September 2008 Archives

These weapons will eventually change the face of warfare -- for better or for worse.

Northrop Grumman Space Technology delivered to the Air Force a high-energy laser that represents a milestone for the weapon's development in the South Bay, the Redondo Beach-based company said Monday.

Read the full story.

Boeing Co. said Monday that it demonstrated a key part of a proposed satellite system that it hopes to build for the Department of Defense.

The Transformational Satellite Communications System, or TSAT, could be worth billions of dollars to the contract winner. The satellite system is expected to revolutionize military communications.

Earlier this month, Boeing demonstrated the maturity of its packet-switching technology, which works like a switch-board in space, the company said. Boeing used a commercial communications satellite, the Spaceway 3, to conduct the demonstration.
Boeing's TSAT bid in based at its El Segundo satellite factory.

Boeing is competing against a team of Lockheed Martin Corp. and Northrop Grumman Space Technology, which is based in Redondo Beach.

Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A., the car maker's Torrance-based U.S. sales and marketing headquarters, said Monday it is donating more than $600,000 and five hybrid vehicles to support environmental education programs at Yosemite National Park and the University of California, Merced.

Toyota's donation will go through the park's nonprofit fundraising partner, The Yosemite Fund. The park will use the contribution to support the Yosemite Leadership Program, a partnership between Yosemite, UC Merced and California State Parks.

The internship program provides students with work experience in a park, wilderness education, a living stipend and the opportunity for possible future employment with the park.

In addition, Toyota funds are being used to refurbish cabins in the park to be used as dorms for the interns.

In SpaceX founder Elon Musk's mind, this rocket launch puts humanity one step closer to creating colonies on Mars.

An Internet entrepreneur's latest effort to make space launch more affordable paid off Sunday when his commercial rocket, carrying a dummy payload, was lofted into orbit from the South Pacific.

Read the full story.

With this global economy, Boeing and Airbus will eventually work on projects jointly, just like Northrop did with Airbus parent EADS on the controversial aerial refueling tanker program.

Airbus Makes Up Ground Against Strike-Plagued Boeing

(Aero-News Networks) Airbus and Boeing are facing many of the same concerns, from slumping economies and increasing fuel prices, to outsourcing strategies and labor union woes. Yet Airbus is taking a big step towards maintaining its leadership in airliner production numbers, by keeping its production lines moving ahead while Boeing's now sit idle.

Read the full story.

We'll see if Congress can make such progress on the financial bailout.

Pentagon bill poised to clear Senate hurdle

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A huge spending bill that combines help for Gulf Coast disaster victims and loans for U.S. automakers with record spending for the Pentagon and veterans is poised to clear a key hurdle in the Senate.

The year-end budget measure also would lift a quarter-century ban on oil drilling off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. That's a key victory for Republicans.

Saturday's vote on a procedural motion would set a final vote for no later than Sunday.

After hard lobbying, automakers won up to $25 billion in low-interest loans to help them develop technologies and retool factories to meet new standards for cleaner, more fuel-efficient cars.

The measure is fueled by a need to pass stopgap funding to keep the government running past the current budget year ending Sept. 30. The stopgap measure is needed because of a breakdown in the budget process this year, and under it, domestic agencies would be funded through March 6 or until their regular budgets pass.

The measure is dominated by $488 billion for the Pentagon, $40 billion for the Homeland Security Department and $73 billion for veterans' programs and military base construction projects -- amounting to about 60 percent of the budget work Congress must pass each year.

Read the full story.

Washington Post conducted an interesting Q&A with Elon Musk, founder of SpaceX, the Hawthorne-based developer of experimental low-cost rockets.

SpaceX plans its fourth launch in the coming days and as early as Saturday. The previous three launches all failed.

Here's a link to Business Casual.

I took a few photos at this business with my wife's point-and-shoot. Below is a photo of Debbie Cooper at her Redondo Beach home office, where she stores her inventory for her menstrual products Web site, www.Period-Products.com. Her company's official name is Red Rags.

Here's one of Cooper's humorous tampon cases. The cases are a big seller.

Here's another case.

"I put off calling Debbie Cooper for several weeks after receiving her pamphlet in the mail."

Today's Business Casual.

I'll have photos soon.

August continued the relentless pounding of the South Bay's housing market as prices dropped by double digits in most areas cited in a report released Thursday.

The South Bay as a whole saw its median price drop 25 percent in August, to $540,000, compared to the same month a year ago, according to a report by the Los Angeles-based California Association of Realtors.

The median price refers to the middle figure where half of homes sold for more and half for less.

The South Bay's beach cities, which have avoided much of the subprime loans problems affecting less pricey areas, saw a drop of 23.9 percent, to $875,000, the report says.

As today's story on the South Bay economic forecast notes, this area will suffer less pain from the downturn than California and the nation as a whole.

Some items that didn't make the article include:

- Last year, the ports of LA and Long Beach saw their first drop in container traffic in 16 years, at 1.2%. This drop "looks to be the beginning of a trend that may persist into the near future," the report says.

- Manhattan Beach was the only South Bay community that saw a rise in home values this year compared to 2007. In June, the median home value rose 49.4% over the same month last year. However, "as the other communities in the region become more affordable, demand for homes in Manhattan Beach will decline, putting downward pressure on prices in that area," the report says.

- Torrance was the South Bay's top employer in 2006 (the year with the most recent data) with nearly 103,000 jobs at 6,088 firms. That's about 20% of all South Bay firms.

