North Bay Business Journal

HAY

Entrepreneur group, city back business education course

February 27th, 2012

One of the provisions in the current package of favorable gift and estate tax conditions – the ability to take on the exemption of one’s deceased spouse – has received an extended deadline from the Internal Revenue Service. … One of the provisions in the current package of favorable gift and estate tax conditions — the ability to take the exemption of one’s deceased spouse — has received an extension from the Internal Revenue Service.
Grape Market Insights: Mother Nature, we forgive you for ’11; now let it rain

February 20th, 2012

Brokers, growers, grape buyers, winery financial execs and marketing wizards are all complaining about Mother Nature because she was stingy this last harvest.
Steel rises up for new Sutter hospital

February 20th, 2012

Construction continues to progress at the site of Sutter Health’s forthcoming $284 million new hospital, next to the Wells Fargo Center for the Arts in Northern Santa Rosa, that will replace its aging, seismically unfit Chanate facility. … Queen of the Valley Medical Center in Napa announced the appointment of Vincent Morgese as the hospital’s executive vice president, chief operating officer and chief medical officer. … Clinic Ole in Napa recently celebrated an open house for its newest location on Old Sonoma Road at the county Health and Human Services campus. … The Marin County Board of Supervisors approved a contract of more than $500,000 to Homeward Bound, which will provide housing and case management services for mentally ill homeless people in Marin. … Tim McDonald of Cloverdale was recently elected to the board of directors at Alexander Valley Healthcare, formerly known as Alexander Valley Regional Medical Center. Mr. McDonald previously worked as a senor executive in HR at Watson Pharmaceuticals, PriceWaterhouse, Paramount Pictures and MTV. …
St. Helena Hospital Clear Lake, formally known as Red Bud Community Hospital, received a $25,000 donation from Rotary Club of Clearlake.
The phenomenal success of Measure M and Highway 101

February 16th, 2012

It’s important not to forget how critical the passage of Measure M in 2004 was to Sonoma County transportation — and just how bad traffic on Highway 101 would be today without it.
Without execution, nothing else matters

February 13th, 2012

If the execution of a company’s plans is an avowed priority, critical to the success of both the CEO and the business, why aren’t CEOs spending enough time on it to make it successful? Why is it that every time the Conference Board surveys CEOs to identify their Top Ten Challenges, “consistent execution of strategy” or “excellence in execution” is invariably cited as being in the top two or three “greatest concerns” … yet, when CEOs are asked about their greatest disappointments or failures, they routinely list their company’s inability to execute?
The Farmers Market subsidy and 1% vs. 99%

February 10th, 2012

A few weeks ago, a fictional conversation was started between a member of Occupy Wall Street and a banker. Today the Occupier returns to have a conversation with a fellow native of Sonoma County. On the agenda: the proposed rent increase for the Sonoma County Farmers Market.
Strong 2011 puts Exchange Bank closer to ‘primary objective’ of dividend

February 6th, 2012

Santa Rosa-based Exchange Bank earned $12.2 million in net income over the course of 2011, a 19 percent increase from the prior year that the bank attributed to developments such as strong core earnings and a reduction in problem assets.
George Petersen Insurance completes move into new quarters

February 6th, 2012

George Petersen Insurance Agency completed its move from one College Ave. location in Santa Rosa to another, at 175 West College Ave. last week, which was the result of the company absorbing NorthWest Insurance in 2010.
What will you leave for your organization?

February 6th, 2012

Now is a good time. No matter where you are in your tenure as a leader, right now is the right time to begin shaping the legacy you wish to leave your organization. Your legacy is what continues in the hearts and minds of the people, in the systems and structures of the organization, in the culture and the stories that are told for years to come. It’s what stays alive after you are no longer there.
Blame, blame, blame … you

January 30th, 2012

Déjà vu all over again? How often have you heard that phrase banging against your skull … and how often was it telling you … “I’ve been here before” … “Didn’t we already solve this problem?” … “Why does this subject keep coming up all the time?”
What if a bank CEO and Occupy Wall Street sat down over coffee?

