Valley Talk

Move Over Mickey It may not have a permanent home yet, but the annual Valley Fair now has its own mascot. While Burbank is still the undisputed home of Mickey Mouse and the Looney Tunes gang, the Valley Fair has inducted Manfred Moose into its ranks. Who is Manfred Moose? According to his Web site, www.manfredmoose.com, the cartoon character hails from Alaska and has appeared in numerous children’s books. Fair officials named the dubious moose mascot following the suggestion of the fair’s honorary sheriff, Dick Spangler, who also happens to be president of Phoenix Media Co., which owns Manfred Moose. The Valley Fair may not have the glamour of Disneyland and Manfred Moose may not have the fame of Mickey Mouse, but that hasn’t stopped Phoenix Media from taking on the famous mouse. At Manfred Moose’s Web site, Phoenix CEO Ron Irwin offers this challenge for Disney CEO Michael Eisner: “My moose, your mouse, anywhere, anytime.” Bugs Online Speaking of Bugs and Daffy, Warner Bros.’ entertainment portal, Entertaindom.com, doesn’t seem to be entertaining many if you believe Nielsen//NetRatings. According to the Internet tracking service’s February numbers, Entertaindom ranked No. 664 in popularity, just behind Backstreetboys.com. Nielsen reported that just 486,000 users visited the site in February, for an average of 3 minutes and 49 seconds. Company officials blame the site’s low showing on the fact that Nielsen’s numbers only took into account home use. Warner Bros. officials say most users log in from work. And they may have a point. According to Media Metrix, which tracks home and work use, Entertaindom ranked No. 53 overall in January (the most recent period available), with 4.3 million users. The site was just ahead of ATT.net, and right behind Sportsline.com. You Talkin’ to Me? A Pasadena Web site recently discovered the power of television. The site, www.wiseguys.com, was mentioned in a CBS trailer for the network’s upcoming “Falcone” series when a mobster asked a cop, “Where’d you get the information? Wise guys dot-com?” Company officials at www.wiseguys.com, a marketing agency, reported its Web traffic tripled from 500 hits a week to 2,000. That may seem like small potatoes, but Reagan Reed, Wiseguys’ “Diva of Digital Domains,” said prior to the March commercial airing, Web traffic at the site could “best be described as sleeping with the fishes.” Viva Las Glendale When the Three Tenors needed a top-notch orchestra to play at their first performance in Las Vegas, they didn’t turn to New York, Chicago or even Los Angeles. They looked to Glendale. The Glendale Symphony Orchestra will be backing the tenors April 22 when they perform live at Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino. Glendale Symphony Orchestra President Bill Ellis said he was honored to be working with the tenors. “The whole world will be given an opportunity to hear our musicians perform,” he said. Tilting at Windmills From the too late file The L.A. City Council unanimously approved a motion by City Council President John Ferraro asking the Chandler family to reconsider its decision to sell Times Mirror Co. and the Los Angeles Times to the Tribune Co. of Chicago. Ferraro wrote in the motion, “The announcement of this merger has been aptly characterized by some as: ‘I felt like I woke up and heard that the Pacific Ocean had been sold.'” The motion goes on to credit the Chandlers and the Times with several milestones over the past century. But one achievement Ferraro credits to the Chandlers and the Times seems a little dubious: “They helped to make a president of a hometown Congressman named Richard Nixon.” Of course, the L.A. City Council has absolutely no power to block the sale. And spokespeople for both the Times and its parent company failed to return calls last week. Water, Water Everywhere Water took center stage at the recent dedication of the Metropolitan Water District’s Diamond Valley Lake, which eventually will hold enough of the stuff to quench the thirst of all 16 million Southern California residents for six months. Of course, that doesn’t mean people at the MWD headquarters in downtown L.A. will be sampling the new supply. The beverage of choice for many employees is bottled water supplied by Sparkletts and Arrowhead.