- Rolling Hills saw the highest growth in taxable sales from 2002-07, at 500%. Carson enjoyed the lowest growth in that period with under 100%.

The AARP named El Segundo-based The Aerospace Corp. to its list of 2008 Best Employers for Workers Over 50.

TAC is among four California employers and 50 overall recognized by AARP for "demonstrating that enlightened policies toward 50-plus employees make good business sense."

The list recognizes companies that support such initiatives as flexible work schedules, retiree relations programs, professional development, good health benefits and opportunities to save for retirement.

The other three California firms recognized are Scripps Health of San Diego, Wells Fargo & Company of San Francisco and Northern California Presbyterian Homes & Services of San Francisco.

COM DEV USA, the El Segundo-based subsidiary of COM DEV International, said that it has been awarded a $1.6 million authorization to proceed to supply passive microwave components for a U.S. government civil space program.

The design and production work will be performed at the company's manufacturing facility in El Segundo. The authorization is expected to lead to a full contract valued in excess of $18 million, with delivery anticipated by the end of COM DEV's 2010 fiscal year.

The authorization represents COM DEV USA's first production win since it acquired an established passive microwave devices business in May and began transferring the operations into its recently purchased El Segundo location.

"This award marks a key milestone for our company," said Dan White, COM DEV USA's president.

International Rectifier Corp., the El Segundo-based maker of power management computer chips, announced the appointment of Ilan Daskal as chief financial officer, effective Oct. 6.

Daskal, who will report directly to president and CEO Oleg Khaykin, will be responsible for all finance and accounting functions at the company.

Daskal's appointment comes amid an attempt by Malvern, Pa.-based Vishay Intertechnology Inc. to purchase International Rectifier through a hostile takeover. Over the past year, IR made senior management changes after former CEO Alex Lodow's October 2007 resignation following the discovery of accounting irregularities.

On Aug. 1, International Rectifier said it completed its restatements for the periods involved in the irregularities.

Daskal, 43, has more than 20 years of technology industry financial and strategic planning experience.

I bet Toyota's decision to put more stock into CNG-powered vehicles came at the height of oil prices.

(USA Today) PORTLAND, Ore. -- Toyota will announce today that it is taking a new look at an alternative fuel that it had left behind: compressed natural gas.
And Honda, the only maker now of a CNG-powered car, plans to make twice as many of those environmentally friendly Civics for the U.S. in 2009 as it did last year.

Toyota says it will display a concept version of a CNG-electric hybrid Camry at the Los Angeles Auto Show in November. Though it has made no commitment to production, the unveiling is tied to a burst of renewed interest.

Read the full story.

SpaceX, the Hawthorne developer of low-cost experimental rockets will delay the next launch of its Falcon 1 rocket.

The launch window, at a Pacific island complex, was to start today and continue until Thursday. The new launch window opens Sunday and continues to Oct. 1.

The decision to delay the launch came after Saturday's static fire test of the rocket. No major issues arose from that test, but a detailed analysis of the test data led SpaceX to replace a component in the second stage engine liquid oxygen supply line.

"There is a good chance we would be ok flying as is, but we are being extremely cautious," SpaceX founder Elon Musk said in an email.

Much is riding on this launch because if it fails, that would make it four launch failures in a row for the company. The firm has yet to complete a successful launch.

Cereplast Inc., the Hawthorne-based maker of biodegradable plastic substitutes, said Monday that it has prepared its new out-of-state factory for production to start in the coming weeks.

Cereplast also said it is concentrating "all core manufacturing assets" at the new facility, in Seymour, Ind., where the company has begun to hire staff.

The new factory means that the company's Hawthorne production site eventually will be phased out, although research and development and other small-scale production tasks may continue in the South Bay, said Randy Woelfel, Cereplast's president and chief operating officer.

About 20 of Cereplast's roughly 55 Hawthorne employees work in production. It is unclear how many of that production staff would lose their jobs since there is overlap in worker responsibilities that also include maintenance and quality control, Woelfel said.
Cereplast has no plans to move its Hawthorne headquarters, which includes top executives, administration and sales.

"We will be concentrating out manufacturing activities in Seymour, Ind., but otherwise the other activities and leadership will remain here in Hawthorne," Woelfel said.

Even after closing local production operations, the company plans to keep its more than 23,000 square feet of space at its two adjacent Hawthorne buildings in case of future growth.

"We're in a very rapid growth mode and we have very large ambitions for the further development of the company," Woelfel said.

In addition, maintaining a Southern California presence keeps the company in Western U.S., "which is in the forefront of adopting bio-based products," he said.

It is unsurprising for a Southern California company to move its manufacturing elsewhere because of the Golden State's high business costs including workforce and utilities. However, Cereplast also was attracted to Indiana because of incentives offered by the state and county governments there, Woelfel said.

In addition, Seymour is much closer to the agriculture-based raw materials used to make its bio-based resins, which are environmentally-friendlier plastic substitutes. Seymour also is closer to Cereplast's customers, who form the resins into such products as disposable utensils, plates and cups.

The new Indiana factory is located on a 63-acre site large enough to accommodate expansion, with production of up to 500 million pounds of resin a year by as early as 2010, the company said.

Cereplast was founded in 2001. The company makes resins from renewable resources like corn and potato starch.

Today's Business Watch feature is an interesting read.

At $700 billion, the federal bailout of financial institutions will cost more than the tab so far for the Iraq war.

