San Francisco Business Times articles from October 2000

San Francisco Business Times archives from October 2000

Hummer Winblad investments go south.(Hummer Winblad Venture Partners)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... Venture capital fund's Internet portfolio is loaded down with laggards The high-profile legal battle over online music sharing service Napster threatens to turn Hummer Winblad Venture Partner's $13 million investment into a bust, and it's...

Opportunity in the cards.(headhunters recruit staffs of ailing online companies)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... Headhunters descend on ailing dot-coms to bag high-tech talent Y Not.com had not even announced its closure in mid-August before headhunter Mary Lake Adams swooped in to snatch up some talent. Hearing from a colleague that Ynot would...

Robertson Stephens on HQ hunt.(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... Robertson Stephens Inc. is prowling for up to 500,000 square feet of San Francisco space and hopes to land a lease agreement by the end of the year. The new headquarters would consolidate the San Francisco-based investment bank's...

Feeling boxed in, dot-coms make space.(online companies reduce office space in San Francisco, CA)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... Internet companies' financial squeeze puts real estate back on the market Online drugstore More.com was part of the dot-com land rush two years ago, when it grabbed 68,000 square feet of pricey office space in downtown San Francisco. Now...

Two more doc groups casualties of 'IPA flu'.(pullbacks by Santa Clara IPA and Family Medical Clinic)(Family Medical Clinic)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... South Bay groups pull plug on 29,000 00 patients as IPA cutbacks and collapses continue Two more independent practice associations of doctors have caught the "IPA flu," in separate pullbacks that will disrupt insurance coverage for 29,000...

Safeway carts new bank into grocery stores.(Safeway Inc. to open Safeway Select Bank offices run by Amicus Federal Savings Bank)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... Safeway Inc. is lending its name to a chain of banking offices opening in 25 supermarkets in San Jose, Sacramento, Denver and elsewhere in California and Colorado. Safeway Select Bank offices; capitalizing on the Pleasanton-based chain's...

Do not open until Xmas.(delays in openings of new Union Square stores in San Francisco, CA)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... Delays mean several big Union Square additions will miss holiday rush A flurry of new Union Square stores that planned to open for the holiday season will miss that deadline, forcing some to scramble for alternatives to their own...

Wells braces for toughest merger yet: Its computers.(merger of Wells Fargo and Norwest)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... The success or failure of Wells Fargo and Norwest's 23-month union may hinge on an unreadable ATM card. That's a seemingly tiny matter in the grand scheme of the banking industry and the nation's sixth-largest bank. But it's the sort of...

Software firm goes a bit overboard with shrink-wrap.(Sybase Inc. outdoor advertising)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... With advertising already wrapping buses and cars, it probably wasn't going to be long before someone came up with the brainwave of the ad-wrapped building. Indeed, and the someone is Sybase Inc. Frustrated by an inability to get a...

Working a tough crowd.(Doug Shoemaker supports Proposition L at Building Owners and Managers Association meeting)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... You might not like Prop. L. but you have to admire supporter Doug Shoemaker's bravery. Shoemaker, who serves as a project manager for Mission Housing Development Corp. when he's not on the stump, made an impromptu venture into hostile...

Ex-A's exec holds the champagne.(Andy Dolich led failed attempt to buy Oak land Athletics)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... While the Oakland A's owners popped champagne corks last week, Andy Dolich was left to think about what might have been. "That could have been me," sighs Dolich. The former A's vice president of business operations was part of a coalition...

Rise & Fall.(San Francisco area business humor)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... A barometer of the region's movers, shakers and fakers Billy Beane * Anything you can do, I can do better - or at least just as well. Far from disappearing in the shadow of the Giants' hoopla-filled inaugural season at PacBell Park,...

Investors snap up SoMa buildings for $60 million.(Rawson, Blum & Leon and Transwestern Investment Co.)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... San Francisco-based investors Rawson, Blum & Leon and equity partner Chicago-based Transwestern Investment Co. have purchased attached buildings 631 Howard and 55 Hawthorne for $60 million, or $251 per square foot. The buildings, totalling...

SmartAge stunts its growth.(SmartAge.com)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... SmartAge.com, a web site that purports to help small businesses succeed online, might need some guidance of its own. Hoping to improve profit margins, the San Francisco company closed its Charlotte, N.C., office last week and handed out...

First customers help new VelocityHSI gain speed.(agreements with Prime Property Capital and A.F. Evans Co)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... VelocityHSI, a Walnut Creek telecommunications spinoff from a real estate investment trust, has signed its first outside customers, an important milestone as the young company seeks to stand on its own. The company, which offers high-speed...

