San Francisco Business Times articles from November 1999

San Francisco Business Times archives from November 1999

Peninsula land fetches $90M.(Jay Paul co. buys land in Redwood City from Pacific Shores Center Partnership)
November 26, 1999... Dark horse Jay Paul Co. outruns real estate giants for prime parcel The Jay Paul Co., a relatively unknown San Francisco-based real estate development firm, is under contract to buy the Peninsula's largest undeveloped and approved office...

Produce market ripe for move.(Oakland wholesale produce market)
November 26, 1999... Oakland vendors seek room to grow, opening hot spot for development Oakland's wholesale produce market is finally leaving its home of 80 years, a move that could open up four square blocks between the development hotspots Jack London...

Chevron deal sends jobs to East Bay.
November 26, 1999... Chevron Corp. has inked the largest lease in the Interstate 680 corridor this year, grabbing roughly 220,000 square feet in San Ramon's Bishop Ranch Business Park. The new office space will accommodate 400 to 500 Chevron employees...

InnoVentry snags S.F. headquarters.
November 26, 1999... High-tech check casher ends Bay Area search South of Market InnoVentry, a high-tech check-cashing startup partially owned by Wells Fargo & Co., is increasing its space fourfold in downtown San Francisco. The closely held company,...

Insurance firm makes $125M claim.
November 26, 1999... Freshly stocked with one of the year's larger venture capital catches, USI Insurance Services Corp. will turn inward after five years of rapid, draining growth. In addition to the $125 million VC investment -- which makes a New York firm...

Congestion ails Fremont tech firms.
November 26, 1999... Traffic named top concern by city's 1,300 tech outfits Traffic congestion on the arteries in and out of Fremont is the biggest complaint voiced by local technology companies. Results of a survey released at the city's first Technology...

Fair, Isaac to change scores in credit game.
November 26, 1999... With a decade of consumer credit data at its fingertips, Fair, Isaac and Co. is revamping its pioneering credit-scoring technology to help banks, retailers and the like weed out credit risks. The next-generation product, expected to...

Stock Answers.
November 26, 1999... Analyst has three words for e-tail stocks: Ho, ho, ho Last week I went online to make my first gift purchase of the season. I don't want to say what it was, because God knows what kind of big mouths read this column. Let's just say...

Hoops star says Schwab voice-over was a foul line.
November 26, 1999... Charles Schwab Corp.'s new TV ad campaign featuring pro athletes such as Russian tennis star Anna Kournikova and Denver Broncos' tight end Shannon Sharpe have been a hit with consumers -- but has left one hired pitchman crying foul. In a...

Milking it.
November 26, 1999... For the record, Jeff Manning did not create the cow. But milk? That's another story. Manning, executive director of the California Milk Processor Board, has written "Got Milk? The Book", an engaging behind-the-scenes look at the making...

Busybodybureaucrats.com.
November 26, 1999... With its legions of warehouses and remarkable proximity to Oakland International Airport, San Leandro has benefitted more than many towns from the e-commerce boom. Many cities would be thrilled to be on the fast track to the new economy,...

Rise & Fall.
November 26, 1999... A barometer of the region's movers, shakers and fakers Hard work is fine but good luck is even better. PeopleSoft CEO's hard work hasn't done a lot for the struggling software-maker's stock price over the last six months -- but a rumor...

Net financial services firm opens Alameda office.
November 26, 1999... ReSourcePhoenix.com has opened a new 67,000-square-foot office on Harbor Bay Parkway in Alameda as it prepares to launch a hiring binge. Fresh off its initial public offering, the San Rafael-based online financial services firm plans to...

CHW's debt rating dropped for bleak fiscal outlook.
November 26, 1999... San Francisco-based Catholic Healthcare West had better start praying. The 47-hospital system was hit with a two-notch downgrade on $2.1 billion of debt by Fitch IBCA. The ratings agency dropped the not-for-profit health care...

Bay Area disability groups seek new Berkeley home.
November 26, 1999... Nine organizations serving thousands of disabled people regionwide have agreed to buy part of the eastern parking lot at BART's Ashby station in Berkeley, where they plan to build an office building. The groups, which would consolidate...

Salsa maker dips into San Leandro.
November 26, 1999... A fast-growing salsa and chips maker and three e-commerce companies have set up shop in San Leandro, boosting its rising status as a distribution and food preparation center for the Bay Area. Native Kjalii Foods, the salsa company, moving...

Inside Traders.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
November 26, 1999... Inside Traders A look at buying and selling of shares by Bay Area executives Thomas Siebel Siebel Systems Inc. Howard Graham Officer...

