Also. . .

* A record 3.3 million cargo containers moved through the Port of Los Angeles last year, more than half of which were imports. Imports, in fact, accounted for 1.7 million of the 20-foot metal cargo containers the port handled in 1998, also a record. That figure represented a 17.3% jump over the previous year’s totals as financial troubles in Asia made goods from the region a bargain in the U.S. At the same time, Asia’s devaluated currencies pushed American goods beyond the reach of many in battered consumer markets such as South Korea and Japan, and exports through the Port of Los Angeles fell 8.8%. Last year, the port handled 794,669 export containers, 76,257 fewer than the year before.

* Santa Fe Springs-based Vans Inc. said it signed letters of intent with Mills Corp. to co-develop and open three additional skate parks at the Ontario Mills mall in Ontario; Potomac Mills mall in Prince William, Va.; and Vaughan Mills mall outside Toronto. Vans also said that in the nine weeks since it opened its skateboarding park at the Block mall at Orange, it has generated more than $800,000 in revenue and attracted more than 30,000 participants.