Business Journal-Portland articles from January 2001

Business Journal-Portland archives from January 2001

Portland developers look to the north.(Avalon Hotel, Seattle, Washington)(Brief Article)
January 5, 2001... The Avalon Hotel on Macadam Avenue began accepting bookings this week, but its Portland developers already have significantly bigger plans for a $100 million hotel/retail project in downtown Seattle. Construction on Avalon/Seattle is...

Vodka with a twist was the top drink for 2000.(Brief Article)
January 5, 2001... If vodka was the drink of the '90s, flavored vodka was the drink of 2000. Cases of Absolut Kurant and Absolut Mandarin sold briskly in the past year, according to the Oregon Liquor Control Commission. In fact, sales of premium liquors in...

OLCC had questions for Couch Street's owners.(Oregon Commission on Liquor Control)(Brief Article)
January 5, 2001... Oregon Liquor Control Commission officials planned to yank the liquor license at Couch Street Fish House because the agency has never been able to officially determine who owns the restaurant nor the source of money the current proprietors used...

Wilshire Real Estate makes play for British properties.(BEP Property Holdings Ltd.)(Brief Article)
January 5, 2001... Hoping to reap gains from a still-appreciating British real estate market, Portland's Wilshire Real Estate Investment Inc. last month partnered in an offer to acquire a portfolio of shopping centers located in the United Kingdom. Wilshire,...

Earnings warnings make little bad news powerful.(Brief Article)(Editorial)
January 5, 2001... This week, I'm lending this space to Gunther Karger, aka The Advocate. He and I have been discussing the sorry state of Wall Street analysis, and when he sent me the following commentary, I decided to share it with the rest of you. You can find...

PR firm avoids dot-com blues by focusing on fewer clients.(McClenahan Bruer Communications Inc.)(Brief Article)
January 5, 2001... Rich Bruer estimates his advertising and public relations firm, McClenahan Bruer, has turned down a dozen potential clients this year that sought out its "deep-tech" expertise. Some joined a year-old waiting list. Others went on to...

Gardenburger plans a major reverse split.(Brief Article)
January 5, 2001... Gardenburger Inc. has announced plans for a major reverse stock spilt. The goal is to halt a yearlong share price decline and to head off the threat of its stock being delisted from Nasdaq. Unless it gets an extension, the company said it...

Venture firm Seedling adds CEO, restructures.(David Swainson)(Brief Article)
January 5, 2001... Seedling Technologies of Portland, formerly known as Brighton, appointed David Swainson as the company's new chief financial officer. Swainson is a CPA with over 10 years experience as a CFO in private and public corporate environments. The...

Regent Assisted Living Inc.(property acquisitions from Health Care Property Investors Inc. and LTC Properties Inc.)(Brief Article)
January 5, 2001... Regent Assisted Living Inc. and its CEO Walter Bowen jointly purchased four of the company's leased properties from real estate investment trusts for more than $33 million. Three of the properties, in Clovis and Santa Cruz, Calif., and Boise,...

Leopold Ketel & Partners.(marketing for the Portland Tribune)(Brief Article)
January 5, 2001... Portland's startup newspaper, the Portland Tribune, has hired Leopold Ketel & Partners to handle its public relations. The agency will help plan, manage and publicize the introduction of the twice-weekly newspapers for its February debut....

Planar Systems Inc.(acquisition of AllBrite Technologies Inc.)(Brief Article)
January 5, 2001... Planar Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: PLNR) completed the acquisition of AllBrite Technologies Inc., the leading supplier of flat panel displays to the growing ATM and outdoor kiosk markets. Planar, of Beaverton, develops and markets high-performance...

Integrated Measurement Systems Inc.(profits)(Brief Article)
January 5, 2001... Integrated Measurement Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: IMSC) of Beaverton said it expects its results for the fourth quarter of 2000 to fall short of the "previous guidance given." The company said it believes that fourth-quarter 2000 revenue will be...

