by Barbara Smith The Reporter
Abbott Laboratories, a global pharmaceutical healthcare company, is expanding its manufacturing capacity with the purchase of the MLO/Genisoy plant in Fairfield's Solano Business Park.
Abbott Laboratories' Ross Products Division will use the plant to manufacture its nutrition products, including Glucerna and ZonePerfect snack and meal replacement bars. Abbott is planning significant upgrades to the facility and will expand its capacity. Joe Lucchio, Fairfield's economic development project manager, said Abbott is listed in the top 50 businesses of Fortune 500. The firm will eventually mean more jobs to the region, Lucchio said.
All full-time MLO/Genisoy production employees will continue to work for Abbott and many MLO/Genisoy nutrition bars and low-carb products will continue to be manufactured under a copackaging agreement.
The City of Fairfield has worked with Abbott, offering an economic incentive package that includes property-tax rebates and a low-interest loan utilizing Community Development Block Grants. The city is also working with several state agencies to provide Abbott with additional funding for customizing worker training programs, according to a prepared release.
Tuesday, August 31, 2004
Monday, August 30, 2004
wine club sites - Info from SearchScout - GAIN Adserver Software
Article Published: Saturday, August 21, 2004
Tim Ives, president of O'Hara Metal Products, is in the process of moving his company from Brisbane to Fairfield. (Reporter photos/Brad Zweerink)
Showing their metal
Manufacturing firm leases Fairfield site
By Barbara Smith/Business Writer
O'Hara Metal Products, a 40-year-old manufacturer of metal components, is pulling up its San Francisco-area roots for affordable Fairfield.
Vacaville resident Tim Ives, president of the manufacturing company, has leased about 16,000 square feet in manufacturing space at 5005 Fulton Drive in the Cordelia area.
The family owned company, most recently based in Brisbane, normally employs 52. The move will bring about 20 new jobs to Solano County. And, there's room for growth, Ives, 51, said.
He hopes to expand to two suites that are on both sides of the building, when available.
"We hope at that point, we'll be ready to take advantage of that," Ives said. "We have first right of refusal on those."
The move will mean a far shorter commute for Ives and his wife, Robin. The longtime Vacaville couple operated Pet Country, later named Planet Pets, on a hill atop East Monte Vista Avenue for years. But that changed shortly after Ives was called to the family business.
"When my dad died, I was the only son and I got elected to kind of come here and take over the store," he said.
They ran the pet store for a while, but gave it up when operating both businesses became too demanding.
"It just got to the point where it was too much," Ives said. "We were working seven days a week, so we decided to put it to sleep. Now we're working seven days a week, every week too, so who knows what's worse?"
Also, seven key employees live in Solano County - another reason to move back to Solano, he said.
"Other than not having this silly commute, we're comfortable in Fairfield," he said. "Over here, I know people, there are businesses we can network with, not to mention the rent is ridiculously cheaper than there."
The company is investing roughly $70,000 in tenant improvements.
O'Hara Metal Products makes metal parts for "everything," including space shuttles, the Apache helicopter, Nokia phones, Apple computers, and even Burger King.
"Every time you look and see a small metal component, that's what we do," Ives said. "Nothing really exciting, but important."
Ives said he hopes to be open by the second week of September.
"We're really pleased with Solano County, we're looking forward to being back," he said.
Chris Petrini, vice president of Grubb & Ellis, served as the Ives' broker in the lease. He said the sales and leasing cycle of commercial and industrial real estate is moving again.
"We're coming out of the summer doldrums," he said. "Local entrepreneurs are coming back from vacation and now are back focused on their business.
"I'm anticipating a bump like we did in February and March, when activity was brisk."
Barbara Smith can be reached at business@thereporter.com.
Tim Ives, president of O'Hara Metal Products, is in the process of moving his company from Brisbane to Fairfield. (Reporter photos/Brad Zweerink)
Showing their metal
Manufacturing firm leases Fairfield site
By Barbara Smith/Business Writer
O'Hara Metal Products, a 40-year-old manufacturer of metal components, is pulling up its San Francisco-area roots for affordable Fairfield.
Vacaville resident Tim Ives, president of the manufacturing company, has leased about 16,000 square feet in manufacturing space at 5005 Fulton Drive in the Cordelia area.
The family owned company, most recently based in Brisbane, normally employs 52. The move will bring about 20 new jobs to Solano County. And, there's room for growth, Ives, 51, said.
He hopes to expand to two suites that are on both sides of the building, when available.
"We hope at that point, we'll be ready to take advantage of that," Ives said. "We have first right of refusal on those."
The move will mean a far shorter commute for Ives and his wife, Robin. The longtime Vacaville couple operated Pet Country, later named Planet Pets, on a hill atop East Monte Vista Avenue for years. But that changed shortly after Ives was called to the family business.
"When my dad died, I was the only son and I got elected to kind of come here and take over the store," he said.
They ran the pet store for a while, but gave it up when operating both businesses became too demanding.
"It just got to the point where it was too much," Ives said. "We were working seven days a week, so we decided to put it to sleep. Now we're working seven days a week, every week too, so who knows what's worse?"
Also, seven key employees live in Solano County - another reason to move back to Solano, he said.
"Other than not having this silly commute, we're comfortable in Fairfield," he said. "Over here, I know people, there are businesses we can network with, not to mention the rent is ridiculously cheaper than there."
The company is investing roughly $70,000 in tenant improvements.
O'Hara Metal Products makes metal parts for "everything," including space shuttles, the Apache helicopter, Nokia phones, Apple computers, and even Burger King.
"Every time you look and see a small metal component, that's what we do," Ives said. "Nothing really exciting, but important."
Ives said he hopes to be open by the second week of September.
"We're really pleased with Solano County, we're looking forward to being back," he said.
Chris Petrini, vice president of Grubb & Ellis, served as the Ives' broker in the lease. He said the sales and leasing cycle of commercial and industrial real estate is moving again.
"We're coming out of the summer doldrums," he said. "Local entrepreneurs are coming back from vacation and now are back focused on their business.
"I'm anticipating a bump like we did in February and March, when activity was brisk."
Barbara Smith can be reached at business@thereporter.com.
Dixon's Revitalized Downtown is Flourishing
Article Published: Monday, August 30, 2004
Dixon's revitalized downtown is beginning to flourish again with shops, restaurants and plans for a new transportation hub. (Rick Roach/The Reporter)
Downtown Dixon's luster returning
By Tom Hall/Staff Writer
The deserted lot at First and A streets in Dixon should be a full-fledged restaurant and retail center by July 2005.
The dilapidated former fire station on North Jackson Street will be home to a dentist, a chiropractor and an Internet service provider in a little over a year.
Bids for the construction of a state-of-the-art transportation hub on North Jefferson Street will go out within a month.
An Oakland developer has purchased 2.5 acres of land at North Jefferson and C streets, with plans for a row of single-family townhouses and a new public library.
Old-fashioned streetlights now line newborn sidewalks and roads throughout the city core, following a massive reconstruction earlier this year.
So, what's left to do in downtown Dixon?
Not much, it would seem. There's the former location of Ace Hardware - dubbed the Dixon Lumber site - at North Jackson and A. There are a few vacant lots in the northern tip of the downtown area, west of the Southern Pacific Railroad line.
Dixon City Manager Warren Salmons said still more redevelopment of existing buildings with tenants who may wish to move out of downtown is possible.
"The potential is great for continuing to do some projects," Salmons said.
The city manager pointed to the area north of the future multi-modal transportation center - which will someday connect Dixon to Sacramento and the Bay Area by commuter rail - as a probable focus for redevelopment in the next few years.
"It's an area that will see activity," Salmons said.
Oakland-based Land Bank Development is in talks with the Dixon Unified School District Library Commission to work out a deal to put a new library just north of the transportation hub's parking lot. Salmons said Land Bank's interest in that part of the city will help get the area revitalized quicker.
"It will certainly encourage more public or private redevelopment over there," the city manager said.
There is one noticeable hole in Dixon's core: the aforementioned Dixon Lumber site, which closely resembles a piece of Nevadan prairie.
The site is owned by the Dixon Redevelopment Agency (the city, for all intents and purposes). Area developer Rob Salaber included the site in his plan to resuscitate the southwest corner of Dixon's downtown, which also called for the reformation of the old fire station to a spot for a restaurant and some retail shops.
Salaber's plan was denied last Tuesday by the city council in favor of a proposal by dentist Kristina Wiley and business owners Seth and Donna Jacobs to turn it into an office building. Salaber said he hasn't decided if his development partnership - Old Dixon Square LLC - would seek to purchase and develop the old lumber yard without the fire station in his control.
Salmons said the redevelopment of the lumber yard is a couple of years off.
"There's no definitive answer about when the lumber site will be done," said the city manager. "There are some conceptual plans out there to turn it into a public plaza, but it's all very early."
Salaber's plan would create 40 parking spaces, eight retail spaces and eight office units. Despite the uncertainty of Salaber's involvement with the site, Councilwoman Yvonne McCluskey has publicly supported the transformation plan, despite voting against Salaber's fire station plan last week.
Last Tuesday, McCluskey said she liked Salaber's design for the lumber site.
Tom Hall can be reached at dixon@thereporter.com.
Dixon's revitalized downtown is beginning to flourish again with shops, restaurants and plans for a new transportation hub. (Rick Roach/The Reporter)
Downtown Dixon's luster returning
By Tom Hall/Staff Writer
The deserted lot at First and A streets in Dixon should be a full-fledged restaurant and retail center by July 2005.
The dilapidated former fire station on North Jackson Street will be home to a dentist, a chiropractor and an Internet service provider in a little over a year.
Bids for the construction of a state-of-the-art transportation hub on North Jefferson Street will go out within a month.
An Oakland developer has purchased 2.5 acres of land at North Jefferson and C streets, with plans for a row of single-family townhouses and a new public library.
Old-fashioned streetlights now line newborn sidewalks and roads throughout the city core, following a massive reconstruction earlier this year.
So, what's left to do in downtown Dixon?
Not much, it would seem. There's the former location of Ace Hardware - dubbed the Dixon Lumber site - at North Jackson and A. There are a few vacant lots in the northern tip of the downtown area, west of the Southern Pacific Railroad line.
Dixon City Manager Warren Salmons said still more redevelopment of existing buildings with tenants who may wish to move out of downtown is possible.
"The potential is great for continuing to do some projects," Salmons said.
The city manager pointed to the area north of the future multi-modal transportation center - which will someday connect Dixon to Sacramento and the Bay Area by commuter rail - as a probable focus for redevelopment in the next few years.
"It's an area that will see activity," Salmons said.
Oakland-based Land Bank Development is in talks with the Dixon Unified School District Library Commission to work out a deal to put a new library just north of the transportation hub's parking lot. Salmons said Land Bank's interest in that part of the city will help get the area revitalized quicker.
"It will certainly encourage more public or private redevelopment over there," the city manager said.
There is one noticeable hole in Dixon's core: the aforementioned Dixon Lumber site, which closely resembles a piece of Nevadan prairie.
The site is owned by the Dixon Redevelopment Agency (the city, for all intents and purposes). Area developer Rob Salaber included the site in his plan to resuscitate the southwest corner of Dixon's downtown, which also called for the reformation of the old fire station to a spot for a restaurant and some retail shops.
Salaber's plan was denied last Tuesday by the city council in favor of a proposal by dentist Kristina Wiley and business owners Seth and Donna Jacobs to turn it into an office building. Salaber said he hasn't decided if his development partnership - Old Dixon Square LLC - would seek to purchase and develop the old lumber yard without the fire station in his control.
Salmons said the redevelopment of the lumber yard is a couple of years off.
"There's no definitive answer about when the lumber site will be done," said the city manager. "There are some conceptual plans out there to turn it into a public plaza, but it's all very early."
Salaber's plan would create 40 parking spaces, eight retail spaces and eight office units. Despite the uncertainty of Salaber's involvement with the site, Councilwoman Yvonne McCluskey has publicly supported the transformation plan, despite voting against Salaber's fire station plan last week.
Last Tuesday, McCluskey said she liked Salaber's design for the lumber site.
Tom Hall can be reached at dixon@thereporter.com.
Saturday, August 28, 2004
New Benicia neighborhood offers affordable housing
Article Published: Saturday, August 28, 2004
GAIL CARR, left, and her new neighbor Kathy Biggers have been spending 22 hours a week for the last year in sweat equity, helping prepare their new houses in the Hearthstone Village development off Military West in Benicia. The new project will house 12 families. Photo: Mike Jory/Times-Herald
New Benicia neighborhood offers affordable housing
By GREG MOBERLY, Times-Herald staff writer
BENICIA - For the past year, Gail Carr toiled as a plumbing manager at her Pedrotti Ace Hardware job for 40 hours a week and then labored 22 hours a week on her future Hearthstone Village home.
