Business Journal-Portland articles from January 2000

Business Journal-Portland archives from January 2000

GST's CEO leaves, debt load remains.(Brief Article)
January 28, 2000... Joe Basile's sudden resignation as president and chief executive officer of GST Telecommunications Inc. took place against a backdrop of financial trouble at the highly leveraged Vancouver telecommunications company. A review of the...

Timely parcel pick-up: 52 acres for UPS site.(Brief Article)
January 28, 2000... United Parcel Service Inc., the world's largest express carrier, has leased with an option to buy 52 acres of vacant land at Southshore Corporate Park, four miles east of Portland International Airport. The $9.2 million deal comes in the...

Kitzhaber's drug list would limit choices.(Brief Article)
January 28, 2000... In a move to contain prescription drug costs, Gov. John Kitzhaber's office is exploring a statewide list of recommended prescription drugs that all doctors and pharmacists would follow. Last week, the governor's office asked the state...

Intel exec challenges state to build top-flight school.(Brief Article)
January 28, 2000... Intel's top Oregon executive is serious about raising $250 million for improving the state's higher-education high-tech programs. James Johnson, Intel's Oregon Site Manager, told The Business Journal he'll lead a drive to raise $250...

Please don't scuttle prime farmland for new houses.(Brief Article)
January 28, 2000... Unless you've somehow become a land-use planning expert for one reason or another, making sense out of the state's urban growth boundary statute and its many tools is akin to trying to ascertain the meaning of gobbledygook emitted from your...

Cameraworld.com's new money helps it move to ex-Tek building.(Brief Article)
January 28, 2000... On the heels of a $60 million venture-capital injection, cameraworld.com has tripled its elbow room by agreeing to shift world headquarters to a former Tektronix Inc. facility now dubbed the Millikan Business Center. The Millikan site is...

Portland weekly buys alternative paper in Boise.(Brief Article)
January 28, 2000... According to a notice published in its Jan. 26 edition, Willamette Week has acquired Boise Weekly, the third alternative weekly to join the Portland-based chain. Publisher Richard Meeker, one of Willamette Week's three owners, announced...

Black & Co. acquired by Bay Area investor.(Brief Article)
January 28, 2000... Confirming one of the most poorly kept secrets of the local financial industry, Portland securities firm Black & Co. said Monday that it will be acquired by San Francisco-based investment-banking firm First Security Van Kasper. Jennifer...

United Food and Commercial Workers Union.(Brief Article)
January 28, 2000... United Food and Commercial Workers Union, Local 555, employed in retail grocery and meat in Clark County, ratified a three-year contract with Northwest Food Employers Inc. last Friday. The new settlement replaces a previous contract that...

Rentrak Corp. and Hollywood Entertainment Corp.(Brief Article)
January 28, 2000... Rentrak Corp. and Hollywood Entertainment Corp. settled their dispute concerning revenue-sharing videocassettes Rentrak provided to Hollywood. As part of the settlement, Hollywood will pay Rentrak $8 million to cover outstanding invoices and...

FOX Sports Net Northwest.(Brief Article)
January 28, 2000... FOX Sports Net Northwest has lost its Northwest connection. So to speak. The sports station has changed its name to simply FOX Sports Net to, hopefully, clear up confusion regarding the way it bills local and national programming. The network...

MedicaLogic Inc.(Brief Article)
January 28, 2000... In an effort to provide physicians in more than 3,775 residency training programs, representing, nearly 100,000 physicians, with the electronic tools they will encounter in professional practice, Portland-based MedicaLogic Inc., an online...

Electro Scientific Industries Inc.(Brief Article)
January 28, 2000... The board of directors of Electro Scientific Industries Inc. approved a two-for-one stock split of the company's common stock. The stock split will be distributed Feb. 24, 2000 to all shareholders of record at the close of business on Feb. 3....

Oregon Trail Financial Corp.(Brief Article)
January 28, 2000... Oregon Trail Financial Corp. announced that Jerry F. Aldape resigned as president and chief executive officer of the company to pursue other business interests. Zane F. Lockwood, executive vice president will lead the company during the...

