AROUND THE VALLEYS – January 23, 2012

News and notes from around the greater San Fernando Valley area SAN FERNANDO VALLEY Van Nuys FRUIT: Van Nuys-based food company, That’s it., is going national with its premier product, That’s it. fruit bars, thanks to a new deal with Whole Foods Market and Virgin America. The fruit bars are now available at Whole Foods Markets nationwide and will be sold on Virgin America flights later this month, the company announced. Founded in 2010, the company makes 100-calorie, all-natural fruit bars that are made of–as the name implies—just fruit. The products are free of preservatives, concentrates and added sugars. The three varieties include apples with cherries, apples with pears, and apples with apricots. In a prepared statement, company founder Dr. Lior Lewensztain said That’s it. was thrilled to bring the fruit bars to the masses through its partnerships with national companies such as Whole Foods and Virgin America. “Moreover, we are excited to be aligning with brands that embody corporate social responsibility, value locally sourced products and that share our mission of bringing healthy, natural foods to consumers,” Lewensztain said. Toluca Lake COOK: Fabio Viviani, celebrity chef and owner of two Valley Italian restaurants announced the release of 12 eCookbooks, which will be distributed each month throughout the year. Viviani owns and serves as executive chef for Firenze Osteria in Toluca Lake and Café Firenze in Moorpark. He also appeared on the hit Bravo show Top Chef and has released several cookbooks. Each month, subscribers will receive a different eCookbook, focusing on a specific meal topic. This month, customers received We the Soup, which offers subscribers 31 soup recipes for each day of the month. In a prepared statement, Viviani said he wanted to focus on soups in January because it is the recipes people tend to lean toward in the colder months. To receive the eCookbook, subscribers must log onto Viviani’s website and download the program. Chatsworth AUTO: Kahn Media has been chosen by B&M Automotive Group to handle public relations and communications duties. B&M includes B&M Racing and Performance and Hurst Shifters, both located in Chatsworth. The Encino-based Kahn team will work with B&M Automotive Group management on strategic planning initiatives, and the development and implementation of social media marketing campaigns to increase brand visibility, sales and consumer awareness, promote the latest products and provide on-site event support. Since 2010, Kahn Media has represented Flowmaster Exhaust, another B&M Automotive Group company, and now adds Hurst and B&M Racing, both of which have rich histories in the racing and performance industry, said company President Dan Kahn. “These companies helped found an entire industry,” Kahn said in a prepared release. “Telling their stories through PR and social media will be an honor.” B&M Racing and Performance focuses on developing automatic transmissions for the racing and high-tech enthusiast market. Hurst Shifters builds manual transmission shifters for new cars, race cars, and cutting-edge paddle shift technology for modern supercars. CONEJO VALLEY Westlake Village MUSIC: Guitar Center, a Westlake Village-based musical instrument retailer, held its annual Guitar Center Drum-Off grand finals at Club Nokia in Los Angeles on Jan. 14. The event was the culmination of a five-month search for “the next great undiscovered drummer.” Out of the 4,500 contestants nationwide, five finalists performed at the grand finals in hopes of taking away the title of Drum-Off champion. In a prepared statement, Maria Brown, manager of music and entertainment marketing at Guitar Center, said the company annually celebrates drummers by giving aspiring musicians the chance to take their careers to the next level. Also in attendance that night were veteran musicians such as Metallica’s Robert Trujillo and James Brown’s drummer Jabo Starks. Actor Jack Black and his band Tenacious D were one of the evening’s performers. The event concluded with the announcement of the contest winner, 21-year-old Boston-native Jean-Pierre Didier Bouvet. Bouvet’s grand prize package included: $25,000 cash, a custom drum kit, several endorsement deals, a feature in Modern Drummer magazine and trip to New York to record at the Converse Rubber Track Studio. Bouvet said he was honored and humbled by his win. “For Guitar Center to put a contest like this on, it’s fantastic,” Bouvet said. “I’m honored just to be hanging out backstage and meet all these drumming legends.” SANTA CLARITA VALLEY Valencia ACQUIRE: U.S. HealthWorks of Valencia, a leading operator of occupational health care centers nationwide, this month announced the acquisition of Priority Medical Care, operator of two medical clinics in New Jersey. Terms of the transactions were not disclosed. The acquisition of these two centers brings the number of U.S. HealthWorks operated medical centers in New Jersey to seven and increases the number of U.S. HealthWorks centers and worksite locations to 173 nationwide. Priority Medical Care Bridgewater has two offices, one in Bridgewater and another in Somerset. The Somerset center has operated under the name Total Care Occupational Medicine. Both facilities offer occupational health care services, including diagnosis and treatment for injury and illness, preventive services, pre-employment and post-offer exams and screening, and return-to-work rehabilitative care. The Bridgewater center also offers urgent care services. “U.S. HealthWorks has a highly regarded national network of physicians, health clinics and medical resources, and possesses a strong commitment to quality at all its centers,” Ian Brodrick, M.D., of Priority Medical Care said in a statement. “We’re excited to join a company that will bring additional resources to support our services to patients.” “We are pleased to have the talented teams from Priority Medical Care and Total Care Occupational Medicine join our medical group,” Gregory Marotta, vice president of operations, east division, for U.S. HealthWorks added. “The expanded network of clinics in New Jersey will allow us to better serve all our clients and patients in the region.” U.S. HealthWorks is the second-largest operator of occupational health care centers in the nation with 2,700 employees, including approximately 600 medical providers. U.S. HealthWorks centers help employers control work-related injury costs through effective management of claims and lost work time and specialize in early return-to-work programs, injury prevention and wellness programs. VENTURA COUNTY CAMARILLO FUEL: Cool Planet BioFuels will begin testing of its biomass-based fuel in California following approval from the California Air Resources Board. The Camarillo-based company will use a fuel made with corn cobs in commercial fleets for a several month testing period before making the fuel available to the general public. The process used to make a fuel creates a byproduct that can sequester carbon and be used as a soil conditioner. In late December, Cool Planet received a third round of private equity financing led by venture capital firm Shea Ventures LLC. Previous investors in the company have been General Electric, Google Ventures, Conoco Phillips, NRG, and North Bridge Venture Partners.