North Bay Business Journal

SANTA ROSA — Empire College has been named to the 2013 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll, marking the second year that the not-for-profit college has been selected for the prestigious national award recognizing the role of volunteering in its regular curriculum.

SAN RAFAEL — In the Dominican Republic and its troubled neighbor Haiti people whisper about a vast, untapped source of oil, mysteriously ignored by the government and foreign mining teams.

The herd of beef cattle at Petaluma’s Spring Hill Ranch is now certified by the Alexandria, Va.-based Animal Welfare Approved program. …

Working Solutions, a nonprofit microlender that recently opened an office in San Rafael, recently funded Marin County businesses. …

Three wines produced by students at Santa Rosa Junior College won medals in the 2013 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition. Shone Farm 2010 pinot noir won a gold medal, while its 2009 syrah and 2011 rosé won a silver and bronze, respectively, in the January competition. …

Keiretsu Forum, a large global private-equity angel investment network, and The Venture Greenhouse at Dominican University of California plan to hold the Green Technology Investment Showcase on April 3 from 1–4:30 p.m. at the early-stage green business accelerator in San Rafael. …

An abandoned elementary school on Main Street in the west Sonoma County’s Monte Rio community will be transformed into a destination where residents and visitors can enjoy a café, hiking trail, a skate park and a community farm. …

St. Helena-based Albion Surveys announced John “Steve” Parrish as the newest member to its land surveying team. …

Cardiologist Monica Divakaruni, M.D., has joined Adventist Health-operated St. Helena Hospital Clear Lake. …

Sutter Pacific Medical Foundation announced the addition of Aruna Krishnan Jayaraman, M.D., to its network of gastroenterologists in Santa Rosa. …

Francine Halberg, M.D., radiation oncologist and breast cancer specialist at Marin General Hospital’s Marin Cancer Institute, is among 12 nationally prominent researchers and physicians named as 2012 Fellows of the American Society for Radiation Oncology. …

Tammy Brawner, a former Dominican University of California women’s basketball player and Dominican MBA grad from Oakland and Skyline High School, is the 10th female to play for the Harlem Globetrotters in its history. …

Marin Theatre Company’s board of directors has named Michael Barker as the nonprofit theater company’s new managing director. …

Jade Barrett has been named winemaker for the Howell Mountain Cabernet house. …

SAN RAFAEL — An $8 million gift to Dominican University of California — the largest in the 122-year-old college’s history — will fund the transformation of an historic Victorian mansion currently owned by the university into a state-of-the-art facility for students in the school’s rapidly growing nursing and occupational therapy programs, according to an announcement today from the San Rafael-based institution.

The board of directors of Hennessy Advisors, Inc. declared a quarterly dividend. …

Julie Jones, author of Estate Documents Organizer, and Daren Blonski, financial adviser with Edward Jones in Sonoma, will hold two Tuesday estate-planning workshops. …

Bay Area Development Co. completed U.S. Small Business Administration 504 funding for trade journal Vineyard Winery & Management in Santa Rosa. …

Redwood Credit Union is accepting contributions to the Red Cross Hurricane Relief Fund to directly assist those affected by Hurricane Sandy on the East Coast. …

Dominican University of California in fall 2013 will launch a master’s of science degree program in clinical laboratory science (CLS) with an emphasis in molecular diagnostics. …

Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE: MDT) completed its acquisition of China Kanghui Holdings (NYSE: KH), a major provider of orthopedic devices in China. …

American Institute of Architects Redwood Empire chapter presented its design awards for a number of North Bay projects on Oct. 27 in the Kaiser Air hanger at Charles M. Schulz-Sonoma County Airport. …

Novato commercial solar power products and services provider SPG Solar completed a cutting-edge solar tracking system at a wastewater treatment plant in Williams. …

SAN RAFAEL — Product quiz: What’s been on retail shelves for 50 years, has a life span of 100,000 years and causes 50,000 visits to the emergency room a year?

The answer is the blister pack, the ubiquitous and widely hated polyvinyl chloride (PVC) clear plastic packaging that entombs just about everything from AA batteries to Zippo lighters.

SAN RAFAEL — Dominican University of California has launched a new interdisciplinary course linking students in its chemistry and MBA programs, creating an official educational framework for a collaboration that has existed unofficially for several years and helped advance the university’s expertise in biofuels and bio-based lubricant research.

SONOMA — Sonoma Raceway and Dominican University of California today are unveiling the result of a months-long collaborative effort to develop a rating system that incorporates automotive performance and fuel-efficiency.

Christine Tevini assumed the position of president and CEO of the Windsor Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Center. …

Dominican University of California appointed Steven E. Weisler as provost and Hanna Rodriguez-Farrar as the senior assistant to the president. …

La Tortilla Factory promoted David Trogdon to chief financial officer and Harold “Gene” Russell to vice president of sales, effective immediately. …

The Napa Valley Museum appointed two new members to its board of trustees. Dan Petroski and Marden Plant were named to the museum board for three-year terms. …

Frank Howard Allen announced that Dana Kreuzberger has been named manager of the Novato office. …

Council on Aging Services for Seniors announced that Laura Colgate has been named as the new director of senior nutrition services. …

Education Dominican University of California president Mary Marcy announced that the University will begin a search for a  successor to Terry Tumey as director of athletics. Tumey, who has been Dominican’s A.D. since April of 2009, has accepted a similar position with the University of California, Davis. President Marcy said she plans to announce an [...]