Many economists skeptical of bailout

(POLITICO) Many of the same economists and opinion-makers who'd provided a bipartisan sheen of consensus to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson's previous moves have quickly begun casting doubts on the wisdom of a policy that would allow Treasury to purchase without oversight hundreds of billions of dollars of difficult-to-price assets from financial institutions.

Read the full article.

Elon Musk, founder of SpaceX, the Hawthorne developer of low-cost experimental rockets, sent out an email today on the next launch of the company's Falcon 1 rocket.

A lot is riding on this launch because if it fails, that would make it four launch failures in a row for the company. The firm has yet to complete a successful launch.

Here's the email:

As mentioned in my update last month, we do expect to conduct a launch countdown in late September - as scheduled.

Having said that, it is still possible that we encounter an issue that needs to be investigated, which would delay launch until the next available window in late October. If preparations go smoothly, we will conduct a static fire on Saturday and launch sometime between Tuesday and Thursday (California time).

The SpaceX team worked hard to make this launch window, but we also took the time to review data from Flight 3 in detail. In addition to us reviewing the data, we had several outside experts check the data and conclusions. No flight critical problems were found apart from the thrust transient issue.

Flight 5 production is well underway with an expected January completion date, Flight 6 parts are on order and Flight 7 production will begin early next year. We are now in steady state production of Falcon 1 at a rate of one vehicle every four months, which we will probably step up to one vehicle every two to three months in 2010.

-Elon-

Facing a looming shortage of engineers, the aerospace industry is searching for solutions.

Today's Business Casual column offers one potential solution.

Also read my post on Monday's aerospace event at the LA Air Force base.

I honestly didn't know such contests existed, although now that I know it makes a lot of sense.

Harbor City-based Bennett Landscape recently received the First-Place award in
the Large Residential Landscape Renovation category of the California Landscape
Contractors Association's 50th Annual Beautification Awards Ceremony.

Bennett Landscape also received the Outstanding Achievement Award in the Medium
Commercial Maintenance category.

Bennett Landscape was judged and selected among several entries of the Los
Angeles/San Gabriel Valley chapter of the CLCA and received the first-place award in
Residential Landscape Renovation for the Simpson residence in Palos Verdes Estates and Outstanding Achievement Award for Medium Commercial Maintenance for 1100
Wilshire Building in Los Angeles.

The CLCA is a non-profit organization established to encourage interest in landscape and recognize the contractors who produce outstanding work in their field. Its members consist of state licensed contractors interested in making the public aware of the
significant danger of using an unlicensed contractor.

Northrop Grumman Corp., the aerospace giant with a huge South Bay presence, said Thursday that it was honored with a top ranking by the Human Rights Campaign for the company's commitment to diversity and its policies against employment discrimination of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) workers.

Northrop received a 100-percent rating, and was one of 259 companies that received a top ranking this year.

The seventh annual HRC Corporate Equality Index nationally surveyed a broad cross-section of 583 major companies. The organization rated companies based on whether employers have a written non-discrimination policy covering sexual orientation; offer inclusive health insurance, bereavement and family leave policies to employees with same-sex partners; offer diversity training; have GLBT employee resource groups; and engage in advertising and contributions to the GLBT community.

Northrop recently supported the annual Out and Equal Workplace Summit held in Austin, Texas.

Storm Properties, the Torrance-based developer of industrial and commercial properties, said that it sold about 545,000 square feet of its industrial real estate portfolio to TA Associates Realty for more than $52 million.

The transaction involved 13 industrial properties in Los Angeles and San Diego counties. The properties were leased with a diverse group of Class A, long-term, internationally-focused tenants.

Storm Industries said the sale will allow it to diversity its real estate holdings by acquiring new properties including office, multi-family and retail.

"This is a good deal for both parties because it shows that there is long-term confidence in the industrial and commercial real estate sectors in Southern California and that cash flow allows companies to take advantage of the current market conditions," said David Simard, vice president of Storm Properties.

Tuesday's story on the aerospace industry's efforts to replenish its aging workforce brought these two comments from readers:

"What I've seen is that aerospace companies are lowering their recruitment standards, taking more and more people without advanced degrees, low GPA, no experience instead of the best and the brightest, as was the case in the beginning of space race." -- Sam

"You are absolutely right on the mark! The entire industry lacks a positive image and has for years. The airlines do significant damage to the entire industry as does the ubiquity of aviation now a days. Excellent article!"
-- David

"As a 40+ years worker in manufacturing I read your article with humor. I don't see any shortage of young fired up recent grads. I do see however, fewer worker bees with experience.Converting a solid model into a tangible product does not happen with a push of a button. Technology still can't replace craftsmanship. Just go to your local home improvement store and try to find the quality you want in your new cabinets. OK you thought of it, designed it, and have a customer. Can you build it, solve variables on the fly, and still have an attractive price?
-- Barry Bayley

Robert W. Miller, the former chairman of Big 5 Sporting Goods Corp. who helped grow the El Segundo-based company from five Army surplus stores into a major sports retailer, died on Sept. 11. He was 85.

In a statement Wednesday, Big 5 did not disclose the circumstances or location of his death.

Miller was part of the management team that founded Big 5 in 1955. In more than half a century with the company, he served as chairman, CEO, president and chairman emeritus.

"Miller's dedication to the execution of sound retail business fundamentals was instrumental to Big 5's growth from its initial five stores to its current position as a leading sporting goods retailer, operating 370 stores in 11 states," the company said in a statement.

Big 5 employs more than 8,000 people at its stores, all in the western U.S.
Miller's son, Steven G. Miller, currently serves as Big 5's chairman, president, and CEO. Miller's other son, Michael D. Miller, is a member of the company's board of directors.

Richard A. Johnson, Big 5 executive vice president who worked with Miller for 38 years, said in a statement: "Bob Miller helped to instill a company culture of enthusiasm, integrity and commitment that is unique and that I am privileged to have experienced."

Big 5 has made a name for itself with small, no-frills sporting goods stores that offer competitive prices.

The company's stores have an average size of 11,000 square feet, much smaller than its big-box competitors such as Sport Mart or Oshman's Sporting Goods, whose stores are 30,000 to 50,000 square feet.

Big 5's small format has given the company flexibility to open in strip malls and small towns where larger stores would not operate.

The South Bay company carries name-brand products, but much of its merchandise is either closeout items or brands exclusive to its stores. That allows Big 5 to keep prices lower than at many of its competitors.

Under Miller, Big 5 cultivated a low profile, which is unusual for a public company. While spending heavily on newspaper ads, the firm's executives seldom if ever spoke to the press.

A Big 5 spokesman did not return a call Wednesday seeking comment.

Even as many retailers post losses in the current economic slowdown, Big 5 reported net income of $1.7 million for the quarter ended June 29.

According to a paid obituary in Tuesday's edition of the Los Angeles Times, Miller is survived by his wife of 62 years, Florence, sons Mike and Steve, daughters-in-law Nan and Jackie, and granddaughters Laura and Lisa.

No memorial service will be held, in accordance with Miller's wishes. Donations in Miller's memory may be made to the Mayo Clinic Peripheral Neuropathy Research Fund, Department of Development, Mayo Clinic, 200 First Street SW, Rochester, Minnesota 55905.

International Rectifier Corp., the El Segundo-based maker of power management computer chips, said Tuesday that it rejected a revised buyout offer by Vishay Intertechnology Inc.

The board of IR -- as the South Bay firm is known -- was unanimous in turning down Vishay's unsolicited all-cash bid of $23 a share.

IR chairman Richard J. Dahl said in a statement: "Vishay's offer still significantly undervalues the future prospects of the company when compared to the value that we expect our new strategic plan to deliver to our shareholders."

Malvern, Pa.-based Vishay's Sept. 10 offer was an improvement over the previous bid of $21.22 for each outstanding share of IR stock.

"We are disappointed that International Rectifier still refuses to negotiate with Vishay regarding our increased $23 per share in cash proposal," Vishay said in a statement. "We are confident our all-cash premium proposal would provide International Rectifier stockholders with far greater value than what International Rectifier could achieve on its own in the foreseeable future."

Vishay is in the midst of a hostile takeover attempt, with its own slate of three candidates for the board, at the annual meeting scheduled for Oct. 10. If Vishay's slate wins, the firm would have a large and presumably vocal minority promoting its buyout attempt on the eight-person board.

In a statement, IR's Dahl's referred to Vishay's conduct as "heavy-handed and destructive" in order to "pressure the board and our stockholders to sell the company at a bargain price."

American Honda Motor Co. Inc., the car maker's Torrance-based U.S. headquarters, released its fourth annual report on the company's environmental performance in North America.

The report covers the environmental performance of the company's automobile, powersports, and power equipment products, its 14 major manufacturing plants in North America and the corporate activities of 15 Honda group companies in the region.

Among the report's highlights:

- The U.S. corporate average fuel economy for model year 2007 Honda and Acura cars and light trucks rose to 29.5 miles per gallon, the highest level in five years, based in part on the expanded application of fuel-efficient technologies.

- Every model year 2008 Honda and Acura automobile designed and assembled in North America has achieved 90 percent or greater level of recyclability.

- A new shipping logistics process was used in the U.S. to reduce the environmental impact of transporting parts, reducing truck travel by more than 3 million miles in fiscal year 2008.

Virco Manufacturing Corp., the Torrance-based maker of school furniture, said it agreed to an out-of-court settlement with a competitor over Virco's claim of patent infringement.
Virco had claimed that the unnamed competitor had violated the South Bay firm's "three slot" trademark

"Without agreeing that its chair infringed on Virco's trademark, the competitor decided to re-design its chair to avoid the expense of trademark litigation," Virco said in a statement.

Terms of the settlement were not released.

The aerospace industry is headed for major turbulence as an aging workforce stokes fears of an impending talent shortage.

That was the point of a Monday evening event called Aerospace Workforce & Education Symposium, at the Los Angeles Air Force Base in El Segundo. The conference drew a who's who of the industry including NASA Administrator Michael Griffin.

The stakes are huge for the nation, which depends on the aerospace industry to create jobs, spur technological innovation and develop systems for national defense.

The issue is especially pressing in the South Bay, which depends on aerospace for a major part of the area's economy.

"It's a very big problem," said Rep. Jane Harman (D-El Segundo), who helped organize the event. "Think in economic terms. If kids here are not going (into aerospace), I don't know what our future is."

She added that the industry is headed for a "demographic cliff."

The Soviet Union's launching of Sputnik more than five decades ago inspired a huge U.S. government investment in aerospace. The so-called Space Race captured the imagination of countless Americans, who devoted themselves to jobs in the industry.
Today, that spark of public fascination has grown dim.

