– San Fernando Valley Studio City Art Ginsburg, founder of Art’s Deli in Studio City, died July 24. He was 78. In the deli’s early days, it served as a gathering place for the film and television elite. Today, industry veterans such as MTM Productions old-timer Abby Singer and Paul Thomas Anderson, director of such blockabusters as “Boogie Nights” and “There Will Be Blood,” still frequent the restaurant. Ginsburg handed off daily operations of the deli, which opened on Ventura Boulevard in 1957, to his children in 2010. His son, Harold Ginsburg, has been managing the Valley landmark since. Calabasas National Technical Systems Inc. has won a contract to design and build test equipment for components used on the Airbus A350 passenger jet. Financial terms of the deal between the Calabasas company and Rockwell Collins Inc. in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, which makes the components to be tested, were not disclosed. National Technical will build specialized equipment and a custom test stand at its Albuquerque, N.M., facility. North Hills The 80-unit Villa Vincennes Apartments in North Hills was sold for $16.2 million by Investment Real Estate Associates of Encino. The 83,942 square-foot apartment building was built in 2009 at the northwest corner of Vincennes Street and Van Nuys Boulevard. The three-story complex features a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom units. The property includes a fitness center, swimming pool and gated parking. Burbank Walt Disney Records has signed a deal with Amazon.com to release out-of-print titles and certain classic Disney film soundtracks on CD through Amazon’s manufacture-on-demand service CreateSpace. The unit of Burbank’s Walt Disney Co. said there now are 18 titles available in the Disney CD Rarities section of the Disney Music Store on the Internet retailer’s site, with more to be added monthly. Soundtrack titles will range from the recent release “Avengers” to the classic animated film “Peter Pan.” Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. – Conejo Valley Camarillo The purchase of solar equipment manufacturer Power-One has been completed. The Camarillo company was bought by Swiss engineering company ABB for $1 billion. The Zurich company offered shareholders $6.35 a share, a 57 percent premium over its price at the time. ABB designs and manufactures robotics used in solar and automation technology, and already makes its own version of Power-One’s primary product, an inverter that converts solar power from direct current to alternating current that’s usable by customers. Newbury Park Wal-Mart Stores Inc. will open a grocery in Newbury Park next year. The Bentonville, Ark. retailer is set to build a Neighborhood Market at Hillcrest Drive and Ventu Park Road, near a Walgreens and Hampton Inn and Suites. Unlike the company’s superstores, the Neighborhood Markets are much smaller and feature fresh fruits and vegetables, a bakery and a self-serve deli, in addition to a pharmacy and photo processing center. The company said the new location will employ about 65 people and expects to begin construction on the 36,000 square-foot outlet later this year. Agoura Hills The bankruptcy of videogame publisher THQ has come to an end. The company, formerly headquartered in Agoura Hills, filed for bankruptcy in December following years of declining sales. Creditors were paid from the sale of the company’s games, which include the best-selling “Saint’s Row” and “Company of Heroes” franchises. In January, the estate raised $72 million by selling game titles and development studios to five separate companies. A second sale in April sold titles and software to three different buyers. – Simi Valley Simi Valley The Federal Aviation Administration has granted certification to AeroVironment Inc. that allows its unmanned aircraft to be used for commercial purposes. The first non-military uses for the Puma drone will include monitoring of oil spills and wildlife observation off the coast of the Beaufort Sea in the Arctic Circle. AeroVironment is based in Monrovia but manufactures in Simi Valley, where it also tests the Puma and its other small drones. The Puma is the first AeroVironment aircraft to receive approval for commercial operations in the United States. Around the Valleys To be considered for publication, submissions should be emailed to: [email protected]. Please put ATV in the subject line. For more information, call (818) 316-3123.
Around the Valleys