CORRECTION.(Brief Article)(Correction Notice)
October 6, 2000... A story in the Sept 29-Oct. 5 issue, titled "Steve Young scores on Net," mistakenly referred to Flooz.com as "failed." Flooz.com has not failed and reports that it is in excellent financial condition.

Biotech number-cruncher Neomorphic fetches $70M.(bought by Affymetrix)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... Neomorphic, a privately held Berkeley computational biotechnology firm, has been bought by Santa Clara-based Affymetrix for 1.4 million shares of its stock. The cash value of the stock is currently valued at approximately $70 million. The...

Oakland gets its Just Desserts.(Just Desserts building chocolate factory in Oakland, CA)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... Elliot Hoffman and Gail Horvath make their desserts from scratch, but the co-founders of Just Desserts never considered building a chocolate factory from the ground up until the City of Oakland made them an offer they couldn't refuse. ...

Lesher Mansion on block -- minus the bomb shelter.(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... It is now called Seven Oaks, but in its heyday it was the Lesher Mansion, where newspaper magnate and multimillionaire Dean Lesher entertained the movers and shakers of his day. Lesher wouldn't recognize the place today. After a year-long,...

Blue Cross considers premium cuts.(Blue Cross of California)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... Blue Cross of California proposed premium reductions for individual policyholders, with costs shifting to deductibles. Pending state approval, the new program would offer basic health coverage for as low as $55 a month. Those covered under the...

Pac Bell seeks biz rate hike.(Pacific Bell)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... Pacific Bell requested permission from the California Public Utilities Commission to raise its rates for local business phone lines by 17 percent. A company spokesman said the company is losing money on basic phone service, only making a profit...

Napa label protections passed.(California protects Napa Valley's wine reputation)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... Gov. Gray Davis signed a law making it illegal to sell wine with a Napa label unless 75 percent of the grapes used were grown in Napa County. After Jan. 1, violators could have their licenses suspended by the state Department of Alcoholic...

Three top Gap posts vacated.(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... Gap Inc. announced that Richard Chrisman, executive vice president of marketing for its Old Navy stores, is stepping down for medical reasons and that Charles Ferer, executive vice president of finance for the discount chain, has also resigned....

Mattel freed from Learning Co.(Mattel Inc. sells Learning Co. to Gores Technology Group)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... Mattel Inc. unloaded money-losing software firm the Learning Co. on Gores Technology Group. Mattel paid paid $3.5 billion for the educational software company, which has been losing money at about $1 million a day. Gores will not pay cash up...

Judges avoid ruling, Napster waits.(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... The fate of Redwood City-based Napster Inc. remained unresolved following a U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals hearing Oct 2. Three judges heard arguments from lawyers representing the music industry and the controversial music file sharing firm,...

More.com works with less.
October 6, 2000... Online drugstore More.com announced it cut a third of its staff. The company, headquartered in San Francisco, said it laid off about 70 people to cut operating expenses.

Inktomi swaps landlord role.(purchases building)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... Inktomi Corp. purchased Foster City's Bayside Towers from Legacy Partners Commercial Inc. for $107 million. Both firms have resided in the buildings since early last year. Inktomi, which produces software to speed up Internet traffic, occupies...

Kibu closes doors.(ceases operations)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... Palo Alto-based Kibu.com, a web site aimed at teenage girls, announced it will cease operations as a result of the current rough market for consumer Internet companies. Kibu was backed by Netscape cofounder Jim Clark and venture capital firm...

Thoratec swallows rival.
October 6, 2000... Medical device maker Thoratec Laboratories Corp. of Pleasanton agreed to buy rival Thermo Cardiosystems Inc. for about $572 million in stock. Thoratec gains the Woburn, Mass.-based company's products to treat heart disease.

Productopia succumbs.
October 6, 2000... San Francisco's Productopia shut down, laying off its 70 employees. The online consumer product review company had raised $22 million in venture funding, but was unable to secure further financial backing to continue operations. Productopia,...

Schwab shuffles senior execs.
October 6, 2000... Charles Schwab Corp. announced a management shuffle that included a promotion of its retail brokerage head. The San Francisco discount broker said Linnet Deily will take a newly created position in the office of the president, overseeing new...

Diva, AT&T offer video-on-demand.(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... AT&T Broadband and Redwood City-based Diva Systems Corp. teamed up to sell video-on-demand services in four East Bay cities, as well as other metropolitan markets, beginning in 2001. The movie services will be available in Dublin, Pleasanton,...

Saba, Deloitte Consulting team.
October 6, 2000... Redwood City-based Saba, which has grown 270 percent annually since its 1997 inception, joined Deloitte Consulting to develop and deliver e-learning programs to governments and businesses around the world. The deal linking the software...

