San Francisco Business Times articles from December 2001

San Francisco Business Times archives from December 2001

Troubled Clorox sharpens its ax: CEO Craig Sullivan vows not to have another 'lousy year'.
December 7, 2001... Clorox Co. is expected to announce significant layoffs this month as the company attempts to pull out of a sales and earnings slide. The job cuts follow a slew of problems at the Oakland consumer products giant. Difficulties have persisted...

Mission Bay hits brakes: Speculative building put on ice.
December 7, 2001... San Francisco-based Catellus Development Corp. plans to suspend construction of its 275,000-square-foot building under way at its giant Mission Bay campus. Catellus vice president of commercial leasing Mike Monroe called the market for...

Oakland Raiders to fans: Just buy, baby.
December 7, 2001... Blitzing retail with a growing lineup of its own stores, the Oakland Raiders are contending for a higher ranking in the National Football League's revenue standings. Already ranked No. 1 among the NFL's 32 team brands, the Raiders are...

Kaiser rolls out new East Bay complex. (The News).
December 7, 2001... Kaiser Permanente has received approval from the city of Antioch for a new 78-acre medical office complex that could culminate, eventually, in a new hospital there. The campus is intended to capitalize on Kaiser's already-dominant position...

Plant biotech gets a $30M watering. (The News).
December 7, 2001... A small Bay Area biotech has landed one of the industry's larger private funding rounds of the year. Hayward-based Calyx closed a $30 million funding this week. Calyx, which develops drugs to treat diabetes and inflammation, has a compound...

Job-seekers' unqualified failure: In wake of dot-com demise, new employers wonder: So, what can you actually do? (Worklife).
December 7, 2001... David Mysona fired a sales associate last month, but it wasn't due to downsizing -- the employee simply couldn't do the job. "(He) interviewed very well, but as the months went by I'm finding out he can't do these things," said Mysona, CEO...

Resurgent Critical Path goes from critical list to critical lease. (The News).
December 7, 2001... Critical Path is trading in its South of Market warehouses for the upscale waterfront digs of a former law firm. The San Francisco-based Internet messaging technology company signed a 10-year lease for 63,000 square feet at Shorenstein...

Something About Larry: He can bury the hatchet. (Talk of the Town).
December 7, 2001... Give Larry credit: He doesn't seem to hold a grudge. Oracle CEO Larry Ellis on was in usual form this week, spending much of his presentation at the company's annual Open World event illuminating how Microsoft sucks, IBM sucks, we rock,...

Boston Properties Tea Party. (Talk of the Town).
December 7, 2001... Marty Pulvers, the popular proprietor of Sherlock's Haven, a smoke shop nestled beneath a downtown San Francisco office tower, is an unlikely revolutionary. Pulvers' small shop sells fine cigars to some of the city's top-rung power brokers,...

Rise & Fall: A barometer of the region's movers, shakers and fakers. (In the News).
December 7, 2001... Jon Gruden Raiders' youthful and successful coach knows how to play the game, and we don't (just) mean football. He's going out of his way to avoid denying rumors that he's being ogled by Notre Dame. Perchance, is this the same Gruden who...

S.F. Port veteran sails into Presidio property post. (In the News).
December 7, 2001... San Francisco Port veteran Paul Osmundson has stepped into the Presidio hot seat. Osmundson has been named deputy director of real estate by the Presidio Trust and will be responsible for leasing and developing 3 million square feet of...

Ginsberg back at SFBT. (In the News).
December 7, 2001... Steve Ginsberg has returned to the San Francisco Business Times as senior reporter to cover San Francisco real estate and retail. Ginsberg originally joined the Business Times in 1994 and covered real estate, technology and international...

Think tank purchases permanent home base. (In the News).
December 7, 2001... After six years as a tenant, the nonprofit Public Policy Institute of California bought 500 Washington St. in San Francisco for a pricey $30.4 million. The William Hewlett-endowed think tank is paying $310 per square foot for the...

QuantumShift snags $32 million. (In the News).
December 7, 2001... Novato-based communication services firm QuantumShift has raised $32 million in a private financing that is expected to fuel the company until it reaches profitability. Thomas Weisel Capital Partners L.P. and Mayfield co-led the current...