Stock broker TFW adds new services.
November 26, 1999... San Francisco-based stockbroker Thomas F. White & Co. has added a raft of new services as it follows its larger rivals into areas far removed from straight stock transactions. In the last quarter, the company has completed deals to add...

Sierra Point lands new tenant.
November 26, 1999... Opus West Corp. has landed its first office tenant for the Sierra Point business park project on the Peninsula: MJ Research, a Massachusetts-based provider of equipment and services for the biotechnology and genomics industries. MJ,...

Chronicle Publishing empire sold.
November 26, 1999... San Francisco Chronicle heirs have collected more than $2 billion for the Chronicle Publishing empire. Among the last pieces to go: TV stations KAKE in Wichita, Kan., WOWT in Omaha, Neb.; and Motorbooks International in Osceola, Wis. The TV...

Genentech settles UC suit for $200M.
November 26, 1999... The University of California has accepted a $200 million offer from South San Francisco-based Genentech Inc. to settle a longstanding patent infringement dispute over the rights to genetic research. As a part of the deal, Genentech will give...

ZDTV changes channels.(sold to Vulcan Ventures Inc.)
November 26, 1999... San Francisco-based technology cable network ZDTV was sold to Vulcan Ventures Inc., which is owned by Microsoft Corp. co-founder Paul Allen. Vulcan paid publisher Ziff-Davis $205 million for 64 percent of ZDTV. Vulcan invested $54 million for...

PacBell rate hike around the corner.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
November 26, 1999... In December, Pacific Bell telephone customers will start paying 46 cents per directory assistance call, up from the current rate of 25 cents. Another change: The number of free calls allowed per month will be chopped from five to three, and...

Chevron settles suit for $775M.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
November 26, 1999... Chevron Corp. has agreed to settle a 17-year-old lawsuit that resulted from the abandoned merger of two oil companies that no longer exist. Occidental Petroleum Corp., which acquired original plaintiff Cities Service Co., will receive the...

H-P spinoff has grade-A IPO.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
November 26, 1999... Hewlett-Packard Co. spinoff Agilent Technologies Inc. saw its stock price jump 41 percent on its initial day of trading, to close the day at $42.44 and give the company a $19.7 billion market value. H-P still owns about 85 percent of the Palo...

Accrue moves into marketing.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
November 26, 1999... Fremont-based Accrue Software Inc. will buy NewVista Software Inc. for about $140.25 million in stock. The Internet analysis software maker will use the acquisition to move into electronic direct marketing.

Napa National bought by Wells.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
November 26, 1999... Wells Fargo & Co. has announced its intentions to buy privately held Napa National Bancorp for $33 million in stock. Napa National has four branch offices in Napa Valley, and about $160 million in assets.

Electronic Arts plays ball with AOL.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
November 26, 1999... Redwood City-based Electronic Arts Inc., the video-game publisher, has agreed to be the exclusive supplier of games to America Online Inc. As a part of the deal, EA has guaranteed AOL $81 million over the next five years. AOL will also...

ExciteAtHome fortifies merger.(Brief Article)
November 26, 1999... Redwood City's Excite-AtHome will setup a tracking stock for its Internet content operations. Company President George Bell said the tracking stock will allow the Internet content to be operated more independently, and "put an end to the...

S.F. suits filed against Microsoft.(Brief Article)
November 26, 1999... At least two suits seeking class action status have been filed in a San Francisco Superior Court against Microsoft Corp. One suit alleges the software maker overcharged millions of California businesses and consumers for Windows 95 and 98,...

Gas prices pumped up legally.(Brief Article)
November 26, 1999... California Attorney General Bill Lockyer says high gasoline prices in the state, and particularly in the Bay Area, have "sheared" consumers "like sheep," but says he hasn't found anything illegal in oil companies' practices. He attributes the...

Belvedere buys community bank.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
November 26, 1999... Belvedere Capital Partners' California community bank fund will pay $41.6 million for Sacramento Commercial Bank. The cash deal is expected to close in first-quarter 2000. Sacramento Commercial has assets of about $215 million. San...

Niku expands product line.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
November 26, 1999... Redwood City's Niku Corp., a provider of Internet-based software, has acquired Proamics Corp. of Lincolnshire, Ill. for more than $40 million. Proamics provides technology for project accounting, time and expense tracking.

