Business Journal-Portland articles from August 2001

Business Journal-Portland archives from August 2001

ESI's new products point way to future.(Brief Article)
August 3, 2001... Though semiconductor companies have almost universally turned in disappointing financial results for at least the last couple of quarters, some capital equipment companies serving the industry are doing just fine. ESI Inc. (Nasdaq: ESIO)...

Gardenburger chief sets his turnaround strategy.(CEO Scott Wallace)(Brief Article)
August 3, 2001... With its primary veggie-patty market in decline, Gardenburger is broadening its menu. The move is an about-face from where the company's former CEO Lyle Hubbard--who left abruptly last August--took Gardenburger during his four-year stint....

Kombucha taking aim at healthy drink niche.(Brief Article)
August 3, 2001... Leave your Cokes and Mr. Pibbs at the door. Hold on to your mugs. Kombucha Wonder Drink has arrived. And supporters think their new product is the start of a brand-new beverage category that could reach beyond $300 million in several years....

Cenquest backers, pony up more refunds in third-round.(further funding)(Brief Article)
August 3, 2001... Even in a tight venture capital market, companies with a good story can still find eager investors. Cenquest, a Portland-based e-learning company told investors what they wanted to hear and has just raised $6 million in its third funding...

Dental consultancy practice gets to the root of problems.(Brief Article)(Interview)
August 3, 2001... Hot towels scented with lemon and cucumber, coffee and cookies in the lobby and appointments that start on time--these might be regular features in an upscale spa, but they're not what dental patients expect. Maybe they should. ...

Meeting center closure a sign of lean budgets.(Kingstad Meeting Centers )(Brief Article)
August 3, 2001... After six years of hosting conferences in downtown Portland's Pacific First Center, Kingstad Meeting Centers has shut the location--a victim of reduced spending by local companies. The June 30 closure clearly illustrates the ill effects...

New Venture Communications.(to shut down)(Brief Article)
August 3, 2001... New Venture Communications will close its doors Aug. 3. "We're in the middle of shutting down the company," said Ray Berardinelli, co-founder, president and CEO. Berardinelli said he and his partner Pat Huber, executive vice president, decided...

CAMO Inc.(merger with BIT Technology)(Brief Article)
August 3, 2001... CAMO Inc. of Corvallis and BIT Technology have signed a binding agreement to merge. Under the terms of the agreement, CAMO Inc. will become the parent company, acquiring 100 percent of the outstanding shares of BIT. BIT's principal owner,...

ServiceMagic Inc.(purchases from Handyman Online)(Brief Article)
August 3, 2001... ServiceMagic Inc. of Golden, Colo., has acquired Beaverton-based Handyman Online's network of service professionals as well as its computers, phones and other physical assets in a private foreclosure sale conducted by Imperial Bank. Both...

Hillsboro-based FEI Co.(private securities placement)(Brief Article)
August 3, 2001... Hillsboro-based FEI Co. (Nasdaq: FEIC), which makes capital equipment for the semiconductor and electronics industries, agreed privately to place $150 million aggregate principal amount of 5.5 percent convertible subordinated notes due 2008....

ITI Education Corp.(shuts down education centers in the US)(Brief Article)
August 3, 2001... ITI Education Corp. will shutter its year-old technology training school in Bellevue, Wash., along with similar centers in Portland and Denver, as the Canadian company retreats from the U.S. market. The company, which is based in Halifax, Nova...

Salem Communications Corp.(purchasing KJUN-FM)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
August 3, 2001... Salem Communications Corp. (Nasdaq: SALM), the Camarillo Calif., religious content radio broadcaster, has entered into an agreement with Thunderegg Wireless LLC to purchase KJUN-FM, a new radio station in the Portland market The parties said...

Red Monkey Advertising of Portland.(print campaign for German-based company Gallus)(Brief Article)
August 3, 2001... Red Monkey Advertising of Portland completed a print campaign for the German-based shoe company, Gallus. The ads will launch the 122-year-old men's European footwear brand in the United States; the entire product line will be rolled out at the...

RB Rubber Products Inc.(financial results for fiscal year ended April 30, 2001)(Brief Article)
August 3, 2001... RB Rubber Products Inc., a Portland manufacturer of rubber mats for the agribusiness, sports and fitness industries, reported net income of $435,000, or 13 cents per share, on sales of $11.2 million for its fiscal year ended April 30. The...

RadiSys sticks with telecom through tough times.(Brief Article)
August 3, 2001... Despite slumping sales and earnings figures among large telecommunications providers and the companies that supply their hardware, RadiSys Corp. (Nasdaq: RSYS) is sticking firmly to its focus on telecom. Addressing a common criticism that...

RedChip.com looking at third sale in two years.(Brief Article)
August 3, 2001... The staff at small-cap research firm RedChip.com Inc. can look on the bright side: Someone always seems willing to buy the company Officials said July 31 that Portland-based RedChip would change hands for the third time in two years. ...

Buyers begin to buy pricey Dream houses.(Brief Article)
August 3, 2001... Folks are snapping up this year's Street of Dreams homes, located in theFishback Creek subdivision in Hillsboro. Less than two weeks after the builders' showcase opened, featuring nine houses priced from nearly $700,000 to nearly $2...

Green power advocates converge on Portland.(Brief Article)
August 3, 2001... A spacious banquet room full of laptops and marketing professionals from around the country signaled that the Sixth Annual Green Power Marketing Conference was in town this week. As the U.S. House of Representatives simultaneously dissected...

Columbia tabs OnMercial for e-mail marketing.(Brief Article)
August 3, 2001... Oregonians who survive winter on the strength of their Gore-tex might soon find entire catalogs popping into their e-mail boxes. Portland-based Columbia Sportswear Co. (Nasdaq:COLM), one of the nation's largest manufacturers of outdoor...

WebTrends brand gets boost from NetIQ deal.(Brief Article)
August 3, 2001... Four months after the merger between WebTrends and NetIQ Corp. [Nasdaq: NTIQ], NetIQ appears to be confirming the commitment to the WebTrends brand that NetIQ and WebTrends executives underlined in March this year, when the companies first...

Public gets first look at port executive finalists.(Brief Article)
August 3, 2001... The next Port of Portland executive director will need to deal with some thorny issues; issues that include, but are not limited to, channel deepening, maintaining and expanding marine and air carrier service, and ensuring enough revenue to pay...

Social Venture Partners attracts major players.(Brief Article)
August 3, 2001... Social Venture Partners, a "venture philanthropy" fund and organization first founded in Seattle, Wash., three years ago, now has a Portland chapter. Social Venture Partners Portland (SVPP) was incorporated in December last year as a...

Serveron moves its HQ from Bend to Hillsboro.(Brief Article)
August 3, 2001... Serveron Corp., which provides monitoring equipment to the power industry, has leased 23,000 square feet of office and manufacturing space in Hillsboro for its new Portland-area headquarters. The company has also hired three new executives. ...

Skipper's restaurants fishing for profitability.(Brief Article)
August 3, 2001... A revised strategic plan to steer the Edmonds-based Skipper's Seafood 'N Chowder House chain to profitability includes a new chief executive, new restaurants and new menu. The privately held company, whose corporate parent is Seattle Crab...

Wells Fargo web site focused on small biz.(Brief Article)
August 3, 2001... Wells Fargo still has big plans for the small business market, as the bank adds new online payroll and accounting services to the web site it launched a year ago. The bank hopes that its increasingly detailed site will get more of its 1.5...

Lean Boeing beginning to put up mean results.(Brief Article)
August 3, 2001... The magic number in Boeing's second-quarter earnings release last week--a 10.2 percent operating margin for Boeing Commercial Airplanes in the first six months of the year--is tangible evidence that Boeing's lean manufacturing program is...

Doug Steck.(President and CEO of E*Trade Access)(Brief Article)
August 3, 2001... PERSONAL INFORMATION Name: Doug Steck Organization: E*TRADE Access Inc. Title: President and CEO What we do: A wholly owned subsidiary of E*TRADE, we sell, service and support ATMs to retail merchants. Education: B.A....

LP turnaround, Part II?(Louisiana-Pacific's recent strategies)
August 3, 2001... Mark Suwyn revived LP once. Can be do it again? For the past several years, Louisiana-Pacific Corp. has found little time to rest on its laurels. A mid-1990s flurry of lawsuits surrounding the company's allegedly bunk "Inner Seal"...

U.S. negotiators booed over greenhouse gases.(Brief Article)
August 3, 2001... News last week that diplomats from 178 nations agreed on the Kyoto Protocol to cut greenhouse gas emissions was bittersweet. U.S. negotiators, after all, were booed when they reiterated President Bush's dismissal of the only international...

EVEN GM BUYS GREEN POWER.(Brief Article)
August 3, 2001... "Green power: it's not just for Patagonia anymore." That's a quote from Torrey Wasserman, a consultant who helped promote a new Green Power Partnership at this week's Sixth Annual Green Power Marketing Conference in Portland. The new...

FROM THE FARM TO YOUR GAS TANK.(Use of corn for ethanol as gas additive)(Brief Article)
August 3, 2001... A national plan to better utilize agricultural products for energy and other nontraditional uses could turn Oregon State University into a regional "Sun Grant" institution. In addition to being a boon for OSU, the Sun Grant program could prove...

Indian consulting firm shakes up local scene.(Brief Article)
August 3, 2001... Portland's IT consulting scene just got a little bit more competitive. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), a subsidiary of Tata Sons Ltd.--which, at $10 billion in annual revenue, is India's largest company--is moving into Portland. TCS has...

GET M.B.A. AND FREQUENT FLIER MILES.(Cenquest e-learning degree programs)(Brief Article)
August 3, 2001... Cenquest, which develops corporate e-learning degree programs, is providing the e-learning component for TRIUM, a global M.B.A. program. TRIUM is an alliance of three business schools: New York University's Stern School of Business, the London...

QUOTE OF THE WEEK.(Eric Schmidt)(Brief Article)
August 3, 2001... Eric Schmidt, chairman of Novell and Google, quoted in The New York Times on the tech economy's need for a new "killer app": "I know what it [the killer app] was. Unfortunately, it was Napster. Napster went from zero to 50 million users in...

DAZED BY MACROMEDIA.(Portland State's Macromedia Daze)(Brief Article)
August 3, 2001... Macromedia [Nasdaq: MACR], the San Francisco-based designer of interactive software, returns to Portland State University August 9-11 for the second Macromedia Daze, three days of classes, workshops and discussion events for internet...

Some predictions from Gartner still carrying weight.(Charles Abrams on online electronic publishing)(Brief Article)
August 3, 2001... Charles Abrams wrote his report, "Commercial Publishing Transitions: A Blueprint Through 2002" in 1998. Since then, many of his predictions about online publishing have come true. Here are a few of them: * Although many large publishers...

Here's your newspaper.(Scarborough Research readership survey)(Brief Article)
August 3, 2001... We've all heard the predictions: newspapers will go the way of the dinosaur as a society of internet junkies turns to the web for news. Well, don't say goodbye to the newsprint version of your paper quite yet. Times are tough all over in...

Making money's the big challenge online.(Brief Article)
August 3, 2001... AS everyone knows by now, making money on the web is a dicey proposition. And for online publishers, it's no easier. Even the two established giants of the online newspaper world--The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times--are...

Newspapering on the web remains tricky.
August 3, 2001... Editors and reporters at web-only publications have spent the last few years working out what exactly a web publication is, and how to serve an audience in a completely new medium. But those working at web sites that are extensions of...

Web news sites: some struggling, departed.(Brief Article)
August 3, 2001... What follows is a partial listing of some of the better-known online publications--one of which is now departed. SALON.COM (www.salon.com) One of the best-established online publications, Salon, has morphed into Salon Media Group Inc.,...

Globe St.com revises its model; adds user fee.(Brief Article)
August 3, 2001... The struggle to generate revenue on the web does not belong only to traditional print publications with affiliated web sites. Web news sites serving specialized industry niches are also having a hard time proving their business model. ...

High-speed internet still plagued with problems.
August 3, 2001... The promise of high bandwidth access to the internet isn't the pretty picture once painted by the telecommunications industry and public policymakers. What happened to the information superhighway, with off-ramps to our homes and...

Here's how to retain your valued IT employees.
August 3, 2001... As demand for IT talent continues to rise, companies are finding it increasingly difficult to retain valued employees. Even if your workers are not actively seeking employment elsewhere, they may be the subjects of your competitors' intensive...

Small businesses: move cautiously with the web.(Brief Article)
August 3, 2001... Growing up, you wanted to do things because others did them. Then you might hear your parents say, "If Johnny jumped off a bridge, would you do that too?" The same idea can be applied to the adoption rate of the internet as a business...

Top semiconductor companies.(Oregon semiconductor company ratings)(Brief Article)
August 3, 2001... Top semiconductor companies Ranked by number of area employees Rank Phone last fax Rank year Company website 1 1 ...

A scrappy little startup.(new mother Erica Oesterreich, Personal Scrapper)(Brief Article)
August 3, 2001... It's the supermom's dirtiest secret. She works, carpools, volunteers at school, makes dinner, does laundry attends soccer practices and school plays. She does it all--except one thing. She doesn't have time to save the memories. ...

Personal scrappers work hard to attract new clients.(Rosie O'Donald's favorite celebreties)(Brief Article)
August 3, 2001... Many small, personalized scrapbook companies use creative marketing strategies and the internet to find time- and creativity-challenged clients. One small-time scrapper, Anamarie Seidel of Olympia, Wash.-based Finely Finished, put together...

Pro tips for preserving memories.(Brief Article)
August 3, 2001... Erica Oesterreich's first scrapbook page was awful. Created on construction paper that will yellow and crack with time, the attempt was made before her creative juices were flowing. Although inspiration from other sources and art classes...

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE.(Accounting, architecture)(Brief Article)
August 3, 2001... ACCOUNTING Hansen Hunter & Company P.C. named Debbie Hollingsworth managing partner and Matt Conley tax manager. ARCHITECTURE LRS Architects Inc. added Benjamin Abrams as IT technician; Geoff Metts as marketing department...

Beefing up the bottom line.(Gardenburger)(Brief Article)
August 3, 2001... There's a bit of a turnaround under way at a local company that should give us all a lift. Gardenburger, the vendor of meatless burgers, is back in the black. And its new boss, Scott Wallace, may be on the right path for stabilizing a...

A winner in the contest of life.(Author's daughter pays tribute in book)(Brief Article)
August 3, 2001... I recently made the acquaintance of a woman whose nimble, intuitive pen could write circles around the rest of us. But Evelyn Ryan never made it to the upper echelons of journalism or publishing--instead, she raised 10 children. Ryan...

Things you need to know to survive a bear market.(Brief Article)
August 3, 2001... If the bear market has you down, you're not alone. The wall Street Journal recently reported that there are many signs that investors are avoiding the stock market. Fortunately, there are some basic steps you can take to minimize the downside...

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.(Liquor taxation)(Brief Article)
August 3, 2001... Some reasons do exist for the OLCC to remain in control of liquor To the editor (Re: "Tax activist wants state out of booze business" July 20, p.1) Don McIntire's plan to do away with the OLCC would be OK if it were not for the fact...

The Numbers Game.(Fear of misuse of credit cards on Internet)(Brief Article)
August 3, 2001... The Numbers Game MAJORITY OF E-MAIL USERS EXPRESS CONCERN ABOUT INTERNET PRIVACY The poll shows that e-mail users worry most about misuse of their credit card information and feel uncomfortable giving out their Social Security...

Insider Trading.(Execs sell Nike stock)(Brief Article)
August 3, 2001... The buying and selling of stock shares by area executives John Thompson Director Nike Inc. Shares to sell: 20,000 Share price: $44.38 [*] Share value: $887,600 Michael Heschel Exec. vice president ...

Winners & Losers.(Environment)(Brief Article)
August 3, 2001... Tidepool[Arrow up] Imagine rising daily before the crack of dawn to surf through every newspaper from San Francisco to Alaska to find articles on the environment. That routine has been perfected by the news hounds at Tidepool, who are now...

SLAP SHOTS.(Beer festival)(Brief Article)
August 3, 2001... Taste of the nation Hail and farewell to July: American beer month. Regardless of whether Portland is the beer and ale capital of the West Coast, the recent 14th annual Oregon Brewers Festival was a fabulous celebration of microbrews from...

Regence charged with inflating claims.(ex-employee of Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Oregon claims the insurer paid $50 million in illegitimate claims)(Brief Article)
August 10, 2001... An ex-employee of Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Oregon claims the insurer paid $50 million in illegitimate claims and fired him for blowing the whistle. Scott Koopman sued Oregon's largest insurer for more than $7 million July 17 in...

Gardenburger founder happy with new focus.(Paul Wenner)(Interview)(Brief Article)
August 10, 2001... Gardenburger founder Paul Wenner thinks the troubled company he once ran is putting itself on the road to success by getting back to its roots. And Wenner's more active role in the company is one of the roots being restored. Founded in...

White Bird dances way into Portland art scene.(dance productions)(Brief Article)
August 10, 2001... White Bird's recent production of Michael Curry's "Spirits" sold out an ambitious 9,000 seats over three nights. Since partners Paul King and Walter Jaffe founded White Bird in July 1997, Portland's stages have been pounded by Brazilian and...

FatEarth running lean with changing economic current.(FatEarth Inc., strategies and goals)(Brief Article)(Company Profile)
August 10, 2001... Despite an economic climate prompting businesses to run tighter ships and a federal environmental policy seen as antagonistic toward environmental protection, a mostly positive buzz has surrounded Portland-based FatEarth Inc. But for a startup...

Columbia busy with fires, but would rather do more logging.(Columbia Helicopters)
August 10, 2001... A year after one of the most blaze-friendly summers in history, peak forest fire season has once again returned to the Western United States. And once again, Aurora-based Columbia Helicopters is dispatching part of its fleet to battle the...

Republicans band together to help nature.(Republicans for Environmental Protection to launch Oregon chapter)(Brief Article)
August 10, 2001... Republicans for Environmental Protection, a national grass-roots group often at odds with President George W. Bush's environmental policies, is set to launch an Oregon chapter. The new chapter is planning an Aug. 11 kick-off celebration at...

Shilo Inns.(forms Shilo Franchise International)(Brief Article)
August 10, 2001... Portland-based Shilo Inns is jumping into the franchise game. The lodging company headed by high-profile owner Mark Hemstreet is creating a new company under the Shilo umbrella, Shilo Franchise International. The franchise operation will offer...

RadiSys Corp.(extends offer to purchase Microware Systems Corp. common stocks)(Brief Article)
August 10, 2001... RadiSys Corp. (Nasdaq:RSYS), a Hillsboro internet and communications systems enabler, said it is extending its offer to purchase all of the outstanding shares of Microware Systems Corp. common stock until 5 p.m., EST time, on Friday, Aug. 10....

PCC Structurals.(Employee chemical injuries death)(Brief Article)
August 10, 2001... An employee of PCC Structurals, a unit of Precision Castparts Corp. of Portland, died as a result of chemical injuries sustained in a cleaning tank. The employee, who was not identified by the company, was cleaning a tank containing a caustic...

Olive Farm LLC.(to open Beaverton location)(Brief Article)
August 10, 2001... The Olive Farm LLC, an importer of olive oil and related Mediterranean products, has chosen Beaverton's Orenco Station as the site for its second shop. The company signed a lease for a 585-square-foot store at Orenco Station's Town Center, near...

Hollywood Entertainment.(VHS and DVD revenue-sharing agreement )(Brief Article)
August 10, 2001... Hollywood Entertainment (Nasdaq: HLYW) announced Monday that it has entered into a new VHS and DVD revenue-sharing agreement with MGM Home Entertainment. It's the first time that Portland-based Hollywood, which operates more than 1,800...

Portland General Electric.(opposes Federal Energy Regulatory Commission regulations)(Brief Article)
August 10, 2001... Portland General Electric and two other Western utilities have banded together to oppose price controls ordered by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. FERC's mandates, issued June 19 and July 25, were aimed at protecting consumers and...

HB 3007.(Governor Kitzhaber signs law to phase out use of mercury)(Brief Article)
August 10, 2001... Gov. Kitzhaber signed into Oregon law a bill aimed at phasing out the use of mercury, a persistent environmental contaminant. HB 3007, includes the first phaseout of mercury thermostats in the nation. It also prohibits the sale of fever...

PocketMedTools debuts palm note-taking device.(PocketPractitioner)(Brief Article)
August 10, 2001... Portland's health care technology companies are fueling a fiery little industry to help doctors go digital: medical informatics. The newest spark is Portland-based PocketMedTools, which last month debuted its physicians' note-taking...

Danner Shoe parent relocating headquarters to N.E. Portland.(LaCrosse Footwear Inc. moving headquarters from Wisconsin to Oregon)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
August 10, 2001... LaCrosse Footwear Inc. (Nasdaq: BOOT) will relocate its corporate headquarters from La Crosse, Wis., to Portland by the end of the year, company officials said Aug. 2. LaCrosse, a maker of footwear for work and outdoors, will move its...

New technology makes bus information current.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
August 10, 2001... While most of us think of "wireless" as meaning cell phones or perhaps palmtop computers, Day Wireless Systems installs and services a range of wireless communications systems, from telephone service to data monitoring to computer networks to...

ProSight links up with software firm PlanView.(ProSight Inc. strategic alliance with PlanView Inc.)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
August 10, 2001... ProSight Inc., a privately held Portland company that creates and sells software for prioritizing information-technology projects, has entered a reciprocal referral agreement with PlanView Inc., an Austin, Texas, company that creates and sells...

Oregon Zoo plans additions to newest exhibit.(Brief Article)
August 10, 2001... Just $1.9 million short of its funding goal, the Oregon Zoo Foundation could see the realization of its Great Northwest exhibit through in a few short years. Visitors are already flocking to the completed Steller Cove portion, which...

Vancouver publisher brings new publication to town.(Al Raines creates Weekly Vancouver)(Brief Article)
August 10, 2001... The entrepreneur behind weekly Vancouver Business Journal and monthly Bellingham Business is planning his second Vancouver, Wash., startup: Weekly Vancouver. "This is my dream publication," said entrepreneur Al Raines. "I've always wanted...

ALC's second quarter no less grim than the first one.(Assisted Living Concepts Inc. revenues and earnings)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
August 10, 2001... The picture of Assisted Living Concepts Inc.'s earnings in the second quarter is no better than forecast in the first quarter, when officials predicted that they would file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The Portland-based company still has no...

Pat Boggs.(president of Northwest Staffing Resources)(Brief Article)
August 10, 2001... PERSONAL INFORMATION Name: Pat Boggs Organization: Northwest Staffing Resources Title: President What we do: Provide full-service staffing, both temp and direct hire for clerical and light industrial companies....

Courting Lara Croft.(Jeffrey Griffiths takes over as CEO of Electronics Boutique)(Brief Article)
August 10, 2001... Electronics Boutique s' new CEO plots growth, sales revival Jeffrey Griffiths, the new CEO and president of Electronics Boutique Holding Corp., could use all the help that Lara Croft can offer. Croft, for those without teenagers at...

Tidepool collects best environmental nuggets.(distributes environmental news via electronic mail)(Brief Article)
August 10, 2001... Not everyone has time to wake before the first glow of dawn to scan every online news service spanning San Francisco to Alaska for articles regarding regional environmental issues. But then, there's really no need to. Tidepool has been...

PGE GETS DREAM GREEN TEAM.(Portland General Electric's Green Building Services)(Brief Article)
August 10, 2001... Portland General Electric set out a year ago to try to assemble one of the savviest green building consulting businesses in the country. Recently, the utility reported that its Green Building Services arm had the most LEED-accredited...

ODA'S SILENT SPRING.(Oregon Department of Agriculture is currently involved in a rule-making process to implement the Pesticide Use Reporting Law)(Brief Article)
August 10, 2001... The Oregon Department of Agriculture is currently involved in a rule-making process to implement the Pesticide Use Reporting Law, which was passed by the state legislature two years back. But as ODA prepares drafts of its plan, it is also...

A GREENER SHADE OF PALE.(Jean Valium Natural Capital Center exhibit)(Brief Article)
August 10, 2001... Next month, Northwest Portland's Jean Valium Natural Capital Center will welcome "Ten Shades of Green," a museum-quality exhibit out of New York City that showcases the top tier of sustainable design. While the exhibit features buildings...

FEELING FROSTY IN ALASKA.(Sandi Scheinberg visits Alaska)(Brief Article)
August 10, 2001... News seems to flow a little slower this time of year, partly because hosts of people are burning off long-anticipated vacation days to spend with family and friends. Readers may remember Sandi Scheinberg as campaign director at the...