San Francisco Business Times articles from November 2001

San Francisco Business Times archives from November 2001

Attacks fuel rush for tax breaks.(Bay Area commercial property want cuts in property taxes)(Government Activity)(Brief Article)
November 2, 2001... Hotels look to 'calamity clause' to soften financial blow Dozens of Bay Area commercial property owners are expected to seek cuts in their property taxes, claiming the Sept. 11 tragedies should trigger a little used "calamity clause" in...

Olympic bid smacks into $10M hurdle.(Bay Area Sports Organizing Committee seeks 2012 Summer Olympics)(Brief Article)
November 2, 2001... Rising insurance premiums, particularly after Sept. 11, will force organizers of the. Bay Area's bid for the 2012 Summer Olympics to come up with an extra $10 million or more. The Bay Area Sports Organizing Committee -- the group that led...

Vultures feast on decaying venture funds.(Brief Article)
November 2, 2001... Cash and carrion: Big buyers come to the table Wealthy individuals, pension funds and corporations are seeking to unload once-coveted venture fund partnerships, turning venture capital into vulture capital for opportunistic investors. ...

Kaiser picks up 100 East Bay doctors.(Kaiser Permanente acquires Alameda Medical Group)(Brief Article)
November 2, 2001... Kaiser Permanente will take over an ailing Alameda doctor group, occupying its 25,000 square feet of offices and employing nearly all its 100 physicians. The acquisition of the Alameda Medical Group becomes official Jan. 2, and the...

Owner unwraps plan for $100M mall makeover.(Wattson Breevast L.L.C. plan to refurbish Tanforan Park Shopping Center)(Brief Article)
November 2, 2001... A Newport Beach developer moved a step closer to implementing plans for a $105 million overhaul of the shopworn Tanforan Park Shopping Center, unveiling the scheme before eager San Bruno officials. Long hampered by its outdated look, the...

High 'burn rates' threaten to send more biotechs up in flames.(high costs endanger biotechnology firms seeking more funds)(Brief Article)
November 2, 2001... With equity window closed, firms learn there's a fate worse than debt Berkeley-based BioTime has experience cheating death. Two years ago, it deliberately replaced the blood in a frozen dog to test its surgical blood substitute, Hextend....

New CEO is unfettered again.(QRS Corp. CEO Liz Fetter)(Brief Article)
November 2, 2001... After NorthPoint flameout, high-profile boss takes on struggling software firm Liz Fetter, the new CEO of QRS Corp., is the first to admit that the profile of the company she joined a few weeks ago is nearly as obscure as its headquarters,...

Ad agency boss weeding out dubious activities.(Goodby Silverstein & Parters CEO upset with memo leaks and marijuana smoking at firm)(Brief Article)
November 2, 2001... The creative fires still burn at hotshot San Francisco ad agency Goodby Silverstein & Partners, whose "Got Milk" and other campaigns have won about every ad award in sight. Unfortunately, other embers smolder as well, and as times get...

BANNER YEAR FOR SIEBEL.(Siebel Systems insists huge American flag on its headquarters building is not a publicity stunt)(Brief Article)
November 2, 2001... Tom Siebel is wrapping red white and blue around another slice of corporate America. The CEO of Siebel Systems hung an 85 ft. by 41 ft. flag at his San Mateo headquarters last month -- well, alright, he had someone do it for him -- and...

Rise & Fall.(Brief Article)
November 2, 2001... A barometer of the region's movers, shakers and fakers Gordon Moore Already famous for "Moore's Law" about the exponential growth of computing power, retired Intel chief adds to Moore's lore with a $600 million (yes, you read that...

High-flying legal eagle seeks perch at law school.(Tower Snow)(Brief Article)
November 2, 2001... Tower Snow, who led Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison LLP into the boom-and-bust cycle of the technology sector, is a semifinalist for dean of the University of Oregon School of Law. Snow, who was on vacation, was not available to comment. ...

Lowest-price travel sites rebound after attacks.(Hotwire and Priceline)(Brief Article)
November 2, 2001... Blind faith may appear to be a risky business strategy, but the most-successful online travel sites since the Sept. 11 attacks will accept nothing less. San Francisco-based Hotwire and Connecticut-based Priceline have gained the advantage...

Ailing CHW treats its worst financial wounds.(Catholic Healthcare West earnings)(Brief Article)
November 2, 2001... Catholic Healthcare West has stanched its operating losses, but the 48-hospital chain is still bleeding money. The San Francisco-based hospital system showed a net loss of $87 million on revenue of $4.84 billion for the fiscal year ended...

