Business Journal-Portland articles from January 1999

Business Journal-Portland archives from January 1999

Bookstore battle pits Powell's vs. union.(Powell's City of Books)
January 29, 1999... Powell's City of Books is a genteel world of literature, where customers sip lattes, roam a seemingly infinite number of aisles and find knowledgeable sales people. But beneath this patina of civility an intense labor battle is brewing....

Bogle & Gates latest legal turmoil victim.(law firm)
January 29, 1999... It appears there will be another shakeup at a major law office in town. This time, legal sources said Seattle's Bogle & Gates, which has a significant presence here, is taking the hit. Expected to be gone are most of the attorneys in...

Health care consolidation continues with Summit sale.(Summit Research Network)
January 29, 1999... A publicly traded Canadian lab company which has grown through consolidation is looking to repeat that success by buying a majority stake in Portland-based Summit Research Network. Canadian Medical Laboratories Ltd., which provides lab...

Affordable housing crisis response slams developers.(Portland, Oregon-based housing developers)
January 29, 1999... Eighteen years ago Portland developer John Beardsley signed an agreement with the federal department of Housing and Urban Development to provide low-income housing in Portland for 20 years. Beardsley is holding up his end of the bargain,...

Big brokerage firms make significant hires.(Ragen MacKenzie Group Inc. and Dain Rauscher Inc.)
January 29, 1999... Two of the area's largest regional stock brokerage firms have hired new executives to lead their Pacific Northwest activities, with one firm stealing a key employee of the other. Seattle-based Ragen MacKenzie Group Inc. lured former Dain...

Movie club Key Sunday to start a Portland chapter in February.(Key Sunday Cinema Club; Oregon; 1999)
January 29, 1999... A Washington, D.C.-based sneak-preview club for movie buffs who like foreign and independent films is raising the curtain on a new Portland chapter next month. The Key Sunday Cinema Club began in 1992 in Washington, D.C., but in 1998...

In Focus closes 1998 on road to financial recovery.(In Focus Systems Inc.)
January 29, 1999... After stumbling badly in the first haft of 1998, In Focus Systems Inc. regained its footing in time to finish the year in stride. The stumble caused by fierce price competition from Asian rivals and a flawed distribution strategy still...

Phoenix Gold's future brighter after strong 1Q.(Phoenix Gold International Inc.; 1999)
January 29, 1999... Phoenix Gold International Inc. just posted its best quarter in three years, which has at least one analyst believing it might shake off a dismal 1998 and once again perform like a promising company. The company's stock has responded to...

Port spends more money on UP pipeline problem.(Port of Portland; underground pipeline)
January 29, 1999... Port of Portland officials say they continue to spend money to clean up somebody else's mess at Terminal 4 in North Portland. After paying close to $1 million in an effort to contain diesel fuel that allegedly leaked from an underground...

Down with a touch of the flu: Northwest Pipe's momentum is slowed by foreign pipe prices.(Corporate Strategies)
January 29, 1999... For Portland's Northwest Pipe Co., the Asian economic crisis has been a decidedly mixed blessing. It has reduced raw material costs for some of its products and sent profits down the tube for others. "We will weather the storm, but it is...

Finding a legal niche online.(Small Business)(Legal Anywhere)
January 29, 1999... Law firms looking to go somewhere with the internet might explore Legal Anywhere. Founded in 1995, principals of the Portland-based company spent two years researching and developing an intranet/extranet prototype exclusively designed...

Hillsboro targeted for specialty mall.(Federal Realty Investment Trust's plans of constructing a shopping mall at Tanasbourne in Hillsboro, Oregon)
January 22, 1999... A Maryland REIT plans to spend some $60 million developing a major new specialty-store mall in Hillsboro's Tanasbourne area, an executive with the company said. If constructed, Federal Realty Investment Trust's project would provide a...

