Sacramento Business Journal articles from March 2001

Sacramento Business Journal archives from March 2001

Debt-ridden Seminis may close doors.(Seminis Inc. financial outlook)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 30, 2001... Seminis Vegetable Seeds Inc., one of Greater Sacramento's biggest biotechnology employers, is running low on cash and may have to close its doors. The company has fallen behind on bank loan payments, and has pledged to submit a plan by...

Banks enjoy new surge in deposits.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 30, 2001... As the stock market has taken a brutal dive, banks during the first quarter have seen a surge in deposits. For a decade, banks have watched their deposits run off to the stock market. But with the volatility of the stock market over the...

Area 'qualifying facilities' cling to life.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 30, 2001... Over the last couple of weeks Californians have been hearing a lot about "qualifying facilities," the small power generators who have contracts to sell exclusively to investor-owned utilities like Pacific Gas and Electric Co. Last week...

Siemens nabs pact for $120M.(Siemens Transportation Systems Inc. )(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 30, 2001... Houston has awarded Siemens Transportation Systems Inc. a $120 million contract to build 15 light-rail cars. The cars will be built at Siemens' 500-employee plant on French Road in South Sacramento. This is the latest in a string of...

Two HomeBase stores just make cut for new format.(Brief Article)
March 30, 2001... The two local HomeBase stores, which are being switched from home-improvement to home decorating, snuck in just under the wire before the company pulled the plug. The Irvine company, which has been getting hammered by rivals Home Depot...

Kemper reopens office.(move back to Sacramento)(Brief Article)
March 30, 2001... Kemper Insurance Cos. of Illinois is moving back into the Folsom office it shut 3 1/2 years ago when it idled 40 workers, eliminated its Western regional office for commercial insurance lines and cut back from four regional headquarters to...

New market for AgraQuest.(launch of Serenade biofungicide)(Brief Article)
March 30, 2001... AgraQuest Inc. of Davis is launching its Serenade biofungicide into the organic farming industry. The company makes pesticides from microorganisms, and Serenade is the only product it has on the market. The U.S. Environmental Protection...

Airport boss goes courting.(Mather Airport wants Federal Express)(Brief Article)
March 30, 2001... The campaign by Sacramento County Airports chief G. Hardy Acree to lure Federal Express to Mather Airport takes him to Memphis next month. He's got a pow-wow lined up with company officials to make clear how much he'd like the big parcel...

Biba goes be-bopping.(Biba Caggiano goes on a book tour)(Brief Article)
March 30, 2001... Sacramento's Biba Caggiano, owner of Biba Restaurant, is off on a 12-day publicity tour for her newest cookbook. Her stops in New York, Toronto and Vancouver will mean doing at least nine different cooking shows for broadcast, including "CBS...

Delta houseboats to Hollywood.(Brief Article)
March 30, 2001... A Sandra Bullock movie is shooting in the Los Angeles area. The producers didn't want to leave L.A. to shoot, but they also wanted houseboats. The Southland's marinas and yacht clubs don't have many houseboats, because houseboats and ocean...

Mad cow disease gives ThermoGenesis new life.(fibrin glue approved in European Union)(Brief Article)
March 30, 2001... A Rancho Cordova biotechnology firm that has never made a profit could see big sales in Europe, due in part to mad cow disease. ThermoGenesis Corp. received European Union approval on Tuesday to launch a new system that creates fibrin...

SMUD surcharge likely.(Sacramento Municipal Utility District)(Brief Article)
March 30, 2001... 19% overall hike still lower than PG&E's When the Sacramento Municipal Utility District board meets in April to consider a 16 percent rate increase, it's also likely to approve an extra 3 percent surcharge this year because of low water...

Golden Gate cuts classes.(Golden Gate University)(Brief Article)
March 30, 2001... Golden Gate University is restructuring its schools statewide, including its Sacramento campus, trying to turn things around after seven years of declining enrollment. The 140-year old San Francisco-based private university has had a...

