Business Journal-Portland articles from April 1996

Business Journal-Portland archives from April 1996

Kaiser-AMR cost-saving plan draws conflict. (Kaiser Permanente; American Medical Response-Northwest)
April 19, 1996... An ambulance triage plan proposed by Kaiser Permanente and American Medical Response-Northwest may put saving money ahead of saving lives, some paramedics and physicians argue. The proposal that Kaiser and AMR are shopping around for feedback...

Chain smoking: stores light up tobacco sales. (Cigarettes Cheaper, a smokers-only chain of stores)
April 19, 1996... The Cigarettes Cheaper chain of smokers-only stores has arrived in Portland and company officials vow to snuff the competition with cut-rate prices on tobacco. The Benicia, Calif.-based Cigarettes Cheaper plans to open as many as 30 stores in...

Nike laces up lease for manufacturing. (Nike Inc.)
April 19, 1996... Space for Nike Air component just part of company off-campus expansions A subsidiary of Nike Inc. has leased a 117,000-square-foot industrial property to manufacture the plastic parts that give Nike Air sneakers their bounce. The lease...

Metro study ponders price of adding commercial lands.
April 19, 1996... Developers argue commercial projects may feel the squeeze A team of consultants anti business leaders poked holes in Metro's Region 2040 plan this week, warning of dire shortages of area retail and industrial land if the urban growth boundary...

Saltzmans sell White Swan seed company to Monsanto unit. (Saltzman family; White Swan Ltd.; Monsanto Co.)
April 19, 1996... Entrepreneurship runs in the Saltzmans' veins. Hal Saltzman made his fortune by founding American International Forest Products, a lumber and plywood wholesaler that has since grown into a $2 billion-a-year company. Son Stephen Saltzman was...

BPA's foray into energy services irks some private utilities. (Bonneville Power Administration)
April 19, 1996... Critics say agency shouldn't compete with private sector Bonneville Power Administration's bid to win new customers by entering the energy services business is starting to pay off. But BPA's newfound entrepreneurism may get clipped by criticism...

Silicon Valley Bank targets high-tech hot spots.
April 19, 1996... Offices planned for Boulder, Austin and Redmond SAN JOSE - Resurging Silicon Valley Bank is continuing to explore markets outside its namesake region. The Santa Clara-based bank, which primarily targets technology start-up companies, is...

Freddy's park swap comes up to bat; zoning issues will determine whether project is hit or miss. (Fred Meyer Inc.'s plan to build a two-story store)
April 26, 1996... Fred Meyer's dreams of swapping some land so it can build a store in Southeast Portland's Powell Park will soon face a litmus test. Already pitching the project to neighbors and civic groups, company officials expect to sit down with city...

PDC wins fight over millions in housing funds. (Portland Development Commission)
April 26, 1996... Portland City Council has cast its lot with Portland Development Commission to manage a proposed $24.6 million housing investment fund, effectively stripping the authority of Mayor Katz's prized Livable City Housing Council. In an informal...

Bottle bill foes vow to stop expansion of landmark law.
April 26, 1996... Oregonians can expect a no-holds-barred media blitz this fall to smash an initiative expanding the state's bottle bill. Out-of-state beverage and food companies have lined up with Oregon grocery chains and wholesalers to hire one of the...

Mercedes signs lease at Montgomery Park. (Mercedes-Benz)
April 26, 1996... Mercedes-Benz has leased 85,000 square feet at Montgomery Park starting May 1 for a light-truck design center, industry sources say. Bill Naito of H. Naito Properties confirmed that the space formerly occupied by Kaiser Permanente had been...

Tek printer unit targets booming Asian market. (Tektronix Inc.)
April 26, 1996... Tektronix Inc. will soon open logistics centers in Singapore and Hong Kong to handle its flourishing color printer sales in Pacific Rim countries. The foreign footholds will eventually be used to support other Tek business lines as well. "It's...

Medicaid expansion, managed care boost Willamette Dental. (Willamette Dental Group P.C.)
April 26, 1996... Willamette Dental Group has drilled its operations into 10 new sites and nearly doubled its staff within the last 18 months. Willamette now boasts 550 workers, including 105 dentists, up from 260 workers a year and a half ago. In the last few...

SelectCare gets cold feet about Providence's wedding plans. (merger with Providence Good Health Plan)
April 26, 1996... A potential marriage between two Catholic church-backed health insurers in Oregon has stalled at the altar. Providence Good Health Plan and SelectCare have been in talks for more than a year over a merger that would give them a stronger...

Responding to backlash, city to moderate sign code proposal. (Portland, Oregon; advertising signs)
April 26, 1996... Portland Planning Bureau has agreed to drop some of its proposed restrictions on advertising signs but is still adamant about opposing new billboards in the city. The bureau's proposed new sign code was slammed by retailers, sign-makers and...

U S West to join crowded on-line yellow pages market.
April 26, 1996... Just as the big-money phone companies swept into an already established Internet services market, their yellow pages subsidiaries are playing catch-up with an assortment of on-line directories. The U S West Yellow Pages...