Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

The business of San Diego in 1979

Walker Scott, FedMart, Westgate

Most Quotable Executive of the Year Award

To Robert Dicker, president of Walker-Scott Corporation. Some of his pearls: When asked if he was going to change the name of the store chain he now controls: "Well, I would, except who would ever want to shop in a Dicker?"

Talking about the customer base he inherited from previous management:

"Every time we saw an obituary, we knew we'd lost another customer." When asked about letting people go: "No, we really haven't had much turnover. We have a policy at Walker-Scott - you stay here until you get it right."

Sponsored
Sponsored

Good Company

German management of FedMart Corporation kicked out founder Sol Price and replaced him with a quiet man named Hans Schocpflin. Ho. too, was not needed, and in 1979 he resurfaced - working for Price at the new Club.

Draw to an Inside Straight La Jollan Allen Glick was toppled this year from his Nevada gaming dais under orders from that state's gaming officials to unload the Stardust and Fremont resorts. A Glick spokesman said that Glick expected to net $70 million for the properties before taxes. His Argent Corporation owes about $91 million to the Central States, Southeast, and Southwest Teamsters pension funds. He hasn't been available for comment.

What's in a Name?

In 1979 the former Women's Bank was California Coastal Bank, but fought off a shareholder initiative to change back to Women's Bank before being sold (early in 1980) to American States Bank.

What? All this Entertainment and No Popcorn?

The list of disparate interests seeking a part of the once-thriving Westgate California empire continued in strange ways in 1979. This year we saw the daughter of the former dictator of Indonesia, Sukarno, sweep into San Diego courts and offer a flat $20 million cash for the tuna-canning subsidiary. Her jewelry-laden, furwrapped performance was preceded by a former treasury secretary, a representative of "Arab money," daughter of C. Arnholt Smith, and others. Staid, conservative Castle & Cooke lnc., won out. Meanwhile, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, designated receiver for what's left of U.S. National Bank and other Westgate assets and liabilities, isn't in a big rush to finish off this project. "Not when their next assignment is Painted Post, South Dakota, or something," observed one wit.

No Free Lunch

San Diegans became painfully aware, with the prosecution and sentencing of Joseph Bello for shenanigans with MB Financial Corporation, that they should be suspicious of anyone promising sixty percent to one-hundred percent return on their money. The lesson: "Beware of anyone trying to , stuff money into your pocket. If the deal is so good, the company doesn't need you anyhow. Besides, it's not as though the guy really likes you by cutting you in on this. You're not that likeable."

When You're Hot

An award for precipitous prognostication goes to Donald Bauder of the San Diego Union, who has been predicting a recession since the 1976 business upturn. In 1979, he was finally right.

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Tigers In Cairo owes its existence to Craigslist

But it owes its name to a Cure tune and a tattoo
Next Article

Gonzo Report: Eating dinner while little kids mock-mosh at Golden Island

“The tot absorbs the punk rock shot with the skill of experience”

Most Quotable Executive of the Year Award

To Robert Dicker, president of Walker-Scott Corporation. Some of his pearls: When asked if he was going to change the name of the store chain he now controls: "Well, I would, except who would ever want to shop in a Dicker?"

Talking about the customer base he inherited from previous management:

"Every time we saw an obituary, we knew we'd lost another customer." When asked about letting people go: "No, we really haven't had much turnover. We have a policy at Walker-Scott - you stay here until you get it right."

Sponsored
Sponsored

Good Company

German management of FedMart Corporation kicked out founder Sol Price and replaced him with a quiet man named Hans Schocpflin. Ho. too, was not needed, and in 1979 he resurfaced - working for Price at the new Club.

Draw to an Inside Straight La Jollan Allen Glick was toppled this year from his Nevada gaming dais under orders from that state's gaming officials to unload the Stardust and Fremont resorts. A Glick spokesman said that Glick expected to net $70 million for the properties before taxes. His Argent Corporation owes about $91 million to the Central States, Southeast, and Southwest Teamsters pension funds. He hasn't been available for comment.

What's in a Name?

In 1979 the former Women's Bank was California Coastal Bank, but fought off a shareholder initiative to change back to Women's Bank before being sold (early in 1980) to American States Bank.

What? All this Entertainment and No Popcorn?

The list of disparate interests seeking a part of the once-thriving Westgate California empire continued in strange ways in 1979. This year we saw the daughter of the former dictator of Indonesia, Sukarno, sweep into San Diego courts and offer a flat $20 million cash for the tuna-canning subsidiary. Her jewelry-laden, furwrapped performance was preceded by a former treasury secretary, a representative of "Arab money," daughter of C. Arnholt Smith, and others. Staid, conservative Castle & Cooke lnc., won out. Meanwhile, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, designated receiver for what's left of U.S. National Bank and other Westgate assets and liabilities, isn't in a big rush to finish off this project. "Not when their next assignment is Painted Post, South Dakota, or something," observed one wit.

No Free Lunch

San Diegans became painfully aware, with the prosecution and sentencing of Joseph Bello for shenanigans with MB Financial Corporation, that they should be suspicious of anyone promising sixty percent to one-hundred percent return on their money. The lesson: "Beware of anyone trying to , stuff money into your pocket. If the deal is so good, the company doesn't need you anyhow. Besides, it's not as though the guy really likes you by cutting you in on this. You're not that likeable."

When You're Hot

An award for precipitous prognostication goes to Donald Bauder of the San Diego Union, who has been predicting a recession since the 1976 business upturn. In 1979, he was finally right.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Pie pleasure at Queenstown Public House

A taste of New Zealand brings back happy memories
Next Article

Live Five: Sitting On Stacy, Matte Blvck, Think X, Hendrix Celebration, Coriander

Alt-ska, dark electro-pop, tributes, and coastal rock in Solana Beach, Little Italy, Pacific Beach
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader