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Would you pay to bypass long airport security lines?When Hansen meets Huey, meeting gets sax appeal
Sure, it was a big deal when Hansen Information Technologies Inc. sold a controlling interest to a Bay Area equity firm for more than $50 million to fuel global expansion. But was it a bigger deal than landing Huey Lewis and the News to play at the Rancho Cordova software company's annual conference?
Chuck Hansen, chairman and CEO, doesn't seem sure. The company's Web site has received tens of thousands of hits since the announcement this month that the mid-'80s chart-toppers would perform at Hansen's 20th annual Network User Group Conference on Oct. 11. "Had I known I would have made Huey kind of an official employee," he said.
Rumor has it that Hansen himself just might get on stage with the band; he plays baritone sax for Sacramento band Hip Service. Maybe a few bars of "I Want A New Drug" or some other saxed-up tune?
He's "not at liberty to disclose" whether he'll play with Huey. Want to see for yourself? Get an invitation. It's a private bash.
Under one roof
McClellan Park has wrapped up a deal to bring 500 J.C. Penney Co. Inc. jobs to the former air base. The 139,000-square-foot lease inked last week is the largest this year at the business park.
The retailer will consolidate two nearby operations at McClellan in December, and add at least 50 jobs. Workers make draperies and other window treatments, ordered from the company's custom decorating business and shipped across the western United States.
The Plano, Texas, retailer signed a 10-year lease with three five-year options to extend it. It took more than a year of talks to seal the deal, said Nate Ellis, McClellan vice president of marketing and leasing. Kevin Jasper of Cornish & Carey Commercial and representatives of the Cordano Co. assisted with the lease; a $125,000 county incentive helped, too.
Piper to Piper
Since Evit Labs Inc. went out of business in December, David Piper has restarted his previous company, Piper Medical Products.
Piper was president of Evit Labs, which tried to produce and market a drug inhaler. Evit ran out of money and an investor foreclosed. "We've basically put Evit Labs out of its misery," Piper said. The investor hopes to license the technology to another business.
Piper founded Piper Medical in 1995 and invented the inhaler that he licensed to Evit Labs. The rejuvenated company is testing respiratory products made by other companies and helping to develop a carbon dioxide sensor, he said.
Fill it up
University of California Davis is figuring out how to use the old Sagres Discovery building, with its 19,500 square feet of offices, warehouse and labs.
The school leased the property last summer after Chiron Corp. bought Sagres and moved its jobs to the Bay Area. Chiron left all of the equipment as a donation to the university; it's probably worth $300,000 to $500,000. The study of how to use the space could be finished by August.
On the road again
Placer Valley Tourism reps are taking a third tour of amateur-sports complexes next month, with an eye to drawing more business to Roseville, Rocklin and Lincoln. About a dozen people from South Placer will visit Frisco, Texas, just outside Dallas, to see 21,000-seat Pizza Hut Park, home of the Major League Soccer franchise Futbol Club Dallas and 17 soccer fields. Another hot spot: a complex in Plano, Texas, with 14 basketball courts.
Previous tours hit Tukwila, Wash., and Lancaster. Delegates include elected officials, community and business leaders from the area.
