North Bay Business Journal

Matthew Taylor recently joined Sonoma Bank’s commercial banking office, located at 801 Fourth St. in Santa Rosa, as a commercial banker. …

The U.S. Green Building Council Redwood Empire chapter announced the election of nine new members to its board of directors. …

Armand Gilinsky, professor in the School of Business and Economics at Sonoma State University, was named as one of two recipients of the Bernie and Estelle Goldstein Award for Excellence in Scholarship. …

Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Sonoma County added James Conners and Kimberly Baldwin to its resource development team. …

W3 Partners, a San Rafael-based real estate investment operating company, named Peter Mette managing partner. …

Assessing the value of a wine investment opportunity is the key to a good purchase.

The due-diligence process provides an opportunity for a buyer to identify an asset’s unseen potential — and possible pitfalls — in order to gain a better understanding of value.

Carine Arend, CPA, has been promoted to senior manager in the tax department of the Santa Rosa public accounting firm of Dal Poggetto & Company, LLP. … Also in the tax department of the same firm, Ryan Fitzsimons, CPA, has been promoted to manager. …

Reed Upson joined Warren Capital Corp. in Novato as finance and operations analyst. …

Surani Kwan was presented the 2013 Nurse Practitioner of Distinction award by the California Association for Nurse Practitioners. …

Autodesk Inc. of San Rafael appointed to its board of directors Tom Georgens of NetApp. …

Penfolds, managed by Treasury Wine Estates, named Napa-based DLynn Proctor its winemaking ambassador for the Americas. …

PETALUMA — Cyan, Inc., a Petaluma-based designer of telecommunications network equipment, has filed its intent to raise $75 million in an initial public stock offering.

HEALDSBURG — A maker of private-label and “custom-label” wines has filed for an initial public offering of stock to raise up to $43.5 million.

SANTA ROSA — Exchange Bank saved millions of dollars last year when it bought back nearly 45 percent of stock sold to the U.S. Department of the Treasury as part of 2008′s Capital Repurchase Program, partially unwinding its own involvement with the national initiative launched to boost capital at banks hit hard by the financial crisis.

April Hines has been named chief financial officer at First Community Bank. …

The Santa Rosa-based bank also hired Jonathan Graves as its vice president and commercial loan officer. …

Bob Bourdet, vice president and electrical division manager for Novato-based W. Bradley Electric, Inc., received the educators award from the Association of General Contractors. …

Josef Brinckmann, vice president of sustainability for Sebastopol-based Traditional Medicinals, was recently recognized by the American Herbal Products Association with an Herbal Insight Award. …

A new board of directors has been named for the Laguna de Santa Rosa Foundation. …

While many businesses, homebuyers and individuals have benefited from the Federal Reserve’s continuing effort to keep interest rates low, that same economic policy — along with heightened pressure from regulators and tepid demand for new loans — has added up to a time of historic challenge for community lenders in the North Bay and beyond.

Executives at North Bay financial institutions said they saw no clear end for the current conditions.

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.

Bank of Marin donated $25,000 to SchoolsRule–Marin, part of its pledge to allocate 35 percent of its total corporate giving to education-related organizations in 2013. …

After joining the board of directors for the Oakland-based Women’s Initiative for Self-Employment, Kimberly Kaselionis has worked to restart a specialized loan program for women entrepreneurs in Marin County that she helped launch while chief executive of the former Circle Bank. …

Santa Rosa’s Exchange Bank celebrated the 50th anniversary of its Trust & Investment Management department this month. …

Santa Rosa native Jonathan Graves has joined First Community Bank as vice president and commercial loan officer. …

Charles Schwab, a provider of full-service brokerage services, announced the opening of a new independent branch in Novato. …

Marin Energy Authority, the first community choice aggregation program in California and electricity supplier of choice to Marin County and Richmond residents, will deploy the P-ECOSYS consumer-engagement platform by San Francisco-based PlanetEcosystems. …

Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom is set to be the speaker for 86th annual commencement for the class of 2013 at College of Marin. …

Marin Energy Authority, the first community choice aggregation program in California and electricity supplier of choice to Marin County and Richmond residents, will deploy the P-ECOSYS consumer-engagement platform by San Francisco-based PlanetEcosystems. …

County of Marin can now fully fund retiree health benefits just like it does employee pensions by ensuring that funds are set aside for unfunded liabilities as well as current costs. …

Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: A) announced that all new Agilent electronic test instruments sold after will be covered by a “bumper-to-bumper” three-year repair warranty. …

Meadowcroft Wines’ Thomas Henry brand received a World-Class Design award from HOW magazine in its 2013 International Design Awards issue. …

Vineyard & Winery Management and The Press Democrat are launching the North Coast Wine Challenge. …

CK Mondavi, a brand owned and operated for 70 years by C. Mondavi & Family, launched a mobile-device-optimized website to enhance the user experience for wine consumers using smartphones and tablets. …

First Community Bank in January hired April Hines as chief financial officer and Jonathan Graves as vice president and commercial loan officer. …

Santa Rosa Chamber of Commerce’s board of directors elected Rolf Nelson, senior vice president of Exchange Bank, as 2013 chairman-elect. …

Brent Ainsworth, editor of the Novato Patch community news website and a former Marin Independent Journal reporter and editor, will join the county of Marin as public information officer. …

