North Bay Business Journal

HAY

Letter to the Editor: Save a park, run for Annadel

February 6th, 2012

nadel State Park has been a staple and beautiful asset to the Santa Rosa community for 41 years and now has a very uncertain future. As widely reported, the State of California can no longer maintain the park – the largest in Sonoma County – due to budget cuts. On July 1, the State will “close” Annadel State Park. Sonoma County Regional Parks is pursuing the possibility of managing Annadel on an interim basis, and working closely with the Parks Alliance for Sonoma County and other local nonprofit partners to raise the money to cover operating costs.
FTC reviewing online advertising rules

February 6th, 2012

The rules of online advertising are about to change. On Aug. 10, 2011, the Federal Trade Commission’s public comment period closed on its revised guidelines for Internet advertising. Now the difficult process of updating the guidelines begins and anyone who advertises or sells on the Internet should pay close attention to the FTC’s actions and [...]
Investing in human services has huge benefits for costs, people

January 30th, 2012

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

January 30th, 2012

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.
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.
Growers gear up to fight new frost rules

January 16th, 2012

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.
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.
Getting comfortable with making large gifts

January 9th, 2012

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

January 9th, 2012

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.
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.
Why 2012 may be the best year to exit your business

January 2nd, 2012

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.
City experiment with same-day TI permitting makes perfect sense

January 2nd, 2012

At the Business Journal’s Impact Sonoma conference last October, Santa Rosa Vice Mayor and supervisorial candidate John Sawyer said the city’s is gauging progress on reforming permitting processes by the declining number of applicants at the counter who exclaim in frustration”You have got to be kidding?” Mr. Sawyer ran through a litany of overly picky [...]
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.