St. Charles County Business Record, MO articles from October 2006

St. Charles County Business Record, MO archives from October 2006

U.S. Supreme Court begins new term.
October 1, 2006... Byline: Correy E. Stephenson BOSTON -- The U.S. Supreme Court begans its 2006-2007 term last Monday with an opening conference. Oral arguments kick off on Oct. 3. To date, the justices have granted certiorari in 31 cases on a variety of...

Estate planners, employment lawyers face same-sex marriage issues.
October 1, 2006... Byline: Jaclyn Jaeger BOSTON -- More than two years have passed since Massachusetts' highest court legalized same-sex marriage in the state -- the only court in the nation to hold this way. The initial impact of Goodridge v. Department of...

Appellate court considers four settlement cases.
October 1, 2006... Byline: Marshall H. Tanick MINNEAPOLIS -- The often-expressed statement that the law favors settlement is probably an understatement. It is more accurate that the law embraces settlement disputes and it almost invariably enforces them. The...

Low-impact development may be far-fetched idea at present.
October 2, 2006... Byline: Kathleen T. Brady Low impact development is a relatively new concept in conservation building which addresses the need to reduce the damage storm water runoff can cause. The city of Wentzville held a work session on Sept. 20 to...

Commentary: There are many kinds of wealth, many ways to build it.
October 2, 2006... Byline: Mike Trask This week's Biz Bites is different from the column I normally write, but there is a business angle somewhere in this piece, so I hope my readers will indulge me. As some of you already know, my family recently...

St. Charles shop offers furninture with a European flair.
October 2, 2006... Byline: Amy Armour European Accent, a home decor, fashion and floral shop in St. Charles, thrives on bringing new and unique products to the area, which may not be made in Europe but have a definite European flair. "We try to find things...

Title companies confront challenges.
October 2, 2006... Byline: Cathy Lenny Although the real estate market has cooled off, business generally has remained steady for local title insurance companies. Signature Title recently hired three people, said managing partner Melissa Beam. Two of those...

Small businesses have benefits to offer employees at low cost.
October 2, 2006... Byline: Amy Armour

Small businesses have benefits to offer employees at low cost.
October 2, 2006... Byline: Amy Armour Retirement may seem like the distant future, but small-business owners need to have a plan in place to help retain and recruit employees, according to Donna Wilson, investment representative for Edward Jones. "Some...

St. Charles-based American Railcar gets new orders.
October 2, 2006... Byline: Business Record Staff St. Charles-based American Railcar Industries Inc. announced last week that it had entered into an agreement to manufacture and sell 1,000 tank railcars to American Railcar Leasing LLC. The cars will be made at...

MEMC Electronic Materials, Westar Aerospace get defense contracts.
October 2, 2006... Byline: Business Record Staff The 2007 Defense Appropriations bill includes $3.9 million contracts each for MEMC Electronic Materials Inc. and Westar Aerospace & Defense, said Republican U.S. Sen. Kit Bond of Missouri. According to Bond,...

Premier Bank reaches $1 billion mark.
October 2, 2006... Byline: Business Record Staff Premier Bank, with branch offices in St. Peters, St. Charles and Lake Saint Louis, said it has reached $1 billion in assets. Premier said in a news release that this ranks it in the top 3 percent of banks in...

New businesses open in St. Charles County.
October 2, 2006... Byline: Business Record Staff The Velvet Spider, a martini bar, recently held its grand opening. The bar is located at 991 Waterbury Falls Drive in O'Fallon. Tom and Mary Durst recently opened a Dairy Queen restaurant in Wentzville. The...

Tina Sweet joins J.W. Terrill as account manager.
October 2, 2006... Byline: Business Record Staff Tina Sweet recently joined the property casualty division of J.W. Terrill as an account manager. Terrill has more than 2,200 corporate clients. Sweet is a St. Charles resident.

The Optimist Club of St. Charles elects president.
October 2, 2006... Byline: Business Record Staff The Optimist Club of St. Charles has elected Roger Deppe as its president. The Lindenwood University professor will serve a one-year term beginning Oct. 1. Deppe also is a former superintendent of the St....

