The Desert Sun from Palm Springs, California • Page 55

DESEREIuO Wal-Mart WMT A Estertlne ESL Canyon Bank 52.11-0.37 31.250.18 CYNA.0B 28.25 0.00 Tenet Entrapln ETOP.OB A Marriott MAR THC 10.12 0.1 1 0.00 53.71 0.06 Veolla a Granite GVA 23.79 Tramp Hotels DJT VE29.90-0.il 0.28 1.85 0.00 A Gannett GCI First Com. Bancorp A Hilton HLT 80.450.05 FCBP 40.53 19.34 0.19 A Albertson's ABS Kroger KR Safeway 22.92 0.11 14.94-0.06 SWY 18.12 TfwDesertSun Friday, October 22, 2004 Section I rfl centuryvintagehomes.com business editor Dennis A. Britton phone 778-4650 fax 778-4654 e-mail businessthedeseitsun.com FOR CIRCULATION ASSISTANCE PHONE 322-5555 DOW 9865.76 A' NA5MQ 1953.62 20.65 A SP 1106.49 2.83 A MEXICO INDEX 11166.89 90.04 A RUSSELL 2000 576.66 653 KHIRE 5000 11058.70 COO EL PASEO COURTESY CART Viacom, Disney settle in child ad violation Top 10 mmfc. wisp LLli Top 10 outdoor companies (based on 2003 U.S. revenue) Viacom Outdoor Clear Channel Outdoor Lamar Advertising Adams Outdoor Advertising Fairway Outdoor Advertising JCDecaux Reagan National Advertising Burkhart Advertising DDI Media Yesco SOURCE: OUTDOOR ADVERTISING ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA, INC OMAR ORNELAS, THE DESERT SUN Lamar poised to be valley's largest supplier if deal gets nod By Pat Maio THB DESERT SUN Morris Communications Inc.

is in discussions to swap its prized outdoor billboard business in the Coachella Valley with properties owned by industry giant Lamar Advertising Co. in southeastern United States. The deal between the media companies is expected to be completed by Jan. 1, said Mark E. Moyer, president of Fairway Outdoor Advertising, the Augusta, unit of privately held Morris Communications.

"It's probably one of the Desert as part resident Tourist draw: Linda Gray drives a courtesy shuttle in a loop around Paseo commercial district in Palm of Palm Desert's Redevelopment Agency attempt to lure more consumers into El Paseo. Here, Palm Desert Leonard Ross gets a ride. City spurs shopping district foot traffic with free transport "We initiated the swap because we only have one West Coast market, and most of our properties are in the east," explained Moyer. "It just made sense." Fairway's proposal is to swap its assets in the valley roughly 700 "faces" including a few hundred transit structures owned by Sun-line Transit Agency and others in Fayettville, N.C., Rocky Mount, N.C., and New Bern, N.C., with Lamar-owned billboard properties in Athens, Please see OUTDOOR, E3 By Jennifer C. Kerr THE ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON Viacom Inc.

and The Walt Disney Co. agreed Thursday to pay a total of 81.5 million to settle government charges the companies violated advertising limits for children's television programming. The combined settlement with the Federal Communications Commission is the largest negotiated with the agency for such violations. Viacom will pay 1 million as a result of ad programming that aired on Nickelodeon, a Viacom subsidiary. International Family Entertainment, which is owned by Disney, will pay $500,000 because of commercials that aired over its ABC Family Channel.

FCC rules limit the com- mercials that can be aired in certain children's TV shows to IO'j minutes per hour on weekends and 12 minutes per hour during weekdays. The rules also bar broadcasters from airing commercials that refer to or offer products that are related to the children's program. For example, a cartoon program cannot air a commercial for the dolls of its characters during the program broadcast. In that case, the entire program would be considered a commercial and thus a violation of the federal rules. Viacom conducted its own investigation of programming in 2003 and determined that it inadvertently broke the minutes-per-hour limits about 600 times and the product placement regulation about 145 times.

International Family Entertainment also conducted an internal audit and concluded that during a one-year period of time, there were 31 half-hour episodes in which commercials for products associated with children's programs were mistakenly aired on the ABC Family Channel. ABC Family blamed computer problems. best looking outdoor companies in the U.S., as it was one of the fastest growing operations in terms of sales over the past five years, in comparison to my other branches," Moyer said. Appeal alleges pretrial leaks hurt Martha's image the living Desert, go shopping and then have dinner, all without having to drive or spend a dime on transportation. Although nearly 55 percent of the region's visitors are from drive-in communities and more likely to use their own car to get around, Palm Desert's commitment is a valuable one for many tourism segments.

Recendy, after I Japan's largest tour operator, heard a presentation on the region by the Palm Springs Desert Resorts Convention and Visitors Authority, the notoriously elusive company called back specifically to learn more about Hopper and Courtesy Cart. Safe and reliable public transportation is a big issue for Japanese visitors and Palm Desert's program caught their attention. But it isn't only Asian visitors who appreciate quality public transportation, but also German and British, the desert's most frequent visitors, who are accustomed to using mass transit at home and when they travel. Convention delegates and their spouses, who fly in from across the country, are also expected to use the Please see FREE, E3 "Good transportation is a form of economic development. You have to make your area more friendly and appealing to get tfie visitors to come back." Moore calls Gray the city's "Mobile Docent," and says when they were recruiting drivers, they wanted someone who "projected the upscale image of El Paseo and could relate to the people she was driving around." For several years now, the city also has operated its Hopper service that connects the various retail districts via complimentary bus.