The Athena Company.(Brief Article)
January 28, 2000... Aloha-based The Athena Company has hired JohnsonSheen Advertising to handle print advertising for The Controllable Flush, a toilet handle that helps conserve water. JohnsonSheen will also oversee packaging, creative and collateral...

Clackamas Community College.(Brief Article)
January 28, 2000... Clackamas County voters will go to the polls May 16 to approve a $47 million bond measure for Clackamas Community College. The school's board approved submitting the ballot measure to voters during the May primary. The board said the measure,...

CORRECTIONS.(Brief Article)
January 28, 2000... A story on PFE Entertainment in the Jan. 21 issue incorrectly said the group now owns the Portland Rockies baseball team. PFE and the Rockies have agreed to a letter of intent, but the deal hinges on whether the city grants PFE the Civic...

At mid-point, port's marine business up slightly.(Brief Article)
January 28, 2000... When Mike Thorne, executive director of the Port of Portland, came on board nine years ago, one of his primary goals was to bring financial independence to each division of the port. He has accomplished that at Portland International...

Willamette Week founder to launch cable firm.(Brief Article)
January 28, 2000... Oregon's own version of C-Span, the national public affairs network that runs gavel-to-gavel Congressional coverage, is under development by a group of politicians and media leaders. The Oregon Public Affairs Network (OPAN) would...

Software start-up's second round brings in $11M.(Brief Article)
January 28, 2000... ProSight, a year-old software company, took in nearly $11 million in its second venture-capital funding round and now has the capital necessary to get its product to market by its self-imposed May deadline. The company makes a web-based...

Seattle firm assigned to represent GST plaintiffs.(Cohen, Milstein, Hausfeld & Toll, GST Telecommunications Inc.)(Brief Article)
January 28, 2000... GST Telecommunications Inc. will face the same Seattle law firm that helped to successfully sue the Swiss banking industry and German firms accused of using slave labor during the Nazi era. Cohen, Milstein, Hausfeld & Toll has been...

Pacific Foods success leads to expansion.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 28, 2000... A Pacific Foods executive said the company's recent facility expansion will help make for a busy summer. "We fully intend to continue, our growth pattern, and we'll have some exciting new products coming out in the summer," said...

Intel wants to be your guide to high-tech world.(Brief Article)
January 28, 2000... Intel Corp.'s future will be more than just cranking out the next generation of high-speed processors. Intel is in search of niches that aren't being served by a technology solution and it has plans to bring technology to that market,...

eVineyard adds vintage director.(Chris Kitze)(Brief Article)
January 28, 2000... eVineyard Inc. has strengthened its ties to NBC's on-line operation by adding NBC Internet Inc.'s chief executive to its board of directors. Chris Kitze, NBC Internet CEO, joined the eVineyard board this week. eVineyard is a locally...

AOI study emphasizes keeping businesses here.(Associated Oregon Industries)(Brief Article)
January 28, 2000... It's natural that Oregon civic leaders and business groups would want to attract more corporate headquarters to the state. A large company's operations base generally offers good jobs and generates coveted tax monies. Still, Oregon's...

InFocus earnings rise way above expectations.(fourth quarter of 1999)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 28, 2000... InFocus Systems Inc. CEO John Harker isn't one to view-his company or its performance through rose-colored glasses. But Harker, who once described himself as "paranoid on every front," admitted he couldn't find much wrong with InFocus'...

EXECUTIVE PROFILE.(Nestucca Ridge family of companies' president Mary Jones)
January 28, 2000... PERSONAL INFORMATION Names: Jeff Schons, Mary Jones Organization: Nestucca Ridge family of companies, which includes Nestucca Ridge Development, Big Rock Excavation Inc. and Pacific City. Brewing Co., which operates the Pelican Pub &...

If at first you don't succeed.(Hanna Andersson)
January 28, 2000... Hanna Andersson's Phil Iosca tries again with women's togs Browse through issues of Hanna Andersson's catalogs from the early and mid-1990s and you'll see a smattering of women's apparel. Even then, the Portland direct sales company was...