Windows XP opens new vistas for broadband.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
November 2, 2001... Microsoft's release of its new operating system, Windows XP, and the $1 billion marketing campaign it's throwing behind it, is inspiring pipe dreams among some Bay Area companies. The power of today's personal computers is expected to allow...

Executive Profile: ROBERT WORTH.(Wells Fargo Bank regional president of Bay Area community banking operations)(Brief Article)
November 2, 2001... RESUME Name: Robert Worth Title: Regional President, Bay Area community banking operations. Company: Wells Fargo Bank Background: Worth began his banking career in 1973 with Wells Fargo predecessor Norwest and held several...

Telephia snaps up former Industry Standard building.(Brief Article)
November 2, 2001... One of the downtown Sari Francisco buildings owned by failed new economy magazine Industry Standard has a new main tenant -- at about half the rent. San Francisco-based Telephia Inc., which develops ways to collect marketing information...

WEAP sells Atrium Building to pay off its $3 million city loan.(Women's Economic Agenda Project)(Brief Article)
November 2, 2001... The Women's Economic Agenda Project has found a buyer for its downtown Oakland building, enabling the nonprofit to crawl out from under its $3 million debt to the city. WEAP has struggled in recent months to pay back the city loan it used...

Will Oakland taxpayers pay for big-name retail?($40 million to $85 million in public subsidies )(Brief Article)
November 2, 2001... A plan to ask taxpayers' help to lure more big-name retailers to downtown Oakland has landed before the City Council. The council is expected to decide Nov. 6 whether to endorse a retail plan offering $40 million to $85 million in public...

MARINA SHORES PROJECT STILL AFLOAT.(Developers begin environmental impact review)(Brief Article)
November 2, 2001... Developers Glenborough Realty Trust Inc. of San Mateo and 'Pauls Corp. of Denver submitted revisions to its Marina Shores Village project in Redwood City in preparation for an environmental impact review. The developers, who say the...

GIANT DEAL IN PETALUMA.(Huge Bay Area land deal)(Brief Article)
November 2, 2001... Michael Leggett, Bart O'Connor and Nick Slonek of CB Richard Ellis Inc. closed what is likely the largest Bay area land deal this year. The trio acted as brokers in Washington Co.'s sale of 40 acres to Basin St. Properties. The sale of the...

LIVELY LEASING IN LIVERMORE.(Brief Article)
November 2, 2001... Jones Lang LaSalle recently snagged the largest Tri-Valley lease deal of the year with a $17 million contract for 78,867 square feet at Livermore's Vineyard Business Park. The 10-year agreement with CCI Triad, which provides management...

REAL ESTATE ROUNDUP.(Colliers International USA)(Brief Article)
November 2, 2001... * Colliers International recently teamed up with Legacy Partners to sign six leases at the San Leandro Business Park collectively valued at $4 million and totaling about 70,000 square feet. DHL Worldwide Express signed a five-year,...

Pacific Growth expands its staff.(Brief Article)
November 2, 2001... Pacific Growth Equities has boosted staff by 15 percent to approximately 70 as the San Francisco boutique investment bank takes advantage of the slowdown to pick up talent. The firm credits its discipline in the boom years for its ability...

Intuit, Fair, Isaac team to oiler FICO access.(Brief Article)
November 2, 2001... Fair, Isaac and Co. Inc. will expand access to its credit score site through a multi-year alliance with Intuit Inc. The San Rafael-based company said the deal will allow 15 million Quicken software and Quicken.com users to access the scores...

Inside Traders.(Thomas Siebel)(Brief Article)
November 2, 2001... A look at selling of shares by Bay Area executives Thomas Siebel Chairman Siebel Systems Inc. Shares sold: 1,100,000 Were shares sold options? No Options exercised price: N/A Shares sold price: $14.01 Shares...

Anti-fraud network goes national.(Western Payments Alliance and Thomson Financial Publishing's FraudBan online network)(Brief Article)
November 2, 2001... United they stand -- the Western Payments Alliance and Thomson Financial Publishing, that is -- against white-collar crime. And their post-Sept. 11 timing perhaps could not be better. "Payments fraud is not the work of smalltime crooks, but...

TRINTECH WINS HUNGARIAN BANK CONTRACT.(Brief Article)
November 2, 2001... Trintech Group, a San Mateo-based company that sells electronic payments software, will help Magyar Takarek Bank of Hungary roll out a card payment service. The company, the parent of Hungarian Savings Co-opertive Banks and a subsidiary of...

