Business Journal-Portland articles from January 2000

Business Journal-Portland archives from January 2000

LEPAGE JOINS CREATIVEPRO.COM.(Brief Article)
January 7, 2000... Creativepro.com Inc. has appointed a new vice president of business development. Rick LePage comes to Creativepro with more than 12 years experience in the Macintosh, print and web publishing fields. He'll be in charge of business development...

REGISTER ONLINE FOB SERVICE.(Brief Article)
January 7, 2000... This just in. Online registration with the Selective Service System is a big hit, according to the SSS. Some 250,000 men over the past year have registered with Selective Service using the internet. Selective Service estimates that 2...

Oregon Steel's labor woes cloud sale.(Brief Article)
January 7, 2000... Last week, Oregon Steel Mills Inc., concerned about becoming a takeover target, swallowed a poison pill. This week, steel industry experts agreed that prospective buyers may well be evaluating how OSM would fit with their operations. But, they...

'O' TV critic Schulberg trades ink for airwave.(Brief Article)
January 7, 2000... The Oregonian's sole TV columnist, Pete Schulberg, has been wooed away by big bucks to be the morning-drive news host at Portland's KPAM-AM Radio. Schulberg signed a multiyear contract with the Robert Pamplin Jr.-owned station, and will...

Salmon recovery advocates oppose channel deepening.(Brief Article)
January 7, 2000... A mountain range divides Western Oregonians and Washingtonians from their eastern cousins. But one crop unites the sides: wheat. Wheat shipped westward from farms in the eastern parts of Oregon and Washington is now at the heart of a...

Patients demanding more for their loyalty.(Brief Article)
January 7, 2000... Yvonne Draper went to three doctors in the past five years before discovering Dr. Brett Rath. One of her doctors left the profession to teach. Another "pushed pills" and focused on her weight instead of listening to her. Rath, who is in...

City's suggested $4 fee for water drainage could dip to under $1.(Brief Article)
January 7, 2000... Although all Columbia Corridor businesses could begin paying Portland stormwater drainage fees for the first time this year, they could pay substantially less than the city first proposed. An intergovernmental business agreement between the...

Pixelworks exec crowing over deal with IBM.(Brief Article)
January 7, 2000... Pixelworks will have a prominent place at the very pinnacle of power in the world's computer industry. The Tualatin company has teamed up with IBM to develop state-of-the-art display technology. One of the monitors containing Pixelworks...

Insider Trading.(Brief Article)
January 7, 2000... Insider Trading The buying and selling of stock shares by area executives William Tagmyer Chairman Northwest Pipe Co. Shares bought: 2,000 Share price: $13.63 Share value:...

Like Marines, YWCA also needs a few good men.
January 7, 2000... Some days, it's all we can do to get our 10-year-old to do his homework. He likes school and is good at it. Yet he still requires a lot of badgering, threatening and coaxing before he can get it all done on time. Can you even imagine what...

Intel Corp.(Brief Article)
January 7, 2000... At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Intel Corp. unveiled concepts--not actual products--for a variety of internet devices. The slimmed-down computers, which lack the full capabilities of desktop PCs, are designed to provide internet...

Tektronix Inc.(Brief Article)
January 7, 2000... In other high-tech news, Tektronix Inc. completed the sale of its color printer business to Xerox Corp. for $925 million. Xerox managed to push down the original purchase price of $950 million by negotiating for adjustments for various balance...

Nike Inc.(Brief Article)
January 7, 2000... On Jan. 4, Nike Inc. debuted its first new television commercial of 2000, a 30-second spot that features cyclist Lance Armstrong. The ad, created by Portland's Wieden & Kennedy, centers on Armstrong's training and addresses the questioning the...

US West Communications.(Brief Article)
January 7, 2000... US West Communications delivered $25 million to the state of Oregon which will pay for initial or improved wiring of public schools to the internet. The payment is part of an arrangement arrived at last year between US West, regulators and...

Oregon Department of Transportation.(Brief Article)
January 7, 2000... Speaking of state monies, lowered vehicle registration fees in Washington could cost Oregon $1.5 million a year or more, according to Oregon Department of Transportation estimates. Implementation of Initiative 695 is sharply reducing...

Bill Sizemore.
January 7, 2000... Tax activist Bill Sizemore filed a proposed initiative for the 2000 general election that would hamstring Metro's funding. The initiative would prevent the regional government from using excise taxes it collects on garbage, the Oregon Zoo and...

Port of Portland.
January 7, 2000... As to government spending, the Port of Portland has started the pre-construction phase for building a $12.6 million canopy that will cover the road in front of Portland International Airport's central terminal. Airport officials closed some of...