Internet could lead way in conquest of Europe.(Hanna Andersson)(Brief Article)
January 28, 2000... In 1998, having mounted a successful invasion of the Japanese market, local catalog sales company Hanna Andersson set its sights on Europe. Management weighed its options and selected the United Kingdom over Germany as its first European...

Early success in Japan has cooled.(Hanna Andersson)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 28, 2000... Hanna Andersson didn't work too hard to reel in its first sales in Japan. In the late 1980s, its catalogs started making their way to Japan, presumably sent or brought by Japanese residents of the United States who had become Hanna fans,...

Rhino will fly soon from Pearl District building.(Flying Rhinoceros Inc.)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 28, 2000... The animation studios Flying Rhinoceros Inc. has snuck into the Pearl District, relocating to a boarded warehouse on Northwest 14th Avenue and Overton Street. Its new home won't be a secret for long. A three-dimensional rhino,...

ACME TO PLAY THE SUPER BOWL.
January 28, 2000... With rehearsals starting on NFL's Super Bowl show last week, the folks at Portland's Acme Scenic & Design haven't had time to relish its role in New York City's New Year's celebration. Acme is once again teaming with St. Helen's designer...

FORGET HAWAII, COME TO NEWPORT.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 28, 2000... TV viewers have been doing a double-take with the new Newport winter storm ads created by Leopold Ketel & Partners. The ads feature the theme from "Hawaii Five-O," the 1970s police drama filmed in Honolulu, with film footage of Newport's...

KIMBALL TO DESIGN '20,000 LEAGUES'.(Anton Kimball Design)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 28, 2000... Anton Kimball Design is taking on a classic. The Portland design firm will design a book cover and logo for a reissue of the Jules Verne classic, "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea," this spring. Kimball will work on the book with the New York...

Lawyers looking for ways to co-exist with reporters.(includes brief articles)(Brief Article)
January 28, 2000... Lawyers want to get into newspapers and establish themselves as experts in their particular practice area. But they aren't quite sure how to go about it, and, quite frankly, they don't completely trust reporters. At least that's the...

Concentrex drops GTE as banking go-between.(Brief Article)
January 28, 2000... Concentrex Inc. recently dropped GTE Corp. as a partner in running a service bureau that provides internet banking capabilities to small banks: Instead of a GTE unit operating the bureau out of an office in Palo Alto, Calif., Concentrex now...

U.S. BANCORP DONS LEATHER.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 28, 2000... U.S. Bancorp will acquire and manage the $150 million (accounts receivable) affinity credit-card program operated by Harley-Davidson Financial Services. The companies said they expect the deal to close by the end of the first quarter, pending...

BACK IN BLACK.(Portland Teachers Credit Union)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 28, 2000... The Portland area's largest credit union rebounded last year from a disturbing net loss in 1998. Portland Teachers Credit Union earned net income for 1999 of $11.3 million on revenue of $72 million, according to filings with the state. PTCU...

ANALYSTS ON THE MOVE.(Brief Article)
January 28, 2000... Jim Bradshaw, a local stock analyst specializing in banks and other financial institutions, has left his long-time employer, Pacific Crest Securities. Starting Jan 31, he'll perform substantially the same work for the local research office of...

AT YOUR FINGERTIPS.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 28, 2000... Just in time for the new millennium, Columbia Funds granted its customers account access via the internet. The Portland money manager and mutual-fund operator, which manages nearly $20 billion in assets, now allows account holders to view...

Green Scissors group considers pork that pollutes.(Brief Article)
January 28, 2000... The news advisory promised "excellent visuals, including a blown-up, polluter pork pig." There was no monstrous, inflatable pig flying over the Oregon State Public Interest Research Group's bohemian Southeast Portland headquarters last...

