Valley talk

That Old Feeling When Carl Schatz was preparing to open Encino State Bank last fall, he naturally contacted the phone company to hook up telephone service. Schatz, who has been a banker in the Valley since 1950, said he was surprised when he found out the phone number he had been given. Why? Because it was just one digit away from the main phone number of the last bank he founded, the Bank of Encino, which was founded in 1986 and sold it to Western Bank in 1995. The phone company assigned the number, 789-9002, to Encino State Bank. The old number at the Bank of Encino was 789-9001. “I said, ‘Hey, that’s one number removed from the old bank’s number,’ ” said Schatz. The feeling of familiarity aside, Schatz decided it was better to give his new bank its own identity. The company chose another number, 789-9055 to use in its advertisements, though it kept the first number as well. A Different Business Hat Mayor Richard J. Riordan, was on a business outreach tour in Chatsworth last month when he found himself learning yet another profession. The mayor, who already has made the transition from businessman to politician, was visiting Hallmark Lighting, a major supplier of lighting to the hotel industry, design and retail trade. Hallmark had considered moving to Arizona after the Northridge Earthquake, but instead chose to relocate from Northridge to its Chatsworth facility. At Hallmark, Riordan donned an apron and got the chance to mold a lamp. Hallmark President Brad Senet said he doesn’t often let visitors work with the molds, but he made an exception for Riordan. “It was really because he was the mayor and I figured that he must be pretty multifaceted,” Senet said. Did the mayor do a good job? “He did,” Senet said. “We offered him a job but he had to decline.” The Other Side of the Hill You would think Sherman Oaks Homeowners Association President Richard Close, a leader of the San Fernando Valley secession movement, might want to do his share to prove the Valley is self-sufficient by working at a job in the Valley. But Close, an attorney, has just announced he will be laving the Century City law firm of Shapiro Rosenfeld & Close to join Gilchrist & Rutter in its beach-adjacent office on Ocean Avenue in Santa Monica. “I looked at moving my practice to the Valley, but I’ve been working on the Westside since 1971 and most of my clients are in this area,” Close said. “I need to be close to my clients.” The solid reputation of Gilchrist & Rutter also played a role in the decision, Close said. Making Noise For months, the city of Burbank has been demanding a curfew and noise restrictions at Burbank Airport. But according to an internal memo uncovered recently, it looks like it is the city not the airport that has been making too much noise. The memo, marked “privileged” and intended only for the eyes of the city’s lawyers, acknowledges that the airport’s efforts to reduce noise impact on surrounding neighborhoods are, in fact, working. Only a day earlier, on April 17, the city had criticized the airport’s attempts to reduce noise pollution, criticizing such efforts as the soundproofing of 2,200 airport-vicinity homes and schools as “little more than window dressing.” Riding in the Fast Lane If you spot a California Highway Patrol car along Route 14 in your rear-view mirror on May 5, don’t worry. A fully-restored 1954 CHP patrol car is slated to lead an inaugural parade for a 6.4-mile stretch of new car pool lanes opening in the Santa Clarity Valley. “This old patrol car probably couldn’t catch half the cars out on the road,” said CHP Officer Doug Sweeney. ( “It’ll be there just for show, no tickets.” The CHP car, a Ford Fairlane, will be followed by a selection of antique cars provided by the Santa Clarita Antique Car Club, as well as commuter vans and new, state-of-the-art electric vehicles. The new carpool lane, will operate in both directions along Route 14 from San Fernando Road t Sand Canyon Road. It is the first phase of a planned 36-mile car pool lane scheduled for completion in 2004. The Metropolitan Transit Authority has spent $24 million to add a lane in both directions. The MTA is building the lanes with money from federal and state gas taxes, said MTA spokesman Rick Jager. The car pool lanes are intended to benefit Santa Clarita and Antelope Valley residents in their commute into the San Fernando Valley and downtown Los Angeles. For the parade, Sweeney said the patrol car will be certain to have at least two riders in it, so as not to break the law. “People would sure take notice if I was driving at the front of the car pool parade by myself,” Sweeney said. Sounds of Xena Musicians who came away empty-handed from the Oscars and Grammys had another shot last week when The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers announced the winners of its 13th Annual ASCAP Film and TV Awards. Some winners were less than surprising, such as James Horner for his theme for “Titanic.” Others were more unexpected (or perplexing, depending on your musical tastes), such as Joseph LoDuca for the themes to “Xena: Warrior Princess” and “Hercules: The Legendary Journeys.”