Starbucks acquires S.F.'s Hear Music.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
November 26, 1999... San Francisco-based Hear Music was bought by specialty coffee retailer Starbucks Corp. of Seattle, Wash. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Starbucks said it paid less than $10 million for the music retailer. The coffee chain plans to...

Oakland bitten by Y2K bug.
November 26, 1999... Y2K compliance has led to some serious snafus on the Oakland city payroll. Some city workers were paid just $13 for two weeks' work, while the city's public works manager received $322,000. The problem? According to city officials, city...

Barry Levin.
November 26, 1999... Name: Barry Levin. Title: Chairman. Company: Heller Ehrman White & McAuliffe, the San Francisco-based law firm. Education: Bachelor of arts degree in English literature from Washington University in St Louis; J.D. from...

S.F. design firm steps up to plate for Giants' duds.
November 26, 1999... The San Francisco Giants chose a home team to redesign their uniforms -- the San Francisco design firm SBG Enterprise. SBG Chairman and CEO Flavio Gomez, a lifelong baseball fan, consulted Giants legend Willie Mays before getting to work....

Addis polishes pineapple.
November 26, 1999... Berkeley design shop Addis recently completed a revamping of Dole's canned fruit, juices and snack products. The new design unifies the look of all three product lines using a deep shade of blue to better stand out on the grocer's shelf,...

Cybergold seeks ad shop.(Brief Article)
November 26, 1999... Cybergold, the Berkeley-based Net direct marketer, is reportedly shopping for an advertising agency. Normally, that wouldn't be news, but Cybergold's current crop of ads has to be one of the worst advertising efforts in recent years. ...

Dot-com riches, in print.
November 26, 1999... You may be tired of all that dot-com advertising, but the technology and business magazines are loving it. Building on a November issue the size of a phone book, Business 2.0 says its December issue will be even larger -- 217 total ad pages....

Purveyor of luxury goods tries on watches and shades.
November 26, 1999... Just in time for the holiday shopping season, LVMH Specialty Retail Concepts has rolled out two different concept stores. The newest addition to the LVMH conglomerate is Synchrony, a watch retail chain, that opened in Los Angeles last...

Frills for your e-bills.
November 26, 1999... Big gains are up for grabs for companies who can get their customers to accept online bill presentment. A Jupiter Communications survey says the attractiveness to consumers of paying bills online rivals free e-mail, stock quotes and search...

Zowie plays it smart in new $300M toy industry.
November 26, 1999... After two years of development, the fruits of Zowie Intertainment Inc.'s labor hit the shelves this month in time for the holidays. A spinoff from Interval Research, a Palo Alto-based research center founded by Microsoft cofounder Paul...

It's musical chairs at Oracle's Biz Online.
November 26, 1999... Oracle Corp.'s much touted Business Online division has had its share of musical chairs in the top ranks. Head of the division, Chris Russell, left late last month, at a crucial time for the company, which is touted to be one of the...

Cubus Corp.
November 26, 1999... * Cubus Corp. recently signed on NASA as one of the company's largest customers. The San Francisco developer of collaborative software which downloads building blueprints onto the Internet for collaborative use, formalized a multimillion...

Ten North Inc.
November 26, 1999... * Ten North Inc. of San Francisco has raised $9.6 million in its second round of financing led by Bay Partners. The company intends to use the funding to extend its offerings in developing software for companies managing relationships with...

NIKU Corp.
November 26, 1999... * NIKU Corp., the Redwood City provider of software to provide professional services over the Internet, has signed an agreement to acquire Proamics Corp. in a $40 million deal. Proamics, based in Lincolnshire Ill., provides software for...

FutureLink Corp.
November 26, 1999... * Future Link Corp. of Irvine this month purchased Computer Networks Inc. of Pleasanton for $14 million. With about 23 employees and 1998 revenues of $5.5 million, Computer Networks brings FutureLink's total employee count to 285 employees....

Texas-Pacific in the Zhone with $500M investment.
November 26, 1999... A recent $500 million investment by Texas-Pacific Group, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., Credit Suisse First Boston and New Enterprise Associates marked a new milestone for the venture capital industry. The buyout-sized startup investment...

Doll fund targets tech.
November 26, 1999... Dixon Doll's Doll Capital Management recently closed three separate venture capital partnerships totaling $150 million. Doll Technology Investment II will invest alongside two parallel funds created for a Japanese equipment manufacturer...

Many small businesses plan to fix Y2K bug after the fact.
November 26, 1999... Up to 500,000 small businesses have decided to wait until Jan. 1 to see if they have any Year 2000 computer problems, figuring they can address any glitches after they occur, says the White House's Y2K czar. This "fixing on failure"...

