San Francisco Business Times articles from January 2000

San Francisco Business Times archives from January 2000

BofA outpaces Wells for Bay Area bucks.
January 7, 2000... Bank of America's deposits swell but numbers may not add up Bank of America Corp.'s Bay Area deposits swelled more than 15 percent through the middle of last year, apparently debunking declarations that local customers would take flight...

Citibank California regroups.
January 7, 2000... New CEO recasts bank as player in state's. broad middle market Excuse street-level Citibank California workers if they were less than impressed when Robert Shoffner was tapped as their fourth president in 20 months. Shoffner's...

Volpe Brown takes bite of IPO market.
January 7, 2000... Volpe Brown Whelan & Co.'s sale last month to Prudential Securities has thrust its ambitious investment banking group into a top tier of deal management contenders it had been struggling to penetrate. Despite a record deal flow that took it...

Bay Area e-tailers check their nets.
January 7, 2000... But boffo advertising budgets fail to land biggest catches The holiday shopping season brought some good tidings for many Bay Area e-tailers: Sales and web site traffic were up almost across the board. But for many sites, the Grinch...

Exec's move gives Bebe a new cut.
January 7, 2000... Bebe's top merchant has left the building, prompting investors to knock 24 percent from the company's share price. Greg Scott, vice president, of merchandising for Bebe Stores Inc., will end his four-year tenure at the end of January....

E-commerce goes to school.
January 7, 2000... Ex-educators aim at $144 billion pot, but find it's a crowded playground A San Francisco startup plans to introduce school systems to the wonders of electronic commerce. Epylon.com is readying an Internet marketplace where K-12 school...

Online lender files for $63M boost from IPO.
January 7, 2000... Online mortage lender iOwn Inc. is seeking to raise $63.3 million in an initial public offering, joining an already crowded field of competitors. San Francisco-based iOwn filed its papers with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Dec....

Stock Answers.
January 7, 2000... Many technology investors this year were singing about how well their market mojo was working, but about the only thing value-oriented managers like Karl Mills find themselves singing these days is the blues. "The full quote from the Muddy...

Presidio and boss get flak from their former PR man.
January 7, 2000... You don't want to get on the wrong side of local PR heavyweights Kamer Singer & Associates: being a client is lot better than being an ex-client when the stuff hits the fan. "Crisis management" PR specialists Sam Singer and Larry Kamer...

BART puts ads on new track.
January 7, 2000... Now arriving at your BART stop: Station domination. Borrowing a European advertising tactic, BART is now offering advertisers the chance to take over a station. For a month, its advertising can cover every square inch of ad space in a...

Salon's new way to do Windows.
January 7, 2000... In a curious merging of news and e-commerce, web-publication Salon.com of San Francisco has announced a business partnership with Red Hat Software -- a not infrequent subject of Salon stories. Salon has championed the Linux operating system...

Wells aims to hit jackpot with more casino lending.
January 7, 2000... Wells Fargo & Co., starting 2000 on the heels of a $53 million casino lending deal, is betting on a hot hand to keep pace with traditional industry leader Bank of America Corp. Wells negotiated a $30 million revolving credit facility with...

Wells Fargo reshuffles Net division.
January 7, 2000... Wells Fargo & Co. has realigned its young Internet business with the departure of a key executive and three appointments. The moves consolidate power with the Internet Services Group's executive vice president, Clyde Ostler, who has prodded...

Salon turns on the tube to rev up revenue stream.
January 7, 2000... San Francisco-based Salon.com has teamed up with Bravo Networks to produce a new TV show in a partnership that involves the television company acquiring 10 percent of the online magazine. Rainbow Media Holding Inc., owners of Bravo, have...

Inside Traders.
January 7, 2000... Inside Traders A look at buying and selling of shares by Bay Area executives Shares sold: 775,000 Were shares sold options? No Options exercised price: n/a Shares...

