State Of The Art

The citizens of Wilmington were not impressed with Hiuka's (America) state-of-the-art junkyard, after viewing the slides and listening to representatives of the company trying to impress the citizens of Wilmington with Hiuka's proposed 18-acre junkyard at Berth 200A in Wilmington. Wilmington already has 40 or more similar junkyards. This so-called state-of-the-art junkyard is just another noisy, dusty junkyard, even with their so-called water sprinkler system. If it is going to generate millions of dollars for the Harbor Department and thousands in taxes for the city of Los Angeles, San Pedro seems to get the lion's share of money from the Harbor Department and city.

The Torrance Police Department unveiled a new forensics laboratory Wednesday, filled with state-of-the-art equipment that officials said would expedite their analysis of evidence and better assist with investigations.  Dozens of civic leaders, community members and law enforcement officials gathered at the Police Department to tour the new $1.5-million facility - a bright, gleaming space filled with cameras, computer screens and "CSI"-reminiscent machines...

Melodiya, the Soviet Union's only record company and the world's largest record producer, will soon receive competition from Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab, a small, prestigious U.S. record company that embarked on a joint venture with Soviet partners to produce recordings of Soviet artists for sale in both countries. Melodiya, which issues 1,000 titles a year with a total pressing of 100 million copies, has been criticized for its poor quality of recordings and a lack of daring. Calling its new company Arts and Electronics, the joint venture has already built a state-of-the-art digital recording studio in the Moscow Conservatory of Music.

Ducks owner Henry Samueli, whose management company operates the Honda Center, said Wednesday he doesn't anticipate bringing an NBA team to the arena as a tenant any time soon but he remains committed to backing his money-losing NHL team and maintaining a state-of-the-art arena. Samueli and his wife, Susan, bought the Ducks from the Walt Disney Co. in 2005 and have since spent $80 million on arena improvements. That includes upgrading locker rooms to NBA standards and undertaking the $20-million Grand Terrace entertainment project that will open Oct. 10, coinciding with the Ducks' home opener.

We're writing a book about the days of live television (1947-60), entitled "The Art of Television: We Made It Up as We Went Along." We want stories from all those who turned spur-of-the-second bright ideas into state-of-the-art technology and/or memorable moments worth recording for posterity. We'd like to hear from technicians, actors, directors, writers, etc. Written and audiotaped submissions accepted. Call or write for contributors' guidelines: MIKE KANE, 21627 Ocean Vista Drive, South Laguna, CA 92677.

I must take issue with Mike Downey's recent characterization of the Los Angeles Sports Arena in his June 11 column ("Where Is This Team Going?") as having "about as much charm and character as a YMCA." Simply stated, it's not fair to YMCAs. As executive director of the Westchester Family YMCA, which recently completed a $1.4-million renovation and expansion project, I can assure Mr. Downey that YMCAs have plenty of character and charm. Our Westchester YMCA's new additions include a state-of-the-art courtyard fitness center, an indoor training pool and spa, a colorful child-care center and much more.

Talk about missed opportunities! Your editorial, "A North Campus Opportunity" (Sept. 21) renews our frustration with the powers that be at Cal State Northridge over their continuing inability to realize what an excellent spot they're in for future development. Our "Show of the Month" series has been utilizing their new and beautiful Performing Arts Center Theatre, programming top-name entertainment for Valley audiences, older and younger. Yet the university and its executive body, staff, faculty and students haven't shown the slightest interest in what's going on inside this magnificent state-of-the-art theater.

The Torrance Police Department unveiled a new forensics laboratory Wednesday, filled with state-of-the-art equipment that officials said would expedite their analysis of evidence and better assist with investigations.  Dozens of civic leaders, community members and law enforcement officials gathered at the Police Department to tour the new $1.5-million facility - a bright, gleaming space filled with cameras, computer screens and "CSI"-reminiscent machines...

State of the Art Inc., a maker of accounting programs for computers and computer networks, said it has formed a "strategic" venture with accounting and consulting firm BDO Seidman LLP to market, sell and support a line of the Irvine firm's software. Terms were not disclosed.

Drivers lucky enough to find a parking space along a popular commercial stretch of Los Angeles' Larchmont Boulevard will no longer have to search for a pay station and remember their space number. City officials this week removed 16 pay stations between 1st Street and Beverly Boulevard that drew complaints from unhappy motorists who struggled with the machines and said they were ticketed while waiting in line to pay. In place of the pay stations, street parking spots now have individual meters that officials say will simplify parking and eliminate accidental tickets.

