’s digital media software has earned the award. “The digital media software space is very competitive and it is very gratifying to win this award for a third straight year,” said Nero COO Udo Eberlein. “Selected by the well-informed readers of Computer Shopper Magazine, it represents an important vote of confidence from end users with regard to the choices we have made to keep our product on top of the category.” The Nero 7 Ultra Edition allows users to create, edit, burn and share their digital media. Northridge Awards: Harley Ellis Devereaux received two AIA/San Fernando Valley awards for its work on the student union at California State University Northridge. Harley Ellis won a design award for the Sol Center and a best client award in conjunction with the university. The best client award recognizes the positive impact outstanding architectural design can have on local communities. The Sol Center and the adjacent Plaza del Sol provide learning centered environments encouraging exploration, collaboration and socialization, anytime and anywhere. University Student Union Executive Director Debra Hammond called the award a tremendous honor. “The University has been in need of a center like this for a long time,” Hammond said. Since the building opened in June, both the Sol Center and Plaza del Sol have gotten a fantastic response from all who have used it.” Sherman Oaks Game: ANNO 1701 Mobile has been nominated as a Best Made for Mobile Game by the GSM Association, the trade organization representing cellular phone operators. ANNO 1701 Mobile was developed by Twistbox Games, the mobile games development and publishing division of Sherman Oaks-based Twistbox Entertainment. The mobile version of ANNO 1701 is based on a popular medieval-themed PC game. ANNO 1701 Mobile was shortlisted within the Best Made for Mobile Game category, demonstrating Twistbox’s success in pioneering the revolutionary and first-of-its-kind European game that allows for mobile integration with PC play. “We are honored that our industry peers have recognized our risk-taking efforts to innovate current standards of mobile game development and bring improved game play to the consumer,” said Twistbox Games Managing Director Eugen Barteska. CONEJO VALLEY Westlake Village Financial: Inphi Corp. was recognized for its outstanding financial performance by the trade organization for the global fabless industry. The electronic components company received the Fabless Semiconductor Association award for Outstanding Performance by a Private Fabless Company at the FSA Awards dinner in Santa Clara. The award recognizes private companies that doubled either revenue or net income with no negative quarters over eight consecutive quarters ending June 2006. The company was honored to receive the award, said Vice President of Operations Bill Forster. “The widespread adoption of our innovative, high-performance solutions by our customers, the hard work of our team, and the continued support from our partners and investors all contributed to the solid revenue growth leading to this award,” Forster said.