PLASTIC INSURANCE PAYMENTS OK'D.(Brief Article)
November 2, 2001... Blue Cross of California insurance premiums now can be paid automatically with a Visa credit card. The program is part of San Francisco-based Visa U.S.A.'s efforts to increase the number of "no-brainer" payments through its payment system,...

Banks see deteriorating credit from customers.(Brief Article)
November 2, 2001... The worsening recession has bankers and their shareholders on edge as they cope with rising defaults that are a natural part of the economic cycle. Some of San Francisco's major financial players -- Providian Financial comes to mind -- are...

BANK OF MARIN OPENS SECOND OFFICE.(Brief Article)
November 2, 2001... Bank of Marin is opening a second full-service branch in San Rafael in another sign of how competitive banking is becoming in Marin County. The 3,500-square-foot office, at 999 Andersen Drive, will be headed by San Rafael resident John...

Fund of funds shows solid returns in slow times.(Brief Article)
November 2, 2001... There are lots of things I wouldn't mind upgrading in my life. There's my computer, which can always use more muscle. There's my 30-year-old refrigerator that's a tad too small for the family. And then there's a nice little hamster named...

Sponsors tackle 49ers' Hispanic, Chinese fans.(Brief Article)
November 2, 2001... New San Francisco 49ers highlights/game preview shows aimed at Northern California's Hispanic and Chinese football fans are making the cut with advertisers, too. "In Action with the 49ers" (or "En Accion con los 49ers" in Spanish) debuted...

FCB BUILDS MLB 'THANK YOU' AD.(Foote, Cone and Belding created ad for major league baseball)(Brief Article)
November 2, 2001... Barry Bonds, Randy Johnson and Ichiro Suzuki thank baseball fans for watching the game in television spots created by Foote, Cone & Belding San Francisco. The 30-second ads, also featuring Cal Ripken Jr., Tony Gwynn and Derek Jeter paying...

Kaiser begins billion-dollar expansion into Central Valley.(Brief Article)
November 2, 2001... Kaiser Permanente is putting the finishing touches on a 10-year plan to move in a big way into the Central California Valley. The Oakland-based HMO plans to put in three new clinics, a new hospital and two revisions of the existing...

TENET GROWS FOOTHOLD IN EAST BAY.(Brief Article)
November 2, 2001... Santa Barbara-based Tenet Healthcare Corp. is creeping slowly into the Bay Area. Tenet added to its slim but growing Bay Area asset list this week when it purchased the 80-bed, 72,000-square-foot rehabilitation hospital in San Ramon from...

Marin restaurateurs cook up something new.(Brief Article)
November 2, 2001... California Cafe is under new management -- sort of. The popular Mann County eatery has been renamed California Harvest Grille under a new company -- Harvest Restaurants Inc. -- which was created by the cafe's original owners. James...

The Rose Hotel.(luxury boutique hotel opens in Pleasanton, Calif.)(Brief Article)
November 2, 2001... A rose by any other name... would not be called The Rose Hotel, a new luxury boutique hotel opening this month in Pleasanton. The 38-room property is scheduled to open its doors in mid-November, complete with amenities like high-speed Internet...

Paul DiDonato.(Brief Article)
November 2, 2001... Paul DiDonato, principal of ATI -- whose staff worked with Michael Goldsworthy on the project design -- said the property represents a turn-of-the-century period building designed to blend in with Pleasanton's downtown area.

Levi and Gap retain Pakistan operations despite turmoil.(Brief Article)
November 2, 2001... Levi Strauss & Co. and Gap Inc. are just two of the local apparel companies that source merchandise in Pakistan and could benefit from the looser trade tariffs now being weighed by the White House. Gap, which sources about 78 percent of its...

MORE AD AGENCY UPHEAVALS.(Brief Article)
November 2, 2001... AKQA, the San Prancisco ad shop formed with $71 million from consulting giant Accenture and a merger between San Francisco agency Citron Haligman Bedecarre and interactive shop AKQA in London, has gone through another round of layoffs, sources...

Hands-off management.(Brief Article)
November 2, 2001... Software automates assessment of employees' progress and skills -- for better or worse E-learning is getting greedy. Once content to provide corporate training infrastructure and data to Fortune 500 companies and the public sector,...

OneonOne.(Brief Article)
November 2, 2001... Author has Net attitude Speaking to John Patrick is almost like traveling back in time to those heady days of the late 1990s when everything seemed possible and the Internet was going to make it so. Patrick, IBM's chief Internet...

