Business Journal-Portland articles from July 2000

Business Journal-Portland archives from July 2000

WebTrends new Fox tenant.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 7, 2000... Construction and pre-leasing of the Fox Tower got off to a rocky start three years ago, but the lease situation for the $90 million project seems to be quickly turning around. One of the last major chunks of space in the 27-story tower has...

The people behind the Eagle Creek standoff.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 7, 2000... In recent decades, the U.S. timber industry has shouldered its share and more of opposition. This is especially true when it comes to logging in national forests. On July 17, a public comment period for President Bill Clinton's proposal to...

Medical Group taxes doctors for legal fund.(Statistical Data Included)
July 7, 2000... The University Medical Group is charging its 525 doctors at Oregon Health Sciences University a 1 percent tax on revenue to set aside in a legal defense fund to respond to federal investigation into alleged false claims to Medicare and other...

Dicing and slicing to find the really big bucks guys.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 7, 2000... Drawing conclusions from executive compensation information is a dicey proposition. It's now relatively easy to get accurate information on what executives made in a given year, thanks in large part to reporting rules that require...

Corillian hires ex-bank exec McCoy to peddle its software.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 7, 2000... After leading Bank One to the status of fifth-largest bank in the nation, chairman and CEO John McCoy left in December with some tarnish on his name. Beaverton's Corillian Corp., however, is betting that bankers will recall the sterling...

Vancouver's paper joins a.m. crowd.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 7, 2000... The Columbian last week became the latest daily newspaper to switch to a morning delivery, going headline-to-headline with its cross-river competition, The Oregonian. The Vancouver daily broke a tradition of 110 years of afternoon...

The editor succumbs to patriotic reverie on July 4.
July 7, 2000... My son was upset with me. We were seated around the dining room table in May. I was filling in my mail-in ballot, making fun of the long list of judges running unopposed for office. "Dad, you're setting a bad example!" he said. "You're...

Income up 18 percent for Roseburg's Umpqua.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 7, 2000... Umpqua Holdings Corp. (Nasdaq: UMPQ) of Roseburg reported a net income of $1,384,507 for the second quarter of 2000--an 18 percent increase over the second quarter of 1999. Diluted earnings per share were 18 cents for the quarter ended June...

Agritope Inc.
July 7, 2000... Agritope Inc. of Portland (Nasdaq SC:AGTO) has been granted a patent for a novel plant gene promoter derived from raspberry fruit. A promoter is a specific sequence of DNA that directs the expression of any gene linked to it. Agritope's...

The National College of Naturopathic Medicine.(Brief Article)
July 7, 2000... The National College of Naturopathic Medicine has won accreditation for a new degree program in classical Chinese medicine. The Accreditation Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine awarded accreditation to the college's master of...

Cowlitz Bancorp.(Brief Article)
July 7, 2000... Cowlitz Bancorp. (Nasdaq: CWLZ) of Longview, Wash., said the pending acquisition of Northern Bank of Commerce (Nasdaq: NBOC) of Portland has closed. Cowlitz will account for the acquisition as a purchase transaction. The acquisition was...

Anne Nickel.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 7, 2000... Anne Nickel, who spent the last nine years as Columbia Corridor Association executive director, is leaving the group to work for Associated Builders and Contractors. Nickel will become executive director for the local ABC chapter. Nickel earned...

Asbury Automotive Group.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 7, 2000... Asbury Automotive Group, a Stamford, Conn., auto dealership group, has completed seven separate acquisitions year-to-date. Asbury added new units in Little Rock, Ark.; Tampa, Jacksonville and Deland, Fla.; Fayetteville, N.C.; Plano, Texas; and...

MedicaLogic/Medscape Inc.(Brief Article)
July 7, 2000... MedicaLogic/Medscape Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLI) said that Paul Shells would become an advisor to the company following his decision to leave his positions as vice chairman and a director. MedicaLogic/Medscape provides health information, products and...