For example, about a quarter of the nation's aerospace workers are eligible for retirement this year, while the number of potential replacements -- Americans graduating with engineering degrees -- has dwindled. And many of those who do graduate show more interest in pursuing other industries such as the Internet and gaming.

One of the main points of conversation at Monday's symposium and during interviews before the event was how to inspire children in grade school to consider engineering or the hard sciences as a career.

Wanda Austin, president and CEO of The Aerospace Corp., a federally-funded think tank in El Segundo, said that young people can be drawn to aerospace if they understand its impact on daily life.

"Part of the challenge is people don't realize we need the aerospace industry each day, with satellites, TV, cell phones," Austin said.

Some aspects of aerospace not only lack the excitement and mystique of early breakthroughs, but can actually turn off young people, NASA's Griffin said. He cited airline travel as an example.

"Airline travel is late, dirty, uncomfortable and rude," Griffin said. "But when aviation was new, everybody wanted to be an airline pilot. Kids can spot the new frontier and they go for it."

Harman suggested making the aerospace workplace more "exciting."

Instead of resembling the Defense Department, you need to resemble Google and biotech firms," Harman said. She added: "There is an amazing short-sightedness that aerospace is all about war. It is about war, but it's also about comforts of society."

Elon Musk, founder of SpaceX, the Hawthorne-based developer of experimental low-cost rockets, said the industry must focus more on promoting itself.

"Science and engineering have a marketing problem," Musk said. "There really needs to be some exciting, some overarching great thing" to excite children.
He suggested that creating a human colony on Mars could produce the needed excitement.

Former UCLA chancellor Albert Carnesale said that not enough was known about the aerospace industry's looming workforce shortage. This lack of information would make finding a solution difficult, he said.

Carnesale also bemoaned U.S. immigration policies that prevent many foreigners from working here for long after earning a degree in engineering or science.
"More than 70 percent of the foreign science and engineering graduates work in the U.S. ... and then we throw them out," Carnesale said.

Today's Business Watch feature is on Subsurface Imaging Inc.

Reader Joe Galliani wrote an extensive response to my column and blog postings on how to save the beleaguered newspaper industry.

You can read Galliani's post and my posts here and here. You can read my original Business Casual column on this issue here.

Galliani's response bemoaned the slide in quality and quantity of newspaper content, including that of the Daily Breeze. He also criticized my idea for saving the newspaper industry. In addition, he offered his own solution to keep newspapers from shrinking into oblivion.

Galliani is obviously a very intelligent person. But he is wrong on two of three fronts. The one part of his response I agreed with was his remarks on the decline in newspaper content quality and quantity.

On his other two points, I will start my response with the second item on how he believes we can save the Daily Breeze from further decline. Basically, he said the Daily Breeze should go "hyper local," sharpening our local coverage of politics, business, commentary, etc., and being less focused on state, national and international news that is already covered extensive by other publications and Web sites. He called for the Breeze to "switch your perspective from telescope to microscope."

This is an interesting concept, but nothing new. When I worked as a community reporter at the Orange County Register a decade ago, local news was the mantra. We were hyper local. That's why the Register hired me and a bunch of other community reporters. Look now at the Register, and you'll see where hyper local alone brought them. They just had layoffs. and their coverage has shrunk dramatically. They're even trying to cut costs by sharing content with Los Angeles Newspaper Group, the umbrella group that includes the Daily Breeze.

After the Register, I took a job at the San Bernardino Sun. That paper also instituted a hyper local approach to news. It didn't solve the paper's problems.

I agree that focusing on local news can help, but that alone won't save newspapers.

Now for the first part of Galliani's argument. In short, he disagreed with my suggestion that someone create a Web site that serves as a giant online hub for all newspapers, which would in turn share in the profits of the Web site.

Here is what Galliani says of this idea:

"First off I think your concept already exists in a variety of forms on-line. I don't think your collective brings anything new to the party.

Second I don't believe the print newspaper world has any leverage at this point. Your content has already escaped your control and been co-opted and that bell will not be un-rung. You've already given your equity away."

As for this concept existing in a variety of forms, I agree to a certain extent. One form is Yahoo!. Another is Google. And they both make huge amounts of money off of information that we the newspaper industry produce. So why not cut out the middleman and make some of that money for newspapers?

As for newspaper content having "escaped your control," I also agree. Yahoo! and Google make money by accessing newspaper content. But why can't we do the same thing?

Here is what my column said on this point:

"Your Web portal's main draw will be that everything is in one spot, not that the content is exclusive to your site."

I appreciate that Galliani cared enough about this issue and his local paper to offer his two cents.

The tanker could loom large in the election.

Read the full article.

DaVita Inc., the El Segundo-based operator of dialysis treatment centers, said it has hundreds of employees "supplying the necessary materials and generators" to keep the company's affected dialysis centers running during and after Hurricane Ike hits the Texas and Louisiana coasts.

DaVita has 180 dialysis centers that could be threatened by Ike.
In addition, DaVita said its Guest Service Contact Center operates 24 hours a day as a resource to inform patients and their families which clinics are open for treatment.

Kidney failure patients require dialysis treatments three times a week. These patients are at high risk during emergencies because they may not receive the life-sustaining treatments.

Additional thoughts that didn't fit into today's Business Casual column:

Also read my previous blog post on this.

