AREA BUSINESS OWNERS MAY LEARN ABOUT CROWDFUNDING, including changes that allow general solicitation for equity investment, at a workshop Tuesday at Solano Community College’s Small Business Development Center.

Tara Lynn Gray, SBDC adviser and chief executive of Yadari Enterprises, a Fairfield technical consulting company, will lead the workshop.

Gray will talk about how crowdfunding can help a small business or project using such websites as Kickstarter, GoFundMe and Indiegogo.

Those interested may register through SBDC’s website, http://solanosbdc.org/node/19835, or by calling the center, 707-864-3382.

The workshop takes place from 1-3 p.m. Tuesday at Solano Community College Small Business Development Center, 360 Campus Lane, Suite 102, Fairfield.

Panasonic moves to race track to promote tablets

While Panasonic has been a sponsoring partner of Hendrick Motorsports for eight years, most of that developing relationship has been behind the scenes, when engineers and crew chiefs use the company’s products as they produce, test and monitor race cars before and during race day.

That changed Sunday, when Vallejo native Jeff Gordon drove out onto Sonoma Raceway in his bright blue No. 24 Chevrolet carried the Panasonic Toughbook paint scheme.

Marca Armstrong, Panasonic’s vice president of marketing, said Sunday that Gordon epitomizes the “durability and excellence” the company associates with its computers and other products.

Armstrong said the company decided to move from its behind-the-scenes-only role to front and center by sponsoring Gordon’s car Sunday and again Aug. 31 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

In addition, she said, Panasonic was prepared to announce Monday it had a new entry in the handheld tablet market.

The new Toughpad is a 5-inch device that comes in two iterations: the FZ-E1, powered by Windows Embedded 8.1 Handheld and running on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 800 series 2.3 GHz Quad Core processor; and the Toughpad FZ-X1, powered by the Android 4.2.2 operating system, running on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 600 series 1.7 GHz Quad Core processor.

Unlike the company’s previous Toughpads, these offer voice connectivity, Armstrong said. Both have dual SIM slots and will be certified on mobile carrier networks.

Toyota signs multi-year pact with Sonoma Raceway

Toyota Motor Sales, Toyota U.S.A. and the Northern California Toyota Dealers have signed a multi-year agreement at Sonoma Raceway to continue as co-title sponsors of its annual NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race, Diana Breannan, senior director of media and community relations, said last week.

Toyota has been a co-title sponsor of the Toyota-Save Mart 350 since 2007, and the extension will keep its share of the name on the race until 2017, Brennan said.

Toyota also will continue as title sponsor of the track’s Toyota-Save Mart 350 preview show on Comcast SportsNet Bay Area, an Emmy award nominee.

“We could not be more proud of our association with the Toyota brand, their terrific lineup of cars and trucks and the outstanding group of dealers in our region,” Steve Page, Sonoma Raceway president and general manager, said in a news release.

“We are grateful for their support of the raceway and the NASCAR event and look forward to working together for many years to come.”

Toyota’s association with NASCAR national series competition started in 2004, when it entered Tundras what now is called the Camping World Truck Series.

It moved into the Nationwide and Sprint Cup series in 2007, and has won nine manufacturers championships, three in Nationwide and six in the truck series.
Toyota has five driver championships.

“Sonoma Raceway is one of the premier motorsports venues on the West Coast and our partnership enables us to showcase the freshest line up of cars, trucks and SUVs in the industry,” Henry Hansel, president of the Northern California Toyota Dealer Advertising Association, said in a written statement.

State tax board notifying business ‘nonfilers’

California companies that have not filed 2012 state income tax returns are getting letters from the Franchise Tax Board, spokesman Daniel Tahara said in a news release.

“Each year, FTB reviews more than five million income records received from the IRS (Internal Revenue Service), the state Employment Development Department, the State Board of Equalization, financial institutions and other businesses,” Tahara said.

“FTB matches this information against its tax records to identify nonfilers,” he said.

“Last fiscal year, FTB collected approximately $32 million from businesses that failed to file tax returns.”

He said companies are given 30 days to file a tax return or explain why one isn’t required. Those who decline to do so will be assessed based on income and other information reported to the board.

That assessment includes interest, fees and penalties, Tahara said.

Those interested may visit the board’s website, ftb.ca.gov, and click on the “Businesses” tab, choosing “Notices/Collections” from the side menu, as well as “More on bills and notices” and “Respond to request or demand for tax return.”

Business owners also may get more information by calling the FTB at 866-204-7902.

The Benicia Herald’s weekly Benicia Business Beat column is an opportunity for local businesses and companies to tell our readers about such news as moves, grand openings, awards, promotion of employees, staff changes and changes in goods and services.

Submissions need to answer the questions who, what, when, where, why and how, preferably in the body of an email, and provide contact information.

Deadline is 3 p.m. Friday for news items that will appear in the next Tuesday edition’s Benicia Business Beat. Please email news releases and accompanying high-resolution photographs and logos to beniciaherald@gmail.com, and put “Attn. Business Beat” in the subject line, as well as the name of the business.

The Benicia Herald also appreciates area companies’ advertising patronage. For advertising services, call 707-745-0733 or email adsbenicia@yahoo.com.