A spot in the city’s trendy South Beach neighborhood sold last week for $82,000, the San Francisco Chronicle reported on Thursday ( ).

The 8- by 12-foot parking space is in an enclosed garage in a condominium building near the San Francisco Giants’ ballpark. A Porsche SUV was parked in it on Thursday. The Chronicle said the unidentified buyer did not respond to interview requests.

While it may seem like a lot of money, real estate agents said parking could be a good investment in densely packed San Francisco, where vehicle spaces go for a premium. They can add as much as $100,000 to the purchase price of a property or be rented out at rates of $400 to $450 a month _ the going rate in South Beach.

“We had a very good response right out of the gate,” said Sean Sullivan with Climb Real Estate, which sold the spot. “It was only in the market two weeks.”

Sullivan said he sold a parking spot in the same building at the height of the last real estate boom for $95,000.

Overall, the city has seen real estate prices climb. Home prices in San Francisco grew by 22.2 percent in March compared with a year ago, second only to Phoenix among U.S. cities, according to The Standard Poor’s/Case-Shiller home price index released in May.

Home prices in the wider, nine-county San Francisco Bay area posted a 12th straight month of double-digit price increases last month, according to research firm DataQuick. DataQuick said Thursday that the median price for new and existing houses and condominiums reached $519,000 in May, up 30 percent from the same period last year.

Condos in the South Beach area are going for $1,000 a square foot, the Chronicle reported. At 96 square feet, the parking space was a relative bargain at $854 per square foot.

Sullivan said the building where the parking spot was sold was built before the city restricted spaces to one per unit. It is one of the few buildings that allows nonresidents to own a spot.

The owner has a deed and must pay property taxes and homeowner association dues.

The sale was all cash.

Article source: http://wnyt.com/article/stories/s3066080.shtml?cat=300

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Parking spots apparently aren’t immune from the recent surge in San Francisco real estate prices.

A spot in the city’s trendy South Beach neighborhood sold last week for $82,000, the

The 8- by 12-foot parking space is in an enclosed garage in a condominium building near the San Francisco Giants’ ballpark. A Porsche SUV was parked in it on Thursday. The Chronicle said the unidentified buyer did not respond to interview requests.

While it may seem like a lot of money, real estate agents said parking could be a good investment in densely packed San Francisco, where vehicle spaces go for a premium. They can add as much as $100,000 to the purchase price of a property or be rented out at rates of $400 to $450 a month – the going rate in South Beach.

“We had a very good response right out of the gate,” said Sean Sullivan with Climb Real Estate, which sold the spot. “It was only in the market two weeks.”

Sullivan said he sold a parking spot in the same building at the height of the last real estate boom for $95,000.

Overall, the city has seen real estate prices climb. Home prices in San Francisco grew by 22.2 percent in March compared with a year ago, second only to Phoenix among U.S. cities, according to The Standard Poor’s/Case-Shiller home price index released in May.

Home prices in the wider, nine-county San Francisco Bay area posted a 12th straight month of double-digit price increases last month, according to research firm DataQuick. DataQuick said Thursday that the median price for new and existing houses and condominiums reached $519,000 in May, up 30 percent from the same period last year.

Condos in the South Beach area are going for $1,000 a square foot, the Chronicle reported. At 96 square feet, the parking space was a relative bargain at $854 per square foot.

Sullivan said the building where the parking spot was sold was built before the city restricted spaces to one per unit. It is one of the few buildings that allows nonresidents to own a spot.

The owner has a deed and must pay property taxes and homeowner association dues.

The sale was all cash.

Copyright Associated Press

Article source: http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/San-Francisco-Parking-Spot-Sells-for-82000-211467521.html

As the GOP parties it up (and stretches it out) in Tampa this week, a good amount of the money they’re using to do it comes from an area much more associated with opening up its wallet to liberals than conservatives. (That’s not including the approximately half of the $87 million American taxpayers will be “donating” to both conventions.)

(SCROLL DOWN FOR PHOTOS)

While Obama has come into the Bay Area on a near monthly basis for over a year, Romney also hasn’t been shy about heading out to the West Coast and bellying up to the spigot that’s our seemingly endless outpouring of campaign cash.

When in town for a fundraising trip last month, the presidential nominee attended an exclusive luncheon at the Silicon Valley home of tech billionaire Tom Siebel with former GOP gubernatorial candidate/eBay CEO Meg Whitman and former Secretary of State George Shultz. The former Massachusetts governor then shuttled north into San Francisco proper for a shindig at the ritzy Fairmont Hotel hosted by former San Francisco Giants exec Peter Magowen and socialites Alexis and Trevor Traina.

On another fundraising trip earlier this summer, Romney made a surprise visit to the closed-down factory of failed solar panel manufacturer Solyndra, where he hammered Obama on his support of green energy programs like the one that gave the defunct company a $535 million loan guarantee from the federal government.

“[This is] a symbol of gross waste,” Romeney told NBC Bay Area, while standing in front of the factory. “This is not the kind of building built by free enterprise, it’s the kind of building built with half a billion dollars of taxpayer funds.”