TV HOSTS AND VOODOO EXPERTS.(Brief Article)
January 28, 2000... On Monday an emerging nonprofit called The Institute for the Northwest kicked off its winter 2000 lecture series with Dr. David Suzuki, noted scientist and writer who hosts "The Nature of Things" TV series. At the First Congregational Church,...

Pulling the Strings.(pharmaceutical companies paying physicians)
January 28, 2000... Are pharmaceutical companies buying off physicians? Dr. Thomas Hoggard was recently invited by a pharmaceutical company to travel to a California conference--all expenses paid--to be part of its "research team." In exchange, he would have...

NEED OR' GREED?(pharmaceutical company advertising)
January 28, 2000... Drug companies hit consumers with ads Doctors wrote a whole lot of prescriptions for Claritin last year--about $1.3 billion worth in 1999--because their patients thought it was the best remedy for them. The patients' source:...

Docs alarmed that reps have access to patient records.(Brief Article)
January 28, 2000... The story sent shivers up Dr. Connie Powell's spine. While in a doctor's waiting room, the father of a psychiatric patient met a pharmaceutical representative who revealed a list of names that included his 15-year-old daughter and the...

Doctors worry that marketing creates a false need.(Brief Article)
January 28, 2000... Every year the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approves some 30 breakthrough drugs that not only save lives, but make life easier for people with multiple sclerosis, depression, HIV/AIDS and other illnesses. The newer drugs often have...

Making rounds: drug reps pack in the visits.(Brief Article)
January 28, 2000... Pharmaceutical representatives have a whirlwind schedule, juggling visits to hundreds of busy doctors in their territory. They try to schedule appointments four to six weeks in advance, often packing in visits to more than a dozen doctors...

Tiny computer helps docs access approved drugs.(Brief Article)
January 28, 2000... Lewis Stone retells the story like a fairy tale, but he insists it's true. An elderly woman sees her doctor on a Friday and is diagnosed with bronchitis. Her doctor gives her a prescription for a medicine that her insurance used to cover...

Online prescription drug companies on the rise.(Brief Article)
January 28, 2000... If you haven't already done so, it may not be long before you fill or refill a prescription by hitting a few keys on your computer keyboard. Online pharmacies--some legitimate, others offering Viagra and other drugs illegally--are one of the...

Top area health maintenance organizations.
January 28, 2000... Top area health maintenance organizations Ranked by number of metro-area members Number Metro-area Rank metro-area...

Raising the bar for long-suffering real estate agents.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 28, 2000... From the soft glow of a computer screen, anyone can tour a two-story house in, the Mt. Tabor neighborhood. Anyone can click through the three-dimensional family room of a duplex in West Linn. Or research the land-use history of a parcel of...

Stubbornly independent.(Hasson Co.)(Brief Article)
January 28, 2000... A few things have changed in the 17 years since Mike Hasgon launched a residential real estate business out of a Lake Oswego strip mall. For one, Portland's residential market took off in the last decade. At the same time, traffic on...

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE.(Brief Article)
January 28, 2000... ARCHITECTURE Macdonald Environmental Planning PC promoted Tracy Borel to project manager and hired Jason King as architect. ASSOCIATIONS Bakulesh "Buggsi" Patel was elected chairman of the Asian-American Hotel Owners...

After the backlash, drug companies willing to deal.(negotiations with Clinton Administration for drug coverage for seniors)(Brief Article)
January 28, 2000... The drug companies' willingness last week to negotiate with the Clinton Administration to provide drug coverage to seniors was a major step in the right direction, said Rep. Darlene Hooley, D-Ore. Hooley, who was the target of the...

Let's reassess maritime strategy.(Port of Portland)(Brief Article)
January 28, 2000... What's up with the Port of Portland? Folks over there in a variety of positions don't seem to understand the difference between a public and a private entity. All this newspaper wanted to know was when the port thought it might put an...

Governor utters forbidden word.
January 28, 2000... The governor's State of the State address Jan. 21 was a landmark event for Oregon's business community. I attended John Kitzhaber's speech expecting--as occurred the last State of the State address I attended--to hear the governor talk about...