But it will all be worth it when Carr and 11 other families move into the new affordable housing project at West Fifth Street and Military West in October.
Carr was just one of several future residents of the long-awaited affordable housing project briefly visiting their homes Friday afternoon.
"It's been a long year, but a wonderful experience," Carr said.
Francisco Avalos, a retiree moving in with his wife, said he was honored to be a part of the new neighborhood. He said he is glad that, unlike many neighborhoods he's lived in, he'll know everybody who'll live at Hearthstone because they've all worked together on their future homes.
The 12-unit development, nestled in a hilly area near Benicia High School, was one of the city's first affordable housing complexes designed to meet a 1995 legal settlement. The Winterhawk settlement simply forced the city to provide more affordable housing.
After several years of seeking financial assistance, the nonprofit Affordable Housing Affiliation is a little more than a month away from completing the housing project.
The nearly $3 million Hearthstone Village received $450,000 from the city, $60,000 from a state grant, $40,000 from Benicia churches, and $1.6 million from the California Housing Finance Agency.
Carr and Avalos said they can't wait to obtain their piece of the American Dream once again.
Much like Habitat for Humanity's requirement that future residents help build their own homes, future Hearthstone homeowners were required to labor 22 hours a week for 11 months.
"You should have seen us in hard hats and rain boots working on the foundation," Carr said.
Carr also said she helped put a roof on a garage, moved a lot of dirt and cut wood for decks.
Avalos said he did everything he could to help construct his new home. However, a shoulder injury which eventually forced him to retire as a detention service worker at the Contra Costa County Sheriff's Office limited him, he said.
Carr last owned her own home 15 years ago, and will live by herself in her new home.
Avalos last owned his own home a decade ago.
"I wouldn't be able to (own my own home) without the (Affordable Housing Affiliation's) help," Carr said.
The new homes are mostly complete, but Affordable Housing Affiliation Director Bill McCune said workers are looking to clean up paint spots and any other blemishes. If the spots are missed, they will cost more to fix in the future, he said.
McCune said federal Section 8 housing subsidies help cut monthly mortgage payments by $750 to $850 a month.
Other affordable housing projects completed or near completion include Bay Ridge at Rose and Cambridge drives and Burgess Point, which can be seen from Interstate 780.
Pacific Bay Homes completed construction on the 50-unit Bay Ridge development in March. The housing units are fully occupied.
Burgess Point, a 56-unit affordable housing project near the City Cemetery, is nearing completion, city officials said.
- E-mail Greg Moberly at GMoberly@thnewsnet.com or call 553-6833.
Friday, August 27, 2004
Fairfield has a 14 percent vacancy rate for Class A office space
Business
Growth, Providian's exit boost vacancies
By Julie Gordon
FAIRFIELD -- Office vacancy rates are higher now than they were a year ago due to the creation of new office space and Providian Financial's departure from the city.
Currently, Fairfield has a 14 percent vacancy rate for Class A office space, up from 9 percent a year ago, said Ron Waslohn, partner in Premier Commercial Real Estate.
The jump can be attributed to the creation of Fairfield West Plaza, a 40,000-square-foot office building at 1411 Oliver Road across the street from hardware store Yard Birds that still has 21,000 square feet of space available, Waslohn said.
Currently, Alliance Title, Solano Bank and Realty World occupy Fairfield West Plaza, which opened two months ago.
Business parks in Fairfield have a 12 vacancy rate, up from about 4 percent a year ago due to Providian leaving Fairfield Corporate Commons, said Brooks Pedder, managing partner with Colliers International.
"Our market has remained static with the exception of Providian," Pedder said.
Providian, which employed 1,200 people, was the largest private employer in Solano County. The company consolidated and moved most of its operations out of state, Pedder said.
Colliers International has been marketing the Providian site for 10 months, Pedder said. He said two companies have expressed interest in moving into 60 percent of the Providian space and the goal is to have it occupied by year's end.
"The goal is to lease it to the first qualified business," Pedder said. "We're not waiting around."
A new three-story, 120,000 square foot office building also is planned for Fairfield Commons, Pedder said. Construction should begin next spring and will be complete six to eight months later.
Class A office space is the most popular type of space, Pedder said. Typically, Class A office space is built in a good location, provides good parking, has an elevator and is steel framed, Pedder and Waslohn said.
Class A office space typically runs $1.40 to $2 per square foot per month triple net, whereas Class B and Class C space run 90 cents to $1.20 per square foot per month triple net, Pedder said. Triple net means a lease that includes not just rent, but taxes, insurance and maintenance expenses that arise from the use of the property.
Class A is popular with companies that are coming to Solano County from the Bay area and white collar business owners, Pedder and Waslohn said.
Julie Gordon can be reached at jgordon@dailyrepublic.net.
Growth, Providian's exit boost vacancies
By Julie Gordon
FAIRFIELD -- Office vacancy rates are higher now than they were a year ago due to the creation of new office space and Providian Financial's departure from the city.
Currently, Fairfield has a 14 percent vacancy rate for Class A office space, up from 9 percent a year ago, said Ron Waslohn, partner in Premier Commercial Real Estate.
The jump can be attributed to the creation of Fairfield West Plaza, a 40,000-square-foot office building at 1411 Oliver Road across the street from hardware store Yard Birds that still has 21,000 square feet of space available, Waslohn said.
Currently, Alliance Title, Solano Bank and Realty World occupy Fairfield West Plaza, which opened two months ago.
Business parks in Fairfield have a 12 vacancy rate, up from about 4 percent a year ago due to Providian leaving Fairfield Corporate Commons, said Brooks Pedder, managing partner with Colliers International.
"Our market has remained static with the exception of Providian," Pedder said.
Providian, which employed 1,200 people, was the largest private employer in Solano County. The company consolidated and moved most of its operations out of state, Pedder said.
Colliers International has been marketing the Providian site for 10 months, Pedder said. He said two companies have expressed interest in moving into 60 percent of the Providian space and the goal is to have it occupied by year's end.
"The goal is to lease it to the first qualified business," Pedder said. "We're not waiting around."
A new three-story, 120,000 square foot office building also is planned for Fairfield Commons, Pedder said. Construction should begin next spring and will be complete six to eight months later.
Class A office space is the most popular type of space, Pedder said. Typically, Class A office space is built in a good location, provides good parking, has an elevator and is steel framed, Pedder and Waslohn said.
Class A office space typically runs $1.40 to $2 per square foot per month triple net, whereas Class B and Class C space run 90 cents to $1.20 per square foot per month triple net, Pedder said. Triple net means a lease that includes not just rent, but taxes, insurance and maintenance expenses that arise from the use of the property.
Class A is popular with companies that are coming to Solano County from the Bay area and white collar business owners, Pedder and Waslohn said.
Julie Gordon can be reached at jgordon@dailyrepublic.net.
Celebration to mark opening of new Carquinez Bridge
November 2, 2003
Celebration to mark opening of new Carquinez Bridge
By Barry Eberling
FAIRFIELD -- Workers spent the past three years building 400-foot-tall concrete towers rising from the depths of the Carquinez Strait and hoisting 600-ton roadway sections high into the air.
The toiling is over. The new, $239 million Carquinez Bridge is just about finished.
Now it's time to party.
The Bay Area's first suspension bridge since the fabled Golden Gate will be dedicated Saturday, Nov. 8, and should open to traffic by Monday, Nov. 10. It will bear the name of iron worker Al Zampa, who helped build the 1927 cantilever bridge the new span will replace.
This party was originally scheduled for the following weekend. Even the commemorative coin bears the wrong date. Some have speculated the date moved up because recalled Gov. Gray Davis wanted to be there and thought he might be out of office by mid-November.
"It's just ridiculous," said Kena Hudson, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Transportation.
The date moved up a week because the bridge should be finished then, a Caltrans official said. The state doesn't want to keep a completed bridge out of action for a week waiting for the dedication ceremony.
Whatever the reason, this is a big event for Crockett, the town of 3,300 residents sitting in the shadow of the bridge's southern abutment.
Crockett resident Gene Pedrotti is chairman of the celebration committee. He wanted to help put on the party.
"I think the most prominent reason is the thrill I get looking at the bridge every day from my window," Pedrotti said. "I have a stunning view I enjoy from my house.
"The second is pure fantasy. I always dreamed of seeing fireworks off the bridge."
His dream should come true. The celebration is to culminate with a pyrotechnic show over the Carquinez Strait. Pedrotti bills it as the biggest fireworks display over local bays since the 50th anniversary of the Golden Gate Bridge.
But that's only part of the day.
Davis is scheduled to preside over the ceremony, one of the last acts he will perform before leaving office on Nov. 17. Organizers also sent an invitation to Gov.-Elect Arnold Schwarzenegger. Caltrans officials couldn't say if Schwarzenegger will attend.
The various leaders and dignitaries will kick off the bridge celebration at 1 p.m. by making speeches on the Vallejo side of the bridge.
The ribbon-cutting could be different from the traditional type. One idea calls for Zampa relatives to put their welding skills to use and torch a chain.
Visitors can then walk on the main deck of the new bridge before it opens to cars. They will walk from the Vallejo side to the Crockett side only, to avoid a mass of people meeting in the middle. Shuttles will take people from the parking areas to where they need to be.
People who usually zip past Crockett with a sidelong glance at the C&H Sugar factory will get the chance to become acquainted with the town. That's where the parade, booths and other festivities will be.
At 6 p.m., the fireworks are to begin. To bring things to a close, the bridge lights will go on.
Pedrotti expects 20,000 to 50,000 people to attend the celebration - six to 15 times the population of Crockett.
Pedrotti's family has a long history in Crockett. His grandfather in 1922 started Pedrotti Hardware, a business Gene Pedrotti runs to this day, though it's now located in Benicia.
He recently learned his grandfather bought shares of stock in the 1927 Carquinez Bridge. That cantilever bridge will get torn down, its aging steel-and-bolt frame too much of a maintenance chore.
California built a second cantilever bridge in 1958 to help handle the growing traffic loads. That bridge will remain to handle northbound traffic, with the new bridge handling southbound traffic.
The pending destruction of the original bridge could be the one bittersweet note in the dedication. It's out with the old and in with the new - even though the old still has fans.
"The town has always had a love affair with its monuments, including the existing two bridges, particularly the 1927 bridge," Pedrotti said.
Still, he's excited the replacement is a graceful suspension bridge.
"It will look classy," he said.
The 1927 bridge was a marvel of its time. Spanning a mile-wide strait with currents of up to 9 mph, it helped change the face of the region, providing increased mobility for a growing car culture. No longer did people have to wait for the ferry.
That called for a big dedication celebration on May 21, 1927. President Calvin Coolidge pressed a golden telegraph key in Washington, D.C., to begin the festivities.
California Gov. Clement Young, Nevada Gov. Fred Balzar and Oregon Gov. Isaac Lee Patterson released carrier pigeons. The birds had attached to them news of the bridge opening.
The original bridge had more than regional significance. It completed a highway system linking Canada and Mexico.
Fireworks exploded in the air. Military craft fired to salute the flag. A band played the national anthem.
People could drive over the bridge for free that day. An estimated 18,000 did. A continuous line of cars still streamed across at 2 a.m.
Then a 60 cent toll took effect - about $5.70 in today's money, making the present-day toll of $2 look like a bargain. The party had ended.
But now a new bridge is in place and a new party is planned.
Barry Eberling can be contacted at beberling@dailyrepublic.net.
Celebration to mark opening of new Carquinez Bridge
By Barry Eberling
FAIRFIELD -- Workers spent the past three years building 400-foot-tall concrete towers rising from the depths of the Carquinez Strait and hoisting 600-ton roadway sections high into the air.
The toiling is over. The new, $239 million Carquinez Bridge is just about finished.
Now it's time to party.
The Bay Area's first suspension bridge since the fabled Golden Gate will be dedicated Saturday, Nov. 8, and should open to traffic by Monday, Nov. 10. It will bear the name of iron worker Al Zampa, who helped build the 1927 cantilever bridge the new span will replace.
This party was originally scheduled for the following weekend. Even the commemorative coin bears the wrong date. Some have speculated the date moved up because recalled Gov. Gray Davis wanted to be there and thought he might be out of office by mid-November.
"It's just ridiculous," said Kena Hudson, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Transportation.
The date moved up a week because the bridge should be finished then, a Caltrans official said. The state doesn't want to keep a completed bridge out of action for a week waiting for the dedication ceremony.
Whatever the reason, this is a big event for Crockett, the town of 3,300 residents sitting in the shadow of the bridge's southern abutment.
