San Francisco Business Times articles from December 1999

San Francisco Business Times archives from December 1999

Multimedia boom faces tax.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
December 3, 1999... Move would cost developers, but also open opportunities San Francisco is preparing to hit developers of so-called multimedia space with stiff new fees, but also broaden the zoning laws to allow the multimedia building boom to continue. ...

Stanford's lumpy bed of roses.
December 3, 1999... Rose Bowl-bound team won't score financial points any time soon The bloom is off the Rose Bowl - at least from a financial perspective. Despite the windfall many would assume an appearance in college football's premier extravaganza...

Merge. com: Web firms join forces.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
December 3, 1999... Dot-coms are on a holiday shopping binge, and they're picking out some rather expensive stocking stuffers. Merger and acquisition activity is on the rise in the Internet sector. Armed with wallets stuffed with appreciating stock currency,...

Visa opens e-wallets to banks.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
December 3, 1999... Accounts let shoppers spend money faster Just in time for the holidays, Visa U.S.A's Internet arm is reaching into its marketing bag to help Providian Financial Corp. and a handful of other banks snag digital wallet accounts. Timing of...

SRI to spin off consulting arm.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
December 3, 1999... Menlo Park research and development firm SRI International plans to spin off its consulting arm into a major e-business player. The nonprofit think tank, which has had a hand in the creation of the modem, the mouse and high-definition...

S.F. e-commerce firm links with web giant AOL.(Productopia, America Online)(Brief Article)
December 3, 1999... San Francisco-based Productopia has inked a deal with America Online that will place its product information guides in front of 20 million potential e-shoppers. The agreement is a coup for Productopia, which launched its unbiased product...

Sitters stand up for themselves.(nanny salaries rise in the Silicon Valley)(Brief Article)
December 3, 1999... Nanny salaries soaring as bidding wars erupt As a corporate lawyer, Sheryl Pereira is used to spending money, and she loves a challenge. But the task of finding and keeping a nanny to care for her two small children almost defeated her. ...

Advent founder sheds CEO title, heads for Europe.(DiMarco, Stephanie)(Brief Article)
December 3, 1999... Advent Software founder Stephanie DiMarco has stepped down as chief executive officer of the San Francisco based technology company to spearhead the firm's foray into the European market. DiMarco vacated the position she has held since...

Real estate's Sedway sells firm to CB.(CB Richard Ellis Inc.)(Brief Article)
December 3, 1999... San Francisco's Sedway Group has been acquired by GB Richard Ellis Inc., ending 21 years of independence for the well-known real estate consultancy. Terms of the allcash acquisition, finalized in November after months of discussions, were...

Oakland wants to make claim at Alameda County welfare office.(Brief Article)
December 3, 1999... Two behemoth '60s-era social service buildings near Jack London Square in Oakland will be demolished to make way for parking and retail or convention space if politicians and city staff have their way. "Everyone I've talked to on the city...

Nordstrom stocking up on Olives for holiday season.(cartoon character becomes Nordstrom mascot)(Brief Article)
December 3, 1999... It's already looking like a very Olive Christmas for J. otto Seibold and Vivian Walsh. "Olive, the Other Reindeer," the premier creation of the San Francisco husband and wife, illustrator and writer of children's books, has hit the big...

Lawyers drop their suits.(Gutierrez and Associates)(Brief Article)
December 3, 1999... Trust a law firm to grasp the true meaning of the season and bring a suit at Christmas. Worse still, legal eagles at San Francisco-based Gutierrez & Associates are eagerly encouraging their brethren at firms across California and the...

Secretary to take 3 letters -- CEO.(OfficeClick.com promotion)(Brief Article)
December 3, 1999... Your assistant may be about to become an Internet CEO, collecting the scads of money and glamour rightly due a vanguard of the New Economy. OK, it's just for a day. Palo Alto-based OfficeClick.com, a web site that provides services...

