Business Journal-Portland articles from August 1999

Business Journal-Portland archives from August 1999

PHS unveils cyberspace pre-op service.(Providence Health System's Internet system)
August 6, 1999... Providence Health System next week will launch an online registration for patients preparing for surgery, childbirth or undergoing any other procedures that require pre-admitting. The paperless internet system allows patients to...

He goes to court to clean up Oregon's meth labs.(Bonaparte, Elliott Ostrander and Preston's specialization in metamphetamine cases; Bob Bonaparte)
August 6, 1999... Bob Bonaparte was supposed to be the sacrificial lamb, an inexperienced sap assigned one of those dog-cared cases nobody else at his law firm cared to take. He was told merely to file a cross motion for summary judgment. But the sap...

Trustee: Zapp a book cooker and a crook.(fraudulent bookkeeping of Ray Zapp, former CEO of defunct Atlas Telecom)
August 6, 1999... Ray Zapp, the former chief executive of now-defunct Atlas Telecom, stands accused of misusing corporate funds and intentionally covering up his alleged misdeeds through fraudulent bookkeeping. The complaint, filed last week in U.S....

Albany metals firm sold to Portland investors.(acquisition of B-J Enterprises by Metal Technology Inc.)
August 6, 1999... An investment group led by metals industry veteran Mike DeBonny and Larry' Black of Black & Co. Inc. has bought an Oregon-based metals manufacturer. The Portland investment group, called Metal Technology Inc., has purchased B-J Enterprises...

For info tech workers, it's an employee's market.(Help Wanted: Seeking IT Workers.)
August 6, 1999... When Daryl Hurd entered the job market in 1997, he was worried. After working at his family's retail computer store in Yakima, Wash., for seven years, he had no faith in his job-hunting skills. He thought it might take weeks or even months...

Many still say 'no' to shopping over the Internet.(Help Wanted: Seeking IT Workers.)(electronic commerce)
August 6, 1999... Retailers who lack an online presence and who aren't figuring out a way to conduct sales over the internet had better get moving before they find themselves standing in line at bankruptcy court clutching a Chapter 7 petition. Or at least...

Electronic shoplifting: downside of e-commerce.(Help Wanted: Seeking IT Workers.)
August 6, 1999... The recent surge of online shopping has breathed new life into the old adage "buyer beware." But retailers now need an adage of their own: "Merchant be mindful." Online credit card fraud, also known as electronic shoplifting, is becoming a...

Net lets small firms run fasted without IT team.(Help Wanted: Seeking IT Workers.)(information technology; Oracle Corp; PeopleSoft Inc.)
August 6, 1999... SAN FRANCISCO - The internet is leveling the playing field for small- and mid-sized businesses who haven't been able to afford software to simplify' and automate their human resource, accounting, distribution and manufacturing processes. ...

Where flexibility is the law.(law firm, The Pacific Law Group)(Company Profile)
August 6, 1999... Tom Harbolt believes in taking risks. He also treasures taking time out with his family. A hectic life at a large law firm didn't let the 33-year-old lawyer engage in either of those activities as much as he would have liked. So last...

They serve their clients' needs by having citizens click away.(Brand New Corp.)
August 13, 1999... When Kellogg's wanted to find out if breakfast means gulping a bowl of Raisin Bran in front of the TV or stuffing a breakfast bar in your purse on the way to work, it turned to Portland's Brand New Corp. By year's end, the leading...

Adidas sees casual rags in apparel crystal ball.
August 13, 1999... Leisurewear could be the latest apparel creation coming out of adidas-Salomon AG. Like Nike Inc. and its Michael Jordan brand, adidas is looking to enter the casual clothes market. The German athletic footwear and apparel company will...

Legacy cardiac institute reflects long-term plan.(Legacy Health System)
August 13, 1999... Legacy Health System last week launched a heart institute that will give cardiac specialists more say-so over capital investments, research and other cardiac services at the health system's four hospitals. The institute, to be located at...

Hollywood's downtrend mystifies local analyst.(Hollywood Entertainment Corp.)
August 13, 1999... Hollywood Entertainment Corp. reported some impressive looking quarterly numbers at the start of this month. But you'd never know that from its share price. Despite healthy gains in revenue, earnings and same-store sales, the parent of...