Crockett resident Gene Pedrotti is chairman of the celebration committee. He wanted to help put on the party.
"I think the most prominent reason is the thrill I get looking at the bridge every day from my window," Pedrotti said. "I have a stunning view I enjoy from my house.
"The second is pure fantasy. I always dreamed of seeing fireworks off the bridge."
His dream should come true. The celebration is to culminate with a pyrotechnic show over the Carquinez Strait. Pedrotti bills it as the biggest fireworks display over local bays since the 50th anniversary of the Golden Gate Bridge.
But that's only part of the day.
Davis is scheduled to preside over the ceremony, one of the last acts he will perform before leaving office on Nov. 17. Organizers also sent an invitation to Gov.-Elect Arnold Schwarzenegger. Caltrans officials couldn't say if Schwarzenegger will attend.
The various leaders and dignitaries will kick off the bridge celebration at 1 p.m. by making speeches on the Vallejo side of the bridge.
The ribbon-cutting could be different from the traditional type. One idea calls for Zampa relatives to put their welding skills to use and torch a chain.
Visitors can then walk on the main deck of the new bridge before it opens to cars. They will walk from the Vallejo side to the Crockett side only, to avoid a mass of people meeting in the middle. Shuttles will take people from the parking areas to where they need to be.
People who usually zip past Crockett with a sidelong glance at the C&H Sugar factory will get the chance to become acquainted with the town. That's where the parade, booths and other festivities will be.
At 6 p.m., the fireworks are to begin. To bring things to a close, the bridge lights will go on.
Pedrotti expects 20,000 to 50,000 people to attend the celebration - six to 15 times the population of Crockett.
Pedrotti's family has a long history in Crockett. His grandfather in 1922 started Pedrotti Hardware, a business Gene Pedrotti runs to this day, though it's now located in Benicia.
He recently learned his grandfather bought shares of stock in the 1927 Carquinez Bridge. That cantilever bridge will get torn down, its aging steel-and-bolt frame too much of a maintenance chore.
California built a second cantilever bridge in 1958 to help handle the growing traffic loads. That bridge will remain to handle northbound traffic, with the new bridge handling southbound traffic.
The pending destruction of the original bridge could be the one bittersweet note in the dedication. It's out with the old and in with the new - even though the old still has fans.
"The town has always had a love affair with its monuments, including the existing two bridges, particularly the 1927 bridge," Pedrotti said.
Still, he's excited the replacement is a graceful suspension bridge.
"It will look classy," he said.
The 1927 bridge was a marvel of its time. Spanning a mile-wide strait with currents of up to 9 mph, it helped change the face of the region, providing increased mobility for a growing car culture. No longer did people have to wait for the ferry.
That called for a big dedication celebration on May 21, 1927. President Calvin Coolidge pressed a golden telegraph key in Washington, D.C., to begin the festivities.
California Gov. Clement Young, Nevada Gov. Fred Balzar and Oregon Gov. Isaac Lee Patterson released carrier pigeons. The birds had attached to them news of the bridge opening.
The original bridge had more than regional significance. It completed a highway system linking Canada and Mexico.
Fireworks exploded in the air. Military craft fired to salute the flag. A band played the national anthem.
People could drive over the bridge for free that day. An estimated 18,000 did. A continuous line of cars still streamed across at 2 a.m.
Then a 60 cent toll took effect - about $5.70 in today's money, making the present-day toll of $2 look like a bargain. The party had ended.
But now a new bridge is in place and a new party is planned.
Barry Eberling can be contacted at beberling@dailyrepublic.net.
Bay Area Albertsons DC Slated to Close But Not Vacaville Warehouse
Bay Area Albertsons DC Slated to Close
AUGUST 10, 2004 -- BOISE, Idaho - Albertsons' only Bay Area distribution center, a 439,703-square-foot facility in San Leandro, Calif., will shut down as the grocer seeks to consolidate operations.
"Albertsons is continuously looking for ways to improve our efficiency to ensure that we remain competitive in an increasingly competitive marketplace," Quyen Ha, spokeswoman for the company's San Leandro-based Northern California division, told Progressive Grocer. "Our distribution network in Northern California offers a tremendous opportunity for streamlining and cost reduction. After careful consideration, the company has decided to consolidate our three Northern California distribution centers into two.
"We will expand our Roseville DC and move work between the three centers until all operations have been reallocated between the Roseville and Vacaville facilities," Ha continued. "We will then close the San Leandro DC. We expect this transition to begin in the fall of 2004 and be completed in late 2005."
Albertsons said it plans to start expanding the warehouse from its current 440,000 square feet to 560,000 square feet in the autumn.
The 870,000-square-foot Vacaville center is the area's biggest. While the Roseville location is a full-line warehouse, containing dry goods, produce, deli foods, and meat, the Vacaville center holds only dry goods.
An estimated 400 people work at the San Leandro facility, while a total of 700 work at the Roseville and Vacaville centers.
Neil Stern, a partner in the Chicago retail strategy firm McMillan-Doolittle, said he sees Albertsons' strategy as a way to cut costs in a market where it remains solidly in second place, behind Safeway. This is a sensible move, according to Stern, given the present competitive milieu.
When asked to speculate on whether the industry is likely to experience further distribution center closures and/or consolidations, Stern told Progressive Grocer: "I think all companies, retailers and wholesalers, will continue to take a hard look at all of their cost issues, including distribution.
"Wal-Mart has significantly raised the bar from both a front-of-the-house and back-of-the-house standpoint. Their EDLP strategy is well understood, but it is really the lead they have in logistics, buying, and distribution that makes it possible -- labor plays a role, but not as large as everyone thinks. Retailers will have to drive more efficiency out of their operations to be successful in the future," said Stern.
-- Bridget Goldschmidt
AUGUST 10, 2004 -- BOISE, Idaho - Albertsons' only Bay Area distribution center, a 439,703-square-foot facility in San Leandro, Calif., will shut down as the grocer seeks to consolidate operations.
"Albertsons is continuously looking for ways to improve our efficiency to ensure that we remain competitive in an increasingly competitive marketplace," Quyen Ha, spokeswoman for the company's San Leandro-based Northern California division, told Progressive Grocer. "Our distribution network in Northern California offers a tremendous opportunity for streamlining and cost reduction. After careful consideration, the company has decided to consolidate our three Northern California distribution centers into two.
"We will expand our Roseville DC and move work between the three centers until all operations have been reallocated between the Roseville and Vacaville facilities," Ha continued. "We will then close the San Leandro DC. We expect this transition to begin in the fall of 2004 and be completed in late 2005."
Albertsons said it plans to start expanding the warehouse from its current 440,000 square feet to 560,000 square feet in the autumn.
The 870,000-square-foot Vacaville center is the area's biggest. While the Roseville location is a full-line warehouse, containing dry goods, produce, deli foods, and meat, the Vacaville center holds only dry goods.
An estimated 400 people work at the San Leandro facility, while a total of 700 work at the Roseville and Vacaville centers.
Neil Stern, a partner in the Chicago retail strategy firm McMillan-Doolittle, said he sees Albertsons' strategy as a way to cut costs in a market where it remains solidly in second place, behind Safeway. This is a sensible move, according to Stern, given the present competitive milieu.
When asked to speculate on whether the industry is likely to experience further distribution center closures and/or consolidations, Stern told Progressive Grocer: "I think all companies, retailers and wholesalers, will continue to take a hard look at all of their cost issues, including distribution.
"Wal-Mart has significantly raised the bar from both a front-of-the-house and back-of-the-house standpoint. Their EDLP strategy is well understood, but it is really the lead they have in logistics, buying, and distribution that makes it possible -- labor plays a role, but not as large as everyone thinks. Retailers will have to drive more efficiency out of their operations to be successful in the future," said Stern.
-- Bridget Goldschmidt
Thursday, August 26, 2004
Touro University California has a new teacher preparation program
August 26, 2004
By Audrey Wong
VALLEJO -- Touro University California has a new teacher preparation program in which students can earn credentials for elementary or secondary schools.
The California Commission of Teacher Credentialing granted accreditation to Touro's College of Education Aug. 19. Classes will begin Sept. 13.
The college is for people who don't have any credentials but have bachelor's degrees. Individuals who are teaching on an emergency credential at local schools could use the college, which is located on Mare Island, said Steve Goldstone, dean of the College of Education.
The college offers multi-subject credentials for elementary schools. Students who want to work at high schools can work on single-subject credentials in a variety of disciplines such as math, history and English.
Unlike other schools, Touro will group its students together in "cohorts" so they stay together throughout their coursework and provide support for each other, Goldstone said.
Instead of classes that meet once or twice a week, students attend instructional blocks where they study a subject intensely for two weeks.
"Almost from the first day (students) are in a classroom," Goldstone said.
Students will start by observing how teachers work then progress to taking over an entire classroom as student teachers, he said.
Touro has campuses throughout the nation. The Vallejo college has 650 students and teaches mostly health care professions for those seeking graduate degrees.
Reach Audrey Wong at awong@dailyrepublic.net
By Audrey Wong
VALLEJO -- Touro University California has a new teacher preparation program in which students can earn credentials for elementary or secondary schools.
The California Commission of Teacher Credentialing granted accreditation to Touro's College of Education Aug. 19. Classes will begin Sept. 13.
The college is for people who don't have any credentials but have bachelor's degrees. Individuals who are teaching on an emergency credential at local schools could use the college, which is located on Mare Island, said Steve Goldstone, dean of the College of Education.
The college offers multi-subject credentials for elementary schools. Students who want to work at high schools can work on single-subject credentials in a variety of disciplines such as math, history and English.
Unlike other schools, Touro will group its students together in "cohorts" so they stay together throughout their coursework and provide support for each other, Goldstone said.
Instead of classes that meet once or twice a week, students attend instructional blocks where they study a subject intensely for two weeks.
"Almost from the first day (students) are in a classroom," Goldstone said.
Students will start by observing how teachers work then progress to taking over an entire classroom as student teachers, he said.
Touro has campuses throughout the nation. The Vallejo college has 650 students and teaches mostly health care professions for those seeking graduate degrees.
Reach Audrey Wong at awong@dailyrepublic.net
Wednesday, August 25, 2004
PG&E seeks business rate cuts to spur economic growth
Sacramento Business Journal - June 15, 2004
http://sacramento.bizjournals.com/sacramento/stories/2004/06/14/daily16.html
LATEST NEWS
June 15, 2004
PG&E seeks business rate cuts to spur economic growth
Pacific Gas and Electric Co. wants to help California lure and retain large commercial and industrial enterprises.
PG&E said it has asked the California Public Utilities Commission to OK enhancements to the utility's Economic Development Incentive Rate, which aims to attract and keep in state big businesses that have an opportunity to move outside California.
Participating customers inside PG&E's mammoth service area would receive a 25 percent cut on electricity bills in the first year. The reduction then would decline by 5 percentage points annually.
PG&E said its Experimental Economic Development Rate, in existence since 1990, is "much narrower in scope." It provides smaller incentives and is available only to lure certain kinds of large businesses to certain state-designated areas.
"The incentive will help all PG&E-served communities compete more effectively for business and help California restore its business climate," said Beverly Alexander, PG&E vice president of customer satisfaction.
Allan Zaremberg, president of the California Chamber of Commerce, said PG&E "is helping to keep California's economy on the road to recovery."
The PUC will review PG&E's proposal, and the utility said the new rate could be available within six months or a year.
© 2004 American City Business Journals Inc.
Web reprint information
All contents of this site © American City Business Journals Inc. All rights reserved.
http://sacramento.bizjournals.com/sacramento/stories/2004/06/14/daily16.html
LATEST NEWS
June 15, 2004
PG&E seeks business rate cuts to spur economic growth
Pacific Gas and Electric Co. wants to help California lure and retain large commercial and industrial enterprises.
PG&E said it has asked the California Public Utilities Commission to OK enhancements to the utility's Economic Development Incentive Rate, which aims to attract and keep in state big businesses that have an opportunity to move outside California.
Participating customers inside PG&E's mammoth service area would receive a 25 percent cut on electricity bills in the first year. The reduction then would decline by 5 percentage points annually.
PG&E said its Experimental Economic Development Rate, in existence since 1990, is "much narrower in scope." It provides smaller incentives and is available only to lure certain kinds of large businesses to certain state-designated areas.
"The incentive will help all PG&E-served communities compete more effectively for business and help California restore its business climate," said Beverly Alexander, PG&E vice president of customer satisfaction.
Allan Zaremberg, president of the California Chamber of Commerce, said PG&E "is helping to keep California's economy on the road to recovery."
The PUC will review PG&E's proposal, and the utility said the new rate could be available within six months or a year.
© 2004 American City Business Journals Inc.