Software firm has anthrax outbreaks in its sights. (In the News).
December 7, 2001... A Half Moon Bay company will unveil what it says will provide government agencies with a powerful tool in combating anthrax and other forms of bioterrorism. VerticalSuite, which spent more than four years and $28 million to develop...

Executive Profile: Mike Sangiacomo.
December 7, 2001... BUSINESS PHILOSOPHY Essential business philosophy: Focus on the needs of our customers and our environment, and find ways to put together programs that satisfy those needs. Best way to keep competitive edge: Be focused on what you're...

Port gives up lead role in Oakland Army Base plan. (Real Deals).
December 7, 2001... After 10 months of fruitless negotiation between the U.S. Army and Oakland over development of the city's Army base, it's time to call in the legal recruits. The federal agency charged with developing the base has yanked the Port of...

Oakland considers offices for city site after hotel developer packs its bags. (Real Deals).
December 7, 2001... Extended Stay America has pulled out of plans to develop a hotel on a city-owned site in Oakland, but a local developer has jumped in with a proposal to put offices there instead. Simeon Commercial Properties in San Francisco wants to pick...

Oceans of sublease space threaten markets. (Real Estate, Construction & Design).
December 7, 2001... Fitch, a New York debt-rating agency, has put investors and loan originators on notice: It is worried about the rising tide of sublease space in some of the nation's biggest real estate markets, including San Francisco and the East Bay. ...

Construction Activity Drops. (Real Estate, Construction & Design).
December 7, 2001... Bay Area construction activity is slowing down from last year's frenzied pace. According to the Oct. 29 California Construction Review report, office building construction (based on permit valuations) in the San Francisco Bay region...

Osmond Leaves Equity. (Real Estate, Construction & Design).
December 7, 2001... John Osmond, who was in one of the managers in charge of leasing for Equity Office Properties Trust's Peninsula properties, is leaving the real estate investment trust to join Maier & Siebel where he will oversee third-party leasing and...

Let's Hear it for Mom and Pop. (Real Estate, Construction & Design).
December 7, 2001... Oakland is doing better than the rest of the country when it comes to keeping small businesses, according to a recent city Community and Economic Development Agency report. Despite the fact that recent headlines have focused on Oakland's...

Oakland's Community and Economic Development Agency. (Real Estate Roundup).
December 7, 2001... In an attempt to extend a hand to neighborhoods near town limits, Oakland's Community and Economic Development Agency is asking the City Council to designate part of East Oakland from the Central District to the San Leandro border as a...

GreenPoint Mortgage. (Real Estate Roundup).
December 7, 2001... GreenPoint Mortgage moved into Wood Hollow Office Center, a 125,000-square-foot building in Novato. GreenPoint signed a 10-year lease for the property in July 2000. It is owned by Simeon Properties.

Calco execs find deal, big backer. (Bay Area Money).
December 7, 2001... A coalition of 25 executives and brokers of Calco Insurance Brokers, & Agents Inc. and a unit of investment bank Hales & Co. closed a deal to buy the agency Nov. 30 -- eight months after a plan with Acordia Inc. fell through. Terms of the...

Mortgage rates soar. (Bay Area Money).
December 7, 2001... Mortgage rates moved sharply higher in the past week or so, threatening to curtail one of the biggest refinancing booms in history. The average 30-year fixed rate stood at 7.02 percent on Nov. 29, up from 6.75 percent a week earlier and...

Inside Traders.
December 7, 2001... Inside Traders A look at selling of shares by Bay Area executives Edward Sanderson Officer Oracle Corp. Shares sold: 367,500 Were shares sold options? Yes Options exercised price: $3.93 Shares...

Wells pries open history vault to aid attack victims. (Banking & Finance).
December 7, 2001... Wells Fargo was among the stalwarts of capitalism that rushed to the aid of eBay's Auction for America, an ambitious program to raise $100 million for the victims of the Sept. 11 attacks. The auction, designed to let eBay members contribute...

VCS See Difficult Year Ahead. (Banking & Finance).
December 7, 2001... Venture capitalists at the East Bay Entrepreneurs' Conference Nov. 28 offered a sobering update, giving little hope that money will be flowing freely anytime soon. "There's great uncertainty in the capital markets, and I personally don't...

VC Calls on Government to Help Tech. (Banking & Finance).
December 7, 2001... In another sign of how rough things are in the venture arena, some are looking to the federal government to help build Internet infrastructure. Hummer Winblad Venture Partners' Hank Barry told entrepreneurs and investors at the East Bay...

Giants offer new goodies to season ticket holders. (Sports Business).
December 7, 2001... The San Francisco Giants are lobbing the equivalent of softballs to fans forking out thousands of dollars for season tickets: an interest-free loan, more tickets or gift certificates. The Giants' new payment plans pitch more flexibility to...

[Some] Salt Lake Numbers Look Good. (Sports Business).
December 7, 2001... Salt Lake City has locked up more than $800 million in "local and national sponsorships" for next year's Winter Games, said Anne Cribbs, president and CEO of the Bay Area Sports Organizing Committee. That's good news for BASOC, which...

Providian Sports Goals Not Penalized. (Sports Business).
December 7, 2001... Providian Financial Corp.'s financial problems aren't stalling the credit card firm's sports sponsorship programs with the Oakland Raiders, San Francisco 49ers, Dallas Cowboys and the Bay Area's 2012 Olympics bid. Despite cost-cutting...

Chic retailers turn layoffs into the latest fashion craze. (Marketing & Retail).
December 7, 2001... LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton, the luxury-goods giant that owns San Francisco-based Duty Free Shops and eLuxury.com as well as international fashion marquee Gucci, has ordered another round of layoffs. According to a trade journal...

Discounters Rake in Sales. (Marketing & Retail).
December 7, 2001... Not all is bleak, however, in the retail world. Newark-based off-price apparel retailer Ross Stores Inc. saw a whopping 19 percent increase in third-quarter earnings coming from strong performance in back-to-school, men's and children's...

Farewell to Readers. (Marketing & Retail).
December 7, 2001... This is my final column for the San Francisco Business Times as I leave to pursue a personal writing project I have had a great time writing and reporting on the many colorful personalities in the Bay Area's retail and advertising scenes. It...

Local biotech plays a shell game to go public. (Health & Biotech).
December 7, 2001... Pleasanton-based private biotech Lipid Sciences and phoenix-based public real estate company NZ Corp. competed their reverse merger. The new company will be called Lipid Sciences Inc. The company has been approved for trading on the Nasdaq...

Clinic Consortium NABS $1.6M. (Health & Biotech).
December 7, 2001... Six neighborhood health centers in San Francisco will be feeling healthier -- at least fiscally. The clinics, all members of the San Francisco Community Clinic Consortium, will receive grants totaling $1.6 million for capital projects...

Cellegy Acquires Vaxis FOR $4M. (Health & Biotech).
December 7, 2001... South San Francisco-based biotech Cellegy Pharmaceuticals has moved to acquire Kingston, Ontario-based private biotech Vaxis Therapeutics Corp. The deal is valued at $4 million. Analysts believe that the acquisition of Vaxis will...

Lying in wait: Excite AtHome demise means 'last mile' just got longer. (TechBiz).
December 7, 2001... The meltdown of AtHome Corp. and the uncertainty it suddenly cast over 4.1 million broadband subscribers seemed like deja vu all over again. Like the upstart digital subscriber line providers such as NorthPoint Communications, Rhythm...

DSL firms rush to rescue abandoned cable users. (Net Business).
December 7, 2001... Call it old-fashioned catch-up ball, or good ol' American kick-'em-when-they're-down competition, but the digital subscriber line industry is seizing upon the AtHome Corp. debacle to convert cable subscribers to DSL. As a bankruptcy court...

The Other Broadband Fight. (Net Business).
December 7, 2001... Pacific Bell and its Bell brethren recently got a boost from the National Academy of Sciences, which issued a report saying that more competition and less regulation is needed to encourage broadband investment and boost public access to "fat...

Utstarcom Says 3GWHIZ. (Net Business).
December 7, 2001... As China prepares to begin testing next-generation cellular networks known as 3G, Alameda-based UTStarcom Inc. will be among the selected participants. "Any company that hopes to be a 3G player in China, the world's largest...

Ex-Webvan exec steers new delivery company Ensenda. (OneonOne).
December 7, 2001... Online grocer Webvan ran out of gas in July, but former vice president of marketing Chris Mannella is already behind the wheel of a new online delivery business. Convinced that the concept will work under the right circumstances, he co-founded...

A spirited defense: Embattled law firms must exorcise ghosts of last year's high-tech boom. (Focus Section - Business Services).
December 7, 2001... Haunted by a past filled with frenzied hiring and strategic missteps, Bay Area law firms are scrambling to slash expenses and find new sources of revenue. Gone are the days when fat cats like San Francisco-based Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison...

Lawyer struggles in industry's shifting sands.
December 7, 2001... Attorney Kathleen Allen doesn't need to be told how the economic climate has cooled. The Bay Area barrister has held four jobs in her two-year attempt to find a secure job in uncertain times. While Allen nabbed a position smoothing out...

Firms stay faithful to their drooping VC funds. (BizServices).
December 7, 2001... Struggling to keep workers from fleeing to dot-coms and other quick-rich schemes, many law, accounting and consulting firms sweetened the pot: They created internal venture capital funds that staff could dip into. Such were the heady days...

Firms trade branding gurus for bargain hunters. (BizServices).
December 7, 2001... Desperation is not a dirty word for Bay Area consultants, who've quickly tabled their expertise in branding and expansion strategies to offer more cost-cuffing advice. Layoffs and belt-tightening among big clients are open new doors for...

Largest law firms in the Bay Area. (Research Report).
December 7, 2001... Just 35 miles apart, San Francisco and Palo Alto share the distinction of being home to the largest law firms in the Bay Area. All of the leading 10 firms on the List of Largest Bay Area Law Firms are divvied between the two cities. ...

Largest foundations in the Bay Area. (Research Report).
December 7, 2001... Foundations' are no longer a family affair... at least when there are boards watching those billions of dollars. This week's List of Largest Foundations in the Bay Area is ranked according to the value of each foundation's assets at the...

Largest nonprofits in the Bay Area. (Research Report).
December 7, 2001... The Jewish Community Federation heads this week's List of the Largest Nonprofit Service Organizations in the Bay Area. The San Francisco-based nonprofit ousted the multi-chapter YMCA, after we selected a more accurate method of ranking...

BayAreaPeople.
December 7, 2001... BANKING/FINANCE San Francisco investment bank Pacific Growth Equities named Jim Liang senior analyst for communication semiconductors. Liang previously was a senior technology analyst at WR Hambrecht & Co. In separate appointments, Greg...

Manufacturers still face shortage of skilled workers. (Small Business).
December 7, 2001... Manufacturing has been in a recession for a year, but this battered sector of the economy still faces a skilled worker shortage despite widespread layoffs. Eighty percent of manufacturers surveyed by the National Association of...

Women-Owned Firms See High Growth. (Small Business).
December 7, 2001... A new study estimates that the number of women-owned businesses in the United States will grow to 6.2 million in 2002, a growth rate of 14 percent since 1997 -double the rate for businesses in general. More than 100,000 women-owned...

Like clockwork. Nostalgic timepieces tick off explosive sales for Berkeley trio of brothers. (Fast Forward).
December 7, 2001... Not all births are planned. In September 1995, when John Kowalski was in between jobs, he passed through Berkeley and visited his brother Steve's workshop. Steve Kowalski spent a day a week building clocks from antique junk -- submarine gauges...

EntrepreneurProfile: George Armstrong.
December 7, 2001... BIG PICTURE Reason for starting business: We had family (rafting) activities with friends wanting to join, and then they wanted to bring their friends. Along the way, someone said I was leaving myself open to liability problems. I needed...

Air turmoil charts new course for area charter firms. (In the News).
December 7, 2001... The aftermath of Sept. 11 has given a lift to the corporate jet travel market. Bay Area firms like KaiserAir, which runs a large charter service out of Oakland International Airport, say their business has increased more than 25 percent...

Area transportation policy takes a few tottering steps. (OurView).
December 7, 2001... Bay Area transportation policy often moves like the region's traffic: Agonizingly slowly and circuitously. So small steps forward are worth noting. Three in the space of a week merit celebrating, particularly as all are clear moves in the...

