Bill Allen

Veteran television executive Bill Allen was named Tuesday to lead a new private-sector push to market the San Fernando Valley as an entertainment, technology and tourism center. As the first president of the Economic Alliance of the San Fernando Valley, Allen, 39, will head a largely volunteer effort to "give [the Valley] an image and manage it as a corporate brand," he said.

SHENZHEN, China - The dozens of business officials who accompanied Gov. Jerry Brown to China this week included many with existing business in the country, some who hoped the governor's presence could help open new doors for them and others who wanted to spend time with California's leader and his entourage. For Bill Allen, president of the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp., the connection to China is more personal. Allen, son of "Tonight Show" founder Steve Allen and actress Jayne Meadows, was returning to a nation where his family's roots date to the turn of the 20th century.

There are generally two views here about the career trajectory of Bill J. Allen, an oilman and political wheeler-dealer who over four decades built his VECO Corp. into one of the state's largest and most influential companies. He was driven by greed, or by a thirst for political power. How Allen wielded his considerable influence is a major strand in a knot of political scandals that have touched both of Alaska's U.S.

The independent counsel's report on the corruption prosecution of former U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens is out. And while it contains blistering criticism of how Justice Department lawyers handled the case, the  big question - whether Stevens would have been found guilty had the prosecution lived up to its obligations - will never be known.   The longest-serving Republican in the U.S. Senate, Stevens lost his final bid for reelection to...

SHENZHEN, China - The dozens of business officials who accompanied Gov. Jerry Brown to China this week included many with existing business in the country, some who hoped the governor's presence could help open new doors for them and others who wanted to spend time with California's leader and his entourage. For Bill Allen, president of the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp., the connection to China is more personal. Allen, son of "Tonight Show" founder Steve Allen and actress Jayne Meadows, was returning to a nation where his family's roots date to the turn of the 20th century.

NAME: Bill Allen AGE: 41 HOME: Encino PROFESSION: President and CEO of the Economic Alliance of the San Fernando Valley; formerly a network television and studio executive. LATEST ACCOMPLISHMENT: Built alliance of business, government, education and community leaders from Los Angeles, Burbank, Glendale, Calabasas and San Fernando to focus on developing the regional economy. Launched "Valley of the Stars" marketing campaign.

College Prof. Bill Allen, one of the minor candidates in the crowded GOP Senate primary, withdrew from the race today and urged his followers to vote for TV commentator Bruce Herschensohn. Allen, a professor of government at Harvey Mudd College in Claremont and one of two black candidates in the primary for the nomination to oppose Democratic Sen. Alan Cranston, said he was withdrawing because he lacked "the resources needed to cap off this campaign with our own victory."

U.S. Sen. John Seymour and his major opponents for California's two-year Senate term have been invited to a May 19 public forum sponsored by the American Assn. of Retired Persons. Seymour's opponents in the June 2 Republican primary are Bill Allen, a Claremont College professor, and U.S. Rep. William E. Dannemeyer of Fullerton. Vying in the Democratic primary are state Controller Gray Davis and ex-San Francisco Mayor Dianne Feinstein. None has yet accepted the invitation to the public forum.

The former oil services company executive at the center of a federal investigation of corruption in Alaska politics was sentenced to three years in prison and fined $750,000. Bill Allen, 72, testified on behalf of the government in three cases, including the trial of former Sen. Ted Stevens, whose conviction was dismissed this year when the Justice Department admitted it failed to turn over favorable evidence to the defense. U.S. District Court Judge John Sedwick in Anchorage said Allen's fine would have been higher if sentencing guidelines had allowed it. Allen's lieutenant, Rick Smith, was sentenced to 21 months in prison and fined $10,000.

Bill Allen, government professor at Harvey Mudd College, Gene DeAiano, president and chief executive officer of Rancho Bank, and Dean Lewis, operator of Scotts Dairy Stores, have been elected to the Board of Directors of LeRoy Boys Home, a La Verne residential care and treatment home for boys ages 8 to 18.

