Commentary – North Bay Business Journal - North San Francisco Bay Area, Sonoma, Marin, Napa counties

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

October 31st, 2011

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

October 31st, 2011

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.
Building a Business: ‘Lewis & Clark didn’t load the canoe with Mojitos!’ and other advice

October 31st, 2011

I continue to examine some of the first 100 columns … and continue to be struck by the timeless issues that we face as we build our businesses. We’re human, we make mistakes, we don’t always get done what we intend, we miscalculate, things don’t turn out as planned. Stuff happens.
Building the education, innovation, economic development triangle

October 28th, 2011

The numbers from Internet pioneer Barry Schuler, founder and chairman of laser innovator Raydiance of Petaluma, brought a gasp from the 180 attendees at the Business Journal’s Impact Sonoma conference Oct. 20.
World’s top young sommelier an SSU grad; technology initiative for Petaluma schools

October 24th, 2011

Ian Cauble becomes the world’s top young sommelier. … The National Science Foundation has awarded Sonoma State University’s School of Science and Technology with more than $1 million in grant funding. … McCormick & Company has donated $30,000 to the Culinary Institute of America, funding a scholarship that will be distributed to six Hispanic students in the coming semester. … The Petaluma Educational Foundation is looking for support from the business community for its new “Transforming Education in the Classroom”Initiative, an effort to act on the growing number of grant applicants who see technology as an asset in the classroom.
John Quincy Adams perfectly defined leadership

October 24th, 2011

John Quincy Adams was our country’s sixth president, the son of Abigail Adams and John Adams, our second president. This is one of the things he had to say on the subject of leadership: “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.”
Barry Schuler: For the future to be ours, ‘become an education activist’

October 17th, 2011

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

October 17th, 2011

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’

October 17th, 2011

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’

October 17th, 2011

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’

October 17th, 2011

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.
Brian Sobel, Sobel Communications: State needs to be more business friendly

October 17th, 2011

Attracting new business in a tough economic climate, along with retaining our core businesses in the face of competition from out of the area, including from other states, many of which are actively recruiting in California.
Tom Duryea, CEO, Summit State Bank: Making the most of a very special place

October 17th, 2011

Increasingly, I see the more and more economic vitality from those businesses that are more lifestyle oriented. Sonoma County is becoming increasingly driven and transformed by individuals seeking a piece or being part of our unique lifestyle. Sonoma County has so much to offer, with our premium wineries, local produce and quality food, good climate and even our appealing cycling culture that is among the best of the world. Tourists are coming in increasing numbers to spend time in Sonoma County. We are attracting many who are moving here full-time to experience the bounty that makes up Sonoma County.
CalPERS in talks to exit vineyard partnership

October 17th, 2011

Part of the multibillion restructuring of hard-hit real estate investments over the past few years by the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) are potential changes to a joint venture with Premier Pacific Vineyards of Napa to acquire up to $200 million in West Coast vineyards. … Part of the $1 million-plus invested in production and distribution of the Napa Smith beer brand since it was acquired is a tasting room opened this month at the specially designed south Napa brewery-winery, located at 1 Executive Way. … St. Helena-based ETS Laboratories is now offering free same-day results on common analyses such as juice panels for San Joaquin County vintners. … As part of a mergers-and-acquisitions panel at the recent Wine Industry Financial Symposium in Napa, Jeff Menashe of Demeter Group observed four trends among active buyers of wine businesses and successful sellers.
SMART will be a jobs engine for the North Bay

October 17th, 2011

When voters of Marin and Sonoma approved SMART in 2008 to fund a passenger rail line between Sonoma and Marin Counties, they did so with substantial support from the business community. Why? Because business leaders in the North Bay recognized that SMART is good for the economy of the North Bay.
What ‘Taste of Sonoma’ and technology hold for Sonoma County

October 13th, 2011

Over Labor Day weekend, I ran into a leader in the Sonoma County wine industry at “Taste of Sonoma.” This is where thousands gather at the gorgeous and historic MacMurray Ranch in the Russian River Valley to savor the county’s finest wines and foods and the people who make them.
We never stop fighting the same battles, but we can do so more skillfully

October 10th, 2011

The magical mystery tour continues with another retrospective about some of the subjects covered in my first 100 columns … seriously? … the “first 100”? (Is that a threat or a promise?)
Food bank building purchase ‘necessary and historic endeavor’

October 10th, 2011

A couple days after the papers reported that the Redwood Empire Food Bank is purchasing a larger warehouse for $5 million, I opened my email to find a subject line reading, “Extravagant Expansion.” The message came from a generous donor who questioned how much of his donation is actually going to food bank programs for hungry people and how much is gong to buy a new building.
Big dividends for a few hundred yards of runway

October 7th, 2011

The most important transportation project for the next five to 10 years for Sonoma County is not a highway or a bridge. It is the extension of the runway at the Charles M. Schulz-Sonoma County Airport. Why is less than 300 yards of additional runway so critical? Because our economic health — and by extension jobs — depend on it.
Letter to the Editor: Missing Buffett’s point on taxes

October 3rd, 2011

It often takes awhile for the Business Journal to get to my desk, but I just looked at the Aug. 22 issue. I think you [Brad Bollinger column, p. 1] missed the key point of Warren Buffett’s piece. His point was that taxes aren’t stopping anyone from trying to make a buck, and even high tax rates still make profitable investments, well, profitable.