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SANTA CLARITA VALLEY BUSINESS JOURNAL Santa Clarita’s Only Business Publication
www.scvbj.com
$2.00 · Volume 8 · Number 1
may 2016
■ Fiber cabling needs to be installed underground in Santa Clarita. iStock photo.
One Year Later: A Valley Still Disconnected By Jana Adkins SCVBJ Editor
Special Report:
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Aerospace firm Lamsco moves into ultra-modern facility
n exactly one year since the Santa Clarita Valley Business Journal first documented, and published, a detailed special report on the lack of access to high speed Internet services for businesses in the region, little progress has been made to develop a cohesive, See DISCONNECTED page 7
Page 5 ■ Steve Griffith, president at Lamsco West Inc. in Santa Clarita. Photo by Tom Cruze.
From Something to Nothing
A Unique Culture Contributes to Growth and Success
SCV Hotel Room Demand Exceeded Supply During Gas Leak By Jana Adkins SCVBJ Editor
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■ Status Not Quo founders, from left, standing, Ben Loveless CTO, Pam Capistrano CEO and Scott Capistrano, President with team members in the staff room. Photo by Dan Watson.
By Ken Keller
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n 2008, when Scott Capistrano, his wife Pam and friend Ben Loveless founded Status Not Quo, they had a different kind of business in mind. The company provides turnkey technology creation and production digital media services to diverse clients including Disney, RealD, Coca-Cola, Dignity Health and… The Beatles. The objective was not to focus on the be-all-end-all of business and profitability, but rather to focus on the enjoyment of the
journey and to create a special workplace that people would want to look forward to: spending time every day where clients and the community played special roles in the ongoing success of the company. The core elements of that culture included having a drama-free environment, a company that was both employee- and family-focused, where personal and professional growth was prized, where respectful communication was expected, and success for all was the goal. That success was designed to be shared See SOMETHING, page 22
he nearly five-month massive leak at the Aliso Canyon gas wells in Porter Ranch drove residents from their homes and into temporary housing within a 50-mile radius of the leak – the distance prescribed by the Southern California Gas Company, a subsidiary of Fortune 500 company, Sempra Energy, in order to be eligible for reimbursement of living costs. Declared to be the worst natural gas leak in U.S. history in terms of its environmental impact, the cost to relocate Porter Ranch residents is having an unintended economic benefit. As rentals in the San Fernando Valley were snapped up, refugees from the gas leak began filling Santa
■ Aliso Canyon gass well facility above the Porter Ranch area of Los Angeles. AP photo.
Clarita Valley rentals – ironically, delivering an economic benefit to local hotels and the City of Santa Clarita. Enough extra rooms at local hotels were See HOTEL, page 17
Sunset Pointe Plaza sold to local investors By Jana Adkins SCVBJ Editor
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ne of the more recognizable office buildings in the Santa Clarita Valley, the three-story, all brick Sunset Pointe Plaza, built in 1988, sitting prominently on The Old Road off the Interstate-5 freeway, has come home to local ownership. The deal closed April 1, with the sale being reported for $9.1 million. Representing the institutional seller, Blackstone, Colliers International sold the
59,000 square foot building to a group of local investors, including Augusta Financial Inc., who already occupies space in the office building. The group of local investors purchased the building as Legacy Holdings Sunset Plaza LLC. Augusta Financial expects to eventually occupy up to 12,000 square feet of space on the third floor of the building, said owner Mike Mena. The home loan firm already owns a free-standing iconic Victorian style office building on Lyons Ave. near Wiley Canyon Road. See SUNSET, page 6
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