North Bay Business Journal

SANTA ROSA — GT Advanced Technologies Inc. (GTAT), a U.S. supplier of manufacturing equipment for solar and energy-efficient lighting products, has announced the acquisition of Thermal Technology LLC of Santa Rosa in a deal that values the supplier of high-temperature furnaces at more than $14.7 million.

SANTA ROSA — Commercial airline passenger volume at Charles M. Schulz–Sonoma County Airport rose 1.9 percent in April from a year before, according to the airport’s monthly report of passenger volume for its commercial carrier, Horizon Air.

PETALUMA — The American arm of Danish ambulance giant Falck, one of the largest ambulance companies in the world, has acquired Petaluma-based Verihealth Inc., an ambulance and medical transport company founded in 2000.

NORTH BAY — While the Dow Jones Industrial Average’s record-breaking close above 15,000 was a highly watched milestone this month, wealth managers in the North Bay expressed caution. Those broader market gains are no doubt good for many investors, they said, but it is the ones with a long-term strategy who have stayed in the markets during the past few years of downturns that are reaping the greatest rewards.

NORTH BAY — As median home prices climb sharply in the North Bay, a recent report by real estate data tracker RealtyTrac shows that the Santa Rosa-Petaluma market is one of the most profitable nationwide for “flipping” homes.

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.

A Sonoma County-based nonprofit and several others with ties in the North Bay are among 48 organizations across the state to share in $37 million in outreach and education grants from Covered California, the state’s online health exchange developed under health care reform.

Petaluma-based Redwood Community Health Coalition received $830,000. Catholic Charities of California, which has a presence in Solano, Napa, Sonoma, Lake and Mendocino counties, received $859,000. California Rural Indian Health Board, which has a presence in Sonoma and Mendocino counties, was given $300,000. The California NAACP, which has locations in Sonoma and Solono counties, received $600,000 and the Asian Pacific American Legal Center in Solano County received $100,00.

NORTH BAY — More capital is flowing to North Bay small businesses through loan programs backed by the U.S. Small Business Administration, with a 10.4 percent increase in dollar volume funded in Sonoma, Marin and Napa counties comparing the first half of the administration’s fiscal year to the same period one year ago, according to data from the SBA.

ROHNERT PARK — Efforts continue to secure full funding for constructing an outdoor pavilion at Sonoma State University’s Green Music Center, one of a number of construction projects at the school that include a new student center that is nearing completion, according to the university.

Spotlight on leading SBA lenders in the North Bay

Diana Brennan, who has worked in Sonoma Raceway media relations since 1999, was promoted from director to senior director of media and community relations. …

Altus Equity Group in Santa Rosa hired Kristy Brooks as operations manager. …

Kyle Young is the newest agent of commercial real estate brokerage Keegan & Coppin Company, Inc./ONCOR International’s Santa Rosa office….

Novato-based Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical, Inc., appointed Eric Yuen, MD, chief medical officer and senior vice president. …

Marla Carroll was named winemaker at Franciscan Estate Winery in St. Helena. …

Commercial real estate leases and sales in the north San Francisco Bay Area

Sterling Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:STSA), parent company of Sonoma Bank and Sterling Savings Bank, and Newport Beach-based Commerce National Bank (OTCBB:CNBF) entered a definitive agreement for Sterling to acquire Commerce National for $15.10 per common share in cash, or $42.9 million including planned redemption of outstanding stock options and warrants. …

Sho-Ka-Wa Casino near Hopland said it plans to use the sbX software from International Game Technology (NYSE: IGT). That provides a game theme library, analytics and floor-management features. …

Sausalito’s Smart Meetings magazine, a resource for event-planning professionals, won the 2013 Maggie Award for Best Feature Article, “A Winning Combination” written by David Vranicar, within the Creative Trade & Consumer Print award division for publications with circulations of less than 50,000. …

The Marin Sonoma Concours d’Elegance added a 1961 Cooper T56 Mark ll Formula Junior owned by Steve McQueen to its showing of vintage automobiles once owned by Hollywood legends. …

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.

Novato-based 2K, a video-game publishing label of New York-based Take-Two Interactive Software, is expanding its North Bay development studios for the second time in the past several months, building a Petaluma motion-capture studio. …

Santa Rosa-based HybridCore Homes is garnering orders and building industry accolades for its factory-built room modules designed significantly reduce onsite construction time and trades scheduling. …

Spaceship-like Aptera 2e three-wheeled electric roadsters may begin rolling out of a downtown Santa Rosa industrial facility to buyers, now that the city of Santa Rosa has agreed to allow assembly of vehicles there. …

A nationwide group of BIM users, known as the BIMForum, is seeking industry comments by June 7 on a proposed set of standards for completeness and reliability of the models during design and construction. …

From Marin to Mendocino, current hospital projects represent at least $550 million worth of combined construction spending.

And it’s a number that will double if and when one of the largest projects — the $500 million rebuild of Marin General Hospital — gets off the ground.

Bank of Marin Chief Financial Officer Christina Cook is leaving the bank. …

American AgCredit returned the largest dividend in its history to its members in 2012, the agriculture cooperative’s first year of positive loan growth since 2009. …

Citing an increase in income-generating assets and new loans, Summit State Bank (NASDAQ: SSBI) reported a 64 percent increase in net income for the first three months of 2013 and declared a larger quarterly dividend. …

AltaPacific Bank’s assets have grown steadily in the year since completing its merger with a Southern California-based bank, ending the first quarter 4.1 percent higher. …

Greg Geertsen is managing partner of Merlone Geier Partners, the San Francisco-based commercial property investment firm that for the past six years has been developing the 340,000-square-foot Deer Creek Village retail and office center in Petaluma.

Mr. Geertsen is set to speak at Construction Conference 2013, hosted by the Business Journal in Santa Rosa on May 15. He spoke with the Journal about what’s next for the Deer Creek Village project.

Joe Hasson is the newly appointed general manager of the Graton Resort & Casino currently being constructed by the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria in northwest Rohnert Park.

He is set to speak on Graton Resort project progress at Construction Conference 2013, hosted by the Business Journal in Santa Rosa on May 15. His team and he responded to Journal questions about the project and employment opportunities.