Fallbrook National Bank directors really blew it when they rejected Bank of Commerce's unsolicited offer to acquire it in 1997 in a one-for-one stock exchange. By December '97, Bank of Commerce split two for one. At the $32.94-per-share closing price of U.S. Bancorp when it announced its offer of 0.6 shares of USB for each share of BofC, that would make each old share of Fallbrook worth $39.52. On the day the U.S. Bancorp deal was disclosed, Fallbrook shares closed unchanged, untraded and illiquid at $7.75 each.
    Bank of Commerce shareholders aren’t the only happy campers. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods managing director Albert A. DeAlmeida Jr. received 15 calls from prospective clients saying he could broker their banks if he could get five times book value, as he did for BofC. "If you have three years of 50 percent increases in profits, maybe I can," DeAlmeida told them.
Actually, Bank of Commerce has enjoyed five years of 50 percent profit increases.
    Bank of Commerce's No. 2 man, David Bartram, will remain as No. 1 man of U.S. Bancorp's new SBA loan unit, becoming division president. USB's SBA portfolio will grow about fourfold to nearly $1 billion serviced with the addition of BofC's $742 million portfolio. Still, BofC is small potatoes for Minneapolis-based U.S. Bancorp, with total assets of $76 billion. The deal should close by June; few if any layoffs are expected. Chairman Pete Davis is obliged to remain until a new San Diego mayor is sworn in in December 2000.

***

    When New America International, the world's largest corporate real estate partnership, holds its international convention in San Diego April 14-17, a little credit is due Paul Caine. Based in San Diego, where the NAI affiliate is Business Real Estate (BRE), Caine lobbied hard. He's NAI's Latin American managing director. The convention will attract more than 1,000 people from NAI's 200 offices in 26 countries.

***

    Will John Moores move his rapidly growing, $62 million, 700-employee Peregrine Systems to Downtown as part of the ballpark project? Maybe. Maybe not. While the company’s name was tossed about as a prime tenant for the 400,000 square feet of new office to be developed in the 26-acre project area, the rumor Downtown is it won’t be happening. A spokesman says all that is confirmed now is that Moores will move some of his offices Downtown, whether that’s Peregrine, JMI or some other entity, he couldn’t say.

***

    The Arrowhead Group of Companies, a firm that provides insurance-related products and services, is moving its headquarters from Sorrento Valley to three floors of Downtown’s Emerald Plaza.

***

    If, as the Wall Street Journal was projecting late last month, Qualcomm and Ericsson settle their pending patent lawsuit and agree to share technology and cooperate on a single standard for the next generation of wireless telephones, international politics likely will have played as key a role as the law. The U.S has been turning up the political heat on the European Union, insisting at the highest levels that it not mandate a Third Generation, or 3G, technical standard that would be incompatible with existing digital devices. Ericsson, which makes no products based on the CDMA technology advanced by Qualcomm, was proposing a standard that won’t work with existing CDMA equipment. Europe, rapidly running out of bandwidth, sees advantages to quickly moving forward with Ericsson's proposal. On Feb. 9, three U.S. Senators sent U.S. Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky a strongly-worded letter calling for including telecommunications devices as a "Super 301" priority, marking it as an issue that could potentially be addressed by tariffs. A week later, senior executives from U.S. and European electronics industries gathered as the Trans-Atlantic Business Dialogue Electrical Electronic Information and Technology Telecommunications group for a session hosted by the Information Technology Council. Among the group's 3G conclusions was support for "backward compatibility with existing systems," or convergence, which has become Qualcomm's 3G mantra.

***

    It was just a short 16 years ago that Dan Goodman stood behind the counter of his first Pacific Eyes & T's store in San Diego. Today, Goodman has 37 Pacific Eyes & T's and Beyond The Beach stores in four states. About to embark on a major expansion, he's secured $10 million in growth financing from specialized retail lender Paragon Capital of Needham, Mass.

