In the Deep Freeze for Good
Mikhail S. Gorbachev may have made a triumphant comeback last week, but don’t expect the same for “Gorbachocolate.”
A spokeswoman for Baskin-Robbins, the Glendale ice cream chain, says it has no plans to reintroduce the flavor--chocolate with white chocolate chips--that it sold with much hype last summer.
If it’s any comfort to Gorbachev, a spokeswoman for McConnell’s, a Santa Barbara ice cream company, says it has permanently retired “Ronnie’s Delight.” McConnell’s sold the mixture of ice cream and jelly beans in the early 1980s in honor of then-President Reagan.
A Fumbled Story
In what initially looked like the equivalent of a stunning fourth-quarter comeback, beleaguered Los Angeles financier Charles W. Knapp was reported last week by a Vancouver newspaper as one of the investors buying 49% of the Canadian Football League’s British Columbia Lions.
Knapp is best known as the former head of Financial Corp. of America, the high-flying company that owned American Savings & Loan, which was once the nation’s largest thrift. His risky strategies are blamed for the fall of the savings and loan, eventually rescued in a government-
assisted purchase by the Robert M. Bass Group. Since then, Knapp’s various business ventures have been plagued with problems.
According to the Vancouver Sun, the stake in the football team was sold by owner Murray Pezim for $2 million (Canadian). Knapp is described as a “heavy-duty banker out of Los Angeles.”
As it turns out, Knapp is not an investor, although a lawyer for the group said he was being considered at one time to be part of the group. As for team owner Pezim, he says he’s never heard of Knapp.
Watered-Down Regulation
A column in the business section last week questioned the usefulness of some of California’s numerous licensing agencies, including one regulating barbers.
Now, the Board of Barber Examiners is showing it can respond to a crisis.
To encourage water conservation, the board last week announced that barbers, who must cleanse their hands before trimming each customer, now only have to wash with soap and water every other time. The rest of the time they can substitute a towelette or 70% alcohol solution.
No word on how the board plans to make sure barbers don’t use towelettes on consecutive cuts.
Briefly. . .
Who’s in charge here? R. H. Macy’s reorganization announced last week included seven presidents of merchandising for Macy’s East and six presidents of merchandising for Macy’s West . . . In the wake of San Francisco-based BankAmerica’s proposed mega-acquisition of Security Pacific, Bank of A. Levy in Ventura is running a radio ad saying, “Its nice to leave your heart in San Francisco, but keep your money at home” . . . Gallows humor: Some Manufacturers Hanover employees are referring to themselves as “Chemical waste” as job cuts loom from the New York bank’s proposed merger with Chemical Bank.
