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Dyeing to Get a Job?

More older jobseekers are employing cosmetics and prosthetics to gain a youthful edge. According to Newsday, the increase in the number of boomers looking for work has resulted in a jump in plastic surgery and hair dye sales. Employment professionals scoff at such tactics. It's what you have on the inside in the way of talent that's important, says Jean Kuzelman, regional VP for staffing firm Robert Half International. "The candidates who come to us know they are being evaluated on their skills." In other words, forget your follicles and focus on your functionality.

On the Job Front

DUBLIN - Accela, maker of land-management software for government agencies, plans to add 100 workers to its staff of 200 . . . Armstrong Garden Centers, a Southern California chain, is branching out with the opening of its first Northern California outlet. Sites up next: Concord, Walnut Creek, Mill Valley and Los Altos - followed by Danville, Mountain View, San Rafael and San Jose.

FREMONT - Ikanos, developer of broadband technology, is relocating to double space and expand staff.

MORGAN HILL - Comcast, new owner of the Bay Area cable system, will build a call center to employ 500.

MILPITAS - The chips are down for LSI Logic, maker of semiconductors. The firm has cut 580 jobs and is closing design offices in Pleasanton and South San Jose.

PLEASANTON - PeopleSoft is toughening up. The maker of HR software plans to cut 200 jobs.

ROSEVILLE - Wachovia's Small Business Administration center is recruiting 20 new employees to add to its staff of 150. Applicants with SBA or commercial banking experience are needed.

SACRAMENTO - Several fitness chains are weighing into the region. California Family Fitness plans to build four - and possibly seven - massive gyms in neighboring cities. Meanwhile, Gold's Gym of Modesto is proposing to build three facilities . . . Site for Sore Eyes will open three stores in the region in May, with more in a blink . . . With profits loafing along, Sara Lee Bakery plans to cut brands and close three bakeries nationwide. No word yet on how those plans will affect the hundreds who work locally.

SAN JOSE - Rather than go with the highest bidder, online auctioneer eBay has rejected other suitors, opting to stay in Silicon Valley. It will purchase 511,000 square feet of office space in North San Jose from software maker Novell Inc. The city also will give eBay the right to purchase an adjacent 15 acres, potentially for a 2-million- square-foot research facility . . . Brocade Communications Systems, maker of network storage devices, is deleting 115 jobs, a 9 percent compression . . . Bell Microproducts, maker of high-tech products, has trimmed 123 workers . . . Electroglas, microchip equipment maker, will cut an undetermined number of staff.

SONOMA - Backed by Nevada gaming money, a newly resurrected Indian tribe plans to build a hotel and casino on 2000 acres of ranchland south of Petaluma near the intersection of Highway 37 and Lakeville Highway. No estimate yet on how many workers the project will employ.

WALNUT CREEK - Novato-based garden goods retailer Smith & Hawken plans to open the first of eight new Northern California stores scheduled for this year, with more on the drawing boards for 2004.