Flying Rhinoceros.(Brief Article)
January 7, 2000... Flying Rhinoceros, a Portland based education and entertainment company, received a $5 million capital infusion from Gaylord Entertainment Co. The capital will allow Flying Rhinoceros to engage in new projects to augment its "Flying Rhino...

Morse Bros. Inc.(Brief Article)
January 7, 2000... Construction materials company Morse Bros. Inc. named John H. DeLong president effective March 31. DeLong, 47, will succeed Frank Morse, who has chosen to retire as president but who will remain on the company's board of directors. Based in...

Lone Star Northwest.(changes name to Glacier Northwest)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 7, 2000... Another company involved in construction materials, Lone Star Northwest, changed its name to Glacier Northwest Inc. The Seattle-based corporation, which employs about 300 people in Portland and southwest Washington, made the move to help...

Barnes-Miller Village.(Brief Article)
January 7, 2000... Fire destroyed six small stores at Barnes-Miller Village in the West Hills. The blaze erupted early Jan. 3, and caused an estimated $1 million to $2 million in damage. The retailers were Joy Wok, Postal Annex, Cameloc Design, Lucia Cappuccino,...

CORRECTION.
January 7, 2000... The name of Christenson Electric was misspelled in a Dec. 31, page 7 story.

Daily Shipping News goes weekly, with e-updates.(Brief Article)
January 7, 2000... The Daily Shipping News this week sailed into the new millennium by converting to a full-color weekly edition and offering daily electronic updates. A daily since 1924, the first weekly paper appeared this past Wednesday. It featured...

Allen-braced RCN set to enter Portland's internet market.(Brief Article)
January 7, 2000... One of the Northwest's biggest hitters is entering the Portland high-speed internet bandwidth and cable market sweepstakes. After receiving a $1.65 billion "investment" from Paul Allen in October, RCN Corp. notified the Mount Hood Cable...

Asian connection drives ESI's stock up to $70 per share.(Brief Article)
January 7, 2000... Electro Scientific Industries Inc. handily beat Wall Street expectations for its second fiscal quarter and is being rewarded with a stock price of nearly $70 per share. The strong results reflect the general strength of the electronics...

Gerry Frank.
January 7, 2000... PERSONAL INFORMATION Name: Gerry Frank Organization: Journalist/columnist/television commentator, various organizations; restaurant owner (Gerry Frank's Konditorei in Salem); author of "Where to Find It, Buy It, Eat It in New York;"...

Battling back into the black.
January 7, 2000... Portland Brewing's still recovering from the craft crash Portland Brewing Co. is one of the few publicly held craft brewers in the United States. Its stock is an over-the-counter, thinly traded one; the 6,000 shareholders' primary payoff is...

Y2K bug's hype became the biggest story of '99.
January 7, 2000... The Millennium Bug hit The Business Journal hard on Monday. I got to the office early, intending to get some work done. I tried to fire up the computer and nothing happened. I tried again. Same result. I broke out in a cold sweat when...

SEMICONDUCTORS HAVE OWN INDEX.
January 7, 2000... We've all heard of the Dow Jones, the S&P -and the Nasdaq stock indexes. Now there's a new one to follow--the SEMIndex. The index is sponsored by Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International and tracks 65 manufacturers of semiconductor...

InFocus Systems Inc.(Brief Article)
January 7, 2000... It seems unfair to call them "old tech guys," but anyone older than 40 who doesn't run an internet company clearly belongs in the technology old guard. Four local CEOs--John Harker of InFocus Systems Inc., Steve Sharp of TriQuint Semiconaductor...

There were winners, and then there were losers.
January 7, 2000... When Bev Stein was getting ready to graduate from college down in California, she looked around the country and said, "Portland! I think I'll go there!" She didn't really know anything much about the town, and what she thought she knew, she...

Retail: comings, goings kept consumers on toes.(Brief Article)
January 7, 2000... Oregon department, store chain Meier & Frank announced it will nearly triple its number of stores within two years by taking over management of Utah's ZCMI chain. St. Louis-based May Department Stores Co., Meier & Frank's parent, agreed to pay...

Goodbye to Kienow's... hello new grocery stores.(Brief Article)
January 7, 2000... Portland's grocery wars in 1999 could be summarized as out with the old, in with the new and the big get bigger. Local grocer Kienow's effectively called it quits after 90 years: Western Investment Real Estate Trust, a California company...

Deals of the year--from a relative newcomer.
January 7, 2000... Look, I can't Pretend that I'm a walking Portland 1999 business encyclopedia. In journalistic terms, I've only just arrived. Ask me about pharmacy political issues: I covered that topic for six years. Heck, ask me about local planning...

FOR THE LOVE OF PEET'S.(Brief Article)
January 7, 2000... Here's a California import even Oregonians will love. Berkeley-based Peet's downtown and Northeast Broadway locations offer chain-going customers a smoother coffee than Starbuck's ubiquitous over-roasted joe and far more accommodating service...

FEE FIGHTERS.(Brief Article)
January 7, 2000... Consumer groups in Portland may fight ATM surcharges, perhaps through a ballot measure. Portland bankers would, naturally, fight back. Fees for services obviously make sense. But does processing an electronic transaction really require a $1.50...

HOUSE OF BOOS.
January 7, 2000... The Blazers brought out a proposal in March to open a House of Blues in the Rose Quarter. Not much has been heard about it lately. Maybe Brian Grant or some other serious music fan pointed out that Houses of Blues throughout the country are...

STRIKE ONE.(Brief Article)
January 7, 2000... After starting one of the Country's few retail worker unions, Powell's workers head into 2000 with as many unsettled issues as when the year started. Pay remains the main sticking point, but union supporters have begun griping that management...

EXTRA INNINGS.
January 7, 2000... The return of Triple-A baseball to Portland seemed. like a done deal. Portland Family Entertainment and the city agreed to a public-private Civic Stadium renovation agreement. As part of the agreement, PFE was charged with finding a top minor...

WAFFLE MAN.(Brief Article)
January 7, 2000... Former University of Oregon track coach Bill Bowerman, who died two weeks ago, was an Oregon original. The 88-year old had served on Nike's board of directors for 30 years before resigning in June. Of course, Bowerman did more than that. ...

DRIVE, WE SAID?
January 7, 2000... It was a horrible year for drivers. Gas prices soared to obscene levels, reaching the $1.70 mark (yes, for regular unleaded) at the downtown West Burnside Chevron. Yow. Further zapped were commuters who got around downtown parking garage prices...

HARD CORRIDOR.(Brief Article)
January 7, 2000... The Columbia Corridor has largely been ignored by envionmentalists--not to mention the press--in recent years. That's why it came as a surprise to find this largely pristine area between Northeast 82nd-Avenue and Blue and Fairview lakes...

LEAST SURPRISING HEADLINE OF THE YEAR.
January 7, 2000... Airport expansion will continue through 2003."

Portland grapples with urban growth boundary.
January 7, 2000... In a potent speech to the 1973 Oregon Legislature, former Gov. Tom McCall lashed out against statewide development trends. "There is a shameless threat to our environment and to the whole quality of life--unfettered despoiling of the land,"...

1999: a year of musical chairs in broadcasting.(Brief Article)
January 7, 2000... When veteran broadcaster Don McCoun was looking to sell two of his radio stations last October, he wanted a buyer with broadcast experience who would retain local programming. Not a venture capitalist. Not a radio network. He sold KSWB...

Health care field was feverish with changes in 99.
January 7, 2000... It was six. months ago that the HealthFirst and Mullikin Medical/MedPartners practices split up, but the reverberations are still being felt. Among patients. Among doctors. And those who study the ever-fickle business of health care. ...

Clark County has what it takes to lure big chains.(Brief Article)
January 7, 2000... Clark County's got it. It's got the numbers--things like daytime population, overall population growth rates, disposable income--that regional and national retail and restaurant chains apparently find alluring. This year alone, companies...

Top area mergers and acquisitions.
January 7, 2000... Top area mergers and acquisitions Tam Jenkins Rank Local Company Ranked by value of transaction Portland General Electric 1 121 S.W. Salmon...

Threading a retail needle.(Brief Article)
January 7, 2000... Kelli Vergotis knows her way around with needle and thread. The Portland fashion designer and founder of Vergotis clothiers also knows her way around the ultra-competitive fashion world. Despite having had no previous retail experience,...

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE.
January 7, 2000... ARCHITECTURE Hennebery Eddy Architects Inc. announced that Jamie Watson and Daniel Gero joined the firm as intern architects. Mike Miller joined Fletcher Farr Ayotte PC as marketing coordinator. ASSOCIATIONS The Parkrose...

Project hurdles remain.(Brief Article)
January 7, 2000... The proposal to dredge the Columbia River Shipping channel has cleared some major hurdles. But the project is not home free. A handful of state and local permits have yet to be issued and critics are challenging the project on environmental...

The sad lesson of the Y2K crisis.
January 7, 2000... The Y2K crisis has come and, apparently, gone. This space will not be devoted to the question of whether or not too much money was spent or two many articles, books, web sites, lectures, pamphlets, CD-ROMs and clever headlines were created in...

Reflection on a new century.
January 7, 2000... We can only wonder what the new century will bring. What critical developments lie ahead, and, more importantly, how will we react to them? No predictions here. But consider the pivotal day of the past century: June 6, 1944. That was...

Readers respond to commentary on workplace tragedy.
January 7, 2000... To the editor: The timing of your "Fourth Estate" editorial on Dec. 24 could not have been more meaningful or the content more insightful for me. Every employer, large or small, should take a hard look at how their organization acts and...

Winners & Losers.(Brief Article)
January 7, 2000... Lyle Waterman A 40-year veteran at Safeway, Waterman was named president of the grocer's 106-store Portland division. Waterman arrives from the Seattle division, where he was vice president of marketing operations. He replaces Robert...

The Numbers Game.(Brief Article)
January 7, 2000... THE FACTS ABOUT INSURANCE FRAUD * The Insurance Information Institute estimates that property/casualty fraud (excluding life and health insurance) cost insurers about $21 billion in 1998. * The total cost of all kinds of insurance...

County clinic to evaluate HIV-AIDS meds regimen.(Multnomah County)
January 7, 2000... Swallowing 50 pills a day--between work, exercise and life--would be a hassle to even the most tenacious and health-conscious person. That's what some HIV/AIDS patients face every day in keeping to a treatment regimen that fights the...

FROM ALBUQUERQUE TO VUMA.(OpCost.com)(Brief Article)
January 7, 2000... Where's the most cost-effective locale for operating your business? It's simple and free (for now, anyway) to answer this question. A recent edition of the PikeNet Dispatch e-mail newsletter plugged the OpCost.com web site launched by...

MOVING ON TO EQUITYVILLE.(Brief Article)
January 7, 2000... Portland-based Equity Group Inc. recently announced its purchase of the former Broadway Hotel at 2100 N.E. Broadway--a buy that consolidates five city lots for the realtor in a near Northeast neighborhood. Kurt Dalbey, owner of Equity...

HOLY HOTELS!(Portland's hotel market)
January 7, 2000... King Kong would have a field day with the new hotels downtown With a throng of hotels opening doors downtown last year, and with several more on the horizon, Portland's hotel market will surge by thousands of rooms in the new millennium....

ESI GETS BONUS AT END OF YEAR.(Electro Scientific Industries Inc)(Brief Article)
January 7, 2000... Electro Scientific Industries Inc. capped an outstanding 1999 with a major order for capacitor production equipment. Capacitors are the gizmos that store an electrical charge. If you need more detail, check with the company. Vishay...

OHSU'S HEART PROGRAM EXPANDS.(Oregon Health Science University's heart-transplant program)
January 7, 2000... Oregon Health Science University's heart-transplant program, threatened with closure last summer, has transformed from a one-person show to a five-member team performing twice the number of transplants. Dr. H. Storm Floten, the university...

BIG BUNDLES FOR NEW YEAR'S BABIES.(Kaiser Sunnyside Medical Center)
January 7, 2000... The parents of the first baby born at Kaiser Sunnyside Medical Center in Clackamas received a bottle of sparkling cider and two goblets engraved with Kaiser Sunnyside's "First Baby, of 2000." They also received, among other things, a six-month...

Insignia/ESG makes TWO Centerpointe Park home.
January 7, 2000... It's not every day that a commercial real estate firm has the opportunity to put its money where its mouth is. Insignia/ESG has proven itself fond of the Two Centerpointe office park for which it has been the leasing agent in Lake Oswego....

FROM PORTLAND TO THE WORLD.
January 7, 2000... Need evidence that we're moving toward a global, economy? Try Melvin Mark Brokerage Companies recent affiliation with The CORE Network. Headquartered in Newport Beach, Calif., The CORE Network is a nonprofit organization linking 70 real...

BIG DEALS.
January 7, 2000... ... and lead newsmakers of 1999 Who was it who said growth is painful? If you don't believe it, just ask Michael Powell and Andrew Wiederhorn, two of the top newsmakers on the business scene in 1999. For bookstore owner/operator...

E-commerce, e-screwed ... eject?!
January 7, 2000... E-commerce continued to strengthen its grip on Americans in 1999, giving Portland consumers more opportunities to buy products online and Portland companies new methods for marketing their goods. By the end of the year it seemed there was...