North Bay facilities managers recognized this year for their achievements are Sal Balderrama of Trivascular, Jennifer Bruneman of Santa Rosa City Schools, Jacques Charton of Dominican University of California, Christopher Dinno of Sonoma State University, Jason Duval of Clos Pegase, Willie Ghilotti of Ghilotti Construction Company, David Gonzales of La Tortilla Factory, Sue Maddigan of Exchange Bank, Tony McCormick of Agilent Technologies, Jim Neely of Sonoma Wine Company, John Nicolette of Don Sebastiani & Sons, Ralph O’Rear of Buck Institute for Research on Aging, Jake Pewitt of Mary’s Pizza Shack, Matt Rudie of Enphase Energy and Dale Withers of Pacific Union College.

In an effort to gauge how the region’s major employers are dealing with continued economic uncertainty, the North Bay Business Journal reached out to major companies with a series of employment-related questions, in addition to identifying the top human resources professional at each organization.

The results, from tech to health care, to hospitality to manufacturing, show that many of the major players are faring better, some even thriving, but challenges nonetheless remain.

The Venture Greenhouse, Dominican University’s business incubator and accelerator program, has implemented a number of new initiatives since its official unveiling in October, including a pilot “Affiliate Program” that stands to broaden the incubator’s support for environmental and socially focused startups in Marin.

SAN RAFAEL — The City of San Rafael, Dominican University and the San Rafael Chamber of Commerce have teamed up with Natural Capitalism Solutions, a nonprofit that consults businesses on greening strategies, to form a partnership aimed at providing businesses with affordable measures for creating sustainable practices.

NORTH BAY – Empire College has become the only private, for-profit college in California to be named “with distinction” to the 2012 “President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll,” a national award recognizing colleges that inspire lifelong civic engagement among their students.

Dominican University of California in San Rafael was named to the list for a fifth year, part of the broader “Honor Roll.”

An effort to foster a mutually beneficial partnership between the business and education communities in San Rafael reached an important milestone this month, after the formation of a 12-member business advisory group and the first meeting between that group and leaders from the San Rafael City Schools.

The national and local economy was on everyone’s mind in 2011. But as the Business Journal editorial staff set out to develop its Top Ten Stories of the Year, it quickly became clear that the North Bay was blessed with multiple economy-boosting projects and new commitments job creation.

SANTA ROSA — After nearly 10 years of regulatory maneuvering and an arduous approval process that included legal challenges, construction on Sutter Health’s new $284 million Sutter Medical Center of Santa Rosa is well under way. …

PETALUMA — Enphase Energy, the fastest-growing technology company in the North Bay, announced it had filed for an IPO and signed a 10-year lease on a 96,000 square foot space in north Petaluma. …

SANTA ROSA — Agilent Technologies pulled out of the recession with a record year and a thriving Electronic Measurement Group based in Santa Rosa. …

NOVATO — For the Buck Institute for Research on Aging, 2011 was a year of all-round expansion. …

Three of the North Bay’s most prominent colleges — Santa Rosa Junior College, Dominican University and Napa Valley College — have recently selected new presidents. …

The Napa Valley Destination Council last year received a significant boost when the county board of supervisors officially approved a tourism improvement district that affixed a 2 percent assessment on hotels and lodging, resulting in a vastly increased marketing budget from $437,000 a year to nearly $4.5 million. …

When Marin General Hospital, the Prima Medical Group and the then-named Marin IPA announced the formation of a physician foundation over a year ago, officials said at the time they would look north for further expansion. …

SANTA ROSA — A five-year job creation effort in Sonoma County will be transitioning to its “execution phase” in 2012, said Trip Snelson, campaign executive for Building Economic Success Together. …

HOPLAND — Brown-Forman Corp. in March announced it would sell Hopland-based Fetzer Vineyards to Santiago-based Viña Concha y Toro S.A. (NYSE: VCO) for $238 million after reviewing options for Mendocino County-based wine operations since the previous December. The sale closed in April. …

PETALUMA — The significant reset in Sonoma County commercial property values that started for distressed Petaluma office buildings in early 2010 is expected to continue to help spur business activity through the end of 2011 and beyond. …

Dominican University in San Rafael has joined forces with a Marin company producing graphene from carbon dioxide.

In addition to the winners, the following projects stood out among those nominated and the Business Journal thought were worth noting (alphabetically by county): Edgehill Mansion renovation, San Rafael; Pacheco Plaza shopping center rehabilitation, Novato; Chateau Montelena renovation, Calistoga; Napa Valley Vintners offices, St. Helena; 845 Healdsburg Ave., Healdsburg; Inman Family Winery, Russian River Valley; and O’Neill PassivHaus retrofit, Sonoma.