Business Journal-Portland articles from January 1994

Business Journal-Portland archives from January 1994

Oregon vies for Intel expansion. (Intel Corp.'s plan of building a new semiconductor fabrication plant in Washington County)
January 28, 1994... Washington County may offer tax breaks Intel Corp. is considering building a large new semiconductor fabrication plant in Washington County as well as completing its half-built semiconductor operation in Aloha. The possible...

Krystal klear. (Portland businesswoman Jackie Kromer's line of Hungarian crystal glassware) (Company Profile)
January 28, 1994... Jackie Cromer's newest venture stems from 1991 visit to Hungarian glass grinder Jackie Cromer has an unusual wish. She'd like to see a blazing pink perfume bottle made from the Hungarian crystal she imports. But that's not all. She'd like to...

Siltec may expand Salem silicon plant. (Siltec Corp.)
January 28, 1994... Siltec Corp. is considering expanding its Salem silicon wafer plant, perhaps dramatically. Stanley Myers, president and chief executive officer of Siltec, said the company's 130,000-square-foot factory is "fundamentally out of capacity right...

PGE shuffles top execs to deal with post-Trojan challenges. (Portland General Electric Co.; Trojan nuclear plant)
January 28, 1994... Portland General Electric Co. is shuffling four senior executives to different corners of the playing field as the utility trades in its old game plan to emphasize new construction. Executives Jim Cross, Fred Lamoureaux and Peggy Fowler will...

Breezley steps aside at U.S. Bank. (U.S. Bancorp CEO Roger Breezley)
January 28, 1994... "As long as I feel I'm effectively doing my job, I'll be here. It's sort of in my hands." So said Roger Breezley in early December when asked about rumors that his days were numbered as U.S. Bancorp's chief executive officer. But Breezley's...

Oregon Health Plan rolling out in series of statewide meetings. (HealthChoice Inc.'s public campaign of Medicaid health plan)
January 28, 1994... Fueled by an 18-month, $2.3 million state contract, HealthChoice Inc. in Portland is beginning a statewide campaign to publicize the expansion of Medicaid health coverage to low-income Oregonians. The expansion is part of the Oregon Health...

Women lawyers slowly enter partnership circle at major firms.
January 28, 1994... Lawyer Barrie Herbold still chuckles when she recalls her 1976 job offer from a Portland law firm where she had just finished a summer clerkship. While one of her male peers was being wined and dined at the Arlington Club, a partner treated...

CFI ProServices exec follows impact of regulations on banks. (Bob Chamness) (Interview)
January 28, 1994... He foresees the heavy hand of government easing up somewhat A regulated utility without the guaranteed profit. That's what many bank and thrift executives feel their industry is becoming. A hammer-lock of federal regulations--the Community...

Lake Oswego hits developers with steep traffic-impact fee. (Lake Oswego, Oregon) (Real Estate Quarterly)
January 28, 1994... Suburb's whopping fees can amount to $136 per car per day DEVELOPERS are accustomed to drawn-out battles to build in Lake Oswego, but some are screaming highway robbery over the affluent community's latest road-funding scheme. Joe Angel...

Real estate companies seek mucho dinero in Mexico. (real estate investments in Mexico) (Real Estate Quarterly)
January 28, 1994... NAFTA piques brokerages' interest in doing business south of the border U.S. REAL ESTATE COMPANIES have decided to run for the border, as Mexico's growing economy offers the promise of lucrative deals. Large real estate concerns, notably...

New, improved HUD boosts local apartment projects. (U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development) (Real Estate Quarterly)
January 28, 1994... Guarantees rise to $102 million in 1993--as much as in prior seven years THE MUCH-MALIGNED U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development emerged in 1993 as a potent force on Portland's real estate development scene. And now it wants to...

Mutual funds bull way to top returns. (mutual funds post double-digit returns)
January 21, 1994... Portland's Columbia, Crabbe Huson pull in millions in new assets Portland's two major mutual fund companies enjoyed perhaps their strongest year ever in 1993, earning double-digit returns for their investors and attracting hundreds of...

Workers' comp rates continue downward trend. (workers' compensation)
January 21, 1994... Costs are piling up at Harold's Auto Service like dirt on an air filter. Owner Harold Dick spent $10,000 for Freon recycling equipment at his Southeast Portland repair shop. He has plowed $15,000 into computerized testing equipment to keep...

Building a digital on-ramp to the Internet. (global computer network)
January 21, 1994... Internetworks is linking local small businesses to global computer network An early front-runner for buzzword of the year is information highway. Everyone is talking about it, but where are the on-ramps? One of them is on the second floor...