Cruz to run Prop. K.(Emilio Cruz)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... Emilio Cruz, the mayor's director of economic development, announced he will take a "leave of absence" to run the Prop. K campaign. Cruz has already secured endorsements from the Democratic and Republican Central Committees and other groups....

Safeway earnings jump.
October 6, 2000... Retail grocer Safeway Inc. of Pleasanton announced a 20 percent increase in earnings for the third fiscal quarter ended Sept. 9, from $223 million to $270 million. The company attributed the, results to "strong store operations" and the April...

Rik Kunnath.(CEO of The Pankow Cos.)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... Name: Rik Kunnath. Title: CEO. Company: The Pankow Cos., the national commercial builder with 200 employees and $300 million in annual revenue. The company has offices in San Francisco and Oakland, Los Angeles, Newport Beach, Seattle...

Change in IRS rules turns buildings into hot potatoes.(Internal Revenue Service changes position on "reverse exchanges,")(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... More buildings are expected to change hands in the Bay Area, courtesy of the Internal Revenue Service. The federal tax agency last month changed its position on "reverse exchanges," an increasingly popular way to acquire new properties...

Government shuns high S.F. rates.(federal agencies move out of San Francisco, CA due to high rents)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... Add government to the list of organizations that are no longer willing to pay for San Francisco's high rents. The National Park Service, which was represented by the Government Services Administration, signed a 58,869-square-foot lease at...

New City Center tenants.(Goldfarb and Lipman; ABD Insurance and Financial Services)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... Shorenstein Co.'s City Center in Oakland has lured another firm across the Bay from San Francisco. Law firm Goldfarb and Lipman leased the ninth floor; or 14,996 square feet of space at 1300 Clay. The firm is moving out of One Montgomery Street...

Developer cuts costs.(Wilson/Equity Office changes location)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... With today's rental rates, even developers are looking to save money. Take Wilson/Equity Office, for example. The company is moving out of its space in highrise 120 Howard St. to move to a ho-hum two-story building. The company will move next...

VentureOne.(signs 5-year lease)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... VentureOne signed a 5-year lease for 21,200 square feet of space at 201 Spear. Peter Mavridis and Jeff Burgess of Julien J. Studley represented VentureOne. Scott Stephens of Cornerstone Management represented the building owner.

The California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS).(launches $125 million investment fund)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... The California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) has launched a $125 million investment fund to target commercial and residential projects in urban areas in California. CIM Group LLC of Hollywood will manage the fund.

Fish & Richardson.(signs lease at 500 Arguello St. in Redwood City, CA)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... Law firm Fish & Richardson signed a 58,260-square-foot lease at 500 Arguello St. in Redwood City. Rich Hardy and Jim Koch represented the firm. Jack Troedson and Mark Daschbach of Cornish & Carey represented the landlord.

Ned Spieker Jr.(elected chair of National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... Ned Spieker Jr., chairman of Menlo Park-based Spieker Properties Inc. was elected chair of the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts. Frank McDowell, president and CEO of San Francisco-based BRE Properties Inc. was elected...

SFIPA failure may put HIV patients, clinic in the ICU.(San Francisco IPA)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... IPAs are dropping like flies. The recent collapse of the San Francisco IPA (SFIPA), however, may hit a vulnerable patient base disproportionately hard. Of the 8,542 AIDS patients in the city of San Francisco, as many as 1,500 were patients of...

Med report cards online.(consumer ratings of health plans)(Brief Article)(Polling Data)
October 6, 2000... A new report from the California Cooperative Healthcare Reporting Initiative (CCHRI) and the Pacific Business Group on Health (PBGH) shows that a majority of Californians like their health plan. The ratings, available at www.healthscope.com,...

New online retail mag weaves gossip and financial numbers.(Tradeweave Insight)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... A San Francisco retail startup has recently launched an online magazine it hopes will lure more than 9,000 retailers and vendors gleaned from a list cultivated by its $91 million parent company. Tradeweave.com, a year-old online marketplace...

Divine sports advice.(GearGoddess.com)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... In another part of San Francisco, GearGoddess.com recently launched to help the fairer sex fit themselves better. Unlike other sports retail sites like Fogdog.com, GearGoddess doesn't sell anything; it merely offers advice from both experts...

Cal Fed's new logo takes bite out of Bank of America.(California Federal Bank)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... California Federal Banks new logo may not be drastically different than before, but at least it's edible. In a swipe at Bank of America Corp. -- which last year sent out a much-derided corporate memo banning its new logo from appearances...

