Business Leaders

San Fernando Valley business leaders Wednesday urged county supervisors to fully fund the district attorney's office or face dire economic consequences. Members of the Valley Industry and Commerce Assn. made their pitch during an hourlong meeting with Ed Edelman, chairman of the Board of Supervisors. The board is scheduled to begin deliberations next week on a $13.1-billion budget that falls at least $1.6 billion short of what is needed to maintain current services.

Calling President-elect Bill Clinton's economic conference a historic event, two Orange County Republican business leaders who attended the meeting expressed optimism that Clinton is ready to fix the ailing national economy. "It was an extraordinary event," said Western Digital Corp. Chairman Roger Johnson. "It was historic; it went down as an economic Woodstock." Developer Kathryn G. Thompson credited Clinton with engaging discussion on the issues presented by the more than 300 attendees.

Orange County's heart doesn't beat in the county seat of Santa Ana, its largest city, Anaheim, or its trendiest enclave, Newport Beach. Ask an executive, and you will find that the master-planned city of Irvine is the place to be. That's perhaps the most surprising finding of a UC Irvine survey of 171 local executives released Wednesday by the university's Public Policy Research Organization.

A new public television documentary takes the three major networks to task for their prime-time portrayals of American businessmen and women as "heavies" who behave "amorally" and who, the report contends, are beginning to serve as role models for young television viewers.

A working group of elected officials and business leaders has been formed to analyze the proposed expansion of Los Angeles International Airport, officials said. The group was created as a result of recommendations made last week during a meeting with Rep. Jane Harman (D-Torrance) and Los Angeles County Supervisor Don Knabe to assess the benefits and burdens of expanded air traffic in the South Bay.

Gov. Pete Wilson's new Council of Economic Advisers won quick praise Wednesday from business leaders and conservative economists for its stellar cast of characters--most of them advocates of free-market solutions to the state's economic troubles. But others expressed frustration that the group does not include more members with recent, hands-on experience at efforts to spur job growth and tame the state's unwieldy bureaucracy.

Perched in front of a crackling fire, Steven Rauschkolb tugged at a tall red ski hat covering his ears, sipped wine and chatted merrily with co-workers after a golf outing in frigid temperatures. Rauschkolb, director of training for the pharmaceutical Schering-Plough Corp., needed a place to inspire ideas, foster teamwork and rejuvenate his 19-member sales team after a record-breaking year.

A cavalcade of surfers, naturalists and San Clemente homeowners kicked off the environmental review of the Foothill tollway's $385-million southern half Thursday by blasting the proposed highway, but business leaders argued it's pivotal to the region's economic vitality.

At the university level, the nation's science and mathematics programs are widely regarded as second to none. But science and math at kindergarten through high school? "It's bizarre. We are absolutely the world leaders in technology, but there is a very big gap between the quality of programs taught at universities and the ones at elementary and high schools," said Henry Samueli, chief technical officer and co-chairman of Broadcom Corp.

Seeking to overhaul chronically failing campuses, Los Angeles schools Supt. David L. Brewer quietly convened education and community leaders Wednesday to help him devise a reform plan. The invitation-only meeting, at Chamber of Commerce headquarters downtown, marked the launch of one of Brewer's most aggressive initiatives since taking the top post at the Los Angeles Unified School District late last year.