Business Journal-Portland articles from July 2000

Business Journal-Portland archives from July 2000

United Way changing its ways.(seeking more accountability and other changes from United Way of the Columbia-Willamette)
July 28, 2000... In a move that could prove to be controversial among the 94 nonprofit agencies it funds, the United Way of the Columbia-Willamette likely will drastically change the way it allocates money to those member agencies. Corporate and...

Higher ed wants to sink $12M into bioscience.(University of Oregon seeks money for bioscience initiatives)(Brief Article)
July 28, 2000... Oregon higher education leaders believe $12 million will go a long way toward making the state a bioscience mecca. As part of its proposed 2001-2003 budget plan, the Oregon University System is asking for $12 million to develop seven...

Dr. Tse's all smiles over newest dental venture.(Brief Article)
July 28, 2000... Dr. Dany Tse is either a master of marketing or one of the most techno-savvy dentists around. Actually, he's a little of both. Alter all, how often do you hear people talk enthusiastically about their dental visits? Tse's patients do. ...

Blazing start in 2000 drives new-car sales in Portland.(Brief Article)
July 28, 2000... Portland-area auto dealers still hope to achieve record sales in 2000, even as the U.S. economy finally begins to soften. Local dealerships reported strong sales by historical standards for the first half of 2000. Some said they were...

Rite Aid under scrutiny for its prescription pricing practices.
July 28, 2000... It was almost by accident that Tammy Dobson found out about Rite Aid pharmacy's policy of charging a minimum price for prescription drugs. And when she discovered that the pharmacy doesn't inform consumers about this basic charge, she got...

PDC poised to pay $8M for Centennial Mill.(Portland Development Commission )
July 28, 2000... Centennial Mill, considered by many to be the most significant piece of River District property will see equal parts grazing and razing over the next few years. The Portland Development Commission expects to close the $8 million deal to...

After dinner warriors are weary and worn no more.(parenting)(Brief Article)(Column)
July 28, 2000... In the July 7 edition of The Business Journal, I challenged parents to come up with some creative activities to do with their kids after work. Thanks to a number of loyal readers, we received an overwhelming list of ideas. Here it goes:...

Gardenburger discloses net loss as sales decline.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 28, 2000... Gardenburger Inc. is expected to announce some new products over the next six months. But at least one analyst is worried whether the company has the cash needed to successfully launch those new products. Although the leading veggie-burger...

Mercy Corps International.(Brief Article)
July 28, 2000... Mercy Corps International, the Portland-based humanitarian group that sends relief to victims of international crises, received two grants totaling $200,000 from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The money will boost Mercy Corps' crisis...

Portland State University.(School of Engineering and Applied Science changing name to Collge of Engineering and Computer Science)(Brief Article)
July 28, 2000... Portland State University's School of Engineering and Applied Science has the go-ahead to change its name. The Oregon University System Board approved the program's new moniker: The College of Engineering and Computer Science. The new name...

Willamette Industries.(Brief Article)
July 28, 2000... Willamette Industries will spend more than $90 million to settle a major environmental suit alleging that it failed to control the amount of air pollution released from its wood product factories in four states, under an agreement announced...

Columbia Sportswear.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 28, 2000... Earnings of 14 cents per share reported by Columbia Sportswear for the quarter ended June 30 well surpassed analyst estimates of 3 cents to 4 cents per share. Columbia posted net income of $3.62 million on net sales of $97.16 million,...

Oregon Graduate Institute.(Brief Article)
July 28, 2000... The proposed merger between Oregon Graduate Institute and OHSU could take place as early as mid-August. Leaders at OGI have approved a merger with OHSU by the middle of next year. OHSU's board must still approve the arrangement; its next...

Weyerhaeuser Co.(Brief Article)
July 28, 2000... Weyerhaeuser Co., Georgia-Pacific Corp. and International Paper announced they have committed funding of $51 million to establish the global business-to-business electronic marketplace they announced this spring. The companies said...

CORRECTIONS.(Regional Arts & Culture Council is not a city of Portland Agency)(Brief Article)(Correction Notice)
July 28, 2000... * The Regional Arts & Culture Council is not a city of Portland Agency; however, the nonprofit does receive 50 percent of its revenue from the city. An article on page 3 of the July 14 edition misidentified the connection.

Kerr merges with Kerr for one 'Kerr-afty' deal.(Brief Article)
July 28, 2000... In a move that its executives concede is unusual, Kerr Insurance is preparing to merge. What makes it unusual? Kerr, in a way, is actually merging with itself. Kerr will combine the service, administrative and marketing functions of...

Will Envoy-PlaceWare union turn red into black?(Envoyglobal.com merger deal)(Brief Article)
July 28, 2000... Portland-based Envoyglobal.com's acquisition by PlaceWare Inc. is being portrayed as a union that will help the Mountain View, Calif.-based acquirer achieve a dominant position in the internet-conferencing business. However, the alliance...

Spieker may sell off but won't sell out.(Spieker Properties selling some but not all of its industrial property)(Brief Article)
July 28, 2000... Despite the unloading of Spieker Properties' industrial estates in Seattle, company principals say the moves are not part of a larger strategy to shift all of its industrial holdings to Class A commercial. Spieker is, in fact, still...

GST's future isn't looking so dark these days.(GST Telecommunications Inc.)(Brief Article)
July 28, 2000... Chief executive officer Tom Malone is actually feeling optimistic about the future of bankrupt GST Telecommunications Inc. But he's not being naive about the situation. Malone realizes there is only an outside chance the Vancouver...

OEF nominates three for 2000's top award.(Oregon Entrepreneurs Forum Entrepreneur of the Year awards)
July 28, 2000... The Oregon Entrepreneurs Forum will choose from the worlds of high-technology, banking and prepared foods when it selects its 2000 Entrepreneur of the Year. The organization's annual awards will be presented Thursday, Sept. 7 at the...

Expos, A's Face serious opposition from teams.(Brief Article)
July 28, 2000... For fiery oratory, nobody in Major League Baseball surpasses Baltimore Orioles Owner Peter Angelos. These days, the issue that rankles Angelos most is the rumored move of the Montreal Expos to Washington, D.C., or Northern Virginia--two...

OSHA's contractor blacklist axed by businesses.(Occupational Safety and Health Administration;)((multiple topics))(Brief Article)
July 28, 2000... Congress is once again using the appropriations process to try to kill a new Clinton administration regulation opposed by business groups. This time the target is a "contractor responsibility" regulation that would give contracting...

Craig Thompson.(Brief Article)
July 28, 2000... PERSONAL INFORMATION Name: Craig Thompson Organization: 5th Avenue Suites Hotel--part of the Kimpton Group of hotels and restaurants Title: General manager What we do: Kimpton Group converts wonderful historic landmark...

Return to aerospace.(Precision Castparts Corp.)(Statistical Data Included)
July 28, 2000... Precision Castparts' latest deal is looking sweet these days Engine parts maker Precision Castparts Corp. spent much of the latter half of the 1990s assuring Wall Street it was lessening dependence on aerospace customers. Last year,...

Fox's high-tech access attracts Black Helterline.(Fox Tower)(Brief Article)
July 28, 2000... Black Helterline has opted for office space in what is being called the most high-tech building in Portland, the still under-construction Fox Tower. It's hard to tell how much of the building is done. But as I write this story, three men...

MOVING UP.(Miller Nash (law firm))(Brief Article)
July 28, 2000... While on the subject of moves, Miller Nash moved up two stories in its Vancouver, Wash., office building. Don't worry, I have no intention of inserting any mention or parody of "The Jeffersons" theme song at any point in this story. The...

SITTING ON THEIR HANDS?(Lawyers)(Brief Article)
July 28, 2000... When will the madness end? Lawyers, it seems, have moved beyond simply being the butt of countless jokes involving alleged similarities to sharks and now are being subjected to out-and-out discrimination. According to an article in...

NOTES CAUSING HEADACHES.(promissory notes)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 28, 2000... Be wary of the promise of promissory notes. That's the message from the state Department of Consumer & Business Services. State regulators have joined regulators from 27 other states to crack down on the selling of promissory notes. The...

TO CONSOLIDATE OR NOT.(legal profession)(Brief Article)
July 28, 2000... The controversy over multidisciplinary practices doesn't look as if it will go away despite the American Bar Association's House of Delegates' vote against the idea. Depending on with whom you talk, multi-disciplinary practices, or MDPs,...

Acklen comes home to stir Fox 49's new mix.(Dan Acklen; KPDX Fox 49)(Brief Article)
July 28, 2000... The pieces continue to fall into place at KPDX Fox 49, as the station gets ready to take over its news department from KOIN-TV and launch two half-hour newscasts. Fox 49 now has a news director, Dan Acklen, to chart the course for the...

GIVING US THE BUSINESS.(Brief Article)
July 28, 2000... When this column last visited with business coach Mike Pulham in March, he was telling us about his Tualatin Valley Community Access TV show, "Business Tools," which airs the second and fourth Thursdays of each month on channels 9, 23 or 33,...

