North Bay Business Journal

April 4, 2012: To Celebrate Life Breast Cancer Foundation held their 2012 grant awards reception at Servino’s restaurant in Tiburon

Two major owners of commercial property in Marin and Sonoma counties have put 20 office buildings with 951,000 square feet on the market for sale in recent weeks in what some market watchers are anticipating will test institutional investor views of the long-term outlook for the North Bay business community.

NAPA — A year after it significantly expanded a high-end residential interiors dealership in Marin County, Healdsburg-based HLC Inc. is planting roots in Napa Valley.

The Santa Rosa Community Health Centers has selected a new location for its Roseland Children’s Health Center, which is currently housed at an elementary school, that will accommodate the growing services by nearly quadrupling the size of the current site. …

Kaiser Permanente is joining a nationwide effort to combat what health officials say is a growing epidemic — obesity. …

Marin General Hospital’s Cancer Institute received the “Outstanding Achievement Award” from the Commission on Cancer of the American College of Surgeons. Only 106 out of roughly 3,000 cancer centers in the U.S. have recieved the award, according to Marin General, and it has not been given to any other hospital in Marin, Sonoma, San Francisco or San Mateo counties. …

Marin General Hospital’s Cancer Institute received the “Outstanding Achievement Award” from the Commission on Cancer of the American College of Surgeons. …

Kaiser Permanente’s Napa-Solano region recently awarded $800,000 in grants to local nonprofits in both counties, focusing on five key areas: access to prevention and primary care services; reducing obesity and overweight rates in adults and children; decreasing risky teen behaviors; prevention of community violence; and reducing health disparities. …

NORTH BAY – The volume of small business lending in the North Bay backed by the U.S. Small Business Administration was 29 percent lower for the first half of fiscal 2012 compared to the same period last year, with a corresponding 16.7 percent decrease in dollars across Sonoma, Marin and Napa counties, according to the SBA.

Spotlight: SBA Lenders 2012

NORTH BAY — A recent state Supreme Court decision has greatly clarified the long contentious issue of when and how employers must provide meal and rest breaks — or at least the opportunity for meal and rest breaks — but employers still need to think carefully about the matter, employment law experts said.

There are a multitude of laws that tell us how we can and cannot treat our employees. Mistakes in this area can be very costly, in terms of both time and financial impacts. Human resources laws that apply to you will vary based on where you do business. There are both Federal and State Laws that apply to your business. In addition, some cities have local ordinances as well. Here in California we have a lot of human resource laws that go well beyond the Federal requirements.

California for-profit businesses now can legally converge social responsibility and environmental awareness objectives with traditional economic and profit goals under two new forms of incorporation that became effective Jan. 1.

Under the leadership of BEST (Building Economic Success Together), a new regional economic development initiative and a public-private partnership designed to facilitate business success in Sonoma County, seven incentives to attract Lucasfilm to Sonoma Country quickly appeared.

Even though it appears to be an employers’ market right now, finding and keeping the specific talent your company needs is more challenging than ever. One reason for this comes down to basic supply and demand. Despite persistently high unemployment, there is growing shortage of talent because more baby boomers are leaving the workforce as our overall population ages.

Construction Carilile Macy, a Santa Rosa-based civil engineering, landscape architecture and surveying firm, has hired Christopher Brown as its  finance manager. Health Care Chris Bandy, MD, FACS, has been named trauma medical director of Kaiser Permanente’s Vacaville Medical Center. Dr. Bandy joins Kaiser Permanente from Enloe Medical Center in Chico where he was a trauma and [...]

Send Calendar items to the North Bay Business Journal, Attn: Calendar, 427 Mendocino Ave., Santa Rosa, CA 95401; fax 707-521-5292; or email news@busjrnl.com. This Week Habitat for Humanity – National Women Build Week Sponsor: Lowes and Habitat for Humanity Date: May 7-13, 7:30a.m.-2:00p.m. Cost: Free Place: Sonoma-Cutrer Vineyards, Windsor Info: 707-578-7707 North Coast Business Exchange- [...]

Healthcare St. Helena Hospital has opened the new Surgical Learning Institute, Napa Valley, presenting its first surgical training program on Friday, March 30th. 43 surgeons and allied health professionals gathered from around the nation to participate in the MAKOplasty Surgeon Masters Course. Produced by MAKO Surgical Corp. and hosted by the Institute, the collaborative learning program focused on advanced robotic orthopedic surgical techniques as taught [...]

Send Calendar items to the North Bay Business Journal, Attn: Calendar, 427 Mendocino Ave., Santa Rosa, CA 95401; fax 707-521-5292; or email news@busjrnl.com. This Week “Leveling the Playing Field” at the Schulz Museum Sponsor: Chas M Schulz Museum Date: May 14  Cost: $5 -$10 Place: Chas M Schulz Museum, 2301 Hardies Lane Info: 579-4452 2012 Construction [...]

Commercial real estate leases in the north San Francisco Bay Area