North Bay Business Journal

The herd of beef cattle at Petaluma’s Spring Hill Ranch is now certified by the Alexandria, Va.-based Animal Welfare Approved program. …

Working Solutions, a nonprofit microlender that recently opened an office in San Rafael, recently funded Marin County businesses. …

Three wines produced by students at Santa Rosa Junior College won medals in the 2013 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition. Shone Farm 2010 pinot noir won a gold medal, while its 2009 syrah and 2011 rosé won a silver and bronze, respectively, in the January competition. …

Keiretsu Forum, a large global private-equity angel investment network, and The Venture Greenhouse at Dominican University of California plan to hold the Green Technology Investment Showcase on April 3 from 1–4:30 p.m. at the early-stage green business accelerator in San Rafael. …

An abandoned elementary school on Main Street in the west Sonoma County’s Monte Rio community will be transformed into a destination where residents and visitors can enjoy a café, hiking trail, a skate park and a community farm. …

SAN RAFAEL — You’ve probably seen the TV spot where an angry ex wife takes a sledgehammer to a red Mustang. The producer of funny commercials for the auto body industry has moved into 31Ten Studios, the former Kerner Optical space, adding artfully destroyed cars to the special effects concocted there.

SAN RAFAEL — Citing challenges of a low-interest-rate environment, Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ: WABC) announced today that net income for all of 2012 fell 7.7 percent versus 2011.

SAN RAFAEL — Buckelew Programs, a nonprofit behavioral health agency serving Marin, Sonoma and Napa counties, named Steve Eckert, LCSW, as the organization’s new executive director.

Geostellar, a startup that coordinates the process for a solar photovoltaic system installation, partnered with Real Goods Solar, which has Marin offices, in the rollout of an online marketplace in the Mid-Atlantic, New England and West Coast, including the San Francisco Bay Area. …

The Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund has agreed to administer a litigation fund to be used to help finance Drakes Bay Oyster Company’s lawsuit against the National Park Service. …

Ghilotti Bros., Inc. was recently recognized as award recipients in partnership with Caltrans and Liberty Mutual for the Lost Control Silver Safety Award for US Highway 101 Wilfred Avenue, Rohnert Park project. …

Raptor Pharmaceutical Corp., signed a $50 million loan agreement with HealthCare Royalty Partners to help fund the commercialization of Procysbi. …

Oculus Innovative Sciences, Inc., a Petaluma-based health care company that designs, produces and markets anti-infective products and medical devices and drug candidates, was issued a U.S. patent for the use of Microcyn technology in the treatment of skin ulcers. …

SAN RAFAEL — EAH Housing today said it received a $40,000 grant from the JPMorgan Chase Foundation that will help preserve affordable housing in Marin County and 10 other Northern California counties.

SAN RAFAEL — Three-dimensional-design software maker Autodesk Inc. (Nasdaq: ADSK), today said it finished the acquisition of PI-VR, a privately held German developer of simulation software for automobile manufacturers.

More than a dozen North Bay companies undertook major expansions or moves: TricorBraun WinePak, Raydiance, Enphase Energy, General Dynamics, Langers of Sonoma, Anette’s Chocolates Napa Valley, Marmot Mountain, Wineshipping, BioMarin Pharmaceutical, EO Products, Birkenstock USA, Toys for Bob, Adventist Health, Amorim Cork America, SPG Solar, Biosearch Technologies and Telltale Games.

If a Magic 8 ball was consulted about North Bay high tech in 2013, the answer might be, “Outlook cloudy, try again.”

North Bay tech leaders say uncertainty has dimmed the near future of the industry in the U.S and elsewhere as the fiscal cliff and other financial crises loom.

SAN RAFAEL — The Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) today completed its $4.06 billion acquisition of Lucasfilm Ltd. LLC, which was based in San Rafael for three decades and retains production facilities northwest of the city.

San Rafael-based Mighty Leaf Tea Co. leased 15,600 square feet of industrial space at 1460 Technology Way for “additional space.” …

Tom LeDuc, co-founder of Santa Rosa-based LeDuc & Dexter Plumbing, retired from that company earlier this year and joined forces with Warren Brown of solar energy contractor One Sun, Inc., based in west Sonoma County. …

Hudson Street Design of Napa Valley (707-299-5110, hlc-inc.com) will be hosting an open house Dec. 19 from 3–5 p.m. The 2,500-square-foot store at 1551 Soscol Ave. in central Napa opened in early November after five months in progress. …

Silverado Resort and Spa northeast of Napa selected two architecture and design companies for renovations in the first half of 2013. …

Tam Woods Hotel, a 100-room property formerly known as the Larkspur Mill Valley Hotel, was re-branded as a Holiday Inn Express hotel Dec. 4 following a recently completed $4 million renovation. …

Nine Solano County businesses were honored at the annual Spirit of Solano luncheon Dec. 6 at the Hilton Garden Inn in Fairfield. …

Basin Street Properties is offering a new Tenant Advantage Program (basin-street.com/tenant-advantage-program), which offers exclusive discounts and promotions for companies and their employees who work in Basin Street’s 44-building Northern California and Northern Nevada commercial and mixed-use property portfolio in Petaluma, Santa Rosa, Sacramento and Reno, Nev. …

On its 65th anniversary, The Ledcor Group of Companies, which has a construction office in Napa, announced a $150,000 donation to the Make-A-Wish Foundation to be shared in Napa and 11 other cities across North America with Ledcor operations. …

Bank of Marin announced the nine local winners of their third annual high school photography contest. …

San Rafael-based SportsMark Management Group, the official corporate hospitality management partner and exclusive global sales agent of the America’s Cup Club hospitality program, launched the sales of 2013 America’s Cup Club packages. …

NOVATO — Marin Community Foundation today said it is seeking a developer to build affordable housing on filmmaker George Lucas’s Grady Ranch, a property north of San Rafael once pegged for a sizable state-of-the-art digital movie studio.

SAN RAFAEL — Autodesk Inc, the leader in licensed computer-aided design software, has launched a free 3-D design application.

Available to iPad, Mac and PC users and accessible by any mobile device with a web browser is 123D Design, an easy-to-use modeling and sharing tool that Autodesk hopes will tweak the creative impulses of potential future designers and manufacturers. Its the first 3-D modeling app in the 123D Design line.

LAS VEGAS – Autodesk Inc.’s 20th University event last week was all about cloud computing. The long-time leader in computer-aided design software showcased a complete line of cloud-based design, engineering and visualization tools.

SAN RAFAEL — Video game developer and publisher Telltale Inc. has quite a tale of success to tell with its story-based episodic entertainment such as The Walking Dead fast-selling series, and now the 8-year-old company is planning to nearly double the size of its studio in an expansion this spring.

VALLEJO — Blu Homes, a manufacturer of prefabricated and sustainability-focused homes and structures from its plant in Vallejo, today announced that it acquired the intellectual assets of San Francisco-based Modern Cabana.

SAN RAFAEL — An $8 million gift to Dominican University of California — the largest in the 122-year-old college’s history — will fund the transformation of an historic Victorian mansion currently owned by the university into a state-of-the-art facility for students in the school’s rapidly growing nursing and occupational therapy programs, according to an announcement today from the San Rafael-based institution.

SAN RAFAEL — BioMarin Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq:BMRN) shares jumped by more than 30 percent Monday after the company announced a key study on its GALNS therapy ended, the first step in seeking regulatory approval for its treatment of the rare enzyme deficiency condition.

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.