North Bay Business Journal

Investing in human services has huge benefits for costs, people

And while we apply our expertise to these areas, the public and private sectors are frequently putting Band-Aids on social ills and a never-ending set of “solutions” that are often ineffective in prevention and early intervention. As we so carefully construct our business environments to produce healthy outcomes based on efficient and effective practices, we hemorrhage out the other side from the impact of ineffective social policy.

Repealing SMART will have expensive consequences

Four years into the biggest economic downturn since the Great Depression, everyone’s looking to boost the economy and invest wisely. In the North Bay, voters have provided the opportunity to do both: the SMART Train & Pathway.

Growers gear up to fight new frost rules

Local growers in the Russian River watershed in Mendocino and Sonoma ounties, titled Russian River Water Users for the Environment, filed a lawsuit against the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) on Oct. 20 in the Sacramento Superior Court for an unprecedented regulation targeting winegrape growers’ use of water for frost protection purposes.

Getting comfortable with making large gifts

We are currently in a unique tax environment allowing for $5 million of lifetime gifts (per individual, $10 million per married couple) to be made tax-free. If no action is taken by the government, the gift tax exemption will return to $1 million beginning Jan. 1, 2013.

Business acquisition financing: What lenders want

n 10 years of selling private businesses, financial leverage has consistently been one of the key success factors in expanding the pool of buyers and closing deals. Fortunately for business owners, the SBA loan guaranty program is an excellent funding source for deals up to $5 million. And, lenders are lending now.

Why 2012 may be the best year to exit your business

Historically, business transactions escalate when taxes are expected to change, as sellers and buyers try to capitalize on favorable rates. It is safe to assume that the U.S. will soon have to raise taxes on businesses and individuals, so retirement-age business owners looking to maximize value should look closely at selling in 2012.

Managing workplace stress during the holiday season

The “most wonderful time of the year” can also be one of the most stressful times of the year for U.S. workers. Year-end deadlines combined with holiday obligations – both work and personal commitments – can add up to increased stress levels for employees, resulting in absenteeism, lost productivity and other physical and emotional issues.

The health crisis that is largely silent: Dental disease

an you imagine going through high school with dentures? Sabrina is a 16-year-old sophomore at a Santa Rosa high school. Sabrina is a good student, with a B+ average, but she has already missed several days of class this school year because of severe toothaches she began to experience over the summer. Sabrina’s family has no dental insurance, and she hadn’t had her teeth examined or cleaned professionally in more than two years.

New court rulings jeopardize asset protection benefits of single-member LLCs

If you own a single-member limited liability company (“SMLLC”) and live in a community property state, recent developments now make it prudent for you to seriously consider adding at least one more member to your LLC

Extending a hand during a time of great need

There has not been such dire need in our community since the Great Depression. Most of us weren’t around then, but according to statistics, unemployment, homelessness, and families struggling to put food on the table have made living in our beautiful country a daily test of survival.

What will be California’s economic game changer?

A look back at three decades of new and expanded manufacturing facilities in California leaves us scratching our head. What’s the state’s next big game changer? Our investment highs this decade equal our lows of the ’80s and ’90s.

Former Santa Rosan Shurtleff sets a Rotary milestone

Check “Visit 200 Rotary clubs around the world” off Gordon Shurtleff’s bucket list.

Okay, it’s not a big deal to non-Rotarians, but in his world – 1.25 million global community leaders dedicated to service above self – this is big stuff.

First principle of basic estate planning: Get started

egardless of the source of motivation, all adults should have an estate plan notwithstanding their wealth, marital status or parental status. It is never too soon to start planning.

Investors, if you qualify and act now, you pay 0% tax

Although most entrepreneurs and investors know that gains recognized on the sale of stock held for more than one year will be taxed at capital gains rates, many are not aware that gains recognized on the sale of certain types of stock could be entirely free from federal tax, but only if they act fast.

Why what happens in Greece matters to you

Greece is a small country, 6,000 miles away with only 11 million people. How can what happens to Greece have any impact on the United States? The answer lies in the concept of globalization, which means that economies around the world are now interconnected, such that events in far off places have impacts here at home.

Barry Schuler: For the future to be ours, ‘become an education activist’

It may seem a bit cliché, but I am a classic American Dream story. Very humble upbringing with a strong family emphasis on education. I was encouraged to pursue my dreams (as long as I became a doctor or lawyer first). I have been lucky enough to have been born during a period of history where technology has advanced more in a couple of decades than in the five prior millennia. Through the entrepreneurial formula of vision + hard work + blood sweat and tears, I have achieved more than I ever thought possible, and now get the reward of living in the North Bay, and being a farmer.

Tom Scott, Oliver’s Market: Be in touch with your customers

Oliver’s Markets operates three supermarkets in Sonoma County. We are locally owned and offer a wide variety natural and conventional groceries, high quality perishables and restaurant-quality prepared foods; focusing on local products whenever possible.

Honore Comfort, Sonoma County Vintners: ‘Not just another wine tasting’

  Can you tell us a little bit about yourself ?  Sonoma County Vintners Executive Director since 2006. I have collaborated with multiple local organizations on complex projects. Working with the Winegrape Commission, I created the Presidents’ Council, a body of community and industry leaders that meets regularly to address issues and opportunities that support [...]

Supervisor Efren Carrillo: ‘Great challenge lies with the achievement gap’

Efren Carrillo is the Fifth District Supervisor for Sonoma County and is the current chairman of the board.

John Sawyer, Santa Rosa councilman: Making it ‘the city that can’

SANTA ROSA – John Sawyer, a fourth generation Santa Rosa native whose family came to Sonoma County in the 1890s, has served on the Santa Rosa City Council since 2004.