W.R. Hambrecht & Co.
January 7, 2000... A headline and logo identifying the investment bank Chase H&Q were misplaced in a story about W.R. Hambrecht & Co. in the Dec. 31-Jan. 6 Outlook 2000 Companies to Watch feature.

Hewlett Foundation.
January 7, 2000... The 1998 assets of the Hewlett Foundation were misstated in The List of largest foundations (Nov. 26-Dec. 2 issue). The correct amount is $1.938 billion and the total giving is $74.4 million.

Neil Cohen.
January 7, 2000... An executive title was misstated in the Dec. 24-30 Technology column. Neil Cohen is founder and chief marketing officer, of campsix, a San Francisco-based business incubator.

Jean-Bernard Duler.
January 7, 2000... Esurance founder Jean-Bernard Duler was misidentified in an article in the Dec. 24-30 issue.

Francisco Partners free to raise billion-dollar fund.
January 7, 2000... Finally freed of shackles from their previous employers, investment banker Sandy Robertson and buyout specialist Dave Stanton are off and running in the multi-billion-dollar technology race. Robertson and Texas-Pacific Group technology...

Nick Bishop.
January 7, 2000... Name: Nick Bishop. Title: Managing director. Company: McCann-Erickson/A&L San Francisco, the advertising agency. Education: Matriculation, St. Peters College; Adelaide, South Australia. Residence: Hilisborough. Business...

Summit, Alta Bates merge.
January 7, 2000... Despite California Attorney General Bill Lockyer's attempt to stop them on antitrust grounds Oakland's Summit Medical Center merged with Berkeley's Alta Bates Medical Center. U.S. District Judge Maxine Chesney gave the green light and five...

PUC fines PacBell.
January 7, 2000... The California PUC slapped Pacific Bell with $44 million in penalties for deceptive and overly aggressive marketing practices, including allegedly selling customers services they didn't want was among the violations. The heavy penalty included...

Palo Alto Co-op sells to AT&T.(Cable Co-op)(Brief Article)
January 7, 2000... Subscribers to Palo Alto's Cable Co-op, until now the Bay Area's only independent cable cooperative, have voted to sell the operation to AT&T for $70 million. The 13-year-old Co-op has about 28,000 subscribers in Palo Alto, Menlo Park, East...

PeopleSoft completes merger.(with Vantive Corp.)(Brief Article)
January 7, 2000... PeopleSoft Inc. has completed its $430 million acquisition of The Vantive Corp. a maker of customer relationship management (CRM) software. The transaction was completed with the issuance of approximately 28 million shares of common stock and...

Beringer sells Napa Ridge wine.(to Bronco Wine Co.)(Brief Article)
January 7, 2000... Napa-based Beringer Wine Estates Holdings sold its Napa Ridge Brand to Bronco Wine Co. of Stanislaus County for $40 million. Beringer wants to focus on two other brands, Meridian and Beringer Founder Estates.

Sega head hired by Mattel.(Bernard Stolar)(Brief Article)
January 7, 2000... Bernard Stolar, the former head of Sega of America, was hired by Mattel Inc. to revive its foundering Marin County-based software operations. Stolar will be president of Mattel's interactive division, which comprises the former Learning Co....

Commerce One buys Mergent.(Mergent Systems Inc. )(Brief Article)
January 7, 2000... Software maker Commerce One Inc., based in Walnut Creek, has announced plans to buy Mergent Systems Inc. of Mountain View for $200 million in cash and stock. Commerce One says the buy will give it technology to manage supplier catalogs on...

A new spin on tech news.(CNet Inc. and AMFM Inc. to offer new radio format)(Brief Article)
January 7, 2000... San Francisco technology news and information company CNet Inc. has teamed up with Dallas-based radio network AMFM Inc. to offer a new radio format with technology news and reviews. The new format will debut this month in San Francisco on...

