Sacramento Business Journal articles from September 1999

Sacramento Business Journal archives from September 1999

Raley's gives itself two years to digest acquisition of 27 stores in Southwest.(grocery chain)
September 24, 1999... As Raley's prepares to settle into its new markets of Las Vegas and New Mexico, the local grocery chain will forgo any additional acquisitions for two years. Meanwhile, Raley's plans to add six new stores a year. That, said Michael...

His Internet vision runs from A to Z.(profile on Gerald McLaughlin and his Web A-Z Online services)
September 24, 1999... Gerald McLaughlin works as a retail real estate broker to pay the bills. But he dreams of building a small dot.com empire based on his brand name, "A-Z." "I've always been into computers," he explains. In real estate, he uses them a lot...

A syndicator survival story.(Pacific Capital Investments)
September 24, 1999... 'Bottom-feeders' ride out recession to reap riches in '90s Peter Hollingshead and Tom Cologna huddle close to their conference table, intent on telling their story. The two are partners in Pacific Capital Investments. They are...

RiceX switches auditors; new deals may be pending.(agricultural R and D firm RiceX Co. dismisses PriceWaterhouseCoopers LLP)
September 24, 1999... A thinly traded agricultural research and development company in El Dorado Hills has dropped its independent auditor. The RiceX Co. dismissed PriceWaterhouseCoopers LLP after the accounting firm expressed doubt about RiceX's ability to...

Nextlink jumps in the fray.(Nextlink Communications' entry into the fiber-optic telecommunications market)
September 24, 1999... Another competitor for business bandwidth service Local businesses looking for good deals on their high-bandwidth phone service may start finding them soon, because another big fiber-optic telecommunications company has entered the...

Recycling law attracts manufacturer.(baling and compacting equipment maker Cram-A-Lot West's move into the Sacramento, California, market)
September 24, 1999... A state law requiring communities to cut their waste stream 50 percent by January or face daily fines of $10,000 has attracted an Arkansas manufacturer. Cram-a-Lot West, which makes baling and compacting equipment to crush materials for...

Rising drug costs raise business for Roseville firm.(American Health Care Administrative Services Inc.)
September 24, 1999... Pharmacy costs are driving up the cost of American healthcare. And efforts to contain them are driving up business for American Health Care Administrative Services Inc., a Roseville company. Trying to save other companies money on...

Woes at parent firm stall Folsom hospital's growth.(Vencor Hospital Sacramento)
September 24, 1999... Vencor Hospital Sacramento has a stable patient base and a strong bottom line, even though its parent company in Louisville, Ky., filed for bankruptcy protection from creditors Sept. 13. Despite strong local performance, plans for a $4...

More moves for brokers.(Brecek and Young Advisors Inc.)
September 24, 1999... Brecek & Young gets new headquarters, new alliances Brecek & Young Advisors Inc. of Gold River, the area's largest locally based securities brokerage and one of its fastest-growing companies, is expanding into other states as it...

Two bid on waterfront restaurant.(Pyramid Brewing Inc. and Great Northwest Restaurant Inc vie for a restaurant construction contract in Sacramento, California)
September 17, 1999... Old Sacramento's large new $4.5 million waterfront restaurant is shaping up as either a gourmet ale house or a high-end seafood grill. Those are the two proposals the city has received three months after asking developers to pitch ideas...

Firestorm erupts over 'big box' legislation.(big-box retail stores to be outlawed in California)
September 17, 1999... At least one major big-box retailer says it's doomed if the bill becomes law. But proponents argue that California consumers face a bleak future if it doesn't. At the heart of this erupting brawl is Assembly Bill 84, which would...

Rocklin's TASQ to grow by acquisition.(includes related article on Placer Land purchase)(TASQ Technology Inc seeks to complete a series of acquisition agreements)
September 17, 1999... When Denis Calvert took a job running Rocklin's TASQ Technology Inc. earlier this year, he knew he'd be doing a lot less commuting. The affable Australian had been slingshotting between New York, where he worked and had an apartment, and...