Pricey-home sales go through the roof.(home sales on the rise)(Statistical Data Included)
March 30, 2001... When Mark anti Beth Mitchell tired of their little townhouse in Palo Alto and went looking for their dream house in the Bay Area, they couldn't find what they wanted for less than $8 million. The couple finally found the right home at the...

Metro Square builder sees same potential in West Sac.(Regis plans housing project)(Brief Article)
March 30, 2001... The developer who built the groundbreaking Metro Square housing project in downtown Sacramento is planning to build a similar project in West Sacramento, a few blocks from Raley Field. Regis Homes of Northern California would build 58...

Bay Area developer in talks to buy open land near Raley Field.(Brief Article)
March 30, 2001... A well-known Bay Area office developer is negotiating to buy a parcel of land near Raley Field that is zoned for a half-million square feet of office space. If the deal works out, it could be an enormous boost to West Sacramento's riverfront...

McClatchy cuts costs as profits miss projections.(Brief Article)
March 30, 2001... The McClatchy Co. is clamping clown on costs due to a slowdown in help-wanted ad revenue from its Minneapolis and Carolina newspapers. The company, which publishes The Sacramento Bee, says it plans no layoffs and won't cut space for news....

Car seller iMotors cuts 200 jobs; local loss unclear.(Brief Article)
March 30, 2001... IMotors has laid off approximately 200 people companywide, including an undisclosed number in the Sacramento area, as the San Francisco company restructures in an effort to become profitable. Through its Web site, iMotors sells used cars....

Fast-growing Kaiser beefs up Folsom plans.(Brief Article)
March 30, 2001... Kaiser Permanente has expanded its plans to build medical offices in Folsom. The healthcare giant plans to open a 116,000-square-foot building in the Folsom Corporate Center off Highway 50 next year. That's slightly larger than the...

Local consultant will head high-tech support group.(Brief Article)
March 30, 2001... Music retailing might seem like an unlikely background for the head of a university-sponsored program that supports technology entrepreneurs. But Nora Moore Jimenez, the soon-to-be executive director of University of California Davis Connect,...

Strong rental market draws investor dollars.(Sacramento, California)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 30, 2001... Low vacancy, high rents make Sacramento apartments a hot buy A Marin County investment company is planning to buy up to $100 million worth of Sacramento apartments this year to improve its position in a strong rental market. ...

Big Citrus Heights office building sells for $9.4M.(RMET L.L.C. acquires property)(Brief Article)
March 30, 2001... The largest office building in Citrus Heights has been sold to a Petaluma investor for $9.4 million. The property is 6060 Sunrise Vista Drive, a three-story, 23-year-old building off Greenback Lane not far from Sunrise Mall. The...

SAFE Credit Union to open three new branches.(Brief Article)
March 30, 2001... SAFE Credit Union is opening a branch in Granite Bay this summer and looking for a location in Folsom. The sites would be in addition to large new branches the credit union is building now in Laguna and Rocklin that are due to open in...

Ergonomics tiff ends.(Brief Article)
March 30, 2001... President Bush has ended the business community's long baffle to stop OSHA's ergonomics regulation by signing legislation that repeals the rule, which would have required employers to establish programs to reduce soft-tissue injuries such as...

AT&T gets ready to boot Comcast name from cable.(Brief Article)
March 30, 2001... Beginning Monday in Sacramento, it's so long Comcast Corp., hello AT&T Broadband. AT&T, which has owned the Sacramento cable TV system since January, is about to launch a five-week ad campaign in newspapers, TV, radio and billboards to...

Lowe's, opening two area stores this summer, now plans two more.(Brief Article)
March 30, 2001... Lowe's Cos. Inc., the North Carolina-based home improvement rival to Home Depot, is finalizing plans to open a store in the Stock Ranch development of Citrus Heights. The nation's No. 2 home improvement retailer hopes to start building...

Ex-Peregrine Real Estate Trust buys out its shareholders and goes private.(Brief Article)
March 30, 2001... The Peregrine Real Estate Trust no longer exists, cashed out forever at 59 cents a share with a liquidating dividend. For several years Peregrine, the area's 10th largest publicly traded company, has done business as WinShip Properties....