Dredging misconceptions could thwart port's progress.
January 28, 2000... To the editor: On Jan. 7, The Business Journal ran a front-page article describing the proposed three-foot deepening of the Columbia River navigation channel to Portland from 40 feet to 43 feet. It is my opinion that this project is of...

The Numbers Game.
January 28, 2000... TOTAL PROPERTY CRIMES BY COUNTY: 53,648 (AN.-MAR. '99) Types of Crimes: * Burglary * Larceny * Auto theft * Arson * Forgery/Counterfeit * Fraud * Embezzlement * Stolen property * Vandalism ...

Insider Trading.
January 28, 2000... The buying and selling of stock shares by area executives Andrew Wiederhorn Chairman Wilshire Real Estate Investment Inc. Shares bought: 50,000 Share price: $2.19 Share value: $109,500 L. Mendelsohn President Wilshire...

PFE's closing in on a team.(Portland Family Entertainment to buy AAA team)(Brief Article)
January 21, 2000... Portland Family Entertainment representatives say they'll meet a city-imposed deadline for buying a Class AAA baseball team with two months to spare. PFE General Manager Mike Higgins said the group could announce its purchase of an...

Brewers put cap on deal to distribute beer.(Miller Brewing Co.)(Brief Article)
January 21, 2000... In a big-brewery decision watched by suppliers and distributors alike in the Portland area, Miller Brewing Co. has given Columbia Distributing Co. and Mount Hood Beverage Co. exactly what each one wanted. Columbia gets to distribute...

They built a business by listening to clients.(HB Design)(Brief Article)
January 21, 2000... HB Design's clients helped push it to the cutting edge of technology in the early 1980s, a move that has helped it become one of the leading graphic and web design firms in the Pacific Northwest. Now, the 20-person firm with 1999 revenue...

Double-wall bat king raps a financial round-tripper.(DeMarini Sports sells to Wilson Sporting Goods)(Brief Article)
January 21, 2000... Ray DeMarini, founder and chief executive of DeMarini. Sports, realized he needed to make a major change six months ago. Mike Eggiman, the company's cofounder and second-in-command, asked. DeMarini which of several development projects...

Editor discovers there's no shortage of Oregon heroes.(Brief Article)
January 21, 2000... Heroes. That's the word author/child advocate Andrew Vachss likes to use when he talks about people who do the right thing. This week, I'd like to take note of a few heroes from the business world I've had the privilege to meet during the...

Wood Village Town Center finally claims its own Fred Meyer store.(Brief Article)
January 21, 2000... After more than three years of planning and wrangling, the final pieces are falling into place for development of a major retail center serving east Multnomah County. On Jan. 14, Fred Meyer and home-improvement chain Lowe's Inc....

Port may build a bridge to Hayden Island.(Portland, Oregon plans bridge)(Brief Article)
January 21, 2000... A new bridge, connecting North Portland and Hayden Island and designed to improve transportation to and from Port of Portland property, is wending its way through the approval process. The bridge would cost nearly $50 million and would be...

The Numbers Game.(airline accidents statistics)(Brief Article)(Illustration)(Statistical Data Included)
January 21, 2000... The Numbers Game 1989-98 [1] COMMERCIAL AIRLINES ACCIDENTS Total Fatal Total Total accidents per Year Flight hours accidents accidents fatalities [2]...

Insider Trading.(executive stock activity)(Brief Article)(Illustration)(Statistical Data Included)
January 21, 2000... Insider Trading The buying and selling of stock shares by area executives Gregory Hinkley Vice president Mentor Graphics Corp. Shares bought: 8,000 Share price: $8.94...

Private investors flock to telecom companies.(Integra Telecom, New Edge Networks)(Brief Article)
January 21, 2000... * Two local telecommunications companies, both active in providing high-speed digital subscriber lines (DSLs), attracted hefty sums of private investment. Portland's Integra Telecom obtained $211 million--$61 million in venture capital and...