To Celebrate Life Breast Cancer Foundation, a volunteer-based organization whose goal is to ensure that no one faces breast cancer alone, appointed Jeanne Capurro the new president of its board of directors, and Rebecca Spencer and Gerard Bourguignon, Ph.D., as new board members. …

W Property Management hired Donna Nordby as North Bay director of management and leasing. …

Luann Scally joined 5th Street Financial in July as the sales manager as well as a mortgage loan office. …

Joe Scaramella joined Santa Rosa-based 5th Street Financial and W Real Estate as business development officer. …

Cline Cellars and Jacuzzi Family Vineyards hired Robert Hawk as regional manager for the Great Lakes territory. …

Spotlight on law firm managing partners, listed alphabetically by law firm name: Patrick Emery of Abbey, Weitzenberg, Warren & Emery, Wendy Whitson of Anderson, Zeigler, Disharoon, Gallagher & Gray, Michael Garcia of Beyers Costin, Arthur Curley of Bradley, Curley, Asiano, Barrabee & Gale, Alan Brayton of Brayton Purcell, John Mackie of Carle, Mackie, Power & Ross, Clay Clement of Clement, Fitzpatrick & Kenworthy, Cynthia Smith of Coombs & Dunlap, Scott Gerien of Dickenson, Peatman & Fogarty, Katherine Ohlandt of Farella Braun + Martel, Peter Kleinbrodt of Freitas, McCarthy, McMahon & Keating, John Friedemann of Friedemann Goldberg, Dave Gaw of Gaw Van Male, Michael Carlson of Geary, Shea, O’Donnell, Grattan & Mitchell, Andrew Giacomini of Hanson Bridgett, Jessica Karner of Keegin Harrison Schoppert Smith & Karner, Bill Arnone of Merrill, Arnone & Jones, Anne Hernandez of Mullen & Filippi, James Parrinello of Nielsen, Merksamer, Parrinello, Mueller & Naylor, Michael Watters of O’Brien Watters & Davis, James Sell of Parton Sell Rhoades, Leslie Perry of Perry, Johnson, Anderson, Miller & Moskowitz, David Feingold of Ragghianti Freitas, Glenn Smith of Smith Dollar, Gregory Spaulding of Spaulding McCullough & Tansil, and Michael Vasquez of Vasquez, Estrada & Conway.

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.

American River Bank, a subsidiary of American River Bankshares [NASDAQ-GS: AMRB], with the American River Bankshares Foundation awarded $147,500 to nine nonprofit organizations in Northern California, including Legal Aid of Sonoma County. …

Redwood Trust, Inc. (NYSE:RWT) declared a first-quarter regular dividend of 28 cents per share, the first increase in six years. …

Rabobank, N.A., launched a program that automatically rewards customers for everyday banking. …

Redwood Credit Union, in partnership with the Sonoma County Office of Education and Santa Rosa City Schools, plans to offer eighth free 16-hour Financial Academy sessions for Sonoma County high school juniors and seniors on March 19–21. …

The application deadline for the Doyle Scholarship at Santa Rosa Junior College, restored for the 2013–14 academic year, is March 14. …

Enphase Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ: ENPH) said the 902-kilowatt photovoltaic project at Strain Ranches in Arbuckle was successfully commissioned. …

Doug Wright, shareholder in charge of the International Tax Services Group of Burr Pilger Mayer, was selected as a new board member of the Northern California World Trade Center after receiving unanimous approval from current members. …

Brian Pon, a partner in Financial Connections, a Corte Madera-based financial planning and wealth management firm, has been named Outstanding Adjunct Faculty Member at Golden Gate University for 2012. …

Santa Rosa Chamber of Commerce hired Steve Lyman as membership sales manager. …

Kim Link has been hired as the marketing project and research support with the Santa Rosa Convention & Visitors Bureau, focusing on special marketing, sales and media projects. …

Kristina Combs is the new executive director of human resources and labor relations at College of Marin. …

Angwin resident Julie Crow-Petersen, R.N., was hired as a flight nurse by California Shock Trauma Air Rescue, better known as CALSTAR. …

Joan Kermath joined Decker Bullock Sotheby’s International Realty in Marin County. …

Veteran Marin real estate agent Rocky Vannucci joined Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage as sales manager for central and southern Marin County. …

Carra Clampitt of Eugene Burger Management Corp. in Rohnert Park has been elected to the statewide board of directors for Laguna Hills-based California Association of Community Managers. …

SANTA ROSA — Brad Baker, president and chief executive officer of Rohnert Park-based Codding Investments, the developer of Coddingtown regional mall and Sonoma Mountain Village, joined the board of directors of Summit State Bank.

SAN RAFAEL — San Rafael-based wealth management and advising firm Private Ocean is expanding, responding to rising demand from a wave of aging Bay Area executives and business owners eying an end-of-career asset strategy.

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

Many aspects of life require careful consideration and balancing of the tradeoffs that arise from competing demands. For example, a common lifestyle tradeoff is working longer hours versus spending more time with your family.

The competing demands within this decision are the income necessary to provide a suitable quality of life for your family versus the immeasurable benefits of quality time spent with them. There is no right answer, but most people understand the tradeoff and attempt to find the balance that is right for them.