Homeowners' association management companies.(Brief Article)
March 30, 2001... Homeowners' association management companies (Ranked by number of units managed in the local...

Former golf retailer testing new waters with spa store.(Brief Article)
March 30, 2001... Golf-store veteran Phil Peters of Granite Bay is launching a new retail business that combines sales of spas and saunas with other stress-relievers like back aids, aromatherapy, soaps and lotions. He'll open Spas Galore & More at Howe...

Electricity rate increases approved amid protests.(Brief Article)
March 30, 2001... Tuesday: Californians will begin paying higher prices for electricity -- as much as an average of 40 percent more - following action by the California Public Utilities Commission today in San Francisco. The CPUC voted 5-0 for the higher...

Prima publishers sold to Random House.(Prima Communications Inc.)(Brief Article)
March 30, 2001... Monday: Prima Communications Inc., the publishing house based in Roseville, has been sold to Random House Inc. Terms of the sale were not disclosed. Both companies are privately held. The deal is expected to be closed within two weeks. ...

S&P keeps eye on California.(debt remains on Standard and Poor's credit watch)(Brief Article)
March 30, 2001... Tuesday: Even though electricity rates are about to rise 40 percent in much of California, Standard & Poor's says it is keeping the state's general debt on credit watch "with negative implications." The state's general obligation debt...

Oak Park hotel preserved.(Brief Article)
March 30, 2001... Tuesday: An agreement to preserve Oak Park's historic Woodruff Hotel and Guild Theater has been reached between the St. Hope Development Company, founded by basketball star Kevin Johnson, and the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency...

InsWeb countersues insurer.(Brief Article)
March 30, 2001... Monday: A business fight between two online insurance ventures was turned up a notch when Sacramento-based InsWeb Corp. countersued eHealthInsurance Services Inc. The war first broke out on Feb. 21 when eHealthInsurance sued InsWeb...

Brecek & Young buys firm.(Brecek and Young Advisors Inc., Donahue Securities)(Brief Article)
March 30, 2001... Thursday Brecek & Young Advisors Inc., a broker-dealer based in Folsom, purchased most of the assets of a brokerage firm in Cincinnati for $232,500. About 200 of the independent brokers from the defunct Ohio brokerage, Donahue...

Woodland Healthcare.(registered nurses form picket line)(Brief Article)
March 30, 2001... Wednesday: Registered nurses at Woodland Healthcare are picketing today to protest refusal by parent Mercy Healthcare Sacramento to include Woodland nurses in contract negotiations involving other Mercy hospitals.

Listening keeps Ballroom humming.(Brief Article)
March 30, 2001... Don't get Hal Morris started on the fact that international ballroom dancing finally becomes an Olympic sport for the first time in 2008. "It should have been one of the original sports! Every culture dances! When a baby listens to...

NFIB sees energy regs a bit differently.(Brief Article)
March 30, 2001... Regulation usually is a dirty word for members of the National Federatio of Independent Business, Washington's most powerful small business lobbying organization. But rolling blackouts have made NFIB members in California wistful for the...

Holy entrepreneur! 'Batman' makes 'pro-business' top 10.(Small Business Survival Committee announces top 10 pro-business movies)(Brief Article)
March 30, 2001... The Small Business Survival Committee produced its own version of the Oscars, naming the "Top 10 Pro-Business Movies" of all time. "Tucker: the Man and His Dream," about an entrepreneur who challenged Detroit's established auto makers,...

Small firms push for more of federal R&D spending.(Brief Article)
March 30, 2001... Some members of Congress had to be taught how to use hand-held computers, but the House Armed Services Committee got a firsthand look recently at how new software developed through a Small Business Innovation Research grant could help U.S....

Single-family residential property managers.(Statistical Data Included)
March 30, 2001... Single-family residential property managers (Ranked by number of units managed in the local...