According to a report conducted by the Center for Investigative Reporting’s indispensable California Watch, the single largest individual political donor over the past decade is Republican Stanford physicist Charles T. Munger, Jr.. He’s given over $14 million to 25 candidates and 25 ballot measures, virtually all of which have ultimately come out victorious. That ability to pick winners could be chalked up to genetics: Munger is the son of Berkshire Hathaway vice-chairman Charles Munger, Sr. and brother to attorney Molly Munger, the public face behind a California ballot measure hiking taxes to pay for the state’s struggling education system.

The next largest California GOP donor is Stockton real estate developer and San Diego Chargers owner Alex G. Spanos with just under $9 million, followed by investment honcho Charles Schwab at a little shy of $3 million.

These individual donors aren’t the only big sources of Bay Area campaign cash for Republicans. There are also bundlers.

Bundlers are individuals who, in addition to contributing their own money, work to get their wealthy friends and co-workers to donate. Campaigns are only required to disclose bundles contributed by registered lobbyists; making bundlers public is up to the individual discretion of each campaign.

In 2008, Bay Area bundlers delivered between $2.3 million and $5 million to the campaign coffers of GOP nominee John McCain.

Romney, unlike his Democratic opponent, has refused to reveal the names of his bundlers this election cycle, leading the non-profit government transparency group OpenSecrets.org to file a petition asking the campaign to reconsider its decision.

Combine this lack of disclosure with the realities of the post-Citizens United world of campaign finance, where super PACs aren’t required to release the names of their donors, and it becomes infinitely more difficult to discern precisely who in the Bay Area is giving to the Romney campaign.

Californians have given the Romney-affiliated super PAC Restore Our Future $6 million and Karl Rove’s American Crossroads super PAC $4.3 million.

Check out this slideshow of California’s top individual campaign donors:

Loading Slideshow

• 30. Marcy Carsey – $309,121, 100% Dem

  Company: Carsey-Werner LLC
  Home: Los Angeles, CA

• 29. Paul Michelle Zygielbaum – $316,100, 100% Dem

  Company: C8 Medisensors
  Home: Santa Rosa, CA

• 28. David C. Bohnett – $361,600, 85% Dem

  Company: Baroda Ventura
  Home: Beverly Hills, CA

• 27. J.J. Abrams Kathleen McGrath – $371,600, 100% Dem

  Company: Bad Robot Productions (Producer)
  Home: Beverly Hills, CA

• 26. Alan F. Horn Cindy Harrell – $395,275, 100% Dem

  Company: Warner Brothers
  Home: Los Angeles, CA

• 25. Richard W. Boyce – $406,040, 99% Rep

  Company: a href=”http://www.tpg.com/” target=”_hplink”TPG Creative Capital/a
  Home: Portola Valley, CA

• 24. Charles B. Ann. L. Johnson – $406,912, 98% Rep

  Company: Franklin Resources
  Home: Hillsborough, CA

• 23. Jesse Melinda Rogers – $415,000, 95% Rep

  Company: Altamont Capital
  Home: Atherton, CA

  Jesse Rogers at the Private Equity Analyst Conference.

• 22. Howard H. Gretchen Leach – $432,100, 99% Rep

  Company: Leach Capital
  Home: San Francisco, CA

  Howard H. Leach and his wife (L) as they attend the inaugeration of 3 fountains at Versailles Castle on June 12, 2004 in Versailles, France.

• 21. Sandor Straus- $440,125, 97% Dem

  Company: Merfin LLC
  Home: Lafayette, CA

• 20. David Desjardins- $524,100, 100% Dem

  Profession: Consultant
  Home: Burlingame, CA

• 19. Charles R. Helen O. Schwab – $527,998, 97% Rep

  Company: Charles Schwab Co
  Home: San Francisco, CA

• 18. Stephen L. Bing – $532,000, 100% Dem

  Company: Shangri-La Entertainment
  Home: Encino, CA

• 17. Geoff Anne Palmer – $578,100, 100% Rep

  Company: a href=”http://www.ghpalmer.com/home.html” target=”_hplink”G.H. Palmer Associates /a
  Home: Los Angeles, CA

• 16. John D. Marcia L. Goldman – $580,100, 100% Dem

  Company: Pace School
  Home: Atherton, CA

  John D. Goldman at the 2008 Goldman Environmental Prize award ceremony in San Francisco.

• 15. Lawrence Suzanne Hess – $719,650, 94% Dem

  Company: Lehbros Ltd
  Home: San Diego, CA

• 14. Terrence R. Barbara Caster – $723,450, 99% Rep

  Company: Caster Group
  Home: San Diego, CA

• 13. Howard Susan L. Groff – $735,000, 100% Rep

  Company: Northwest Excavating
  Home: Northridge, CA

• 12. Stephen M. Silberstein- $750,600, 100% Dem

  Retired
  Home: Belvedere, CA

• 11. Robert D. Arnott – $858,400, 100% Rep

  Company: Research Affiliates LLC
  Home: Newport Beach, CA

• 10. Morgan Freeman – $1,001,000 – 100% Dem

  Profession: Actor
  Home: Los Angeles, CA

• 9. Bill Maher- $1,010,000, 100% Dem

  Profession: Actor
  Home: Los Angeles, CA

• 8. Kareem Ahmed – $1,128,300, 100% Dem

  Company: Landmark Medical Management
  Home: Racho Cucamonga, CA

• 7. Haim Cheryl Saban – $1,166,073, 100% Dem

  Company: Saban Capital Group
  Home: Los Angeles, CA

• 6. Wayne D. Jordan M. Quinn DeLaney – $1,245,200, 100% Dem

  Company: Jordan Real Estate Invest/Akonadi Fdtn
  Home: Oakland, CA

  Credit: ema href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/oaklandlocal/4708869922/in/set-72157624169308487/” target=”_hplink”Oakland Local, Flickr/a.
  /em