For Entopia entrepreneur, eighth time's a charm.(Kamran Elahian launches Entopia)(Brief Article)
November 2, 2001... Eight-time entrepreneur Kamran Elahian is at it again. His newest venture, Entopia, launches this week. Kind of. Founded two years ago as KangarooNet, the knowledge management software company is officially emerging from stealth mode, but...

IT TO THE RESCUE.(Brief Article)
November 2, 2001... This just in: The Defense of the Homeland efforts will use IT to address ongoing terrorist threats. Not like using technology to better the status quo is some ground-breaking notion, but the October report by the Center for Digital...

LYCOS SHEDS MORE EMPLOYEES.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
November 2, 2001... Waltham, Mass.-based Lycos confirmed rumors it would be laying off roughly 30 percent of its Miami staff in coming weeks. The news comes on the tail end of workforce reductions in its Asian outposts (200 jobs) and Europe (300 jobs). And...

ROYALTY GRACES SUN.
November 2, 2001... CEO Scott McNealy got a royal visit last week. The Royal Highness, Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden stopped by Sun Microsystems headquarters to discuss server systems. Not. She was actually touring California as part of the Nobel Prize...

Show them the money.(Brief Article)
November 2, 2001... 'Cash is king' for growing Bay Area firms eager for new financing Today's entrepreneurs are spending small change on big dreams. With venture funding plummeting from the first-quarter 2000 of $26.2 billion -- indeed, companies...

WorkRite thrives in Bay Area's ergonomic hotbed.(WorkRite Ergonomics Accessories Inc.)(Brief Article)
November 2, 2001... Steve Owles, president of WorkRite Ergonomics Accessories Inc. admits that much of the company's success was due to being in the right place at the right time. "Probably what contributed to our success as much as anything else was...

SangStat's organ transplant drugs help ensure biotech's own survival.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
November 2, 2001... Companies across all sectors are suffering these days because -- despite marketing messages to the contrary -- cost-conscious consumers and businesses can easily live without or with less of their products. SangStat's customers, on the...

Versata backtracks after years of stellar growth.(Versata revenue figures)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
November 2, 2001... Former Fast Track poster child, Oakland-based Versata, is going through one ugly adolescence. After several years of strong revenue growth -- sales jumped 349.2 percent between 1999 and 2000 -- the enterprise software company has suffered...

Diesel Design keeps racing in stalled economy.(Brief Article)
November 2, 2001... A creative engine, savvy planning and bit of good timing have built Diesel Design into the NASCAR contender of Bay Area design firms. Diesel's drive began in 1994 when CEO Jeffrey Harkness teamed up with fellow disgruntled designer Luis...

TriNet's connections keeps networking firm strong despite troubled telecom sector.(Brief Article)
November 2, 2001... Jon Fernandez had high hopes when he left Pacific Bell to work for a distribution firm that provided the network equipment and wires he used to order from Pac Bell's in-house system. But the company turned cut to be a bit of a disaster, and...

Bay Area's largest daily newspapers.(top 12 ranked by total paid circulation)(Statistical Data Included)(Directory)
November 2, 2001... As this week's List of Largest Daily Newspapers demonstrates, the Bay Area is one of the most competitive media markets in the nation. Of the 12 daily newspapers that circulate in the nine-county region we surveyed, all of them can be...

Bay Area's most popular radio stations.(top 25 ranked by demographic market share)(Directory)(Statistical Data Included)
November 2, 2001... Radio reflects our roots and mind-sets. The Bay Area's growing Hispanic population is revealed in the presence of Latin adult contemporary station KBRG at No. 21 in this week's List of Most Popular Radio Stations in the Bay Area and...

BayAreaPeople.(includes multiple assignments and promotions)
November 2, 2001... BANKING/FINANCE San Francisco-based State Compensation Insurance Fund promoted Renee Koren to vice president and member of the executive committee. Koren joined the workers' compensation insurance carrier in 1970 and most recently served...

Financial industry economists favor payroll tax cuts.(Brief Article)
November 2, 2001... A panel of financial industry economists gave poor reviews to the economic stimulus package passed by the House. "It actually doesn't have much stimulus to it," says Richard Berner, senior U.S. economist for Morgan Stanley. Berner and...

MORE CALIFORNIANS JOIN BARRETO'S TEAM.(Fred Armendariz appointed head of Small Business Administration's Office of Government Contracting and Business Development)(Brief Article)
November 2, 2001... SBA Administrator Hector Barreto selected Southern California entrepreneur Fred Armendariz to head the Small Business Administration's Office of Government Contracting and Business Development. Armendariz will oversee the 8(a) and Hubzone...