Drivers lucky enough to find a parking space along a popular commercial stretch of Los Angeles' Larchmont Boulevard will no longer have to search for a pay station and remember their space number. City officials this week removed 16 pay stations between 1st Street and Beverly Boulevard that drew complaints from unhappy motorists who struggled with the machines and said they were ticketed while waiting in line to pay. In place of the pay stations, street parking spots now have individual meters that officials say will simplify parking and eliminate accidental tickets.

The numbers on United Talent Agency's new 130,000-square-foot Beverly Hills digs are notable. The Civic Center Drive property includes a 158-piece art collection, 11 conference rooms and a private plaza that can accommodate as many as 500 people. But the standout figure is 275. That's the number of screenings UTA has held at its new screening room since the company's new headquarters opened last September. The new theater was christened with a showing of longtime client Judd Apatow's "This Is 40," which was screened for the filmmaker's friends and family, along with UTA agents.

SAN DIEGO - In the ocean off Coronado, a Navy team has discovered a relic worthy of display in a military museum: a torpedo of the kind deployed in the late 19th century, considered a technological marvel in its day. But don't look for the primary discoverers to get a promotion or an invitation to meet the admirals at the Pentagon - although they might get an extra fish for dinner or maybe a pat on the snout. The so-called Howell torpedo was discovered by bottlenose dolphins being trained by the Navy to find undersea objects, including mines, that not even billion-dollar technology can detect.

What could be the most impressive feature of the $100-million-plus renovations at Dodger Stadium can't be seen by the public: the home clubhouse. "It's probably the best clubhouse in baseball," Adrian Gonzalez said. "Something comes up, we feel bad to even bring it up now. " Although modernized, the players' dressing quarters aren't much larger than they used to be. But the room is only one in a subterranean maze that was created by Janet Marie Smith , who oversaw the renovation project.

PORT MacKENZIE, Alaska - The late Sen. Ted Stevens is perhaps best remembered for the millions of dollars in federal booty he steered toward Alaska during his reign as chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee. One of the Republican senator's more notable legacies was the construction of a $78-million amphibious assault vessel for the Navy - a military prototype that he diverted to his home state as a ferry to haul commuters from the rapidly growing suburbs north of Anchorage to jobs downtown.

In a Playa Vista aircraft hangar that turned out Army helicopters during the Vietnam War, an actor wearing a multicolored princess gown, tiara and wand waits for a crew of about 25 to finish lunch and resume filming. The building that once was part of Howard Hughes' sprawling Hercules complex, where the famous Spruce Goose was assembled during World War II, now provides a setting for another kind of American innovation - YouTube videos. The Google Inc. division has converted the 41,000-square-foot hangar into a state-of-the-art digital production facility that is believed to be one of the largest in Southern California devoted exclusively to content distributed online.

Ducks owner Henry Samueli, whose management company operates the Honda Center, said Wednesday he doesn't anticipate bringing an NBA team to the arena as a tenant any time soon but he remains committed to backing his money-losing NHL team and maintaining a state-of-the-art arena. Samueli and his wife, Susan, bought the Ducks from the Walt Disney Co. in 2005 and have since spent $80 million on arena improvements. That includes upgrading locker rooms to NBA standards and undertaking the $20-million Grand Terrace entertainment project that will open Oct. 10, coinciding with the Ducks' home opener.

Magic Johnson Theaters was a blockbuster business story in the mid-1990s, the feel-good saga of a plucky underdog's climb to the top of the heap. Since Johnson and his partner sold their ownership stake in 2004, time and circumstances have been less than kind to the cineplex at Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza. But new owners for the mall and new operators for the theaters have big plans to rejuvenate the venture. The undisputed success ? considered improbable by many at the time ?

USC probably doesn't need another recruiting advantage. There was enough talent in the Trojans' last two classes to help warrant a preseason No. 1 ranking in the Associated Press poll, and there is more on the way in the class of 2013. But USC got another bump Tuesday. The school formally dedicated its gleaming $70-million John McKay Center, a 110,000-square-foot structure that features a floor dedicated to academic support, a basement with a gargantuan weight room, state-of-the-art athletic training facilities and plenty of tributes to former star athletes and five-star donors.

In the search for great pop music that catches a glimpse of the future, Chris Brown's new album, "Fortune," is planted firmly in the here and now. A defiant, brash, glistening recording filled with state-of-the-art sounds and of-the-moment producers and songwriters, the album, while fresh in July 2012, feels stamped with a "use by" date. This is due mostly to Brown's reflex of curbing his creative impulses at nearly every turn, with a few killer exceptions, and showing a conservatism unbecoming such a self-styled renegade.