Regarding the name of newspapers' collective Web site, it should not necessarily allude to news or newspapers. Think of Google or Yahoo!. Each is a giant search engine. But because their names are so ambiguous -- while also being catchy -- these Internet giants are not limiting their services. They can offer news, email, intant messaging, online shopping, etc., in addition to a search engine. And to the online visitor, those services are not inconsistent with the Web site's name. Google or Yahoo! don't mean just search engine. They mean everything you need online.
That's what we the newspaper industry must do. We must be online denizens' first daily entry into the Internet. From our site, visitors can then search for information on, say, zoo animals, or shop or read the news.
So the newspapers' Web site should have a catchy name that doesn't pigeon hole it as just news. News will be the Web site's strong suit, but the site should also be synonymous with other services from email to e-commerce and instant message to instant stock updates.

In today's Business Casual column, I write about how to save newspapers from being chewed up and spit out by the Internet.

Let me add a few things that wouldn't fit into the column.

On the World Wide Web, (I hate this cliche) size matters. When people go on the Internet, they often are drawn to large sites because they're easy to find and full of content. It's not like the old days where people depended on their local paper for all the in depth news just as they exclusively depended on their local grocery store for home supplies. The Internet has opened up the world to make it closer. Now it may be more convenient to buy groceries or other items from an Internet store thousands of miles away, just as it often is more convenient to read news or search for other information through the Web site of an organization whose geographic location may also be thousands of miles away.

So people go on Google or Yahoo and through those sites they may end up reading a Daily Breeze article. The problem is the Daily Breeze and other newspapers are losing readers and ad dollars while Google and Yahoo are awash in ad revenue. After all, advertisers are going where the eyeballs are.

These online giants are eating our lunch, which we the newspaper industry have packed for them. They're using our content to make money that we should be making. Newspapers need to cut out the middleman and have online visitors go directly to a unified newspaper Web site, which would share revenue with the newspapers providing the content.

The Web site can be organized into a national, regional or local format depending on each visitor's preference. The logistics would be tough to work out. There may be friction, turf wars (like between the LA Times and NY Times). Who's articles get better play? This can all be worked out later. The first thing is for newspapers to commit to this idea.

Instead of the first stop for online readers, newspapers are increasingly becoming a niche product for news and news advertising on the Internet. That is because no individual newspaper can compete in size with Google or Yahoo. But together newspapers can compete and even dominate.

The issue of anti-competitive actions like creating a monopoly may appear to be a major stumbling block in establishing a unified online newspaper presence. But this can be dealt with because we wouldn't be creating a monopoly at all. The information on the unified Web site would be largely available on the home pages of individual newspapers. Also, newspaper content may also be found on other Web sites. If my idea would lead to a monopoly, how would it be any different than the dominance of Google or Yahoo, which is the home page of millions of people.

In addition, a case can be made that newspapers no long have a monopoly on news. There's wire services, 24-hour TV news networks, magazines, blogs. Newspapers are already in the midst of major consolidations just to stay afloat. They're not dominating, they're just surviving.

Take the satellite TV industry. A few years ago, EchoStar was blocked from buying DirecTV because regulators said the union would limit competition. Now, with cable and phone companies all competing for pay TV subscribers, a joining of the nation's two major satellite TV providers is again being considered with less fear of regulatory interference. In fact, the two satellite TV giants may have to join forces just to stay competitive, never mind creating a monopoly.

Also consider that the best way to maintain diversity of ownership and perspective in the ever-consolidating newspaper industry is to create a large online hub that can generate revenue for individual newspapers. That will keep newspapers in the black, thereby allowing them to continue operating as independent publications or part of smaller, less corporate chains.

Whichever way you look at it, creating a Google of newspapers makes sense.

Several times a week since Boeing launched its challenge to Northrop's aerial refueling tanker win earlier this year, Northrop has sent out regular emails quoting people and newspaper articles and giving its spin on the Air Force tanker issue.

Since the Pentagon delayed awarding of the $35 billion tanker contract yesterday, Northrop hasn't sent me that daily email. It may be too early to say there's a change in its PR strategy, although you'd think that Northrop has a lot lot to say about what happened. Maybe Northrop is trying to formulate its next move from a PR standpoint.

Or maybe the Pentagon's move was so sudden and absolute that it has thrown Northrop for a loop. Or else, Northrop sees no reason to continue its frequent emails until the new Administration enters the White House.

The Department of Defense on Wednesday said it was "terminating" the competition for a new Air Force aerial refueling tanker, leaving awarding of the $35 billion contract to the next Administration.

The announcement further delays thousands of new jobs the program is expected to create in Southern California.

Boeing Co. is competing against a team of Northrop Grumman Corp. and Airbus parent European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. for the tanker, dubbed the KC-X.

In a statement, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said: "It is my judgment that in the time remaining to us, we can no longer complete a competition that would be viewed as fair and objective in this highly charged environment. The resulting "cooling off" period will allow the next Administration to review objectively the military requirements and craft a new acquisition strategy for the KC-X."

The tanker contract already has been awarded twice and revoked twice -- the last time in June -- over irregularities in the Air Force's decision-making process.

If the Northrop-led team wins the contract, the program would create about 7,500 new subcontractor jobs in Southern California, with 4,500 in and around Los Angeles County, the company has said.

Northrop's El Segundo-based Integrated Systems sector would lead the contract with its European partner, although final assembly of the planes would occur in Mobile, Ala.
A Boeing contract would create more than 4,000 California jobs, the company said.

The contract to replace 179 Eisenhower-era aerial refueling planes would be one of the largest in Pentagon history. It will be the first of three contracts collectively worth up to $100 billion to replace nearly 600 refueling tankers over the next three decades.