Union Square building fetches top dollar from buyer.(Deutsche Sparkassen Immobilien Anlage GmbH)(Brief Article)
December 3, 1999... A giant German real estate fund has paid close to $39 million for San Francisco's tony One Union Square building, home of Gucci, Hermes and Joan & David, among others. Deutsche Sparkassen Immobilien Anlage GmbH closed on the seven-story,...

Survey: Bay Area's boom is burdensome.(Brief Article)
December 3, 1999... The Bay Area's booming market remains both a boon and a burden for the region's small and medium-size non-tech businesses, according to a survey by Oakland-based Civic Bank of Commerce. One third of the nearly 300 business owners in Alameda,...

Revlon exec to lead the troops at Esprit de Corp.(Joe Heid)(Brief Article)
December 3, 1999... San Francisco's Esprit de Corp. has recruited veteran consumer merchandiser Joe Heid to jump start the next stage of its turnaround effort. Heid was most recently president of Revlon Corp.'s international division and once headed Sara Lee...

PlanetRx gravitating east to Memphis.(Brief Article)
December 3, 1999... South San Francisco-based PlanetRx is expanding its Internet pharmacy and distribution center in Memphis nearly four-fold and moving its data center there. The company, which launched last year, will expand its 35,000-square-foot Memphis...

New startup humanizes e-shopping.(Respond.com)(Brief Article)
December 3, 1999... A new e-commerce startup is using e-mail to connect buyers with sellers and take the hassle out of shopping for hard-to-find items on the web. With Redwood City-based Respond.com shoppers use e-mail to request the goods or services they...

Benicia refinery UII the block.(Mobil and Exxon merge)(Brief Article)
December 3, 1999... Exxon Corp. and Mobil Corp. have completed their $81 billion merger, moments after receiving federal approval. Approval was contingent upon the new company agreeing to sell Exxon's refinery in Benicia, and more than 2,400 gas stations -- 75 of...

KTVU owner buys KICU TV station.(Cox Broadcasting)(Brief Article)
December 3, 1999... The owner of Oakland television station KTVU (Channel 2) has bought KICU (Channel 36) in San Jose. The actual price has not yet been disclosed, but industry insiders place the value at between $100 million and $175 million. Atlanta-based Cox...

Alta Vista captures Raging Bull.(Brief Article)
December 3, 1999... Palo Alto search engine Alta Vista Co. is buying financial chat web site Raging Bull in a stock-for-stock transaction. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Raging Bull, which will provide content for Alta Vista's Money channel, will keep its...

EMusic.com buys Tunes.com.(Brief Article)
December 3, 1999... Redwood City-based EMusic.com, the online music seller, said it will acquire Tunes.com for about $130 million in stock. Based in Chicago, Tunes.com runs the RollingStone.com and DownBeatJazz.com web sites. EMusic acquired the company to expand...

Mount Zion ER closes.(Brief Article)
December 3, 1999... UCSF/Mount Zion Medical Center's emergency room has closed. The closure, intended to help the money-losing hospital stay afloat, came a month earlier than originally announced. Most of the ER's patients were indigent or uninsured.

IPO makes an Impact.(Brief Article)
December 3, 1999... E-mail advertising company Digital Impact made quite an impact on the stock market in its initial public offering. Stock for the San Mateo-based company, which also develops software, closed the day at about $55.50 per share, more than triple...

E-Trade/Telebanc merger in danger.(Brief Article)
December 3, 1999... E-Trade Group, based in Menlo Park, says its planned $1.1 billion merger with Telebanc Financial Corp., which operates online thrift Telebank, could be in jeopardy because of a slow regulatory process. If E-Trade doesn't complete its takeover...

Webvan gassing up for new cities.(Brief Article)
December 3, 1999... Foster City-based Webvan Group Inc. has signed leases to build four new distribution hubs in Dallas, Chicago, Seattle and Washington, D.C. The hubs are part of a previous agreement with engineering and construction company Bechtel Group Inc. to...