Web reprint information
All contents of this site © American City Business Journals Inc. All rights reserved.
Tuesday, August 24, 2004
Westfield Corp. unveiled an elaborate plan to build space for three big box stores, a restaurant and more shops at its mall in Fairfield.
August 18, 2004
Westfield submits plans to expand mall
By Matthew Bunk
FAIRFIELD -- Solano County's largest mall could get bigger.
After months of expansion talk, mall owner Westfield Corp. unveiled an elaborate plan to build space for three big box stores, a restaurant and more shops at its mall in Fairfield.
A two-story addition would replace the parking lot and some shop space between Sears and Macy's, according to project drawings submitted to the city. The new stores would be connected to the main mall building.
Westfield Shoppingtown Solano, the only regional mall in the county, would have 10 percent more leasable area if the company sticks to the plan. It would grow to 1.14 million square feet of store space from 1.04 million square feet.
Westfield said it doesn't know yet what stores would fill the space. But the company is one of a growing number of mall operators trying to lure more one-stop discount stores that appeal to adult shoppers.
Having lost loyalty among shoppers who see malls as a teen hangout, more malls are now recruiting retailers like Home Depot and Bed, Bath and Beyond rather than traditional department stores. Westfield executives have indicated that they are taking similar steps as department store revenue has gone down in recent years.
The company first announced the expansion at a meeting with business leaders in July and recently made it official by submitting the first set of project drawings to the city. The review process could take a year or more, and Westfield doesn't expect to start construction until next summer.
Although plans call for the removal of 26,000 square feet of store space, it's not clear what, if any, existing stores might be affected by the project.
"If they are (affected), they'll be included in the expansion plan," Westfield spokeswoman Catharine Dickey said.
To make up for lost parking, Westfield is proposing to build a two-level parking deck between J.C. Penneys and Travis Boulevard. It could be connected to the main mall building by a walking bridge, according to plans.
If all goes quickly, it could be ready for shoppers by fall of 2006, Dickey said.
The three box stores would range in size up to 40,000 square feet, the restaurant would be 7,000 square feet and shops would fill 80,000 square-feet of added retail space.
Fairfield officials started talking to Westfield about expansion after the company bought the property from Trizec-Hahn in 1998, said Sean Quinn, city planning and development director. But Westfield wanted to fix up the existing mall building before expanding, Quinn said.
"Now they've done those things and are moving ahead," he said.
Quinn said the next steps will include an environmental review, but he said Westfield's time frame for completion seems possible.
"It's a reasonable time frame, but it will be determined by issues that will come up in the process," he said.
Reach Matthew Bunk at 425-4646 Ext. 267 or mbunk@dailyrepublic.net.
Westfield submits plans to expand mall
By Matthew Bunk
FAIRFIELD -- Solano County's largest mall could get bigger.
After months of expansion talk, mall owner Westfield Corp. unveiled an elaborate plan to build space for three big box stores, a restaurant and more shops at its mall in Fairfield.
A two-story addition would replace the parking lot and some shop space between Sears and Macy's, according to project drawings submitted to the city. The new stores would be connected to the main mall building.
Westfield Shoppingtown Solano, the only regional mall in the county, would have 10 percent more leasable area if the company sticks to the plan. It would grow to 1.14 million square feet of store space from 1.04 million square feet.
Westfield said it doesn't know yet what stores would fill the space. But the company is one of a growing number of mall operators trying to lure more one-stop discount stores that appeal to adult shoppers.
Having lost loyalty among shoppers who see malls as a teen hangout, more malls are now recruiting retailers like Home Depot and Bed, Bath and Beyond rather than traditional department stores. Westfield executives have indicated that they are taking similar steps as department store revenue has gone down in recent years.
The company first announced the expansion at a meeting with business leaders in July and recently made it official by submitting the first set of project drawings to the city. The review process could take a year or more, and Westfield doesn't expect to start construction until next summer.
Although plans call for the removal of 26,000 square feet of store space, it's not clear what, if any, existing stores might be affected by the project.
"If they are (affected), they'll be included in the expansion plan," Westfield spokeswoman Catharine Dickey said.
To make up for lost parking, Westfield is proposing to build a two-level parking deck between J.C. Penneys and Travis Boulevard. It could be connected to the main mall building by a walking bridge, according to plans.
If all goes quickly, it could be ready for shoppers by fall of 2006, Dickey said.
The three box stores would range in size up to 40,000 square feet, the restaurant would be 7,000 square feet and shops would fill 80,000 square-feet of added retail space.
Fairfield officials started talking to Westfield about expansion after the company bought the property from Trizec-Hahn in 1998, said Sean Quinn, city planning and development director. But Westfield wanted to fix up the existing mall building before expanding, Quinn said.
"Now they've done those things and are moving ahead," he said.
Quinn said the next steps will include an environmental review, but he said Westfield's time frame for completion seems possible.
"It's a reasonable time frame, but it will be determined by issues that will come up in the process," he said.
Reach Matthew Bunk at 425-4646 Ext. 267 or mbunk@dailyrepublic.net.
Friday, August 13, 2004
UC Davis News & Information ::
UC Davis News & Information ::: "UC Davis Rises in NSF Rankings
August 9, 2004
New figures from the National Science Foundation show that UC Davis continues to grow as a major research university. Total research and development expenditures for fiscal year 2002-03 show UC Davis now ranking 14th in the nation with $456,653,000, overtaking the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
In specific subject areas, UC Davis ranked first in expenditures on agricultural research ($25,683,000); seventh in spending on biology research ($45,283,000); and 13th in life sciences, which includes medicine, biology and agricultural sciences ($336,796,000).
UC Davis spent $280,009,000 in 2002-03 from non-federal sources, which could include the state of California, other institutions, campus funds, private gifts and business sources, ranking third in the nation.
The report, Academic Research and Development Expenditures: Fiscal Year 2002 was prepared by the National Science Foundation Division of Science Resources Statistics and is available on the Web.
Additional information:
NSF Division of Science Resources Statistics
Media contact(s):
� Andy Fell, UC Davis News Service, (530) 752-4533, ahfell@ucdavis.edu"
August 9, 2004
New figures from the National Science Foundation show that UC Davis continues to grow as a major research university. Total research and development expenditures for fiscal year 2002-03 show UC Davis now ranking 14th in the nation with $456,653,000, overtaking the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
In specific subject areas, UC Davis ranked first in expenditures on agricultural research ($25,683,000); seventh in spending on biology research ($45,283,000); and 13th in life sciences, which includes medicine, biology and agricultural sciences ($336,796,000).
UC Davis spent $280,009,000 in 2002-03 from non-federal sources, which could include the state of California, other institutions, campus funds, private gifts and business sources, ranking third in the nation.
The report, Academic Research and Development Expenditures: Fiscal Year 2002 was prepared by the National Science Foundation Division of Science Resources Statistics and is available on the Web.
Additional information:
NSF Division of Science Resources Statistics
Media contact(s):
� Andy Fell, UC Davis News Service, (530) 752-4533, ahfell@ucdavis.edu"
Tuesday, August 10, 2004
Genentech gets OK to make cancer drug in bulk in Vacaville
LATEST NEWS
10:04 AM PDT Tuesday, August 10, 2004
Genentech Inc. said Tuesday that the Food and Drug Administration approved the supplemental biologics license application for the manufacturing of Avastin (bevacizumab) bulk drug substance at the company's Vacaville plant.
The South San Francisco-based biotech giant said that Avastin was approved by the FDA in February to be used in combination with intravenous 5-Fluorouracil-based chemotherapy as a first-line treatment for metastatic colorectal cancer and is the first FDA-approved therapy designed to inhibit angiogenesis, the process by which new blood vessels develop, which is necessary to support tumor growth and metastasis.
"The FDA approval for Avastin bulk drug production at our Vacaville facility is an important step in ensuring that there is sufficient supply available for patients who need Avastin," said David Ebersman, senior vice president of product operations.
Avastin bulk drug substance will continue to be manufactured at the company's South San Francisco factory.
The current Vacaville site has a manufacturing capacity of 144,000 liters and was originally licensed by the FDA in April 2000. The facility is licensed to produce bulk drug substance for Avastin, Herceptin (Trastuzumab), Rituxan (Rituximab) and Xolair (Omalizumab).
© 2004 American City Business Journals Inc.
10:04 AM PDT Tuesday, August 10, 2004
Genentech Inc. said Tuesday that the Food and Drug Administration approved the supplemental biologics license application for the manufacturing of Avastin (bevacizumab) bulk drug substance at the company's Vacaville plant.
The South San Francisco-based biotech giant said that Avastin was approved by the FDA in February to be used in combination with intravenous 5-Fluorouracil-based chemotherapy as a first-line treatment for metastatic colorectal cancer and is the first FDA-approved therapy designed to inhibit angiogenesis, the process by which new blood vessels develop, which is necessary to support tumor growth and metastasis.
"The FDA approval for Avastin bulk drug production at our Vacaville facility is an important step in ensuring that there is sufficient supply available for patients who need Avastin," said David Ebersman, senior vice president of product operations.
Avastin bulk drug substance will continue to be manufactured at the company's South San Francisco factory.
The current Vacaville site has a manufacturing capacity of 144,000 liters and was originally licensed by the FDA in April 2000. The facility is licensed to produce bulk drug substance for Avastin, Herceptin (Trastuzumab), Rituxan (Rituximab) and Xolair (Omalizumab).
© 2004 American City Business Journals Inc.
Vacaville a top-100 place to live
Article Published: Tuesday, August 10, 2004
Vacaville a top-100 place to live
By Patricia Valenzuela/Staff Writer
Vacaville business leaders and City Council members are still riding high from a March designation naming Vacaville a top 100 city to live in nationally.
Relocate-America.com, based in Wisconsin, has, since 1998, ranked the top 100 cities to live in for consumers and realtors.
Gary Tatum, president of the Chamber of Commerce, has written e-mails to chamber members and has raised the subject at meetings. Tatum said the designation is a "good marketing tool" to woo business owners to Vacaville.
Mike Palombo, Vacaville's economic development manager, said the designation could be mentioned during presentations to potential business owners.
"What makes (Vacaville) attractive to businesses, is it's a good place to live," Palombo said.
The designation was given after Relocate-America.com staff researched nominated cities. Anyone can nominate a city by briefly providing a small description of the community. Relocate-America.com staff compare cities using criteria from four categories: education, crime, employment and housing.
Cities which meet the requirements are then ranked depending on the number of nominations and inquiries from the Web site, however, only the top 10 are publicly ranked. The remaining 90 cities are placed in an alphabetical list on the Web site.
City Manager David Van Kirk said the designation is due to residents, city staff, and the Council working together to ensure Vacaville is a special place to live.
Vacaville is also a safe place to live, they noted. Vacaville is ranked first among comparable Northern California cities for the lowest crime rate, the Web site said. When compared to comparable cities statewide, Vacaville drops slightly to fourth place.
Mayor Len Augustine said the four categories used to determine the top 100 cities, education, crime, employment and housing, are also four of the top priorities for the city.
"We have to continue to work on those things. It's a living document and we can't let our guard down. It's tough to stay in the top 100, but we have to make sure we live up to all of those things," he said.
The top 10 cities, as ranked by the Web site, are Venice, Fla., Paragould, Ark., Edmond, Okla., Bonita Springs, Fla., Asheville, N.C., Colorado Springs, Colo., Bartelsville, Okla., Carlsbad, N.M., Huntington Woods, Mich., and Madison, Wisc.
Patricia Valenzuela can be reached at vacaville@thereporter.com.
Vacaville a top-100 place to live
By Patricia Valenzuela/Staff Writer
Vacaville business leaders and City Council members are still riding high from a March designation naming Vacaville a top 100 city to live in nationally.
Relocate-America.com, based in Wisconsin, has, since 1998, ranked the top 100 cities to live in for consumers and realtors.
Gary Tatum, president of the Chamber of Commerce, has written e-mails to chamber members and has raised the subject at meetings. Tatum said the designation is a "good marketing tool" to woo business owners to Vacaville.
Mike Palombo, Vacaville's economic development manager, said the designation could be mentioned during presentations to potential business owners.
"What makes (Vacaville) attractive to businesses, is it's a good place to live," Palombo said.
The designation was given after Relocate-America.com staff researched nominated cities. Anyone can nominate a city by briefly providing a small description of the community. Relocate-America.com staff compare cities using criteria from four categories: education, crime, employment and housing.
Cities which meet the requirements are then ranked depending on the number of nominations and inquiries from the Web site, however, only the top 10 are publicly ranked. The remaining 90 cities are placed in an alphabetical list on the Web site.