Selfcare.com signs $21M deal.(with Women.com)(Brief Article)
January 7, 2000... Health and wellness e-commerce web site Selfcare.com has inked a three-year, $21 million partnership with Women.com, the San Mateo-based women's community site. Under terms of the deal, both sites will share content and programming, while...

E-Trade, Telebanc still engaged.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 7, 2000... E-Trade Group's announced purchase of Telebanc Financial Corp. is still on, even though the union did not occur by the original target date. The merger agreement allowed either bank to walk away from the deal if it were not completed by Dec....

Genentech's stock grows.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 7, 2000... Genentech stock soared after the FDA gave approval to its Nutropin Depot, a long-acting version of its Nutropin growth hormone drug. The South San Francisco biotech company's stock soared $6.25 to $139.25 a share the day approval was granted....

Ax falls on Carlesimo.(Warriors' coach fired.)(Brief Article)
January 7, 2000... Embattled Warriors' coach P.J. Carlesimo was fired. A 6-21 record and faltering attendance ended his tenure. He was succeeded by Warriors general manager Garry St. Jean, a former unsuccessful coach with Sacramento.

Volpe employees bolt.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 7, 2000... Two weeks after Prudential Securities acquired Volpe Brown Whelan, 15 percent of its staff have either quit or been let go. The losses came mostly in sales and trading and included 38 of the company's 235 staff.

State orphans "Adopt an ATM" plan.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 7, 2000... Bank of America officials met with state labor commissioner Marcy Saunders over the bank's Adopt an ATM program, which Saunders has ordered scrapped. BofA asked its 160,000 employees to each "adopt" an ATM and clean it in their spare time. BofA...

Weisel taps fund manager.
January 7, 2000... Thomas Weisel Partners hired a fund manager to launch a money management business. Mark Waterhouse joins from Wellington Management Co. He will manage investments for institutions and wealthy individuals from Weisel's Boston office.

Y2K prep paid off for business.(Brief Article)
January 7, 2000... There were no serious snafus in the business community as the clock turned to Jan. 1, 2000 -- machines, services and banks survived intact. Businesses have spent millions shoring up against the possible catastrophe of the Y2K threat, a glitch...

On the mend, America California resolves not to recall.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 7, 2000... R. Albert Roensch prefers not to talk about the America California Bank of a year or more ago. He doesn't want to talk about regulators' concerns and he only touches on the subject of the closely held bank's unprofitable past two years....

Stagecoach stop ruled out by Wells execs.(Brief Article)
January 7, 2000... Wells Fargo & Co.'s well-known stagecoach isn't exactly riding into the sunset, but there's been a movement within the bank to rein it in. It seems some folks in the bank's marketing department want to emphasize the logo -- a yellow "WELLS...

Redwood Trust scuttles mortgage subsidiary.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 7, 2000... Less than five months ago, Redwood Trust was showcasing a segment of its mortgage production business as a sign of good things to come. Last month, the Mill Valley-based company said it would take an $8 million charge and shut down that...

HealthCentral.com gets some healthy competition.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 7, 2000... HealthCentral.com has gone public, joining a crowded field of health and medical web sites. The Emeryville company priced in December at $11 per share, but has recently dropped to about $9 per share. Like former Surgeon General C. Everett...

Niku files to go public and raise $115M.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 7, 2000... Niku Corp. filed for an initial public offering with plans to raise up to $115 million. The Redwood City company's offering, filed in late December, will be managed by Goldman Sachs, and co-managed by Dain Rauscher Wessels, Thomas Weisel...

SBC Communications promotes PacBell veteran.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 7, 2000... SBC Communications, the parent company of Pacific Bell, recently named Carmen Nava president of Pacific Bell's consumer markets. Nava, a 15-year veteran of Pacific Bell, was recently president of SBC's Center of Learning, a program that...

Newbridge ropes South Korea's largest bank.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 7, 2000... Months of wrangling and sensitive political negotiations have paid off for San Francisco's Newbridge Capital in its efforts to buy control of South Korea's largest bank. Newbridge has reached a deal with the Korea Deposit Insurance Corp....

