North Bay Business Journal

PETALUMA — Two fresh-produce distributors in Marin and Sonoma counties have come together under one centralized roof in Petaluma, serendipitously providing a home for the People’s Harvest occupational training business Buckelew Programs has been trying to launch for two years.

Hospitals across five North Bay counties generate at least $4.9 billion in annual spending and support more than 35,400 jobs, according to a report by the Hospital Council of Northern and Central California.

HR professionals listed in alphabetical order by their organization’s name, drawn from the top five largest employers in Marin, Sonoma and Napa counties, as well as trade organizations and the region’s staffing companies who responded to the Business Journal.

SANTA ROSA — JDS Uniphase Corp. said it plans to cut 125 jobs at its Santa Rosa-based optical division.

The Business Journal is researching for its new list of the largest North Bay Women-owned Companies. Deadline to submit your name is Tuesday, June 25th.

If your company is 51 percent or more women-owned and is located in Sonoma, Napa, Marin or Solano counties, please fill in this form.

The deadline for signing up is Friday, June 21.

PETALUMA — Yuba Bicycles LLC, maker of the Mundo and Boda Boda families of cargo bikes, has moved its headquarters to 409 Petaluma Blvd. S. with 5,000 square feet of space — more than five times the capacity of its previous location in Sausalito.

“We chose Petaluma because it is a bike-friendly and very livable community where we could expand our business in an affordable manner,” said company owner Benjamin Sarrazin.

PETALUMA — Registered nurses at Petaluma Valley Hospital and two other St. Joseph Health-affiliated facilities today reached a tentative accord with hospital officials on a new collective bargaining agreement, according to the California Nurses Association.

Optical workers at Kaiser Permanente in the North Bay and elsewhere in Northern California voted to remain with the National Union of Healthcare Workers-California Nurses Association over its rival, the Service Employees International Union.

SANTA ROSA — The long-awaited arrival of Aurora Behavioral Healthcare’s 95-bed, acute-care psychiatric hospital in western Santa Rosa is drawing ever closer, with the opening pegged for late June, according to its chief executive officer.

Upon opening, Aurora’s facility at Fulton and Guerneville roads will replace inpatient mental health services absent from Sonoma County since 2008, fulfilling a significant void in the region and helping to ease the strain placed on emergency rooms throughout the North Coast, health official said.

NAPA — A rapidly expanding company that aims to make it easier to build websites and attract visitors to them itself is finding it easier than expected to entice prospective employees to work at its south Napa headquarters.

BENECIA — A much-heralded electric car assembly plant in Solano County sputtered and died quietly earlier this year when Coda Automotive declared bankruptcy.

FAIRFIELD — The city of Fairfield generates $583 million in tourism-related spending, resulting in $36.8 million in state and local tax revenue while employing nearly 7,000 people in Solano County, according to a study by the Fairfeild Conference & Visitors Bureau.

SANTA ROSA — Some 640 union nurses at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital said they would go on strike for a fourth time in less than a year, as the St. Joseph Health-owned hospital and the local union continue tense negotiations over unresolved labor issues.

The Staff Nurses’ Association, an independent union based in Santa Rosa, issued a statement saying the strike, planned for Thursday, May 23 at 5 a.m. and ending May 25 at 5a.m., is in response to “onerous, sub-market proposals” from Memorial. The union has been in negotiations with the 278-bed hospital since last August.

SANTA ROSA — Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE: MDT) today said it would cut 2,000 jobs across the company as a result of “manufacturing consolidation efforts,” while reporting that its Cardiac and Vascular Group, which includes operations in Santa Rosa, had worldwide sales of more than $2.3 billion for an increase of 5 percent over the year.

A Medtronic spokeswoman told the Business Journal that approximately half the job cuts will take place overseas.

Unemployment rates across the North Coast continued to fall, with every county improving its jobless rate over both the last month and over the year, according to figures released by the Economic Development Department.

PETALUMA — The nonprofit organization Committee on the Shelterless, better known as COTS, today announced a shift in leadership, with Mike Johnson, the agency’s chief operating officer, assuming the role of chief executive officer.

NORTH BAY – The U.S. Department of Commerce gave final approval to an application submitted by the Port of San Francisco last October to expand its Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ) No. 3 service area to include portions of Sonoma and Napa Counties, in addition to Contra Costa, Marin and Solano counties.The former service area was limited to San Francisco and San Mateo counties.

A bill recently signed by Gov. Jerry Brown seeks to eliminate a two-month long delay on the state level in processing business applications. Assembly Bill 113, authored by John Pérez, D-Los Angeles, grants $2 million to the Secretary of State’s office in attempt to eliminate a backlog of 122,000 business entity filings that currently take 65 calendar days to be processed, causing businesses to wait months to hire and finalize plans, according to the California Chamber of Commerce, which supported the bill.

Share your thoughts on this week’s NBBJ Pulse Poll questions: “How will hiring 2,000 for the opening of Graton Resort & Casino in late 2013 impact the local hospitality and leisure job market?” and “What job-market aspects would be most affected by Graton Resort & Casino hiring?”

In less than a year’s time, Sonoma County will be home to the Bay Area’s largest casino, a prospect that has some people and businesses anticipating a significant economic boon to the region while others still vow to block a project in the making since 2003.

Kaiser Permanente employees in California, including about 4,700 in the North Bay, voted to stay with their current trade union, rather than switching, according to results announced Thursday afternoon by the National Labor Relations Board.