• 5. Anne G. Earhart – $1,450,300, 100% Dem

  Profession: Investor
  Home: Corona Del Mar, CA

• 4. Irwin M. Joan K. Jacobs $2,205,300, 99% Dem

  Company: Qualcomm Inc
  Home: La Jolla, CA

• 3. Jeffrey Marilyn Katzenberg – $2,436,300, 100% Dem

  Company: Dreamworks Animation SKG
  Home: Los Angeles, CA

• 2. A. Jerrold Margaret Perenchio – $2,683,000, 100% Rep

  Company: Chartwell Partners
  Home: Los Angeles, CA

  File photo of A. Jerrold Perenchio from 1971.

• 1. Peter A. Thiel – $4,794,700, 100% Rep

  Company: Clarium Capital Management
  Home: San Francisco, CA

HuffPost Live will be taking a comprehensive look at the corrupting influence of money on our politics Aug. 30 and Sept. 6 from 12-4 p.m. EDT and 6-10 p.m. EDT. Click here to check it out — and join the conversation.

Article source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/29/bay-area-republican-donors_n_1841389.html

Bay Area High School Alumni

Kristi Yamaguchi, Mission San Jose (Fremont), 1989: Olympic gold medalist figure skater.
(Kevin Larkin / AP)

Winona Ryder, Petaluma High, 1989: Actress in films such as “The Age of Innocence” and “Edward Scissorhands”.
(Courtesy photo / )

Jeremy Lin, Palo Alto High 2006: Linsanity-inducing basketball player/ (Brant Ward / The Chronicle)

Billie Joe Armstrong 1986, John Swett HS (Crockett) and Pinole Valley HS: Lead singer and guitarist, Green Day. (Jan Bauer / AP)

Khaled Hosseini, Independence High (San Jose) 1984: Best-selling author of “The Kite Runner” and “A Thousand Splendid Suns”.
(Brant Ward / The Chronicle)

Clint Eastwood, Oakland Tech 1949: Academy Award-winning film actor and director.
(Cliff Owen / AP)

Debbi Fields, Alameda HS, 1974: Founder,Mrs. Fields Cookies. (Chronicle File Photo 1982)

Grace Slick, Castilleja High, Palo Alto, 1957: Rock star, lead singer with Jefferson Airplane
(©Baron Wolman / )

Jerry Brown, St. Ignatius HS, 1955: Governor of California. (Max Whittaker/Prime / Special to The Chronicle)

Naomi Wolf, Lowell High, 1980: Writer, feminist, Rhodes Scholar
(Eric Luse / The Chronicle)

Steve Jobs, Homestead High (Cupertino), 1971: Co-founder of Apple, shaper of the world as we know it.
(David Paul Morris / Getty)

Tupac Shakur, Tamalpais High (Mill Valley), 1989: Rapper who helped shape the scene in the early 1990s.
(Courtesy photo / )

Lindsey Buckingham, Menlo-Atherton HS, 1968: Singer and lead guitarist, Fleetwood Mac. (Sarah Moore / The Beaumont Enterprise)

Barry Bonds, Serra High (San Mateo) 1982, Baseball’s all-time and single-season home run leader, San Francisco Giants.
(Ben Margot / AP)

Carlos Santana, Mission High, 1965: Legendary rock guitarist.
(Baron Wolman / )

Maurice Jones-Drew, De La Salle High (Concord), 2003: Pro Bowl running back, Jacksonville Jaguars. (Frederick Breedon / AP)

Philip K. Dick, Berkeley High, 1947: Science fiction novelist and short story writer.
(Nicole Panter)

Robin Williams, Redwood High (Larkspur), 1969: Actor/comedian (Chronicle Archives / )

Tom Brady, Serra High (San Mateo) 1995: Three-time Super Bowl winning quarterback, New England Patriots. (Michael Dwyer / AP)

Courtney Thorne-Smith, seated second from left, Tamalpais High Mill Valley 1985:TV actress, played Alison Parker on “Melrose Place”.
(Associated Press)

Rickey Henderson, Oakland Tech High, 1976: Baseball Hall of Famer, Oakland A’s.
(Frederic Larson / The Chronicle)

Mark Bingham, Los Gatos High, 1988: 9/11 plane crash hero aboard Flight 93.
(Laura Morton / Special to The Chronicle)

Cheryl Burke, Menlo-Atherton High, 2002: First two-time champion on “Dancing with the Stars.”
(Craig Siodin / ABC 2008)

Johnny Mathis, Washington HS 1954: Romantic singer. (Chris Pizzello / AP)

