North Bay Business Journal

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.

SANTA ROSA — As a 13-year project to transform the historic yet vacant cannery area around a planned downtown commuter-train station reaches a critical point to start construction next year or lose critical funding, the city of Santa Rosa plans to plead its case in Sacramento later this month for the release of redevelopment funds considered key to starting the $200 million-plus project.

Banks across the North Bay are reporting earnings, including:

ST. HELENA — Adventist Health’s St. Helena Hospital Napa Valley campus is in the midst of a $20 million upgrade that will both add capacity and bring much-needed enhancements to patient care, hospital officials said.

PETALUMA – Donal Machine has upped its capacity by 50 percent with the purchase of a state-of-the-art laser cutter. The ISO-certified precision metal fabrication company bought a German-made Trumf cutter for “just under a million dollars” according to vice president and co-owner Bob Bergstedt.

NAPA COUNTY — Development of the 154-acre Napa Pipe commercial and residential project west of the city of Napa continues to move forward, with planners expecting that zoning provisions related to the development will go before the Napa County Board of Supervisors before the end of the year or in early 2013.

Developers are listed by county and in alphabetical order by the firm.

Recently I was invited to present at an event called LocalMade at the San Francisco headquarters of Gensler, the second largest architectural firm in the U.S. The goal was to introduce some of the principals’ favorite Bay Area artisans to their staff and also to network Gensler’s internationally known architects and interior designers with other San Francisco designers. It was an especially rich networking event because quality and innovation were requirements for participation.

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

Healthgrades, the leading provider of information to help consumers make informed decisions when selecting physicians or hospitals, recognized Healdsburg District Hospital and Sutter Medical Center of Santa Rosa in its American Hospital Quality Outcomes 2013: Healthgrades Report to the Nation. …

Sonoma County residents and others who use local hospitals honored Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital as a 2012-2013 Consumer Choice Award winner for the Santa Rosa-area market, according to results of consumer surveys announced by National Research Corporation in the journal Modern Healthcare. …

Nearly 60 employees of the General Dynamics development and production center in Healdsburg were recognized for their excellence and leadership in technology-related fields as part of the 17th annual Women of Color in Technology awards program. …

Isaac M. Gradman joined the law office of Perry, Johnson, Anderson, Miller & Moskowitz LLP in Santa Rosa. …

Santa Rosa-based Loring Smart Roasters hired Robert W. Austin as its new chief executive officer. …

Gayle Stephens joined Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage as a sales associate in its Santa Rosa office. …

Jeff Kreutz joined MarketLive of Petaluma as senior vice president of product management. ,,,

Napa winemaker Aaron Pott was named a 2012 “Winemaker of the Year” by Food & Wine magazine in its November issue. …

Events in the north San Francisco Bay Area of interest to the business community

Sept. 29, 2012: Northern California Engineering Contractors Assn. held its 35th Annual Days of Wine & Dozers Dinner and Auction at the Santa Rosa Golf & Country Club

ST. HELENA — The Northern California Network of Adventist Health has laid off 48 employees this year across its St. Helena region, which includes Vallejo, St. Helena and Clearlake, in an effort to close a budget gap of $6.48 million across three campuses.

NAPA — The Doctors Company, the largest medical malpractice insurer in the country, today said it signed a merger agreement with the Utah Medical Insurance Association.