"It's too bad about the delay, but I'd rather the whole process was done right so both companies felt that they're treated fairly," said Nancy D. Sidhu, senior economist at the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. "And from the standpoint of L.A. and the Southern California region, we have skin in the game no matter who wins."

Sidhu added that Southern California's aerospace subcontractors are "pretty busy." And even a tanker contract win today by Northrop or Boeing would not immediately create the expected local jobs because of the time needed for administrative factors and preparations.

"So I don't know how many of them are going to be living or dying by this contract," Sidhu said. "But Lord knows they will certainly be happy when it's decided."
The tanker program's delay represented a victory for Boeing, which had threatened to pull out of the competition if it was not given more time to retool its tanker proposal in light of new Air Force criteria for the aircraft.

In a statement, Boeing said: "The Boeing Co. welcomes the Defense Department's decision and believes that it will best serve the warfighter in allowing the appropriate time for this important and complex procurement to be conducted in a thorough and open competition. This will ensure delivery of the right tanker to the U.S. Air Force and serve the best interests of the American taxpayer."

Northrop, whose corporate headquarters is in Century City, expressed regret over the Pentagon decision.

In a statement, Northrop spokesman Randy Belote said: "We are extremely disappointed at the decision to terminate the current tanker competition, especially on behalf of our men and women in uniform who will now be denied a critically needed new tanker for years. The Department of Defense, as recently as last week, stated the urgency to replace the Eisenhower-era fleet of refueling tankers. With this delay, it is conceivable that our warfighters will be forced to fly tankers as old as 80 years of age."

The Department of Defense, in its statement Wednesday, said its aging fleet of KC-135 tankers "can be adequately maintained to satisfy Air Force missions for the near future."

The Pentagon said it will recommend "sufficient funds" to maintain the current tanker fleet in the federal government's fiscal 2009 budget. The department also will recommend to Congress that it continue to fund the KC-X program in the fiscal 2010 to 2015 budgets.

The tanker program has been through a number of twists and turns that were unusually, especially for a project of this size.

Boeing had won the first tanker contract, but that award was nullified amid revelations of favoritism by a high-ranking Air Force official, who was sent to prison for her actions.

In February, the Air Force awarded the tanker contract to Northrop and EADS. Chicago-based Boeing protested the deal to the Government Accountability Office in March.

In June, the GAO overturned that award because of "significant errors" the Air Force made in determining the winner.

In July, the Defense Department added a new plot twist by announcing it would rebid the contract and choose a winner by the end of the year.

Wednesday's announcement could end further surprises regarding the tanker at least until the next president takes office.

Space Exploration Technologies, the Hawthorne-based developer of low-cost experimental rockets, said Wednesday that it was granted an operational licnese by the Air Force for use of the Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on the Florida coast.

Receipt of the license, in conjunction with an approved site plan, paves the way for SpaceX to initiate Falcon 9 launch operations later this year, the company better known as SpaceX said.

The Falcon 9 is much larger than SpaceX's Falcon 1, which the company launches from an island in the Pacific Ocean.

"We are developing Falcon 9 to be a valuable asset to the American space launch fleet," Elon Musk, CEO and CTO, said in a statement. "The support we received from General Helms and the US Air Force has been immensely helpful in developing the pathfinder processes necessary for SpaceX to realize commercial space flights from the Cape."

This should come as no surprise to anyone following this issue.

Pentagon delays $35B Air Force tanker decision

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Defense Department will push back its decision on a $35 billion tanker contract to the next administration, delaying again the hotly disputed competition between Boeing and Northrop Grumman to replace the Air Force's aging aerial refueling fleet.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Wednesday he decided to cancel the current round of bidding on the plane -- a competition that has stretched seven years -- because the Pentagon's plan to award the contract by the end of the year no longer seemed possible given the complexity of the project and the rancor between the two companies. He said a delay would provide a "cooling off" period.

"We can no longer complete a competition that would be viewed as fair and objective in this highly charged environment," Gates said in a statement.

Read the full story.

Mandiant, an Alexandria, Va.-based provider of information security products and consulting services, said it has opened an office in El Segundo.

The new office will allow the company to serve consulting clients and support product customers throughout the West Coast. The office also will be the base of operations for the firm's growing litigation-support practice.

Mandiant said its West Coast clients and customers needed more immediate access to the company's incident response and computer forensics expertise.

Pelican Products, the Torrance maker of flashlights and protective cases, said it was named to Inc. Magazine's Inc. 5,000 list of America's fastest-growing companies.

The annual list highlights U.S.-based, privately-held and independent companies with more than $2 million in revenues that have increased revenues significantly during the most recent three-year period.

Median revenue of companies on the 2007 Inc. 5,000 list was $9.4 million, and median three-year growth was 140 percent. Pelican's revenue in 2007 was more than $151 million, a nearly 75 percent increase over 2004's revenue.

The company formerly known as Computer Sciences Corp. said Tuesday that it has launched an advertising campaign to rebrand itself.

Now officially known as CSC, the information technology firm with several hundred El Segundo employees is using this advertising campaign as part of its new strategic business initiative and five-year plan to increase growth and profitability.

CSC used to be based in El Segundo, but moved its headquarters to Falls Church, Va., this year.

OSI Systems Inc., the Hawthorne-based security and health-care company, said the Transportation Security Administration has awarded it a $15 million contract for an X-ray scanning system.

The order is for the Rapiscan 620DV Advanced Technology X-Ray scanning systems. This brings the company's total contract awards from the TSA to $32 million since August of last year.