Chiron expects MS drug approval.(Brief Article)
December 3, 1999... Biotech company Chiron Corp., of Emeryville, said it expects to receive expanded U.S. approval of a drug it developed with German drug company Schering AG earlier this year to treat multiple sclerosis. The expected approval, which should come...

NBCi is up and running.(Brief Article)
December 3, 1999... NBC officially launched San Francisco-based NBCi, a new company that includes the network's online assets, e-commerce company Xoom.com, and Snap.com. NBC will contribute content and $400 million in TV advertising to the venture.

Ask Jeeves going global.(Brief Article)
December 3, 1999... Ask Jeeves, an Emeryville-based plain language Internet search engine, is focusing 2000's growth on International expansion, says CEO Rob Wrubel. The company competes with other Internet-based search engines like Yahoo and Alta Vista.

School measure to Oakland voters.(Brief Article)
December 3, 1999... Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown cast the tie-breaking vote to place a measure on a March ballot that would allow him to have more of a say in Oakland schools. If passed by voters, the measure would allow Brown to appoint three additional members to...

BofA holds California system switch.(Brief Article)
December 3, 1999... Bank of America, based in Charlotte, N.C., has delayed the installation of its own computer and management systems in recently-acquired California branches until 2001, about a year later than originally planned. The switch, which is one of the...

H-P sued for patent-infringement.(Brief Article)
December 3, 1999... An $800 million patent-infringement suit against Palo Alto's Hewlett-Packard Inc. kicked off in a U.S. District Court in Arizona. Tucson-based Research Corporation Technologies is alleging H-P owes it unpaid licensing fees for use of the...

City audits SFO subcontractors.(Brief Article)
December 3, 1999... To "ensure the integrity of a minority subcontracting program," the San Francisco city attorney's office is seeking to audit 30 firms that received more than $72 million in subcontracts for the city's airport expansion project. Earlier this...

Online buoksellers settle dispute.(Brief Article)
December 3, 1999... Alibris Inc., an online rare book seller based in Emeryville, paid $250,000 to settle federal charges that its predecessor company used confidential e-mails between Amazon.com and Amazon's customers to improve its business. Charges brought by...

Gianni Fassio.(Brief Article)
December 3, 1999... Name: Gianni Fassio. Title: Proprietor. Company: Palio D'Asti, the San Francisco restaurant. Fassio also operates a trio of Palio Paninoteca Italian-sandwich cafes. In addition, he is chairman of the San Francisco Convention & Visitors...

Organic growth sprouts $75M public offering.(Brief Article)
December 3, 1999... Following the lead of other high-profile e-business builders, San Francisco's Organic Inc. filed plans to raise $75 million in an initial public offering. Organic's IPO papers, filed with the SEC on Nov. 24, offer a peek under the hood of...

New software takes on complex selling models.(Brief Article)
December 3, 1999... When most people think about the benefits of e-commerce, they think about a company like Dell, which eliminates the middleman by selling its computers directly to customers via a web site. But for many manufacturers, the direct e-commerce...

The bane of my turnkey enterprise-wide existence.(Brief Article)
December 3, 1999... By and large, I like covering the Internet sector for all the obvious reasons. if I have a peeve, it's with the unbridled use of indecipherable, inane -- and just plain silly -- jargon. What the heck is an "end-to-end enterprise-wide...

Concert industry big wig to head Bill Graham unit.(Brief Article)
December 3, 1999... Bill Graham Presents is broadening its fast-growing special events program, and has named eight-year employee and concert industry bigwig Shelley Lazar to head the unit. Lazar has headed backstage management, ticketing and credentials for...

Moscone Center honored.(Brief Article)
December 3, 1999... Under its management company SMG, San Francisco's Moscone Center has led mandated city efforts to cut waste, and recently was honored for eliminating half its garbage volume and saving $250,000 in annual waste costs. The California Board...

San Jose eight-building office park filling up fast.(Brief Article)
December 3, 1999... Menlo Equities LLC has signed five leases totaling 338,610 square feet in the first phase of its Corporate Technology Centre, an eight-building office park in San Jose. Firms leasing space in the 602,000-square-foot center include: Redback...

Home Loan Bank spots a nifty IDEA for home buyers.(Brief Article)
December 3, 1999... With the heat on banks and credit unions to boost lending in low-and moderate-income neighborhoods, the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco unveiled its own helpful IDEA. That's Individual Development and Empowerment Account, a program...

State on the lookout for bank examiners.(Brief Article)
December 3, 1999... So you wanna be a bank examiner? Here's your chance. Four new examiners are expected to join the California Department of Financial Institutions in San Francisco early next year, said the department's acting commissioner, Jan Lynn Owen. Job...

Norwest Mortgage ready for Minneapolis move.(Brief Article)
December 3, 1999... Norwest Mortgage signed a letter of intent to buy the Minneapolis headquarters of Honeywell Inc., according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune. The Wells Fargo & Co. subsidiary employs about 2,500 in and around Minneapolis, the headquarters...

Glenborough sags, even by REIT industry standards.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
December 3, 1999... Despite respectable third-quarter earnings, real estate investment trusts are the Rodney Danger fields of the investment world: No respect. But what's up with Glenborough Realty Trust Inc.? While the entire sector has been pummeled - Moody's...

Simeon Group ramps up projects around region.(Brief Article)
December 3, 1999... San Francisco's Simeon Group has been on a tear the last few months. Its full service commercial division, Simeon Commercial Properties, has purchased 989 Market St., a six-story, 108,000 historic landmark between Fifth and Sixth streets for...

Blum buys 8 percent of CD Richard Ellis.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
December 3, 1999... Richard Blum knows a bargain when he sees one. Which may explain why the financier and husband of Sen. Dianne Feinstein recently bought 1.28 million shares in CB Richard Ellis Inc., upping his stake to 7.7 percent, according to Bloomberg News....

PM Realty pays $40M million for East Bay park.(Brief Article)
December 3, 1999... In one of the largest East Bay industrial transactions this year, PM Realty Advisors has paid about $40 million for Winton Industrial Park in Hayward. The seller was Copley Investors LP, an investment fund managed by Boston-based AEW Capital...

Hearthstone raises $500M for home-building.(Brief Article)
December 3, 1999... San Francisco-based Hearthstone, which manages investments in residential communities around the U.S. and finances major home builders such as Kaufman & Broad, has raised $500 million of equity from 16 institutional clients. The funds will be...

Leases, odds and ends.(Brief Article)
December 3, 1999... Pets.com has inked a 10-year lease for an entire 41,000-square-foot building at 945 Bryant St. for its San Francisco headquarters. The building's owners--Levin Menzies Kelly Associates in partnership with Union Property Capital -- will add a...

Entrepreneurs form own public policy commission.(Brief Article)
December 3, 1999... Nearly half of all Americans have the wrong idea about who is responsible for the nation's economic growth, reports the National Commission on Entrepreneurship. A poll commissioned by the new organization found that 45 percent of the...

Over 1 million small businesses ignore Y2K.(Brief Article)
December 3, 1999... Up to 1.5 million small business owners won't take any steps to address the Year 2000 computer problem before Jan. 1, according to the National Federation of Independent Business. The new estimate is based on an October Gallup Organization...

Inventors vow to continue patent fight.(Brief Article)
December 3, 1999... Independent inventors who oppose changes in the U.S. patent system say they will continue their fight even though patent legislation was tacked on to the budget bill passed by Congress and signed by President Clinton. Steven Michael Shore,...

Women's centers win right to seek funding.(Brief Article)
December 3, 1999... President Clinton is expected to sign legislation that will allow existing Women's Business Centers to apply for additional funding from the Small Business Administration once their five-year grants end. The House passed the Senate version...

Staying competitive.
December 3, 1999... Professional service firms are changing their ways in search of a role in the New Economy About five years ago, executive search giant Heidrick & Struggles started to see a downward shift in billings through its Menlo Park office, despite...

Law firms taking stock in New Economy's options.
December 3, 1999... IPO fever has reached epidemic proportions and here's the proof: Even Bay Area law firms are warming to outside investors. It has become glaringly obvious to many law firm managers this year that the traditional law firm is: an anachronism....

Architects design a new solution for profit slump.(Brief Article)
December 3, 1999... Hratch Kouyoumdjian saw the future seven years ago and it didn't look profitable -- at least not for a structural engineering firm. "We realized the market for a firm with a limited, narrow scope was a tough one and we began looking for...

Web site helps lawyers mediate claims online.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
December 3, 1999... You can already buy lingerie, cars and books online. Now plaintiffs can look for legal settlements there too, thanks to a fledgling New York City Web site company called Cybersettle.com. The new site anonymously takes cash settlement...

Largest Accounting Firms in the Bay Area.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
December 3, 1999... Largest Accounting Firms in the Bay Area Elena Espana No.of Firm name ...

Largest Law Firms in the Bay Area.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
December 3, 1999... Largest Law Firms in the Bay Area Viva Chan Firm Name Rank Address last Phone/Fax Rank year Web site 1 1 Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati 650...

Law firms look to local colleges for technical experts.(Brief Article)
December 3, 1999... Times have never been better for lawyers with technology backgrounds. The amount of tech-related work these days has law firms scrambling to find qualified attorneys, and law schools looking to train tomorrow's lawyers to be more...

Small businesses busy makin' a list, checkin' it twice.(Brief Article)
December 3, 1999... Small business owners: Did you remember to add your employees to your Christmas list this year? What about your clients? Your vendors? Word to the wise: If your clients and vendors are not on your list, you can just about bet they're on the...

Hitting the mark.(Brief Article)
December 3, 1999... AssetMark may be behind the scenes, but its numbers are hard to ignore Ron Cordes is earning a pretty penny advising the country's financial advisers. AssetMark Investment Services Inc., based in Walnut Creek is "the glue" that helps...

Richard Martini.(Brief Article)
December 3, 1999... Title: President and CEO. Company: Diamond Micro Solutions, a San Leandro-based network and web integration company focusing on network infrastructure, computer security, enterprise storage and IT consulting. Employees: 35. ...

E-office supplies are easier.(Brief Article)
December 3, 1999... I used to work with an office manager who was the model of efficiency. Every Monday, this elegant organized woman peering over half glasses with a yellow pad in hand would inventory the office, announcing her findings. Then she would take...

Fast-growing biz mag names president.(Brief Article)
December 3, 1999... Imagine Media, the San Francisco-based publisher of the consumer business magazine Business 2.0, has named Michaela O'Conner Abrams president of the company's new business division. O'Conner Abrams comes to Imagine from Computerworld,...

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE.(Brief Article)
December 3, 1999... ADVERTISING/PR Gretchen Anderson Keith has joined San Francisco's The Marketing Collaborative as a graphic designer. Highway One, the San Francisco-based advertising agency has named Sam Harman to studio manager and Dana Pavilger to...

Retailer Cost Plus moves to bolster board.(Fredric Roberts)(Kim Robbins)(Brief Article)
December 3, 1999... Cost Plus Inc. has added two board members, one with retail experience and one with financial experience. The Cost Plus board now has seven members. Fredric Roberts is the president of F.M. Roberts and Co. Inc., a Los Angeles-based...

Debate on gas prices finally runs out of fuel.(Brief Article)
December 3, 1999... The secret is finally out about who is to blame for Northern California's high gas prices. After a long and expensive investigation, the state has named the culprits: "supply" and "demand." How officials wish it were otherwise. Widespread...