Linfield College.(Brief Article)
July 7, 2000... Two area private schools have secured major grants. Linfield College won two grants from the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust worth $332,000. Linfield President Vivian Bull said $175,000 of that will support student and faculty collaborative...

Port of Portland wins Toyota's heart--again.(Brief Article)
July 7, 2000... In the end, said Port of. Longview Commissioner Walt Barham, the Port of Portland "did what it had to do" to keep longtime, tenant Toyota from switching its business from Portland to either Longview or Tacoma. Toyota ended nearly two years...

In Portland, Tiffany's windows don't measure up.(Brief Article)
July 7, 2000... Tiffany & Co.'s small display windows, one of the business's hallmarks, could pose big problems with Portland planners. The city's Office of Planning and Development Review, in recommendations set to be made during a Design Commission...

Oregon Steel, union's nasty quarrel continues.(Statistical Data Included)
July 7, 2000... Is Oregon Steel Mills in a meltdown? Or is the United Steelworkers of America engaged in a smear campaign designed to ruin the company and harm its shareholders? As the bitter two-and-a-half-year labor dispute drags on between Oregon...

Ziba, SoMA's product designs earn awards.(Brief Article)
July 7, 2000... Two Portland product design firms have collected some impressive awards from an annual industry competition. Ziba Design and SoMA Inc., both based in Northwest Portland, grabbed honors in a competition sponsored by Business Week and judged...

Radio syndication is beginning to pay off for NBG.(Brief Article)
July 7, 2000... Big Snoop Dogg Radio has come to Portland. And NBG Radio Network Inc. is betting the four-hour syndicated radio show will be Its biggest success yet. "That show's off to a great start," said John Holmes, president of the Portland-based...

Stroke victims may find relief with new device.(Brief Article)
July 7, 2000... It was a puzzle to doctors. How do you devise a flexible catheter, a tube being threaded directly to the brain, to curve around veins and deliver laser energy safely? Such a device would be critical to a stroke victim's recovery if it...

Interpreting AT&T ruling comes next.(Brief Article)
July 7, 2000... After years of silence on whether all Internet service providers should have access to cable broadband pipes, the Federal Communications Commission has spoken. Or at least will speak soon. As AT&T has begun Installing its Excite@Home...

U.S. job growth paced by strong service sector.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 7, 2000... A new study identifies the service sector as the driving force behind the prosperity of the 1990s. Service industries created 6.4 million jobs between 1992 and 1997, accounting for more than half of the nations 12.8 million new jobs during...

Disability lobbying group asks for, more enforcement.(Brief Article)
July 7, 2000... The Justice Department will step up its enforcement of the Americans with Disabilities Act if the National Council on Disability has its way. The council, an independent federal agency, says lack of aggressive enforcement has, hampered the...

EXECUTIVE PROFILE.
July 7, 2000... Louis Quint PERSONAL INFORMATION Name: Louis Quint Organization: Northwest Club Management Group Title: Vice president What we do: We manage six high-end recreational facilities: RiverPlace Athletic Club, Park Place...

A functional family.
July 7, 2000... Teresa Thompson says she wanted to be a superstar, but not in the sense of wanting to feed an enormous ego and be in the spot-light all the time. She just wanted to own her own company and create a niche for it in the business community. And...

Shari's shift from six to four walls is a mistake.(Statistical Data Included)
July 7, 2000... The Shari's restaurant chain will soon open its 100th location, but that building won't take the six-sided shape so familiar to patrons. Neither will other Shari's restaurants to follow. The braintrust at privately held Shari's Management...

Ten buck co-pay may soon be ancient history.(Statistical Data Included)
July 7, 2000... The $10 co-pay doesn't cut it in 2001. That's the thinking of health insurers like Providence Health Plan's executive director Jack Friedman, who told the crowd at last week's Oregon Health Forum they are looking at alternatives to control...

Merix turnaround makes shareholders happy.(Statistical Data Included)
July 7, 2000... Not that long ago, the canny investor wanting to make a play in the Oregon printed circuit board industry would have put his or her money in Praegitzer Industries Inc. rather than Merix Corp. Who could blame our hypothetical investor? After...

