CITYSCAPE ROUNDUP:Harman wants sensible spending

Huntington Beach state Sen. Tom Harman called for a sensible approach to spending, even as California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger took the oath of office in Sacramento to be sworn in for his second term as governor. "One of the biggest mistakes involves our state spending more than it takes in," Harman said in a news release.

"The growth in our state government is larger now than anytime in history and is growing faster than population and inflation combined," he said. "That is why I am introducing legislation this year to provide a sensible approach to our state spending."

Harman was hopeful that Orange County would get necessary funding for its transportation, water and emergency preparedness needs. The county requires the funds to ease traffic congestion, clean beaches for tourism and provide an infrastructure in the event of an emergency, he said.

"As a strong fiscal conservative, I have been calling for reform on these issues for years," Harman said. The approach is a "much-needed fiscal accountability we so desperately need." Harman represents the cities of Seal Beach, Huntington Beach, Fountain Valley, Rossmoor, Costa Mesa, Newport Beach, Irvine, Cypress, La Palma, Los Alamitos, Laguna Beach, Dana Point and portions of Buena Park, Garden Grove, Santa Ana and Westminster.

BJ's Pizza posts 34% rise in revenues

Huntington Beach-based pizza company BJ's Restaurants Inc. declared 34% higher revenues for the fourth quarter compared with the previous year, beating analysts' expectations. BJ's reported sales of $65.9 million vs. $49.2 million a year ago.

Sales at all its stores, an indicator of how well a restaurant is doing, increased by about 5.5% during the quarter, compared with a 5.3% increase for the same quarter last year. The 5.5% increase in sales beat forecasts of about 4.5% growth in BJ's revenues.

The sales figure "marks our 41st straight quarter of positive comparisons," BJ's Chief Executive and President Jerry Deitchle said in a news release. One reason for the strong numbers was customers buying gift cards.

Gift card purchases were up by 8% for the fourth quarter in same-store sales, and companywide they went up by 60% compared to the same quarter last year. "These strong gift card purchases have the potential to begin benefiting our top-line results in early 2007, when post-holiday card redemptions start to occur," Deitchle said.

Charting a safe boating course