Dianne Feinstein, Convent of the Sacred Heart HS, 1951: U.S. senator. (Chris Usher / AP)

Dan Hicks, Montgomery High, Santa Rosa, 1959: Bandleader for Dan Hicks and the Hot Licks.
(Clare Wasserman / )

Daniel Handler, Lowell High, 1988: The author Lemony Snicket
(Chris Stewart / The Chronicle)

Dana Carvey, Carlmont High (Belmont), 1973: Actor and comedian, “Saturday Night Live” cast member.
(Contributed Photo / )

Richard Goldman, Galileo HS, 1938: Philanthropist, co-founder of Goldman Environmental Prize (and because we didn’t want a certain ex-Heisman winner and felon to represent Galileo).
(Liz Hafalia / The Chronicle)

Margaret Jenkins, Washington High 1960: Choreographer and artistic director of the Margaret Jenkins Dance Company.
(Brant Ward / The Chronicle)

Ray Dolby, Sequoia High (Redwood City), 1951: Founder of Dolby Laboratories.
(Mark Costantini / The Chronicle)

Tyler MacNiven (in chair), Woodside High, 1999: Winner Season 9 “The Amazing Race”.
(Christina Izzo / The Chronicle)

Bob Lurie (with his wife Connie), Menlo School 1945: Former owner, San Francisco Giants.
(Ray \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ / Courtesy photo)

Peter Ueberroth, Fremont High Sunnyvale 1955: Former major-league baseball commissioner, former chairman of the U.S. Olympic Committee
(M. Spencer Green / AP)

Jeremy Newberry, Antioch High 1994: Played with the 49ers (1998-2006) and Raiders (2007).

(Lance Iversen / The Chronicle)

Dennis Eckersley, Washington High (Fremont), 1972: Hall of Fame pitcher.
(Chris Stewart / The Chronicle)

Lloyd Bridges, Petaluma High 1931: Prolific film and TV actor, father of Jeff and Beau
(Reed Saxon / AP)

Carlos Noriega, Wilcox High, Santa Clara, 1977: NASA astronaut with more than 480 hours in space.
(NASA / AP)

Olivia de Havilland, Los Gatos High, 1934: Two-time Academy Award-winning actress.
(ABC / AP)

Stephen Breyer, Lowell High, 1955: U.S. Supreme Court justice. (UC Hastings School of Law / )

Benjamin Bratt, Lowell High, 1982: Starred in TV series “Law Order”.
(Cinequest Travis Shinn / )

Bill Russell, McClymonds High (Oakland), 1952: Basketball great for USF and the Boston Celtics.
(AP/Wide World Photos)

Joshua Redman, Berkeley High 1986: Jazz saxophonist and composer.
(Courtesy photo / Washington Post)

Margaret Cho, School of the Arts (S.F.), 1987, Comedian and social commentator.
(Ethan Miller / Getty Images)

Kenny Ortega, Sequoia High, 1968: Emmy-winning choreographer, director of “High School Musical”
(Chris Pizzello / AP)

Desmond Bishop, Fairfield High, 2002: Linebacker, Green Bay Packers.
(Mike Roemer / AP)

DJ Qbert (Richard Quitevis), Balboa High, 1987,
Turntable artist and composer.
(Courtesy of DJ QBert)

Jonny Gomes, Casa Grande High (Petaluma), 1998: Outfielder, Oakland Athletics
(Nuccio DiNuzzo / MCT)

John Cipollina, Tamalpais High (Mill Valley) 1964: Lead guitarist, Quicksilver Messenger Service.
(Courtesy photo / Chronicle File)

Tom Hanks, Skyline High, Oakland, 1974Academy Award-winning actor in such films as “Forrest Gump,” “Saving Private Ryan” and “Philadelphia”.
(Matt Sayles / AP)

Pat Paulsen, Tamalpais High (Mill Valley),1945: Dour-faced comedian and perpetual presidential candidate.
(Deanne Fitzmaurice / The Chronicle)

Gino Marchetti (third from left), Antioch High, 1944, Pro Football Hall of Famer, fought in Battle of the Bulge.
( / AP )

John Brodie, Oakland Tech High, 1953: Former quarterback for the 49ers
(Terry Schmidt / The Chronicle)

Bob Weir, Menlo-Atherton High, 1965: Guitarist and founding member of the Grateful Dead.
(Christian Abraham / Connecticut Post)

Don Perata, St. Joseph Notre Dame, Alameda, 1963: President pro tem of the California Senate, 2004-08.
(Ali Thanawalla / The Chronicle)

Mark Ibanez, Petaluma High, 1973: KTVU sportscaster.
(Courtesy KTVU / )

Gordon Getty, St. Ignatius High, 1951: Billionaire oil heir, philanthropist.

Alex Tse, Lowell High, 1994: Screenwriter, “Watchmen” (2009).
(Michael Macor / The Chronicle)

Carol Channing, Lowell High, S.F., 1938: Actress and Broadway star.
(Contributed Photo / )

It’s Back to School Week in many districts around the Bay Area. Welcome to high school, Class of 2016! For inspiration, here’s a gallery showing just a few of your many notable predecessors.
Who have we missed? Add your suggestions in the comments.

Article source: http://blog.sfgate.com/stew/2012/08/22/famous-bay-area-high-school-alumni/

Pierre Buljan guided his black Mercedes SUV around the winding roads of the Hillsborough hills and into Atherton, where the mansions of Silicon Valley technology barons hide behind thick stone walls, wrought-iron gates and tall, manicured hedges.

“These people have essentially infinite money,” said Buljan, who has been a Realtor on the Peninsula for more than 30 years. He pointed at a sloping four-acre property that included a large redwood grove with a private creek.

“If someone falls in love with a property like this,” he said, “the price doesn’t matter.”

Everywhere Buljan turned, a historic transition was under way. A generation ago, many of these properties were second homes for San Francisco’s elite families. These days, most are being bought, for cash, by international tycoons or the youthful leaders of local technology companies.

While the wider Bay Area has suffered, along with the rest of the country, with falling property values and rising foreclosures, the luxury housing market has remained robust, analysts said. That is especially true in Silicon Valley, where an arms race for talent among emerging social networking companies has raised salaries for executives and engineers, and a resurgent market for initial public stock offerings is creating hundreds of new millionaires.

Some of the sales are eye-popping. In March, the Russian billionaire Yuri Milner, an investor in Facebook, Groupon and Zynga, bought a French-style chateau in Los Altos Hills for a reported $100 million. Some buyers have hidden their identities behind companies.

In September, an Atherton estate formerly owned by the great-grandniece of Levi Strauss sold for $53 million, while the home of Sue Burns, a major investor in the San Francisco Giants, was sold for $20 million by her estate.

“It’s going to take a while for the wider economy to recover, but there are enough people to make a difference at the high end of the housing market,” keeping demand high, said Steve Levy, director of the Center for Continuing Study of the California Economy, a think tank in Palo Alto, where the median single-family home price last week was $1,838,750.

Across the Peninsula, a small-scale building boom is under way as developers and wealthy property owners buy million-dollar homes, tear them down and build larger ones. Stroll down Waverley Street in Old Palo Alto, home to many Google executives and the late Steve Jobs, and you’ll see the ultramodern 6,000-square-foot house that Google’s co-founder Larry Page is building, rising from its foundation. Page’s mansion will also include a 3,500-square-foot basement that has been called a “bat cave” by neighbors. Analysts and builders said such high-end construction had been largely recession-proof.

“While the large number of foreclosures have created a significant inventory of homes at the middle and lower end and kept prices down, that hasn’t happened at the top end,” said Eduardo Martinez, a senior economist at Moody’s Analytics.

The high unemployment rate in the Bay Area’s construction sector has driven down wages and therefore the overall cost of building, said Leonard Mezhvinsky, a principal at Sieger Property Development. Meanwhile, the number of potential buyers for top-tier homes continues to grow.

“We are expecting Facebook and Zynga to go public,” Mezhvinsky said recently, “and that will create an instant number of multimillionaires.” Indeed, Zynga went public on Friday with a $1 billion stock offering. Facebook is widely expected to file a $10 billion offering early next year.

In anticipation of the onslaught of new multimillionaires, Mezhvinsky bought a single-family home on Ralston Avenue in Hillsborough in 2009 and demolished it. “When we’re done, there will be a 10,000-square-foot main house, and a loge,” he said. “There will be a six-bedroom house, seven full bathrooms and two powder rooms. There is a swimming pool with a Jacuzzi. There is a sauna and steam room,” and five fireplaces.

The new house will not be finished until July or August, Mezhvinsky said, but it is already on the market for $13 million, nearly four times what he paid for it. The buyer will probably pay extra to finish it to his or her taste, he said.

“What you’re witnessing,” said Buljan, the real estate agent, “is the next generation of superwealth.”

This article also appears in the Bay Area edition of The New York Times.

Article source: http://www.baycitizen.org/real-estate/story/luxury-real-estate-market-no-downturn/

SAN FRANCISCO, CA, Nov 09, 2011 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) –
Coblentz, Patch, Duffy Bass LLP Partner Pamela Duffy has been
selected by the Daily Journal as one of the Top 100 Attorneys in
California for 2011. Handpicked from a pool of hundreds of nominees,
Duffy was recognized for her close involvement with “cutting-edge
developments” in California real estate and land use issues.

Duffy’s practice is focused on commercial real estate, land use and
development, with a special emphasis on large public and private
entity transactions. She has played an active role in some of the Bay
Area’s largest development projects and real estate transactions,
including the San Francisco Giants’ ATT Park, the 300-acre Mission
Bay development project and the Public Health Services Hospital
conversion to a LEED-certified residential community. Currently, she
acts as lead counsel for the proposed new San Francisco 49ers
Stadium, the 150-acre smart growth Napa Pipe project, and The
Exploratorium’s move to Piers 15-17. One of the few Bay Area women to
be a name partner at a major law firm, Duffy is consistently honored
as a San Francisco Business Times’ “Most Influential Women in Bay
Area Business.”

Duffy earned her J.D., cum laude, from Loyola Law School, Los Angeles
in 1978 and her B.A., with honors, from California State University,
Los Angeles in 1970.