Canaan Equity II closes big.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 7, 2000... As is the fashion, Canaan Partners of Menlo Park tripled the size of its latest fund, closing Canaan Equity II at the end of 1999 with $500 million, up from $158 million in 1997's Canaan Equity I. General Partner Eric Young said the...

Local companies vie for prime Super Bowl air time.(San Francisco based companies)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 7, 2000... A handful of local firms have joined the list of companies expected to premiere expensive, high-profile ads during Super Bowl XXXIV come Jan. 30. Visa, Pets.com and E-Trade are some of the local companies that have already purchased time,...

Dustup at Clorox.(company denies product development)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 7, 2000... A spokesman for Oakland-based Clorox Co. vigorously denies claims made in an advertising trade paper that the company is developing an electrostatic dusting product similar to one introduced by Procter & Gamble and rival S.C. Johnson. In late...

Another Ad Agency IPO.(Bronner, Slosberg, Humphrey)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 7, 2000... Ad agency Bronner, Slosberg, Humphrey, which maintains an office in San Francisco, is laying the groundwork for a $200 million initial public offering under the new name Digitas Inc. Documents on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission...

Transbay Terminal inches toward replacement.(San Francisco, California)(Brief Article)
January 7, 2000... Suspense over the three proposed designs for reincarnating the Transbay Terminal climaxes next Friday when Bay Area transportation leaders hear a consultant's recommendation. Enigmatically named after Dickens novels, the three designs...

Cramming for UCSF.(SMP/SHG Architects constructing new medical facilities)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 7, 2000... SMP/SHG Architects, designers of the first structure to rise at the massive redevelopment of Mission Bay into UCSF's new 43-acre biotech campus, have conceptualized two more medical facilities in Southern California. Kaiser Permanente Los...

Waste not, want not.(Swinerton & Walberg recognized for recycling efforts)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 7, 2000... General contractors produce more useful waste than perhaps any other type of business. From soil and rocks generated at virgin sites to kitchen appliances extracted from renovation projects, contractors' offal runs the gamut. But only one...

Just Desserts slices its total store count to five.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 7, 2000... Just Desserts has completed a streamlining of its retail bakery and cafes, including closing one in San Francisco, one in Palo Alto and finalizing the sale of one Berkeley location. In March the company will open a location in Sony's Metreon....

Shipping charges shape up.(DHL Airways computes international shipping charges)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 7, 2000... Catalogers and e-tailers have been hamstrung by constraints surrounding international shipping charges. Until now. Redwood City-based DHL Airways Inc. will introduce a service that will enable shippers, in advance, to figure additive...

More than the status quo.(expensive status symbols)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 7, 2000... Status symbols for the harried show that saving time is more important than saving money Anybody can go out to a restaurant. Alan Byers and Jeannie Cho bring the restaurant to you. The husband and wife have geared their personal chef...

Hotelier redefines luxury as a tent in the woods.(Brief Article)
January 7, 2000... Climbing Mount Everest, a Serengeti safari, or running the Bio Bio (Chile) on a raft have long been on the vacation lists of adventurous corporate high-flyers. In the Internet age, less exotic destinations beckon. Nestled in the coniferous...

Customers not bashful about pulling out wallet.(Brief Article)
January 7, 2000... When tony Sutter Street clothier Wilkes Bashford talks value, he's not exactly referring to a two-for-one sale. Value, as defined by Bashford and other way-upscale retailers, is getting more for your money. And with Bay Area pockets...

Giving: Enough already, or case of too little, too late?(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 7, 2000... Local charities are exultant over last. year's giving; saying the region's high economic tide lifted most of its philanthropic boats. Area foundations like the San Francisco Foundation and the Peninsula Community Foundation wrapped up...