Wells Fargo CEO banks on people.(Richard Kovacevich)(Brief Article)
December 3, 1999... Banker Richard Kovacevich believes you can manage a revolution with grace. Kovacevich, CEO of San Francisco-based Wells Fargo & Co., is unflustered by banking consolidation, the reshaping of the financial services industry and the impact...

Bush vs. Bradley: Did sports shape perspectives?
December 3, 1999... If current polls are an indication, the last presidential election of the 20th century may be contested between two men who first entered politics off their successes in professional sports. The Democrat, fittingly, is a former player. The...

LETTERS.(Letter to the Editor)
December 3, 1999... Del Monte not out to celebrate Y2K concerns Your "New Can of Worms for Del Monte" article (Talk of the Town, Nov. 19-25 issue) was of particular concern to us as contrary to that communication, we have, in fact, made deliberate efforts not...

Inside Traders.(Brief Article)
December 3, 1999... Inside Traders A look at buying and selling of shares by Bay Area executives Patricia House Vice President Siebel Systems Inc. Shares sold: ...

Rise & Fall.(famous people in San Francisco)(Brief Article)
December 3, 1999... A barometer of the region's movers, shakers and fakers Ronnie Lott While erstwhile teammates fumble and flounder, former 49er has scored with his move into venture capital. With Harris Barton, he's raised $40 million from other...

S.F. tech firms harness power.(Brief Article)
December 10, 1999... Forty companies launch lobbying group to influence City Hall San Francisco's technology and Internet companies are creating a lobbying group aimed at making their voice heard in the corridors of City Hall. The Information Technology...

CEO reshapes the pyramid.(Brief Article)
December 10, 1999... Transamerica's sale to Aegon leaves question: What about finance unit? Transamerica Corp. and its new parent company are pondering the sale of its San Francisco-led commercial finance operations, further diminishing its fading local...

Real estate giants bankroll LoopNet.(Brief Article)
December 10, 1999... Online property listing service puts pressure on its rivals Four national commercial real estate brokerages have made an equity investment in LoopNet, the San Francisco-based property listing service -- a deal that escalates the battle for...

World Trade Center eyed for Oakland.(Brief Article)
December 10, 1999... Oakland trade officials have gained rights to put a World Trade Center in their city and hope to build a major conference and support center for companies engaging in international trade. Potentially a 100,000-plus-square-foot office...

Web trainer graduates to big site.(Brief Article)
December 10, 1999... In yet another dot-com space grab, Ninth House Network is quadrupling its space in San Francisco. The privately held online learning company is wrapping up lease negotiations to take an entire 97,000-square-foot building at One Beach St....

North Face may make descent from Rockies.(Brief Article)
December 10, 1999... The North Face Inc. is considering an about face by reuniting its headquarters in San Leandro. A company spokesman acknowledged that new management of the struggling manufacturer and retailer of outdoor equipment is assessing if its...

Bridging a financial gap.(Brief Article)
December 10, 1999... Nonprofit housebuilder raises $15 million to do battle with developers Modeling on its success renovating a West Oakland town house development, San Francisco's nonprofit Bridge Housing Corp. is launching a $15 million real estate...

Wells takes chunk of new S.F. space.(Brief Article)
December 10, 1999... Wells Fargo & Co. has inked a 200,000-square-foot lease in downtown San Francisco, one of the largest transactions in the city this year. Wells, based in San Francisco, is taking 10 floors at 550 California St. that will eventually house...

Stock Answers.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
December 10, 1999... Retailing, not e-tailing, fills analyst's stocking This holiday season there's a lot of noise around e-tailers (see Stock Answers, Nov. 26-Dec. 2 issue) -- the new breed of Internet retailers that are gaining the attention of shoppers and...

Bay Area activist turns WTO into Medea's medium.(Brief Article)
December 10, 1999... The secret to slipping into any invitation-only event is to dress the part and look like you know where you're going. Veteran local rabble-rouser Medea Benjamin knows this, which is how she waltzed past security into last week's World Trade...