Feds laud Union Bank as Mission Excel plugs on.(Union Bank of California wins "Secretary's Opportunity 2000 Award")(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... Union Bank of California's employment practices, specifically its commitment to diversity, led the San Francisco-based bank to a top U.S. Department of Labor award. Union earned the "Secretary's Opportunity 2000 Award" for building an...

BofA exec makes move up ... somewhere else.(Michael DeVico to be CEO of Xpede Inc.)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... Michael DeVico, shown the door at BofA after the company shuffled its Internet-related units last year, will succeed Jim Noack as CEO of Oakland's Xpede Inc. Noack, a co-founder of Xpede, remains on the company's board. Xpede manages...

Providian adds another 250 jobs in San Antonio.(Providian Financial Corp.)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... Providian Financial Corp. is adding 250 employees to the San Antonio call center it opened six months ago. The nation's sixth-largest credit card issuer, based in San Francisco, also plans to open another center in El Paso in January. ...

LookSmart sees buy.(acquires Zeal.com)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... LookSmart, the San Francisco-based directory service that serves eight of the top 15 web portals, has made its first acquisition as a public company, buying Culver City's Zeal.com for $20 million in stock. Zeal technology allows its members,...

Schwag World.(advertising specialties at Oracle Open World)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... Exhibitors at Oracle Open World took schwag -- freebies emblazoned with a company logo -- to a whole new level during the six-day conference at Moscone Center. Magicians promoting Sun Microsystems threw audience members T-shirts, toy cars...

Searching for profit from nonprofits.(online services for charities)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... Nonprofits are rolling in greenbacks this year, but new businesses helping charities score cash online are floundering in the red. Although there's no group tracking how many companies are assisting online philanthropy -- the National...

Online voting: yea or nay?(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... On Nov. 7, millions of Americans will participate in the cherished quadrennial ritual of voting for president. Will they want to replace all that with a mouse click? For many of them, traveling to the polling place, walking past the...

Email's in, Laser Tag's out.(Postini Corp.)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... Postini Corp., a year-old company that provides spam guard, anti-virus and other email applications, ousted longtime tenant Q-ZAR Laser Tag from its 12,000-or-sosquare-foot site on Veterans Boulevard. Seventy Postini employees will make the...

News site Zatso gets last-minute fund infusion.(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... Online news provider Zatso Inc. has raised about $10 million in new funds to stave off collapse after warning staff that the company only had enough cash to last two more months. Chief Operating Officer Fred Stefany wouldn't say exactly how...

Ex-Oracle exec seeks success in e-learning business.(Bobby Yazdani; Saba Software Inc.)(Brief Article)(Interview)
October 6, 2000... Bobby Yazdani didn't have a business plan, but left his post at Oracle anyway to start his own company in 1997. Since founding Saba Software Inc., the 37-year-old has grown the company by 840 percent, had a $70 million IPO and spread e-learning...

Changing tactics.(media rich ads are online trend)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... Online advertisers get marching orders to replace those flimsy banner ads Two truths are becoming self-evident in the online advertising world. First: There are too many banner ads out there. Second: Advertisers will have to...

Marketers hope to whet appetite for wireless ads.(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... Scenario One: A salesman is stalking you at your neighborhood computer warehouse, eager to hornswaggle you into buying a cache of accessories for your new Palm Pilot. How can you determine whether you even need that teal double-action stylus?...

Bay Area's rising ad stars shine with quirky lights.(five San Francisco are ad agencies are among top 100 agencies in US)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... San Francisco ad agencies have long been better known for brains than brawn, but five Bay Area firms have muscled their way into the ranks, of the nation's top 100 agencies. A tally by Advertising Age of top agencies ranked by U.S. gross...

PR firms find money and muscle in dot-coin boom.(public relations firms)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... The hype surrounding the dot-corn boom may be waning, but its revitalizing effect on Bay Area public relations firms still lingers. PR firms that helped grease the skids for countless startups by generating buzz and bucks not only made...

Glitzy banner ads droop on Internet sideline.(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... As web surfers ignore the brightest and sexiest banner ads, advertisers are hunting for ways to bring new allure to these Internet wallflowers. "If you think about it, from the time you log onto the web, you are absolutely bombarded with...

Study: Minorities, economy hurt by lack of capital.(minority-owned businesses)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... A new study concludes that America's future economic growth could be stifled unless minority-owned businesses gain access to more capital. The number of minority-owned businesses grew 17 percent a year over the past decade -- six times the...