Lucy.com.(receives new funding)(Brief Article)
January 21, 2000... Venture capital also went flying to Portland's lucy.com, an electronic commerce company that received $28 million in a third round of financing. The round was co-led by Oak Investment Partners and Maveron LLC. Participants also included...

Portland General Electric Co.(sells power system)(Brief Article)
January 21, 2000... Portland General Electric Co. opted to sell its power system serving four Columbia County communities for $10 million to the Columbia River and Clatskanie people's utility districts this spring. The decision ended an ongoing feud between the...

Crown Pacific Partners LP.(purchases timberlands from Plum Creek Timber Co.)(Brief Article)
January 21, 2000... Crown Pacific Partners LP completed the acquisition of 91,000 acres of Idaho timberlands from Plum Creek Timber Co. of Seattle for approximately $73 million. "This acquisition fits our strategy of increasing our timberland base around our...

Smurfit-Stone Container Corp.(transfers ownership of mill)(Brief Article)
January 21, 2000... Smurfit-Stone Container Corp. signed a letter of intent to transfer ownership of its newsprint mill in Oregon City to the management and stock ownership plan that represents the mill's employees. The move, expected to be completed by the end...

Intel Corp.(share price rises)(Brief Article)
January 21, 2000... The price for common shares of Intel Corp. surged after the chip-maker, Oregon's largest manufacturing employer, posted fourth-quarter earnings that beat Wall Street's estimates. Intel shares rose 13 percent to $103.0625 on Jan. 14 after the...

Watamull Properties Corp.
January 21, 2000... Hawaii's Watamull Properties Corp. paid $8.5 million for six Goose Hollow office buildings and expects to soon acquire a retail structure in the same neighborhood. Watamull, a longtime investor in Portland commercial buildings, acquired the...

BancWest Corp.
January 21, 2000... BancWest Corp. will acquire 68 Zions and First Security branches and associated deposits and loans in Utah and Idaho. It will convert the branches to Bank of the West locations. First Security and Zions was required by regulators to sell the...

Talisman Design Studio.
January 21, 2000... The Dec. 24 retail column incorrectly described Talisman Design Studio as a framing service. The Northeast Portland business, located in the remodeled Standard Dairy Building, is actually a gallery that will eventually showcase the work of 30...

Susan Crisfield of Northwest Environmental Advocates.
January 21, 2000... Susan Crisfield of Northwest Environmental Advocates was misquoted in an article published in the Jan. 7 issue. Crisfield said, "Most of the ships already in use have drafts that, when fully loaded, exceed channel depths."

Ruth Scott quits as APP head; search under way.
January 21, 2000... Portland's most prominent avatar of public/private partnerships said she's leaving the Association for Portland Progress during one of the group's best runs. "It's always about timing," said Ruth Scott, the group's president and CEO....

Monte Carlo building may be sold, torn down.
January 21, 2000... When John DiGregorio bought the landmark Monte Carlo restaurant four years ago, the association that owned the Southeast Portland site assured him it had little interest in selling the land. This year, however, the association has moved...

Columbia River barge traffic continues to rise.
January 21, 2000... More cargo than ever is now barged via the Columbia River to the Port of Portland before being shipped to destinations in Asia. Local barging companies and people who watch Columbia River trading attribute the increased business to such...

Pottery Barn spurns Fox Tower.
January 21, 2000... Developer Tom Moyer once referred to retail leasing in the Fox Tower as a "slam dunk," but there was an apparent foul on the play as The Pottery Barn this week squelched widespread reports that it would take two floors of principal space...

Anonymous donor gives new truck to Food Bank.
January 21, 2000... A new 16-foot Isuzu truck donated to the Oregon Food Bank will expand its collection of food donations, including those from the Food Bank Friday program. The $35,000 truck, donated by an anonymous businessman, rolled out on the road...

Portland truck firm moving to Ridgefield.
January 21, 2000... If you're in the market for a three-acre site on Swan Island, get ready to pounce. Pacific Detroit Diesel Allison Inc. will be leaving its operation on Swan Island during the next year or two. The company plans to move to one of the last...