Big A Hopefuls Making Rounds; Folino for Rudy

Orange County Business Journal, Apr 23-Apr 29, 2007 by Reiff, Rick

OCInsider

The city of Anaheim expects to pick a developer for 53 acres next to Angel Stadium by mid-June, the Insider is told. The three finalists-Windstar. Archstone Smith and Hicks Holdings (Texas Rangers owner Tom Hicks)-have been circulating plans and meeting one-on-one with Anaheim Council members. The developers are proposing various retail, commercial and housing combinations. And despite the NFL's inaction on a proposed team for SoCaI, each has a football stadium option ... It's official; Paul Folino's on board with Rudy Giuliani's campaign as state finance co-chairman. Back in February, the Insider wrote the Emulex chairman was an "unofficial" Giuliani backer. What changed: Folino's term is up as chairman of the New Majority, which is neutral. NM's new chairman: Auto Club's Tom McKernan. Dwight Decker lakes over McKeman's spot as political affairs chair. Folino becomes state membership chair ... Regression1. Forbes again has ranked Santa Ana as the best place to do business in California, as well as the nation's fourth-most expensive housing market. Which may come as a surprise to the city's 3 million residents. Huh? Actually, the numbers in Forbes' annual survey pertain to all of Orange County, not just Sanla Ana and its 340,000 or so people. Government statisticians prefer to call every metropolitan area by a city name rather than accommodate an obvious anomaly. So two years ago, "Orange County" was replaced with "Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine," which Forbes has shortened to "Santa Ana." "This is a grossly inaccurate label that shortchanges a county thai already has an identity problem," says corporate strategist Tim Cooley, who in the 1990s helped to persuade the feds to switch to "Orange County" from "Santa Ana-Anaheim" .., The OC was all over the Holy Land in March. Sarah Tolkoff recently reported on the 11 local Jewish execs who went on a six-day trade mission to Israel. Separately, 41 execs from OCs Southern California chapter of the Young Presidents Organization made a five-day visit. Only a half dozen were Jewish, though the trip was organized by Boaz Shonfeld (of Santa Ana gift company Shonfeld's), the son of Holocaust survivors. The contingent included Gavin Herbert Jr.. Glenn Stearns, Paul Heeschen, Allergan exec Robert Grant, Mark Van Ness and Steve BiIt (Bright Now! Dental). They met Israeli Vice Premier Shimon Peres and hosted a reception that marked a rare gettogether of the Israeli and Palestinian YPO chapters. "It was a mind-blowing, overwhelming trip," said Rich Gadbois ... Happy anniversary: to Editor Mike Lystcr and lovely wife Diane, married on this day in 1994, with EE RR in attendance.

P RR adds his favorite paper to a newstand in Beijing