The hottest ticket in town.(people spending more on home decorating, interior)(Statistical Data Included)
March 30, 2001... Led by busy workers, retires, young families and Bay Area transplants, Greater Sacramentans are spending more of their incomes to make their homes into havens Karen Cuneo has remodeled, refurbished and redone almost everything at her...

Stylish comforts keep area coffeehouses perking.
March 30, 2001... Bolstered by attention to menus, style and entertainment, local coffeehouses continue to grow as places to socialize and hang out. In Placerville, a coffeehouse moved and boosted its food sales. A district manager at local chain Java City...

Sacramento area seems to be gaining in self-assurance.(Brief Article)
March 30, 2001... Twenty years ago when he was teaching college courses part-time, Ed Goldman noticed a curious phenomenon on the first day of classes. When he asked his students to introduce themselves and tell where they were from, the native Sacramentans...

PROFILE Steve Wall.
March 30, 2001... Beer Dawgs / lead guitarist Movie: "The Wind and the Lion" Book: "Atlas Shrugged" Restaurant: "Any of the Paragary's" Vacation spot: New Orleans Hobbies: Golf, and riding his 1982 FLH Harley Davidson motorcycle ...

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE.(includes, DLR Group Vitiello appoints Mark Curtis)
March 30, 2001... ARCHITECTURE Mark Curtis has been hired at DLR Group Vitiello. He has more than 15 years' architectural experience in school and correctional projects. He is currently managing school modernization projects for the Sacramento City...

STOCKS OF LOCAL INTEREST.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 30, 2001... STOCKS OF LOCAL INTEREST WINNERS & LOSERS 1 ThermoGenesis +23.1% Track 'n Trail -27.1% 2 Supermail +22.1% Integrated Surgical -10.0% 3 Alternative...

Sacramento County Children and Families Commission.(Brief Article)
March 30, 2001... The Sacramento County Children and Families Commission, funded by Proposition 10, has made available $26 million in grant opportunities to benefit expectant mothers, and children. $25 million is available for Achievable Results Grants for...

United Way California Capital Region's Success By 6.(receives grant from Bank of America Foundation)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 30, 2001... United Way California Capital Region's Success By 6 received a $175,000 grant from the Bank of America Foundation. The Success By 6 program focuses on strategies that help ensure all children under the age of six start school ready to learn....

Keppler Chiropractic.(raises $600 for Little League team)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 30, 2001... Keppler Chiropractic held its Patient Appreciation Day sponsoring Tahoe Tallac Little League for the third year in a row. Keppler raised $600 in just three hours from donations and a car wash. All proceeds go to purchase sports equipment for...

West Sacramento Foundation.(accepts applications for grants)(Brief Article)
March 30, 2001... The West Sacramento Foundation is accepting applications from community-based organizations that would like to receive grants ranging from $150 to $3,000. Recipients of the grants must have 501(0)3 status and must use funds to exclusively...

JLS Julia Morgan Designer Showcase House Tour.
March 30, 2001... The Junior League of Sacramento is hosting its first annual JLS Julia Morgan Designer Showcase House Tour April 20-29 at 3731 T St., Sacramento. The event features more than 15 of Sacramento's top interior designers and will benefit local...

Every Child is a Winner Coalition Ministry and Growing Alternative Foster Family Agency.
March 30, 2001... Every Child is a Winner Coalition Ministry and Growing Alternative Foster Family Agency will host the 2000 Extravaganza Event: Its A Family Affair on April 15 from 2 to 6 p.m. at the Steven Lee Yamshon Alumni Center, California University...

The Brewer Law Firm.(Brief Article)
March 30, 2001... Roy Brewer recently established The Brewer Law Firm, at 980 9th St., Suite 2050, Sacramento. The firm, specializing in land development law, can be reached at (916) 325-5588.

U.S. Department of Agriculture.(offers assistance to apple, wool and mohair and grazing crop producers)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 30, 2001... The U.S. Department of Agriculture is accepting applications for the Apple Market Loss Assistance, Wool and Mohair Loss Assistance programs and grazing payments programs. Under the apple program, about $100 million will be used to provide...

Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission.(announces arts grant program)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 30, 2001... The Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission has created the 2001. New Works Awards Program to increase resources and opportunities for local literary, visual and performing artists by making grants available to create original work and...

Waste Connections Inc.(announces profits)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 30, 2001... Waste Connections Inc. of Roseville grew its net income by $19 million or more than 200 percent in 2000, according to an annual report submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission. Profits for 2000 were $28.2 million on revenue of...

HONORS & ACHIEVEMENTS.(Sacramento, California region)(Brief Article)
March 30, 2001... Architecture firm LPA Sacramento Inc. received three awards for design excellence from the 2000 Design Awards Program of the American Institute of Architects, Central Valley chapter. The projects honored include; Union Pacific Railyards,...

Valley Media Inc.(announces third quarter ending Dec. 30, 2000 losses)(Brief Article)(Company Profile)(Statistical Data Included)
March 30, 2001... Valley Media Inc., which distributes music and video entertainment products to stores and Internet retailers, went public in late March 1999 and soon after doubled its IPO price of $16. But within a few months, the stock began suffering a...

All on board.(Sacramento, California light rail system)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 30, 2001... THE ISSUE: Cities all over the country are struggling to build light-rail systems OUR POSITION: Looking back, our system was one of the best investments we ever made The news that Siemens Transportation Systems has won yet another...

All bark, no tax bite.(California tax revenue not impacted by online shopping)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 30, 2001... Last year, politicians were waxing worrisome about the impending collapse of the sales tax under an avalanche of untaxed Internet shopping. But today it's the Internet retailers, not the tax collectors, who are fighting for survival. State...

Boom boom, out go the lights.(California to expect power shortages to continue)(Brief Article)(Column)
March 30, 2001... OK, OK, OK. I guess they're serious about this whole saving energy thing. Of course we'll conserve, now that we can't afford power anymore. I've done all the conventional stuff -- compact fluorescents, new windows, line-drying the...

Plaintiffs' layers renew assault on business.(proposed legislation in California)(Brief Article)
March 30, 2001... Is it possible that the economic development offices of states like Utah, Tennessee and the Carolinas have hired California's personal injury lawyers to help lure companies away from the Golden State? The thought crosses one's mind when...

Raycom Sports.(site for golf tournament)(Brief Article)
March 30, 2001... Wednesday: Raycom Sports, owner and operator of the Longs Drugs Challenge, announced today that Lincoln's Twelve Bridges Golf Club will remain the site for the professional tournament through 2004. The 2001 Longs Drugs Challenge, part of the...

California Association of Realtors.(housing sales decrease in Sacramento area)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 30, 2001... Monday: The number of existing homes sold in February in Greater Sacramento slipped 7.7 percent from January, according to the California Association of Realtors, while median prices went up 5.3 percent. Sacramento's median price was $163,450...

Assemblyman Dave Cox.(replaces Bill Campbell as Assembly minority leader)(Brief Article)
March 30, 2001... Monday: Sacramento Assemblyman Dave Cox was named by fellow Republican legislators as Assembly minority leader, replacing Bill Campbell of Orange County.

Hewlett-Packard.(Washington man convicted of defrauding company)(Brief Article)
March 30, 2001... Friday: A Washington man has been sentenced to five months in prison for defrauding Hewlett-Packard, the U.S. Department of Justice reports.

Downtown Plaza backs off.
March 23, 2001... Puts K Street plans on hold Expansion plans for Sacramento's Downtown Plaza have been put on hold after the mall's owner realized that prices had gone up for property along K Street. Westfield America Inc. had said it wanted to...

Tsakopoulos seeks mine in south county.
March 23, 2001... Land developer Angelo Tsakopoulos wants to put a gravel mine and aggregate processing plant on 460 acres along Dry Creek in southern Sacramento County. Tsakopoulos, head of AKT Development Corp., has applied to Sacramento County for...

HasEverything.com files Chapter 11, rethinks business.
March 23, 2001... HasEverything.com now has its hands full after filing to reorganize its debts under Chapter 11 of the bankruptcy code. "We're still operating and open," said Gary Armlin, chief executive officer and founder of the Fair Oaks company. ...

