Pacific Airmotive Corp

Pacific Airmotive Corp. has announced that it will no longer service engines for large passenger jets and plans to downsize its work force. The company employs 223 people, but executives declined to say how many will be laid off. The Burbank company said it will concentrate on repairing engines for smaller planes, like the PT6 turboprop engine used in Beech and Piper light aircraft. A company spokesman said increased competition in the jet engine repair field prompted the move.

Continuing its drive to clean up chemically tainted ground water in the San Fernando Valley, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has ordered a Burbank aircraft maintenance firm to test soil and ground water to determine if it contributed to the pollution problem. EPA officials said Wednesday they issued a formal order to Pacific Airmotive Corp.

Continuing its drive to clean up chemically tainted ground water in the San Fernando Valley, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has ordered a Burbank aircraft maintenance firm to test soil and ground water to determine if it contributed to the pollution problem. EPA officials said Wednesday they issued a formal order to Pacific Airmotive Corp.

Pacific Airmotive Corp. has announced that it will no longer service engines for large passenger jets and plans to downsize its work force. The company employs 223 people, but executives declined to say how many will be laid off. The Burbank company said it will concentrate on repairing engines for smaller planes, like the PT6 turboprop engine used in Beech and Piper light aircraft. A company spokesman said increased competition in the jet engine repair field prompted the move.

Clinton LaTourrette, a retired partner in the law firm of O'Melveny & Myers and a founding director of Great Western Financial Corp., has died at age 85 after a long illness, his family announced. Born in North Dakota on Aug. 19, 1901, LaTourrette graduated from Stanford University and Stanford's School of Law. He joined the law firm in 1927 and was married to the founder's daughter, Elizabeth Myers.

Arthur Chichester Stewart, civic leader and former senior vice president of Union Oil Co. of California, which his grandfather founded, has died. He was 92. Stewart, who retired from Union Oil in 1965, died Monday in Carmel, where he had lived for several years. A native of Los Angeles, Stewart joined Union Oil in 1927 after graduating from Stanford University and attending Harvard Business School. He started out as a wiper on an oil tanker and an oil field roustabout.

Burbank will take another economic hit at the end of this summer with the closure of the UNC Pacific Airmotive Corp. plant, also known as Station 88, situated on Hollywood Way near Burbank Airport. On July 8, employees at Station 88 received notice of the planned closure, as required by the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act. The closure, which will take place no sooner than Sept. 7, will affect about 60 workers, according to Weldon Walshe, UNC director of human resources.

Besieged King owner Bruce McNall is being taken to court in another business dispute, this time by a Burbank company alleging it is owed $122,604 for fixing an engine in the Kings' team jet. The lawsuit in Santa Monica Superior Court was filed by UNC Pacific Airmotive Corp. against McNall Aviation Corp. and McNall Sports and Entertainment.

Environmental Protection Agency officials said Tuesday that they are looking for additional San Fernando Valley industrial firms that may be responsible for ground water pollution. The EPA will continue to send to Valley firms questionnaires seeking information on current and past chemical use and disposal.

John W. Myers, a business executive and renowned test pilot during World War II whose extraordinary flying skills earned him the nickname "Maestro," has died. He was 96. Myers died in his sleep Thursday at his home in Beverly Hills, said Janice Merriweather, his longtime assistant. "For us, he was a legend of legends," hotel magnate and aviation enthusiast Barron Hilton said in a statement Friday. "He was truly a pioneer and inspired many test pilots who looked up to him as their idol." Gen.

The Environmental Protection Agency has told seven industrial firms in Burbank and North Hollywood that they may be required to help pay for the cleanup of San Fernando Valley ground water under the federal Superfund program, a job that could cost more than $100 million during the next 20 years.