Firms lack Y2K staff plans.
November 26, 1999... The Society for Human Resource Management finds it "alarming" that 44 percent of the businesses it surveyed have no contigency plans for Y2K probles around the around the New Year's holiday Only 39 percent of the human resource...

Survey: Ergonomics works.(Brief Article)
November 26, 1999... Employers with ergonomics programs are less likely to have high rates of repetitive motion injuries, according to a survey of large companies in the manufacturing, transportation/communication, health and business services, and...

Startups transform North-of-Market into funky town.(Brief Article)
November 26, 1999... As the funky space in San Francisco's South of Market warehouse district fills with startups, tech companies are flooding north of Market Street where funky space is considerably scarcer. So they're creating it. Buildings once reserved...

Cities strive to incubate the incubators.(San Francisco Bay Area programs to nurture emerging businesses)(Brief Article)
November 26, 1999... Cities around the Bay Area are wrestling to nurture emerging businesses with below-market office and lab space, as well as support services, legal advice and even short cuts to venture capital. And Richmond, through the Contra Costa...

Project terms at SFO delay development.(San Francisco International Airport)(Brief Article)
November 26, 1999... San Francisco International Airport has encountered more stumbling blocks in its drive to redevelop the airport hotel space by the main airport entrance. Hoteliers and architects who attended a conference on the airport's draft request...

Environmental center takes off at Crissy Field.
November 26, 1999... Oakland-based BBI Construction began site work this month for a $2.4 million community environmental center, part of the $27 million renovation of Crissy Field. A restored historic Presidio building with additions, the center will house...

Architects chosen for Oakland air terminal.(Oakland International Airport)(Brief Article)
November 26, 1999... The Oakland Board of Fort Commissioners awarded a $42.6 million master architect contract to design Oakland International Airport's proposed new terminal complex to four firms: KPaConsulting Engineers Inc., Kwan Henmi architects and Powell...

Golden Gate CEO is man with a plan on the ATM ban.(Golden Gate Bank President and CEO Jim Woolwine)(Brief Article)
November 26, 1999... Golden Gate Bank President and CEO Jim Woolwine has a simple solution for the ATM surcharge hullabaloo: Why don't banks with large ATM networks (read: Bank of America Corp. and Wells Fargo & Co.) boost the interchange fee? The...

Wells Fargo CEO: ATM bans don't go far enough.(opinions of Dick Kovacevich on automatic teller machine ordinances in San Francisco and Santa Monica)(Brief Article)
November 26, 1999... A few ears perked up at a recent Commonwealth Club of California luncheon when Wells President and CEO Dick Kovacevich said the ATM ordinances in San Francisco and Santa Monica "don't go far enough." (Pregnant pause.) "I think they...

Survey says banks spreading Y2K gospel.(Year 2000 computer transition)(Brief Article)
November 26, 1999... An October-November Gallup survey found that 90 percent of U.S. bank customers believe their banks are ready for the Year 2000, and some of the credit must go to banks that have pushed hard to calm consumers' fears. Seven of 10 adult...

BNP seeks to rebuild BancWest position.(Banque Nationale de Paris)(Brief Article)
November 26, 1999... Banque Nationale de Paris is climbing back to 45 percent ownership of BancWest Corp. BancWest is the parent Bank of the West. After BancWest's $180 million merger with Sierra West Bancorp in July, BNP's interest slipped to about 42...

Union Bank sets stock-purchase plan.
November 26, 1999... San Francisco-based UnionBanCal Corp., well into its "Mission Excel" program, will repurchase up to $100 million of its stock. The parent of Union Bank of California, with more than 164.6 million shares of common stock outstanding, said...

A piece of the action.
November 26, 1999... Banking community creates new services, new attitudes to cash in on startups' promises Jerry Kaplan didn't even glance toward a bank when his Onsale Inc. needed funding to go online in 1995. Equity investors, he knew, would show him the...

Surge in loan offers puts credit card debtors at risk.
November 26, 1999... Anybody who owns a home in the Bay Area can spot the loan offers at a glance in a heap of junk mail. They appear official, usually look vaguely like a bill, and almost always say "urgent." And a new one comes at least once a week. What...

Private banking sees new cash in high-tech wallets.
November 26, 1999... Maybe you're considering buying a share in an airplane to cut your tax bill. Or looking at a six-figure piece of art work as a Christmas gift. If so, nearly every Bay Area bank would like to talk to you. While banks struggle increasingly...