City Manager David Van Kirk said the designation is due to residents, city staff, and the Council working together to ensure Vacaville is a special place to live.
Vacaville is also a safe place to live, they noted. Vacaville is ranked first among comparable Northern California cities for the lowest crime rate, the Web site said. When compared to comparable cities statewide, Vacaville drops slightly to fourth place.
Mayor Len Augustine said the four categories used to determine the top 100 cities, education, crime, employment and housing, are also four of the top priorities for the city.
"We have to continue to work on those things. It's a living document and we can't let our guard down. It's tough to stay in the top 100, but we have to make sure we live up to all of those things," he said.
The top 10 cities, as ranked by the Web site, are Venice, Fla., Paragould, Ark., Edmond, Okla., Bonita Springs, Fla., Asheville, N.C., Colorado Springs, Colo., Bartelsville, Okla., Carlsbad, N.M., Huntington Woods, Mich., and Madison, Wisc.
Patricia Valenzuela can be reached at vacaville@thereporter.com.
Survey gives SCC high graduation marks
August 10, 2004
Survey gives SCC high marks
By Audrey Wong
ROCKVILLE -- Solano Community College ranked second among 20 Bay Area community colleges in a survey measuring graduation rates conducted by an educational research and consulting firm.
SCC came in second to Napa Valley College, according to the rankings published by FirstDegree, an East Bay firm.
The firm studied the number of associate of arts degrees given, full-time equivalent student population and other factors from the 2002-03 school year.
Napa Valley College reported a graduation rate of 34 percent, surpassing SCC, which had a 31.1 percent graduation rate.
Colleges in the South Bay and the Peninsula didn't fare as well. Los Medanos, Foothill and Canada community colleges were at the bottom of the rankings, each posting a graduation rate below 10 percent. The Bay Area average graduation rate was 15.9 percent for the 2002-03 school year, according to FirstDegree.
SCC officials didn't know about the survey, said James Bracy, SCC vice president of students services. Educational firms often send out questionnaires to community colleges and this must have been one of them, Bracy said.
"It shows you there is good quality teaching and learning taking place," Bracy said.
FirstDegree promotes the value of associate degrees. The firm noticed students attending colleges in more rural areas did better than those who go to colleges in bigger cities, said Gene Judson, company president.
For information log onto www.firstdegree.biz
Audrey Wong can be reached at 427-6951 or awong@dailyrepublic.net.
Survey gives SCC high marks
By Audrey Wong
ROCKVILLE -- Solano Community College ranked second among 20 Bay Area community colleges in a survey measuring graduation rates conducted by an educational research and consulting firm.
SCC came in second to Napa Valley College, according to the rankings published by FirstDegree, an East Bay firm.
The firm studied the number of associate of arts degrees given, full-time equivalent student population and other factors from the 2002-03 school year.
Napa Valley College reported a graduation rate of 34 percent, surpassing SCC, which had a 31.1 percent graduation rate.
Colleges in the South Bay and the Peninsula didn't fare as well. Los Medanos, Foothill and Canada community colleges were at the bottom of the rankings, each posting a graduation rate below 10 percent. The Bay Area average graduation rate was 15.9 percent for the 2002-03 school year, according to FirstDegree.
SCC officials didn't know about the survey, said James Bracy, SCC vice president of students services. Educational firms often send out questionnaires to community colleges and this must have been one of them, Bracy said.
"It shows you there is good quality teaching and learning taking place," Bracy said.
FirstDegree promotes the value of associate degrees. The firm noticed students attending colleges in more rural areas did better than those who go to colleges in bigger cities, said Gene Judson, company president.
For information log onto www.firstdegree.biz
Audrey Wong can be reached at 427-6951 or awong@dailyrepublic.net.
Sunday, August 08, 2004
Westfield submits plans to expand mall
Wednesday, August 18, 2004
Solano County's largest mall plans to get bigger
August 18, 2004
Westfield submits plans to expand mall By Matthew Bunk
FAIRFIELD -- Solano County's largest mall could get bigger.
After months of expansion talk, mall owner Westfield Corp. unveiled an elaborate plan to build space for three big box stores, a restaurant and more shops at its mall in Fairfield.
A two-story addition would replace the parking lot and some shop space between Sears and Macy's, according to project drawings submitted to the city. The new stores would be connected to the main mall building.
Westfield Shoppingtown Solano, the only regional mall in the county, would have 10 percent more leasable area if the company sticks to the plan. It would grow to 1.14 million square feet of store space from 1.04 million square feet.
Westfield said it doesn't know yet what stores would fill the space. But the company is one of a growing number of mall operators trying to lure more one-stop discount stores that appeal to adult shoppers.
Having lost loyalty among shoppers who see malls as a teen hangout, more malls are now recruiting retailers like Home Depot and Bed, Bath and Beyond rather than traditional department stores. Westfield executives have indicated that they are taking similar steps as department store revenue has gone down in recent years.
The company first announced the expansion at a meeting with business leaders in July and recently made it official by submitting the first set of project drawings to the city. The review process could take a year or more, and Westfield doesn't expect to start construction until next summer.
Although plans call for the removal of 26,000 square feet of store space, it's not clear what, if any, existing stores might be affected by the project.
"If they are (affected), they'll be included in the expansion plan," Westfield spokeswoman Catharine Dickey said.
To make up for lost parking, Westfield is proposing to build a two-level parking deck between J.C. Penneys and Travis Boulevard. It could be connected to the main mall building by a walking bridge, according to plans.
If all goes quickly, it could be ready for shoppers by fall of 2006, Dickey said.
The three box stores would range in size up to 40,000 square feet, the restaurant would be 7,000 square feet and shops would fill 80,000 square-feet of added retail space.
Fairfield officials started talking to Westfield about expansion after the company bought the property from Trizec-Hahn in 1998, said Sean Quinn, city planning and development director. But Westfield wanted to fix up the existing mall building before expanding, Quinn said.
"Now they've done those things and are moving ahead," he said.
Quinn said the next steps will include an environmental review, but he said Westfield's time frame for completion seems possible.
"It's a reasonable time frame, but it will be determined by issues that will come up in the process," he said.
Reach Matthew Bunk at 425-4646 Ext. 267 or mbunk@dailyrepublic.net.
Solano County's largest mall plans to get bigger
August 18, 2004
Westfield submits plans to expand mall By Matthew Bunk
FAIRFIELD -- Solano County's largest mall could get bigger.
After months of expansion talk, mall owner Westfield Corp. unveiled an elaborate plan to build space for three big box stores, a restaurant and more shops at its mall in Fairfield.
A two-story addition would replace the parking lot and some shop space between Sears and Macy's, according to project drawings submitted to the city. The new stores would be connected to the main mall building.
Westfield Shoppingtown Solano, the only regional mall in the county, would have 10 percent more leasable area if the company sticks to the plan. It would grow to 1.14 million square feet of store space from 1.04 million square feet.
Westfield said it doesn't know yet what stores would fill the space. But the company is one of a growing number of mall operators trying to lure more one-stop discount stores that appeal to adult shoppers.
Having lost loyalty among shoppers who see malls as a teen hangout, more malls are now recruiting retailers like Home Depot and Bed, Bath and Beyond rather than traditional department stores. Westfield executives have indicated that they are taking similar steps as department store revenue has gone down in recent years.
The company first announced the expansion at a meeting with business leaders in July and recently made it official by submitting the first set of project drawings to the city. The review process could take a year or more, and Westfield doesn't expect to start construction until next summer.
Although plans call for the removal of 26,000 square feet of store space, it's not clear what, if any, existing stores might be affected by the project.
"If they are (affected), they'll be included in the expansion plan," Westfield spokeswoman Catharine Dickey said.
To make up for lost parking, Westfield is proposing to build a two-level parking deck between J.C. Penneys and Travis Boulevard. It could be connected to the main mall building by a walking bridge, according to plans.
If all goes quickly, it could be ready for shoppers by fall of 2006, Dickey said.
The three box stores would range in size up to 40,000 square feet, the restaurant would be 7,000 square feet and shops would fill 80,000 square-feet of added retail space.
Fairfield officials started talking to Westfield about expansion after the company bought the property from Trizec-Hahn in 1998, said Sean Quinn, city planning and development director. But Westfield wanted to fix up the existing mall building before expanding, Quinn said.
"Now they've done those things and are moving ahead," he said.
Quinn said the next steps will include an environmental review, but he said Westfield's time frame for completion seems possible.
"It's a reasonable time frame, but it will be determined by issues that will come up in the process," he said.
Reach Matthew Bunk at 425-4646 Ext. 267 or mbunk@dailyrepublic.net.
Friday, August 06, 2004
Bio-Rad Q2 Results
4:38 PM PDT Thursday
Bio-Rad Q2 results released
Bio-Rad Laboratories Inc. of Hercules (with operations in Benicia, CA) reported a second-quarter profit Thursday of 79 cents per share, down from 86 cents a share a year ago, on revenue of $260.5 million.
The maker of life sciences research products and diagnostics said net sales from continuing operations were up 8.9 percent compared with $239.3 million in the same quarter a year ago. On a currency-neutral basis, revenues grew 4.2 percent year-over-year. Bio-Rad attributed the increase to growth in the company's main business segments as well as currency effects.
One analyst who follows the firm had predicted revenue of $264 million and earnings of 80 cents a share, according to Thomson First Call.
For the quarter, income from continuing operations was $20.3 million compared with $21.9 million in the second quarter of last year.
Income from continuing operations for the six-month period was $42.9 million, or $1.67 per share, an 11.8 percent decrease compared with $48.6 million, or $1.92 per share, in the same quarter last year. Bio-Rad said the shortfall was largely due to anticipated spending on infrastructure improvements.
© 2004 American City Business Journals Inc.
Bio-Rad Q2 results released
Bio-Rad Laboratories Inc. of Hercules (with operations in Benicia, CA) reported a second-quarter profit Thursday of 79 cents per share, down from 86 cents a share a year ago, on revenue of $260.5 million.
The maker of life sciences research products and diagnostics said net sales from continuing operations were up 8.9 percent compared with $239.3 million in the same quarter a year ago. On a currency-neutral basis, revenues grew 4.2 percent year-over-year. Bio-Rad attributed the increase to growth in the company's main business segments as well as currency effects.
One analyst who follows the firm had predicted revenue of $264 million and earnings of 80 cents a share, according to Thomson First Call.
For the quarter, income from continuing operations was $20.3 million compared with $21.9 million in the second quarter of last year.
Income from continuing operations for the six-month period was $42.9 million, or $1.67 per share, an 11.8 percent decrease compared with $48.6 million, or $1.92 per share, in the same quarter last year. Bio-Rad said the shortfall was largely due to anticipated spending on infrastructure improvements.
© 2004 American City Business Journals Inc.
Wednesday, August 04, 2004
IRL IndyCar Series will Bring Open-Wheel Racing to the Sonoma Valley Aug. 28, 2005
Sports
Infineon Raceway to host Indy Racing Series
By Daily Republic wire services
SONOMA -- The Indy Racing League will break from its all-oval roots next year with its first road-course events since the open-wheel series started in 1996.
On Tuesday, the IRL released a 16-race schedule for 2005. Added were races on the road courses at the Infineon Raceway, on Aug. 28, and Watkins Glen, N.Y., on Sept. 25.
The IRL IndyCar Series will bring international open-wheel racing to the Sonoma Valley for the first time in 35 years.
"Even with all our facility improvements and the terrific range of events we host, there has remained one glaring hole on the Infineon Raceway schedule," Steve Page, president and general manager of Infineon Raceway, said Wednesday. "This track will be an incredible venue for the IRL series, and we look forward to offering Northern California fans the widest variety of motor racing available anywhere."
Page added that discussions have already begun with several companies who have expressed interest in sponsorship of the event, which will take place the late-summer weekend of Aug. 26-28. Additional support series will be announced later.
The addition of the road courses to the IRL schedule follows the move of several teams - including Team Penske, Chip Ganassi Racing and Andretti Green Racing - in recent years from road-course dominant CART, now known as the Champ Car World Series.
"The addition of road courses will bring even more variety and challenges to IndyCar series drivers and teams," said Brian Barnhart, the IRL's senior vice president. "We are working closely with the teams and manufacturers to bring the same excitement of our oval events to road racing."
The IRL will use a modified version of the road course that will feature The Chute, which is used in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series, as well as modified sections at Turn 9 and Turn 11.
Infineon will finish a minor run-off and barrier enhancements to suit the IRL. The IRL main event will be contested over a 10-turn, 1.77-mile road course. That will be the debut for the new version of the raceway.
