Container Corp Of America

Jefferson Smurfit Group and Morgan Stanley on Friday announced a complicated financial restructuring that would unite two major paper producers under one corporate umbrella and would bring the corporate investors more than $1.5 billion in cash. In the first of three steps of the proposed plan, Jefferson Smurfit Group of Dublin, Ireland, and an investment fund affiliated with Morgan Stanley & Co., a New York investment banking firm, would buy the publicly held shares of Jefferson Smurfit Corp.

Jefferson Smurfit Group and Morgan Stanley on Friday announced a complicated financial restructuring that would unite two major paper producers under one corporate umbrella and would bring the corporate investors more than $1.5 billion in cash. In the first of three steps of the proposed plan, Jefferson Smurfit Group of Dublin, Ireland, and an investment fund affiliated with Morgan Stanley & Co., a New York investment banking firm, would buy the publicly held shares of Jefferson Smurfit Corp.

An Irvine industrial firm that pleaded no contest to charges of polluting state waters has been fined $250 and ordered to make restitution payments to the state Department of Fish and Game, Deputy Dist. Atty. Diane Kadletz-Stavenhagen said. The Container Corp. of America was cited by a Fish and Game warden for spilling 300 gallons of isopropyl alcohol, which made its way into San Diego Creek and Upper Newport Bay. The amounts of the restitution payments weren't revealed.

The National Museum of American Art has received a gift of 311 paintings, sculptures, drawings and collages. The donation, for which no dollar figure was given, came from the Container Corp. of America, with headquarter in Chicago. Among the artists represented are Willem de Kooning, Gyorgy Kepes, Rene Magritte, Larry Rivers, Leonard Baskin and Ben Shaun.

Explosive concentrations of rubbing alcohol leaked out of a huge underground tank at an Irvine firm early Thursday, forcing the evacuation of 28 employees but causing no major injuries, authorities said. One worker at Container Corp. of America reported suffered breathing problems after inhaling vapors of isopropyl alcohol, county Fire Capt. Joe Kerr said. Randy Dodds, 31, of Costa Mesa was treated at a nearby hospital and released, according to fire officials.

Allen E. Murray, the chairman and chief executive of Mobil Corp. from 1985 to 1994, has died. He was 73. Murray died Aug. 11 of a heart attack in San Diego during a trip to California, said his son, Allen R. Murray. Murray, who lived in Syosset, N.Y., assumed control of Mobil when it was the third-largest company in the nation. He was credited with refocusing the company, now part of Exxon Mobil Corp.

In a move that illustrates the "second wave" of multinational manufacturers to Mexican maquiladoras, Container Corp. of America said Monday it will set up a Tijuana plant to assemble shipping boxes for several of its television and toy manufacturer customers already located there. The nation's second-largest maker of corrugated paper containers, Container Corp. of America is 50% owned by Jefferson Smurfit Corp., a St. Louis-based paper and packaging concern.

Inspiration can come from anywhere. Even a cardboard box company. In 1950, the Container Corp. of America launched an advertising campaign called "Great Ideas of Western Man. " The series, which ran for three decades, paired quotes from leaders in philosophy, science and politics with artwork from modern artists. A new exhibition at the Skirball Cultural Center uses the same technique but focuses on Jewish artists and phrases. "Voices & Visions" features 18 posters inspired by quotations from Jewish authors and scholars.

Mobil, the nation's second-largest oil company, said that because of special charges this year and last, its earnings rose in the third quarter even as operating income fell. Mobil said its operating earnings totaled $332 million, down 15.3% from $392 million in the same period a year ago. The figure did not include two non-recurring provisions: a $508-million charge for restructuring its Montgomery Ward subsidiary last year and a $150-million loss on its sale of Container Corp.

Roger Medearis, an artist of the American Regionalism school who studied with Thomas Hart Benton, has died. He was 81. Medearis, whose work focused on American life and landscapes, died of cancer Thursday evening at his home in San Marino. Born in Fayette, Mo., Medearis grew up in Missouri and Oklahoma and was greatly influenced by the landscape and culture of the Midwest. At the age of 18, Medearis enrolled in the Kansas City (Mo.) Art Institute, where he studied with Benton.