January 30th, 2012

Imagine for a moment if a bank CEO and an Occupy Wall Street leader sat down over a cup of coffee to talk.
Raydiance weighs Petaluma expansion

January 16th, 2012

Raydiance, developer of next-generation laser technology, is considering a major expansion in Petaluma this year. Other items in this commercial real estate column: Santa Barbara-based multifamily property investment firm Nevins Adams Lewbel Schell, or NALS, purchased the 292-unit Rolling Oaks luxury apartment complex at 3700 Lyon Road in Fairfield for $52 million, or about $178,000 a dwelling. … Prima Fluer Botanicals of San Rafael signed a five-year lease for the 14,400-square-foot warehouse and offices at 23 Pimentel Ct. in Novato. … An affiliate of San Francisco-based industrial real estate investor Lowenberg Corp. purchased a 101,700-square-foot warehouse in American Canyon, Lowenberg’s ninth North Bay holding. … As part of planned projects around the Bay Area, San Ramon-based gym chain 24 Hour Fitness has been upgrading its North Bay facilities.
Feds create Coombsville, Fort Ross-Seaview appellations

January 16th, 2012

Two new tightly focused American Viticultural Areas budded in the North Coast last week. Effective Jan. 13, the U.S. Trade & Tax Bureau established AVAs for Coombsville in southern Napa Valley and for Fort Ross-Seaview in western Sonoma County. … In other U.S. Trade & Tax Bureau news, the agency published a notice and requestion for comments in the Federal Register on Dec. 27 on proposed changes to the Certificate of Label Approval (COLA) form. … WineForce Consulting Partners is a relatively new North Coast wine marketing advisory. … St. Helena-based Wine Opinions (www.wineopinions.com) will be offering omnibus surveys of its wine trade and consumer panels, starting in February.
New Year’s resolutions require more than words

January 16th, 2012

For most of us, this is the time of the year when hope springs eternal. We’re revved up for an exciting new year, determined to change all of the things that didn’t work last year so we can pound the ball out of the park in 2012.
On airport, business makes voice heard

January 12th, 2012

Call it a tipping point or an epiphany, but business has found its voice on the critical public policy issues of the day.
2011 was better and 2012 can be better still

January 2nd, 2012

As the North Bay tiptoes into 2012, it should take a moment to pat itself on the back just a bit. In 2011, the region’s economy fared better than much of the state. The three North Bay counties of Marin, Napa and Sonoma have three of the 10 lowest unemployment rates in California, Nos. 1, 6 and 8. While statewide unemployment declined by a little over 1 percentage point, rates in November were down from 1.4 to nearly 2 percent in the North Bay.
Banking and finance: Circle Bank to educate Keiretsu-funded startups; 30% solar grant to end

December 19th, 2011

Novato-based Circle Bank has partnered with Keiretsu Forum, said to be the world’s largest angel investor network, to provide financing advice to startup and early-stage companies in the North Bay and San Francisco. … Adam Capital, a Sonoma-based lender specializing in financing small-scale solar projects, is urging solar companies to act before the window closes on a 30 percent federal grant on solar projects at the end of this year. … Westamerica bank is making preparations to move its branch in Ignacio near its current location in the Pacheco Plaza shopping center early next year, said Robert Thorson, the bank’s chief financial officer. … Community First Credit Union signed up the greater number of new members in November than in any month in its 50-year history, beating a record set in October. … The U.S. Small Business Administration is hosting a free web seminar on Dec. 15 to help small business owners prepare for the end of the 2011 tax year. … Images in Motion, a Sonoma-based studio specializing in puppets for television, is filming a series of commercials for Hawaiian Tel Federal Credit Union to “explain the benefits of credit union services to customers on the Big Island.”
Ask Jen: Pros and cons of the independent contractor

December 16th, 2011

We are a small company and have been searching for the past year for a specialized engineer to round out our development team with no success. We are considering using an independent contractor to fill the gap until we find the perfect candidate. What are the pros and cons of going this route?
What this season is really all about

December 16th, 2011

To tell the truth, I really just wanted to cry. That was my reaction as I scanned the dining room at the Assisted Living facility into which my 93-year-old mother just moved. Not because it isn’t a terrific facility. It’s one of the nicest I have ever seen, visited or heard about, with a wonderful and genuinely caring staff. No, it’s not that at all.
Grape Market Insights: Bulk cabernet inventory reveals naked truth of shortages

December 12th, 2011

Commodity traders watch feed prices and count pork bellies. As for me, I watch what is hanging on grape vines (not much right now) and I study our proprietary data, especially bulk-wine inventories. Those two data points, plus a good bottle of Sonoma County cabernet sauvignon, can reveal the future. Let’s talk 2012, and let’s talk North Coast cab.