Mega-mall builder to bid for O. City landfill.(plans of real estate investment trust Mills Corp. to commercially develop a former landfill in Oregon City)
January 22, 1999... A major developer and operator of entertainment-oriented mega-malls is on the hunt for land on the outskirts of Portland, and has reportedly offered $5 million for an 80-acre former landfill in Oregon City. The company is Mills Corp., an...

Port's development project downshifts to a turtle's pace.(focus on protecting the Western painted turtle at the Rivergate Industrial District in Portland, Oregon)
January 22, 1999... When it comes to protecting rare turtles, it takes thousands of greenbacks to protect a few hundred green backs basking in the sun. Over the next five years, regional government Metro and the Port of Portland expect to spend a total of...

Dialysis centers flourishing since locals joined Nashville group.(financial performance of Pacific Northwest Renal Services)
January 22, 1999... Pacific Northwest Renal Services has opened six dialysis centers since February 1998, when three providers joined with Nashville, Tenn.-based Renal Care Group to form Pacific. The sites offer dialysis to people with end-stage renal...

Eagle Hardware now to land two stores in area.(construction of a second store in Wood Village, Portland, Oregon for Seattle, Washington-based Eagle Hardware & Garden Inc.)
January 22, 1999... Seattle's Eagle Hardware & Garden Inc. has settled on Wood Village as the site for its second Portland. area store, even as it strives to get its first local store open in Tigard by 2000. With huge stores that average 129,000 square feet,...

John Wheeler.(CEO and founder of Copper Mountain Trust)
January 22, 1999... PERSONAL INFORMATION Name: John Wheeler Organization: Copper Mountain Trust Title: CEO and founder What we do: We're a privately held independent trust company with 92 employees offering investment services for high...

Can Nike connect the dots?(marketing of the Alpha product line)
January 22, 1999... The Alpha line was designed to reestablish Nike waning clout After more than a year of being hammered by brown shoes, the Asian flu and bad press, Nike Inc. finally has made its Alpha bet. Two weeks before Nike mouthpiece Michael...

Building safe havens.(profile of Encore Senior Village-Portland, Oregon)(Company Profile)
January 22, 1999... Marie was so convinced that she was being stalked that she climbed the fence of the Alzheimer's care residence Encore Senior Village-Portland. An Encore official caught up with her by car and offered assistance. Marie wanted to go to the...

And three make a team.(profile of Synergy Consulting Group)(Company Profile)
January 22, 1999... If ever there's been an overworked business buzz word, it's "synergy." But the three partners in Synergy Consulting Group are working hard to prove there's real substance behind their company name. As they explain how their brand of...

Mentor: be patient, forget Quickturn.(Mentor Graphics Corp.'s failed acquisition of Quickturn Design Systems Inc.)
January 15, 1999... Mentor Graphics Corp. has spent an estimated $63 million and nearly three years trying to build a profitable emulation business. So far. the expenditure has bought Mentor a company that enjoys some sales in Europe but still operates at a...

Hollywood may spin off stake in Reel.com.(Hollywood Entertainment Corp.)
January 15, 1999... Confounded by Wall Street's refusal to recognize the value of its internet subsidiary, executives at Hollywood Entertainment Corp. may spin out a minority stake in Reel.com to the public. Hollywood bought Reel.com, which sells movie...

Sapient to be sold to Atlanta firm for stock.(Sapient Health Network; WebMD Inc.)
January 15, 1999... WebMD Inc., a skyrocketing Atlanta health care internet service company that appears on the verge of a public offering, is in the process of buying Sapient Health Network, one of Oregon's hottest technology start-up companies. Sapient is...

1 Main Place in fire - and police - sale for $44.5M.(Los Angeles Fire and Police Pension System's acquisition of 20-story office building)
January 15, 1999... The Los Angeles Fire and Police Pension System has paid $44.5 million to become sole owner of the 20-story One Main Place office tower in downtown Portland. The sate price marks a leveling off in the office investment market. LAFPPS was...

