BRIEFCASE WELLPOINT'S CEO ON AMGEN BOARD.

Byline: - Staff and Wire Services

THOUSAND OAKS - WellPoint Health Networks Inc.'s chairman and chief executive officer joined the board of biotechnology behemoth Amgen earlier this week.

Leonard Schaeffer has guided Thousand Oaks-based WellPoint for almost two decades. The managed-care company currently boasts a market capitalization of more than $16 billion.

Amgen, which is among 13 companies being sued by the state of Pennsylvania for deceptive pricing tactics, said Schaeffer's corporate and government expertise are important characteristics for the position.

Amgen currently has 14 board members, including the newly created position occupied by Schaeffer.

Italian food chain to open on Victory

WOODLAND HILLS - Pomodoro Cucina Italiana will roll out its ravioli Monday, the casual Italian restaurant chain announced Wednesday. The Wendy's-backed chain will open its first Los Angeles location at the corner of Victory Boulevard and Canoga Avenue, its 36th overall.

The restaurant serves lunch, with an average check of $10, and dinner, where the average check is $13.

CBS, Dish may be close to settling

WASHINGTON - Dish Network owner EchoStar and CBS parent Viacom expressed optimism Wednesday that they soon would settle a dispute that has left millions of satellite television customers without popular channels.

Martin D. Franks, executive vice president of CBS Television, told lawmakers at a hearing that he expected a solution in a ``very timely fashion.''

``I can give great assurance that we are making progress,'' Franks said.

Gas grills recalled to repair defects

WASHINGTON - Char-Broil is recalling 108,000 outdoor gas grills because of defective temperature gauges that have caused at least a dozen minor injuries.

Hardware, home improvement and appliance stores and specialty dealers sold the grills nationwide from January 2002 to November 2003. The products cost between $450 and $1,000, depending on the model.

The three types of recalled grills are the Commercial Series (model numbers 4632210, 4632215, 463221503 and 463231503); Professional Series (model numbers 4632235, 4632236, 4632240 and 4632241); and Stainless Steel Series (model number 4632220). Numbers are located on a label on the back panel of the storage cart.

Consumers are advised to stop using the grills and contact the company at [phone] for a free replacement gauge.

Bash came before Adelphia downfall

NEW YORK - Three weeks before the disclosure of off-balance-sheet debt triggered an accounting scandal at Adelphia Communications Corp., the company's board met for five days in Cancun, Mexico, former director Dennis Coyle testified Wednesday.

The get-together included directors' spouses and free recreation, Coyle told the fraud trial of company founder John Rigas; two of his sons, Michael and Timothy; and Michael Mulcahey, another former executive. All four have pleaded not guilty.

The government has cited the Rigases' use of Adelphia funds to build a golf course, buy a $700,000 golf club membership, and ferry a Christmas tree in a corporate jet as instances of using the company as a ``personal piggy bank.''

Target may shed Mervyn's, Field's

Ending years of speculation, the Target Corp. said Wednesday that it might jettison both its department store divisions: Mervyn's, with 266 stores, and Marshall Field's, the much-talked-about Midwest chain, led by a glittering, recently renovated Chicago flagship.

Target said it had hired the investment bank Goldman, Sachs to provide ``alternatives,'' industry argot that usually means a buyer.

In a recorded announcement, Douglas A. Scovanner, Target's chief financial officer, said that the book value of Mervyn's and Marshall Field's was about $1.8 billion each.