Santa Cruz Sentinel from Santa Cruz, California • Page 35

Section Sentinel Credit crunch Consumer credit card debt linked to boom in bankruptcies Page 2 Jeff Scharf, Page 2 Computer war, Page 2 Sunday Oct. 6,1996 It's your business spins out Steve Perez By RICK WARTZMAN The Wall Street Journal Want to look forward and see what will be a major force driving California's economy in the 21st century? You might start, oddly enough, by looking backward to the age of dinosaurs. The motion picture "The Lost World," the sequel to the 1993 blockbuster "Jurassic Park," is as good a paradigm as any to understand what is fast becoming one of the most dynamic sectors of the state economy: the myriad multimedia spinoffs from are playing an increasingly important role. San Rafael-based Industrial Light Magic, which is generating the 3-D computer animation for "The Lost World" Oust as it did for "Jurassic has seen its employment double to about 700 in the past four years. Meanwhile, "The Lost World" is likely to spawn a number of hightech tie-ins that other California companies are particularly well-poised to produce CD-RQMs.

electronic games and promotiorlal Web sites. Certainly, much of the multimedia craze is hype. Entertainment Please see MULTIMEDIA Q2 stake, either. Economists estimate that a movie crew pumps, on average, $38,000 a day into a local community a sum that can quickly add up for a less-populated rural area. In Santa Cruz County, two movie shoots alone last year brought in about $1.5 million to the local economy, says Katrina Paz, film liaison for the Santa Cruz County Conference and Visitors Center, which produces a film guide and provides scouting services movie makers.

Once the shooting stops and post-production begins, of course, Hollywood has always been where the action is. But now, it's the computer companies of California that through 1989, the state captured more than 80 percent of the market last year. Archuletta notes that California doesn't offer tax rebates for filming, as do other states. But the Film Commission and a team of local liaisons, she says, have worked hard to cut down on the bureaucracy here. And California does dangle a carrot: Filming on state property is free.

In the case of "The Lost World," the incentives were good enough for Humboldt County to beat out a host of other locations vying for the film, including Hawaii, Oregon, Costa Rica and New Zealand. It's not just chump change at Begin with the fact that Steven Spielberg began shooting "The Lost World" a few weeks ago in Humboldt County, home of the giant redwoods. That, in and of itself, speaks volumes about the state's all-out effort to ensure that California doesn't let slip away one of its most cherished businesses: on-location filming. Much of "Jurassic Park" was filmed in Hawaii. But since then, "the state's been much more aggressive" in wooing movie makers here, says Patti Archuletta, director of the California Film Commission.

In fact, while fewer than 60 percent of U.S. feature films were shot in California from 1985 It's time again for reminders do' wDfthotmt do 'It's much more fun to ride a bike than cooking pots, that's Mike Moore, Spokesman Bicycles Couples sign for unusual wedding registries By ROBIN MUSITELU Sentinel staff writer LISA AND JAN Dunlop don't give a hoot about plate patterns, but they do care passionately about diving, kayaking and traveling. So when they got married, the couple bypassed the traditional wedding gift registries. Instead, they "listed" at Pacific Harbor Travel, where their friends contributed toward a trip for the two of them to Jan's -native, home of Fijfc "-Diving equipment war also high in the priority gift-giving to the Dunlops, who are both employees of Adventure Sports Unlimited in Santa Cruz. "No dishes," says Lisa.

"I have no use for that. My husband and I are both very outdoor, active people." The Dunlops also are pioneering a tradition of nontraditional wedding registries. More and more couples are signing up for expeditions, camping gear, bikes, kayaks, outdoor clothing, and down payments for a home instead of pots and pans and sheets. Some even request underwear, says Franke Dacanay, a customer service representative for the REI outdoor equipment store in Cupertino. "Mostly people ask for general camping gear, but also clothing," says Dacanay.

"They like to go on expedition trips that require special clothing, and usually thermal underwear tends to be kind of expensive, so they ask for that, too." Dacanay estimates that four couples a month have wedding gift registries with REI in Cupertino, a number that has grown steadily in the past few years. "From the people I know, they're mostly couples that have been living together for a while. They have all their furniture and what they want to do is explore the outside Memo to participants in our Stock Contest: As we head down to the final months of the contest, please keep arXeye on your holdings, especially if Jhey happen to split. As noted at the close of this month's update, we've missed a few stock splits along the way. They've since been called to our attention and we're back on track.

with 11 contestants and some 50 stocks to keep track of, please help our investment guru, John Burroughs of Coast Commercial Bank, keep things in order by letting him know beforehand. Memo to those who drive the hill, or aspire to work in the local tech industry: Get thee to Fall CruzTec '96, Monday, Sept. 30, (that's tomorrow) at the Rink in Scotts Valley, 251 Kings Village Road, 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. 3f ours truly will be there.

Companies in attendance include south county software company Aladdin Systems, Cisco Systems (aka the networking company that ate TGV and which could help revive the Cooper House deal), GEC Plessey Semiconductors of Scotts Valley, telecommunications headset maker Plantronics and tewtect temperature measurement company Raytek, both of Santa Cruz. Silicon Systems of Santa Cruz, acquired by chip-maker Texas instruments, will be in attendance, as well SCO, the Santa Cruz UNIX-based software company. The list also includes a Monterey company, ProLog, and a new Santa Cruz software company known as Dascom. The county of Santa Cruz will also be looking for a few good T'techies." A number of agencies will also be there, reflecting the latest trend toward hiring temps and outsourcing Western Technical Services, Manpower Technical Services, SurfSoft Internet Talent and Olsten Technical Staffing Services. And the Santa Cruz Technology Alliance will recruit dues-paying members to continue its quest to advocate on behalf of the local tech community.