Powerful Bentley offers $200K of curb appeal.(Brief Article)
January 7, 2000... One car that can't be left off a listing life's finest possessions is a Bentley. The grand English make still conveys an unparalleled sense of luxury. The Arnage is the latest model and epitomizes the virtues of the brand. For the 2000...

Largest Resorts in the Greater Bay Area.(Brief Article)
January 7, 2000... Largest Resorts in the Greater Bay Area Total no. Resort name rooms Rank Address Rank last...

Largest Health Clubs in the Bay Area.(Brief Article)
January 7, 2000... Largest Health Clubs in the Bay Area Company name Rank Address Bay Area last Phone/Fax club Rank year Web...

New year greeting: New laws affect overtime, kin care.(Brief Article)
January 7, 2000... New Year's hangovers may have subsided, but small business owners must deal with bottom line headaches brought on by new laws that went into effect Jan. 1. The new laws that will impact every small business owner in California are in the...

Business Trip.(Brief Article)
January 7, 2000... Our Sources Inc. arrives in profitville by offering three travel options Lisa Brandes has created a travel service that's sells not only tickets, but also fantasies. Brandes is founder of Our Sources Inc., based in Fairfax. The agency...

Bill Lohse.(Brief Article)
January 7, 2000... Title: Founder and CEO Company: SmartAge.Com, a San Francisco company that is trying to become the voice of small business on the Internet Funding: Lohse invested $750,000, then raised $2.5 million from angels including Ben Rosen,...

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE.(Brief Article)
January 7, 2000... ARCHITECTURE/INTERIOR DESIGN Simon Kwan has been named associate with San Francisco-based Fee Munson Ebert, Architecture and Design. Edaw Inc., an international planning, urban design, landscape architecture and resource management...

Legal eagles flock together, swoop toward tech clients.(Brief Article)
January 7, 2000... Pleasanton-based Hallgrimson McNichols LLP has joined forces with Oakland-based Randick and O'Dea and named Nickolas Tooliatos the new law firm's managing partner. The firm will be called McNichols Randick O'Dea & Tooliatos LLP. The merged...

Your home office: OSHA shouldn't get to move in.(Brief Article)(Editorial)
January 7, 2000... Coming soon to your home: OSHA. Not literally, at least not yet. The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration insists its inspectors will not be peering in the window as you're still padding around in a bathrobe and slippers. But...

Business leaders tackle the Bay Area.(Brief Article)(Editorial)
January 7, 2000... Next Friday, Jan. 14, the Bay Area Council will host its annual Outlook Conference at the Westin St. Francis hotel in San Francisco. This conference is on my annual "must-attend" list. Every year the program features an outstanding group of...

Cash crunch keeps health care looking pallid.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 7, 2000... The Alameda-Contra Costa Medical Association (ACCMA) agrees with much of the praise of United Health Plan's announcement that physicians, not its employees, can authorize health care services for patients insured by the plan. It's reassuring to...

LETTERS.(Letter to the Editor)
January 7, 2000... Dot-comment: 'Isn't Stanford teaching ethics?' I was very interested in the story regarding dot com dancers vs. dissers ("Dot-coms attract, repulse S.F. ad shops," Dec. 17-23 issue). I think there's another issue aside from the cultural...

Rise & Fall.(Brief Article)
January 7, 2000... A barometer of the region's movers, shakers and fakers Dawn Riley Riley's crew of America True are losing their "scrappy underdog" label, but that's about all they are losing. Former America's Cup nonentities steam into yachting...

Williams-Sonoma cooks up HQ expansion.
January 14, 2000... Retailer pays record price for north waterfront buildings Williams-Sonoma Inc. -- its deal to build a new headquarters south of Market Street apparently dead -- has agreed to pay a record per-square-foot price for two San Francisco office...

Bugs in Net wine store cause delay.
January 14, 2000... Technical glitches have forced Wineshopper.com delay launch of its highly anticipated e-commerce site. The San Francisco-based company, backed by $46 million in venture capital, was expected to open for business in time for the holiday...