Large-cap surge causes local mutual funds to wobble in '98.
January 15, 1999... Managers at the local Crabbe Huson family of mutual funds acknowledge the obvious: 1998 was a bad year to be a contrarian. Despite an unseemly blip in the third quarter, Wall Street continued its torrid pace of recent years, led generally...

Steel slitter company all smiles with new owners.(Oregon Metal Slitters Inc.)
January 15, 1999... Oregon Metal Slitters Inc., a manufacturer in the Port of Portland's Rivergate Industrial District, has new owners in another ripple of the Asian economic crisis reaching across the globe. After the August bankruptcy of Japanese parent...

Takeover bid was serious, well, sort of, says Mentor.(Mentor Graphics Corp.'s failed acquisition of Quickturn Design Systems Inc.)
January 15, 1999... The victors write the history. But in the world of corporate acquisitions, the losers get to spin it. Take Mentor Graphics Corp.'s failed attempt to acquire Quickturn Design Systems Inc. Mentor was outbid by Cadence Design Systems Inc.,...

Ex-ISSPRO boss loses $1.8M lawsuit.(Dennis Maze)
January 15, 1999... ISSPRO Inc. has won a $1.8 million jury verdict against former president Dennis Maze, who company officials say used more than $300,000 in company assets for personal gain. Kel Ross, president and chief executive officer of ISSPRO, called...

Executive profile: Mike Dunleavy.(head coach of Portland Trail Blazers)
January 15, 1999... PERSONAL INFORMATION Name: Mike Dunleavy Title: Head coach Organization: Portland Trail Blazers What we do: Professional basketball team Education: B.A., psychology, University of South Carolina (1976); Merrill Lynch's M.B.A. training...

Strength meets strength: nobody lost when Summit Design and OrCAD merged.(Corporate Strategies)
January 15, 1999... Larry Gerhard, president and chief executive officer of Summit Design Inc., has an extra incentive to make his firm's upcoming merger with OrCAD work. Of course, he wants to protect the interests of shareholders, customers and employees....

Equity Group sales surpass $2B.(Equity Group Inc. Independent Realtors)
January 8, 1999... In a marketplace increasingly crowded with national residential real estate chains, the largest local independent firm was the first to hit a new sales record. The Equity Group Inc. Independent Realtors hit the $2 billion sales mark last...

Pioneer Courthouse Square's coffee corner to get new life.(upgrade of the square by a Starbucks Coffee franchise in Portland, Oregon)
January 8, 1999... How about some lighting and Liszt with that latte? Pioneer Courthouse Square and Starbucks Corp. are sprucing up Portland's most popular "living room," paying for new lighting and adding classical music to upgrade the environs of the...

Beer barrel hauling barons consolidating in Northwest.(sale of Sid Eland Inc.'s beer distribution business to Portland, Oregon-based Columbia Distributing Inc.)
January 8, 1999... The acquisition by Portland's Columbia Distributing Inc. of Miller Brewing Co.'s largest distributor in the Northwest presages more consolidation for beverage suppliers in the region. Renton, Wash.-based Sid Eland Inc., one of the...

You gotta give a little in order to get - quite a lot.(investment of Warburg, Pincus Ventures LP in Brandon Dawson's Serius Corp.)
January 8, 1999... Brandon Dawson never actually said he hates filling out those monthly reports for the fellows at Warburg, Pincus Ventures LP. But he does allow that sometimes they are kind of a pain. "Who am I to complain about a little paperwork,...

Mentor braces for board war with Quickturn.(Mentor Graphics Corp.'s hostile takeover of Quickturn Design Systems Inc.)
January 8, 1999... Mentor Graphics Corp. is facing what could be the final act in its bid to take over rival Quickturn Design Systems Inc. But, win or lose, industry analysts say there's reason to be optimistic about the company's long-term prospects. ...

Sivers forced to abandon local office after First Industrial move.(disappointment of Dennis Sivers in selling his Portland, Oregon-based real estate investment business to First Industrial Realty Trust)
January 8, 1999... Dennis Sivers knew the early September sale of his family-owned industrial portfolio to a Chicago-based real estate investment trust carried some risk. Just before Christmas he discovered exactly how much risk. On Dec. 16, First...

