by The Editors on February 4, 2008
From the PR Newswire:
Jonathan Nehmer + Associates (JN+A), one of the world’s leading hospitality architecture, design and project management firms, today announced that it has opened a West Coast office to better serve western and northwestern projects, as well as a growing number of clients in Hawaii and the Pacific Rim, most notably China and India. The new office, located in Carlsbad, Calif., will be led by David Winkler, Vice President.
Welcome to Carlbadistan, Mr. Winkler.
[Link: PR Newswire]
by The Editors on February 3, 2008
HedgeWorks LLC, the Carlsbad-based company that provides administrative services for more than 100 hedge funds was sold to Deutsche Bank AG (Germany’s largest bank) for an undisclosed amount.
The acquisition enables us to further strengthen our service offering to the hedge fund industry, where Deutsche Bank already has strong relationships,” said F. Jim Della Sala, head of structured finance services.
We’re guessing some HedgeWorks investors are smiling right now. Nice exit.
[Link: Bloomberg.com]
by The Editors on February 1, 2008
In reporting the quarter ended December 31, 2007, Callaway Golf Company has lost $6 million more than it lost for the same quarter last year. But apparently, this is no problem for the Carlsbad company.
Despite the larger loss in the year-over-year quarter, Callaway reported improved earnings for 2007 compared to 2006. In 2007, Callaway earned $54.6 million, or 81 cents per share. In 2006, Callaway earned $23.3 million, or 34 cents per share.
Great, revenues are up. Now they just have to figure out that profit thing.
[Link: North County Times]
by The Editors on January 31, 2008
Christopher Van Alyea, 35, has been making wine for almost two years out of the Witch Creek Winery on the corner of Carlsbad Boulevard and Grand. Recently, the 35 year old has been gaining notoriety for selling more than his wine according to the San Diego Union-Tribune.
The budding winemaker, whose creations are gaining a foothold in North County, supplemented his income last fall by selling surplus grapes from the family’s Sonoma County vineyards to wine hobbyists. . . With the grapes priced from $1,800 to $2,400 per ton (depending on the variety) 20 area winemakers bought Van Alyea’s entire stock of more than 9 tons of grapes. At least one Oceanside wine hobbyist said he is hoping to buy more this season.
Personally, we’d rather let someone else make our wine for us.
[Link: San Diego Union-Tribune]
by The Editors on January 26, 2008
Admittedly, we were the last to notice that as of January 1, 2008 there is no longer a Fidel’s on the Fidel’s Norte sign above the front door, on the menu’s, nor on the servers shirts. Now they all simply read: Norté. But if you’re slower to the news that we are (and we hope none of our readers are) then here is a bit of the story.
Dad took his name back from the kids,” said a Norté service worker. “The kids have owned this restaurant for a while, but Dad decided that he wanted it back. And when the kids wouldn’t give it back, he decided they couldn’t use his name. They haven’t spoken in years.”
We’re sad for the family, however, we’re glad that Norté is still where it has been for over 30 years and that the food remains exactly what we crave at least once a week.
by The Editors on January 26, 2008
Ted Vallas, 87, has been a North County business mover for over 50 years, but now he is moving on according to a story in the North County Times.
For the last 57 years, Vallas has operated approximately 40 different businesses throughout the world. In addition to the Carlsbad resort, his other Southern California ventures have included the El Camino Real Country Club in Oceanside, the former Whispering Palms Country Club (now Morgan’s Run) near Rancho Santa Fe, the Imperial Valley Resort in El Centro and the Olympic Resort of Palm Springs.
He recently sold his Olympic Resort & Spa for $12 million and is now working on a business that will allow him to share some of the skills he’s acquired. It’s called U.S. International Consultants
[Link: North County Times]
by The Editors on January 25, 2008
As a Carlsbadistan.com commenter pointed out yesterday Marty Ummel and her husband Vernon are taking their fight against local Realtor Mike Little to the media with a vengeance.
Yesterday, Marty appeared in a feature story on the Today Show then she and Vernon sat down on the couch with Ann Curry for an extended interview.
This story is getting even more legs because, as everyone knows, the entire real estate industry is incentivized by getting buyers to pay as much as possible for property. If Realtors representing buyers were paid a commission based on the amount of money they saved their clients vs. the asking price, then they would likely be more interested in getting the best deal possible for their clients. But then, of course, they would get paid a lot less.
[Link: The Today Show]
by The Editors on January 25, 2008
After a former La Costa Resort and Spa worker was diagnosed with tuberculosis the County Health and Human Services Agency is now testing more La Costa workers.
The resort didn’t specify yesterday how many of its 1,000 employees have been tested but said that everyone who had been in contact with the former golf maintenance worker has received a skin test. No other active cases have been found.
Luckily, TB is typically spread “through the air – not through food or touch ,” so resort visitors are “not at risk because the worker (who left the resort in November) hadn’t interacted with the public.”
[Link: San Diego-Union Tribune]
by The Editors on January 25, 2008
We didn’t make it to the “energy workshop” hosted by the State Energy Commission yesterday, so we’re going to depend on the intrepid North County Times reporter Barbara Henry’s coverage instead. She says there were “some 30” people (the Union-Tribune said 60) in the audience during the five-and-a-half hour long session. Five and a half hours? Good lord.
The city of Carlsbad wants an air quality monitoring device installed at the Encina Power Station, so that neighbors can see what a recently proposed addition to the facility could produce. . . . City officials also are asking for temporary “story poles” —- sticks used by developers to show a proposed building’s height —- to be placed where the power plant’s owners want to put two rapid-fire, “peaker” power plants.
[Link: North County Times and San Diego Union-Tribune]
by The Editors on January 23, 2008
In 2005 when Marty Ummel, 60, and her husband bought their home in the Serenada neighborhood of Carlsbad they say their Realtor Mike Little of RE/MAX Associates caused them to pay $150,000 more than they should have by not showing them comparable home prices in the area. The Ummels claim Little did this because he was more interested in his commission than the deal they got on their house. But the Ummel’s were not happy, according to story in the New York Times.
What makes Ms. Ummel different is that she is suing her agent, saying it was all his fault. . . . Ms. Ummel claims that the agent hid the information that similar homes in the neighborhood were selling for less because he feared she would back out and he would lose his $30,000 commission.
Of course, Little says it’s not his fault:
They simply didn’t do what is expected of a knowledgeable, sophisticated buyer, and are now looking for someone other than themselves to take responsibility,” Roger Holtsclaw, an agent who was hired by Mr. Little as an expert witness, said in a court deposition.
What this all comes down to is how responsible are Realtors for the transactions they make. If they’re not responsible, then what is their whole purpose? Obviously, Realtors who represent the buyer have always been incentivized in the wrong direction, but that’s probably not going to change anytime soon. What makes this even more interesting is the seller was also a Realtor.
The case begins in North County Superior Court Monday, January 28, 2008. For all the details click the links to the following stories.
[Link: New York Times and Voice of San Diego]
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