HOW TO GET [MIKE] RICH.(Brief Article)
July 28, 2000... Former KINK-FM news director/radio personality Mike Rich didn't return Business journal media reporter Kristina Brenneman's many phone calls a few weeks ago when she wrote a story about his radio-to-riches rise as a successful Hollywood...

Slowing economy gives banks credit concerns.(Brief Article)
July 28, 2000... Commercial banks generally suffered declines in credit quality during the second quarter of 2000, with many reporting upticks in loans gone sour. The worst examples included UnionBanCal Corp. and North Carolina's Wachovia Corp. The...

COULTER LANDS ON FEET.(Brief Article)
July 28, 2000... Chase Manhattan Corp. named former Bank of America chief executive David Coulter as its vice chairman. Coulter was a partner at the Beacon Group, a New York investment banking firm recently purchased by Chase. The bank said Coulter, 53,...

MANAGEMENT CHANGES.(Brief Article)
July 28, 2000... Following the death this month of chairman and CEO Steve Polzin, Bank of the Northwest implemented some changes in senior management. Dan Durkin, president since the bank was formed in 1996, assumed Polzin's titles. Christian Rasmussen,...

Bouyed by a Boom.
July 28, 2000... Portland area housing market is still on the rise Housing exploded into the 21st century on a high note, breaking records for home sales, home ownership rates and the value of residential construction. Buoyed by the longest economic...

MEDIAN HOME PRICES 1991 vs. 1999.(Brief Article)
July 28, 2000... PORTLAND 1991: $107, 212 1999: $154,718 Increase: 44.3 percent SEATTLE 1991: $165,745 1999: $197,683 Increase: 19.3 percent SAN FRANCISCO 1991: $313,543 1999: $318,300 Increase: 1.5 percent...

River District has big plans for new housing.(Brief Article)
July 28, 2000... The former home to Burlington Northern rail yards and a mingle of rustic industrial buildings is now becoming home to thousands of workaday Portlanders. If the nearly 5,000 living units planned for the River District are successfully...

'Corporate housing' gains appeal with travelers.(Brief Article)
July 28, 2000... SEATTLE--When California-based R&B Enterprises launched the fully furnished Oakwood Apartment complex catering to business travelers in 1969, the concept of "corporate housing" was born. For the first time, extended-stay business...

Team-building works for S.F. brokerage firm.(Brief Article)
July 28, 2000... When Los Angeles-based CB Richard Ellis Inc. introduced in 1996 the concept of forming broker teams, not all of its Bay Area employees were thrilled. In fact, a large number of CB brokers left the company. But four years later, CB has...

Russian refugees would rather make money than take it.(Brief Article)
July 28, 2000... Thirty-four-year-old Nataliya Pavlova moved to Portland a year and a half ago along with husband Paul and their four children. They were living in Russia with extended family in a three-bedroom apartment. The house in which they once lived...

Finding welcome relief.(Brief Article)
July 28, 2000... Seeds of Change program has helped women refugees get off welfare by teaching them how to start and run small businesses. In today's highly competitive economy it's never easy to start a business, especially when you're a woman and a...

How most salespeople want to be treated, honestly.(Brief Article)
July 28, 2000... Salespeople have feelings, too. If you're a buyer, company owner or CEO, I must ask: How do you treat salespeople? I have talked to thousands of salespeople who talk about what they wish buyers and prospects would do (or not do). If...

Audit finds flaws in SPA federal contracting program.(Brief Article)
July 28, 2000... Most minority-owned businesses that participate in the Small Business Admin-istration's 8(a) program want federal contracts, not advice on how to run their companies. But these firms "are not getting the kind of contract assistance they...

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE.(Brief Article)
July 28, 2000... ADVERTISING The Portland Advertising Federation appointed Debra Haines executive director. Susie Elsener joined Livengood/Nowak Inc. as account manager. ARCHITECTURE Fletcher Farr Ayotte hired Doug Circosta, Katrina Shum...

United Way to focus on results.(Brief Article)
July 28, 2000... Following the lead of some 15 United Way agencies across the country, United Way of Columbia-Willamette dares to change the way (see page 1) it distributes funding to community service programs. Currently, it dispenses some $20 million...

The body count begins at Qwest.(Brief Article)
July 28, 2000... Business can be a nasty business--particularly during periods of corporate consolidation. One big company buys another big company, then spits out the redundancies. Overlapping operations and the people who fill those functions are jettisoned...

Party at the human genome pool: Are you invited?(Brief Article)
July 28, 2000... When world scientists announced at a press conference that they had successfully mapped the human genome, one question probably came to mind: "How can I get free table?" Throughout the day talking heads waxed philosophical about the...

