Michael Hiltzik: How to finance a Great Park

Ever since the federal government decommissioned the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station and turned its 3,700 acres over to local control, Orange County and the city of Irvine have made themselves experts in the art of looking a gift horse in the mouth.

As my column for Monday observes, the original proposal to convert the field into a new commercial airport to relieve the stress on LAX and John Wayne Airport was killed by voters, especially local taxpayers uneasy about becoming part of a new flight path. Plan B, to create an ambitious regional park, has generated skepticism over its cost and time frame. The housing crash has complicated matters, as residential development at the fringes of the property was expected to generate the necessary tax revenues to finance the project.

Emile Haddad is on the hot seat today. He's the developer whose homes and commercial developments will have to progress in order to keep Orange County Great Park progressing from drawing board to reality. A look at his experiences and expectations starts here.

The first memory Emile Haddad has of what would become the site of the Orange County Great Park and the location of his biggest development project dates from 1986, not long after he and his family fled their home in Lebanon.

Then it was still the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station, and as he tried to make a phone call from the roadside the quiet was shattered by the sound of an F/A-18 fighter jet screaming overhead.

Haddad, 51, had grown up amid the nearly constant bloodshed of a sectarian Beirut, and his first instinct was to hit the ground. “I still had the Lebanese mind-set,” he says.

The jet engines have been stilled, but that doesn’t mean the noise level around the site has fallen. Once the Pentagon announced the base would be decommissioned in 1999, surrounding communities started to squabble about how to put its nearly six square miles of Irvine real estate to use.

Four referendums ensued, including two that asked voters to weigh in on plans to turn the base into a commercial airport. The airport idea prevailed in the first vote and died in the second; at that point the plans shifted to the creation of a regional park of about two square miles, surrounded by private development.

Read the whole column.

-- Michael Hiltzik

Black Friday: Macy's in San Francisco

Macy’s in San Francisco's Union Square drew a slew of bargain hunters.

Some, like Carolyn Lim, 23, of Daly City, were motivated by steep discounts. In Lim’s case that included a half-price offer and a morning slash of 20%, plus a coupon for $10 off.

Ray Rubio, 26, a San Francisco radio station producer, landed two cashmere Alfani sweaters for the price of one, but he decided to skip the jousting matches taking place in the electronics department.

“This is my first time in a couple of years, and the prices are a lot, lot lower,” he said. “The electronics stuff interested me, but I think I can wait for it.”

Battling for the bargains can be competitive, said Blake Simpson, 25, of San Mateo. She took home a 10-piece cookware set listed for $250 that came with three extra pieces and a $25 markdown.

“The deals are a lot better right now because the economy sucks and that makes it worth it,” the corporate affairs employee said. “Some things have already sold out, but I’m surprised there aren’t more people.”

Simpson and her friend Roxanne Franco, 31, of San Ramon also bought buy-one-get-one-free sweaters at Gap.

The house that Franco bought with her husband this year will take a chunk out of her holiday budget.

“We want to make sure we keep that roof over our heads,” she said. “So there will probably be more of the cookie making and not so much the extravagant gifts.”

-- Alejandro Lazo in San Francisco

Photos: Black Friday shopping

Black Friday: Budgeting, or not, at the Beverly Center

Pocketbooks of all sizes paraded through the Beverly Center this afternoon. But the spirit of splurging stayed strong.

Honey Zeinali, 27, a speech pathology student from West L.A., emerged from Macy’s toting four bags containing shoes, boots and pillows. Then there was the Marc Jacobs jacket originally tagged at $800 that she scored for $250.

The total damage: $500.

“The Marc Jacobs was expensive, but it was a good deal,” she said. “I just have to compromise in different ways. Everyone’s on a budget, but if I see something that I can use every day, then I’ll buy it.”

Her solution includes fewer meals out and more drinks during happy hour.

Holiday shopping was “probably not going to happen” for Paulette Graham, 38, a school social worker from Crenshaw. She was checking out a pair of boots but had yet to buy anything.

“I wasn’t sure if I was going to come at all,” she said. “I didn’t want to deal with the rush. There’s nothing I need. I’m just looking for a balance of price and style.”

Rosalie Sun, 17, was looking for great gifts for friends and family back home in Dalian, China, where she was going for winter break.

The international student spent a thousand dollars and wasn’t even done shopping. On Wednesday she had dropped another $1,000 on clothes, shoes, jewelry and bags at the Americana at Brand in Glendale.

Her Beverly Center haul included a $300 gold Coach purse for herself and a $200 blue Louis Vuitton tie for her father.

Sun said she had no spending limit and was charging everything to her credit card. The tax rates in California were better than the ones in China, making her purchase cheaper in the long run, she said.

“What’s expensive to me is cheap to her,” marveled Sun’s host parent Nora Serra, a semi-retired substitute teacher from Glendale. “Isn’t that something?”

-- Amina Khan

[Updated at 7:29 p.m.: An earlier version of this post misspelled Nora Serra's first name as Norah.]

Photos: Black Friday shopping

Black Friday: A tale of two Targets

Black Friday was a nonchalant affair for the morning crowd at Target in Woodland Hills. The floors were clean and the clothes folded, and lines were just one to two carts deep.

“It’s just like any other day,” said Deserie Davenport, 43, of Hollywood.

Two years ago she attempted to hit the holiday sales at Best Buy: “I will never, ever do that again,” she said.

This year she avoided the fuss and loaded a holiday wreath and poinsettia plant into her silver BMW. She also found a 6-foot Christmas tree for $25.

Inside the Woodland Hills Target store, red and white paper ornaments hung from the ceilings, and green signs pointed to doorbuster specials that were still waiting for buyers.

Alas, the microwave that Vivian Windsor, 80, came to buy was gone by 10 a.m. But no matter, said the Woodland Hills retiree.

“I usually don’t like to fight traffic and parking,” she said. “An awful lot of people do.”

That was apparently the case at the more crowded Target in Canoga Park. Children sat in aisles; hooks had fallen off their posts; and blue, purple and black sweaters were strewn over shelves.

Allan Haims, a retail consultant, said value was No. 1.

“Price is driving things, there’s no doubt about that,” he said, naming Hollister, Old Navy and Victoria’s Secret among this season’s successes. “There are clear winners and clear losers.”

At least it’s been busier so far than it was last year, said Savid Sotelo, 24, a supervisor at the Target in Canoga Park. One popular item has been the 40-inch Sony Bravia television sets, marked down to $799 from $899.

“It hasn’t slowed down,” he said. “It’s been consistently busy.”

-- Nicole Santa Cruz

Photos: Black Friday shopping

Black Friday: Kmart in Ontario this afternoon

Sal Mary, 40, a Rancho Cucamonga resident, was at the Kmart in Ontario trying to put a $350 black leather sleeper sofa on an 8-week layaway plan.

“It’s drama. You just have to have a lot of patience,” she said of her first Black Friday experience.

Later, Carol Hernandez, 54, an inventory clerk from Mira Loma, came to pick up the three items she had put on layaway: a tricycle, a bicycle and an Optimus Prime helmet for her grandchildren and husband.

“Usually I’m buying Disney passes for my kids and their kids, and that’s $200,” she said. “I can’t afford that anymore. No more Disney.”

Now her budget has shrunk to roughly $50 a person for her children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews. She and her husband will each spent about $200 on each other.

Also upsetting: the general Friday hoopla.

“I don’t like Black Friday,” Hernandez said. “It’s too rough. I hate being here.”

-- Baxter Holmes

Black Friday: Kohl's in Northridge from 7:30 to 9 a.m.

There were only patches of disarray at Kohl’s in Northridge, which was mostly orderly and clean.

In the handbag section, there were sweaters; in the corners of the clothing section, boots were hidden. Red sales tags proliferated.

Lynne Kline, 52, of Encino waited in a line that wove through the entire store with her daughter-in-law Shelley Van Pietersom, 26, of Simi Valley, who had been awake since 2:45 a.m.

Kline began shopping on Black Friday three decades ago but has never seen a line so long, she said.

“There’s some good deals, but I also like being out in the craziness,” she said, pushing a cart stuffed with clothing and a crock pot and looking for gifts for her grandchildren.

Antonio Buendia, 20 was oblivious to it all as he caught up on sleep in the store’s bed section. After napping for about 20 minutes on a blue-and-brown comforter while his family waited in line, the Sylmar student said he wouldn’t buy the bedding.

But “it was better than the floor,” he said.

The family had spent nearly $3,000 at several stores by 7 a.m., but Buendia said he was a little disappointed by Black Friday this year.

“Now we don’t go for the sales,” he said. “We go for tradition.”

Either way, Spence Sealey, 54, of Fresno had had enough. After waiting almost 45 minutes in a line twisting through handbags, bedding and clothing, he said this was his first time shopping on Black Friday and would probably be his last.

But the economy has been rough, and his wife Patty was laid off in June from her job as a supermarket supervisor. Their holiday budget has shrunk from $4,500 to $3,000 for their family, including 12 grandchildren.

The retired plumber has had to be smarter about his purchases -- with one exception.

“$12 pants for me? You can’t pass those up,” he said.

More than 200 people were waiting outside when the store opened at 4 a.m., said Lars Koerlber, Kohl’s district manager for the North Los Angeles region. Practical items, such as clothing or kitchenware, were the best sellers so far, he said.

Shoppers are also researching online before they visit the store, he said: “They know what kind of deals they can get this year and how they can stretch their dollar.”

-- Nicole Santa Cruz

Photos: Black Friday shopping

Black Friday: H&M in San Francisco at 8:30 a.m.

Holiday shoppers decked out in gloves, knit caps and scarves shuffled up and down Powell Street in San Francisco, near Union Square, hunting for bargains.

At the H&M store, remixes of holiday Christmas classics pumped through the stereo system, accompanied by the occasional squeal and click-clack of clothes hangers as bargain hunters flipped through racks of $12.95 slim-fit shirts and $39.95 skinny jeans.

Staff members in front of the store handed out fliers for 25% off any item purchased Friday.

Attracted by that discount, painter Sean McKee, 28, dropped in on the way to work. He stood at the entrance, a hefty white shopping bag in one hand, a Chihuahua named Lola in the other.

Battling for small-size clothes was “horrible” but worth the bargain, he said.

“Every year, I love to shop. I like high-end clothes. I like the hustle and bustle of it all,” said Elkhalid McCree, 29, of Vacaville. “You have to have a hustler’s mentality being up at midnight to start shopping for clothes.”

Standing in a line that snaked through rows of women’s sweaters at the H&M, McCree held a knit sweater and cap combination he had picked out for his girlfriend. 

He was already hours into his shopping spree, having started at midnight at the Polo outlet in his hometown, where he bought slippers, pajamas, jeans, “everything I could find that I liked.” He then hit Gucci and planned to visit Macy’s and his favorite store, Louis Vuitton.

This all before 8:50 a.m., when he had to start work as a medical assistant.

He’s worked up to three jobs at once -- also juggling duties as a bartender and a vending machine business owner -- in order to splurge during the holiday season.

"The economy has shown you have to put up your money early and first," he said.

-- Alejandro Lazo in San Francisco

Photos: Black Friday shopping

Black Friday: The Grove at 10 a.m.

Around 10 a.m., the Grove was so empty that the ambient music seemed louder than normal. Several people were ringing bells, hoping for donations, but having little luck. Shoppers strolled leisurely around, or sat brunching, but very few had bags.

“I was expecting it would be way crazier,” said Carrier Krischer, 31, a website designer for an ad agency. “But we found a parking spot right away.” Krischer, who is visiting from Chicago for the weekend, said she was just picking up a pair of shoes that she had ordered online from Nordstrom.

Friends and recent Fairfax High School graduates Brenda Guzman and Sunny Gobezye, both 19, had woken up at 5 a.m. to brave the crowds at the Beverly Center. After hitting two stores, they switched gears for the Grove, fully prepared to shove their way through more throngs. Instead, they peacefully perused Victoria’s Secret.

“I was expecting more,” Guzman said. “You hear ‘sales’ and you think ‘Omigod, pushing people.’ But it’s just a normal shopping day. Lou and Perry Pecora, 40, of Culver City, did their Christmas shopping last month and were visiting the shopping center’s Santa display with their two young children.

The pair, who both work in visual effects in the film industry, scoffed at Black Friday shopping.

“Who needs a $3 toaster and a $50 hi-def TV?” Lou said. “Who wants to stand in line with 80,000 smelly people? It’s just not worth it.”

-- Amina Khan

Black Friday: Police also called to Wal-Mart in Rancho Cucamonga

As happened earlier in Upland, police were called to the Wal-Mart in Rancho Cucamonga after Black Friday customers got a bit too feisty, authorities said.

Wal-Mart management decided to close the store just hours after the Upland location nearby also shut its doors for several hours, said Jodi Miller, public information officer with the San Bernardino County sheriff’s department. A spokesman for Wal-Mart said the store didn't actually close.

Deputies were called at 4:03 a.m. and told that “subjects near the electronics area were fighting,” Miller said.

But “it was all over when we got there,” she said. None of the people allegedly involved were found; neither was the person who had reported the supposed scuffle.

Deputies eventually left without making any arrests, and patrolled the area for a while afterward without any incident.

Wal-Mart managers in Rancho Cucamonga declined to comment.

Dave Tovar, a Wal-Mart spokesman, said the chain had actually received "very positive feedback" about its Black Friday safety measures.

"We had new safety plans in place this year at stores across the country and they were store-specific," he said. "There have been a few scuffles, but overall it's been a very safe event with no major issues."

-- Tiffany Hsu and Andrea Chang

Black Friday: Wal-Mart in Upland temporarily closes after 'fighting inside'

Black Friday brought out the rowdy side of Wal-Mart shoppers early this morning when the Upland location shut down for more than two hours after customers caused a ruckus inside.

Store management called Upland police at 2:44 a.m., asking for assistance in dealing with customers who were “fighting inside,” said Lt. Jim Etchason.

About 300 people were in the store, which had remained open all night as a security precaution after a Wal-Mart worker on Long Island, N.Y., was trampled to death last year on Black Friday when a surging, impatient crowd rushed the doors after the store opened.

But in Upland, employees said, customers began tearing into merchandise that had been shrink-wrapped and were supposed to be opened at 5 a.m.

“This was without a doubt the worst I’ve ever seen it,” said one employee, who said she has worked a dozen Black Fridays.

“They wouldn’t let people line up,” she added. “They were belligerent. They just bombarded the store.”

Several officers were sent and stood by as shoppers were kicked out and the store closed down, Etchason said. The bargain hunters were told to line up in the parking lot.

Meanwhile, the carts were emptied and all the items returned to the shelves, employees said. But they said that outside, people began “yelling and screaming,” pounding on the glass doors and trying to sneak into the store through the lawn and garden section.

Store managers had to be sent outside to try to calm the crowd, workers said.

“It was scary,” one said.

But when police officers left at 6:15 a.m., “everyone was behaving themselves,” Etchason said. The store had reopened a bit before 6 a.m., allowing customers inside in groups of 30, and “people were proceeding inside in an orderly fashion.”

No arrests were made, and no injuries were reported. By 9 a.m., the store seemed back to normal, with packed shopping carts and long checkout lines.

-- Baxter Holmes