Gabbing nits comment spurs editorial debate.(Statistical Data Included)
July 7, 2000... Here's a riddle: What did the headline of last week's real estate column-- "Insignia exec... gabs urban growth nits"--actually mean? Is it possible to gab nits? Or did we mean "grabs urban growth nitch" and chop out a few words because of...

Eagle Creek about people, not processes.
July 7, 2000... The following 12 pages broach the controversy surrounding the Eagle Creek timber sales in Mt. Hood National Forest. The story involves multi-faceted personalities, scientific intricacies, sociological systems of consumption, the evolving...

A BATTLE OF WILLS.
July 7, 2000... Eagle Creek: one of the last melees on Mount Hood's logging battlefield, where there's no middle ground and survivors are war-torn Southwest of the popular Salmon-Huckleberry Wilderness, a 1,100-acre forest trails along the south fork of...

Tensions peak at Eagle Creek.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 7, 2000... A timber-industry saga four years in the making Over the Clackamas River and through the woods, roughly 62 miles southeast of Portland, the Eagle Creek timber sale has been floundering in a state of flux. Boring-based Vanport...

Read 'Tape Op' if you're hankering to record at home.(Brief Article)
July 7, 2000... Larry Crane knows so much about recording, he could write a book. Or at least a 'zine. Since 1996, Crane, the owner of Jackpot Recording Studio, has edited Tape Op, a handy guide for recording that addresses everything from recording on a...

Jackpot for musicians.(Brief Article)
July 7, 2000... Jackpot Recording is definitely into making a profit, but the Portland studio also serves musicians who need a reasonably priced work space. The microcassette recorder posed a sound engineering challenge for Jackpot Recording Studio owner...

Sydney will make a good first impression on Olympians.(Brief Article)
July 7, 2000... I've preached constantly in this column about the value of the "threshold factor" as it applies to a brand, whether it's a soft drink, a detergent, a political candidate or a city. The threshold factor is that immediate imagery or aura that...

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE.(Brief Article)
July 7, 2000... ACCOUNTING Gina Kelley joined Isler & Co. LIC as supervisor. ARCHITECTURE Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Partnership named Kathy Berg, Deb Butcher, Lisa Greeley, Ken Hall, Toby Hasselgren, Maureen Kallman, Duncan Kerst, Jan Lochridge, Doug...

Time for a time out at OHSU?(Oregon Health Sciences University)(Brief Article)
July 7, 2000... The recent skirmish between management and doctors at the Oregon Health Sciences University should serve as a warning to the bosses there. As OHSU strives for national prominence, it is bound to encounter some obstacles--obstacles that can...

Management is now a dirty word.(leadership versus management)(Brief Article)
July 7, 2000... Leadership is in. Management is out. That's probably not news to anyone, but it's a painful truth in business these days. Leaders are inspirational, they're out-front. They are boldly setting direction for hordes of awe-struck followers....

Many not convinced Microsoft breakup is necessary.
July 7, 2000... The American people--whom the Justice Department represents in courts of law--are not at all clear that a breakup of Microsoft Corp. is necessary. There has been little change in public opinion on the issue of Microsoft over the past two years,...

New transportation vision needed if community is to prosper.(Brief Article)
July 7, 2000... I enjoyed reading Mary Bellotti's article--"Sans road taxes, experts seek new money," The Business Journal, June 23 edition--about the recent forum on transportation sponsored by the Institute for Portland Metropolitan Studies housed at...

PUBLISHER'S LETTER.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 7, 2000... These are salad days for people and companies in search of money. Capital is plentiful and the cost of borrowing it is relatively cheap. Some sources of capital have, at times, seemed almost too bountiful. Hot dot-com startups were being...

Pay: What you're worth--or what you negotiate?(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 7, 2000... Welcome to The Money Book. Just like our weekly paper, the Money Book isn't just about helping you build up your business. There's a nice gem inside that we know you'll enjoy. It's our Highest-Paid Executives List. We're very proud of...