About Coblentz, Patch, Duffy Bass LLP
Established more than 100
years ago, Coblentz, Patch, Duffy Bass LLP provides trusted counsel
in the following practice and industry areas: real estate and land
use; litigation; corporate, business and intellectual property
transactions; bankruptcy, estate planning and tax; exempt
organizations and charitable planning; private client group; and
renewable energy and green business. For more information:

www.coblentzlaw.com .

        Contacts:
        Melinda Hepp
        Blattel Communications
        415.397.4811
        Email Contact

        Mee Mee Wong
        Coblentz, Patch, Duffy  Bass LLP
        415.391.4800
        Email Contact

SOURCE: Coblentz, Patch, Duffy Bass LLP

http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/emailprcntct?id=D3172FB1A4C9E766

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Copyright 2011 Marketwire, Inc., All rights reserved.

Article source: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/coblentz-patch-duffy-bass-partner-pamela-duffy-named-one-of-californias-top-100-lawyers-2011-11-09

When Oracle billionaire Larry Ellison was selling San Francisco on the benefits of hosting the 2013 America’s Cup, the city was assured that the internationally renowned yacht race would bring in over a billion dollars in revenue into the Bay Area at little to no cost to city government. For San Francisco taxpayers, a group notorious weary of ponying up public funds for private sporting events (the beloved San Francisco Giants couldn’t even get the city to shell out for their fancy, new stadium), it seemed like a dream situation–the opportunity to watch the world’s greatest yacht race in person without needing to travel and having the same cadre of millionaires who pushed for the race in the first place pick up the tab. What could go wrong?

There was just the tiny, little issue of the $12 million in fees the city is supposed to pay this year for environmental planning and state/federal permitting. While the city is on the hook for these fees, the America’s Cup Organizing Committee agreed to fully reimburse all the costs. The problem is that the committee is, reports the Ex, significantly behind in its fundraising and, if things don’t pick up soon, the city will be footing the bill out of its general fund–money that’s supposed to pay for everything from police to road construction.

While the committee has thus far raised a mere $2 million, organizers claim that they’ll be able to gather the rest with ease after the organization is granted tax-exempt status, which Executive Director Kyri McClellan expects to receive in August. Without tax exempt status, argues McClellan, many of the race’s wealthy supporters were uncomfortable making big donations without getting the requisite tax write-off. “I have every confidence we will meet our obligations in the host-city agreement,” she told the Ex.

Depending an organization’s complexity, gaining tax exempt status can take between 3 months to just over a year.

If the tax exempt statues is granted, then the effective day relates back to the date of the formation of the organization–meaning that donations made before the tax exempt status was officially granted would retroactively become tax exempt after the fact.

Why the America’s Cup Organizing Committee hasn’t been exploiting this is unclear. Either backers didn’t feel confident about the eventual granting of tax exempt status or organizers simply felt confident they could raise $12 million at the drop of a hat.

If the committee doesn’t meet its fundraising obligations to the city on time, San Francisco is technically able to pull out of the deal, however the possibility of that actually happening is extremely unlikely.

“If they don’t pay and the city lets them get away with it,” the race’s most high profile critic former Supervisor Chris Daly tells the Appeal, “then they’re just being little bitches.”

Requests for comment from the race’s organizers were not returned at publication time.

That said, it’s not out of the question that the committee could raise the needed funds almost instantly–it’s a veritable Who’s Who of San Francisco high society. The committee is comprised, among others, of William J. Clinton Foundation Director Doug Band, Gap heir Bob Fisher, banjo-picking private equity billionaire Warren Hellman and real estate magnate Mark Buell.

The effort even has Dede Wilsey behind it. Her Wilseyness is the type of legendary fundraiser capable of generating $10 million while taking a nap. Ellison, the effort’s main figurehead, is the sixth richest man in the world.

Having so many deep-pocketed individuals on their team is going to be crucial because the overall cost of the race to the city has been budgeted at $32 million, all of which the committee has pledged to cover. Outside of what it owes to the city, committee is planning on raising a grand total of $270 million to cover all of the necessary infrastructure improvements. That’s in addition to $86 million in rent-free leases the city has granted Ellison for properties along the waterfront.

As originally pitched to the city, the bill for the race was significantly higher. A report prepared by the Budget Analysis Office, at Daly’s bequest, found estimated the cost at $128 million with a mere $22 million coming back to city coffers as increased tax revenue.

As a consequence of the report, the city’s initial plan to create a massive complex in Mission Bay was significantly scaled back and moved to the northwest quadrant of the city–saving San Francisco millions in the process.

Ellison’s sailing team, BMW Oracle Racing, won the last America’s Cup held in Valencia, Spain in 2010. Next time, he’ll have home court advantage.

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Article source: http://sfappeal.com/news/2011/06/slow-fundraising-for-the-americas-cup-could-cost-the-city.php

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) – Oakland Athletics owner Lew Wolff has the spot for a new ballpark all picked out. Funding is in place and the San Jose mayor is on board with Wolff’s plan to relocate his club some 40 miles south.

Wolff has been waiting two years for his old fraternity brother, commissioner Bud Selig, to tell him whether he can go ahead with his proposal to move the A’s from Oakland into Santa Clara County even though the San Francisco Giants hold the territorial rights in technology-rich Silicon Valley.

