Equis Corp

Corporate real estate consultant Equis Corp. has appointed J.D. Cook senior vice president of the company's Los Angeles office. Cook is the former senior vice president of the Staubach Co.'s Los Angeles office. He also was manager of the western region for Credit Suisse First Boston Realty Corp. and a senior vice president of Cushman Realty Corp., which later merged with Cushman & Wakefield. Chicago-based Equis has 28 offices in the United States and five overseas.

Corporate real estate consultant Equis Corp. has appointed J.D. Cook senior vice president of the company's Los Angeles office. Cook is the former senior vice president of the Staubach Co.'s Los Angeles office. He also was manager of the western region for Credit Suisse First Boston Realty Corp. and a senior vice president of Cushman Realty Corp., which later merged with Cushman & Wakefield. Chicago-based Equis has 28 offices in the United States and five overseas.

It is, of course, a civic sport around the nation to knock Los Angeles, one that was already in full swing early this century when author H. L. Mencken called L.A. "Moronia." But I had never heard of an attack on Ontario, of all places, until I received a letter from Cathy Sevier of nearby Claremont. She enclosed the Jan. 20 online version of the Weather Channel's report for Ontario, which was described as a "Bad City" more than 30 times (see excerpt).

Trouble keeps hounding Michael Kerr, the man who organized an all-expenses-paid trip to Disneyland in December for the families of troops killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. On the heels of the state attorney general scrutinizing his charity's financial records, Kerr's former employer has now sued him for allegedly failing to repay a $6,000 salary advance. The case appears similar to a $78,000 judgment leveled against Kerr in 2000 after another employer filed suit against him.

The state attorney general's office has begun scrutinizing the financial records of an Orange County charity that sponsored an all-expenses-paid trip to Disneyland last month for the families of troops killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. A spokeswoman for Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown described the action as routine when a charity fails to register with the state. The state also requested financial information from the Rotary Club foundation that co-sponsored the event.

It isn't all smiles this weekend as 920 family members of fallen American troops romp through Orange County aboard the Snowball Express, an all-expenses-paid jaunt to Disneyland, a hockey game, an elaborate party and other festivities. As the charitable program cranked into gear Friday, organizer Michael Kerr found himself confronting revelations about his checkered past and questions over whether someone's dark side outweighs his good deeds.