Public agencies have Colorado mill in cross hairs.(Brief Article)
July 7, 2000... Financial woes and an acrimonious labor dispute aren't Oregon Steel Mills' only problems relating to its Pueblo, Colo., Rocky Mountain Steel Mill. Earlier this year, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration conducted an extensive audit...

Winners & Losers.
July 7, 2000... Gil de Ferran Driver Gil de Ferran will get a chance to keep defending his consecutive Freightliner/G.I. Joe's 200 championships thanks to the Rose Festival Association's success in negotiating the return of the CART race through 2003,...

SLAPSHOTS.(online services, music retail)(Brief Article)
July 7, 2000... Online haven for music fans The Scorecard: Hat trick You know the routine. You find yourself in a big city with a few hours to kill and decide to check out the local used-record shops. When you get back home, you wish you'd spend more...

Insider Trading.
July 7, 2000... [TABLE HAS BEEN CLIPPED]

Top 100 highest-paid executives of area public companies.
July 7, 2000... [TABLE HAS BEEN CLIPPED]

Top 25 financial institutions.
July 7, 2000... [TABLE HAS BEEN CLIPPED]

Reviving a deserted banker.
July 14, 2000... Corporate finance specialist Jim Bednark has joined the Portland office of First Security Van Kasper, where he'll try to reignite the investment banking business of the former Black & Co. Investment banking, the art of obtaining financing...

When son wants you fired, it's time to quit.
July 14, 2000... Patty Farrell was issued her walking papers by her 7-year-old son, Farrell, the executive director of Portland Public Schools' department of communications and community involvement, had finished yet another long day working for the school...

Spieker poised to sell industrial properties.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 14, 2000... Spieker Properties Inc. is currently marketing a large portfolio of West Coast industrial properties--including its 4.6 million square feet of industrial space in Portland--at a price estimated near $450 million, say industry insiders. ...

OHSU counterclaim alleges doctor conspired with Legacy.
July 14, 2000... While he was still employed by Oregon Health Sciences University, kidney specialist Dr. William Bennett had a "secret plan" to help Legacy Health Systems establish a kidney transplant program that would compete with the medical school's own...

The after-dinner warrior needs some fresh ideas.
July 14, 2000... Most days, I arrive home from work about 6:30 or 7 p.m. As I cruise down the street, one of the kids will be outside playing. "There's daddy!" I've been spotted. They come trailing me up the drive. "Dad! Can we go roller blading?" "Dad,...

Art at Port of Portland office, airport to cost $1.78 million.(Statistical Data Included)
July 14, 2000... The Port of Portland has finally decided what artwork it will buy for the $1.78 million in public money it has designated to adorn the airport and port offices. One of the port's artistic partrons is painter Henk Pander, who unveiled his...

Grain's down, but auto trade is up at Port.(Statistical Data Included)
July 14, 2000... This year is turning out to be a slow one for grain and a few other categories of business at both the Port of Portland's airports and marine terminals. According to numbers recently released, grain tonnage shipped via the port is down 141...

CF considers Portland for single HQ location.(Brief Article)
July 14, 2000... Living up to its moniker, Consolidated Freightways is weighing options to consolidate its corporate headquarters in one Portland-Vancouver location. The third-largest U.S. trucking company is selling its Menlo Park, Calif., headquarters and...

Cascade Bancorp.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 14, 2000... Bend-based Cascade Bancorp (Nasdaq:CACB) reported record net income for its 2000 second quarter of $1.8 million--up 17.9 percent, compared to its second quarter of 1999. Total assets exceeded $400 million and loan growth totalled $25 million...

Self Enhancement Inc.(receives grant from UPS Foundation)(Brief Article)
July 14, 2000... Self Enhancement Inc. (SEI), a Portland-based nonprofit, received $7,500 from The UPS Foundation--the charitable arm of the United Parcel Service--to help fund the fourth-annual SEI Investment Atlanta Camp, a week-long boys basketball camp at...