Contractors, hospitals dread new daily overtime law.(California)
September 17, 1999... When California's new daily overtime law kicks in on Jan. 1, the costs to some industries could be enormous. The construction industry figures either construction costs will go up, or construction speed will slow down. Hospitals...

Temps more than just a quick fix.(temporary employment service provider Blue Ribbon Personnel Services)
September 17, 1999... For small firms, they're necessity When Friday rolls around and Denise Bates gets a call that one of her 43 employees is taking a three-day weekend via "sick" leave, Bates doesn't panic. She calls on a temporary staffing agency and has...

Housing costs tip advantage to Sacramento area.(Sacramento, California)(Statistical Data Included)
September 17, 1999... When Sam Vulopas decided to become an independent software consultant last year, he and his wife, Eleanor, began looking for a house. A real one. Their 1,500-square-foot townhome in Pleasanton was starting to feel like a cage. They...

Technology is up, but it's no rival to Silicon Valley.(Focus: Bay Area Migration)(Sacramento, California)(Statistical Data Included)
September 17, 1999... Two years ago, Al Gianini worked up a print ad touting Sacramento as Silicon Valley East. He'd seen the reference in Kiplinger's California newsletter. If somebody else has given us that handle, he decided, why not use it? The ad...

$48m face-lift for VA hospital.($48 million funding released for the construction of Veterans Affairs hospital)
September 10, 1999... Mather work to begin in January The aging Veterans Affairs hospital at Mather Field is set to get a $48 million face-lift. It is likely to be the last substantial hospital construction in the region for a long time. Construction...

OneMain picks Rocklin as its hub.(OneMain.com Inc to build a data hub in Rocklin, California)
September 10, 1999... For the past few months, Brad Jenkins has had a little bit more spare time on his hands running JPSnet. But not much. Already the pace has begun to quicken for Sacramento's largest Internet service provider, which rolled its fortunes...

Railyard deal nears.(Mills Corp to sign an agreement with Pacific Railroad Co for the construction of a railyard project)
September 10, 1999... U.P., Mills Corp. may sign today The Mills Corp. and Union Pacific Railroad Co. expect to sign an agreement as soon as today to build the railyard project, a glittery array of new stores, restaurants, hotel rooms and offices that could...

Are health plan brokers paid too much?(Sacramento, California)
September 10, 1999... There's a quiet corner amid the nation's hue and cry about cuts in healthcare budgets. There, firmly lodged, sit the health insurance brokers. Brokers who help employers buy their health plans are perhaps the only sector of the...

UC Davis will seek developer of 150-room hotel.(University of California at Davis seeks to build a hotel and conference center)
September 10, 1999... The University of California at Davis wants to find a developer to build a high-end, 150-room hotel and 15,000-square-foot conference center on campus near Interstate 80. Both would be built near the Alumni Center and the proposed $52...

New chief inspector rebuilding relations.(Sacramento chief building inspector Dennis Richardson)
September 10, 1999... The city of Sacramento's new chief building inspector, Dennis Richardson, has a very big desk. But he comes around in front of it and sits down in a chair to chat on an even level. It's a friendly gesture, symbolic of how Richardson is...

Oates bank may open in November.(Buzz Oates to spearhead the construction of Sacramento, California's first hometown bank)
September 10, 1999... Rocklin's first hometown bank could open by November, perhaps five months before it has a building to move into. "Things are booming in Rocklin, and it takes a while to get building permits, said Bob Mulder, the chief executive and...

EarthLink, Pacific Bell, others add to back offices.(Internet access provider EarthLink Network Inc)
September 10, 1999... It's back-office bonanza time in the Sacramento region. Not only are companies hurriedly locating their call centers, billing centers and data centers here, but the ones already here are getting bigger. EarthLink Network Inc., a Los...

Jackson scales back his South Sac office park.(real estate developer John Jackson)
September 10, 1999... Developer John Jackson is scaling back plans to build what would have been south Sacramento County's first large office park. Jackson had been negotiating for 47 acres southwest of Interstate 5 and Elk Grove Boulevard. It would have held...

Commercial building still hot in Placer.(commercial development in Placer, California increases)
September 10, 1999... Commercial developers are spending 40 percent more money in south Placer County than last year. Placer is leading the pack regionally for the pace of growth. For sheer dollar amounts, however, Sacramento County is still the hotbed of...

