Managers

In a closely watched entertainment case, the California Supreme Court ruled Monday that personal managers could be entitled to compensation from their clients even if they procured work for them in violation of the state's Talent Agencies Act. The court said the state's labor commissioner could void manager-talent contracts in their entirety over unlicensed procurement -- or decide to sever unlawful acts and partially enforce the deals.

Investment research firm Morningstar Inc. on Wednesday picked its 2006 "managers of the year" in mutual funds, and gave a nod in the fixed-income category to Jeffrey Gundlach of Los Angeles-based TCW Group Inc. Gundlach, who oversees the $540-million TCW Total Return Bond fund, has produced returns "that far outpace his typical intermediate-term bond peer while taking on less interest-rate risk and enduring less volatility than the category's typical offering," Chicago-based Morningstar said.

As a senior at San Diego State, Bud Black pitched and played first base, although he had no illusions. He knew his future was on the mound and not in the batter's box.

The Orange County official in charge of overseeing the repair and redevelopment of the Dana Point Marina resigned Tuesday, saying regulatory approvals for the work were taking longer than he anticipated when he accepted the job. George Caravalho came out of retirement to become the director of Dana Point Harbor in March 2005, after a career working for the state and in city management. He had previously served as city manager of Riverside but was fired in a dispute with the City Council.

Usher's mother has been his manager since he was a teen, but now the superstar says he wants her to be just "mom." The Grammy winner confirmed Monday that Jonnetta Patton is no longer in charge of his career but denied the break was due to any rift. "She and I are on great terms and support each other in our life's endeavors. We are both very happy but are now working in different areas of the business," he said in a statement.

The Kelly Clarkson roller-coaster ride has a new passenger -- it's Narvel Blackstock, the husband and manager of Reba McEntire, who will take over as manager for Clarkson this week. Former "American Idol" Clarkson's new album, "My December," will hit the charts this week, and, according to early retail reports, it will be No. 2 behind "Hannah Montana II: Meet Mylie," the collection from the Disney Channel show.

Four merchandising managers at Home Depot Inc. have been fired for allegedly accepting kickbacks totaling as much as $1 million to supply stores with flooring products bought from certain foreign vendors, the company said Tuesday. Jerry Shields, a spokesman for Home Depot, described the three men and one woman as lower-level managers. They were terminated two weeks ago for "not following company ethics and business conduct." He could not say how long the employees had worked for Home Depot.

Former celebrity money manager Dana Giacchetto surrendered his share of a book deal and rights to his story to a bankruptcy trustee to satisfy about $3 million owed to former clients and others, according to federal court documents filed Friday. In a settlement filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Giacchetto relinquished any rights to a movie, TV show or serialization of the book, "You Will Make Money in Your Sleep: The Story of Dana Giacchetto, Financial Advisor to the Stars."

Staples Inc., the world's biggest office-supplies chain, said it settled a class-action lawsuit for $38 million that involved how it paid its California-based assistant store managers. The settlement, which still needs court approval, resolves claims that the store managers were misclassified as exempt from overtime pay, said Staples, based in Framingham, Mass.

Nearly three years after the deadliest fire in Rhode Island history, the former manager of the heavy metal group Great White pleaded guilty Tuesday to 100 counts of involuntary manslaughter. As friends and family members of the nightclub fire victims looked on, Dan Biechele told Superior Court Judge Francis J. Darigan Jr. that he was changing his plea to guilty. Under a plea bargain, Biechele, 29, will receive a prison sentence of no more than 10 years. On Feb.