Selig appointed a committee in March 2009 to evaluate the issue facing the Bay Area teams, yet he has provided no timetable for when he might announce a decision. Thus far it appears Selig doesn’t want to make a decision that would anger the A’s or Giants.

“I think the Giants have a position they believe in and we have a position we think would be great for us,” Wolff said. “Those positions are well known to the commissioner, and he has to decide.”

Understandably, Wolff is getting anxious. He is determined to move the small-market A’s as soon as possible and begin breaking ground on an intimate, privately funded new ballpark, but San Francisco’s ownership has no plans to hand over Santa Clara County – which includes many of the club’s big sponsors. The Giants are coming off the franchise’s first World Series title since moving West in 1958 and first overall since ’54 in New York.

“The South Bay is the single-most compelling part of our fan base,” Giants President Larry Baer said. “It’s densely populated with the strongest representation of our sponsors, the strongest representation of our ticket buyers and the strongest representation of our television viewership and radio listeners.”

Selig – who has repeatedly said the A’s can’t survive financially playing in the run-down Oakland Coliseum they share with the NFL’s Raiders – has indicated in the past he considers territorial rights to be sacred. The A’s and Giants play about 17 miles apart, separated by picturesque San Francisco Bay.

Selig formed the task force to analyze the situation and report back to him, and Wolff believes that process is done.

“The committee is working and I do not know when their work will be complete,” said Pat Courtney, Selig’s spokesman.

In the A’s view, how could the Giants be upset about them moving 40 miles farther away?

The Giants don’t consider it that simple when their South Bay fan base is taken into account. They declined to provide exact numbers of their ticket sales in the South Bay, but acknowledge having contributed financially to the group “Stand for San Jose” – which is supported by San Francisco’s Class-A San Jose club and opposes the A’s moving to town.

“We solidified a fan base and the core is the city of San Francisco and straight directly south those 50 miles,” Baer said. “This is our focus.”

Selig has asked the two clubs not to publicly debate the issue. Many San Jose city officials are on board, with Mayor Chuck Reed a big proponent of professional baseball in the South Bay – and he is on record saying he would welcome the A’s. But if this process takes too long, the A’s risk that he might no longer be in office.

“I’m patiently waiting for the commissioner to rule,” Wolff said. “The committee hopefully has finished its work and Bud is contemplating his decision. That’s all I know. I think it will be sooner rather than later. I don’t think it’s another year off.”

A’s majority owner John Fisher doesn’t speak out about the situation, though Wolff has expressed his frustrations at times.

Wolff, the savvy Los Angeles real estate developer and a fraternity pal with Selig back in their days at Wisconsin, is ready to break ground on a ballpark projected to cost between $400 million and $450 million – if and when he gets the OK to relocate. There are working drawings of the venue and an architect has been chosen. Wolff expects getting building permits to take about nine months, then the actual ballpark would require another two years to complete.

Wolff would like to hear from Selig either way, though the A’s “don’t have a Plan B,” Wolff said.

“I’m in baseball because of Bud, and I believe he’s the best commissioner in baseball by far, even though he’s my friend,” Wolff said. “Baseball wouldn’t be where it is without Bud. I respect his reasoning.”

The city of Oakland in December 2009 unveiled three waterfront sites as potential spots to build a new ballpark for the A’s and ultimately keep the team from leaving town.

Yet Wolff and the ownership group, committed to keeping the team in the Bay Area, feel they have exhausted their options in Oakland after years of effort.

In the past they haven’t been able to find a suitable spot to build and were set to leave blue-collar Oakland and move to nearby Fremont until that plan fell through. Wolff said it cost his group $30 million.

“It takes me an hour and 45 minutes exactly to go through (the paperwork) of what we did in Oakland,” Wolff said of his efforts in the diverse East Bay city.

This isn’t the first time baseball has dealt with territorial rights. The Baltimore Orioles were compensated in a complicated transaction when Major League Baseball bought the Montreal Expos and moved them to Washington, D.C.

Baseball’s other 29 teams purchased the poor-drawing Expos for $120 million in 2002, and the commissioner’s office initially operated the team before it sold. The franchise was moved to Washington for the 2005 season and renamed the Nationals.

In the Bay Area, former A’s owner and well-known businessman Walter Haas – a third-generation San Franciscan who ran the Oakland franchise from 1979-95 – gave the Giants the OK to assume rights to San Jose in a favor of sorts to former San Francisco owner Bob Lurie when his team was considering moving to Florida. The deal basically happened with a handshake and then was approved by baseball’s owners.

Haas’ son, Wally, sold the A’s to the group that preceded Fisher and Wolff: Steve Schott and Ken Hofmann.

The territorial rights have been defined several different times, beginning when former Giants managing partner Peter Magowan bought the team before the 1993 season.

Magowan and his group, which included Baer, quickly made the decision to bring in slugger Barry Bonds – who broke Hank Aaron’s home run record in August 2007 and played a huge role in revitalizing baseball in San Francisco. Bonds’ presence helped the club build a privately funded downtown ballpark.

The Giants are paying for that privately built waterfront ballpark, which opened in 2000 in what has become a bustling area at China Basin. San Francisco drew 3 million fans every year until reaching only 2.8 million in the 2008 and ’09 seasons, then got back to 3 million in its championship 2010 year.

