Young Presidents Organization

The extremely low-profile Young Presidents' Organization--an association of corporate presidents and chief executive officers who run multimillion-dollar companies and who reached their positions before 40--will be convening in Los Angeles this week. (The millions required for membership vary according to the type of businesses they run.

Three decades after he launched his business with a set of tools and a pickup truck, Gary L. Brinderson presides over one of nation's top construction firms. A Learjet supplanted the pickup as Brinderson Corp. expanded, tackling heavy construction projects across the country while competing against heavyweights such as Fluor Corp. and Bechtel Corp.

* Michael Edell, president and CEO of jeTECH Data Systems Inc. in Camarillo, has joined the Young Presidents' Organization. The group, an alliance of nearly 8,500 CEOs and senior executives from 71 countries, is designed for business professionals under age 44. Edell, 36, founded jeTECH in 1983 to develop software for labor resource planning.

Your recent two-part article on the GATE program was excellent. I'm a father of a seventh-grade son who takes medication for Attention Deficit Disorder and fourth-grade daughter who's been recommended for the GATE program in one of San Clemente's grade schools. The truth is, he's more gifted than she. Yet, if my wife and I hadn't taken an intense interest in our son's struggles, he'd probably be little more than a dropout-in-waiting. Our daughter is an exceptional student because what's asked of a student in the typical grade school classroom fits her native intelligence perfectly: She completes work on time and (does it)

Bertram F. "Bert" Given, who developed the Waste King garbage disposal six decades ago and later became active in charitable causes, has died. He was 88. Given died July 7 in Ashland, Ore., while visiting relatives. He lived in Brentwood. The cause of death was heart failure, his family said. Born in El Paso, Given grew up in Los Angeles, honing his fascination with machines and engineering at his father's Vernon-based Given Machinery Co.

Timothy Hugh Ling, president and chief operating officer of Unocal Corp. and an active member of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Assn. board, died Wednesday after an ice hockey workout in El Segundo. He was 46. The cause of death was not immediately known, and an autopsy will be performed. Ling spent six years at the El Segundo-based oil company, initially as its chief financial officer, then as executive vice president of Unocal's North American operations, and finally as the No.

Facebook is prepping for its eagerly anticipated $5-billion initial public stock offering , tweaking its site for businesses and advertisers , and possibly facing a lawsuit from Yahoo . But, at just 8 years old, Facebook is still just getting started, said Eduardo Saverin, a co-founder of the world's most popular social network. Saverin, who rarely does interviews, spoke on TV for the first time with CNBC's Brian Sullivan on the show "Worldwide Exchange" on Wednesday, offering his take on Facebook's potential, which he believes is massive.

"Hispanic Excellence" awards have been presented to eight prominent Southern Californians to recognize their success and contributions to the Latino community. Northern Trust of California instituted the awards to promote a positive image of Latinos in California, said Northern Trust Vice President Jose D. Naranjo. The honorees are Linda Alvarez, a KNBC-TV news anchor; Ernest M.

The scene: Still fresh after an emotion-packed appearance at the Orange County Performing Arts Center, Broadway diva Patti LuPone joined center donors and members of the Young Presidents Organization on Tuesday for a supper in her honor at the Center Club in Costa Mesa. Guests applauded the original star of the stage production of "Evita" as she swept into the party on the arm of her husband, Matthew Johnston.

It's getting harder to find a seat in the Belly Up Tavern on Monday nights, much less a spot on the dance floor. For the last three years, the Solana Beach nightclub has provided a weekly home to the Mar Dels. And each time the group plays there, it seems, the crowds--most of whom are in their early 20s--get bigger and more dance-happy. The Mar Dels' ticket to success, however, is not the same mix of steamy, new wave originals and hot, Top 40 copy tunes that most popular local bands play.