North Bay Business Journal

North Bay lenders are lamenting the imminent expiration of the U.S. Small Business Administration’s temporary 504 refinance program, which allows a one-time refinance of debt and reinvestment of equity.

The temporary program, launched by the Jumpstart Our Small Businesses (JOBS) Act of 2010, allows a small-business owner to refinance debt through the typical 504 loan structure used for financing property and other tangible assets: a 10 percent equity contribution from the borrower, a 40 percent, 20-year fixed-rate government loan and a 50 percent second mortgage from a second commercial lender. In combination, up to $10 million can be refinanced through the program.

NAPA — The Napa River Inn recently received approval from the City Council to add 26 new rooms and a third story to the property, which will enable the hotel to begin preliminary site work while it awaits state approval.

SAUSALITO — Boyd Lighting, a 91-year-old designer and maker of contemporary-styled lighting fixtures, has relocated its headquarters to the former naval shipyards where the company had worked on deck fixtures for Liberty Ships during World War II.

As home to the largest complex of geothermal plants in the world and a continuing effort to establish a renewable energy-focused power agency, Sonoma County and its energy future will take center stage at the ​North Bay Business Journal’s​ annual “Impact Sonoma” conference in October.

North Bay Business Journal’s annual Impact Solano conference on Sept. 26 will explore the future of the Solano County economy as well as the latest challenges and opportunities for local businesses, such as alternative energy production.

PETALUMA — Global electronics maker Nortek, Inc., which owns Petaluma-based Panamax and Furman Sound, is reorganizing product-development and marketing for 10 audio, power-management and control brands in a new Core Brands group in the southern Sonoma County city.

PETALUMA — After scrambling for months to keep up with skyrocketing national demand for its locally produced beer, Lagunitas Brewing Co. completed a four-fold, $15 million expansion of its Petaluma brewery in July.

The Burbank Housing Development Corporation has four affordable ownership and rental communities in various predevelopment and final construction stages in Petaluma, Santa Rosa, Sebastopol and Windsor.

PETALUMA — Phase 2 of the Vintage Chateau affordable housing community for seniors 55 and older is set for occupancy this month.

In a decision that could impact the tax planning and accounting practices of real property owners, developers and tenants, the Internal Revenue Service has issued a new set of regulations that seek to clarify the manner by which the cost of certain building improvements qualify for a federal tax deduction.

While the guidance helps brings clarity to a long-contentious issue that has reached as far as the U.S. Supreme Court, accounting leaders in the North Bay and beyond stress that those involved in property improvements should familiarize themselves with the regulations and anticipate a potential change to the flow of tax deductions to their federal tax bill.

Accounting leaders from around the U.S. reported a lower economic outlook for the third quarter but higher confidence than the same time in 2011, and North Bay experts are noting more positive observations on the local economy and climate for those in the accounting industry itself.

Montgomery Taylor, owner and founder of Santa Rosa-based Montgomery Taylor, CPA, and the separate investment management company, Montgomery Taylor & Company, LLC, has published a new book highlighting points important for continued income through retirement. …

Sonoma State University’s Accounting Forum, the campus’s largest academic club, will host a career fair for aspiring accounting professionals on Sept. 28. …

The Internal Revenue Service has unveiled a new website designed to streamline access to popular resources for both tax professionals and the general public. …

Financial regulators have published a joint notice of an extension to the comment period for the proposed Basel III capital reserve standards for financial institutions, a change that stands to impact a wide swath of operations for financial institutions, including accounting. …

Why do so many persist in their insistence that they did no wrong? Despite the lessons that cover the waterfront … from Watergate to the Catholic Church … the cover-is always worse than the crime. What appeared to be minor tributaries turned into a rushing river of a failed presidency and international scandal, yet the stream of lies and denial from those who fail to heed these lessons continues unabated in both our public and private lives.

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

Bank of Marin has announced several management promotions at its Petaluma offices. …

Smith Dollar PC announced that mortgage banking litigation attorney Rachel Dollar has been named by Super Lawyers as one of the top attorneys in Northern California in 2012. …

American Red Cross has announced changes in the regional leadership team. …

The Sonoma County Section on Aging has appointed the following leadership team officers. …

Windsor-based Sonoma County Vintners Co-op has elected the following officers to its board of directors. …

H.D.D. LLC, owners of VML and Truett Hurst wineries, as well as the Bradford Mountain, Sauvignon Republic and Stonegate brands, announced the appointment of Jim Bielenberg as the company’s CFO. …

Sutter Pacific Medical Foundation announced the addition of Gagik Oganesyan, M.D., Ph.D., a board-certified dermatologist. …

Dr. Anika Sanda recently joined the Novato-based Prima Medical Group, specializing in pediatrics. …

Reflections, a private residential drug and alcohol treatment facility in Novato, named William J. Hanna, Psy.D, as its new clinical director. …

Flavor! Napa Valley 2012 invites festival-goers to take advantage of a variety of ticket options and accommodations from some of the region’s top hotels, to create their own ultimate “stay and play” experience during the Nov. 14–18 food, wine and fun extravaganza. …

World Economic Forum announced that Enphase Energy, Inc. (Nasdaq: ENPH) has been recognized as a 2013 Technology Pioneer. …

TerraVerde Renewable Partners, a Larkspur-based independent energy adviser that helps schools, public agencies and private companies reduce energy costs, announced that three of its large Central Valley school district clients. …

The Coaches Training Institute in San Rafael, the oldest and largest in-person coach training school in the world, has published a white paper, “Co-Active Coaching and the Brain: Neuroscience Research Supports the Efficacy of the Co-Active Model.” …

Cline Cellars, a family-owned and operated winery located in the Carneros growing district of Sonoma County, has announced that for the second year, Living Beyond Breast Cancer has been named as the beneficiary of a $25,000 donation. …

Caltrans, the offices of Marin County supervisors Kate Sears and Steve Kinsey, as well as Marin Transit and the Transportation Authority of Marin staff have collaborated to install a camera to provide live images of traffic conditions on Highway 101 in southern Marin. …

The Marin County Board of Supervisors authorized a new $925,000 contract with Homeward Bound of Marin in order to provide shelter for persons experiencing homelessness throughout Marin County. …

North San Francisco Bay Area events of interest to the business community

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.

SANTA ROSA — The Annadel Medical Group has added 20 physicians over the past 10 months, an accelerating pace that makes it one of the fastest growing medical groups in the region at a time when health systems across the country seek to attract more physicians.

GREENBRAE — Marin General Hospital today said an independent arbitration judge declared Marin Healthcare District, which owns the hospital, the “prevailing party” in a long-running dispute with Sutter Health, which severed ties with the facility more than two years ago.