“We felt it (those two years at 2.8 million),” Baer said. “We’ve got to be at 3 million to break even.”

It’s not that the Giants don’t feel for their cross-bay rivals. They had their share of lean years, losing $115 million from 1993-99 at Candlestick Park after Magowan’s group bought the team for $100 million and took over before moving into ATT Park – and drawing Oakland-like crowds of about 9,000 fans a night when things were especially dire.

“We were there before, in this situation,” Baer said. “We know the need to have a modern and fan-friendly ballpark. We were there. It reminds us when we came into the Giants in 1993. The reality is that we have many case studies, including the San Francisco Giants, where a new ballpark was built very close to an old ballpark and became a success story – San Francisco and Seattle to name two in the last decade.”

Now, it’s up to Selig to make his call.

Article source: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/baseball/mlb/wires/03/07/2010.ap.bbo.bay.area.territorial.rights.1st.ld.writethru.1667/

The 34th America’s Cup is coming to San Francisco in 2013.

• Eric Young
• Reporter
• Email: eyoung@bizjournals.com

The group assembled to collect $32 million to cover San Francisco’s costs during the America’s Cup is a who’s who of Bay Area business and philanthropy circles.

Led by former real estate executive Mark Buell, the 56 members have a big task ahead of them. The San Francisco America’s Cup Organizing Committee can’t offer big advertising deals or worldwide exposure in exchange for contributions. Instead, the group likely will make its pitch by offering smaller promotional packages, behind-the-scenes experiences or VIP treatment on race days.

The group’s efforts are aided by a more robust economy, said Buell. But rebound or not, it’s always a challenge to get people to open their wallet. The group has until 2013 to reach its goal and it wants to raise $12 million by the end of this year.

Below is the list of the Organizing Committee members. (There are 37 honorary members as well – all politicians – including people like Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, California Sen. Dianne Feinstein and Gov. Jerry Brown.)

• Andy Ball, CEO, Webcor Builders.
• Doug Band, director, William J. Clinton Foundation.
• Roger Barnett, CEO, Shaklee Corp., and wife Sloan.
• Steven Bing, founder, Shangri-La Industries.
• Mark Buell, former real estate executive, chairman of San Francisco America’s Cup Organizing Committee.
• Malin Burnham, chairman, Cushman Wakefield.
• George Clyde.
• Tom Coates, principal, Jackson Square Partners.
• Lloyd Dean, CEO, Catholic Healthcare West.
• David Festa, vice president of West Coast operations, Environmental Defense Fund.
• Bob Fisher, board of directors, Gap Inc.
• Pat Gallagher, former San Francisco Giants executive.
• Lou Giraudo, co-owner of Boudin Bakery.
• Paul Hawken, environmentalist, entrepreneur, journalist, author.
• Warren Hellman, co-founder Hellman Friedman LLC.
• Richard Horne, former president, Shreve Co.
• Lucy Jewett, philanthropist.
• Dwayne Jones, advisor, Platinum Advisors.
• James Keenan, senior vice president, United Airlines.
• John Kilroy, Jr., CEO, Kilroy Realty Corp.
• Martin Koffel, CEO, URS Corp.
• Dick Kramlich, chairman, New Enterprise Associates.
• Mike Latham, global head, iShares.
• David Lewis, executive director, Save the Bay.
• Cameron Lewis.
• Peter Magowan, former managing general partner, San Francisco Giants, and wife Debby.
• Deborah McDonald Messemer, managing partner, KPMG.
• Kenneth McNeely, president of external affairs, ATT Corp.
• Alex Mehran, Jr., general manager, Bishop Ranch.
• Peter Moore, president, EA Sports.
• Walter and Ellen Newman, philanthropists.
• Paul Otellini, CEO, Intel Corp.
• Tom Perkins, partner, Kleiner Perkins Caufield Byers.
• Katie Pettibone, yacht racer.
• Tony Pohl, partner, PMB Helin Donovan.
• Peter Ragone, founder, PWR LLC.
• Dawn Riley, sailor, America True Office.
• Cristina Rubke, vice commodore, Bay Area Association of Disabled Sailors.
• John Sangmeister.
• Wendy Schmidt, president, The Schmidt Family Foundation.
• Harry Schoening, managing director, Jones Lang LaSalle.
• Charles Schwab, chairman, Charles Schwab Corp.
• George and Charlotte Shultz, philanthropists.
• Mimi Silbert, CEO, Delancey Street Foundation.
• Tom Steyer, Co-managing partner, Farallon Capital Management.
• Peter Stoneberg, vice commodore, St. Francis Yacht Club.
• John Stumpf, CEO, Wells Fargo Co.
• Jim Swartz, partner, Accel Partners.
• Sandy Tatum, retired partner, Cooley LLP.
• Casey Wasserman, CEO, Wasserman Media Group.
• Diane B. Wilsey, philanthropist.
• Marcus Young, commodore, Golden Gate Yacht Club.

Email Eric Young at eyoung@bizjournals.com / Twitter: EYoung03

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Article source: http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/blog/2011/02/organizing-committee-americas-cup.html