That service is in an expansion mode, which started in April when the Hopper added most of the Indian Wells hotels to its route, giving visitors to those properties an easy opportunity to shop and eat. Starting Nov. 1, the program begins another component, when the service adds the region's largest hotel, JW Marriott's Desert Springs Resort and Spa, some of the hotels on Palm Desert's north end and the city's most popular visitor attraction, The Living Desert, to its route system. Conceivably, visitors could step on the bus at their hotel, stop at a restaurant for breakfast, spend the day at By Gary C. Sherwtn SPECIAL TO THE DESERT SUN It is one of those glorious fall afternoons and Linda Gray is cruising down tony El Paseo listening to "Moon River" on the radio.

Wearing designer sunglasses, a stylish straw hat and black leather driving gloves, Gray glances around at the shops and restaurants that she now knows so well. Although she looks like a resident of the Vintage Country Club on the hunt for an extravagant boutique, in truth she is a driver for the newest Palm Desert transportation program designed to make the city more visitor friendly. Called the El Paseo Courtesy Cart, the custom-made canary yellow vehicles act as a complimentary cab service for visitors, taking them anywhere they need to go along the mile-long stretch of dining and retail. Quietly begun on Sept. 3, the new program is an enhancement of Palm Desert's unique commitment to offer free transportation to residents and visitors alike.

Ruth Ann Moore, the city's Business Support manager, who oversees the cart and the popular Shopper Hopper bus programs, said GNS FILE PHOTO By Erin McClam THE ASSOCIATED PRESS NEW YORK Martha Stewart, trying to clear her tarnished name even as she serves a prison term, claims in her appeal that her trial was tainted by "a barrage" of unfair suggestions that she was charged with insider trading. Lawyers for the celebrity homemaker argued in papers made public Thursday that government prosecutors, unchecked by the trial judge, confused jurors about the charges against Stewart. "Martha Stewart was never charged with insider trading," the lawyers wrote, urging a federal appeals court to overturn her conviction. "But a barrage of pretrial leaks and in-court accusations left the indelible impression that she was guilty of that offense." Stewart was charged only with deceiving investigators, not with insider trading. But the appeals brief argues that prosecutors and the trial Expert cites lying' in nod to Disney's firing of ex-chief Clearing her name: Martha Stewart leaves the federal courthouse March 5 in New York, after being convicted of conspiracy, obstructing justice and making false statements to investigators.

prove that acts of criminal conduct, scandalous behavior or fraud had occurred for an executive to be fired for malfeasance, according to Donohue. Donohue said deposition testimony showed that San-ford M. Litvack, Disney's general counsel, failed to research this point at the time Ovitz was terminated. The lawsuit, which has been in progress for more than seven years, claims Disney's board did not properly scrutinize Ovitz's employment contract when he joined the company in 1995 and then wrongly granted him a non-fault termination that entitled him to a 8140 million severance package 14 months later. Ovitz during his time as Disney's second-in-command.

Under the terms of Ovitz's contract, he could be fired for cause in case of gross negligence or malfeasance, Donohue said. Neither term was fully defined in the contract, but California employment, Social Security and tort law didn't require a company to John J. Donohue, a Yale University law professor and witness for a group of Disney shareholders, testified that under his review of California law, Ovitz's contract and depositions in the case revealed that the board had the right to fire Ovitz for cause. In particular, Donohue cited "habitual lying" by By Chad Bray DOW IONES NEWSWIRES GEORGETOWN, Del. Walt Disney board had the right to fire Michael Ovitz, the company's former president, for cause under California law, an expert witness testified Thursday as a high-profile shareholder lawsuit continued for a second day.

judge kept the jury from understanding the difference. Prosecutors told jurors that Stewart had received a "secret tip" about her ImClone Systems Inc. stock just before she sold in December 2001, Please see STEWART, E3 Polygamy, Infidelity still taboo Adults are more critical of sexual behaviors that breach the tenets of traditional marriage. Percentage who find these morally wrong: Polygamy Married people having an affair Homosexual behavior Sex between unmarried people VALLEYBUSINESS Desert Hot Springs Planning board OKs shopping center The Desert Hot Springs Planning Commission has approved design plans and a development permit for a commercial center. Applicant Jeaman Kim plans to build on the western side of Palm Drive, between Hacienda and Ironwood avenues.

Tenants have not yet been announced. Also at its Oct. 12 meeting, planners approved conditional use and development permits for a new bakery planned for 13525 Palm Suite 3. Applicant Jose Cervantes plans to build a bakery store in an existing commercial center. Cathedral City City grants permits for ceil phone jobs At its Wednesday meeting, the Cathedral City Planning Commission approved conditional use permits for projects by area cell phone service providers.

Verizon Wireless, represented by Ve-locitel, plans to build a mono-palm tower, designed to resemble a 65-foot palm tree, at 69-100 Converse Road, between Date Palm and Cor-regidor drives. Also, Nextel Communications plans to install an electrical generator to be used during power outages, on a site with three cellular facilities north of the AMPM market, at 27-900 Date Palm Drive. Palm Desert City planners push for subdivision The Palm Desert Planning Commission Tuesday recommended tract map approval for a 1 59-home subdivision proposed on Gerald Ford Drive, east of Gateway Avenue. The 30-acre project by Rilington Communities also has 1 1 lots for common ares and landscaping, and two for school district use. The plan is subject to City Council review.

Planners also approved a parcel map to allow construction of a self-storage facility on a 3.19-acre site at 73-150 Dinah Shore Drive. The applicant is Storage Depot. JIHJllllJJJilJMW'JW 3si si SOURCE: GALLUP POLL GANNETT NEWS SERVICE 3.