State sets sights on PG&E land.
March 23, 2001... About 36,000 acres of forests, wetlands and agricultural property around Greater Sacramento that belong to Pacific Gas and Electric Co. and its parent company, PG&E Corp., could become state property if current negotiations result in a deal....

CB Richard Ellis talks with Cornish about a merger.
March 23, 2001... The huge real estate brokerage CB Richard Ellis is quietly negotiating to buy Cornish & Carey, a Santa Clara company with a big presence here. But word on the street is that the local Cornish & Carey office might not be included in the sale....

Eat at airport and get gas.
March 23, 2001... For 10 years, you couldn't buy gasoline at Sacramento International -- not even back when it was measly Sac Metro airport. If your tank was empty driving out of there, you had to hope the fumes got you 7.2 miles to the nearest station. ...

Woodland finally gets Ross.
March 23, 2001... The long-awaited Ross Dress for Less lease has been signed at County Fair Mall in Woodland. After months of talks, Ross Stores committed this week to opening a 30,000-square-foot store in Woodland, with an expected opening in September....

Little outfit breaks into Raleys.
March 23, 2001... Tiny Rocklin-based Kimmie Candy Co. got a big break this week with the OK to put its chocolate-covered sunflower kernels into 45 Raley's and Bel Air stores in Greater Sacramento. Just two months ago the candy company was thrilled to make it...

We're guinea pigs again.
March 23, 2001... Coca Cola Co. is going to be using Sacramento as a test market this spring for a new line of its Tropicana brand fruit juice and yogurt smoothies. While we'll be able to try this stuff in April, the rest of the country may get a chance to buy...

Yolo passed off as New Zealand.
March 23, 2001... A production company making TV commercials for French automaker Peugeot has been using some local hills and roads in Yolo County as stand-ins for New Zealand. The same company is also scouting the foothills and mountains around the American...

Fast-growing Lennar, AKT to build 3,285-home site.
March 23, 2001... Lennar Communities Inc., the land development arm of Lennar Corp. of Miami, is teaming up with Angelo Tsakopoulos to develop the 3,285-home Sunridge community south of Rancho Cordova. The partnership is the latest deal for fast-growing...

Williams-Sonoma data center moves to Rocklin.
March 23, 2001... Williams-Sonoma Inc., the houseware retailer based in San Francisco, will move a back-up data center into Stanford Ranch on May 1. The data center is expected to employ about 30. Williams-Sonoma will occupy about 15,000 square feet of a...

Delta postpones nonstop flights to New York City.
March 23, 2001... What would have been Sacramento's first nonstop flights to New York City have been indefinitely postponed by Delta Air Lines. Delta had planned to start flying nonstop between New York and Sacramento on June 1. But the Atlanta-based...

Sutter strikes out in try to expand along Hwy. 50.
March 23, 2001... While the 26-hospital Sutter Health empire keeps on growing, an effort to affiliate with hospitals in Placerville and in Carson City, Nev. has fizzled. Last month, Sutter talked with Marshall Hospital in Placerville about a possible...

Internet firm sued by bank.
March 23, 2001... Carta Inc., a Sacramento Internet technology provider that employed more than 100 people at last count, is being sued by Wells Fargo; Bank for allegedly falling to pay a $250,000 note and having nearly $100,000 in delinquent debt on corporate...

Two hotels sold by Rim Corp.
March 23, 2001... Rim Corp. of Modesto has sold its Best Western hotels in West Sacramento and Placerville. West Sacramento hotelier C.R. Patel bought the 138-room Best Western Harbor Inn & Suites for $6.5 million. Patel plans to spend $600,000 to $1...

Company taps water treatment market with UV lamp.
March 23, 2001... Jim Bender was looking for a way to strip paint off surfaces without heat. He ended up tapping into a much larger, multibillion-dollar market water purification. Bender is the inventor of a patented, high-powered pulsing ultraviolet lamp...