Meet Mr. Nice Guy.
January 14, 2000... It's not exactly a Dickens-like tale, but a close look might reveal a change creeping over David Payne and his Westamerica Bancorp. Sure, when Westamerica opened a branch in Livermore last month, it wasn't as big of a deal as the acquisitions...

E-marketing firm lands hotshot CEO.
January 14, 2000... E-marketing software firm Personify Inc. has landed a hotshot e-commerce whiz kid as its new CEO, replacing current chief executive Eileen Gittins. Love Goel, 28, joins San Francisco-based Personify from Federated Department Stores, where he...

Commerce One gobbles up Pleasanton space.
January 14, 2000... Commerce One Inc., the hotshot-e-commerce company whose stock soared more than 2,700 percent last year, has grabbed another 125,000 square feet of office space in Pleasanton -- part of an aggressive expansion plan that could add up to 1 million...

All in the family.(companies with father-daughter management teams)(Brief Article)
January 14, 2000... Melinda Ellis Evers had a stint in real estate behind her and a fresh MBA in 1993 when she helped put together a promising startup. Her startup partner: her dad. Six years later, the Ellises -- father Hal, daughter Melinda and brother Jim --...

Leveraged buying.com, corporate-style.(PricewaterhouseCoopers, Ariba and EDS form electronic commerce enterprises)(Brief Article)
January 14, 2000... PricewaterhouseCoopers, Ariba set up Net business marketplaces Internet discount shopping is coming to corporate America. In two separate deals, PricewaterhouseCoopers and a joint venture between Ariba and EDS are each forming...

W.R. Hambrecht snags Volpe Brown traders.(Brief Article)
January 14, 2000... San Francisco's W.R. Hambrecht & Co. has accelerated its expansion plan by a year, snapping up the former trading staff of Volpe Brown Whelan & Co. lock, stock and barrel. The two-year-old Internet investment bank has so far concentrated...

Rick Reynolds tries to put S.F. on TV talk show map.(San Francisco-based talk show)(Brief Article)
January 14, 2000... Live from San Francisca, heeeere's Rick? Indeed. New York has Letterman and L.A. has Leno. San Francisco is about to have its own talk show, featuring standup comic and monologist Rick Reynolds. AT&T Cable staked some production funding for...

Iced over.(top-of-the-line items don't sell well for Fogdog Sports)(Brief Article)
January 14, 2000... For all the sickening Y2K hype, there were plenty of grandiose plans that never panned out. For instance, Fogdog Sports of Redwood City was hawking a $25,000 solid gold watch. The sporting goods e-tailer promised that the first customer to...

America's Cup split Valley techies.(Hewlett-Packard supports America One while Silicon Graphics supports America True entries for the America's Cup race)(Brief Article)
January 14, 2000... When the America's Cup Challenger Series semifinals kicked off in New Zealand on Jan. 2, plenty of Silicon Valley eyes were watching. One of the entries, America True, is sponsored by NASA Ames Research Center and SGI, among others. Another...

Rise & Fall.(Brief Article)
January 14, 2000... A barometer of the region's movers, shakers and fakers Paul Cayard Old sea dog peaks at the right time: after a string of lackluster performances, Mann native's AmericaOne breezes into lead for place in yachting final. Meanwhile, wind turns...

Wells Fargo veteran shifts work to CEO Kovacevich.
January 14, 2000... Paul Hazen, who engineered Wells Fargo & Co's merger with Norwest Corp., has turned over direct operating responsibilities to President and CEO Dick Kovacevich. Corporate development, wholesale banking, auditing and legal functions now report...

Pacific Bank mulls plan to sue ex-staff.
January 14, 2000... Pacific Bank may sue former employees who it claims led the institution to slice a combined half-million dollars from 1998 and 1999 earnings. The discovery of operational losses in the trust division won't affect Pacific's merger with City...