***

    When PricewaterhouseCoopers got done counting up venture capital investment in San Diego, the decline to $372 million in 1998 compared to $376 million in 1997 took only one word to explain: Biotech. Investments in this industry dipped 25 percent to $96.3 million in 1998. San Diego’s rising stars, telecom and software, rang up $157.7 million, a 48 percent increase and a hefty bump, but not quite enough to cover the biotech dip. Yet Jim Ingraham, the PricewaterhouseCoopers partner in San Diego who heads up the firm's technology industry group, is hardly ready to throw in the biotech towel.
    Ingraham notes that record numbers of biopharmaceutical products are in late-stage clinical trials, and even with FDA delays, a significant number of new products will emerge in the near future. "I’m not sure that you would find a lot of people to agree with me, but I expect these sectors to continue to attract substantial venture capital over the longer term," he says.

***

    Robert Kibble, David Ryan and David Holder at Mission Ventures are having little problem attracting money. Mission Ventures' early stage venture capital fund has completed its fund raising, bringing in $63 million, about $13 million above goal.

***

    The value of assessed property in San Diego last year, reports the State Board of Equalization, grew $11.8 billion, or 7.6 percent, from $153.5 billion in 1997 to $165.3 billion in 1998. Of the state's four counties with assessment rolls exceeding $100 billion, San Diego posted the second greatest increase, by percentage, trailing only the 10.1 percent increase in Santa Clara.

***

    The San Diego Convention Center needs about 30,000 yards of fill dirt to level the ground for the concrete placements. So far, about 2,000 yards have been brought to the site. The center doesn’t have to look far for the dirt, most of it’s coming from excavation being done for the Bridgeworks project across the street.

***

    Oceanside may be the epicenter of North County's acute affordable housing deficiency (primarily apartments), but the county's third largest city is not lacking for job-generating commercial projects. Most recently Stirling, a Laguna Hills development company, announced it would master plan Oceanside's 400 acre Ocean Ranch Corporate Center. Fronting Oceanside Boulevard, the development is located about one mile off I-5 between Highways 76 and 78. Oceanside's industrial vacancy rate is running about 7.8 percent. Ocean Ranch is aimed at companies needing 10 to 20 acres for tech manufacturing or headquarters operations.
    While Ocean Ranch is Stirling's flagship project in San Diego, expect to hear more news about the company as it master plans the Southern California International Airport, a 4,000-acre business and industrial complex in Victorville that is being touted as Southern California's air cargo hub for the next century. It’s the former George Air Force Base.

***

    Pacific Gas and Electric Co.'s 1999 Economic Outlook is upbeat about the prospects for Southern California and San Diego.
"Southern California is moving ahead of the San Francisco Bay Area as the state's economic performance leader," says Tapan Munroe, consulting corporate economist for the energy utility. "The economic driver in Southern California is growth in services, tourism, and high-technology entertainment industries. The San Diego region is getting a strong boost from expansion in telecommunications, biotechnology and tourism."
    By region, the report forecasts employment growth of 2.3 percent in San Diego, 2.2 percent for the Central Valley, about 1.9 percent for Los Angeles and 1.5 percent for the Bay Area.

***

    The sixth annual San Diego Latino Film Festival runs March 9-14 at United Artists Theatres in Horton Plaza. The festival will screen more than 40 films and videos from throughout Latin America and the United States. A highlight should be the star-studded salute to hometown director Gregory Nava, the Academy Award-nominated director of "El Norte," "Mi Familia" and "Selena." Fresh from a tribute at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival, Nava will be in town March 13 for a rare screening of "El Norte" and a program of career highlights and testimonials. Fred Salas and Ethan van Thillo are the brains behind the festival.