The scene captured by a hidden FBI camera in Suite 604 of the Baranof Hotel in Juneau has become one of the most famous in a state well-versed since the gold rush days in what happens when money, ambition and alcohol intersect. Victor Kohring, then a state legislator, showed up for a meeting with Bill Allen and Rick Smith, then the president and vice president, respectively, of Veco Corp., a large oil services company. Kohring tells the executives a hard-luck story involving a $17,000 credit card bill.

The long-running political corruption probe that saw 11 lawmakers, lobbyists and government staffers convicted in Alaska wound up this week, along with its stories of drunken hotel meetings, sleazy bribery come-ons, and sex-for-drug deals with underage girls. For the first time in years, Alaskans will wake up with no tawdry political drama to relish on the front page. One person who will be happy to see the end of it is Bruce Weyhrauch, a Juneau attorney and former member of the state House of Representatives who spent four years fighting extortion and bribery charges - only to see the legal footings of the case against him turn to quicksand and evaporate, without much fanfare, into a minor misdemeanor charge.

The former oil services company executive at the center of a federal investigation of corruption in Alaska politics was sentenced to three years in prison and fined $750,000. Bill Allen, 72, testified on behalf of the government in three cases, including the trial of former Sen. Ted Stevens, whose conviction was dismissed this year when the Justice Department admitted it failed to turn over favorable evidence to the defense. U.S. District Court Judge John Sedwick in Anchorage said Allen's fine would have been higher if sentencing guidelines had allowed it. Allen's lieutenant, Rick Smith, was sentenced to 21 months in prison and fined $10,000.

On the outskirts of town, a couple of miles away from the UFO souvenir shops and the street lights decorated with alien eyes, the cowboy and the veterinarian got together a few weeks ago to discuss their options. They had a plan for Mine That Bird, and that plan didn't involve the Kentucky Derby or the Preakness Stakes. But they got to talking about the Triple Crown series, the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to race at Churchill Downs, and their minds started racing.

Bill J. Allen, the oil company executive at the core of the corruption case against Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens, said Tuesday that he realized he was getting less than full value in a car deal with Stevens in 1999, but that he agreed to the transaction anyway -- "because I liked Ted."

There are generally two views here about the career trajectory of Bill J. Allen, an oilman and political wheeler-dealer who over four decades built his VECO Corp. into one of the state's largest and most influential companies. He was driven by greed, or by a thirst for political power. How Allen wielded his considerable influence is a major strand in a knot of political scandals that have touched both of Alaska's U.S.

The long-running political corruption probe that saw 11 lawmakers, lobbyists and government staffers convicted in Alaska wound up this week, along with its stories of drunken hotel meetings, sleazy bribery come-ons, and sex-for-drug deals with underage girls. For the first time in years, Alaskans will wake up with no tawdry political drama to relish on the front page. One person who will be happy to see the end of it is Bruce Weyhrauch, a Juneau attorney and former member of the state House of Representatives who spent four years fighting extortion and bribery charges - only to see the legal footings of the case against him turn to quicksand and evaporate, without much fanfare, into a minor misdemeanor charge.

Lt. Gov. Leo T. McCarthy formally opened his U.S. Senate campaign Tuesday by declaring himself the advocate of middle-class Californians who have watched their earning power decline, who can no longer afford proper health care, and now even fear for their jobs. The 61-year-old San Francisco Democrat launched his ritual three-city announcement tour in a public park in Burbank, where he pledged to work for "people who live in neighborhoods like this one--or would like to."

Bill Allen, one of the San Fernando Valley's biggest cheerleaders, will step down Friday as first president and chief executive of the Economic Alliance of the San Fernando Valley to help launch an Internet start-up. The new company, which will be based in the Valley, is designed to attract Web surfers looking for entertainment sites and offer companies an opportunity to market directly to them.

NAME: Bill Allen AGE: 41 HOME: Encino PROFESSION: President and CEO of the Economic Alliance of the San Fernando Valley; formerly a network television and studio executive. LATEST ACCOMPLISHMENT: Built alliance of business, government, education and community leaders from Los Angeles, Burbank, Glendale, Calabasas and San Fernando to focus on developing the regional economy. Launched "Valley of the Stars" marketing campaign.