Mitsubishi Silicon America.(Andy Pihl)(Brief Article)
January 5, 2001... Andy Pihl has been appointed senior vice president of operations for Mitsubishi Silicon America in Salem. He previously served as vice president of operations for Wacker Siltronic Corp., responsible for Wacker's 200 mm wafer program. He was...

Red Cross brings CPR course to online users.(Brief Article)
January 5, 2001... The Red Cross wants to come into your business and home to save lives-but don't expect a rescue worker to come knocking at the door. The Oregon Trail Chapter of the American Red Cross has developed an online cardiopulmonary course that...

Integra Telecom closes 2000 with $41M score.(Brief Article)
January 5, 2001... Treading carefully where other telecommunications startups have foundered, Integra Telecom of Beaverton has secured an additional $41 million in venture capital. The late December investment augments a $61 million round of venture funding...

Tech giants cut big checks for telecom player.(Network Elements Inc. gets funding from Intel and Nortel)(Brief Article)
January 5, 2001... Beaverton-based Network Elements Inc. said it captured $77 million in financing, including a $60 minion round of venture capital investment. The round includes funding from Intel Corp. and Nortel, two technology giants that are engaged in...

Giving and receiving in 2001.
January 5, 2001... It seems appropriate at this time of year to discuss New Year's resolutions. At the request of The Business Journal, I set out to elicit the giving, and receiving, resolutions for 2001 made by members, of our community Here are some of their...

OU steers clear of Nike turf.(University of Oregon chooses Southwest Recreational Industries Inc.)(Brief Article)
January 5, 2001... It wasn't like a full-blown slap in the face that the University of Oregon delivered to one of its most famous alums, Nike boss Phil Knight. Call it, oh, a gentle backhand. The latest OU diss of Nike came when the Oregon athletic...

Microsoft jolts analysts with earnings warning.
January 5, 2001... For or years, Microsoft Corp.'s top executives have been cautioning shareholders that the Redmond software giant wouldn't always post record-breaking growth. If nothing else, chief executive Steve Ballmer has noted, the law of large...

Ted Papas.
January 5, 2001... PERSONAL INFORMATION Name: Ted Papas Tide: Owner, Greek Cusina What we do: My restaurant has multiple faces. We do breakfast in the morning and lunch all afternoon. Lunch consists mainly of sandwiches, salads and a limited...

Making tracts.
January 5, 2001... Catellus speeds development of railyards and industrial parcels Five years after Nelson Rising first came aboard as CEO, Catellus Develop-ment Corp. is racing faster than ever along tracks laid decades ago by former parent company Santa Fe...

KnollGroup rethinks future partner strategy.
January 5, 2001... KnollGroup president Bob Knoll has decided to postpone his yearend retirement, which had been announced to happen this week. Knoll, 60, decided to delay his departure when his succession team hit a snag. Three of Knoll's top staff--creative...

HMH ADDS STAFF, CLIENTS.
January 5, 2001... HMH Advertising's technical director of e-business Allen Taylor is no slouch when it comes to technology. He's written a "Database Development for Dummies" book that may be too technical for "dummies" like me. The book explains ways to...

TV ANCHOR TIES THE KNOT.
January 5, 2001... KPTV's "Good Day Oregon" anchor Kathy Smith recently tied the knot with Herb Sharp, a Merrill Lynch broker who was so swamped by the Dow Jones roller-coaster ride that the couple has yet to take a honeymoon. "We'll go play golf in the...

MUSEUM GETS PLAYFUL NEW LOGOS.
January 5, 2001... Grady Britton is behind the playful, catchy new logos for the new Children's Museum, soon to be called CM2. The logos have rounded letters and thought bubbles with dice, the number two or a peace sign inside to reflect the second-generation...

WHITE HORSE DOES CORNING SITE.
January 5, 2001... The White Horse Interactive team is behind the Science Museum-like website redesign for Corning Inc., makers of fiber optic networks and other cutting-edge technology. Introduction of the new web site, www.corning.com, was timed around the...

LANE PICKS UP THREE ACCOUNTS.
January 5, 2001... Add Leatherman Tool Group to the client roster at Lane Marketing Communications. The Portland multipurpose toolmaker recently hired the agency to help with new product introductions and brand awareness. Lane brought on two other clients at...

Sustainability as a policy moves past cult status.
January 5, 2001... While the sustainability revolution might not be televised yet, it appears that just about anyone can tune in. Weyerhaeuser Co. announced last week that it has become the only forest products company selected to the Dow Jones Sustainability...

STEPPING OUT.
January 5, 2001... The revolution may not go better with Coke, but it does go better with The Natural Step. John Klosterman, vice president of manufacturing at Rejuvenation Inc., will be the featured speaker at Jan. 11's breakfast meeting for the Oregon...

SPEAKING OF SUSTAINABILITY.
January 5, 2001... Even if the revolution will not fight germs that cause bad breath, this winter and spring offers abundant opportunities to learn how sustainability can battle waste while trimming the bottom line. Now in its second year of offering...

FROM SWOOSHES TO FATNESS.
January 5, 2001... FatEarth Inc., a new-sprung Portland company connecting businesses with sustainable goods and services, has nothing but good news to report these days. This month, FatEarth recruited seasoned Nike Corp. executive Lesley Dodson as its new chief...

Is urge to merge, which surged in '00, warning?
January 5, 2001... Was 2000 the all-time banner year for mergers and acquisitions or was it the start of a noticeable decline in such transactions? Only your investment banker knows for sure. For the record, the past year indeed provided the most M&A...

BILL BENEFITS WOMEN.
January 5, 2001... A new law signed by President Clinton in late December could be a boon to women business owners. The measure, HR4577, which is part of the final federal appropriations, not only increases the ceiling on Small Business Administration 504...

MINING SEATTLE.
January 5, 2001... The Portland office of U.S. Trust has hired Muriel Van Housen to drum up clients in the greater Seattle area and throughout Washington. U.S. Trust currently lacks a Seattle office. Jeffrey Grubb, managing director of the Pacific Northwest...

NEWPORT NEWS.
January 5, 2001... Independent Financial Network will acquire all of the class-A common stock of Lincoln Security Bank, bringing IFN's ownership of the bank to 100 percent. Locals organized Lincoln, a community bank based in Newport, in 1996. IFN, then known...

INTERNET INVESTMENTS.
January 5, 2001... Timberline Ventures of Vancouver invested recently in internet companies to the north and south. The venture capital firm issued a $2 million seed round of investment to WiredPocket of Santa Clara, Calif., and led a $3.5 million...

Tech's been the best of beats for one reporter.
January 5, 2001... For three years I've had the best beat at The Business Journal--technology and telecommunications. But now, it's time to give it up. I've moved on to the news editor position here, which means I get to play a broader role in the entire...

Call it what you want, 2000 was a humdinger.
January 5, 2001... Every December, reporters preparing year-in-review stories are tempted to quote Dickens: "It was the best of times; it was the worst of times." This year that quotation fits especially well. At the start of 2000, blue chips and...

THE TOP 10.(Statistical Data Included)
January 5, 2001... The year was better for some than others... 1 InFocus Corp. took a big step, from U.S. market leader to worldwide market dominator, when it merged with--some say "acquired"--Proxima, its closest competitor. Now our region's...

THE ROCKET DIVES.(newspaper to fold)(Brief Article)
January 5, 2001... City of Roses Publishing, owners of Willamette Week, backed out of an estimated $1 million deal to buy The Rocket, a music tabloid published in Portland and Seattle. Mark Zusman, one of the three partners and editor of Willamette Week,...

MARRIOTT/KIMPTON HOTEL DEAL.(Brief Article)
January 5, 2001... San Francisco hospitality magnate Bill Kimpton agreed in June to sell his group of hotels, including downtown Portland landmarks Hotel Vintage Plaza and 5th Avenue Suites Hotel, to Marriott International, but pulled the plug abruptly in August....

