Also. . .

* Los Angeles County hotels hosted more guests in May than a year earlier, but occupancy was lower again in Orange County, according to statistics compiled by PKF Consulting. Room rates were up sharply at hotels in both counties--12.5% in Los Angeles and 10.1% in Orange County, Los Angeles County occupancy rose by 2.6% to 71.79% in May. Among the sharply improved markets was Beverly Hills, where occupancy rose 10% to 75.94%.

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* Jury deliberations have begun to determine punitive damages in a case brought by director Francis Ford Coppola against Warner Bros. Last week, a Los Angeles County Superior Court jury awarded Coppola $20 million in compensatory damages for his claim that Warner illegally claimed ownership of and blocked the making of a film version of “Pinocchio” he was developing. A decision on punitive damages is expected as early as today.

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* Pacific Bell and its sister phone company Nevada Bell have signed a three-year strategic marketing agreement with phone equipment maker Lucent Technologies. Under the deal, the terms of which were undisclosed, the companies will share sales leads and PacBell will offer its customers only Lucent equipment.