The openings the companies are recruiting are an electronic smorgasbord, from Windows software engineers, webmasters and photolithographers, to digital 'design engineers, RF technicians and VAXVMS systems administrators. Mama, don't let your babies grow up to be cowboys Make 'em grow up to be engineers! stores now hear the wedding bells ring. Although they have yet to have any takers. Spokesman Bicycle in Santa Cruz has recently added the wedding gift registry service. "It's much more fun to ride a bike than cooking pots, that's for sure," says Mike Moore.

Even the federal government has gotten into the act. For couples with loftier ambitions than outfitting a home. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Henry Cisne-ros announced Thursday a registry has been established to help them buy the house itself. "This new initiative will provide a great way for a young couple to save for their first home together," Cisneros said in a newsre-lease announcing the program. The plan will allow a couple to start a bridal registry account with a participating Federal Housing Administration lender to allow contributions toward the down payment on a house rather than more traditional gifts of china and kitchen gadgets.

Under the policy. FHA lenders will set up interest-bearing accounts for couples and provide information on the program to friends and family. More than 30 lenders are participating, and Cisneros said he expects the idea to be adopted by non-FHA lenders as well. TRADITIONAL china and department store registries are in no danger of being abandoned. Trish Canepa and Eric Malmberg, who married recently at a definitely nontraditional wedding (their dogs part of the ceremony), considered registering at the Garden Center of San Lorenzo Lumber for yard and garden gifts, said Eric.

Instead, they registered at Crate and Barrel and Dell Williams in Santa Cruz. "We just didn't get around to it." Eric said, explaining why the Garden Center was bypassed. Adventure Sports has signed up more and more engaged couples who want weekend trips, diving and scuba lessons, says owner Ginny Wedderburn. It was Wedderburn who set up the gift registry for the Dunlops at Pacific Harbor Travel. The combination of diving equipment from Adventure Sports and the travel fund were a perfect fit, says Lisa Dunlop.

"That was the way Jan and I met in the first place. He was working with a dive shop in Fiji and I was traveling and diving." 1 irt I J'- Shmuel ThalerSentinel Jan and Lisa Dunlop will go diving in Fiji with their wedding gifts. as well as inside, Dacanay says. One couple asked for bikes, rain gear, backpacking stoves and outdoor cookware to take on a cycling trip through Ireland. Another asked guests to contribute toward a tandem kayak which carried a price tag of about $700.

Others have asked for money and gear toward mountaineering vacations. Requests for sleeping bags, tents, water filters, and high-tech socks, that can run $20 a pair, have also shown up on wedding wish lists at REI, he said. Outdoor World in Santa Cruz had its first couple ask to register at the sporting goods store several months ago. "I didn't even know what they were," said manager Eddie Conway of the registry tradition. He learned.

Businesses that once would have yielded the wedding registry turf to department Memo to consumers: There will be, ho escape from flashy images of Local contractor snuffs gas leaks BMW's 1997-model Z3 next month That's because the luxury car company is set to launch yet another "integrated marketing campaign" modeled after its successful venture featuring the James Bond film "Goldeneye." The 007 flick was used to introduce BMW's Z3 Roadster. The campaign combines the marketing muscle of media, fashion and motor cars into an orgy of marketing trendiness set around the VH1 Fashion Awards show In New York, Oct. 24. BMW and Conde Nast-owned Vogue are major sponsors of the VH1 fashion awards show. Look for BMW and Vogue magazine to co-host awards show viewing parties in major markets, in which the new "Beamer" will be prominently featured, according to the New York Times.

Conde Nast magazine models will show up at California fashion shows driving the new roadster, and the Z3s will be on display at Nordstroms fashion stores. Steve Perez is the Sentinel's business columnist, a free lance writer and director of special projects for a regional telecommunications company, e-mail: steveperez.com. Internet Webstte: http:www.lnfopoint.comyerbiz Hilt says. And so, moral obligation weighing on her mind, she embarked on a project to build such a detector. After several years of designing and manufacturing work, last April the device was being test marketed.

(Hilt, who is still running her Liberty Heating contracting business, contracted out her concept to electrical and mechanical engineering firms. The units are put together in San Jose.) Now, just in time for the coming winter. Hilt and her small sales staff are hoping their Furnace Guard CO detector will catch on with heating contractors around the country. Hilt explains that contractors who look at heating systems in residences or commercial buildings often can't see the heat exchange element inside the unit, thus missing any cracks that might already be there, or the signs that point to future problems. "We developed a product we install on a furnace that will monitor Pase see FURNACE -D3 By DONALD MILLER Sentinel business editor FAY HILT felt she had a "moral obligation" to try to save lives while she was heating homes.

It all started in 1991 with a routine pre-winter furnace inspection by Hilt's Watsonville heating and air conditioning contracting firm. But for Hilt's customers, an elderly couple who ended up in the hospital with carbon monoxide poisoning, the inspection had been anything but routine. The inspection had not turned up any major cracks or other problems with the heating system that would have allowed the deadly and odorless gas to escape. But escape it did. "The big concern for me was did my guy miss it?" Hilt recalls.

That's when she began looking for a product that would provide around-the-clock detection of cracked heating pipes and other problems that would permit carbon monoxide to escape. "Them was nothing out there," Dan Coyro Sentinel Heating contractor Fay Hilt developed this carbon monoxide detector which is placed on a furnace. The worst thing about carbon monoxide is its characteristics you can't smell it, sense it or taste Juan Salas, marketing manager.