Richard J Schwarzstein

A decade ago, the thought of 12 European states operating as a single economic bloc was nearly inconceivable. Skeptics were quick to say that the differences among the members of the European Economic Community were far too complex to iron out. But it is happening. Come 1992, the EEC, with 325 million people, will become the largest single marketplace in the world.

A decade ago, the thought of 12 European states operating as a single economic bloc was nearly inconceivable. Skeptics were quick to say that the differences among the members of the European Economic Community were far too complex to iron out. But it is happening. Come 1992, the EEC, with 325 million people, will become the largest single marketplace in the world.

Romeo Charlie, a Newport Beach holding company about which there is virtually no public information, has acquired Lear Siegler's Piper Aircraft subsidiary, a 50-year-old, general aviation manufacturer based in Vero Beach, Fla., Piper officials said Tuesday. In a terse prepared statement, officials said that "the new ownership announced its intention to reestablish Piper as the unchallenged leader worldwide, with a full range of general aviation aircraft."

Romeo Charlie Inc., a Newport Beach-based holding company about which there is virtually no public information, has acquired Lear Siegler Inc.'s Piper Aircraft subsidiary, a 50-year-old, general aviation manufacturer based in Vero Beach, Fla., Piper officials said Tuesday. In a terse prepared statement, officials said that "the new ownership announced its intention to re-establish Piper as the unchallenged leader worldwide, with a full range of general aviation aircraft." But C.

The World Trade Center Assn. of Orange County said Monday that it has abandoned its efforts to develop a vacant five-acre site in downtown Santa Ana into a $100-million international trade complex. A one-week deadline proved to be too short a period for the association to find a new developer to participate in the World Trade Center project, said Susan T. Lentz, the association's executive director. "We're disappointed but not depressed," Lentz said.

The Orange County Philharmonic Society has wiped out 70% of an accumulated deficit of $114,000, after closing the fiscal year with a surplus, officials announced Monday. The society raised $80,000 beyond its 1992-93 operating budget of $2.3 million, to end the year in the black and have money left over to apply to the deficit, according to unaudited figures. Society Board President Steven A. Lupinacci on Monday described the remaining $34,000 as "almost inconsequential. . . .

H. Thomas Felvey knows how to pitch a World Trade Center project, but pulling one off is another matter. Felvey, a Laguna Niguel architect, has played a key role in putting together a project team to develop a proposed World Trade Center complex in downtown Santa Ana. Felvey claims his work is essentially finished, and other participants acknowledge that they have been careful to limit his involvement in the project.

A dozen years ago, a small band of Orange County business executives bought into a big dream. They figured that foreign trade would play a big role in the county's future, and they created a local chapter of an international trade network to help local importers and exporters. Their dream was to build a major complex of offices, conference rooms, exhibit areas, retail shops and hotel rooms, all devoted to one activity--world trade.

H. Thomas Felvey, whose four-year effort to build a $96-million world trade center in downtown Pomona died earlier this year after he was unable to secure commitments from investors and tenants, has worked recently on a similar project in Santa Ana. Felvey, whose legal and financial problems eventually caused Pomona city officials to view his role with increasing skepticism, worked as an unpaid consultant with the World Trade Assn. of Orange County.