AROUND THE VALLEYS

News and notes from around the greater San Fernando Valley area VENTURA COUNTY Camarillo Assist: The Small Business Institute at California State University Channel Islands will help seven businesses in the upcoming semester. The institute uses seniors and graduate students to analyze the chosen businesses to give an opinion on how well and successful they are operating or if they are ready to expand. The institute has offered its services since 2003 and Professor Rudolph Estrada, the executive director, has seen a change in the applicants wanting to participate. Notably, more women business owners were applying as they started their own businesses in the wake of the recession, Estrada said. “This is a cutting edge program, allowing students to get real world experience in a competitive business environment and making them more marketable in the job market upon graduation,” Estrada said. ANTELOPE VALLEY Lancaster Connect: Lancaster Vice Mayor Ron Smith has created a mobile communication application for use by residents to receive and submit information regarding the city. The “What do YOU Think?” app was made in partnership with Geoffit, a firm that won a Crystal Eagle Award for the mobile app it developed for the City of Long Beach. The Smartphone app is currently available on iTunes free of charge, and will soon be available for the Android. Citizens can search “Ron Smith” to find the app on iTunes. Users can receive information on upcoming agenda items, city events and news, as well as submit their opinions and ideas to Smith and the city. Cars: A grand opening took place Dec. 17 of Antelope Valley Chevrolet at the Lancaster Auto Mall. Since opening in November, dealership owner Lou Gonzales has consistently sold inventory shortly after it arrives on the lot. The Chevrolet dealership has not only brought new employment opportunities to the Antelope Valley, but has also provided an added boost to the local economy. “The city and Mr. Gonzales both knew Antelope Valley Chevrolet would be a huge success here in Lancaster,” said Lancaster Mayor R. Rex Parris. The City Council, staff, and our local citizens value this new addition to our wonderful auto mall.” Sunny: Beautiful Earth Group broke ground Dec. 30 on its Del Sure Solar Project at Avenue H and 90th Street West. The projects will be the largest solar facility in the city when it is completed. Beautiful Earth will construct two 19-megawatt solar panel farms made up of 8-foot high photovoltaic panels rotating on a single axis. The power generated could then be sent to a nearby substation or directly into nearby transmission lines bordering the property. SAN FERNANDO VALLEY Rules: The Greater San Fernando Valley Chamber of Commerce is offering the 2011 California Employer poster in both English and Spanish. All employers are required to post compliant employment posters in a conspicuous place in the workplace where all employees and applicants can see it. The poster must also include information about the employer’s workers’ compensation benefits, payday schedule and emergency contacts. The chamber also offers a Poster Protect feature in which a new poster will be supplied each time there is an update during the 2011 calendar year. Burbank Dimension: Technicolor has provided full services for all Warner Home Video Blu-ray 3D titles. The services include compression, authoring and 3D subtitling for titles that include “The Polar Express,” “Clash of the Titans,” and “IMAX: Space Station 3D.” Warner Bros. releases the most Blu-ray 3D titles in 2010, according to the studio. “We continue to lead the way in Blu-ray 3D services and remain focused on quality and efficiency,” said Chuck Parker, president of Technicolor’s Digital Content Delivery division. “We continue to further reduce our production times for Blu-ray 3D by more than 50 percent, and we are even closer to matching the production times of a typical 2D Blu-ray Disc.” Chatsworth Buy: Shoppers at KV Mart grocery received $100 VISA gift cards through a promotion by Provision Interactive Technologies, developer of the 3D Reward Center. Located at the front of KV Marts, the reward center uses Provision technology to project full-color, high-resolution videos that can be seen without the need for special glasses. The reward center dispenses promotions, sweepstakes or coupons for products and services. “The VISA Gift Card has been one of the most accessed and most redeemed coupons on our 3D Reward Center advertising network,” said Provision President and CEO Curt Thornton. “It is an example to all advertisers of how successful our 3D network can be for them. Case studies have shown our average redemption rates at 17 percent compared to industry averages of 2 percent. That’s very powerful differentiation.” Sherman Oaks Singer: Documentary filmmaker John Scheinfeld made it to the USA Today Pop Candy list of the top 100 people in 2010. Scheinfeld was No. 94 on the list for his film “Who Is Harry Nilsson (And Why Is Everybody Talkin’ About Him?),” which was released theatrically and on DVD after only being screened at festivals for several years. Pop Candy noted that thanks to the documentary “viewers learned about a singer-songwriter who was way too good to be forgotten.” Woodland Hills Sales: Online marketing firm ReachLocal released a web presence management product ReachCast as a way for business owners to better connect with consumers. Through ReachCast, a business owner works with a Web Presence Professional to develop a strategy to meet the owner’s specific goals, create and publish custom content, post to social media sites, engage with fans and followers, and monitor online reputation. “We are excited to offer this unique solution that helps small business owners solve some of their most complex marketing challenges in today’s digital world. It’s no longer enough to simply have one static website, and the demands of creating and maintaining a dynamic social Web presence are more than most small businesses can fully address,” said Zorik Gordon, Co-Founder and CEO of ReachLocal. Production: Ran-tech Engineering & Aerospace started using software from Dassault Systemes to create and control production processes. Using the V6 platform, the aerospace and defense part supplier will reduce its programming lead time, manage the lifecycle of all machining deliverables to meet government regulations, and build and harness unique machining IP. “We have an aggressive plan to deploy Dassault Systèmes solutions within one month of our purchase, which will enable us to quickly benefit from our investment,” said Ran-tech CEO William Cannard. Ran-tech manufactures high tolerance aerospace parts supplied to Airbus and Boeing. SANTA CLARITA VALLEY Santa Clarita Honor: Stay Green Inc. has been named as one of the top 150 landscape contractors in the nation by Landscape Management magazine. Being included on the list is a testament to the hard work and professionalism of Stay Green’s 200 employees, said CEO and President Chris Angelo. “We believe our success is directly tied to the team we’ve built here at Stay Green,” Angelo said. “By building such a strong team, we have been able to not only keep up with industry trends and changing technologies, but also to get ahead of them.” Stay Green was noted by Landscape Management for having maintained 2009 revenue levels that were consistent with 2008, making it among the leader’s in the landscaping industry to survive the down economy. Valencia Lines: Lavi Industries Inc. sponsored the sculpture “Between Broadway and Boogie” by artist Carlos Reyes that was part of New York University’s Master of Fine Arts’ exhibition in Manhattan. Reyes used retractable-belt crowd control stanchions made by Lavi as a central element in the sculpture focusing on the impact and meanings of lines, crowd patterning and individual directions in the 21st century. “The audience turned participant’s position is questioned, not only in terms of field of vision and direction, but also as active or passive viewers,” said Reyes, a graduate student at the university.