Around the Valleys

CONEJO VALLEY CAMARILLO California State University Channel Islands and its communications program launched a student-run Internet radio station that will teach students the basics of running a radio station. Dolphin Radio went live April 11 via online broadcaster TuneIn at the Camarillo campus. By running the station, students will learn station management, marketing, promotions and journalistic storytelling, school officials said. Dolphin Radio airs a mix of music, podcasts, campus announcements, lectures and other original programming. Examples of podcast story topics by students include local pesticide use and offerings at the university’s John Spoor Broome Library. Funding for the station comes from the school’s communication program and the communication and marketing office. THOUSAND OAKS A subsidiary of Teledyne Technologies Inc. has acquired an electronic test and measurement business. Terms of the deal between Teledyne LeCroy Inc., in Chestnut Ridge, N.Y., and Quantum Data Inc., in Elgin, Ill., were not disclosed. The deal was expected to close last month. Teledyne LeCroy is owned by Teledyne Technologies in Thousand Oaks. Quantum Data specializes in making what’s called video protocol analysis test tools, which are used by engineers to troubleshoot data communication systems and test devices. This was the second acquisition in April by Teledyne of a test and measurement business. WESTLAKE VILLAGE Computer products maker Interlink Electronics Inc. has been approved to have its shares listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market. The Westlake Village manufacturer was to begin trading on the Nasdaq April 25 under the symbol LINK. Interlink applied to the Securities and Exchange Commission in December to move its common stock from the over-the-counter market, where it’s currently trading, to the Nasdaq. The Nasdaq Capital Market used to be called the Nasdaq SmallCap Market, one of three market tiers on the Nasdaq. The Nasdaq requires its trading companies to meet minimum thresholds for the number of publicly traded shares, total market value, stock price and the number of shareholders. First Banks Inc. has appointed a regional manager for its Central Coast and San Fernando Valley locations. Mike Arcari has joined First Bank as senior vice president and regional manager. He will set up shop at First Bank’s Westlake Village office. Arcari holds a business management degree from Chico State University and has accumulated more than 11 years of experience in banking and finance. First Bank, headquartered in St. Louis, Mo., has 111 locations in California, Missouri and Illinois. Nearby locations include Encino, Woodland Hills and Westlake Village. SAN FERNANDO VALLEY BURBANK The Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority has started a nationwide search for a new executive director for Burbank Bob Hope Airport. The new director will replace Dan Feger, who is remaining at the airport to oversee the planning of a new replacement terminal. He has been executive director since 2008 and has worked for the airport for 30 years. Authority President Frank Quintero said the agency created the position of director of development services specifically for Feger because of his skills and experience. Feger remains executive director until a replacement is named and then will move into his new role. CALABASAS Calabasas seller of advertising space on cannabis forums CrowdGather Inc. said it is undergoing a corporate restructuring that includes an agreement with its creditors allowing it to obtain equity financing. In an announcement, the company said it and its Brooklyn, N.Y. creditor, Iconic Holdings, have agreed to a negotiated conversion of the company’s debt to stock at a price of 1 cent a share. Under the agreement, CrowdGather Chief Executive Sanjay Sabnani can convert up to $240,000 of the money he loaned the company last year to restricted company stock on similar terms, as long as the debt conversion by both Sabnani and Iconic combined is less than $1 million. GLENDALE L.A.-based CBRE Group Inc. said its finance arm has arranged funding for the construction of a nearly 500-unit new apartment complex in Glendale. Century West Partners of Los Angeles and Chicago will use $126 million in a bank construction loan, third-party capital and additional equity to help build the $280 million project Next on Lex at 201 W. Lexington Drive in Glendale. Once built, the 444,000-square-foot luxury complex will include 494 units as a mix of studios and one-, two- and three-bedroom units. Parking for 706 vehicles will be underground. There will also be 8,100 square feet of retail on the ground level. NORTH HOLLYWOOD Representatives from Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority were aboard a new bus line on April 14 to promote its use for commuters traveling between the San Fernando and San Gabriel valleys. The new NoHo-Pasadena Express Line 501 route, which started March 1, connects the North Hollywood Red Line subway station with the Gold Line in Pasadena. The Metro board approved in October a six-month pilot program for the new service at a cost of $1.2 million. Los Angeles City Councilman Paul Krekorian and former Glendale Mayor Ara Najarian greeted passengers as they boarded the bus in North Hollywood and had time to talk with them during the ride to Pasadena. SHERMAN OAKS Cherokee Global Brands reported quarterly earnings that beat analyst estimates, attributing the gain in part to the recent acquisition of retailer Flip Flop Shops. The Sherman Oaks fashion licensing company reported net income of $1.4 million (16 cents a share) for the fiscal fourth quarter ending Jan. 30, compared to net income of $1.7 million (19 cents a share) for the year ago quarter. Revenue increased by 4 percent to $7.8 million. Analysts on average expected net income of 13 cents on revenue of $7.37 million, according to Thomson Financial Network. WOODLAND HILLS United Online closed on the sale of its loyalty marketing service MyPoints.com in an all-cash deal of $13 million. The Woodland Hills Internet service provider closed on the deal with Prodege in El Segundo on April 19. Prodege operates multiple customer engagement brands with its flagship business Swagbucks, a site for providing deals, coupons and cashback rewards to its members. MyPoints is a program that allows members to earn and redeem points for their online activities. This is the third business that United Online has sold off in the last nine months. SANTA CLARITA VALLEY SANTA CLARITA A nearly fully-occupied Santa Clarita Valley retail center has sold for $72.5 million, according to its buyer, InvenTrust Properties Corp., a real estate investment trust in Oak Brook, Ill. Stevenson Ranch Plaza is anchored by a Ralphs supermarket. It has 187,035 square feet center and sits on nearly 20 acres at 24917 Pico Canyon Rd. The seller was a Los Angeles-based private investor. The center was 97 percent occupied at the time of the purchase, according to InvenTrust, and also includes an LA Fitness, PetSmart and a Stein Mart. The REIT, which focuses on multi-tenant retail properties, said the purchase will offer long-term value for its investors and fits its retail portfolio. VALENCIA MannKind Corp. has appointed Joseph Saldanha as its vice president of marketing and Agustin Quintero as the company’s vice president of market value, access and trade. Saldahna has over 13 years of experience in the diabetes sector and helped commercialize Sanofi’s long-acting insulin Lantus. Quintero has about 18 years of experience in the biopharmaceutical industry and was responsible for negotiating a portfolio of AbbVie products, which included blockbuster drug Humira, in his previous position. The appointments suggest that MannKind, which makes inhalable insulin named Afrezza, is stepping up efforts to market the drug on its own. Sanofi several months ago gave up on marketing Afrezza. – Compiled by Stephanie Henkel