If you don't read this, the terrorists win. (Editor's Notebook).
December 7, 2001... Over the long Thanksgiving weekend, I flew to Pennsylvania for a high school reunion. My wife didn't want me to go, but I told her, "Not going, honey, would mean the terrorists have won." Her eyebrows shot up. "Look," I continued,...

Pac Bell can't handle the truth about competition. (Guest Opinion).
December 7, 2001... I found Lora Watts' letter to the editor, "Reckless charges tarnish Pac Bell's efforts to offer true competition" (Nov. 23-29 issue), to be based more on fiction than fact. For Watts, who is SBC Pacific Bell's president of external...

Unbridled parking would devastate San Francisco's core. (Guest Opinion).
December 7, 2001... One reason San Francisco has a vibrant, economically successful downtown is good transportation - BART, Muni, AC Transit, Samtrans, Golden Gate Transit, and a ring of public parking garages priced to encourage short-term trips for shopping,...

'Incompetent' Taxi Commission helpless to solve the system's problems. (Letters to the Editor).
December 7, 2001... Regarding the article, "Report: Little incentive to boost city taxi service," Nov. 9-15 issue: Reporter Ron Leuty's article on taxis contains a few misleading statements -- not his, but those in the SPUR report on taxis. If he would...

Pallotta Blows its Own Horn. (Letters to the Editor).
December 7, 2001... After participating in the 2000 AIDS Ride, I was very impressed with the earnest and sincere folks at San Francisco AIDS Foundation and the Los Angeles group, but was not as impressed with the Pallotta Team Works marketing group ("AIDS Ride:...

Aviron Acquired by Medimmune. (Week in Review).
December 7, 2001... Maryland-based pharmaceutical company MedImmune will acquire Mountain View-based biotech vaccine developer Aviron for $1.5 billion. Aviron's chief asset is FluMist, a promising influenza treatment, which MedImmune wanted to add to its own...

AT&T Terminates at Home Purchase. (Week in Review).
December 7, 2001... AT&T Corp. said it terminated its agreement to purchase assets of AtHome Corp. for $307 million, citing a number of "significant breaches and other violations of the agreement" by the bankrupt broadband company. In turn, AtHome -- led by CEO...

S.F. Sends Olympic Bid to USOC. (Week in Review).
December 7, 2001... San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown signed a key agreement on Nov. 29 with the U.S. Olympic Committee, advancing the Bay Area's bid to host the 2012 Summer Olympic Games. At a City Hall ceremony, Brown signed the "joinder undertaking" agreement,...

Synopsis to Acquire Avant. (Week in Review).
December 7, 2001... Mountain View-based Synopsis Inc. said it will acquire legally-plagued Avant Corp. in an all-stock deal worth. $776.8 million. As part of the transaction, Synopsis will spend as much as $335 million on an insurance policy to cover losses should...

Fair, ISAAC Chairman Steps Down. (Week in Review).
December 7, 2001... Robert Oliver will retire as chairman of Fair, Isaac & Co. in and February, and Ask Jeeves Inc. CEO George "Skip" Battle will step in. Oliver, 70, has served on the board of Fair, Isaac -- the San Rafael-based company that developed...

CV Therapeutics Sets $131M Offering. (Week in Review).
December 7, 2001... Palo Alto-based CV Therapeutics expects to net $131 million through a follow-on offering of 2.5 million shares of common stock at $52.50. The company has also granted underwriters an option to purchase an additional 375,000 shares of stock to...

House Bill Allocates $84M to Bay Area. (Week in Review).
December 7, 2001... The House of Representatives this week passed the transportation appropriations bill, legislation that will fund transportation projects across the country in fiscal 2002. The Bay Area will receive more than $84 million for projects under the...

Norwest Venture Closes $400M Fund. (Week in Review).
December 7, 2001... Wells Fargo & Co.'s venture capital firm Norwest Venture Partners has closed its ninth fund with $400 million. The firm plans to continue investing in software and communication companies. With this fund, however, the company will require more...