Five new buildings set for Salem retail complex.(five retail buildings owned by American Industries and developed by Wayne Rembold)
January 8, 1999... Portland businessman Howard Hedinger will join forces with local developer Wayne Rembold to develop a Salem retail complex. Hedinger's American Industries, which owns diverse holdings that include a 50 percent stake in American Steel,...

Tualatin plastics firm sold to Denali.(sale of Tualatin, Oregon-based Plasti-Fab Inc. to Denali Inc.)
January 8, 1999... After some 35 years of building specialized products for handling wastewater, John Vitas has sold his Tualatin business, Plasti-Fab Inc. Late last year the 45-employee company was sold to Denall Inc., a publicly traded Houston company...

Milt Stewart.(partner and executive committee member of Davis Wright Tremaine LLP)
January 8, 1999... PERSONAL INFORMATION Name: Mill Stewart Organization: Davis Wright Tremaine LLP Title: Partner, executive committee member What we do: Lawyers to the business community, with 13 offices worldwide Education: B.A.,...

Getting soft is the goal.(corporate profile of Purr-Fection by MJC)
January 8, 1999... At Purr-Fection, if it isn't soft enough, they won't sell it Don't be surprised if Marty Castro Sr. tosses a plush bear at you with a simple request: Hug it. That's one of the biggest selling techniques for Purr-Fection by MJC. The...

Bargaining for a livelihood.(watch and jewelry business of Watchworks Alex and Co., established by Alex Hofberg in Portland, Oregon)
January 8, 1999... Watchmaker Alex Hofberg has turned a grip to an estate sale into an expanded jewelry store in down-town Portland. Alex Hofberg considers himself a bargain shopper. It started with his passion for finding valuables at garage and estate...

In Focus projects itself into consumer niche.(In Focus Systems Inc.)
January 1, 1999... In Focus Systems Inc. is making its first foray into the consumer market, a move it has hinted at over the past several months. The Wilsonville-based maker of multimedia projectors announced last week that it was teaming up with Faroudja...

Strategic shift rocks PPI.(Physician Partners Inc.'s top managers and founders leave the company)
January 1, 1999... Two of Physician Partners Inc.'s top managers and founders are leaving the physician practice management company. As part of the same strategic turnabout, operations will be scaled back and put under new leadership starting in 1999. ...

Study: more than a quarter of apartments had income decline.(Portland, Oregon)
January 1, 1999... The current year will likely be remembered as a tough market for apartment owners in the Portland area. The forecast for 1999 isn't much better. The biggest problem this year was supply and demand - too much of the former, not enough of...

Ex-GST boss Warta blasts current team over suits.(John Warta, former CEO of GST Telecommunications Inc.)
January 1, 1999... John Warta, former CEO of GST Telecommunications Inc., struck back at his former employer this week and insisted that lawsuits filed against himself and others by the company are fatally flawed, based on misperceptions and filled with...

Port hopes to duplicate Rivergate's 1998 success.(Port of Portland's Rivergate Industrial District)
January 1, 1999... Five building projects, ranging from Welded Tube Co. of America's manufacturing plant to a warehouse expansion for Columbia Sportswear Co., have just been completed or are nearly finished at the Port of Portland's Rivergate Industrial...

Can TRM get beyond copiers?(Company Profile)
January 1, 1999... Wall Street is waiting impatiently for the ATM rollout Adjusting strategies on the fly poses risks, and the odds caught up to Fred Stockton this fall. Stockton is chief executive of Portland's TRM Corp., which places photocopy...

There was never a dull moment in real estate.(Focus on Deals)(Industry Overview)
January 1, 1999... Trammell Crow Co. turned a tidy profit in January by simultaneously purchasing and selling off Thrifty Payless Inc.'s sprawling 77-acre Wilsonville headquarters, including 700,000 square feet of office and industrial space and 30 acres of...