Fox Tower.(Brief Article)
July 14, 2000... The Fox Tower welcomed another new tenant Wednesday nudging leasing success to above 94 percent. Black Helterilne LLP, a century-old law firm currently lodged in the Union Bank of California Tower, will take the Fox Tower's entire 19th floor,...

Mentor Graphics.(strategic alliance with Dassault Systemes)(Brief Article)
July 14, 2000... Paris-based Dassault Systemes and Mentor Graphics (Nasdaq:MENT) of Wilsonville have formed a strategic alliance to develop an integrated V5 Electronic/Mechanical Design Solution (EMDA) that will accelerate the end-to-end development cycle of...

Bank of the Northwest.(CEO Steve Polzin dies)(Brief Article)
July 14, 2000... Steve Polzin, chairman and CEO of Portland's Bank of the Northwest, died July 12 of colon cancer. The bank announced on July 7 that Polzin was taking a medical leave of absence, though he had been treated for the disease for the last two years....

Oregon Health Sciences University.(Medicare fraud case)(Brief Article)
July 14, 2000... Legal troubles continue to mount for Oregon Health Sciences University. A state agency charged that university doctors overbilled the federal Medicaid program by $338,361 in 1995 and 1996. The finding by the state's Office of Medical Assistance...

State adopts new rule for drug prescriptions.(prescription drug labeling law in Oregon)(Brief Article)
July 14, 2000... Last week, Glaxo Wellcome, the maker of an anti-seizure drug called Lamictal, warned pharmacists across the country that some druggists have been mistakenly substituting a similar-sounding drug called Lamisil, an anti-fungal medication, for...

InFocus determined to meet merger hype.(integration with Proxima ASA)(Brief Article)
July 14, 2000... John Harker knows he can't disappoint shareholders. He also knows that's what often happens when CEOs try to combine the forces of equally large companies. So Harker understands that neither Wall Street analysts nor InFocus Corp. investors...

KeyBank names new district head.(Wes Lawrence to replace Jim Atkinson)(Brief Article)
July 14, 2000... KeyBank's operations in Oregon will undergo change at the top early next year, as district president Jim Atkinson retires. Atkinson's post will be filled by Wes Lawrence, a Key executive currently based at KeyCorp headquarters in Cleveland....

Office building proposed for River District.(Brief Article)
July 14, 2000... City officials believe a proposed office building will continue the River District's resurgence while attracting more high-tech firms to the Wilamette's edge. Developers Bob Naito and Jim Winkler are in discussions with the Portland...

Rite Aid's latest woes don't deter Miller & Co.(drugstore's financial problems)(Brief Article)
July 14, 2000... Business Journal staff writer Former Fred Meyer Corp. chief Robert Miller and his ex-Portland cohorts disclosed some unsettling news about Rite Aid Corp. On July 11 they said the national drugstore chain had 'overstated profits in...

Novellus spends $12M for former Oki facility.(Novellus Systems Inc. purchases former Oki Semiconductor building)(Brief Article)
July 14, 2000... Novellus Systems Inc. will make Tualatin the center for development of fast-growing new technology. In the process, the San Jose maker of semiconductor manufacturing equipment has taken the shuttered Oki Semiconductor facility off the...

Time to sell Tigard office center again?(office complex in Portland, Oregon)(Brief Article)
July 14, 2000... Lincoln Center, the hot potato of Portland's high-end commercial real estate market, may soon be sold again. The Tigard center, the Portland area's largest suburban office complex, is being marketed by the current owner, said Joe Wood,...

KINK's Rich writes his way to Hollywood stars.(Mike Rich shifting his career from radio in Portland, Oregon, to screenwriting in Holywood, California)(Brief Article)
July 14, 2000... The fast rise of Mike Rich's big-screen career--from the purchase of his first screenplay to sipping scotch with actor Sean Connery--has bean a fascinating, daily fix for KINK-FM listeners. The Hollywood minutes won't end with Rich's...