"Infineon Raceway's debut on the IRL coincides with the IRL's 10th anniversary, and we are excited to return Indy-style racing to the Northern California region as it meets one of the IRL's primary goals to bring the series to new markets and fans," said Ken Ungar, the IRL's senior vice president of business affairs. "Choosing Infineon Raceway was easy, as we discovered that fans in the region get our sport, follow our sport and support the series on television."
The last major open-wheel race at Infineon Raceway took place in 1970, when Dan Gurney won the USAC IndyCar 150. IRL race teams get their first official run at the road course during a test session later this year.
Fans can reserve tickets for the IRL 2005 event by calling Infineon Raceway at
800-870-RACE.
Infineon Raceway to host Indy Racing Series
By Daily Republic wire services
SONOMA -- The Indy Racing League will break from its all-oval roots next year with its first road-course events since the open-wheel series started in 1996.
On Tuesday, the IRL released a 16-race schedule for 2005. Added were races on the road courses at the Infineon Raceway, on Aug. 28, and Watkins Glen, N.Y., on Sept. 25.
The IRL IndyCar Series will bring international open-wheel racing to the Sonoma Valley for the first time in 35 years.
"Even with all our facility improvements and the terrific range of events we host, there has remained one glaring hole on the Infineon Raceway schedule," Steve Page, president and general manager of Infineon Raceway, said Wednesday. "This track will be an incredible venue for the IRL series, and we look forward to offering Northern California fans the widest variety of motor racing available anywhere."
Page added that discussions have already begun with several companies who have expressed interest in sponsorship of the event, which will take place the late-summer weekend of Aug. 26-28. Additional support series will be announced later.
The addition of the road courses to the IRL schedule follows the move of several teams - including Team Penske, Chip Ganassi Racing and Andretti Green Racing - in recent years from road-course dominant CART, now known as the Champ Car World Series.
"The addition of road courses will bring even more variety and challenges to IndyCar series drivers and teams," said Brian Barnhart, the IRL's senior vice president. "We are working closely with the teams and manufacturers to bring the same excitement of our oval events to road racing."
The IRL will use a modified version of the road course that will feature The Chute, which is used in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series, as well as modified sections at Turn 9 and Turn 11.
Infineon will finish a minor run-off and barrier enhancements to suit the IRL. The IRL main event will be contested over a 10-turn, 1.77-mile road course. That will be the debut for the new version of the raceway.
"Infineon Raceway's debut on the IRL coincides with the IRL's 10th anniversary, and we are excited to return Indy-style racing to the Northern California region as it meets one of the IRL's primary goals to bring the series to new markets and fans," said Ken Ungar, the IRL's senior vice president of business affairs. "Choosing Infineon Raceway was easy, as we discovered that fans in the region get our sport, follow our sport and support the series on television."
The last major open-wheel race at Infineon Raceway took place in 1970, when Dan Gurney won the USAC IndyCar 150. IRL race teams get their first official run at the road course during a test session later this year.
Fans can reserve tickets for the IRL 2005 event by calling Infineon Raceway at
800-870-RACE.
Median Home Price in Solano County Far Behind a Statewide Increases
Home prices still sky high
By Matthew Bunk
FAIRFIELD -- California home prices soared to new highs and sales reached near-record levels in June, as the state outpaced robust Solano County in both categories.
The median home price in the county rose 17.1 percent compared to a year ago, a significant rate of growth that nonetheless settled far behind a statewide increase of 25.3 percent, the California Association of Realtors said in its monthly report.
According to the report, the median price of a home in California was $469,170 in June, compared to $374,540 a year ago. Local statistics showed increases in 97.9 percent of cities and communities across the state.
In Solano County, the median price was $350,000, up from $299,000 a year ago.
But higher prices in the most expensive U.S. residential real estate market didn't scare away buyers, as statewide sales of single-family homes went up 10.8 percent. The total number of statewide home sales in June rose to 633,670 from 572,130 in June 2003.
It came close but didn't beat the monthly home sales record of 645,720 set in August 2003.
Fluctuating interest rates that rose briefly from historical lows and then went back down slightly may have scared potential home buyers into action, one expert said.
"The real estate market in June experienced the confluence of what is traditionally the peak selling season and consumers' responses to a changing interest rate climate," association President Ann Pettijohn said in a statement. "As mortgage rates began to increase, consumers' expectations of even higher rates in the future pushed many off the fence and into the market."
Rising prices make it difficult for low- to medium-income families to qualify for a home loan, but lower rates have been an incentive for those who can afford to buy to do so.
Thirty-year fixed mortgage rates averaged 6.29 percent in June, up from 5.23 percent a year ago, according to Freddie Mac. But rates dropped a bit since then, and on Friday the Freddie Mac Web site posted an average of 6.08 percent.
Uncertainties in the economy, terror concerns and the upcoming presidential election have tied lenders up in knots as they try to adjust their rates to fit consumer confidence. Just like the rates have gone up and down, home buyer sentiment has "bounced all over the place," depending more than ever on worldwide events, Prudential California broker Penny Robben said.
"People are concerned about what's going on across the world right now," Robben said. "I'm not sure how much effect terrorism has on people buying and selling homes, but it's a tenuous time for some people because it goes back to the economy in general."
Robben, however, doesn't see any signs of drastic change in a blistering statewide residential market. Home prices in many regions have increased 40-50 percent since 2001 - in some high-demand places it's gone up much more than that - but Robben said that's not necessarily cause for alarm.
"I'm sure some consumers out there have all kinds of it's-too-good-to-be-true kind of feelings, like the ceiling could be about to come down," she said. "But we're very optimistic. We don't have any real fears at this point."
Eight communities saw home values go up more than 50 percent in the past 12 months. Top-gainer Colton, a Los Angeles community, experienced an average price hike of 78.6 percent, according to association statistics.
Price growth was more moderate in Solano County cities, with Dixon leading the way at 24.2 percent. Vallejo was next at 19.5 percent; Suisun City was 15.7 percent; Vacaville and Fairfield tied at 15.3 percent; Benicia was 11 percent; and Rio Vista was 7.8 percent.
In Fairfield, the average rose to $346,000 from $300,000 a year ago.
Vacaville's average hit $362,000 from $314,000.
Benicia had the highest average, $449,750, and Rio Vista had the lowest, $304,000.
Reach Matthew Bunk at 425-4646 Ext. 267 or mbunk@dailyrepublic.net.
By Matthew Bunk
FAIRFIELD -- California home prices soared to new highs and sales reached near-record levels in June, as the state outpaced robust Solano County in both categories.
The median home price in the county rose 17.1 percent compared to a year ago, a significant rate of growth that nonetheless settled far behind a statewide increase of 25.3 percent, the California Association of Realtors said in its monthly report.
According to the report, the median price of a home in California was $469,170 in June, compared to $374,540 a year ago. Local statistics showed increases in 97.9 percent of cities and communities across the state.
In Solano County, the median price was $350,000, up from $299,000 a year ago.
But higher prices in the most expensive U.S. residential real estate market didn't scare away buyers, as statewide sales of single-family homes went up 10.8 percent. The total number of statewide home sales in June rose to 633,670 from 572,130 in June 2003.
It came close but didn't beat the monthly home sales record of 645,720 set in August 2003.
Fluctuating interest rates that rose briefly from historical lows and then went back down slightly may have scared potential home buyers into action, one expert said.
"The real estate market in June experienced the confluence of what is traditionally the peak selling season and consumers' responses to a changing interest rate climate," association President Ann Pettijohn said in a statement. "As mortgage rates began to increase, consumers' expectations of even higher rates in the future pushed many off the fence and into the market."
Rising prices make it difficult for low- to medium-income families to qualify for a home loan, but lower rates have been an incentive for those who can afford to buy to do so.
Thirty-year fixed mortgage rates averaged 6.29 percent in June, up from 5.23 percent a year ago, according to Freddie Mac. But rates dropped a bit since then, and on Friday the Freddie Mac Web site posted an average of 6.08 percent.
Uncertainties in the economy, terror concerns and the upcoming presidential election have tied lenders up in knots as they try to adjust their rates to fit consumer confidence. Just like the rates have gone up and down, home buyer sentiment has "bounced all over the place," depending more than ever on worldwide events, Prudential California broker Penny Robben said.
"People are concerned about what's going on across the world right now," Robben said. "I'm not sure how much effect terrorism has on people buying and selling homes, but it's a tenuous time for some people because it goes back to the economy in general."
Robben, however, doesn't see any signs of drastic change in a blistering statewide residential market. Home prices in many regions have increased 40-50 percent since 2001 - in some high-demand places it's gone up much more than that - but Robben said that's not necessarily cause for alarm.
"I'm sure some consumers out there have all kinds of it's-too-good-to-be-true kind of feelings, like the ceiling could be about to come down," she said. "But we're very optimistic. We don't have any real fears at this point."
Eight communities saw home values go up more than 50 percent in the past 12 months. Top-gainer Colton, a Los Angeles community, experienced an average price hike of 78.6 percent, according to association statistics.
Price growth was more moderate in Solano County cities, with Dixon leading the way at 24.2 percent. Vallejo was next at 19.5 percent; Suisun City was 15.7 percent; Vacaville and Fairfield tied at 15.3 percent; Benicia was 11 percent; and Rio Vista was 7.8 percent.
In Fairfield, the average rose to $346,000 from $300,000 a year ago.
Vacaville's average hit $362,000 from $314,000.
Benicia had the highest average, $449,750, and Rio Vista had the lowest, $304,000.
Reach Matthew Bunk at 425-4646 Ext. 267 or mbunk@dailyrepublic.net.
Mills Corporation Unveiles Plans for Huge Retail & Entertainment Complex
Mills to present Vallejo fairground plans
By Warren Lutz
FAIRFIELD -- The public will get a glance at what a retail developer has planned for the Solano County Fairgrounds when the Board of Supervisors meets today.
Mills Corporation unveiled its ideas for turning the 150-acre property off Interestate 80 in Vallejo into a huge retail and entertainment complex.
Current plans call for eliminating the horse-racing track and golf course and building a sports complex, an arena and exhibit halls. Mills predicts the project could produce 2,500 permanent jobs and pour $525 million into the local economy.
Mills Corporation must submit a final plan by Oct. 15. The Solano County Fair Association and the Board of Supervisors have until Dec. 15 to approve or vote down the plans.
Mills Corporation was selected as the master developer of the fairgrounds last September. Last month, the company submitted four different ideas for the site. Construction could start in 2006 or 2007.
County supervisors are not expected to take any action on the plans.
Mills Corporation owns, leases, manages and markets 25 retail and entertainment complexes, including the Great Mall of the Bay Area in Milpitas, which it bought last year.
Solano County owns the 152-acre fairgrounds fronting Interstate 80 and the fair association operates the annual fair.
The Virginia-based large mall developer is planning community meetings to introduce its plan to the public, Solano County Fair Manager Joe Barkett said. Anyone who wishes to see the plans can contact the Solano County Fair Association at 551-2000.
Reach Warren Lutz at 427-6955 or at wlutz@dailyrepublic.net
At a glance:
Who: Solano County Board of Supervisors
What: Receive Mills Corporation's preliminary plans for redeveloping fairgrounds
When: 9 a.m. Tuesday
Where: Board of Supervisors chambers, 580 Texas St., Fairfield
Info: 421-6100
By Warren Lutz
FAIRFIELD -- The public will get a glance at what a retail developer has planned for the Solano County Fairgrounds when the Board of Supervisors meets today.
Mills Corporation unveiled its ideas for turning the 150-acre property off Interestate 80 in Vallejo into a huge retail and entertainment complex.
Current plans call for eliminating the horse-racing track and golf course and building a sports complex, an arena and exhibit halls. Mills predicts the project could produce 2,500 permanent jobs and pour $525 million into the local economy.
Mills Corporation must submit a final plan by Oct. 15. The Solano County Fair Association and the Board of Supervisors have until Dec. 15 to approve or vote down the plans.
Mills Corporation was selected as the master developer of the fairgrounds last September. Last month, the company submitted four different ideas for the site. Construction could start in 2006 or 2007.
County supervisors are not expected to take any action on the plans.
Mills Corporation owns, leases, manages and markets 25 retail and entertainment complexes, including the Great Mall of the Bay Area in Milpitas, which it bought last year.
Solano County owns the 152-acre fairgrounds fronting Interstate 80 and the fair association operates the annual fair.
The Virginia-based large mall developer is planning community meetings to introduce its plan to the public, Solano County Fair Manager Joe Barkett said. Anyone who wishes to see the plans can contact the Solano County Fair Association at 551-2000.