GST meets goal, yet gets hammered.(includes related article on the possibility of acquiring GST)(GST Telecommunications Inc.)
August 13, 1999... GST Telecommunications Inc. gave Wall Street a surprise when it announced strong second quarter numbers. Then, Wall Street gave GST a surprise of its own. Unlike GST's surprise, though, Wall Street's wasn't so pleasant. The Vancouver,...

Sweat shop critics applaud legal settlement.
August 13, 1999... Battered by a public awareness campaign that began with Nike Inc.'s overseas factory conditions, four U.S. retailers have settled a lawsuit claiming they ignored sweatshop practices in Saipan. Under the settlement, Seattle-based Nordstrom...

Taking the fax to the max: timber company spin-off attracts corporate eye.(AVT Corp.)
August 13, 1999... What started off as a quirky spin-off with the potential to generate some nice revenue for the parent company has become a substantial business propelling two local entrepreneurs to public company executive ranks. The pair, Max Anhoury and...

Martin-Rydstrom: strategy opens up new windows.
August 13, 1999... When Martin-Rydstrom Inc., a high-end wood window distributing company, won the bid to supply windows for work on two Oregon fire stations, owner Jeff Martin knew he had taken the company a step in the right direction. Martin recently...

Wood frame is his game.(Small Business)(Martin-Rydstrom Inc. owner and founder Jeff Martin)
August 13, 1999... Windows specialist Jeff Martin can see clearly through his company's midlife crisis into a new era Jeff Martin's prescription for a company in midlife crisis is forward integration. As the founder and owner of Martin-Rydstrom Inc., a...

Pokemon craze breathes life into comic book sales.(marketing and package design firm Ten Angry Pitbulls)
August 13, 1999... Lou Bank and Harald Graham can't translate Japanese, but they've teamed with some people who can. As a result, the Vancouver team is reaping a tidy sum on the Pokemon craze. Bank and Graham, along with a recently added partner, run a...

Hoity-toity clothiers coming to Broadway.(upscale designer St. John Knits Inc opens an outlet in downtown Portland, Oregon)
August 20, 1999... Downtown Portland will get a dash of haute couture this fall when upscale designer St. John Knits Inc. opens a boutique. The designer's presence at 810 S.W. Broadway promises to strengthen downtown's allure to affluent shoppers. It also...

Sales soar as computer rebates hook Luddites.
August 20, 1999... Huge rebates on new personal computers are boosting sales - a good thing, since the retailers are making little profit on any single sale. The heavily advertised rebates are offered as a package by big retail chains, computer manufacturers...

Lack of suitable industrial land frustrates developers.(Portland, Oregon)
August 20, 1999... The Portland area's vibrant economic engine could slow down unless industry can find more ready-to-develop land, according to a real estate survey sponsored by Oregon Economic Development Department. The industrial land survey was sponsored...

Extensis reborn as CreativePro, web one-stop shopping center.
August 20, 1999... Like a kid who spends hours building an intricate structure out of blocks only to destroy it to build something even better, Craig Barnes has spent much of the last year dismantling Extensis Corp. so he can rebuild it. He only hopes that after...

ThrustMaster's fall from joystick heaven continues.
August 20, 1999... ThrustMaster Inc. didn't just exit a business line when it decided to sell its hallmark game controller business so it could devote more attention to its internet software business. As the company's second-quarter numbers reveal,...

PrintBid's California move leads to defections.(Internet access provider)
August 20, 1999... Ron Wiener and his fledgling internet company, PrintBid.com, hit mid-June full of confidence and a swagger fueled by a $1 million early investment round. Now, the founder and his company are feeling a bit of strain as key executives come...

Wells Fargo creeps up on BofA in Southwest.(Wells Fargo and Co taps small bank business in the Southwest region to gain competitive advantage over rival Bank of America Corp.)
August 20, 1999... Wells Fargo & Co. is quietly picking off small banks in the Southwest as it narrows the gap separating it from rival Bank of America Corp., the market leader in that region. Using a strategy perfected by predecessor Norwest Corp., Wells has...

Riding the rockets.(Boeing Co. conducts a series of rocket engine tests)
August 20, 1999... Boeing's strategy to tap the space market forges ahead Out on the California desert floor, the "space" segment of aerospace is taking on an increasingly important meaning for The Boeing Co. Boeing subsidiary Rocketdyne Propulsion and...

Simple, but lifesaving idea.(pager for alerting patients on their medications)
August 20, 1999... MedReminder offers a service that informs patients when and how to take all-important medication. Seven times a day Chere Nulph must take pills to control her epilepsy. Despite good faith efforts, the 22-year-old Clark Community...

Blaze can't faze Pearl District.(effects of fire on retail business in Portland, OR)
August 27, 1999... On Aug. 18, Craig Valline signed the lease for his new Visage Fine Eyewear store in the River District. After months of saving capital by "eating macaroni and cheese and sleeping on $4 plastic lounge furniture," Valline had made a major advance...

After casino success, tribes bet on tourism.(Oregon Indian tribes)
August 27, 1999... After winning big in the casino business, Oregon Indian tribes are betting the next cash cow will be tourism and hospitality. The tribes have already plowed cash from their gaming operations into ventures, such as hotels and campgrounds, to...

Radio content provider rides wave of buyouts.(NBG Radio Network)
August 27, 1999... A month doesn't go by without a national radio network gobbling up locally owned radio stations. And NBG Radio Network is cashing in on it. The Portland-based company has seen its revenue jump 175 percent, from $800,000 in 1997 to $2.2...

Jana's cookie empire expanding again as new clients line up.(Jana Taylor's Jana's Classics)
August 27, 1999... Jana's Classics this week broke ground on a 35,000-square-foot expansion that will help the Tualatin-based company keep pace with America's mega-appetite for cookies. The $5 million expansion will double the company's manufacturing...

Oregon accident victim files class-action lawsuit.(Mark Strawn's lawsuit against Farmers Insurance Co. of Oregon)
August 27, 1999... Mark Strawn had a serious car accident in November 1997. He briefly was in a coma. He had brain damage. His eyes spread left and right, requiring corrective surgery. Strawn racked up $17,000 in hospital bills at Legacy Emanuel Hospital &...

Creating software for prisons pays off handsomely.(acquisition of Evans & Ricker Inc. by T-Netix Inc.)
August 27, 1999... In 1987, soon after forming their own consulting firm, two local software developers took an assignment for Marion County's corrections agency Twelve years later, they've honed that initial, customized work into a software program that can...

Nike's latest marketing wiz gets paid $3.6M.(Ian Todd)
August 27, 1999... The new sports marketing chief at Nike Inc. was the highest-paid executive at the Beaverton-based sneaker giant last year, receiving a $3.6 million salary and bonus that topped those of President Tom Clarke and CEO Phil Knight. Ian Todd,...

Banking on bigger is better: grocer WinCo Foods' presence in Portland gains momentum.
August 27, 1999... Grocer WinCo Foods' presence in Portland gains momentum Many long-time customers were irked in March when Waremart Inc. closed its West 11th Avenue grocery store in Eugene. Some locals preferred the homey, 28,500-square-foot neighborhood...

Fishing: glory days gone by?(Around Oregon)(Oregon's fishing industry)
August 27, 1999... NEWPORT - Jeannie Grishaber wagers she is US West's favorite customer every year come August. That's when she gets on the horn and lets her customers know that she has some fresh fish for them to buy. "We have around 300 customers who are...

'Incredible hulk' still luring folks to Coos Bay area.(Around Oregon)
August 27, 1999... COOS BAY - Last winter's disaster has become this town's latest tourist draw. It's not exactly bringing in the big bucks it did a few months back when it was national news, but the New Carissa continues to lure the curious to this part of...

Kah-Nee-Ta: high on the desert.(Around Oregon)(Kah-Nee-Ta Resort)
August 27, 1999... Nestled in Central Oregon's high desert is Warm Springs Indian Reservation, 640,000 acres of carved tableaus bordered on the east by the Deschutes River. As far as reservations go, this place would be unremarkable if not for two things: its...