Medical research fund enlists Hatfield's help.(Mark Hatfield to head the Funding First initiative)(Brief Article)
July 14, 2000... Mark Hatfield admits he doesn't miss the US. Senate "one iota," but he's still fighting for the same health care causes he embraced while on Capitol Hill. Hatfield has been named chairman of Funding First, a nationwide initiative to...

Mark Young.(of the Columbia-Willamette YMCA)(Review)(Brief Article)
July 14, 2000... PERSONAL INFORMATION Name: Mark Young Organization: YMCA of Columbia-Willamette Title: President & CEO What we do: Provide quality child-care, camping, health and fitness, older/youth sports programs for more than 45,000...

Fans warm up to Fire.(popularity of the Portland Fire basketball team)(Brief Article)
July 14, 2000... Wins are rare for Portland's WNBA team but fans don't care Julie Rodriguez and Claudia Warren stand out among their fellow light-rail riders. Primarily, it's their hats. Both wear Portland Fire baseball-style caps; Rodriguez's is...

C&W's Usher will return to his roots as a broker.(Portland, Oregon office of Cushman and Wakefield; Tom Usher)(Brief Article)
July 14, 2000... Tom Usher, senior managing director of Cushman & Wakefield's Portland office for 20 years, announced last week that he's stepping down to return to his roots as a broker. Past president of the Multnomah Athletic Club and a witness to...

GUESS WHO OWNS THE MOST?(Paul Allen's extensive Portland, Oregon, land holdings)(Brief Article)
July 14, 2000... Portland Trail Blazers owner Paul Allen has become the dominant landowner in the prized South Lake Union area of Seattle, with holdings that now surpass 20 acres. That's roughly a fourth of the South Lake Union area, which comprises about 80...

TWO STARS FOB OREGON.(a Demographics Daily rating of states and cities)(Brief Article)
July 14, 2000... Demographics Daily's economic ratings for July established that Oregon was rated as a two-star state among states. Portland rated three stars among the metro areas. Demographics Daily, a feature of bizjournals.com, assesses population,...

UNICO BUYS SPENDY S.F. BUILDING.(San Francisco office building bought for one-hundred fifty million dollars)(Brief Article)
July 14, 2000... Unico Properties, a Seattle-based firm, has been selected as the buyer of space in San Francisco's 100 Pine building for $150 million--or $370 per square foot--according to local brokers. Walton Street Capital of Chicago, which paid just $69...

THIS E-REALTOR'S APPROACH IS DIFFERENT.
July 14, 2000... The internet is simplifying the way people shop for homes, and a Silicon Valley start-up is making it easier to figure out how much of the action brokers are getting. ExploreRealty.com is a full-service agency that is bucking the...

Henry named president of state Law Foundation.
July 14, 2000... Judy Shipler Henry recently was named president of the Oregon Law Foundation. The foundation funds law-related charities such as legal services for the poor, education and outreach. Henry will lead the 11-member board for a one-year term. ...

FAVERO JOINS PERKINS COIE.
July 14, 2000... Linda Favero, the longtime client relations manager at Davis Wright Tremaine, has decided to take her 11 years of law firm marketing experience to Perkins Coie. Favero cited the usual reasons for making a change. Basically she said, it was...

LONG-DISTANCE FINES.
July 14, 2000... A pair of long-distance phone companies scrutinized by the state Office of the Attorney General have agreed to cease fraudulent business practices in Oregon. Excel Communications Inc. of Dallas, Texas, and Tradex International Inc. of...

Caprial's tasty web site is good enough to eat.
July 14, 2000... We begin with an explanation. Kristina Brenneman, Business Journal reporter and budding media celeb (did you catch her on-air chat with KPAM radio talk show host Dwight Jaynes last week in which she revealed she's a diehard Boston Red Sox fan?)...

Dub ... court says no to attempt to ban ATM fees.
July 14, 2000... To the surprise of no one except the misguided morons who sponsored the initiatives, a federal judge in California struck down voter-approved bans on extra ATM fees. The June 30 ruling held that only the federal government could impose...