Pooling information.(bioinformatics software firm)(Brief Article)
November 2, 2001... Former Stanford researcher spawns growing bioinformatics software firm Silicon Genetics recently celebrated the hiring of its 50th employee with cake and ice cream for everyone. Well, nearly everyone. The Redwood City software...

Enterpreneur Profile: LINDA NOVY.(commercial landscape management firm )(Brief Article)(Company Profile)
November 2, 2001... RESUME Name: Linda Novy. Title: President and CEO. Company: Gardeners' Guild Inc., a commercial landscape management firm in San Rafael. 2000 revenue: $5.6 million. Number of employees: 120. Year founded: 1972. ...

Tax appeals pour in, 'tons more' expected.(Assessment appeals by property owners seek tax cuts)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
November 2, 2001... Assessment appeals are flooding in with property owners prepared to argue that their buildings have dropped in value. The San Francisco Assessor-Recorder's office reported more than 760 applications for appeals as of Oct. 25, one business...

Bankrupt dot-coms play fast and loose with privacy.(Online consumer privacy)(Brief Article)
November 2, 2001... True to the end, dot-corns are just as scrupulous about consumer privacy in death as in their short commercial lives. That is to say, they're mainly fudging it, fuzzing it, telling outright whoppers about it or doing anything except dealing...

Um, would you like a job with that?(Applying for a job)(Brief Article)
November 2, 2001... When I was 16, I was queen of the Burger King drive-thru. For 20 hours a week, I could take your order, fill it and hand it to you along with your change within 60 seconds. Sometimes, I could do it in less than 45. If you've never...

Price of country's freedom is citizen involvement.(Democracy is answer to terrorism)(Brief Article)
November 2, 2001... You know things are bad when 5,000 bodies remain buried in lower Manhattan and it barely rates a mention on the nightly news. Or when people all over the country are having nervous breakdowns, refusing to watch TV or read newspapers, afraid...

A vote for City College of San Francisco benefits business.(City College of San Francisco's $195 mn bond measure to upgrade facilities)(Government Activity)(Brief Article)
November 2, 2001... Millions of students have received an education at City College of San Francisco since its founding in 1935. The nine-campus community college district is the largest in the nation, educating more than 100,000 credit and noncredit students...

Letters To The Editor.(San Francisco's rezoning of industrial areas)(Government Activity)(Brief Article)
November 2, 2001... Local players lay the groundwork for thoughtful rezoning of industrial areas Your editorial in the Oct. 26-Nov. 1 issue ("Limits on biotech may cook potential golden goose") addresses the development community vs. the neighborhoods theme....

ODWALLA ACQUIRED BY COKE.(Coca-Cola Co. buys Odwalla Inc. for $181 million)(Brief Article)
November 2, 2001... Odwalla Inc. put the rumors to rest this week by officially announcing that The Coca-Cola Co. will buy the health juice manufacturer through an all-cash tender offer pegged at $181 million. Under the terms of the agreement, which has already...

S.F. CLEARS FIRST OLYMPIC HURDLE.(Bay Area still in running for 2012 Olympics)(Brief Article)
November 2, 2001... The Bay Area was selected by the U.S. Olympic Committee as one' of four cities. -- along with New York, Washington, C./Baltimore and Houston - still. vying to represent the United States to the International Olympic Committee. Bids from Los...

ARCH CAPITAL RECEIVES $750M.(Brief Article)
November 2, 2001... Private equity investors Hellman & Friedman and Warburg Pincus will invest $750 million in Arch Capital Group Ltd., to help the insurer move quickly to meet growing demand for reinsurance stemming in part from the Sept. 11. attacks. San...

CALPERS, BREEF TO BUY CABOT FOR $2.1 B.(California Public Employees' Retirement Systems, Rreef America joint venture acquire)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
November 2, 2001... CalWest Industrial Properties LLC, a joint venture between The California Public Employees' Retirement System and Chicago-based Rreef America LLC, agreed to buy Boston-based warehouse and factory owner Cabot Industrial Trust for more than $2...

24 HOUR FITNESS SNAGS $85M IN FUNDING.(Brief Article)
November 2, 2001... San Francisco-based 24 Hour Fitness Worldwide closed an $85 million round of funding; led by long-standing investor McCown De Leeuw & Co. Inc. The company will use the capital to continue its "global expansion," according to Chairman and CEO...