Reach Warren Lutz at 427-6955 or at wlutz@dailyrepublic.net
At a glance:
Who: Solano County Board of Supervisors
What: Receive Mills Corporation's preliminary plans for redeveloping fairgrounds
When: 9 a.m. Tuesday
Where: Board of Supervisors chambers, 580 Texas St., Fairfield
Info: 421-6100
Valero Corp. Earnings Jump Five-Fold
Business
Valero Corp. earnings jump five-fold
By Matthew Bunk
BENICIA -- Valero Energy Corp. made almost five times more money this quarter than it did a year ago, mostly because demand for gas and prices at the pump went up, company officials said.
San Antonio-based Valero reported a net income of $632.7 million, or $4.56 a share, compared to $128.4 million, or $1.08 a share, a year ago. The company said its Benicia refinery was one the top earners during the past three months.
Wall Street analysts had anticipated Valero would report higher earnings than last year, but the company beat the street's average estimate by 26 cents. Share prices rose $1.58, or 2.15 percent, to $75.12 Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange.
Revenue rose 56 percent to $13.81 billion from $8.84 million during the same period last year.
The company expects to outperform analysts' projections for the second half of the year because it doesn't see an end to the rising demand for gas or the limited inventory being produced at U.S. refineries, said Bill Greehey, Valero chief executive officer and chairman of the board. The company is the largest independent refiner in the U.S.
Continued strong margins should lead to third-quarter earnings of "well over" $3 a share, officials said. For 2004 the company expects to "substantially" exceed estimates of $9.38 a share by analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call.
"With respect to refined product fundamentals, gasoline demand year-to-date is up about 2 percent over last year despite higher pump prices this summer," Greehey said. "Looking toward the second half of the year, we expect gasoline margins to remain at high levels, particularly due to the fact that gasoline inventories are at relatively low levels as we enter the peak demand period of the summer."
Valero's refining business earned three times more than it did a year ago, $1.1 billion compared to $279 million. It was the first time the company's 15 refineries surpassed $1 billion in profit, in large part because of four sites, Greehey said.
"We were particularly pleased with the financial contribution of our Corpus Christi, Texas City, Quebec and Benicia refineries, which contributed over half of the total operating income," he said.
Reach Matthew Bunk at 425-4646 Ext. 267 or mbunk@dailyrepublic.net.
Valero Corp. earnings jump five-fold
By Matthew Bunk
BENICIA -- Valero Energy Corp. made almost five times more money this quarter than it did a year ago, mostly because demand for gas and prices at the pump went up, company officials said.
San Antonio-based Valero reported a net income of $632.7 million, or $4.56 a share, compared to $128.4 million, or $1.08 a share, a year ago. The company said its Benicia refinery was one the top earners during the past three months.
Wall Street analysts had anticipated Valero would report higher earnings than last year, but the company beat the street's average estimate by 26 cents. Share prices rose $1.58, or 2.15 percent, to $75.12 Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange.
Revenue rose 56 percent to $13.81 billion from $8.84 million during the same period last year.
The company expects to outperform analysts' projections for the second half of the year because it doesn't see an end to the rising demand for gas or the limited inventory being produced at U.S. refineries, said Bill Greehey, Valero chief executive officer and chairman of the board. The company is the largest independent refiner in the U.S.
Continued strong margins should lead to third-quarter earnings of "well over" $3 a share, officials said. For 2004 the company expects to "substantially" exceed estimates of $9.38 a share by analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call.
"With respect to refined product fundamentals, gasoline demand year-to-date is up about 2 percent over last year despite higher pump prices this summer," Greehey said. "Looking toward the second half of the year, we expect gasoline margins to remain at high levels, particularly due to the fact that gasoline inventories are at relatively low levels as we enter the peak demand period of the summer."
Valero's refining business earned three times more than it did a year ago, $1.1 billion compared to $279 million. It was the first time the company's 15 refineries surpassed $1 billion in profit, in large part because of four sites, Greehey said.
"We were particularly pleased with the financial contribution of our Corpus Christi, Texas City, Quebec and Benicia refineries, which contributed over half of the total operating income," he said.
Reach Matthew Bunk at 425-4646 Ext. 267 or mbunk@dailyrepublic.net.
Second-Quarter Profits for Ball Corp. Rose 23 percent
Business
Ball shows profit increase
By Matthew Bunk
FAIRFIELD -- Second-quarter profits for Ball Corp. rose 23 percent on growth in all three of its business divisions, company officials said Thursday.
The Colorado-based company also reported sales increases across all segments.
Ball makes plastic and metal packaging and has an aerospace and technologies division that manufactures imaging and communications equipment. It operates a metal packaging plant in Fairfield.
Ball's quarterly income jumped to $90.7 million, or $1.60 a share, from $74.3 million, or $1.30 a share, a year ago. It beat analysts estimates by 17 cents, according to Thomson First Call.
Sales rose 9 percent to $1.47 billion. North American packaging sales were up 4 percent to $945.4 million and international sales rose 10 percent to $353.5 million.
Revenue from the aerospace division jumped 35 percent to $170.3 million from new contracts secured earlier this year.
Ball stock rose $1.41, or 2 percent, to $72.41 Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange.
Six fewer accounting days in the second half of the year will make it difficult to compare to the first six months, Ball President, CEO and Chairman R. David Hoover said. But Ball is up to the challenge, he said.
"Still, barring the unforeseen, we currently believe that it is possible our second half results could exceed our first half results," Hoover said.
On Wednesday, Ball increased its dividend payout 33 percent and announced a 2-for-1 stock split. The split, the company's fourth since it was founded in 1972, will take effect Aug. 23. The 10-cent dividend will be paid Sept. 15.
Ball's board also authorized a buyback of 12 million shares of its common stock this year.
"We have generated significant free cash flow, which has enabled us to make strategic acquisitions, pay down debt, buy back our shares and increase the dividend we pay to our shareholders," Hoover said. "Splitting the stock is an acknowledgment of that performance."
Ball employs 12,600 people worldwide.
Reach Matthew Bunk at 425-4646 Ext. 267 or mbunk@dailyrepublic.net.
Ball shows profit increase
By Matthew Bunk
FAIRFIELD -- Second-quarter profits for Ball Corp. rose 23 percent on growth in all three of its business divisions, company officials said Thursday.
The Colorado-based company also reported sales increases across all segments.
Ball makes plastic and metal packaging and has an aerospace and technologies division that manufactures imaging and communications equipment. It operates a metal packaging plant in Fairfield.
Ball's quarterly income jumped to $90.7 million, or $1.60 a share, from $74.3 million, or $1.30 a share, a year ago. It beat analysts estimates by 17 cents, according to Thomson First Call.
Sales rose 9 percent to $1.47 billion. North American packaging sales were up 4 percent to $945.4 million and international sales rose 10 percent to $353.5 million.
Revenue from the aerospace division jumped 35 percent to $170.3 million from new contracts secured earlier this year.
Ball stock rose $1.41, or 2 percent, to $72.41 Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange.
Six fewer accounting days in the second half of the year will make it difficult to compare to the first six months, Ball President, CEO and Chairman R. David Hoover said. But Ball is up to the challenge, he said.
"Still, barring the unforeseen, we currently believe that it is possible our second half results could exceed our first half results," Hoover said.
On Wednesday, Ball increased its dividend payout 33 percent and announced a 2-for-1 stock split. The split, the company's fourth since it was founded in 1972, will take effect Aug. 23. The 10-cent dividend will be paid Sept. 15.
Ball's board also authorized a buyback of 12 million shares of its common stock this year.
"We have generated significant free cash flow, which has enabled us to make strategic acquisitions, pay down debt, buy back our shares and increase the dividend we pay to our shareholders," Hoover said. "Splitting the stock is an acknowledgment of that performance."
Ball employs 12,600 people worldwide.
Reach Matthew Bunk at 425-4646 Ext. 267 or mbunk@dailyrepublic.net.
Monday, August 02, 2004
Genentech flying high - Trailblazing company's rich drug pipeline continues to flow
Article Published: Sunday, August 01, 2004
An aerial view of the Vacaville Genentech facility. The plant plans a major expansion that will make it the largest biotechnology facility in the world. (Brad Zweerink/The Reporter)
Genentech flying high
Trailblazing company's rich drug pipeline continues to flow
By Tim Simmers
San Mateo County Times
When Jane Lee visited her doctor six years ago for a routine checkup, the former model was stunned to find out she had a small lump in her left breast.
The news took her breath away, and she saw her life flash before her. The doctor didn't give her much hope.
But Lee, 68, started taking a then-new breast cancer drug called Herceptin, developed by biotechnology pioneer Genentech. It saved her life, and she's seen five grandchildren born since the terrifying diagnosis.
"I've been given a wonderful six years because of that drug," said Lee, a Piedmont resident whose cancer went into remission since taking Herceptin. "I've been blessed."
South San Francisco-based Genentech hit a home run with Herceptin, which it now produces at its Vacaville facility. But that's only one of many drugs in the pipeline. The trailblazing company has a strong oncology franchise. Cancer drugs such as Herceptin and the non-Hodgkin's lymphoma treatment Rituxan are breakthrough medicines that have propelled sales and saved patients' lives in recent years.
Founded 28 years ago, Genentech has 12 products on the market, unparalleled among firms in the industry. Its rich pipeline of new and future treatments is flowing, and its stock has tripled since the beginning of last year. The company's product sales hit $2.6 billion last year, with profits of $600 million.
This year, the biotech giant has continued its hot streak, scoring with the approval of its colon-cancer drug Avastin, which works by cutting off the cancer tumor's blood supply. Avastin sales helped push the company over a financial milestone for the second quarter, when it topped $1 billion in quarterly sales for the first time ever.
"The whole driver for Genentech is targeting unmet medical needs," said Thomas Thomas, the company treasurer. "We're trying to continually generate innovative products for patients who have no medicines. It's important for us to maintain their lives with a higher quality."
That's what happened for Grace Vanhoose, a 56-year-old Seattle secretary diagnosed with colon cancer a few years ago. She was lucky to qualify for a clinical trial of Avastin before it was approved in the United States, partly because she was in danger of dying.
"Avastin was the miracle I needed, and it saved my life," said Vanhoose, who has seen two of her children married during her recovery and is waiting for her fourth grandchild to be born soon.
"I met some scientists at Genentech, and I'm in awe of their work, and how much they care," said Vanhoose, her voice cracked as she remembered other cancer patients she knew who didn't get Avastin and died.
The drug treatments are expensive. Avastin costs $4,400 a month for patients, who get two infusions a month. Herceptin costs $21,400 for a 30-week course of treatment, which includes one infusion a week.
Genentech's work on treating sick and dying patients started 28 years ago, when Bay Area scientist Herbert W. Boyer and venture capitalist Robert Swanson were drinking beer in an Irish bar in San Francisco. They raised some venture capital investment and decided to start the world's first biotechnology company in 1976, with a vision to revolutionize medicine.
They didn't know they were giving birth to an industry legend, but they planted the seed for the entire biotechnology industry, which now produces medicines for cancer, AIDS, diabetes and other life-threatening diseases.
Last year, Avastin showed prolonged survival in colon-cancer patients when combined with traditional chemotherapy, and the news stunned investors.
"Wall Street was blindsided," said Adam Walsh, analyst with Jefferies & Co. "That's because some analysts had written off Avastin after an earlier clinical disappointment."
The company's stock shot up from $30 a share in June 2003 on the Avastin news, and rose quickly to $80 per share. It even topped $120 per share when Avastin was approved in February. It has since split and come back to earth some, and is now at about $52 per share.
The industry is notoriously volatile, with stocks going up and down like a yo-yo because it takes about five years and a hundred million dollars to develop a drug and get it on the market. And it could easily fail after all that time and money. But Genentech keeps delivering. And many other biotechnology firms ride its coattails as the company's stock rises. It had a big run into June, climbing to a peak of $68.25 per share, but has slipped over concerns that competitors could grab some of Avastin's market as well as a setback on another cancer drug.
But such ups and downs are part of the business, analysts say.
"It's remarkable," said Walsh. "They've done a great job of feeding drugs into the pipeline."
Management is smart enough to cut the cord on some products that don't appear to be potentially successful, and invest in the good ones, Walsh said.
In 1997, Genentech Chief Executive Art Levinson, a scientist who worked his way up through the research department, established what he called the five-by-five plan. It set the bar high for the company, with goals like getting five new drugs in late-stage trials by 2005, boosting annual revenue and profits by 25 percent each year, and generating $500 million in alliances and collaborations with other companies.
The approval in June 2003 of Xolair, an asthma drug that helps people get off steroids, was part of the fruits of that plan. So was the November approval of Raptiva, for psoriasis, and the February approval of Avastin, a drug analysts project will sell more than $2 billion a year. A fourth drug, Tarceva, for pancreatic cancer, is expected to be approved next year.
Genentech isn't the biggest company in the industry, but it's No. 2. Rival Amgen of Thousand Oaks, which generates 2.5 times the revenue of Genentech, is on top.