PacifiCorp picks old hand. (appointment of Frederick Buckman as president and chief executive officer)
January 21, 1994... Buckman, 47, a veteran of nuclear tiffs, corporate politics When Frederick Buckman, Portland's newest president and chief executive, joins PacifiCorp Feb. 1, he should readily fall into step with the Northwest's lifestyle. The burly...

Epson Portland, IRS tangle in suit over alleged profit sheltering. (Epson Portland Inc.)
January 21, 1994... WASHINGTON, D.C.--Epson Portland Inc. has become the latest target of the federal government's drive to extract more taxes from U.S. subsidiaries of multinational corporations. The Internal Revenue Service is demanding $11 million in...

Buck Medical's acquisition plans may include AA Ambulance. (Buck Medical Services Inc.; AA Ambulance Service)
January 21, 1994... Just a little more than a year after being acquired by a Boston-based ambulance giant, Portland-based Buck Medical Service is doing its own ambulance chasing. Ambulance industry sources say Buck is in the process of wooing AA Ambulance...

New director navigating a turnaround at Portland ship yard. (Port of Portland; George McShea, Jr.)
January 21, 1994... George McShea Jr. is a man who loves tackling problems. In his six months as its director, McShea has been using his skills to help revive the Port of Portland's struggling ship repair yard. Still stinging from market conditions so dismal...

Embezzlers steal funds, trust. (business fraud)
January 21, 1994... Bookkeepers with check-signing authority pose highest risk HAMPTON LUMBER SALES Co. trusted the bookkeeper and it may have cost the company more than $3.4 million. A civil suit filed Nov. 5 in Washington County Court alleges the bookkeeper...

TRM Copy Centers Corp. (Proxy Report Excerpts) (Company Profile)
January 21, 1994... 5515 S.E. Milwaukie Ave., Portland, Ore. 97202 NASDAQ: TRM TRM Copy Centers Corp. owns and maintains more than 20,000 self-service, 5-cent photocopiers in retail stores such as pharmacies, stationery stores, hardware stores and gift shops...

Sequent will stress services over hardware: two top execs leaving, Powell seeks new COO. (Sequent Computer Systems Inc.; CEO Casey Powell)
January 14, 1994... Sequent Computer Systems Inc. has launched a search for a new chief operating officer and president to help lead a fundamental remaking of the Beaverton computer company. Sequent Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Casey Powell will give up...

PacifiCare pushes into Clark County with alliance. (PacifiCare of Oregon)
January 14, 1994... PacifiCare of Oregon has struck a deal with Southwest Washington Medical Center and the Vancouver Clinic to offer its senior health plan in Clark County starting in February. In addition, the clinic and hospital are setting up an...

Dry winter may trigger rate hike for BPA clients. (Bonneville Power Administration)
January 14, 1994... With the latest streamflow and snowpack reports both hovering around 70 percent of normal midway through winter, 1994 is shaping up to be another tough year forthe Bonneville Power Administration--and its ratepayers. Even if the region...

Squeaky wheels: Bicycle Transportation Alliance works to make Portland more 'bicycle friendly.'
January 14, 1994... Of all people, bicyclists should know the squeaky wheel gets all the grease. Butit took a battle over bicycle access on Tri-Met buses before local cyclists learned to apply the squeaky-wheel adage to their own concerns. Riders upset about...

Cashing in on Hanford cleanup difficult for Northwest firms. (Hanford Nuclear Reservation)
January 14, 1994... After five futile years of seeking work at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation, Seattle-based Shannon & Wilson Inc. put the cart before the horse and established a Kennewick office. "We opened our office with no contract. That's what it takes,"...

It's 'survival of the fittest' when business crisis hits.
January 14, 1994... Fire, earthquake, theft and other tragedies can test the mettle of business owners and managers BUSINESS OWNERS deal with minor setbacks on a daily basis, but sometimes a real catastrophe catches the most seasoned manager by surprise....

Willamette Industries Inc. (Proxy Report Excerpts) (Company Profile)
January 14, 1994... 3800 First Interstate Tower, Portland, Ore. 97201 Willamette Industries Inc., a diversified wood products company, has 91 manufacturing facilities in 18 states and employs approximately 12,000 people. Willamette's operations include pulp,...

Working well in Oregon. (workers' compensation system) (Health in Business)
January 14, 1994... Oregon's workers' compensation system, once one of the worst in the country, is now one of our major assets in attracting new jobs to the state and retaining existing jobs. Sweeping reforms in the system in 1990 have resulted in improved...