A quick $8 million coup?(SSR Realty Advisors to sell office building in Sacramento, California for $40 million)
September 10, 1999... Building for sale one year after purchase A company that bought an office building in Sacramento last year for $32 million is about to offer it for sale at a price of $40 million. A run-up of $8 million in less than two years would...

PE AgGen gets new name, awaits nod for new home.(biotechnology company)
September 10, 1999... PE AgGen has a new name and may be in line for a bigger, better home soon. The Davis biotechnology firm needs a bigger home, because it has grown to 84 employees from 29 in the last year. Early this summer the company began using the...

Speculators rush to grab south Placer land.(Placer County, CA)
September 3, 1999... When builder C.C. Myers offered to donate 45 acres for a new high school in Roseville this summer, he had more than education on his mind. Myers knows that if a school is built, his chances of developing about 400 acres that surround the...

Downtown housing plans vie for subsidy; builders want more than agency has.(Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency)
September 3, 1999... A beauty contest among four proposed housing developments in downtown Sacramento that are all seeking public subsidy has been delayed while officials scrutinize the contestants in the economic buff. The four proposals are for new houses...

Hotels propose $2M tax for marketing.(to increase Sacramento Convention & Visitors Bureau's marketing budget)
September 3, 1999... Hoteliers so badly want to have more money to promote Sacramento they're proposing an additional tax assessment on themselves. The idea is to raise about $2 million annually for marketing the area. That would double the Sacramento...

Marshall Hospital dispute heats up; red ink jeopardizes managed-care business.
September 3, 1999... A longtime relationship between Marshall Hospital in Placerville and its doctors may blow apart over a multimillion-dollar deficit in its managed-care business. El Dorado Medical Associates, an independent practice association of doctors...

Infill developers pull off Oak Park coup.(Lynn Houlihan and Gregg Duffin's contract with University of California at Davis Medical Center's child protective unit)
September 3, 1999... Developers Gregg Duffin and Lynn Houlihan are part of a rare breed - infill developers who specialize in central city real estate projects. Today, they sit at a conference table in the office of their midtown Sacramento architect and...

New Roseville bank to acquire unopened rival.(Capitol Valley Bank; Silverado Bank)
September 3, 1999... The mania for bank mergers hit a new stride this week when Silverado Bank in Roseville agreed to be acquired by another before it even had a chance to open. Roseville's new Capitol Valley Bank, which opened five months ago, agreed to...

High-tech manufacturer brings supplier to its plant.(Imagine Manufacturing Solutions Inc.)
September 3, 1999... Imagine Manufacturing Solutions Inc., a Rocklin business that makes products for high-tech companies, hopes to save money and work faster by bringing its chief parts supplier inside the plant. Imagine has set up a 2,200-square-foot space...

Giant Avery buys El Dorado Software developer.(Avery Dennison Corp.; Bear Rock Technologies Corp.)
September 3, 1999... An El Dorado County software company that was created by a college professor in 1984 to help pay for his doctorate has been sold to a leading office products supplier. Ken Futernick sold his Bear Rock Technologies Corp., which employs 16...

Janitors union now targeting Sutter Building Maintenance.(Service Employees International Union)
September 3, 1999... The Justice for Janitors union campaign is going after the firm that cleans Sacramento's biggest and busiest shopping mall. Back-to-school shoppers at Arden Fair were greeted with picket signs Saturday as the four-year effort by the...

New owners rev sales at Florin Chevy dealership.(Florin Road Chevrolet/Mitsubishi)
September 3, 1999... The Florin Road Chevrolet/Mitsubishi dealership, located at a key western gateway to the Florin Road commercial strip, is getting a shot of vigor from new owners. Bob Field and Leonard Harrington III, veteran car dealers who own the...

HDR Insurance says competitor filched trade secrets.(HDR Insurance Services)
September 3, 1999... A Sacramento insurance operation specializing in coverage for contractors and artisans has sued a local competitor, alleging that a former employee used trade secrets to benefit his new employer. In its suit filed Aug. 17 in Sacramento...