But Genentech is an innovator. Its leadership has helped spawn many new local biotechnology firms from Genentech alumni, helping fuel the Bay Area's long run as the nation's biotechnology hub.
Genentech's birth helped foster some 60 public companies in the Bay Area, and 85,000 jobs.
And it's not only the company's drug pipeline that's growing. So is its Peninsula workforce and its local and outlying campuses.
Genentech added 1,402 new jobs last year, and 683 in 2002. This year it expects to add 1,600 new jobs.
The biotechnology powerhouse is expanding its South San Francisco campus along the Bay, where it employs 4,780 people. In April, it opened a five-story, 125,000-square-foot administrative building and is building another administrative building to match.
It broke ground last spring on three new buildings at its existing manufacturing site in Vacaville. Even Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger came with a shovel, showing support for California business expansion. By the time the three new buildings are completed around 2009, the Vacaville plant will be the world's largest biotechnology manufacturing facility.
Herceptin, Rituxan, which generated $1.5 billion in sales last year, and Xolair are currently made at the Vacaville plant.
Many of the company's key cancer drugs, including Herceptin, Rituxan and Avastin, also are made at the South San Francisco plant.
Genentech drug sales have been strong. Sometimes the company is helped with overseas sales by its majority Swiss owner Roche Holding, or other firms it has marketing partnerships with.
The company is expected to generate sales of $3.5 billion this year and $4.6 billion in 2005, according to Jason Kantor, analyst with WR Hambrecht & Co. in San Francisco.
"This is a company that's growing fast because it sells lots of drugs," Kantor said. "They have innovative, new drugs based on good science that target unmet medical needs."
Key to Genentech's success is high spending on research and development, Kantor noted. The company will pour more than a quarter of its annual revenue into R&D this year. That's up nearly $140 million from last year to $860 million.
Success isn't easy, though.
"The bigger you get, the more pressure there is to sell more drugs," said Kantor.
One strategy that helps is Genentech's focus on finding "targeted therapies."
Six years ago, it launched Herceptin. The breast-cancer drug that is prescribed to only one-fifth of breast-cancer patients. It's for patients whose tumors have a certain genetic mutation. The drug sold $425 million last year and is expected to climb over $450 million this year. That's not a $1 billion blockbuster, but it's the type of solid business that drives the company, said Genentech's Thomas.
"Some patients won't make blockbuster sales," Thomas said. "But we know specific numbers of patients will take our drugs, and it's a great way to target disease types."
Look at Genentech under a microscope, and you might see the smarter, leaner drug company of the future, Kantor said. The company recorded a 29 percent boost in profits in the second quarter, led by its new cancer fighter Avastin.
No doubt, terrific sales and market-leading medicines keep Genentech humming, but there's always plenty of uncertainty in the drug business. Drug development is extremely risky and expensive.
Keeping the new products coming is never easy and there are usually setbacks, as happened with Avastin. But Genentech manages the ups and downs as well as anybody, analysts say.
It has many young patents and former scientist Levinson leading the firm. He keeps the company on the track of developing and marketing drugs. Levinson's latest plan is called Horizon 2010. The theme is that Genentech aims to become the leading oncology company in the United States by then, and the strategy includes bringing five new cancer products on the market by 2010 and achieving earnings per share growth of 20 percent per year.
"We're setting our sites high," Thomas said.
There will always competitors on the rise, peaks and valleys, and lots of unknowns. Some drugs won't sell as well as expected. And Wall Street is fickle.
One stumble and the stock could be pushed down. But Genentech has reached legendary status, and appears to be on a roll.
Whatever happens, there are patients out there who are cheering the company on. Being able to watch eight grandchildren grow up before your eyes after being given six months to live has made breast-cancer survivor Jane Lee a believer - one who is very thankful her life was extended so she could be with her family.
"Every time I drive by that company down by Grand Avenue, I give the thumbs up sign," she said.
An aerial view of the Vacaville Genentech facility. The plant plans a major expansion that will make it the largest biotechnology facility in the world. (Brad Zweerink/The Reporter)
Genentech flying high
Trailblazing company's rich drug pipeline continues to flow
By Tim Simmers
San Mateo County Times
When Jane Lee visited her doctor six years ago for a routine checkup, the former model was stunned to find out she had a small lump in her left breast.
The news took her breath away, and she saw her life flash before her. The doctor didn't give her much hope.
But Lee, 68, started taking a then-new breast cancer drug called Herceptin, developed by biotechnology pioneer Genentech. It saved her life, and she's seen five grandchildren born since the terrifying diagnosis.
"I've been given a wonderful six years because of that drug," said Lee, a Piedmont resident whose cancer went into remission since taking Herceptin. "I've been blessed."
South San Francisco-based Genentech hit a home run with Herceptin, which it now produces at its Vacaville facility. But that's only one of many drugs in the pipeline. The trailblazing company has a strong oncology franchise. Cancer drugs such as Herceptin and the non-Hodgkin's lymphoma treatment Rituxan are breakthrough medicines that have propelled sales and saved patients' lives in recent years.
Founded 28 years ago, Genentech has 12 products on the market, unparalleled among firms in the industry. Its rich pipeline of new and future treatments is flowing, and its stock has tripled since the beginning of last year. The company's product sales hit $2.6 billion last year, with profits of $600 million.
This year, the biotech giant has continued its hot streak, scoring with the approval of its colon-cancer drug Avastin, which works by cutting off the cancer tumor's blood supply. Avastin sales helped push the company over a financial milestone for the second quarter, when it topped $1 billion in quarterly sales for the first time ever.
"The whole driver for Genentech is targeting unmet medical needs," said Thomas Thomas, the company treasurer. "We're trying to continually generate innovative products for patients who have no medicines. It's important for us to maintain their lives with a higher quality."
That's what happened for Grace Vanhoose, a 56-year-old Seattle secretary diagnosed with colon cancer a few years ago. She was lucky to qualify for a clinical trial of Avastin before it was approved in the United States, partly because she was in danger of dying.
"Avastin was the miracle I needed, and it saved my life," said Vanhoose, who has seen two of her children married during her recovery and is waiting for her fourth grandchild to be born soon.
"I met some scientists at Genentech, and I'm in awe of their work, and how much they care," said Vanhoose, her voice cracked as she remembered other cancer patients she knew who didn't get Avastin and died.
The drug treatments are expensive. Avastin costs $4,400 a month for patients, who get two infusions a month. Herceptin costs $21,400 for a 30-week course of treatment, which includes one infusion a week.
Genentech's work on treating sick and dying patients started 28 years ago, when Bay Area scientist Herbert W. Boyer and venture capitalist Robert Swanson were drinking beer in an Irish bar in San Francisco. They raised some venture capital investment and decided to start the world's first biotechnology company in 1976, with a vision to revolutionize medicine.
They didn't know they were giving birth to an industry legend, but they planted the seed for the entire biotechnology industry, which now produces medicines for cancer, AIDS, diabetes and other life-threatening diseases.
Last year, Avastin showed prolonged survival in colon-cancer patients when combined with traditional chemotherapy, and the news stunned investors.
"Wall Street was blindsided," said Adam Walsh, analyst with Jefferies & Co. "That's because some analysts had written off Avastin after an earlier clinical disappointment."
The company's stock shot up from $30 a share in June 2003 on the Avastin news, and rose quickly to $80 per share. It even topped $120 per share when Avastin was approved in February. It has since split and come back to earth some, and is now at about $52 per share.
The industry is notoriously volatile, with stocks going up and down like a yo-yo because it takes about five years and a hundred million dollars to develop a drug and get it on the market. And it could easily fail after all that time and money. But Genentech keeps delivering. And many other biotechnology firms ride its coattails as the company's stock rises. It had a big run into June, climbing to a peak of $68.25 per share, but has slipped over concerns that competitors could grab some of Avastin's market as well as a setback on another cancer drug.
But such ups and downs are part of the business, analysts say.
"It's remarkable," said Walsh. "They've done a great job of feeding drugs into the pipeline."
Management is smart enough to cut the cord on some products that don't appear to be potentially successful, and invest in the good ones, Walsh said.
In 1997, Genentech Chief Executive Art Levinson, a scientist who worked his way up through the research department, established what he called the five-by-five plan. It set the bar high for the company, with goals like getting five new drugs in late-stage trials by 2005, boosting annual revenue and profits by 25 percent each year, and generating $500 million in alliances and collaborations with other companies.
The approval in June 2003 of Xolair, an asthma drug that helps people get off steroids, was part of the fruits of that plan. So was the November approval of Raptiva, for psoriasis, and the February approval of Avastin, a drug analysts project will sell more than $2 billion a year. A fourth drug, Tarceva, for pancreatic cancer, is expected to be approved next year.
Genentech isn't the biggest company in the industry, but it's No. 2. Rival Amgen of Thousand Oaks, which generates 2.5 times the revenue of Genentech, is on top.
But Genentech is an innovator. Its leadership has helped spawn many new local biotechnology firms from Genentech alumni, helping fuel the Bay Area's long run as the nation's biotechnology hub.
Genentech's birth helped foster some 60 public companies in the Bay Area, and 85,000 jobs.
And it's not only the company's drug pipeline that's growing. So is its Peninsula workforce and its local and outlying campuses.
Genentech added 1,402 new jobs last year, and 683 in 2002. This year it expects to add 1,600 new jobs.
The biotechnology powerhouse is expanding its South San Francisco campus along the Bay, where it employs 4,780 people. In April, it opened a five-story, 125,000-square-foot administrative building and is building another administrative building to match.
It broke ground last spring on three new buildings at its existing manufacturing site in Vacaville. Even Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger came with a shovel, showing support for California business expansion. By the time the three new buildings are completed around 2009, the Vacaville plant will be the world's largest biotechnology manufacturing facility.
Herceptin, Rituxan, which generated $1.5 billion in sales last year, and Xolair are currently made at the Vacaville plant.
Many of the company's key cancer drugs, including Herceptin, Rituxan and Avastin, also are made at the South San Francisco plant.
Genentech drug sales have been strong. Sometimes the company is helped with overseas sales by its majority Swiss owner Roche Holding, or other firms it has marketing partnerships with.
The company is expected to generate sales of $3.5 billion this year and $4.6 billion in 2005, according to Jason Kantor, analyst with WR Hambrecht & Co. in San Francisco.
"This is a company that's growing fast because it sells lots of drugs," Kantor said. "They have innovative, new drugs based on good science that target unmet medical needs."
Key to Genentech's success is high spending on research and development, Kantor noted. The company will pour more than a quarter of its annual revenue into R&D this year. That's up nearly $140 million from last year to $860 million.
Success isn't easy, though.
"The bigger you get, the more pressure there is to sell more drugs," said Kantor.
One strategy that helps is Genentech's focus on finding "targeted therapies."
Six years ago, it launched Herceptin. The breast-cancer drug that is prescribed to only one-fifth of breast-cancer patients. It's for patients whose tumors have a certain genetic mutation. The drug sold $425 million last year and is expected to climb over $450 million this year. That's not a $1 billion blockbuster, but it's the type of solid business that drives the company, said Genentech's Thomas.
"Some patients won't make blockbuster sales," Thomas said. "But we know specific numbers of patients will take our drugs, and it's a great way to target disease types."
Look at Genentech under a microscope, and you might see the smarter, leaner drug company of the future, Kantor said. The company recorded a 29 percent boost in profits in the second quarter, led by its new cancer fighter Avastin.
No doubt, terrific sales and market-leading medicines keep Genentech humming, but there's always plenty of uncertainty in the drug business. Drug development is extremely risky and expensive.
Keeping the new products coming is never easy and there are usually setbacks, as happened with Avastin. But Genentech manages the ups and downs as well as anybody, analysts say.
It has many young patents and former scientist Levinson leading the firm. He keeps the company on the track of developing and marketing drugs. Levinson's latest plan is called Horizon 2010. The theme is that Genentech aims to become the leading oncology company in the United States by then, and the strategy includes bringing five new cancer products on the market by 2010 and achieving earnings per share growth of 20 percent per year.
"We're setting our sites high," Thomas said.
There will always competitors on the rise, peaks and valleys, and lots of unknowns. Some drugs won't sell as well as expected. And Wall Street is fickle.
One stumble and the stock could be pushed down. But Genentech has reached legendary status, and appears to be on a roll.
Whatever happens, there are patients out there who are cheering the company on. Being able to watch eight grandchildren grow up before your eyes after being given six months to live has made breast-cancer survivor Jane Lee a believer - one who is very thankful her life was extended so she could be with her family.
"Every time I drive by that company down by Grand Avenue, I give the thumbs up sign," she said.
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