ATG Files Chapter 11. (Week in Review).(Brief Article)
December 7, 2001... ATG Inc., a Hayward-based provider of waste treatment services, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The filing follows news that the company's bank, froze around $3.5 million in funds two weeks ago. ATG, which recently had around 350...

Ellison: BMW to Join Oracle Racing. (Week in Review).(Brief Article)
December 7, 2001... BMW will join Larry Ellison's Oracle Racing as a co-sponsor, Ellison said during the Oracle Open World show in San Francisco. BMW is an experienced sponsor of Formula One auto racing, a series that Ellison said he admires for drawing greater...

H-P to Raise $750M. (Week in Review).(Hewlett-Packard Co.)(Brief Article)
December 7, 2001... Hewlett-Packard Co. plans to raise $750 million through a five-year notes offering. The Palo Alto-based maker of computers and printers said Credit Suisse First Boston and Salomon Smith Barney will manage the deal. The company's existing debt...

Avolent gets $40M in Latest Round. (Week in Review).(from Rho Ventures, Constellation Ventures)(Brief Article)
December 7, 2001... San Francisco-based Avolent, a provider of electronic billing and invoicing, raised $40 million in a funding round led by Constellation Ventures and Rho Ventures. Also participating in the round were Columbia Capital, Wells Fargo's Norwest...

Intraspect Raises $33M. (Week in Review).(Intraspect Software Inc.)(Brief Article)
December 7, 2001... Brisbane-based Intraspect Software Inc., which creates business collaboration software, completed a $33 million round of financing. The company will use the money for development, sales and marketing initiatives. New investors in the round...

Kana Snags Up to $55 Million. (Week in Review).(via equity investment from Technology Crossover Ventures)(Brief Article)
December 7, 2001... Menlo Park-based Kana, a publicly-traded developer of customer relationship management software, secured up to $55 million in equity financing. The financing is, comprised of a private placement from Technology Crossover Ventures, which will...

Invision Signs $27 Million Deal. (Week in Review).(InVision Technologies Inc., Aeroports de Paris)(Brief Article)
December 7, 2001... Newark-based InVision Technologies Inc. snagged a $27 million, contract from Aeroports de Paris, the French company that owns Charles de Gaulle and Orly international airports, in exchange for the company's explosive detection devices -- the...

Versant Closes $400 Million Fund. (Week in Review).(Versant Ventures, Camille Samuels Pearson)(Brief Article)
December 7, 2001... Menlo Park-based Versant Ventures, an early-stage health care venture capital firm, closed its Versant Venture Capital II fund at $400 million. In addition, the firm promoted Camille Samuels Pearson to managing director. The firm plans to...

Analyst Slams Gap Fashion Faux Pas. (Week in Review).(Brief Article)
December 7, 2001... It's not often that analysts press the "eject" button on a stock, but such was the determination of Prudential Financial this week when it downgraded ailing retailer Gap Inc. -- led by CEO Mickey Drexler -- to a rare "sell" rating. Bay Area...

Corrections & Amplifications.(Correction Notice)
December 7, 2001... The Nov. 23-29 "Inside Traders" listing incorrectly stated that Linda Betzer is an officer at Robert Half International Inc. She is an officer at Unionbancal Corp.

Tattered gap bags mission bay plans: Retailer will sublease building as it tries to iron out problems.(Gap Inc.)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
December 14, 2001... Struggling Gap Inc. is putting all 283,000 square feet of its soon-to-be completed Mission Bay office building onto the already-saturated San Francisco sublease market Gap's deteriorating sales and profits have forced it to retrench, and...

Temporary office insanity: Mad market rattles sector.(real estate market fluctuations in San Francisco area)(Brief Article)
December 14, 2001... Beset by financial worries amid a prolonged real estate slump, temporary office space providers are struggling to compete with the hordes of sublease space already on the market. Temporary offices are typically leased by the executive suite...

Willis snatches up goldman insurance.(Willis Group Holdings, Goldman Insurance Services/Risk Management)(Brief Article)
December 14, 2001... Global insurance giant Willis Group Holdings is acquiring Goldman Insurance Services/Risk Management; the San Francisco insurance firm founded more than 50 years ago by renowned philanthropist Richard Goldman. "We did this not because we...