Senate launches biotech caucus.(Senate Biotechnology Caucus)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... New developments in medical and genetic research have put biotechnology under the microscope, so two senators have started a forum to educate members about the industry. The Senate Biotechnology Caucus is expected to hold its first meeting...

The Maus that roared.(Brief Article)(Company Profile)
October 6, 2000... Interactive design firm's fresh approach avoids typical traps When several key members of the Maus Haus team left to pursue other ventures, all within a short time frame, founders Mark Comiso and Don Donoughe knew that there was only one...

William Armanino.(President and CEO; Armanino Foods of Distinction Inc.)(Brief Article)(Interview)
October 6, 2000... Title: Chairman, President and CEO. Company: Armanino Foods of Distinction Inc., based in Hayward. Manufactures and distributes upscale frozen food products, under the Armanino and Italian Holiday labels. Armanino markets its products,...

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE.
October 6, 2000... ARCHITECTURE/PLANNING Daniel Luis rejoined Huntsman Architectural Group of San Francisco. He had been promoted to associate in 1998, and before joining Huntsman AG worked at Studios Architecture, where he worked on the headquarters for...

Olympic torch fails to light fire under Quokka's stock.(Quokka Sports)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... The steady decline in Quokka Sports stock has people scratching their heads in confusion, concern or both. The company had hoped for a bounce from the Olympics, the showcase event for nbcolympics.com, the site Quokka co-produces with NBC....

Dot-com foxes ready to guard privacy henhouse.(online services beginning to support privacy legislation)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... Something is clicking in the online strategies of technology companies. Tech executives -- a few, anyway -- are finally starting to realize that they have been on the wrong side of the privacy debate. They are further recognizing that they...

Startup tells Barbie to Get Real.(Get Real Girl)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... Barbie, hang onto your tiara. Six new girls have hit the toy scene and they're built for action. Get Real Girl, a San Francisco-based startup, launched a line of dolls this week aimed at 6- to 12-year-old girls. While Barbie might be...

Top accounting firms aghast over SEC's plan.(Securities and Exchange Commission's plan to limit consulting services of accounting firms)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... Nobody likes the government sticking its nose into their business. But the accounting profession asked for it. As you might expect, the Securities and Exchange Commission's plan has drawn enormous fire from the accounting firms. For them,...

High-tech glitches could revive stone tablet market.(high economic costs of correcting glitches in information technology)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... Try this as a concept: product liability on the information superhighway. Recently my computer crashed. In the past when I heard others say this happened to them, I had the vague feeling they must have made some stupid mistake. Now it was...

LETTER.(Brief Article)(Letter to the Editor)
October 6, 2000... Olympics shouldn't cater to whiny Americans Here's a news flash for you and the others who have been whining about the Olympics (Editor's Notebook, "Olympic TV ratings go Down Under," Sept. 29-Oct 5 issue). These games are not put on...

Inside Traders.
October 6, 2000... [TABLE HAS BEEN CLIPPED]

Largest Advertising Agencies in the Bay Area.
October 6, 2000... [TABLE HAS BEEN CLIPPED]

Largest Public Relations Firms in the Bay Area.
October 6, 2000... [TABLE HAS BEEN CLIPPED]

Commerce One cracks S.F. rent barrier.
October 13, 2000... Equity Office chief Sam Zell's big-bucks boast: A $115-a-square-foot deal Office rents in San Francisco have rocketed to a new record -- $115 per square foot. Pleasanton-based Commerce One is paying that much for a 16,000-square-foot...

Sun shines on biotech firm.
October 13, 2000... Rising-star Eos scores $27 million as company takes aim at cancer White-hot South San Francisco biotech firm Eos has landed $27.5 million in second-round funding -- a testament to investors' belief in the management firepower and product...

Affordable housing loot languishes.
October 13, 2000... San Francisco development fees pile up unnoticed amid housing crunch Less than a quarter of the money collected by San Francisco from developers to pay for affordable housing has been spent -- and the last allocation was eight years ago....

Bay View on block: Sale looms.
October 13, 2000... On the outside, Bay View Capital Corp. CEO Edward Sondker may appear like the local version of Mad Magazine poster child Alfred B. Neuman -- "What, me worry?" But after a devastating merger that has left the San Mateo-based company on the...

Redwood City puts chokehold on office projects.
October 13, 2000... Redwood City is turning off the taps on half the office development now in the municipal pipeline. Although the city council will review a set of regulations later this month, most expect the current ordinance -- which applies stricter...

Giants suit up for bowl game.
October 13, 2000... Tackling more football a key to keep PacDell Park scoring all year Plans for a college football bowl game at Pacific Bell Park will be presented by the San Francisco Giants to the NCAA early next year. But organizers first must elude a...