***

    As Mike Madigan begins his new job as the city of San Diego’s ballpark redevelopment czar, his old employer is saying nice things. "We wish Mike the very best as he accepts the challenge of supervising the redevelopment of Downtown and the construction of the Padres' new ballpark," says David Landon, president and CEO of Pardee Construction Co. "His attention to detail and hard work over the last 20 years as a member of the Pardee Homes family has contributed greatly to the firm's success in San Diego County. Mike obviously will be missed by all of us at Pardee. As the residents of our communities in San Diego already know, he is a tremendous asset and will bring energy and dedication to this new challenge."

***

    Emmy Award-winning actress Mariette Hartley headlines "A Humorous and Moving View of One Woman's Journey," a March 24 luncheon sponsored by Vista Hill Women's Council on Mental Health. Seats start at $35 for the event at the Marriott Mission Valley. Call 521-4351 for details.

***

    The 900 people who turned out for the YWCA's inaugural "In the Company of Women" luncheon was surely San Diego’s largest gathering ever of influential women. Highlights of the fast-paced Jan. 29 event included two poems by Natasha Josefowitz (the one on a career woman's average day that ended with her being "multi-orgasmic" brought down the house), a moving video prepared and narrated by broadcaster Cathy Clark (tears flowed), a song from the amazingly talented Pattie Rizzo (She scored "Sleepless in Seattle" and "You've Got Mail."), and a speech by California's First Lady, Sharon Davis. But it was Patti Roscoe, the co-chair along with Michele McDougal, who powerfully delivered the day's message: It was time for the successful women gathered to write checks, like men have done for generations. In the end, the YW netted a goal-busting $120,000. Among the smattering of impressed men, Dirk Sutro joked he would have liked a little podium time: "Hi. I’m Dirk. I’m 41, 6-foot-1and a writer. I work out and I’m single."

***

    Marston & Marston has signed on as new clients the San Diego Grand Prix the race debuts Downtown this fall Ð and West & Associates, the CPA firm.

***

    The Newschool of Architecture and United States International University are teaming to enroll students from outside California in Newschool's bachelor of architecture program. The students can take general education courses at USIU, stay in on-campus housing and take advantage of other benefits of USIU life.

***

    John Rebelo is now a president too, but not of Peninsula Bank where he is chairman and CEO. Rather, Rebelo is the new president of the California Bankers Association. His first president's column in California Banker magazine deals with how privacy, pricing and public perception will figure into banking politics this year. Rebelo is the third San Diegan to preside over CBA. The last, Dan Herde, former president of San Diego Trust & Savings Bank, is now a Peninsula Bank director.

***

    Peter Pelletier has opened The Pelletier Co., a windows, doors and moldings distributorship to the construction trades, on Voltaire and Wabaska streets in Point Loma.

***

    Digitec Business Systems has landed a five year, $1 million contract to outfit National University's campuses with Hewlett-Packard networked copier/printers.

***

    The nine separate companies that Hanson Building Materials America operates in Southern California are being consolidated into a single San Diego-based company called Hanson Aggregates, Pacific Southwest Region. The local firms that Hanson acquired are Pre-Mixed Concrete Co., Sim J. Harris Co., South Coast Materials, North County Materials, East County Materials, A-1 Soils Co. and Nelson Holding Co. (Nelson and Sloan).

***

    The western regional office of The Shidler Group acquired $350 million worth of commercial properties last year, a 75 percent increase over 1997, reports Marc Brutten, managing partner. In five years, Brutten has grown the holdings from 500,000 to 7 million square feet. The company’s offices are on La Jolla Village Drive.

***

    A glass curtain wall 300 feet in length and gradually rising to 60 feet is expected to allow the San Diego Convention Center's Sails Pavilion to retain its natural light and open feel. A $10 million construction project led by Douglass E. Barnhart and designed by Joseph Wong Design Associates is under way to enclose the area and add 90,000 square feet of enclosed space at the center. Although the weather and views from the area beneath the center's signature "sails" are typically wonderful, meeting planners have been skittish about booking the space, fearing the rare storm would spoil their carefully crafted events. The Port District is funding the project with an 11-year interest-free loan.

