ColoradoBiz articles from April 2006

ColoradoBiz archives from April 2006

Clues point to Qwest deal.(On Colorado)(Qwest Communications International Inc. is looking for a merger partner)
April 1, 2006... QWEST COMMUNICATIONS INTERNATIONAL INC., WHICH many people know as one of my favorite companies from my days as a reporter and columnist in the business pages of The Denver Post, became the "buyout Bell of the ball" last month (to use The...

The magic of Larry and Magic: extraordinary team performance starts at the top.(On Management)
April 1, 2006... A FRIEND OF MINE WAS A COLLEGE BASKETBALL player and played in Europe afterwards. He was a contemporary of Larry Bird and knows many basketball people up and down the ranks of the NBA. We got into a conversation the other day about what it...

Mandates impede business growth.(Guest column)
April 1, 2006... AS IT HAS EVERY LEGISLATIVE SESSION FOR FOUR DECADES, the Colorado Association of Commerce and Industry works hard at the General Assembly to protect the statewide business community from ill-conceived proposals that would hinder the ability of...

Schwab's Bush-bashing ignites variety of passions.(Readers respond)
April 1, 2006... It was with great disappointment that I read your diatribe in the latest edition of ColoradoBiz ("Bush misleads because he can," Robert Schwab, March). I have been a loyal reader for many years and although I may be a bit more conservative than...

'New urbanism' worth sharing.(Readers respond)(Letter to the editor)
April 1, 2006... Your article ("Lifestyles in transit," Pete Lewis, February) contains such wisdom concerning the sociological strain Americans are facing. We are beginning to recognize a cultural identity based on having so many available resources. Many of us...

Look to Pueblo for 1-70 remedy.(Readers respond)(Letter to the editor)
April 1, 2006... What I can't understand ("Clogged Artery," Allen Best, March) is the thinking that the best solution is to build bigger over the same trail. At some point, (Interstate 70) will be a completely clogged conduit that has no room to grow. Why can't...

Executive edge: Michael Hobbs; Family business groomed KeyBank Colorado president.(Attitude at Altitude)
April 1, 2006... Michael Hobbs, president of KeyBank Colorado, figures he was destined to be in banking. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "From the time I was 7 years old going to work with my father and grandfather in the family business, I couldn't wait to...

Developers build on green concept.(Attitude at Altitude)(Dorado Developers on their green design construction)
April 1, 2006... DORADO DEVELOPMENT'S three partners--Steven Chavez, brother John Chavez and Jon Harbour--all think big. Not about building big, necessarily, but about thinking larger than the project at hand. Their work, says the all-under-30 trio, is as...

Inta Juice scores big: Fort Collins company mixing up smoothies nationwide.(Attitude at Altitude)
April 1, 2006... CEO Richard Pickett didn't put it this way, but it was as if the founder of Inta Juice had launched a long bomb on a football field in Minnesota and NFL wide receiver Randy Moss pulled the ball in with those soft hands and long fingers as he...

Oscar winner's egg inquiry hatches friendship.(Attitude at Altitude)
April 1, 2006... You know your business has a fan base when an Oscar winner is hankering for your product. A few months back, Cyd Szymanski of Denver-based Nest Fresh Eggs got exactly that product endorsement when "Brokeback Mountain" screenwriter Diana Ossana...

The ManiaTV! Network Inc.(TECH STARTUP OF THE MONTH)
April 1, 2006... INITIAL LIGHTBULB A Fort Collins native, Drew Massey founded P.O.V. magazine in New York in 1995. The seed for ManiaTV! took root in his head in November 1998 after a meeting with Excite.com founder Joe Kraus. Thinking of the explosion of...

Rift in the valley: longtime locals and wealthy jet-setters wage a decades-old battle over Telluride's future. Should they develop the Valley Floor, or preserve it? The sides taken by the combatants might surprise you.
April 1, 2006... Next to skiing, it is the most-discussed subject on the lips of Telluride residents: The Valley Floor. And next to religion, it is the quickest topic to start a fight in Telluride. Since the Rio Grande railway arrived here in 1890, the...

Rays of hope: health costs and health-insurance premiums are still on the rise, but 2006 increases are smaller than last year's.(HEALTH CARE SPECIAL SECTION)
April 1, 2006... Although health care costs are rising, local insurance companies and employers say there is reason to be optimistic about a problem that has had even the national experts stumped for years. "The increases we've seen have been less than in prior...

Tough stock: squeezed by Japan's beef ban, consolidation and other market forces, Colorado ranchers struggle--and adapt--to save their generations-old livelihood.
April 1, 2006... IT WAS ABOUT MIDNIGHT when Abby Hutchinson left the bar in Salida to go check on newborn cattle. It's calving season now, and they're coming any time. Abby does this almost every night, though generally not after leaving a bar. Routinely, she...

Information management: packaged pre caution; Security safeguards and backups are only part of due diligence for laptop users, small businesses and corporate giants.(Q2 Tech)
April 1, 2006... Rock Resorts, part of Vail Resorts Inc., wanted complete and better data from its different properties from Vermont to California so that it could compare information across resorts and in turn enhance its corporate decision-making. [??]...

Oil world in decline: despite ever-ingenious ways of extracting oil, world production might be past its peak. Will Colorado's economy benefit from a decline, or suffer? Q & A with state geologist Vincent Matthews.(Vincent Matthews interviewed on the economic aspects of Colorado)(Interview)
April 1, 2006... Vincent Matthews was among the 275 people who attended a conference held in Denver last winter on the topic of the world reaching its peak in oil production. For Matthews, a former petroleum geologist who now directs the Colorado Geological...

Crested buttes balancing: new owners hope to widen customer base with ski-base development.(Who owns Colorado?)
April 1, 2006... Crested Butte hasn't changed a bit--or has it? It's still the funky, friendly town with the old-time main street. The drive up from Gunnison still covers vast stretches of open ranch land, veined by miles of unsurpassed trout fishing, much of...

Lovins issues practical plea for the planet.(Small Biz)
April 1, 2006... WHENEVER THE SUBJECT OF "SUSTAINABLE" OR "GREEN" business practices comes up, I'm forced to think about my own inaction. I could have solar panels installed on my roof to help reduce our dependence on fossil fuels; I could make more of an...

InflaMend.(Colorado Cool Stuff)(RejuveNature LLC to change its location to Washington)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... RejuveNature founders John Johnson and Eric Burge met as coworkers at Oasis Wellness in Boulder, but opted to stay on the Front Range when the company moved to Washington State. "The thought of moving to Olympia, Wash., where they have 90 days...

Jim Beam sunflower seeds and beef jerky.(Colorado Cool Stuff)(Thanasi Foods LLC introduces beef jerky )(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... With a background in branding and marketing, Justin Havlick saw a market void for premium salty snacks and meat snacks, so he nabbed a licensing deal with Jim Beam and started Thanasi Foods in March 2004. In October of that year, Thanasi...

B.O.B.(Colorado Cool Stuff)(Hopscotch Technology Corp. introduces media management device)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... Here's a startling statistic: The average American kid watches more than 20 hours of television a week. Hopscotch Technology's B.O.B. gives parents the chance to get a better handle on their kids' viewing habits. Hopscotch founders Brian Baker...

CDwalltile.(Colorado Cool Stuff)(Dean Fallander designs a compact disc box)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... Dean Fallander combined a background in corporate finance and a soft spot for the Beatles into a startup company. "I've always had a fascination with the artwork on the albums," he said. When it comes to displaying said artwork, "There was just...

For the Rockies, a numbers game.(Sports Biz)
April 1, 2006... NOTHING SATISFIES A SPORTS FAN'S INNER CAVEMAN like football, a game that features spectacular collisions, powerful athletes grunting to advance a ball wrapped in a dead pig's hide, and fans festooned with war paint. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]...

Deja vu all over again in real estate.(Rundles Wrap-up)
April 1, 2006... THE NEAT THING ABOUT GETTING OLDER--AND, YES, THERE are a few things--is that, occasionally, you come back into style. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] When I was in high school, for instance, I had a Madras patch shirt that was absolutely the...