News and notes from around the greater San Fernando Valley area Dr. Jerry Lanier wants to make waiting at the car wash a less boring experience. Lanier, a dentist by trade, also has a side business in digital signage, Circle7TV. After getting screens into car washes in the Hollywood area, Lanier has brought his idea over to the upscale Simi Valley Car Wash. The three screens at the Simi Valley business show commercials and trailers for movies. Lanier is currently in negotiations to show music videos as well. “It is advertising but also entertainment that we do at the same time,” Lanier said. Lanier installed a jumbo television screen at his dental practice but found he could not have the audio up too loud because it conflicted with other sounds. While at car washes, Lanier noticed that many had bulletin boards for flyers and other announcements and thought the screens could be a better way to advertise to a captive audience waiting for their cars. The audio from the screens, Lanier figured, could drown out the noise from the cars being washed. Circle7TV started about two years ago, but only in the past six months have the screens been installed at car washes. Lanier is in talks for installations in Santa Clarita and has a goal of 50 car washes by the end of the year, and 300 by the end of summer 2011. Car wash owners are paid $500 a month to have the system installed at their businesses. Lanier works with a separate company to fabricate the enclosures where the screens are placed and patrons can watch them. For content, Lanier looks to have both national and local advertising. Any type of business related to vehicles would be a natural fit: dealerships, mechanics, tire suppliers, and after-market dealers. Paramount Studios currently provides the movie trailers shown on the screens. For now, Lanier is self-funding Circle7TV and has plans to approach venture capitalists in the future to secure additional money. “We’ve gotten a lot of good response,” Lanier said. “We are tweaking the system so we are getting everything right.” – Mark R. Madler SAN FERNANDO VALLEY Studio City Represent: The Fred Price Literary and Talent Agency has added a new division to handle actors, musicians and other artists. Jeff Wolfman has been named to head the new division. The agency has always wanted to expand but the timing had not been right, said founder and President Fred R. Price. “We’re a small boutique agency and our new division will be specializing in strong character actors in both comedy and drama, Price said. Wolfman’s experience includes work in front of and behind the camera including heading up casting offices of Cienega Studios and writing and directing the feature film, “Shteps.” North Hollywood Eats: Dining car-style restaurant Phil’s Diner has been relocated to a location in the NoHo Arts District. The restaurant had been located on Chandler Boulevard and was closed in 2000 amid construction in the area. Owners Casey and Malissa Hallenbeck worked with developer J.H. Snyder Company to relocate the eatery to the corner of Lankershim Boulevard and Weddington Street. The dining car will reopen in March as “Phil’s Diner Fresh n’ Fast,” an organic, sustainable fast food restaurant that embraces local, hormone-free and pesticide-free food, compostable containers and other green components. Sylmar Shades: The aerospace business of PPG Industries was recognized in the Suppliers’ Innovation Challenge sponsored by two magazines. The challenge recognizes and promotes groundbreaking work by tiered suppliers in aerospace and defense. PPG was honored for its Alteos Interactive Window Systems that provides controllable dimmable shading for aircraft passenger-cabin windows using electrochromic technology developed and manufactured by Gentex Corp. The system has been installed on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and Beechcraft King Air 350i aircraft. “The aviation and defense industries are by their nature technologically advanced, so for PPG Aerospace to be recognized as doing groundbreaking and innovative work within these markets is indeed an honor,” said Mark Cancilla, PPG Aerospace global platform director for transparencies. Northridge Clothes: Australian fashion label Cotton On opened a new store at the Northridge Fashion Center. The Cotton On Group is a retail powerhouse renowned for its winning combination of globally relevant fashion and low prices. “Northridge Fashion Center keeps the shopping environment fresh by opening new stores and giving our customers excellent choices,” said Senior Marketing Manager Susan Haynes The mall also recently added a two-level Forever 21, H&M and Angl to their fashion forward roster of retailers. Panorama City Health: Kaiser Permanente’s Panorama City Medical Center was among 65 hospitals nationwide to be named on the “2010 Leapfrog Top Hospitals” list. The list was released by the Leapfrog Group, a national organization that aims to promote improvements in health care safety, quality and affordability. The selection is based on the results of a national survey that measures hospitals’ performance in areas of patient safety and quality. About 1,200 hospitals participated in the survey. Kaiser Permanente attributed its electronic medical record system, KP HealthConnect, to helping reduce medication errors. The system provides same-time alerts to physicians to notify them of drug allergies, drugs that are not appropriate for pregnant women and potential adverse drug interactions. Canoga Park Cool: Artisanal ice cream shop L.A. Creamery has opened its first location at the Westfield Topanga shopping mall. The shop offers a wide range of ice cream flavors, coffee, tea and home-baked pastries. A second location is planned at the Americana at Brand in Glendale. Woodland Hills Clean: The Navigation Systems Division of Northrop Grumman received certification that its environmental management system meets rigorous international standards for minimizing the company’s impact on the environment. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 14001 certification requires an organization to manage, measure, improve and communicate its environmental program in a systematic way. Only those companies with excellent environmental programs qualify for this globally recognized certification. “Achieving certification demonstrates Northrop Grumman’s commitment to running an environmentally friendly business,” said Liz Iversen, sector vice president and general manager of Northrop Grumman’s Navigation Systems Division. “It reflects our dedication to being a responsible employer that values the health and safety of our employees and our neighbors.” CONEJO VALLEY Westlake Village Award: Four Seasons Hotel Westlake Village received the 2011 Five Diamond award by the American Automobile Association for the third consecutive year, the hotel announced. Properties that are selected for the award are anonymously rated by 75 benchmarks while the staff is evaluated by 228 individual standards. The recognition is given to less than half of a percent of more than 31,000 inspected hotels. “It’s all about the team,” said Thomas Gurtner, the hotel’s general manager and Four Seasons regional vice president. “In the end, it’s the team of inherently caring, service-minded individuals who create our unique guest experience that makes the difference between ordinary and extraordinary. ANTELOPE VALLEY Lancaster Cheap: A new 99 Cents Only store opened in Lancaster at Avenue J and 10th Street East. To celebrate the opening the store offered special discounts for early arrivals, including flat screen LCD television sets, wireless headphones, and other electronic items for 99 cents. The 18,000 square-foot store is the second the chain has in Lancaster. Decorate: The City of Lancaster is offering residents and businesses the opportunity to sponsor a tree or banner in the downtown area. The BLVD Community Program provides the chance to leave a mark on the revitalized downtown area. Tree sponsorships are $500 and include a custom-designed sign to be permanently placed with the sponsored tree. Banners are $300 and limited to businesses only. Themed banners will be offered seasonally throughout the calendar year, and new sponsors will be accepted on a rolling basis. “Today, The BLVD is once again the place to be in the Antelope Valley,” said City Manager Mark V. Bozigian. “Through this program, those of us who have a history with The BLVD can now become a permanent part of its history.”
AROUND THE VALLEYS