Managed care helps manage workers' comp. (workers' compensation) (Health in Business)
January 14, 1994... * When President Clinton developed his plan for national health care reform, he insisted on a managed care approach. * The developers of the Oregon Health Plan also advocate managed care as the best means of financing and delivering care....

Glossary of workers' compensation terms. (includes related article) (Health in Business)
January 14, 1994... Acceptance of a Claim: A claim is accepted when an employer's insurance company determines that a worker's injury qualifies for benefits under the law. Claims must be accepted ordenied within 90 days of the employer's knowledge of an...

Winning the workers' comp tug-of-war. (Health in Business)
January 14, 1994... "That's not fair!" is a common reaction among employers and employees alike whenit comes to workers' compensation. Employers often feel that they shouldn't haveto accept claims for injuries caused by worker carelessness or poor judgment. Onthe...

Appropriate treatment reduces costs. (Health in Business)
January 14, 1994... Dr. Tom Lorish, of the Oregon Spine Center, uses outcome studies to ensure appropriate care and keep workers' comp costs down. How can you improve quality while cutting costs? The Oregon Spine Center at St. Vincent Hospital has found a way,...

Mentor plans more layoffs, restructuring; software sales up, but cuts deemed necessary. (Mentor Graphics Corp.)
January 7, 1994... Despite the newly upbeat environment at Mentor Graphics Corp., management has decided the company still must make further expense cuts, including an undetermined number of employee layoffs. Mentor Graphics Chief Executive Officer and...

Synopsys buys Logic Modeling in $117 million deal. (Synopsys Inc.; Logic Modeling Corp.)
January 7, 1994... In what is believed to be the highest-priced purchase in the history of Oregon's software industry, Mountain View, Calif.-based Synopsys Inc. has agreed to acquire Logic Modeling Corp. of Beaverton for $117 million worth of stock. If...

OHSU resumes talks over joint pediatric care. (Oregon Health Sciences University)
January 7, 1994... After a failed attempt to strike a deal on a joint children's hospital with Emanuel Hospital and Health Center in the early 1990s, Oregon Health Sciences University is courting new suitors. OHSU, Kaiser Permanente and the Sisters of...

Home fires burning; Tualatin's The Earth Stove survives shakeout in the wood stove industry. (Tualatin, Oregon; Earth Stove Inc.)
January 7, 1994... Jim Herman hopes for a few minor calamities each winter. He admits it. A paralyzing ice storm. A bitter cold snap. Power outages. They're music to his ears. Herman is a perfectly nice fellow. He feeds the ducks that cavort in the marsh...

Metro mulls putting all its trash in Waste Management's basket. (Waste Management Inc.)
January 7, 1994... Metro is either about to create a monopoly or open the local landfill business to true competition. It all depends on who you talk to. Metro is considering a staff proposal to alter its contract with Waste Management Inc. That contract routes...

Southwest may replace emergency room with urgent care clinic. (Southwest Washington Medical Center)
January 7, 1994... A Southwest Washington Medical Center official proposes replacing the emergency room at its Memorial campus with an eight-bed urgent care clinic. The proposal is headed for review by hospital executives and a neighborhood group. While...

Port of Ridgefield may be liable for major Pacific Wood cleanup. (Port of Ridgefield, Washington; Pacific Wood Treating Corp.)
January 7, 1994... The Port of Ridgefield, Wash., may have to shoulder a multimillion-dollar environmental cleanup--the legacy of a bankrupt wood treating company. But the port hopes to pay some of the cost by taking over the contaminated site, leasing it to...

Investors feast on Wholesome & Hearty's 518 percent price gain. (Wholesome and Hearty Foods Inc.)
January 7, 1994... The nation's top growth stock in over-the-counter trading for the year is Portland's own Wholesome & Hearty Foods Inc. The Hawthorne District-based maker of meatless Gardenburgers and milk-free dairy substitutes appreciated an astounding...

Portland attorney's 'elder law' niche addresses medical crises. (Portland, Oregon; Tim Nay)
January 7, 1994... Attorney Tim Nay has seen more than his share of clients die. In one case a client died four hours after a will was signed. He has helped families withdraw life support from loved ones when that's what the individual had requested. Frequently...

Tektronix Inc. (Proxy Report Excerpts) (Company Profile)
January 7, 1994... P.O. Box 1000, S.W. Parkway, Wilsonville, Ore. 97070 Tektronix Inc. reported a net loss of $55 million in fiscal 1993, in part due to a restructuring effort. Tek has added several new executives, including Del Yocam as president and chief...