***

    As Golden Eagle Insurance Corp. celebrates the first anniversary of its move into 11 floors of Downtown’s Golden Eagle Plaza, William Mudge also has something to be happy about. The former COO has been named CEO. The promotion came from Fred Marziano, who remains Golden Eagle's chairman while relinquishing the CEO title to Mudge.

***

    Roel Construction has won the design/build contract to add 85,000 square feet to GDE System's 125,000-square-foot operation in Rancho Bernardo. The $3.5 million project includes a parking structure for 270 cars. Geoff Sherman is project manager, Mike Jones project engineer and Lynn Morgan administrative assistant. Completion is slated for November.

***

    Daniel Kisner starts this month as CEO of Caliper Technologies. He was president and COO of Isis Pharmaceuticals.

***

    KinderView, San Diego Metropolitan's November 1998 "Hot Prospects" feature, has signed up 400 parents and grandparents in Arizona for its service that allows parents and others to use the Internet to monitor children in preschool settings. Cameras or small viewing devices are installed in the corner of each room of the day-care centers. Parents are given a school code and then select a member name and password with which to view their child during the day.

***

    Phase II construction of the successful Carlsbad Company Stores project breaks ground next month, allowing 20 new stores to be open in time for the holiday season. Craig Realty Group, the developer, says it moved up the schedule due to stronger than expected performance at the existing center that opened in October 1997. "Sales at the center have greatly exceeded projections and there is demand for additional space," says Steven Craig, managing partner. Among the retailers negotiating for space are Brooks Brothers, Timberland and Coach, a leather store.

***

    Deborah Norville, career journalist,mother and author, will be a keynote speaker at the 10th annual Sharp HealthCare Women's Health Symposium March 20 at the San Diego Convention Center. Anticipating participation of more than 2,000 women, the symposium planners also lined up as speakers Judy McEnany and Vickie Coffman, speakers and professors, and Mimi Donaldson, management training and development professional. The daylong seminar will have sessions on all aspects of women's health.

***

    Another milestone for the 126-year-old Luce, Forward, Hamilton & Scripps law firm is recognition for the lowest associate turnover rate Ð 9 percent Ð in the country among full-service national law firms. The finding followed a survey conducted by The Associate, a magazine published by National Jurist. A median associate attrition rate of 22 percent was found between 1996 and 1998.

***

    Shoppers may search among others' castoffs for treasures for themselves at the Thursday Club's 72nd annual rummage sale March 20, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and March 21, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Balboa Park Club. Contributions from the public will be accepted from March 14 through noon March 18. The sale will benefit six Balboa Park organizations and eight charitable or youth organizations.

***

    Good news for aspiring teachers attending USIU. The university is among the first schools to receive approval from the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing to develop a program allowing students to complete their bachelor's degree and teacher preparation for a credential in slightly more than four years. Now the requirement is for nine months of teaching preparation after receipt of the bachelor's degree.

***

    In their Easter bonnets, children and adults for the fourth year will participate in a parade and hat contest hosted by Downtown businesses. Festivities begin at the Culy Building, 338 Seventh Ave., at 9:30 a.m. on April 3 with a hat-making workshop. Judging will follow at 10:45 a.m., and the parade steps off at 11:30 a.m. Awards will be given at 12:30 p.m. in the courtyard of the historic William Heath Davis House, 410 Island Ave. For other information, call 238-6026.

***

    A national "Poetry Bug Virus" kicks off from the San Diego Children's Museum on March 30. The 'bug' will be spread to more than 100 schools in 30 cities nationwide by three Volkswagen Beetles, covered with magnetic poetry and driven by "emergency metaphor technicians." The project is sponsored by Volkswagen of America, Magnetic Poetry and Land-scape Structures playground equipment. At each of the destinations, poetry clinics are planned. Volkswagen is giving poetry books with each car sold during April.