Business Journal-Portland articles from February 1997

Business Journal-Portland archives from February 1997

Security Capital snags Clackamas industrial property. (Security Capital Industrial Trust plans to develop distribution and manufacturing space in Clackamas County)
February 7, 1997... Eager to expand its string of Portland business parks, developer Security Capital Industrial Trust plans to build more than haft a million square feet of industrial space in Clackamas County. The huge real estate investment trust recently...

Schlesingers land a Marriott hotel; Impac to own, operate downtown hotel. (Portland's Schlesinger brothers; Impac Hotel Group)
February 7, 1997... Impac Hotel Group is closing in on deals with Marriott International and financier Nomura Asset Capital that will propel its efforts to own and operate a planned downtown hotel. The pending agreements mean Portland's Schlesinger brothers will...

Car dealers race to set up lots in Wilsonville. (Oregon)
February 7, 1997... The Portland region's southern urban growth boundary may soon be lined by a phalanx of new and used Chevrolets, Mercedes and various other imported and domestic automobiles. Greg Wentworth, Don Rasmussen and Ron Tonkin all plan to open...

Port makes push for more container traffic. (Port of Portland)
February 7, 1997... Tickle Me Elmo landed here. Carried across the Pacific by container ship, Tickle Me Elmo came ashore at the Port of Portland. The giggling, pop-eyed Elmo was whisked to Tyco Toys' 500,000-square-foot warehouse in the Rivergate Industrial...

Bill would slash retailers' video lottery commissions. (Oregon Lottery's video poker)
February 7, 1997... A Hillsboro lawmaker wants to raise the ante on the Oregon Lottery's video-poker hosts, a move that would cost 1,831 bar-keeps and other retailers an average of $37,543 a year. Rep. Jim Hill, R-Hillsboro, introduced a bill Feb. 3 to slash the...

A new page: editor learns book trade. (Joe Bianco)(Small Business Savvy)
February 7, 1997... Joe Bianco acts as full-time publicist for his small collection of titles as he learns ropes of publishing trade Joe Bianco may be a small fish in a big tank, but he's a vigorous swimmer. Bianco is a small book publisher, owner of one of...

Tony Maroni's to grab piece of gourmet pizza market. (Tony Maroni's Famous Gourmet Pizza)
February 7, 1997... Takeout-and-delivery chain plans several local outlets Tony Maroni's Famous Gourmet Pizza wants a slice of Portland's restaurant business and plans to open as many as five outlets here soon. The Bellevue, Wash.-based Tony Maroni's has...

Dealing with PDX madness. (Portland International Airport)(Focus on Meetings, Conventions & Hotels)
February 7, 1997... Snarls at the airport are causing passengers to do a bit of snarling themselves. When will it end, and what should you do until it does? How long does it take to fly to Seattle, have a quick meeting and fly back? If your answer is "a few...

Bill seeks to spread benefits of state's energy deregulation.
February 7, 1997... Oregon small businesses and residents would share the fruits of electricity deregulation with big business under a new bill penned by consumer and environmental groups. The Legislature must assure that "big dogs" don't drink first once the...

Docs make 'house calls' to hotels. (HotelDocs)(Focus on Meetings, Conventions & Hotels)
February 7, 1997... Talk about room service! These doctors really deliver You're traveling in an unfamiliar city. It's 2 a.m., and the sniffles you had earlier are now making your lungs feel like lead and breathing seem impossible. Who ya gonna call? That...

Simpson lines up apartments along westside light-rail line. (Simpson Housing Limited Partnership)(Column)
February 7, 1997... Denver company to own 2,000 units fronting MAX Simpson Housing Limited Partnership has submitted designs to the City of Hillsboro for a 711-unit apartment complex estimated to cost $30 million. The project, located by the Quatama light-rail...

'Trip captains' ensure smooth sailing for travelers.(Focus on Meetings, Conventions & Hotels)
February 7, 1997... A television ad for a car rental company shows business travelers peering through the rain in a vain search for their rental car. The poor souls are going to get soaked! Worse yet, the success of their entire trip may be at risk. Who dropped...

WSU builds new manufacturing engineering program. (Washington State University)(Column)
February 7, 1997... Responding to the growing need for engineers who know their way around a production line, Washington State University's Vancouver campus has started a four-year degree program that will teach students the nuts and bolts of turning raw materials...

Making sure your bookings get bravos, not boos. (booking entertainment for conventions)(Focus on Meetings, Conventions & Hotels)(Column)
February 7, 1997... On top of all your other duties, you were just given responsibility for hiring the entertainment for your company's annual convention. Because entertainment can make or break an event, you're beginning to realize the importance of your...

Lane County meeting sites help clear mental slate.(Focus on Meetings, Conventions & Hotels)(Column)
February 7, 1997... If you're looking for a new place to hold a meeting, conference or staff retreat, why not consider really getting away from it all and heading south to Lane County? Though it's just a few hours away, the laid-back atmosphere and lush scenery...

Getting the nost out of trade shows, conventions.(Focus on Meetings, Conventions & Hotels)(Column)
February 7, 1997... You've just talked your boss into sending you to an important out-of-town conference. With registration, airfare, hotel, meals, etc., it's turned out to be quite an expensive proposition. How can you - and your employer - get your money's worth?...

Goodwill's ambassador. (Goodwill Industries of the Columbia Willamette Pres. Michael Miller)
February 7, 1997... Michael Miller worked to spread his company mission of dignity - and tripled retail sales along the way People call Michael Miller's local Goodwill Industries operation the mecca of the trade. At one time or another, Goodwill managers from...

Hit the highways. (Gov. John Kitzhaber proposes taxes to finance transportation)(Editorial)
February 7, 1997... Gov. John Kitzhaber's proposal to create new taxes to finance transportation jarred Oregonians like a pothole last fall. Now details of the proposal are coming out and the jarring continues. To add to this wild ride, the annual Portland Auto...

County commissioner fired up over anti-smoking plan. (Multnomah County Commissioner Dan Saltzman)
February 7, 1997... The facts are compelling. Smoking among Oregon 11th graders rose from 19 percent in 1992 to 25 percent in 1994. Eighty percent of adult smokers started before they were 18 years old. In Oregon, 58 percent of minors who smoke report buying their...

Building for the future: partnerships are key to growth for the forest products industry.
February 7, 1997... For the past 10 years, the Pacific Northwest's building products industry has focused on producing wood products to service international home building markets. Because of our abundant timber base and the ability of companies throughout the...

Charter, Sutro will end union: Portland workers to buy back brokerage. (Charter Investment Group and Sutro & Co. will dissolve merger)
February 14, 1997... The young marriage of local securities brokerage Charter Investment Group and San Francisco-based Sutro & Co. will end in divorce, but a very amicable one. Officials with both firms said Charter employees will buy back the Portland company...

Kitzhaber to consider prison privatization. (Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber)
February 14, 1997... Gov. John Kitzhaber and state corrections officials won't bar the door on Republican plans to privatize one of Oregon's new prisons. The governor has an "open mind" on the issue, Kitzhaber spokesman Bob Applegate said. "We really do have a...

Air Liquide to join Hillsboro cluster of chip-plant suppliers. (semiconductor firm to build plant in Hillsboro, Oregon)
February 14, 1997... Another industrial gas supplier is staking its claim in Oregon's semiconductor gold rush. Air Liquide Corp., the U.S. subsidiary of Paris-based L'Air Liquide S.A., will build a plant this year in Hillsboro to serve Integrated Device...

Body shops resent insurers' 'auto HMOs'; smaller repair shops feeling squeezed by bid insurers' direct repair programs. ('health maintenance organizations' for automobiles)
February 14, 1997... Leif Hanson wants to be an icon for consumer choice in autobody repair. In frequent radio and print ads, Hanson hammers away at the fact that auto insurers can't force customers to take their repairs to particular shops. Hanson, who owns...

Wholesome & Hearty eyes second manufacturing plant. (Wholesome & Hearty Foods Inc.)
February 14, 1997... Wholesome & Hearty Foods Inc., a company that's turned veggie burgers into a $39 million-a-year business, is once again considering building a second Portland plant to keep its Gardenburgers flowing to retailers. Portland-based Wholesome &...

Business group seeks to trim workers' comp board. (Oregon Small Business Coalition)
February 14, 1997... An Oregon business coalition wants to perform surgery on the state board that rules on injured-worker claims. Senate Majority Leader Gene Derfler, R-Salem, acting on behalf of the Oregon Small Business Coalition, recently introduced a bill that...

Sounding off: Terry Currier stays in tune with his love of music while running a successful business. (general manager and principal owner of Music Millennium)
February 14, 1997... Terry Currier, general manager and principal owner of Music Millennium, has struck a chord in the music retailing business that's reverberating well beyond his cramped office on East Burnside Street. "If I was to leave Music Millennium right...

Restaurant lobby biggest spender in '96. (lobbyist spending in Oregon)
February 14, 1997... Oregon restaurant owners are forking over cash to protect their interests in Salem. Newly filed spending reports show the Oregon Restaurant Association outspent every other lobby in the state last year by better than 2 to 1. The restaurant...

Builders, school district want piece of lottery endowment pie. (Beaverton School District and Oregon Building Industry Assn. seek funds from Oregon Lottery for school construction)
February 14, 1997... Gamblers, not taxpayers, would fund new schools The state homebuilders lobby and Beaverton School District are teaming up to seek a chunk of Oregon Lottery funds for new school construction. Often at odds over development projects in...

Bills seek to encourage use of medical savings accounts. (Oregon)
February 14, 1997... A trio of bills that makes it easier for consumers to use medical savings accounts has been introduced in Salem. MSAs are like individual retirement accounts for medical purposes in which individuals can make tax-free contributions and...

Oregon City business measures up. (Oregon Rules)
February 14, 1997... After filling a need as an employee, Joseph Dorie becomes entrepreneur to manufacture measuring equipment When Joseph Doric tells people he makes rulers and measuring instruments, they immediately think of the 12-inch Wonder Bread rulers they...

10 critical perpetuation issues facing business.
February 14, 1997... The ultimate test of survival comes when it's time to pick a successor. Only one in 10 companies makes it to the fourth year of operation, according to a recent article in Inc. magazine. Most companies that survive are not perpetuated; they...

State can hit home run with sports manufacturing. (Oregon)
February 14, 1997... Sporting goods manufacturing is a major industry in Oregon, and most of us never had a clue. The special report, "Sporting goods score in Oregon," beginning on the cover of this week's edition, is a pioneering effort to quantify the industry,...

Economic Development turns attention inward. (Oregon's Economic Development Dept.)
February 14, 1997... It's an odd thing to follow spectacular success with sharp changes. But that's what our state Economic Development Department must do now for the betterment of all Oregonians. Until now, the department has always concentrated considerable...

Origin of the species: more than 300 companies employing at least 16,000 have sprung from Oregon's mountains, deserts and rivers.
February 14, 1997... Oregon's status as a center for sports manufacturing is rooted both in its outdoor splendor and the need to build a better mousetrap. Or fishing lure. Or running shoe. Recreation and innovation are intertwined in the industry here. Tales of...

Marketing: the engine of the sports industry.
February 14, 1997... The buzzword of the sporting goods industry for the 1990s is "sports marketing." Engaging in sports marketing rather than simply selling sneakers, fishing rods or bicycles is the goal. This is achieved when customers and companies share the...

Nurturing an industry that holds promise. (Oregon's sporting goods industry)(Industry Overview)
February 14, 1997... Many sports and recreation-related companies started in Oregon because of their link to the state's environment. But most agree that nurture, not nature, is more important to the industry's future. "The more successful companies here become,...

Software companies moving to new digs; Flush MedicaLogic, Timberline plan new headquarters along Sunset Highway.
February 21, 1997... Two of the Portland area's largest software companies have set into motion plans to move to new corporate headquarters in the Sunset Corridor. Timberline Software Corp. has acquired land in Cornell Oaks Corporate Center to build a building of...

Area gas dealers to take on big oil companies. (Portland, Oregon)
February 21, 1997... Uptown Chevron dealer Dick Scott says he can duke it out on Portland's streets with any competitor except one - Chevron itself. After running Chevron's Northwest Portland franchise for 15 years, Scott blew a gasket last month when the oil...

A quiet legacy. (George Azumano, chairman of Azumano Insurance Co. and Azumano Travel Group)
February 21, 1997... Keen memories of wartime stigma led Azumano to build a community that includes Japanese Americans In December, George Azumano reached a milestone: 50 years in Portland business. During those years he turned his tiny insurance and travel agency...

Wood Feathers: succession success.
February 21, 1997... Family-owned roofing materials business turns to consultant to help with generational transition issues Maintaining healthy relationships between employer and employees can be difficult, and preserving family harmony also can be a struggle....

Ex-ODS exec to launch dental PPO. (former ODS Health Plans vice-president Bernie Reed forms Dental Preferred Provider Organization Inc.)
February 28, 1997... A dental benefits consultant and former vice president at ODS Health Plans is developing a new statewide dental network. Bernie Reed, owner of B.W. Reed Benefits, is creating a dental preferred-provider organization for insurers and...

ADP Plaza, BofA loan center change hands. (Portland, Oregon office buildings)
February 28, 1997... A wealthy Indonesian family has bought a pair of Portland-area office buildings for nearly $25 million. The unidentified family bought the four-story ADP Plaza in downtown Portland and the one-story Bank of America Loan Processing Center...

Columbia nails down Iceland smelter deal. (Columbia Ventures Corp.)
February 28, 1997... Ken Peterson, best known for reviving the aging Goldendale aluminum smelter and making it profitable, is about to build a brand-new plant. This one will be in Iceland. Peterson's Vancouver, Wash.-based Columbia Ventures Corp. expects to...

PhyCor connection to bankroll Vancouver Clinic's expansion.
February 28, 1997... Nashville-based PhyCor Inc.'s affiliation with Vancouver Clinic will give the local 66-physician group the financial muscle it needs to build an outpatient surgery center and add 40 doctors within the next five years. Under the terms of the...

Phone giants take gripes to Legislature. (includes related article on Oregon Public Utilities Commission)
February 28, 1997... US West and GTE unveiled a bill in Salem this week that would rewrite the state's telecommunications laws and reduce the Oregon Public Utility Commission's authority. The 81-page bill lays the groundwork for a speedy and "equitable" transition...

Lawmakers push OLCC privatization. (Oregon Liquor Control Commission)
February 28, 1997... GOP plan to open up state-run alcohol business faces strong opposition from liquor lobby Three Republican lawmakers have uncorked a bill to privatize Oregon's state-run liquor business, but the powerful beer and wine lobby says the proposal...

ADC Kentrox speeds data faster over copper phone lines.
February 28, 1997... A local company this month will introduce a replacement for computer modems that will allow Internet users to download "War and Peace" - or any 1,400-page document - in less than 7 seconds. Portland-based ADC Kentrox is introducing a $1,200...

Independent utility grid plan to move ahead without BPA. (Bonneville Power Administration)
February 28, 1997... Bonneville Power Administration will stay on the sidelines this summer when the region's electric utilities seek approval to pool their power grids under one independent command. That means the utilities' planned "independent grid operator" -...

The business of education: Duncan Wyse hopes his Oregon Business Council can spur schools to turn out a more skilled work force.(Interview)
February 28, 1997... Quality education has become a touchstone for business leaders in Portland. Executives from all industries have taken a new interest in the issue as the demand for skilled workers grows. Oregon schools and universities are where business is...

Lack of large Class A sites leads to vulture mentality: space-hungry businesses are swooping down on offices a year before they're empty.(Focus on Real Estate)
February 28, 1997... Chuck Langer began his search early Faced with a need for more space and no hope of renewing his company's existing lease in Portland's Lloyd Tower, the chief executive of U.S. Ban-corp Leasing and Financial began searching in the summer of '96...

Bringing Chinatown back from the brink. (Portland, Oregon)(Focus on Real Estate)
February 28, 1997... Government, merchants, private developers joining effort A decade ago, in a ceremony ringing with promise, Oregon's political luminaries and Chinese-American community assembled at Northwest Fourth Avenue and Burnside Street to dedicate a...

Rooftop rentals put cash in landlord's pockets: communications boom means roofs are getting crowded.(Focus on Real Estate)
February 28, 1997... Like visitors from an alien planet, satellite dishes, antennas and transmitters belonging to communications companies are landing by the dozens on the roofs of area buildings. And building owners aren't frightened a bit. In fact, landlords...

Downtown absorption bounced back in 1996. (Portland, Oregon office market)(Focus on Real Estate)
February 28, 1997... Latest numbers strengthen chances for new high-rise Downtown Portland's office market is performing nicely, with available space being steadily absorbed. But that doesn't mean the time is right for a construction frenzy, according to sources...

Affinity relationships hot elsewhere, but not here: real estate discounts for business groups rare in Portland.(Focus on Real Estate)
February 28, 1997... Real estate brokerages are always looking for new ways to generate business, and forming so-called affinity relationships with corporations and credit unions is one strategy brokerages are vigorously pursuing in California and many eastern...

Port's master plan for Terminal 1 getting redrafted. (Port of Portland)(Focus on Real Estate)
February 28, 1997... High-density housing is the most likely use for old dock Terminal 1, the grizzled old shipping dock that hugs the river north of the Fremont Bridge, may someday be transformed into a handsome housing development. For the first time in six...

Deep E Co. rises from ashes of Deja: environmental entrepreneur Julie Lewis rebounds after first venture fails.
February 28, 1997... Julie Lewis has a silent but important business partner: Mother Nature. Lewis is the founder of Deep E Co., maker of shoes from hemp and other environmentally benign materials. The company is Lewis' second attempt to fuse entrepreneurialism...

Bioject Medical Technologies Inc. (Proxy Report Excerpts)(Company Profile)
February 28, 1997... NASDAQ: BJCT 7620 S.W. Bridgeport Road, Portland, Ore. 97224 Bioject Medical Technologies Inc. manufactures and markets a needleless injection system to replace traditional needle-syringes. The company finalized its product design, began...

Students need real-world education, too. (graduate education)
February 28, 1997... Graduate education is vital to an economy driven by information and technology. Oregon businesses have been telling state lawmakers and educators that for years. Businesses have been so committed to that idea that in the early 1960s they founded...

Is OSHA's tide turning? Languishing worker safety programs get a monetary boost. (Occupational Safety and Health Administration budget for 1997)
February 28, 1997... Do you recall reading the news items that spoke of OSHA reform and just how long ago that has been? To refresh your memory, these articles date back to President Bush's administration. At that time, OSHA was completing its first 20 years of...