The TSA has deployed the Rapiscan 620DV at various locations, including LAX. The Rapiscan 620DV allows security officers to obtain multiple views of a carry-on bag. The systems also can be upgraded as new capabilities are developed.

Casey's Cars.com, a traditional used-car lot, began selling electric golf cars last month to take advantage of consumers' apprehension over high gasoline prices.

Read the full story.

In today's Breeze.

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My observations: Trying to interview John Elway at Mira Costa was like trying to interview a rock star after his concert. We were constantly interrupted by people seeking Elway's autograph and wanting to chat with the sports legend. He seemed comfortable with all the attention. He must be used to it after all these years. I doubt he could walk down the street, shop at a store or watch a movie without people mobbing him for autographs.

Read the full story on Monday.

I drove Honda's hydrogen-powered FCX Clarity sedan around Santa Monica last week. It was a smooth drive.

The metallic wine-red has great acceleration from 0 to about 35 mph bc of the great engine torque.

The car has a GPS system that can guide the driver to the nearest hydrogen fueling station.

Unlike the previous boxy FCX version, the Clarity is sleek with a smaller hydrogen stack that allows for more dynamic design elements.

Honda is still accepting lease applications from people who wnat to lease the Clarity. Honda plans to lease about 200 of them, mostly in Southern California.

Shell Oil Co. has a hydrogen fueling location at one of its Santa Monica gas stations. Production of the hydrogen occurs on top of the shade top above the fueling site. Tourists from other countries sometimes top by that location to check it out.

Here's me on my soap box talking about using hydrogen for transportation.

If it helps get our troops home sooner, why not?

Iraq eyes Lockheed F-16 fighter aircraft purchase

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Iraqi government has asked for information about buying 36 F-16 fighter aircraft built by Lockheed Martin Corp (NYSE:LMT - News), the U.S. Defense Department said on Friday.
The request, received August 27, is being reviewed "in the normal course of business" as part of the U.S. government-to-government arms sale process, said Air Force Lt. Col. Patrick Ryder, a Pentagon spokesman.

Updated F-16s are among the world's most advanced multirole fighters and a powerful symbol of military ties to the United States.

Iraq's interest in the fighter jet, reported first by The Wall Street Journal, could spark concerns among neighbors worried about advanced arms in the hands of a country still facing major internal challenges.

U.S. reviews of possible arms sale can take a year or more. They involve the departments of State and Defense as well as Congress and weigh power balances, technology security and other thorny issues. If a contract were ultimately signed, deliveries could take another year or more, depending on the model in question.

The Pentagon did not specify which F-16 version Iraq was eyeing, nor whether it was new or refurbished. A Lockheed spokesman referred questions to the Pentagon.

F-16C/D Block 50/52 models are now being produced for Poland, Israel, Greece and Pakistan. The United Arab Emirates was the maiden customer for the Block 60 version, the most sophisticated F-16 produced to date.

More than 4,400 F-16s have been delivered worldwide, according to Bethesda, Maryland-based Lockheed Martin. Morocco this year became the 25th and latest overseas buyer with a deal for 24 new Block 50/52 models and related gear said by the Pentagon to be worth as much as $2.4 billion.

Iraq's request for pricing and availability data might not necessarily lead to a sale. Sometimes governments seek such information for planning purposes only, the Pentagon's Ryder said.

Flush with billions of dollars from oil sales, Iraq is emerging as the biggest client for a wide range of U.S. weapons -- a shot in the arm for defense contractors such as Lockheed, Boeing Co (NYSE:BA - News), Northrop Grumman Corp (NYSE:NOC - News), General Dynamics Corp (NYSE:GD - News) and Raytheon Co (NYSE:RTN - News).

Among other systems, Iraq is seeking more than 400 armored vehicles plus six C-130 transport planes built by Lockheed, the Pentagon's No. 1 supplier.

On July 30, the Pentagon notified Congress that Iraq also was seeking to buy 24 Textron Inc (NYSE:TXT - News) Bell Armed 407 or 24 Boeing AH-6 helicopters along with 565 120mm mortars, 665 81mm mortars, 200 AGM-114M Hellfire missiles and other arms that could be worth $2.4 billion.

Baghdad and Washington are working on a long-term security pact that calls for U.S. military forces to quit Iraq's cities by next summer as a step toward a broader withdrawal from the country that U.S.-led forces invaded in 2003 to topple President Saddam Hussein.

F-16s would let Iraqi forces conduct airstrikes of their own on insurgent positions rather than relying on U.S. forces to do so, as is now the case.

Overseas sales have kept Lockheed's F-16 production line open after the U.S. military shifted to more advanced fighters, including the radar-evading F-22 also built by Lockheed.

"The program is healthy and full of activity, with firm production through 2012 and a strong likelihood of new orders that will extend the line for several more years," John Larson, vice president for Lockheed's F-16 programs, told reporters in July at the Farnborough Air Show outside London.

Read the full story.

This week's Business Casual column explores the hype surrounding hydrogen-powered fuel cell vehicles. Can they help save the world?

Read Business Casual.

This week's Business Casual column explores the hype surrounding hydrogen-powered fuel cell vehicles. Can they help save the world?

Read Business Casual.

Read Friday's Business Casual column on my drive in Honda's new FCX Clarity sedan, which runs on a hydrogen-powered fuel cell.

This just in from AutoTrader.com's TrendEngine report: