1990 : Business in Brief

JANUARY

* The Koll Co. agreed to pay $532 million to buy 15,000 acres and 30 buildings from Union Pacific Corp. The deal later falls through.

* A management group headed by company president Wayne Armstrong acquires Del Taco/Naugles, the fast-food chain, for an undisclosed sum from Anwar Soliman.

* Two large redevelopment projects are announced. Orient Corp. of Japan plans to build a $400-million commercial project in Santa Ana near MainPlace and the Koll Co. plans a $200-million project on 16 acres in downtown Anaheim.

* Walt Disney Co. unveils plan to spend $1 billion on a second theme park in Anaheim or Long Beach, and reveals major 10-year program to add new attractions to Disneyland.

* Northrop Corp. agrees to sell its 52-acre defense complex in Anaheim--the first aerospace facility built in Orange County--and two office towers in Century City for $250 million to Taiyo Real Estate Co. Ltd.

FEBRUARY

* A federal judge sentences former Ramona Savings & Loan owners Donald Mangano to 15 years and John Molinaro to 12 years for bank fraud. They must also pay $6.8 millionin restitution.

* Mercury Savings & Loan, Huntington Savings & Loan and Western Empire Savings & Loan are seized by federal regulators.

* South Coast Plaza unveils 150,000-square-foot makeover involving about 40 stores. The proposal is designed to make way for more upscale retailers.

* Martin Aviation, the 67-year-old aircraft flight services company founded by aviation pioneer Eddie Martin, is acquired by a partnership headed by developer William Lyon and David Banmiller, a former AirCal executive.

* Oil tanker American Trader ripped open her bottom in shallow water, dumping 397,000 gallons into the ocean off Huntington Beach. The cleanup takes weeks, but impact on tourism and fishing industries is minimal.

MARCH

* Archive Corp. acquires rival Cipher Data Corp. for $121 million.

* Carl Karcher Enterprises Inc. announces deal to franchise its Carl’s Jr. restaurants in nine Pacific Rim nations.

* Diceon Electronics settles criminal charges of dumping toxic waste into the Los Angeles sewer system.

* The state files a complaint against Friendly Ford, alleging that it engaged in misleading sales tactics. It seeks $3 million in penalties.

* Janet Faye McKinzie is found guilty of bank fraud in connection with the failure of North American Savings & Loan. She is later sentenced to 20 years in prison.

APRIL

* National Lumber & Supply Inc., a Southern California fixture for nearly half a century, files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The company is later liquidated.

* The Times Orange County Edition and KCAL-TV team up to provide an Orange County television news show.

* Care Enterprises, one of the nation’s largest nursing home operations, wins court approval of its bankruptcy plan and says it will emerge from Chapter 11 by the end of the year.

* The state insurance department says it wants to suspend the license of FGS Insurance Co. in Irvine for consumer abuses. Proceedings are still pending.

MAY

* A partnership led by David Rockefeller announces plans to build a $100-million complex across the street from Anaheim Stadium. It will include two office towers and a hotel.

* In hat is believed to be the second-largest health-code violations settlement in the nation, Care Enterprises West, a Tustin-based nursing home unit of Care Enterprises, agrees to pay more than $600,000 in fines for hundreds of code violations.

* The Securities and Exchange Commission charges Ahmed Bayaa with manipulating the stock of Southland Communications. He denies the charge.

JUNE

* Mitsui & Co. Ltd, the Japanese trading company, agrees to acquire 50% of the construction and development business of Laguna Hills-based Birtcher for $100 million.

* ConAgra agrees to buy Beatrice Co. for $1.34 billion in a deal that gives Beatrice’s Fullerton-based Hunt-Wesson division its fifth ownership change in six years.

* Charter Savings Bank is seized by federal regulators.

* A court referee rules that Joan Irvine Smith, the Irvine Co. heiress, should be paid about $150 million for her stock, about $35 million more than company owner Donald L. Bren offered in 1983. Interest, which could exceed $100 million, must still be decided.

* Fluor Corp. lands a $6-billion contract to oversee the expansion of oil and gas facilities in Saudi Arabia. The contract is the largest in the firm’s history.

* Swedlow Inc., the Garden Grove defense contractor, pleaded guilty to lying to the Air Force about flaws in windshields for the B-1B bomber and agreed to pay a fine of $400,000.

JULY

* National Education Corp. agrees to pay former chairman H. David Bright about $5 million to settle his wrongful-termination case.

* Ford Aerospace Inc. of Newport Beach is bought by Loral Corp. for $715 million.

* Rockwell International says it will move its headquarters from El Segundo to its Orange County facility in Seal Beach.

* Richard M. Nixon Library & Birthplace opens, becoming county’s newest tourist attraction.

* FundAmerica founder Robert T. Edwards is arrested in Florida and later charged with operating an illegal lottery or pyramid scheme. The company later files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Edwards denies the charges, which are still pending.

* Rancho Santa Margarita Co. reveals plans for Las Flores, a 2,500-home development.

AUGUST

* After a 20-year battle, La Palma inventor Gilbert Hyatt is awarded a patent for a microprocessor he designed in 1968.

* The Futures Trading Commission files complaints against Hannes Tulving of Newport Beach, one of the country’s largest coin dealers, claiming that it misled consumers.

* Three former MAI Basic Four executives settle insider charges.

* Columbia Savings & Loan charges in a civil suit that Michael Parker defrauded it of $13 million. He denies the charges, but his legal problems later force him to step down from Parker Automotive Co.

SEPTEMBER

* John Wayne Airport opens new Thomas F. Riley Terminal, the centerpiece of a $310-million improvement project. The terminal is expected to generate $1 billion in revenue annually.

* Led by declining construction employment, Orange County’s jobless rate hits 3.8%, the highest in 36 months. Annual job growth is the lowest since the 1982 recession.

* Ripley’s Believe It or Not! opens in Buena Park.

* Orange County Newschannel, a 24-hour cable television news program, goes on the air.

* Residential construction permits issued in Orange County during September fell to the lowest level for a single month since the 1982 recession.

* Charles Keating and three others are indicted by a state grand jury on 42 counts of securities fraud related to the sale of bonds at Lincoln Savings branches. Unable to make bail, he is jailed for more than a month. He denies the charges.

OCTOBER

* Plenum Publishing unseats Gradco System’s management, including founder and chairman Keith Stewart, in a proxy fight for control of the copier products firm.

* Orange County consumer confidence dropped to its lowest level in recent years, the annual UC Irvine consumer poll showed.

* Denny’s Corp. says it will move its headquarters from Irvine to South Carolina to pare real estate and payroll costs.

* Kendall McGraw Laboratories in Irvine is sold for $200 million to an investor group led by its former president, James Sweeny.

* Bowing to pressure from a public interest group, Shiley Inc. said it would develop a program to contact recipients of its potentially defective heart valves.

NOVEMBER

* Measure M, an initiative that increases local sales taxes and sets aside the new revenue for transportation-system improvements, is passed by voters.

* A state court jury awards Lee & Associates $9.2 million in a trial over a disputed commission paid to Trammell Crow Co. The firms later settle for $7.5 million.

* Nippon Shippon of Japan takes over Monarch Beach property from Qintex Ltd., the troubled Australian company.

* The Irvine Co. said it will halt new development and lay off 11% of it staff because of the steep decline in real estate development. Rancho Santa Margarita Co. follows suit.

* Phoenix Group International files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, killing plans to sell 6 million computers to the Soviet Union.

DECEMBER

* The state Accountancy Board seeks to revoke the license of Ernst & Young for alleged gross negligence in its audits of Lincoln Savings. The proceedings is pending.

* Western Digital Corp. says it will write off up to $70 million and close a plant in Puerto Rico, laying off about 400 there, as it struggles with a declining market for its older products and with delays in getting new products ready.

* Great Western Financial Corp. says it will close its residential real estate unit in Yorba Linda by Jan. 31, throwing up to 1,300 agents and support staff out of work.

* Economists at Chapman College says Orange County’s economy has dipped into a mild recession, which will last for six months.

* Far Western Bank, crippled by bad auto loans, is closed by state banking regulators.