Business Los Angeles County

Los Angeles County topped the nation in growth of businesses and employees, but Manhattan led the way in payrolls, new government figures show. The number of people working for private companies in Los Angeles County jumped 118,761 between 1996 and 1997, the nation's biggest gain, the Census Bureau said in a report being released today. At the same time, the county gained 3,287 businesses with employees, also tops in the nation.

Four San Fernando Valley-area companies were winners in Bank of America's Small Business Awards Program. Revolution Eyewear, Van Nuys, won the $10,000 grand prize in the spirit of innovation category for its frame and clip-on sunglasses set. Valencia AutoSpa carwash won the spirit of community award for raising more than $75,000 for local nonprofit groups. Photo Max Film Supplies, Glendale, and contracting firm Martec Construction, Granada Hills, were also honored.

Rite-Aid Corp. plans to shift its West Coast distribution operations to a new 1-million-square-foot facility in Lancaster. The new facility will serve about 1,000 stores. The company is closing a distribution center in Ogden, Utah, in mid-2000, eliminating 500 jobs. Rite-Aid, a drugstore chain based in Camp Hill, Pa., has posted a disappointing financial performance in the past year, including a 39% drop in quarterly earnings reported in March.

Several area companies were commended Friday at an awards ceremony for their willingness to hire people with disabilities. New Horizons, a nonprofit organization that trains and finds jobs for physically and developmentally disabled adults, honored some 35 companies based in the San Fernando, Santa Clarita and San Gabriel valleys at its fourth annual Tri-Valley Employer Awards Breakfast at its Parthenia Street headquarters.

Not long ago small business was winning praise from government leaders and economists for helping to pull the United States out of recession. After all, it was small companies that were creating the new jobs while Fortune 500 companies were laying off workers. But small firms now seem to be falling out of the spotlight and out of favor.

With more than bragging rights at stake, plans by the Walt Disney Co. to develop a new 125-acre "creative campus" in an aging industrial park here further cements the San Fernando Valley's claim as the capital of the entertainment industry. Anchored by the DreamWorks SKG animation studio on the east and the CBS Studio Center on the west--with Walt Disney, Warner Bros.

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved new design standards Tuesday for businesses along Whittier Boulevard in East Los Angeles, a move aimed at attracting more shoppers to the corridor that has declined because of competition from nearby malls. Hoping to create a vibrant pedestrian district, the new rules set guidelines about storefront awnings and security fences, limit the number of signs and discourage pawnshops and auto repair yards.

Lillian Zacky, the matriarch of Zacky Farms, has been married to the family business for decades. In 1955, Zacky brothers Bob--now 67--and Al--now 70--established their poultry wholesale business; the first sale was 35 chickens. A year later, after Lillian and Bob eloped to Las Vegas, she went right to work. She ran a one-woman office in a little room at the original poultry market in South El Monte. She was the receptionist, clerk, order-taker and bookkeeper.

Drivers heading through Alhambra for their commute Tuesday became the first frustrated victims of a traffic diversion plan that city officials seemingly put in place to spite neighboring South Pasadena for opposing the extension of the Long Beach Freeway. But as the haze dissipated during the morning, the biggest losers in the suburban traffic war appeared to be some of Alhambra's own businesses.

A Tarzana-based creator of Web sites Monday launched a one-stop Web portal specifically aimed at the 1.7 million residents and 70,000 businesses in the San Fernando Valley area. Joining Valley-specific portals like Ventura Boulevard.com and local sites hosted by Web giants like Yahoo, GoValley.