The Numbers Game.(Brief Article)
July 28, 2000... [TABLE HAS BEEN CLIPPED]

Insider Trading.(Brief Article)
July 28, 2000... [TABLE HAS BEEN CLIPPED]

Top residential property management firms.(Brief Article)
July 28, 2000... [TABLE HAS BEEN CLIPPED]

Top multi-family housing developers.(Brief Article)
July 28, 2000... [TABLE HAS BEEN CLIPPED]

Top 25 home builders.(Brief Article)
July 28, 2000... [TABLE HAS BEEN CLIPPED]

Winners & Losers.(Brief Article)
July 28, 2000... Dog lovers No, not the kind of dog that drools on your dress slacks and chews the kids' stuffed toys. We're talking about the kind of dog that goes into a glass, Hair of the Dog beer, that is. The now sole owner has some good ideas and...

SLAPSHOTS.(Brief Article)
July 28, 2000... Lobby offers a cheap, quick meal Hat trick There are a plethora of eateries catering to the downtown lunch crowd-grab a salad, sandwich or slice, with a price set at around $6, and you're on your way. However, thanks to The Benson...

Heathman may have a buyer.(Brief Article)
July 21, 2000... The Heathman Hotel may be sold to a Modesto, Calif., company looking to establish a presence in the Portland hotel market. Rim Corp. has made an offer to purchase the venerable Portland institution and a letter-of-intent has bean signed,...

OHSU goes British to shop biotech research.(Brief Article)
July 21, 2000... In a move designed to spin the work of its scientists into gold, Oregon Health Sciences University will join forces with a British firm that specializes in marketing scientific research. A joint venture announced this week between the...

This Hair of the Dog craves more attention.
July 21, 2000... Hair of the Dog Brewing Co., the joke goes, gets more ink spilled on it per-barrel-produced than any other brewer in the world. That's newspaper ink, and the line refers to Hair of the Dog's many glowing reviews. The company, though, has...

Business groups rarin' to go to war against Bill Sizemore.
July 21, 2000... Two business groups that will fight Bill Sizemore and Don McIntire on tax-related ballot measures say they're ready for political action. The Committee for Our Oregon, a four-week-old group that will formally campaign against the...

Remembering a man who lived and died well.(Brief Article)
July 21, 2000... Nearly two and a half years ago, I received a phone call at work that changed my life. Three months into my job as managing editor of The Business Journal, I was learning the ropes of my position, juggling life as a full-time worker and...

Beaverton education group's funding efforts are paying off.(Brief Article)
July 21, 2000... For 11 years, the Beaverton Education Foundation performed admirably. In securing enough here-and-there grants to dispense around $160,000 since 1990, BEF earned a reputation as a modest but determined education advocate. Then last year,...

Concentrex concedes to acquisition.(Brief Article)
July 21, 2000... Pressured by debt that financed last year's acquisitions, Portland's Concentrex Inc. agreed to he acquired by check printer John H. Harland & Co. for $140 million. Concentrex, a maker of software used by banks and other financial...

Roadrunner dismisses claims against Rentrak.(Brief Article)
July 21, 2000... * Rentrak Corp. (Nasdaq: RENT) of Portland said that Roadrunner Video Enterprises, a video retailer headquartered in Louisville, Ky., voluntarily dismissed with prejudice all of its claims against Rentrak. Rentrak originally brought suit...

Supertracks Music System.(Brief Article)
July 21, 2000... HMV.com, the Toronto retailer of music, said that it is the first Canadian retailer to go live using Portland's Supertracks Music System. As of this week, Canadian consumers visiting HMV.com can purchase top EMI Recorded Music downloads from...

iMove(TM) Inc.(Brief Article)
July 21, 2000... iMove(TM) Inc., the provider of Multiview Interactive Video(TM), today announced that Steven Wynne, chairman and CEO of eteamz.com, joined the iMove board of directors. He brings previous experience in the sports industry which is among the...

Mazama Capital Management Inc.(Brief Article)
July 21, 2000... Mazama Capital Management Inc. of Portland appointed Helen Degener and Brian Alfrey to its board of directors. They will join founder and chairman Ron Sauer to round out the three-member board. As part of the firm's recent transition from a...

WebTrends Corp.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 21, 2000... WebTrends Corp. (Nasdaq: WEBT), a provider of internet management software, reported revenue of $13.5 million for the second quarter of 2000, compared with $4.0 million for the same period last year--a 237 percent increase. Net income...