St. Charles dealerships complete merger.
October 2, 2006... Byline: Business Record Staff Car shoppers can now find Dodge, Chrysler and Jeep products in one location. The new All-Star Dodge Chrysler Jeep Superstore located on St. Charles Rock Road is the result of DaimlerChrysler's national...

Dick's Sporting Goods coming to Chesterfield Commons.
October 2, 2006... Pittsburg-based Dick's Sporting Goods Inc. is scheduled to open a 50,000-square-foot facility this spring in THF Realty's $275 million Chesterfield Commons. The freestanding store will be located on a site adjacent to Target. Brinkmann...

Hospital breaks ground on outpatient center.
October 2, 2006... Byline: Business Record Staff St. Luke's Hospital broke ground in September on its West Campus outpatient center. The five-story, 142,000-square-foot facility will house outpatient radiology, non-invasive cardiology and laboratory services...

Dan Frisbee becomes Walton Construction Co. co-owner.
October 2, 2006... Byline: Business Record Staff Dan Frisbee of St. Louis has joined Walton Investors LLC, a group of seven other Walton executives, as an owner of Walton Construction Co. LLC. Frisbee is the first Walton executive outside of Kansas City to...

St. Louis-based The Lawrence Group honored.
October 2, 2006... Byline: Business Record Staff Multi-Housing News magazine has named St. Louis-based The Lawrence Group to its 2006 Top Architects List. The publication's editors made their selections based on design originality and creativity, peer and...

Taylor-Morley Homes makes donations to three charities.
October 2, 2006... Byline: Business Record Staff The Community Partnership at Taylor-Morley Homes recently made donations to charities Haven House, North Side Team Ministry and Wilma & The Messenger Ministries. Haven House, which provides help to families...

Erick J. Todd joins Clayco Construction.
October 2, 2006... Byline: Business Record Staff St. Louis construction company Clayco has hired Erick J. Todd of Wentzville as an assistant superintendent. As assistant superintendent he supervises all aspects of assigned construction projects. Todd's major...

Case alleges foul debt collection practices.
October 3, 2006... Byline: Donna Walter "Every minute of every day" is how often one attorney says illegal debt-collection practices are used against consumers. Debra K. Lumpkins, managing attorney of the consumer unit for Gateway Legal Services Inc., said...

Wiretap laws may criminalize use of spyware.
October 3, 2006... Byline: Emily Umbright A secret Internet tool once reserved for use by savvy marketers and vicious identity thieves is now working to the benefit of estranged spouses, say family law attorneys who spoke last week at The Missouri Bar Annual...

Negro Leagues museum brought into family feud, lawsuit over memorabilia.
October 3, 2006... Byline: Charles Emerick William F. Bankhead is adamant that the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum is turning a profit on items of memorabilia that belong to his family. His father, Dan, was the first black pitcher in the major leagues and one...

Missouri Bar needs authority to do more on judges survey.
October 3, 2006... Byline: Dr. Gregory Casey Late last month, the Daily Record covered the Missouri Bar's poll results for judges up for retention. The Record interviewed me because I helped the Missouri Bar's Special Committee change the polling instrument...

Commentary: Outsourcing attorneys can save money, but concerns remain.
October 3, 2006... Byline: Molly F. Dilbeck, J.D. Managing your practice. You've been there. Your computer inexplicably stopped working, and now you have to call the 1-800 number to figure out just what is the matter. When your call is answered, you find...

Are minority judges being judged fairly?
October 4, 2006... Byline: Allison Retka

Meet my mother, the well-shod juror.
October 4, 2006... Byline: Will Connaghan

Commentary: Key is where you stand after making your point.
October 4, 2006... Byline: Jim Wirken I am sure we have all heard our parents at one time or another tell us to "kill them with kindness" when talking about how we should treat people who have not been very nice to us. Every time I hear this, I feel...

Are minority judges being judged fairly?
October 4, 2006... Byline: Allison Retka Treading into the emotionally charged issue of race relations, the Mound City Bar Association will hold a special meeting Thursday night to discuss possible racial or gender disparities in The Missouri Bar's most...

Commentary: Meet my mother, the well-shod juror.
October 4, 2006... Byline: Will Connaghan For many people, a jury duty notice in the mail is the same as a life sentence without parole, but not for my 81-year-old mother. She was recently called to serve as a federal court juror. The notice arrived on a...

MO Court of Appeals gives legal green light to TIF financing for St. Louis University's arena.
October 5, 2006... Byline: Emily Umbright The Missouri Court of Appeals gave the legal green light to tax-increment financing for Saint Louis University's proposed 13,000-seat arena, but the state Supreme Court will have the final say over the...

St. Louis City jury: Midtown building worth five times city offer.
October 5, 2006... Byline: Emily Umbright If there's one thing a real estate agent will say about property value, it's "location, location, location." And that's pretty much what a St. Louis City jury said Wednesday in placing a $640,000 price tag on a...

Missouri federal judge refuses to order a stay in case involving distribution of Bibles to students.
October 6, 2006... Byline: Donna Walter A federal judge has refused to order a stay in a case between a southeastern Missouri school district and community members over the distribution of Bibles to students. The judge's decision means discovery may...

St. Louis-based applicance maker Emerson sues NBC.
October 6, 2006... Byline: Emily Umbright In the backdrop of a shocking scene depicting a woman's bloody, mangled hand sits an Emerson-brand garbage disposal. That bit of unintended product placement received national attention this week after the St....

Local Legal Services honors people, group fighting for justice.
October 9, 2006... Byline: Donna Walter Close to 200 people were on hand Friday afternoon to honor those lawyers and community members who work for equal access to justice as Legal Services of Eastern Missouri held its annual awards luncheon at the Hilton...

Upscaling downtown St. Charles.
October 9, 2006... Byline: Mike Trask In the 1950s and 1960s, St. Charles' Main Street was a magical place on Friday mornings. The downtown bustled with activity as moms, often accompanied by their children during the summer, shopped with portions of the pay...

Interview with partner of ALIVE Magazine in St. Louis.
October 9, 2006... Byline: Wm. Stage Attilio D'Agostino is probably best known for his area chain of health food and vitamin supplement stores, Atillio's Nutrition, Fitness & Weight Loss. Only two months ago, on Aug. 1, however, he sold the stores -- four in...

St. Charles entrepreneur Ed Watkins is back, but in a kinder gentler way.
October 9, 2006... Byline: Amy Armour At age 61 entrepreneur Ed Watkins has jumped into a new venture, this one involving an Internet newspaper. He isn't exactly new to the newspaper industry. His last job title was founder and publisher of the St....

It's hip to be square in St. Charles.
October 9, 2006... Byline: Amy Armour Cottleville Town Centre will be getting a new name and some new tenants if a site plan is approved by the Cottleville Planning and Zoning Commission and Board of Aldermen later this month. Phase one of Cottleville Town...

Pace Properties Inc. sells shopping center in St. Charles.
October 9, 2006... Byline: St Charles Business Record Staff Pace Properties Inc. sold the Crossings at Mid Rivers, a 93,985-square-foot regional shopping center in St. Peters anchored by Marshalls, HomeGoods and Ultimate Electronics, to Starpoint Properties...

Ameristar Casinos Inc. revises earnings.
October 9, 2006... Byline: St. Louis Business Record Staff Ameristar Casinos Inc. has revised its earnings estimate for the third quarter. The company now estimates operating income of between $43 million and $44 million -- increased from the original...

St. Charles-based LMI Aerospace Inc. signs $170M contract.
October 9, 2006... Byline: St. Charles Business Record Staff LMI Aerospace Inc. has signed a five-year contract for components, kits and assemblies with Gulfstream Aircraft Corp. The contract's value is estimated at $170 million through 2010 and consolidates...

