North Bay Business Journal

Marin Clean Energy is poised to significantly expand its customer base in the coming months, with the city of Richmond likely to pass a final measure on Tuesday to join the renewable energy-focused power agency.

SANTA ROSA — VinoPro is sprouting new salespeople almost as fast as the spring shoots supplying grapes to the company’s growing cellar of clients.

SAUSALITO — A relatively large amount of commercial space is on the market for sale in southern Marin County.

LAKE COUNTY – Marymount College, a private four-year college operating campuses in Palos Verdes, Calif. and worldwide, is on track to open a new facility at the historic 50,000-square-foot Lucerne Hotel in Lake County, after entering into an agreement with county officials after discussions began in June 2011.

SANTA ROSA — The Veterans Administration clinic in Santa Rosa will expand its operations by some 6,000 square feet at its 3841 Brickway Blvd. location after seeing significant growth in demand from returning veterans, particularly for some specialty services such as optometry.

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.

FAIRFIELD — Supplementing utility power according to the on-site renewable distributed energy generation model is a growing trend in the private sector, evidenced by the new 340-foot tall wind turbine at the Anheuser-Busch brewery off Interstate 80.

AMERICAN CANYON — Plans are under way to build the largest solar interconnect project in the North Bay at a closed regional sanitary landfill adjacent to the City of American Canyon. This landfill once served the Cities of Napa, Vallejo and American Canyon, as well the County of Napa.

Local renewable energy proponents are lining up behind state Senate Bill 594, designed to require PG&E to allow customers who have more than one electric meter on their properties to aggregate the loads and install a renewable energy system to offset it.

Barely 500 years ago, Girolamo Savonarola was an outspoken and strident critic of the current order, angrily vilifying the worldly possessions that tempted people to become sinners. He was ultimately excommunicated from the Catholic church, condemned for heresy, stripped of his priestly garments, hanged, and his body burned in the town square in Florence, Italy, a stark and ignominious ending to a life committed to vows of poverty, chastity and obedience.

Q: After a couple of years of cutting back to minimize losses, our company is leaner now and we’ve discovered that our leadership team and key staff are more critical than ever to our success as business starts to pick up again. You’ve addressed how to attract top talent but what can we do to keep ours? Losing any one of them right now would be a major setback for us.

Building wealth, retiring comfortably, enjoying financial security. Isn’t this the dream of every business person? Yet, the reason many people never reach their goals is a combination of the seven biggest money mistakes we see in our practice.

News about Noel McArdell of Bank of America, Jeff Clark of Bank of the West, Matthew Bartlett of Bank of Marin, Barbara Morrison, Donna Favata-Bosh of Fireman’s Fund, John Bortells of Clover Stornetta, Tony Biagi of The Hourglass Wine Co.

This Week Docent Training Program Orientation Sponsor: Audubon Canyon Ranch Date: June 20, 10 a.m. – noon.  Cost: Free Place: Martin Griffin Preserve, Stinson Beach Info: 415-868-9244 33rd Annual Business and Professional Women’s Dinner with keynote speaker Mary K. McEachron Sponsor: Marin County Women Lawyers  Date: June 20, 6 p.m. No host cocktails 7 p.m. [...]

Sonoma County employers expect to hire at a moderate pace in the third quarter, with 13 percent of companies saying they expected to boost staffing levels between July and September, according to a survey by international staffing firm Manpower Group.

SANTA ROSA — Passenger volume at Charles M. Schulz–Sonoma County Airport decreased 1.6 percent in May from a year before, according to figures released today.

SANTA ROSA — Zap Jonway (Bulletin Board: ZAAP), maker of gasoline and electric vehicles, on Thursday announced the departure of Steve Schneider as co-chief executive officer of the manufacturer’s Santa Rosa-based U.S. operations, effective immediately.

PETALUMA — Wound treatment developer Oculus Innovative Sciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: OCLS) today reported fiscal fourth-quarter revenue increased nearly 26 percent and full-year revenue rose more than 30 percent.