Whit Honea is the author of The Parents' Phrase Book. He lives in the L.A. area with his wife and two boys. You can find his writings and other works all over the Internets. Now available on Twitter.
According to Bloomberg News, Philip Anschutz has agreed to sell 20.6 million shares of Qwest, a company he founded, completing plans to unload nearly all of his ownership. Qwest is the fourth-largest U.S. telephone company. The sale will generate an initial payment of $150.5 million, according to a filing Tuesday with the Securities and Exchange… Read More »What’s Anschutz Up To?
Alana Semuels reports in the Los Angeles Times that Britain’s EMI Group has rejected a $4.1-billion takeover proposal from Warner Music Group. Analysts said any sale was unlikely to go through until issues clouding a planned merger between Sony Music and Bertelsmann’s BMG were resolved. On Thursday, the European Commission opened an in-depth investigation of… Read More »Time For Disney’s to Expand Its Record Business?
The Associated Press is reporting that tourists coming into the U.S. should rise this year to exceed pre-9/11 levels. This is according to U.S. Commerce Secretary Gutierrez. That’s good news for Disney and anybody else in the U.S. tourism and hospitality industry. Long term, the Commerce Department forecast a 21% increase at the national level… Read More »The Tourists Are Back
The Associated Press is reporting that Blockbuster is pursuing Movielink. Blockbuster Inc. is in advanced talks to buy Movielink as a way to speed its entry into the online movie-downloading business, people familiar with the situation said. Movie-rental giant Blockbuster would pay less than $50 million in cash and stock for Movielink, which is owned… Read More »More Ways to Rent Disney Films From Blockbuster?
Deepa Bharath of the Orange County Register gives us an update on plans for a theme park south of the Disneyland Resort, in the City of Garden Grove, California. The search for theme park investors and developers is continuing after city officials broke off a contract with a developer because they were not satisfied with… Read More »Garden Grove Theme Park Update
If a tree falls in the forest and nobody is around, does it still make a sound? If someone does something like trip on a curb, is that news? Normally, no. But if someone has a mundane accident like that on Disney property, it can be considered newsworthy by the local news outlets. The Orange… Read More »Remain Seated Please
My latest Kenversations(TM) column is now posted in full on LaughingPlace.com. The third and final part, about recent changes and trends in the theme park industry, went up today. Part one is here – It is about major changes within the Disney Company in the last few years, and in the feature film industry, and… Read More »Shameless Plug – The Last For Now
Louise Lee at Business Week tells us about "Paul Pressler’s Fall From The Gap." Paul Pressler was at The Disney Store before becoming Disneyland Resort President, and then to Walt Disney Parks & Resorts, which included the Disney Cruise line and Walt Disney Imagineering. Some of this article sounds awfully familiar. The immediate post-mortem analysis:… Read More »Business Week on Former Disney Exec