North Bay Business Journal

One of the benefits of an electricity purchasing program which is non-profit and publicly-owned, is that revenues can be retained and available for reinvestment on behalf of the public. Sonoma Clean Power intends to offer a number of incentive programs to do just this. One investment vehicle will be the expansion of energy efficiency programs for homes and businesses.

Manufacturing got technical over the last few decades. It got harder. It’s paying more. It’s more innovative. It’s “advanced”, and In California it has to be tremendously efficient to compete. It must constantly improve and account for the end-of-life of its products. California State University at Chico has answered the state’s call by providing one of only three programs in the world that offers a four-year degree in “Sustainable Manufacturing”. This program is in part filling a massive and growing California void of industrially trained students that can go from the production floor to management soon after graduating from college.

Rebalancing has been a topic of discussion and debate among academics and portfolio theorists for decades. But in the end, the payoff is easy to understand; rebalancing delivers the most essential investing payoff of all: buy low and sell high.

One of the benefits of an electricity purchasing program which is non-profit and publicly-owned, is that revenues can be retained and available for reinvestment on behalf of the public. Sonoma Clean Power intends to offer a number of incentive programs to do just this. One investment vehicle will be the expansion of energy efficiency programs for homes and businesses. There are currently a number of energy efficiency programs offered in Sonoma County by PG&E and these programs will continue to be available for all Sonoma County residents and businesses. Sonoma Clean Power will build upon these existing programs to offer an expanded service to customers.

So on a beautiful quiet day in pastoral Sonoma County, after almost three years, my 61-year-old client Diane finally received the final order from the court. It was ordered that a bank return the excessive prepayment/lockout fee that it had woven into the loan documents, unbeknownst to Diane at the time of origination.

Vintners and growers of winegrapes often emphasize the value of vineyard terroir, a French term for the contributions of the distinctiveness of a certain location in wine quality. Yet what’s not often realized is what boosts the prestige of vineyards in one area over those in another also can be a big bonus in tax savings.

It is time once again for the Human Race, and this attorney is still part of it (It’s hard to believe an attorney is human, isn’t it?) I raise money for the American Cancer Society in the annual Human Race, sponsored by the Volunteer Center, being held on May 11 this year. So, why am [...]

With tax season right around the corner, this is a good time to evaluate your company’s changing banking needs. From establishing or renewing an annual line of credit to evaluating your bank’s fraud protection program, here are some things to consider for improving your company’s financial and operating efficiencies.

As a lead up to the Impact Marin event on April 3, the North Bay Business Journal and Bank of Marin conducted a “business climate” survey in Marin County. This survey touched on many aspects of business in Marin County, from business confidence to the role of government in our economic lives.

As human resources professionals, we are champions for creating success in our organizations through the best deployment of our people. In this role, one of our greatest desires is to have supervisors and managers think about their staff as valuable, strategic resources. How can we help our supervisors and managers identify and build the strategic value of their employees? How can we ensure that our supervisors and managers have the human capital they require to achieve great things? Creating and implementing a human capital management review process within your organization is one way to accomplish this task.

In 2003, California manufacturers lost a sales tax credit on their capital equipment purchases, making them approximately 6 percent less competitive than manufacturers in most other states. Since then, there have been no less than 20 proposed exemptions in different forms before our state Legislature. None have made it to even a second committee hearing.

In a time where our country is muddling through a recession to recovery, more and more schemes are being uncovered.

It is becoming increasingly more difficult for small wineries to navigate the business terrain in light of the continued consolidation that is taking place among wholesalers, and the escalating operating-cost structures that have resulted from a supply shortage of grapes and bulk wine.

Before jumping ahead with the purchase of a large acre estate, it is essential to assess the marketplace and strategy for your potential brand.

Sonoma Clean Power is a community choice aggregation program being developed by the Sonoma County Water Agency to purchase electricity for Sonoma County customers. This program has multiple benefits and risks, is complex and not well understood by Sonoma County residents and businesses. In order to help the North Bay Business Journal readers understand the various aspects of Sonoma Clean Power, the Journal is partnering with the Sonoma County Water Agency to publish a series of articles discussing the various aspects of this effort. This article, the sixth in the series, discusses the potential risks and benefits of developing a community choice aggregation program in Sonoma County.

“Manufacturing is the backbone of any economy.” “California was built on manufacturing.” “Our state can’t survive without manufacturing.” These are themes regularly stated by the media and our policymakers but often the missives are rhetorical generalizations that are not completely understood. 2013 brings new dynamics to California’s capitol and fresh new faces, most of whom know but don’t always understand exactly why manufacturing is so important.

Sonoma Clean Power is a program being developed by the Sonoma County Water Agency to purchase electricity for Sonoma County customers. This program has multiple benefits and risks, is complex and not well understood by Sonoma County residents and businesses. In order to help the North Bay Business Journal readers understand the various aspects of Sonoma Clean Power, the Journal is partnering with the Sonoma County Water Agency to publish a series of articles discussing the various aspects of this effort. This article, the fifth in the series, discusses the goals of Sonoma Clean Power.

Most people would agree that if a school, hospital or road project has been subjected to extensive environmental review and met all federal, state and local environmental laws, including the Clean Water Act, the Endangered Species Act and the Clean Air Act, the project should go forward without being sued for purported environmental reasons. Unfortunately, [...]

In October, the City of Benicia received the coveted and prestigious IEDC (International Economic Development Council) “Excellence in Economic Development” Award for their new Business Resource Incentive Program.

This new program, an implementation strategy identified in the city’s recently adopted Business Development Action Plan, was designed to marry the city’s two top priorities; economic development and sustainability.

From January to June of 2012 a series of surveys and interviews were conducted among Sonoma County residents and businesses to determine the public’s opinion of a community choice aggregation (CCA) program in Sonoma County.

The results of these surveys indicated general support from the public however a significant level of skepticism was present within the business community. A lack of information about CCA and its impact in Sonoma County was one of the clearest outcomes of the survey process and was one of the leading drivers for this series of articles regarding Sonoma Clean Power.

Newcomers to the Petaluma area are often surprised to learn that the graceful yellow building at the corner of Caulfield and Hopper streets is a homeless shelter — the Mary Isaak Center, operated by the Committee on the Shelterless (COTS). What may also surprise people is what could happen to local businesses if COTS was not in our backyard, a potential reality in light of significant government funding cuts.