Companies find fast cash from private stockholders.
November 26, 1999... In the old economy, PIPE dreams were the last resort for companies that needed quick money to avoid a default on their loans. Now, fast-growing companies are starting to turn away from the public stock market and toward the so-called Private...

Credit-card funding makes for a risky business plan.
November 26, 1999... After getting laid off from her marketing job at Chevron, Darlene Abbott dreamed of launching a marketing and graphic design business. She didn't have enough cash, though, and couldn't get a loan. So Abbott, like many entrepreneurs,...

Community banks claim their share of the action.
November 26, 1999... When a tree falls in the rain forest, the sudden shaft of sunlight offers a fertile new world to the plants below. In banking, the same thing happens when the giants merge. Over the past year, as Bank of America and Wells Fargo have been...

Banks change the definition of who's safe, who's risky.
November 26, 1999... Banks have got money and tech companies need it. It seems like a simple equation. But standing in between are banks' conservative natures and some archaic principles like prudence in lending -- and for very good reason, bankers say. ...

6,500 women attend PBWC Conference.
November 26, 1999... The 1999 PBWC conference last June at Moscone Center in San Francisco attracted more than 6,500 professional women and was a rousing success. The star of the show was former Governor of Texas Ann Richards, who kicked off the conference as...

President's Letter.
November 26, 1999... Last June's 11th annual PBWC conference at Moscone Center was a stellar success, and we continue to get positive feedback and suggestions for the conference coming up on May 4, 2000 at the San Jose Convention Center. More than 6,500 women...

News Management: How to Communicate in a Crisis.
November 26, 1999... It happened to Pepsi. It happened to Exxon. It happened to Tylenol. If you think that it cannot happen to you, think again. Public relations crises know no barriers. Whether you are a local dry cleaner or a multimillion-dollar corporation,...

California Entrepreneur Increases Employee Awareness of Benefits.
November 26, 1999... Few people appreciate the value of health care more than those who pay for it. Geno DeVandry, president of DeKing Screw Products in Burbank, California, knows exactly what he gets for each health care dollar spent on his family and employees....

I've Become the Person My Mother Hoped I'd Marry.
November 26, 1999... In an ancient Persian fairy tale, three princes from the land of Serendip travel the world in search of adventure, making discoveries by a combination of accident and sagacity. Millions of contemporary women have discovered that they too have...

Most Active Investment Banks in Bay Area IPOs.
November 26, 1999... Most Active Investment Banks in Bay Area IPOs Dan Barasch Amount Company name raised...

Small business opens debate on 'open access'.
November 26, 1999... High-speed Internet access is more than the best conduit for e-business. In the Bay Area, as in many other parts of the country, it's a developing battle ground. In San Francisco, AT&Ts acquisition of TCI Cable gave the...

The end of the line.
November 26, 1999... Transforming dead computer designs into a viable business Martin Plotkin spent the first half of his high-tech career on the leading edge. Then he jumped back to the trailing edge. Plotkin's Livermore company, GD California Inc., is...

Felix Kramer.
November 26, 1999... Title: Founder and CEO. Company: eConstructors.com, the Palo Alto-based online marketplace for buyers and sellers of web design and web development services. eConstructors also has offices in Singapore, New York and San Mateo. ...

Fields of Dreams.(Statistical Data Included)(Brief Article)(Directory)
November 26, 1999... Download A Homerun With Our Book Of Lists If you're tired of batting practice, head for "The Show" as the San Francisco Business Times offers you a fast, convenient and economical way to be an All-Star in your research, direct marketing,...

Largest Nonprofit Service Organizations in the Bay Area.
November 26, 1999... Largest Nonprofit Service Organizations in the Bay Area Elena Espana Name 1998 Rank Address ...

S.F. financial dot-com 'acquires' president, merges talent.(Statistical Data Included)(Brief Article)
November 26, 1999... Philip Hotchkiss has been named president of San Francisco-based online financial news site Marketwatch.com. Marketwatch.com recently acquired BigCharts.com, of which Hotchkiss is founder and CEO. BigCharts.com was acquired by...

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE.(Brief Article)
November 26, 1999... ADVERTISING/PR Landor Associates, the San Francisco-headquartered branding consultancy and strategic design firm, has named Scott Fedje to lead the company's retail environments team. ARCHITECTURE/INTERIOR DESIGN Studios...

Largest Foundations in the Bay Area.(Statistical Data Included)(Directory)
November 26, 1999... Largest Foundations in the Bay Area Dan Barasch Rank Name last Address Total 1998 Rank year Phone/Fax/Web site ...