SUNDANCE CINEMA AT PIONEER PLACE.(Brief Article)
January 5, 2001... After much anticipation by Portland film buffs, Variety, the Hollywood trade paper, reported in November that the joint venture between General Cinemas and Robert Redford's Sundance organization to build an art film house was "as good as dead."...

MIKE THORNE DELAYS RETIREMENT.(Brief Article)
January 5, 2001... Amid speculation that he would run for state governor, Port of Portland director Mike Thorne announced during the summer that he would retire from the position he has held since 1991 and spend more time operating his Pendleton ranch. Then,...

BUM DEALS.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 5, 2001... Some deals of the year were downright sour GST Telecommunications Inc. may have passed up several chances to avoid a fire sale. Instead, it gambled on a turnaround, and lost. Time Warner Telecom ended up purchasing GST's assets for $690...

ATLAS TELECOM WRAPS UP; RAY ZAPP NAILED FOR $3.3 MILLION.(Brief Article)
January 5, 2001... U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Elizabeth Perris ordered Ray Zapp to pay back some $3.3 million to the estate of Atlas Telecom. Zapp built up and ran Atlas Telecom, turning it into a rising star in the telecommunications field. He also took...

YAPP DUMPS HOLLYWOOD ENTERTAINMENT.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 5, 2001... Jeffrey Yapp stepped down after three years as Hollywood Entertainment Corp. president and CEO. His departure came after an October announcement that Hollywood's third quarter earnings would fall far short of analysts' expectations. ...

PHIL KNIGHT THROWS A HISSY FIT.(Brief Article)
January 5, 2001... Nike founder and former University of Oregon runner Phil Knight announced that he would cease personal donations to his alma mater following the university's decision to join a student-driven labor rights organization critical of Nike. ...

FLIR SELF-DESTRUCTS.(Brief Article)
January 5, 2001... The heat was high and continuous for FLIR Systems Inc. this year. The company, which makes heat-detecting devices, reported in March that its financial forecasts were way off, due to accounting errors. The company's CFO resigned, and...

Who made the news and who to watch in 2001.(Brief Article)
January 5, 2001... (As ever, it's people who make the news. Here are some folks who grabbed headlines in 2000 and a few to watch in 2001.) Jeff Grayson faces multiple lawsuits after his investment advisory firm, Capital Consultants lost more than $240 million...

Frustrated doctors take matters into own hands.(reclaiming control over decisions about patients)(Brief Article)
January 5, 2001... Doctors rule! Not quite yet. But if I had to summarize this year's leading health care story it would be doctor's reclaiming control over decisions about patients, their schedule and their salary. More physician groups broke up....

Some were in good shape at end of 2000.(Brief Article)
January 5, 2001... WebTrends moved from strength to strength this year, consistently beating Wall Street estimates, acquiring a UK distributor and moving into several floors of the new high-tech Fox Tower. * Pixelworks went public in a tough market and posted...

Wheelin' and dealin' kept its pace in Portland area.(Brief Article)
January 5, 2001... There's no better way to summarize the year 2000 in real estate than by revisiting some of the more memorable headlines. In that vein, let's cut to the quick: JANUARY United Parcel Service Inc. leases 52 acres of vacant land at...

Conservative approach to market paid oil, sort of.(Brief Article)
January 5, 2001... I felt like such a dolt at the start of 2000. No, it wasn't that I needlessly hoarded food stuffs and weaponry due to Y2K fears. My despair stemmed from the lack of internet stocks in my modest portfolio. For a few years the internet...

2000: ...and the dot-coms came tumbling down.(Brief Article)
January 5, 2001... The best thing about 2000 was the fall of the dot-coms. It proved that even in the rarefied world of internet technology that actual business performance mattered. It was a lesson that caused a lot of pain, but it was a necessary one. ...

New papers shake up media scene in Portland.
January 5, 2001... Two newcomers joined Portland's weekly newspaper scene this year, proving once again that the printed word has a future in the jazzier internet world. The Mercury, a knockoff of Seattle's The Stranger, was the first to shake up the...

Specter of energy crisis looms large on horizon.
January 5, 2001... An unusually dry winter in the Northwest this year could plunge the entire West Coast into an energy crisis of unprecedented levels. The Bonneville Power Administration's network of 29 hydroelectric dams is being counted on to not only...

If you're gonna read business books, read these.
January 5, 2001... An irony of the Digital Age is that it has brought with it an avalanche of paper. Bookshelves groan under the weight of opinion on the new technology: how to use it, how to make money from it or how to avoid it. Much of it is scarcely...

Top mergers and acquisitions.
January 5, 2001... Top mergers and acquisitions Ranked by value of merger of acquisition Phone ...

Here's what it takes to be a success as an events expert.
January 5, 2001... When Kathy Kendrix entered business as an events and meeting planning specialist, she had to invent her job as she learned by trial and error. When she considers moving on, she contemplates exactly what she'd look for in her...

She lives for your event.
January 5, 2001... If there's one thing a perfectionist hates, it's having to meet a deadline. There's always that one more little item that can be improved, tweaked, fine-tuned. But rage as she sometimes does against them, Kathy Kendrix still respects those...

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE.
January 5, 2001... ACCOUNTING The Parrott Partnership LLP hired Peter Ettro as an accountant. ADVERTISING Babcock & Jenkins named Bonnie Johnson human resources director; Charlie Baker president and CEO; Julie Wisdom creative services director;...

Online retailers enjoy a robust holiday season.
January 5, 2001... The recent holiday season saw virtual cash registers ringing up twice the sales volume of Christmas 1999, about $10 billion in all according to forecasts from Cambridge, Mass.-based internet industry tracker Forrester Research Inc. The...

Our wish list for 2001.
January 5, 2001... Things we hope will occur in 2001: George Bush will be so busy reinvigorating the economy that he won't have time to wreck the environment. We'll all stop obsessing about the relationship between Phil Knight and the University of...

Reports of his death a bit early.
January 5, 2001... I was thumbing through my e-mails on Dec. 11. Opening a message from my father, I read: "Dan: I just got my copy of the latest CWRU magazine and saw Adam Jay's death notice. Had you known that he died?" First, a couple of explanations are...

The kids are more than all right--they're awesome!
January 5, 2001... Writing for a living is a privilege, but it is not always easy to remember that in an ordinary workday. Sometimes, though, being a writer does bring the chance to do something really special, and to be reminded of just how good the writing life...

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.
January 5, 2001... Fitness club policies: as weight goes down, blood pressure goes up To the editor: I thoroughly enjoyed reading [Robert Goldfield's] column about Bally Total Fitness (Dec. 22, p. 13). I am more and more frustrated with the way fitness...

The Numbers Game.
January 5, 2001... BEST PLACE TO CLOSE THE DEAL IS OVER A MEAL CFOs were asked, "Other than the office, what was the location of your most successful business meetinq ever?" * The survey also found that nearly one in 10 CFOs has landed a successful...

Insider Tading.
January 5, 2001... The buying and selling of stock shares by area executives Brian Cook Chair, president/CEO Direct Focus Inc. Shares to sell: 5,000 Share price: $45 [*] Share value: $225,000 Edson Whitehurst CFO, vice...

Winners & Losers.(Brief Article)
January 5, 2001... Karen Hinsdale Hinsdale, of The Cellar Door wine service, may just be Best Boss of 2000. To reward her two stellar cellar mates (Bryan Shuttleworth aod Craig Perman) for their great work during the year, she allowed them to select and...

SLAPSHOTS.
January 5, 2001... Another Hanks classic **** We didn't think much of Robert Zemeckis' summer film, "What Lies Beneath." While his latest offering shares some motifs and techniques with that well-crafted but empty horror flick, "Cast Away" employs them...