St. Charles Chamber of Commerce surveys members.
October 9, 2006... Byline: St. Charles Business Record Staff The St. Charles Chamber of Commerce is surveying its members on various ballot proposals and local issues. Last week the chamber sent out e-mails to members to seek their opinions on Proposition B,...

Boeing announces success of SDB program manufactured in St. Charles County.
October 9, 2006... Byline: St. Charles Business Record Staff In the span of one week, The Boeing Co. announced three separate success stories involving its small diameter bomb weapons system, which is manufactured in St. Charles County. On Sept. 26, Boeing...

Boehmer promoted at T.R. Hughes in St. Charles and St. Louis Counties.
October 9, 2006... Byline: St. Charles Business Record Staff Linda Boehmer has been promoted to vice president of sales and marketing at T.R. Hughes. Boehmer will oversee all company sales, marketing and product development. In addition, she will manage the...

St. Charles-based Schneider Real Estate announces new staff, GRI.
October 9, 2006... Byline: St. Charles Business Record Staff Dan Head, Rich Loughridge and Charlie Prose recently joined Schneider Real Estate. Carol Prose, an associate, recently received her Graduate Realtor Institute certification. Head is a five-year...

Rumfield named manager of River City Rascals in O'Fallon.
October 9, 2006... Byline: St. Charles Business Record Staff The new ownership group of the River City Rascals has named Toby Rumfield manager for the 2007 season. Rumfield, a former most valuable player of the Cincinnati Reds, will take on the duties of...

St. Charles welcomes new businesses.
October 9, 2006... Byline: St. Charles Business Record Staff The following companies applied for new business licenses in the city of St. Charles during September: American Family Insurance, 1809 Zumbehl Road; Interior Repair LLC, 3761 Mexico Road;...

First Bank sponsors Greater St. Louis Hispanic Festival.
October 9, 2006... Byline: St. Charles Business Record Staff First Bank sponsored the Greater St. Louis Hispanic Festival held Aug. 11, 12 and 13 at Soldiers Memorial Park in downtown St. Louis. The fair is the largest Hispanic festival in the metro St. Louis...

Edward Jones rep to host discussion on health care in St. Charles.
October 9, 2006... Byline: St. Charles Business Record Staff Edward Jones investment representative Karen Schneider in St. Charles will host an open discussion on health care costs during retirement. Schneider and Dr. Demetra Moore, owner of Lifeline...

New hires expected to jump according to LINE.
October 9, 2006... Byline: St. Charles Business Record Staff According to the October report from the Leading Indicator of National Employment, more than half of manufacturers and service-sector employers plan to expand hiring in October. About 57 percent of...

St. Louis-based THF Realty Inc. sells Plaza office building in Clayton.
October 9, 2006... Byline: St. Charles Business Record Staff St. Louis-based THF Realty Inc. announced it has sold the 16-story Plaza in Clayton office building to KBS REIT, an affiliate of one of the nation's leading buyers of commercial real estate. The...

St. Charles-based Bax Engineering changes management.
October 9, 2006... Byline: St. Charles Business Record Staff Clifford Heitmann, P.E., has been elected president of Bax Engineering Co. and will be responsible for the daily operations of the firm. Heitmann has 12-plus years of experience with Bax and had...

Siburt joins Chesterfield-based Brinkmann Constructors.
October 9, 2006... Byline: St. Charles Business Record Staff Adam Siburt has joined Brinkmann Constructors as a project engineer, providing estimating, design and construction coordination services on the firm's design/build projects. He is currently...

The fur flies: Chesterfield pet company sues over the Furminator.
October 10, 2006... Byline: Allison Retka A local pet toy distributor is suing the maker of popular fur removal tool for shedding the distributor after it helped get the tool on QVC and into PetSmart and PETCO stores. Chesterfield-based Creative Marketing and...

Strong free-agent market seen in Missouri.
October 10, 2006... Byline: Charles Emerick Law firms report big jump in lateral transfers Free agency isn't just a baseball phenomenon. Especially in recent years, lawyers are moving from firm to firm. And these lateral talent transfers are changing the...

Maryland Heights faces lawsuit over new government center.
October 10, 2006... Byline: Allison Retka As the city of Maryland Heights pushes ahead with plans for a multimillion-dollar government center, it now faces a lawsuit from an electric company dropped from the project a year ago. Briner Electric Co., a St....

Healthcare understaffing leads to three fraud pleas in federal court in St. Louis.
October 11, 2006... Byline: Daily Record Staff A nursing home's failure to provide adequate staffing care led to three guilty pleas Tuesday in the federal court in St. Louis after state and federal investigators uncovered a conspiracy to defraud the Medicaid...

Local law firms find ways to fairly divvy up St. Louis Cardinals tickets.
October 11, 2006... Byline: Will Connaghan With the St. Louis Cardinals in the National League Championship Series, the whole area is afflicted with a bad case of pennant fever, including just about every law firm in town. Many of those firms own Cardinals...

Missouri Supreme Court to hear odd tale.
October 12, 2006... Byline: Emily Umbright The Missouri Supreme Court will hear oral arguments Friday on whether a St. Louis County trial court correctly admitted into evidence the 66.5-pound fruits of a vehicle search triggered by a suspicious "hairdo"...

You have the right to not cooperate.
October 12, 2006... Byline: Donna Walter Cooperation. It's taught by mothers to their children, but it can lead to problems for drivers who are pulled over by the police. So says Kansas City attorney Jeffrey Eastman, whose main message is drivers have the...

Missouri municipal laws against leaf burning are not a bad idea.
October 13, 2006... Byline: Will Connaghan Fall brings back many fond memories from my childhood. The changing of the season, the anticipation of Halloween and, of course, jumping into a pile of leaves are all memories to cherish. I remember walking to school...

Missouri law prohibits ticket scalping.
October 13, 2006... Byline: Donna Walter State law prohibits ticket scalping. So does the city of St. Louis. But if you want a couple of tickets for this weekend's playoff games, you'll have no problem. That tickets can be bought and sold so easily - often at...

Missouri-based J.W. Terrill's property casualty division hires new account manager.
October 14, 2006... Byline: St. Charles County Business Record Staff Tandra Ferrara has joined the property casualty division of J.W. Terrill as an account manager. In her new position, Ferrara will seek to add to Terrill's client base and to serve existing...

Missouri-based Gateway Commercial/Cushman Wakefield hires new associate.
October 14, 2006... Byline: St. Charles County Business Record Staff Ronald J. "R.J." Ortyl III has joined Gateway Commercial/ Cushman Wakefield as an associate. In that capacity, Ortyl will focus on property and buyer/tenant representation in the office, land...

Accounting Today Magazine names Missouri CPA one of the most 100 influential people.
October 14, 2006... Byline: St. Charles County Business Record Staff James G. Castellano, CPA, chairman of RubinBrown, has been named one of the accounting profession's Top 100 Most Influential People by Accounting Today magazine. Featured in the Sept. 18,...

Paule, Camazine & Blumenthal attorneys make it in "The Best Lawyers in America".
October 14, 2006... Byline: St. Charles Business Record Staff "The Best Lawyers in America" has listed six attorneys from Paule, Camazine & Blumenthal P.C. in its 2007 edition: Thomas M. Blumenthal, alternative dispute resolution; Alisse Camazine, family law;...

Cell phones increasingly replace standard home phone.
October 14, 2006... Byline: Louis Llovio BALTIMORE -- Mark Deatley gets terrible reception on his cell phone when he is at home, so -- much to his chagrin -- he remains tied to a traditional, telephone landline that he detests. Trust me, if I could change it,...

Missouri-based Brown Smith Wallace hires new systems architect.
October 14, 2006... Byline: St. Charles County Business Record Staff Gary Murrish has joined Brown Smith Wallace as systems architect in the business intelligence practice. Murrish assists clients identify workflow efficiencies, capture performance statistics...

HP scandal puts spotlight on private investigations.
October 14, 2006... Byline: Reni Gertner BOSTON -- With the Hewlett-Packard scandal putting the possible risks of private investigation on the radar screen, management lawyers are advising clients about what they should -- and should not -- do when they want...

What constitutes a willful violation of Fair Credit Act?
October 14, 2006... Byline: Lawyers USA Staff BOSTON -- Is a violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act willful if it resulted from reckless disregard of a consumer's rights under the Act, or must a plaintiff present proof that the credit entity actually knew...

College teacher who gave student anti-gay pamphlets not protected by 1st Amendment.
October 14, 2006... Byline: Reni Gertner BOSTON -- A cosmetology instructor who lost her job after she gave a homosexual student anti-gay religious pamphlets isn't protected under the First Amendment and can't sue under Sect. 1983, the 7th Circuit has ruled....

Attorney Terence MacCarthy makes cross-examination a 'monologue'.
October 14, 2006... Byline: Nora Lockwood Tooher BOSTON -- Listening to Terence MacCarthy discuss cross-examination is like sitting in an Irish pub with a witty companion sharing oft-told stories -- a pint in his hand and a glint in his eyes. Whether it's a...

MacDonald receives 2006 Missouri Bar award.
October 14, 2006... Byline: St. Charles County Business Record Leo H. MacDonald Jr., principal at Carmody MacDonald P.C., was recognized as the recipient of the 2006 Tom Cochran Community Service Award. This honor is awarded annually by the Young Lawyers'...

MacDonald receives Missouri Bar award.
October 14, 2006... Leo H. MacDonald Jr., principal at Carmody MacDonald P.C., was recognized as the recipient of the 2006 Tom Cochran Community Service Award. This honor is awarded annually by the Young Lawyers' Section of The Missouri Bar to a lawyer whose...

Missouri attorney McQueen attends U.S. Senate Leadership Summit for Young Professionals.
October 14, 2006... Byline: St. Charles County Business Record Staff Jalesia F. McQueen, a Peruvian-American associate attorney specializing in immigration law at the law firm of Gallop, Johnson & Neuman, participated in the U.S. Senate Leadership Summit for...

Missouri-based SSE Inc. hires executive account manager.
October 14, 2006... Byline: St. Charles County Business Record Staff Steve Wingbermuehle has joined SSE Inc. as an executive account manager, marketing SSE's eLearning solutions to Fortune 1000 companies. Wingbermuehle has nearly 25 years of sales and...

St. Louis attorneys Weiss, Riddle receive national awards.
October 14, 2006... Byline: St. Charles Business Record Staff Bryan Cave LLP partner Charles Weiss has earned The American Judicature Society's Herbert Harley Award. It is the highest state honor given by AJS and was bestowed to Weis for his help in...

MacDonald receives Missouri Bar award.
October 15, 2006... Leo H. MacDonald Jr., principal at Carmody MacDonald P.C., was recognized as the recipient of the 2006 Tom Cochran Community Service Award. This honor is awarded annually by the Young Lawyers' Section of The Missouri Bar to a lawyer whose...

What practitioners should know about music licensing.
October 15, 2006... Byline: James A. Johnson DETROIT -- To understand music licensing requires knowledge of copyright law. A copyright vests as soon as an original work of authorship is fixed in any tangible medium of expression. (See, 17 U.S.C. Sect....

Dog sniff of vehicle is constitutional.
October 15, 2006... Byline: Lawyers USA Staff BOSTON -- A canine sniff of a vehicle driven by a motorist who pulled off the road when approaching a ruse drug checkpoint did not violate the defendant's Fourth Amendment rights, the 8th Circuit has ruled in...

Derivative claims governed by 'per person' limit in underinsured motorist policy.
October 15, 2006... Byline: Lawyers USA Staff BOSTON -- The per person limit of underinsured-motorist coverage in an auto insurance policy applied to derivative claims brought by family members of an insured killed in an accident, the Illinois Supreme Court...