SONICWALL ACQUIRES REDCREEK.(Brief Article)
November 2, 2001... Internet security provider SonicWALL Inc. paid $12.5 million in cash to buy Fremont-based RedCreek Communications Inc., a privately-held provider of Internet access. The Sunnyvale-based company also hired 50 of RedCreek's employees --...

RATEXCHANGE SELLS SUBSIDIARY.(Xpit's assets go to CQG Inc.)(Brief Article)
November 2, 2001... San Francisco-based online marketplace RateXchange Corp. sold the assets of its Xpit Corp. subsidiary to Colorado-based CQG Inc. for $1.5 million in cash plus potential future royalties. CQG also made an undisclosed investment into...

PAC-WEST REVEALS $27M CHARGE.(Pac-West Telecomm Inc.)(Brief Article)
November 2, 2001... Stockton-based Pac-West Telecomm Inc., a provider of communications services, reaffirmed previously announced third-quarter revenue guidance of between $35 million and $36 million, but revealed restructuring and other onetime charges that...

ONYX LOSS GROWS, STAFF SHRINKS.(Onyx Pharmaceuticals)(Brief Article)
November 2, 2001... Richmond-based biotech Onyx cut 30 percent from its workforce, as it revealed that third-quarter net losses grew by 77 percent year-over-year. Onyx did not say how many actual jobs were cut. Third-quarter net losses were $6.9 million, compared...

OPEN WAVE TO CUT STAFF.(Openwave Systems)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
November 2, 2001... Openwave will cut 13 percent of its workforce as part of a. series of measures designed to slice $20 million from quarterly operating expenses and buoy the wireless infrastructure company into the black. The Redwood Shores company, which...

GILEAD'S VIREAD GAINS FDA APPROVAL.(Brief Article)
November 2, 2001... Foster City-based Gilead Sciences received U.S.. Food and Drug Administration approval for a new HIY treatment drug, dubbed Viread. The drug is an antiretroviral agent -- a treatment that suppresses or stops a retrovirus, such as the...

VC PLEDGES $15M TO BUSINESS SCHOOL.(Don Lucas, Santa Clara University's Leavey SChool of Business)(Brief Article)
November 2, 2001... Silicon Valley venture capitalist and Santa Clara University board member Don Lucas pledged $15 million to help the college relocate its Leavey School of Business. The planned three-story, 82,000-square-foot building will consolidate all...

GENENTECH WINS ROYALTY SUIT.(with City of Hope)(Brief Article)
November 2, 2001... Los Angeles jurors weighing a royalty suit between South San Francisco-based Genetech and the City of Hope voted 7-5 in favor of Genentech. The trial was over a contract dispute brought by the City of. Hope against Genentech over a 1976...

BEDFORD SELLS DENVER WAREHOUSE.(Brief Article)
November 2, 2001... Bedford Property Investors Inc. of Lafayette sold a 210,536-square-foot bulk warehouse complex in Denver for $9 million, but it also bought a 9.32-acre undeveloped property located in Napa Valley Corporate Park for $1.8 million. Bedford owns...

WELLS FARGO, SMARTFORCE TEAM.(Banking on Our Future program to help children, adults)(Brief Article)
November 2, 2001... Heeding Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan's call to improve early financial education, Wells Fargo is making what it describes as a "substantial investment" and joining forces with non-profit Operation Hope and e-learning company SmartForce to tackle...

Pac Bell accused of pressure tactics.
November 9, 2001... Groups say funding tied to testimony; telecom says 'outlandish' Two Bay Area consumer groups charge that Pacific Bell is using its financial might to pressure community groups from testifying against it in public hearings over its...

Holiday on ice for Bay Area retail temps.
November 9, 2001... Frosty sales climate keeps Santa's helpers unemployed Some Bay Area retailers are predicting a chilly holiday for seasonal workers as grim predictions for Christmas spending are forcing many stores to freeze the usual flow of incoming...

Macromedia headquarters plan dropped.
November 9, 2001... San Francisco developer Ron Kaufman has canceled plans for a 295,000-square-foot office campus on Potrero Hill, a lightning rod project for development critics. Kaufman and Macromedia -- San Francisco s biggest software company -- agreed...

Citibank sells Old Oakland for $30M.
November 9, 2001... Citibank's decade-long quest to find a buyer for the Old Oakland property is close to ending, with an agreement to sell the two-block complex- to a San Francisco investor for about $30 million. The deal would give a big boost to city...