North Bay Business Journal

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- [...]

SONOMA — Sonoma Valley Hospital will break ground this week on a $39 million upgrade that will bring the hospital in line with state-mandated seismic standards while significantly improving the 83-bed facility’s emergency department along with other improvements, officials said

DIXON – Altec Industries Inc. plans to officially open its newly constructed $5.5 million Green Fleet utility vehicle final assembly plant this month, pending receipt of an occupancy permit.

SONOMA COUNTY — Residential construction in the North Bay’s most populous county is projected to improve this year as prices for unsold homes finally hit bottom heading into 2013, but the pace of homebuilding going forward will be slower than before the economic recession and profits will be pinched harder, according to a new county government report.

SANTA ROSA — More than 100 representatives from many of the 149 nonprofit and faith-based agencies served by the Redwood Empire Food Bank were given an advance preview of the new headquarters building and food distribution hub on April 17.

ROHNERT PARK — High-end outdoor clothing and gear maker Marmot Mountain LLC wants to have its expansion to 58,000 square feet of office and light-manufacturing space in two vacant Rohnert Park buildings completed by summer, and thanks to a gamble by one of the new landlords and a fast-moving city permitting process, building permits for the bulk of the tenant improvements were approved in just eight calendar days.

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.

PETALUMA – The Sonoma County Junior College District is charting a future for its recently expanded Petaluma Campus, considering strategies at a time when reductions to state funding have stymied plans to increase enrollment and kept attendance hovering at about half the facility’s capacity.

Conduct unbecoming …. You may have heard this phrase before, perhaps from the clenched teeth of a military JAG officer about the same time you learned that “Crystal” is a perfectly apt response to “Are we clear?”

  Biotech Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc. announced the appointment of Shalini Sharp as chief financial officer and senior  vice president of finance, effective May 21.  Ms.  Sharp will be a member of the senior management team and will be responsible for leading the corporate finance function. Ms. Sharp joins Ultragenyx from Agenus Inc. (formerly Antigenics Inc.), [...]

Green Companies Assemblymember Jared Huffman presented his April Sustainable North Bay Award to United Markets in recognition of their commitment to conservation, sustainable business practices, and community service. Serving Marin for over 50 years with stores in downtown San Rafael and San Anselmo, United Markets’ achievements include waste diversion, supporting local farmers and food producers, [...]

Commercial real estate leases in the north San Francisco Bay Area

SANTA ROSA — The long-awaited opening of a 93-bed psychiatric hospital in Santa Rosa has been pushed back until August due to construction delays, according to the forthcoming hospital’s chief executive officer.

SANTA ROSA — State regulators are cracking down on contractors trying to cut corners on employment and licensing law to win jobs amid the steep contraction in the building industry in the past six years, while local governments increasingly have been actively looking for ways to speed projects that will revive the economy and tax base, according to experts set to speak at the Business Journal’s 2012 Construction Conference next week.

NORTH BAY – The Sonoma Marin Area Rail Transit District announced that it has successfully sold more than $199 million in bonds, securing an overall 3.3 percent interest rate that the agency said will net $171 million to fund construction.

SANTA ROSA — Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: A), whose Electronic Measurements Group is based in Santa Rosa, today announced it signed a deal with Centellax to acquire the 11-year-old Santa Rosa company’s test-and-measurement business.