Venture capital investing went through the ceiling.
January 7, 2000... An investing frenzy that floated technology firms and dotcoms across the country also buoyed Oregon start-ups, as the state shattered its record for annual venture capital investment. Through the first three quarters of 1999, Oregon...

Giant utilities trade hands in a year of mergers.
January 7, 2000... ScottishPower and PacifiCorp completed a merger in November, the first between utilities in the United States and the United Kingdom. Most noticeable to customers will be "customer service guarantees," said Dave Kvamme, PacifiCorp...

The thinning of Silicon Forest.
January 7, 2000... Will the loss of headquarters tarnish the tech image? The Silicon Forest is beginning to look like Subsidiary City Over the past year, six well-known local tech companies, or divisions of companies, were bought by out-of-state firms and...

Mentor Graphics Corp.
January 7, 2000... Mentor Graphics Corp. spent a lot of time and money this past summer in a hostile takeover bid of Quickturn, a rival it also was fighting in court Mentor's mixed messages and hard-line stance puzzled some observers. But ultimately, the effort...

GST Telecommunications Inc.
January 7, 2000... There's no way around it. GST Telecommunications Inc. had a really tough 1999. The Vancouver telecom concern began the year trading lawsuits with former insiders the company accused of fraud. It ended the year the subject of class-action,...

John Warta.
January 7, 2000... John Warta, former CEO of GST Telecommunications Inc., seemed like a clear loser earlier this year. He'd been sued by his former employer in late-1998 and was still exchanging shots in early 1999. Since then, he's also been named in some...

Intel Corp.
January 7, 2000... Intel Corp., received a nice bundle of tax breaks from Washington County after threatening to make Intel Oregon a second-class operation. It easily won that battle, but its reputation lost a bit of its luster: Still money and jobs talk. Wonder...

Port of Portland.(canopy construction)
January 7, 2000... As to government spending, the Port of Portland has started the pre-construction phase for building a $12.6 million canopy that will cover the road in front of Portland International Airport's central terminal. Airport officials closed some of...

LEAST SURPRISING HEADLINE OF THE YEAR.(Brief Article)
January 7, 2000... Airport expansion will continue through 2003."

Condos to rise above Lloyd District.(Sienna Architecture Co. and the Portland Development Commission)
January 14, 2000... Enterprise Development has finished seeding the tallest building to ever sprout from Portland's east side. In six weeks, construction is set to begin on The Cascadian, an $85 million, 30-story, condominium high-rise complex that the...

City's stormwater fees would target business.
January 14, 2000... Alternatives to existing fee structures for stormwater-system usage proposed by the city of Portland all have one element in common: They would cost heavy stormwater-system users more money. The alternatives also appear to target numerous...

Port's plan to develop Hayden Island blasted.
January 14, 2000... Hayden Island: "Industrial Sanctuary"? Not if preservationists can help it. The Port of Portland plans to develop 827 acres on the western half of the island, a fat sandbar in the Columbia River bisected by Interstate 5 between North...

'O' loses another to KPAM as Jaynes joins radio team.(The Oregonian)
January 14, 2000... Dwight Jaynes, long-time sports columnist for The Oregonian, is packing his bags to become a talk-show host at KPAM-AM radio, the second columnist for the newspaper to join the station in the last two weeks. Jaynes, who sources say will...

For Sequent financial strategist, it's time for another challenge.(Decision Point Systems Inc.)
January 14, 2000... The former chief financial officer of Sequent Computer Systems Inc. has joined fast-growing Decision Point Systems Inc., setting his sights squarely on taking the company public later this year. Bob Gregg was Sequent's No. 2 executive and,...

Berry beatitudes subject of new marketing study.(a study by The Oregon Raspberry and Blackberry Commission.)
January 14, 2000... Cancer fighter. Cholesterol reducer. These are just two of the 60 or so healthy components present in blackberries and raspberries that growers and food manufacturers are now promoting. The way to pack those vitamins, antioxidants and...

NPT'S donor-advised funds offer more control to you.(National Philanthropic Trust)
January 14, 2000... A problem most nonprofits face is the annual problem most nonproftask of raising enough dough to accomplish their goals. Although those goals may be the same year after year, few charities are sufficiently endowed to avoid the ongoing plea for...

Greenbrier on track to buy European producer.(Brief Article)
January 14, 2000... The Greenbrier Cos., a railcar manufacturer based in Lake Oswego, agreed to buy the European railcar production unit of DaimlerChrysler AG. The companies expect to complete the sale within 30 days. Greenbrier will buy the Freight Wagon Division...