AutoZone plans its Portland expansion.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)(Directory)
January 12, 2001... AutoZone Inc., the nation's largest auto-parts chain, is arriving in Portland, where it intends to muscle in on a highly competitive field. Based in Memphis, Tenn., publicly traded AutoZone operates nearly 3,000 stores in 42 states. The...

Schnitzer makes plans for downtown high-rise.(Brief Article)
January 12, 2001... Schnitzer Northwest has plans to build a 20-story commercial office tower on the Beim and James block it purchased two years ago for $5 million. The block, located between Southwest First and Second avenues at the west end of the Morrison...

Atwaters closure could force Founders to move.(Brief Article)
January 12, 2001... The pending closure of Atwaters Restaurant in the U.S. Bancorp Tower has sent members of the elite Founders Club scurrying for new meeting and dining space. The approximately 500 executives who belong to The Founders Club have relied on...

Digimarc deals could point to new strategic directions.(Digimarc Corp.)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 12, 2001... The new year is starting off right for Digimarc, the digital watermarking company based in Tualatin. An important new customer in the e-commerce sector and an alliance with a national printing-industry association have the potential to...

Help me, Clarence! Leave a Legacy needs an angel.(Brief Article)
January 12, 2001... Everyone out there probably just saw "It's a Wonderful Life" for about the ten thousandth time, right? Great movie, always makes you cry Well. I want you to think of Old Man Potter for a minute--the embodiment of evil. And George Bailey, the...

Vinton finds niche reviving tired advertising characters.(Brief Article)
January 12, 2001... He was always waiting for the phone to ring. Next week, the Maytag repairman is going to be so busy he has no time to wait for appliance repair calls. Will Vinton Studios' little-known Character Development Lab, working with...

Port is getting ready to push Rivergate land.(Brief Article)
January 12, 2001... The Port of Portland has announced big marketing plans for the Rivergate Industrial Park, the city's largest industrial preserve. But the fact the activity follows right behind the settlement of an environmental lawsuit is just coincidence,...

The Numbers Game.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 12, 2001... The Numbers Game NEWER CONSTRUCTION = HIGHER INCOME Data below reflects the income from rental properties built before and ...

Insider Trading.(oregon executives, stock shares)(Brief Article)(Illustration)(Statistical Data Included)
January 12, 2001... Insider Trading The buying and selling of stock shares by area executives Josef Baumann Shareholder Electro Scientific Industries Shares to sell 40,000 Share price ...

Independent living may soon end for Williams.(Brief Article)
January 12, 2001... Williams Controls Inc. (Nasdaq: WMCO) said that the company has retained the investment banking firm W.Y. Campbell & Co. to act as its financial adviser and assist the company in evaluating and pursuing various strategic alternatives available...

Adidas America.(Brief Article)
January 12, 2001... adidas America of Portland settled its lawsuit against the NCAA concerning rules restricting size and placement of apparel manufacturers' logos. The settlement provides adidas with "the certainty clarity and flexibility it needs to design...

eVineyard.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 12, 2001... eVineyard said that sales for 2000 were up 1,000 percent over 1999. With the report of rapid revenue growth, the Portland online wine retailer, a privately held company expects to achieve profitability in late 2001. Strong holiday sales brought...

Wilshire Financial Services Group Inc.(Office of Thrift Supervision lifts cease and desist orders)(Brief Article)
January 12, 2001... Wilshire Financial Services Group Inc. (OTCBB: WFSG) of Portland said the federal Office of Thrift Supervision has terminated the cease and desist orders it had placed on WSFG's transactions with its subsidiary, First Bank of Beverly Hills. OTS...

PolyServe.($22 million raised in series B round financing)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 12, 2001... PolyServe, a provider of systems software for the internet data center, said it has raised $22 million in its series B round of financing from top-tier investors and strategic partners, bringing the total raised since the company's...