Business Journal-Portland articles from August 2000

Business Journal-Portland archives from August 2000

New practice at Providence?(Vaginal birth after cesarean,)(Providence Portland Medical Center)
August 4, 2000... For years, obstetricians, midwives and others who deliver babies have routinely allowed women who have had cesarean (surgical) deliveries to give birth vaginally in subsequent pregnancies. Now they are re-evaluating these kinds of...

Cops to corks: Cooper Mtn. moves downtown.(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... On the heels of a few heavy-growth years, Beaverton-based Cooper Mountain Vineyards and its owner Dr. Robert Gross have staked a $5 million claim in Portland's full-bodied central business district. In a deal expected to close Aug. 4,...

Upside at DownStream vindicates ex-Tyee VP.(Tim Larson, DownStream L.L.C., Tyee Group Inc.)(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... About a year ago, DownStream Digital didn't look like much on paper. Especially when the paper in question was being shuffled by Paris-based advertising giant Euro RSCG. When Euro RSCG bought The Tyee Group last year, it deemed DownStream...

Sporting sponsors queue up to be part of PGE Park team.(Portland General Electric Co., sports facilities)(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... While the baseball and soccer at newly renamed PGE Park may be minor league, local businesses are doling out major-league marketing bucks. Portland Family Entertainment said last week it has not only reached a lucrative stadium naming...

Sauvie Island farm leased to market veteran Kruger.(to help supply Kruger's Specialty Produce)(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... Don Kruger got tired of the big boys taking bites out of his grocery business. So instead of letting himself be devoured, Kruger bought the farm. So to speak. Now, at the height of growing season, 14-year produce veteran Kruger is...

Heathman buy by Rim might expire tonight.(Rim Corp.'s plan to by the Heathman Hotel)(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... A bid for The Heathman Hotel is set to expire by early Friday evening if the prospective buyer can't come up with an acceptable financing package. The proposed sales price is in the neighborhood of $25 million. If Rim Corp. of Modesto,...

It may be only radio, but not if Dwight's on the air.(Dwight Jaynes' talk show on KPAM radio station in Portland, OR)(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... Dwight Jaynes has finally found the gig of his dreams. If you don't already know, he's talking sports and other trivia on multimillionaire Bob Pamplin's new talk radio station, KPAM 860AM. Soon, Jaynes will take over the president role at The...

Pamplin buys Portland weekly newspaper chain.(Robert Pamplin buys Community Newspapers Inc.)(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... Robert Pamplin's media empire just had a growth spurt with the purchase of Community Newspapers Inc. and the announcement of plans for a downtown Portland weekly that will debut Feb. 1. The fledgling media mogul, a term that Pamplin said...

Powell's Books.(signs tentative labor contract with International Longshore & Warehouse Union)(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... Powell's Books and the International Longshore & Warehouse Union signed a tentative three-year agreement on Tuesday that would bring workers annual 6 percent wage increases, but does not contain a "successor clause" which would ensure that any...

lucy.com.(named as violating its stated policies on customer privacy)(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... Online sportswear retailer lucy.com was one of four e-commerce companies cited by an internet security firm as violating its own policies on customer privacy Interhack Corp. said that lucy.com, along with Toys "R" Us, Babies "R" Us and...

Emerald Solutions.(financing)
August 4, 2000... Emerald Solutions announced that the company closed an additional round of financing for $15 million. Co-Investment Partners--a fund managed by Lexington Partners Inc., which is the largest among the group of investors--was joined by repeat...

djangos.com Inc.(financing)(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... Portland's djangos.com Inc., a clicks-and-mortar retailer of used and new CDs, DVDs and VHS, also dosed its first round of financing from northwest venture capital firms and strategic investors. The $9 million investment will be used for its...

CORRECTIONS.(July 21, 2000, July 7, 2000, Business Journal-Portland)(Brief Article)(Correction Notice)
August 4, 2000... In the July 21 "Winners & Losers" feature, Shilo Inns owner Mark Hemstreet's motive in paying for Brandy Stroeder's transplant was questioned--because the Stroeder family wore T-shirts with the Shilo Inns logo at her recent hospital send-off....

NE Portland food mart finally gets OLCC license.(northeast Portland, Washington,)(Oregon Liquor Control Commission)
August 4, 2000... A minority-owned Northeast Portland gas station and convenience store shrouded for years by a civic nuisance ordinance has been granted a new liquor license. In a settlement reached last week, the Oregon Liquor Control Commission issued...

Sports-related UHF channel will e launched here in 2001.(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... A new television station that likely will offer more local sports programming is expected to be on the air in the Portland area early next year. Acme Communications Inc. (Nasdaq: ACME), which owns Portland's KWPB-TV (WB32), the home of...

OSU expects to make some money off web site.(Oregon State University, Zuniversity.com)
August 4, 2000... Will zBeavers.com bring zMoney to Oregon State University? OSU officials hope so. The school has reached an agreement that will allow internet portal site administrator zUniversity.com to create a site that could generate a tidy sum of...

Closing arguments in Zapp suit paint two pictures.(suit against Atlas Telecom Inc. founder Ray Zapp)(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... Two finely etched, but radically different, portraits of Ray Zapp emerge in the written closing arguments and rebuttals presented in the civil lawsuit brought against Zapp by the trustee of Atlas Telecom Inc., the company Zapp founded and ran...

Giant freighter finds a way to call on Portland.(Evergreen U-class vessels call at port of Portland despite shallow shipping channel)(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... The enormous "Ever Urban" called at the Port of Portland July 31, becoming the first of Taiwan-based Evergreen Marine Corp.'s "U" class of 935-foot-long vessels to make a regular stop at Portland. The move by Evergreen to bring its...

UPS picks Perkins Coie to serve as legal counsel.(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... The local Perkins Coie office has landed a major marquee client in the form of United Parcel Services. The Atlanta-based delivery company chose the Portland Perkins Coie office to serve as legal counsel for product liability and tort...

Citysearch cuts sales staff.(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... About a half-dozen local Citysearch sales and marketing positions were cut as part of the national online company's shift toward more national and regional advertising. At least that's what the company is saying. Local sources, however,...

Chet Orloff.(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... PERSONAL INFORMATION Name: Chet Orloff Organization: Oregon Historical Society Title: Executive director What we do: The OHS is a statewide learning center about Oregon. Its museum, interactive library, school services,...

Elmer's bulge begins.(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... The sleepy restaurant chain is poised to double its size In science class, most of us learned early on about potential energy: It is real, and although it is understated, its power should not be underestimated. That's pretty much how things...

It hurts to lose three local companies in a week.(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... Sometimes I wonder if there will be much for me to write about in the coming years. I wonder if all that will be left of the Portland technology industry is a handful of old, established companies and a bunch of divisions of larger...

OGI PROGRAM POPULAR.(More than 200 high school students are getting an early glimpse Saturday of life in high-tech thanks to the Oregon Graduate Institute's Academy's Apprenticeships in Science and Engineering program.)(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... More than 200 high school students are getting an early glimpse Saturday of life in high-tech thanks to the Oregon Graduate Institute's Academy's Apprenticeships in Science and Engineering program. Since the program was launched in 1990,...

Taking care of kids is this health clinic's passion.(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... There's a Gary Larson "Far Side" cartoon in which a "crisis clinic" is itself in crisis. As flames pour out of its windows, the building is being carried down a raging river, about to head over the falls. I was reminded of that cartoon...

PEDAL PUSHERS.(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... Here's my favorite fun fact about the Aug. 13 Providence Bridge Pedal and Bridge Stride, which will cross eight of Portland's bridges. For the first time since the Marquam Bridge was built in the 1960s, bikers (and hikers who aren't pedaling)...

SCOPE IT OUT!(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... A Portland gastroenterologist, Dr. David Lieberman, was one of the lead researchers in the study that showed colonoscopy--a procedure that looks at the entire colon--is more effective in detecting colon cancer than the more commonly performed...

Bank block's future is wired to high-tech firms.(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... In 1907, the same year Portland launched its first Rose Festival, plans were approved for a 12-story, Second Renaissance-Revival style building with gray granite plinths and a glazed terra-cotta exterior. The Wells Fargo Building became...

Indoor car lot works for T & C in Wilsonville.(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... Visitors to the new Town & Country Dodge in Wilsonville will be surrounded by neither town nor country when they kick tires. That's because they'll be indoors. From the press materials issued by owner Ralph Martinez, you'd think he did it...

NO MANIC MONDAY?(Tuesday Morning will open another store in the Portland area)(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... Discount retailer Tuesday Morning will open its fourth Portland-area store in Gresham Square. The Dallas, Texas, chain leased nearly 10,000 square feet in the Gresham shopping center for a store expected to open around Dec. 1, said Jon...

GROCERIES ON THE CHEAP.(Grocery Outlet will open two more stores.)(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... Consumers will find yet more discounts, this time in the grocery arena, with the planned opening of two additional Grocery Outlet stores in the metro area. One is slated for King City Plaza and the other will occupy the former Kienow's...

COPELAND STORES SOLD.(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... Keith Brown Building Materials has completed its planned purchase of six lumber yards from Copeland Lumber. The buyer, a Salem supplier of building materials, obtained the six sites on July 17. So far the Keith Brown operation has simply...

BLUE LIGHTS DIM.(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... Kmart Corp. will shutter its stores in Woodburn and Bend, along with 70 others around the country in an effort to boost earnings. The Troy, Mich., mass merchandiser announced the store closings, mostly due by Nov. 1, as part of a broader...

Silicon Forest North.(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... Clark County may not be a dot-com breeding ground, but it's home to some significant high-tech companies. At the north end of Silicon Forest, Clark County is holding its own. But it hasn't been flooded with venture capital, nor is it...

Rio leads the pack with digital music product.(Statistical Data Included)
August 4, 2000... The 2020s are going to make CDs look like the eight-track tapes that went out with the 1970s. The next wave in audio technology hardware has arrived. And industry experts expect over the next couple of decades, that internet- or...

Bicron what? It's a crystal grower in Clark County.(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... You've heard of the silicon that goes into making semiconductors. But what about the calcium fluoride crystals in semiconductors? And what about the rubies in laser devices and the sapphires in LEDs? One company near the Columbia River...

Underwriters Laboratories gives seal of approval.(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... If you look, you'll likely find the mark about 100 times in places such as your kitchen or work area. We've all seen it: UL. It appears on almost any thinkable household electronics: Christmas tree lights, hair dryers, alarm clocks,...

Young entrepreneurs don't always look the part.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
August 4, 2000... A major part of tech lore revolves around youth, including stories about Bill Gates dropping out of Harvard University to start Microsoft Corp., and Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak co-founding Apple Computer Inc. in their 20s. Today though,...

In S.F., incubators cross over into private sector.(San Francisco, business incubators,)(technology industry)(Brief Article)(Column)
August 4, 2000... SAN FRANCISCO--You and your two friends just graduated from business school. You've got a great idea for a new company--maybe you think you can stake out a space in the burgeoning business-to-business e-commerce sector, or maybe you envision a...

Internet could spin web of disability violations.
August 4, 2000... Since the Americans With Disabilities Act took effect in 1992, business people have grown accustomed to the idea of making their buildings accessible to people with disabilities. A new accessibility issue is emerging, however, and no one is...

Internet telephony market crowds with competitors.(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... Combining voice and data services over one wire has become the holy grail of the telecommunications industry. A myriad of companies, from large powerhouse firms such as Cisco Systems Inc. and Sony Corp. to small start-ups, are rushing into...

International tea times tick to different drums.(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... If you ever try to order a tea "to go" in India, and the person helping you merely stares back blankly, it's not a language barrier problem. "To go" isn't much of a part of tea culture in India and many other parts of the world where...

A tea for all nations.(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... Oregon tea seller Teaports aims to brand itself as a 'Purveyor of Culture.' Stephen Lee had to go all the way to Russia to come home. Lee "came home" by shifting the target for his tiny Teaports, a purveyor of tea, from Russians in...

Small businesses may get break with anti-bundling bills.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
August 4, 2000... Bipartisan agreement in Congress these days is as rare as a double bogey by Tiger Woods in a major golf tournament. But both Republicans and Democrats are frustrated that thousands of small businesses have lost federal contracts in recent...

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE.(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... ACCOUNTING Geffen Mesher & Co. PC promoted Karen Prochaska John Lorenz and David Adams to senior managers; and Paul Knobel and Devi Petersen to senior staff accountants. Perkins & Co. PC promoted Nancy Pasternack and Greg Pawson to...

Accelerant Networks lands second-round VC financing.(venture capital)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
August 4, 2000... Accelerant Networks Inc. isn't willing to say much publicly about its integrated circuit technology, but venture capital firms apparently like what they've been told. After only eight months in business, the Beaverton-based company has...

Powell's contract and the future.(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... The news is good from Powell's. The parties have reached an agreement. It may not be the perfect agreement from the viewpoints of either of the parties. But then, when is a compromise ever satisfying to those who make it? We hope...

And you can quote me on this.
August 4, 2000... Anybody the least bit familiar with me knows that I'm a lover of great quotations. Whether spelled out in the great texts of history, spoken from the podium or crooned from song lyrics, the English language is a very powerful art form when...

OHSU can be a leader in the knowledge community.(Oregon Health Sciences University)(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... In the July 7 edition of The Business Journal, an editorial suggested that now is the time for OHSU to slow down. I don't agree. I believe now is the time for Oregon and OHSU to move ahead aggressively. And that is exactly what we are planning...

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.
August 4, 2000... Little House on the Prairie' solutions keep kids and folks happy To the editor: I just picked up the July 14 issue of the BJ and Dan Cook's column immediately caught my eye. It was personally relevant, as I'm a parent living the same...

Winners & Losers.(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... Low-income kids & families Sick children come away with bright smiles and feeling a heck of a lot better after a visit with Mariah Taylor and staff at the cramped, fund-strapped North Portland Nurse Practitioner Community Health Clinic,...

SLAPSHOTS.(beer festivals, Oregon)
August 4, 2000... Oregon hosts malt, water and hops While it may seem like a no-brainer to rave about an event at which beer takes center stage, the Oregon Brewer's Festival has actually earned the accolades. It takes a world of preparation to allow beer...

Insider Trading.(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... [TABLE HAS BEEN CLIPPED]

Top semiconductor companies.(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... [TABLE HAS BEEN CLIPPED]

PGE Park floated as temporary MLB home.
August 11, 2000... The Portland Oregon Sports Authority has stepped to the plate as local enthusiasts attempt to land a Major League Baseball franchise. POSA has begun working with the Portland Baseball Group in seeking potential investors to attract a Major...

Naito, Winkler want to revive River District office project.
August 11, 2000... A sizable riverfront office development pioneered by Bill Naito shortly before his death is now being resuscitated by a partnership between Bob Naito and Jim Winkler of Winkler Development Corp. Though it still needs to undergo design...

Boyd Coffee to consolidate by expanding Sandy facilities.
August 11, 2000... Family-run Boyd Coffee Co. has announced plans to more than double its Northeast Sandy Boulevard headquarters by adding 132,000 square feet to make room for a new warehouse distribution facility. The plan is part of the company's strategy...

Global Services to focus more on large firms.
August 11, 2000... Global Services Network has revamped its sales strategy in order to increase its appeal to investors. Less than six months ago, investors were willing to put big money into technology companies on the vague promise that profits would occur...

Employer's role in family is more important today.
August 11, 2000... When in my July 14 column, I asked readers for ideas to help me entertain my two kids after work, I was overwhelmed with the response. As I followed up with e-mails and phone calls to those who sent in suggestions, I kept hearing the same...

Columbia River deepening plan stifled by lawsuit.
August 11, 2000... * Environmentalists are claiming a victory in a judge's decision to allow a lawsuit filed to block a plan to deepen the Columbia River shipping channel. Two environmental groups, Columbia River Alliance for Nurturing the Environment and...

Timberline Venture Partners.
August 11, 2000... Timberline Venture Partners, a venture capital firm with an office in Portland, said it co-led a $2 million investment in a Southern California company, Oxelis. Timberline, an affiliate of Silicon Valley venture firm Draper Fisher Jurvetson,...

Growing Tyco to build new facility in Salem.
August 11, 2000... Less than a year after acquiring Praegitzer Industries Inc., Tyco International is expanding its new business. Tyco's Printed Circuit Group, Oregon Division, has already outgrown the Dallas, Ore., facility it purchased from Praegitzer and...

AVI BioPharma's marketing to expand worldwide soon.
August 11, 2000... AVI BioPharma Inc. is in negotiations with a biopharmaceutical company for marketing rights to its cancer vaccine outside of the United States. Denis Burger, chief executive officer of the Portland biotech company, said he could not...

Gresham company inks software deal with feds.
August 11, 2000... Gresham-based New Technologies Inc. is going international in a big way. The maker of computer security software has signed a deal with the U.S. State Department to equip all U.S. embassies throughout the world with the full suite of New...

Nordstrom stock drops as youth campaign stalls.
August 11, 2000... Nordstrom Inc.'s "reinvent yourself" campaign may need some quick retooling, retail industry analysts say. Four months after introducing a new ad campaign and a women's clothing line targeting younger customers, same-store sales at...

Freightliner rival Paccar is slumping.
August 11, 2000... Paccar Inc. factories in Renton and Seattle are idle for the second time this summer as the truck-building company struggles through a down cycle in sales. High fuel prices, coupled with two years of heavy production, have cut demand for...

Nader's not above using MasterCard 'priceless' ad.
August 11, 2000... Green Party candidate Ralph Nader, who regularly rails against corporate America, turned to MasterCard for inspiration for his first television commercial. The Nader ad, which debuted the week of Aug. 6 in several major media markets,...

OSHA TAKES ON FLIGHT ATTENDANT SAFETY.
August 11, 2000... OSHA will begin boarding the nation's airlines next year. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration plans to take jurisdiction over the working conditions of flight attendants from the Federal Aviation Administration, which has...

OSHA RULES ON SAFETY AUDITS.
August 11, 2000... The Occupational Safety and Health Administration said it will not require employers who conduct voluntary safety audits to report these findings to agency inspectors, except in cases where an employer "blatantly ignores or refuses to correct"...

SBA EXPANDS LOAN PROGRAM.
August 11, 2000... The Small Business Administration will expand a pilot program that offers technical assistance as well as loans to companies in low-income areas. The Community Express loan program started with nine banks in 20 locations but will be...

Jeff Miller.
August 11, 2000... PERSONAL INFORMATION Name: Jeff Miller Organization: Saks Fifth Avenue Title: General manager What we do: Help our clients create the image they choose to present to the world. At our level of retail this goes beyond selling...

Plaster cracker on the prowl.
August 11, 2000... Labtec has everything it needs except a Wall Street following Labtec Inc. executives are convinced they've got a great story to tell. All they need is an audience. The Vancouver-based maker of computer speakers and voice access...

Here's an intern who got what she wanted.
August 11, 2000... An important ritual is now ending in the Portland legal community--the annual leaving of the summer associates. Summer associates are law students who spend a summer working at law firms. But don't get the idea these are just internships...

Unionizing Wells Fargo proving to be difficult.
August 11, 2000... Organizers are finding it difficult to unionize Wells Fargo Bank's home-equity loan officers in Hillsboro. In the spring Local 11 of the Office and Professional Employees International Union began efforts to organize the 175 home-equity...

WASH FED.
August 11, 2000... As part of a well-ordered succession in management, Washington Federal Savings president Roy Whitehead will also become its chief executive officer, effective Oct. 1. Current CEO and chairman Guy Pinkerton will retain the title of board...

WHO WANTS ANGEL MONEY?
August 11, 2000... Young companies wishing to participate in the upcoming Angel Oregon event must submit applications to the Oregon Entrepreneurs Forum by Aug. 18. The Oct. 4 event, a companion event to Venture Oregon, will combine educational sessions with...

FIOS SECURES FUNDING.
August 11, 2000... Portland-based litigation consultant Fios has secured $3 million in early-stage venture capital funding from venture firms led by Seattle's Digital Partners. Fios specializes in obtaining and analyzing electronic evidence in the discovery...

Insignia/ESG hits it big with two leasing spaces.
August 11, 2000... It's been a big week for Insignia/ESG Inc. First, the firm was awarded 819,000 square feet of industrial property to manage for PM Realty Advisors. Next, it was selected as the leasing agent for Sunnybrook Corporate Center, one of the biggest...

CYBERSIGHT, NW AIRLINES PARTNER.
August 11, 2000... Northwest Airlines has hired Portland-based CyberSight to help it develop its global strategy and to enhance the airline's web and wireless capabilities. CyberSight oversaw the redesign of Northwest's home page, where visitors can purchase...

Orphans look for love.
August 11, 2000... Abandoned by investors and analysts, Wall Street's orphaned companies may find a home with investment firms willing to take them private. The situation is a common one: a small but plucky public company in a low-tech industry produces...

Private capital hunts for undervalued companies.
August 11, 2000... Going private works only if the private equity firm buying the company can offer shareholders a strong inducement to sell their shares. Buyout firms evaluate the purchase of a public company in the same manner they analyze a private target,...

Cascade managers wait for approval on buyout.
August 11, 2000... Portland's Cascade Corp. is an old-economy company stuck in a new-economy climate. The publicly held manufacturer of attachments for forklifts has operated profitably over the years, while steadily increasing efficiency and expanding...

Local manufacturers deemed ripe for the picking.
August 11, 2000... Orphan companies dot the landscape, nationwide and in the Pacific Northwest, observers say. The orphans are small, usually profitable and, compared to today's go-go technology companies, terribly old-fashioned. Analysts have discarded them...

Corporate obligations hobble buyout offers.
August 11, 2000... Like children in an orphanage trying to impress prospective parents, orphan companies often try to attract buyers or otherwise improve their situation. Abandoned public companies have a few options for restoring luster to their common...