Town & Country Dealerships.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 21, 2000... * Portland-based Town & Country Dealerships has opened its new Dodge dealership in Wilsonville. The dealership is indoors, and, at 84,000 square feet, it ranks as one of the largest Dodge dealerships in the nation, said Town & Country owner...

Car Free and Carefree Week.(Brief Article)
July 21, 2000... More than 80 Oregon employers will participate in Car Free and Carefree Week activities set to begin next Monday in Hillsboro, Beaverton and Tigard. The programs, intended to promote less car usage among local workers, are being administered...

CORRECTIONS.
July 21, 2000... * Paul Allen is owner of KXL 750 AM, not previous owner Lester Smith, as was published in last week's radio stations list. * The Portland Fire photo on page 18 in last week's Business Journal should have been credited to David Minick.

Initiative could doom OCC's expansion plans.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 21, 2000... The fate of a much-awaited expansion plan to double space at the 10-year-old Oregon Convention Center is one project that may be hanging on the thread of a Bill Sizemore-proposed initiative. Sizemore, Oregon's tax avenger, is working on a...

Vancouver port offers options for lowlands.(Brief Article)
July 21, 2000... Details on how development will happen at one of the Portland-metro area's last largest chunks of waterfront land are beginning to materialize. According to preliminary plans, development of the 1,042-acre chunk of property owned by the...

Wall Street, analysts Praise ESI's year.(Brief Article)
July 21, 2000... Electro Scientific Industries Inc. dazzled Wall Street with a record-setting fiscal year that drove the local company's stock up $7.88 in one day for a close of $55.50 the day after earnings were announced. Although the stock price has...

Stability sought by two small Portland hospitals.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 21, 2000... When Tennessee-based HealthMont Inc. agreed to buy Portland's Eastmoreland and Woodland Park hospitals last week, the company became the hospitals' third owner in as many years. The sale, approved in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Nashville, is...

InFocus' Q2 numbers surpass expectations.(second quarter financial performance)
July 21, 2000... InFocus Corp. handily beat Wall Street estimates with its second-quarter financial performance and gave the financial community its first glimpse of what the post-Proxima ASA acquisition company might look like. It looks like the new...

Umbro lands soccer deal with new Timbers.(Brief Article)
July 21, 2000... When professional soccer returns to Civic Stadium next spring, the players--not to mention vendors and event staff--won't be wearing hometown adidas or Nike uniforms. Portland Family Entertainment, in announcing that the United Soccer...

Congress split over pension bill.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 21, 2000... Small businesses are at the heart of the debate over legislation that would simplify administrative rules for pension plans, and raise the limits on IRA and 401(k) plan contributions. The legislation, sponsored by Rep. Rob Portman,...

Developers seek tenants to fill Seattle's U Village.(Brief Article)
July 21, 2000... The four owners of Ravenna Gardens, the 3-year-old upscale garden store in University Village, weren't actively looking to transplant the concept to Portland. But then the developers of downtown Portland's Pioneer Place mall came calling...

Rising electricity costs worry NW businesses.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 21, 2000... For a few days in late June, spiking power rates forced Bellingham (Wash.) Cold Storage Co. to pay up to $75,000 a day for electricity--25 times the normal rate. To meet contracts and keep 75 million tons of fruit, vegetables and seafood...

IPO market rockets past 1999 record.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 21, 2000... Despite schizophrenic fluctuations on the Nasdaq, the market for IPOs during these first six months of 2000 has outpaced the same period in 1999. Through June, 234 companies raised $47 billion through IPOs--well ahead of the 226 IPOs...

GlobalPC potentially a big turn-on for consumers.(Brief Article)
July 21, 2000... The newest computer to hit Portland shelves has a definitive "on/off" button. All computers have a button that performs such a function, but few are clearly marked as such. It's a small touch, said Denis Squeri, vice president of...

David Tyson.(of University of Portland)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 21, 2000... PERSONAL INFORMATION Name: Rev. David Tyson, C.S.C.; Catholic priest in the Congregation of Holy Cross Title: President, University of Porfland What We Do: Liberal arts core curriculum, College of Arts & Sciences, four...

Rescuing Rite Aid.(Statistical Data Included)
July 21, 2000... Ex - Fred Meyer execs hope to save the faltering drug chain Give the previous regime at Rite Aid Corp. some credit. Over a few years they assembled the nation's third-largest drug store chain, modernized hundreds of stores and built two...

Heart surgery by a robot? Yes, aided by surgeon.(Brief Article)
July 21, 2000... Did you see the headline last week? Robots soon will be performing open heart surgery. It's not a joke or a plot line from a 1950s sci-fi flick. (I was imagining the robot from "The Day the Earth Stood Still" suited up for surgery.) It's...