Business Journal-Portland articles from March 1999

Business Journal-Portland archives from March 1999

Stealth bucks support booze battle.(bill making illegal Internet sales of alcoholic beverages in Oregon)
March 5, 1999... Oregon is the latest front in a coordinated nationwide attack on sales of alcoholic beverages over the internet. Those on the attack claim they're protecting children from alcohol. Critics say the proponents are really out to protect national...

Suburban siren song luring Portland firms.(relocation to suburbs)
March 5, 1999... Add three more Northwest Portland businesses to the growing list of companies leaving Portland proper for the suburbs. Spicers Paper, Fulfillment Corp. of America and Eoff Electric are all preparing to relocate to surrounding cities, though...

Tottering Coffee People's roots might be its savior.
March 5, 1999... Jim Roberts left Coffee People Inc. when counting beans became more important than roasting them, and because God gave him a holler. It was a tough separation for Roberts, who, with his wife Patty, started the quirky coffee company nearly...

Heady Columbia Sportswear busts into two new markets.
March 5, 1999... Forget New York City's Fifth Avenue fashion brands. When it comes to forceful competitors, Nike Inc. and adidas-America need look no further than their own backyard for a fight. Quietly, with little Wall Street support or industry...

US West slams alliance, says it fronts for AT&T.(Consumer Alliance for Advanced Telephone Service)
March 5, 1999... AT&T is the corporate power behind a new consumer group that is raising blood pressure in the executive suites of US West Oregon. The focus of US West's ire is the Consumer Alliance for Advanced Telephone Service. The organization made its...

Standard could be worth nearly $1B at IPO time.(Standard Insurance Corp.; initial public offering)
March 5, 1999... How much money will Standard Insurance Corp. be worth on the public market? Only the stock market itself will definitively answer that, starting some time within the next 12 months when Standard goes public. In the meantime, however, a...

Dorsey & Whitney likes ex-Bogle & Gates lawyers.
March 5, 1999... The Minneapolis law firm Dorsey & Whitney continues to feed off the carcass of Seattle-based Bogle & Gates. Last month, 16 Bogle & Gates attorneys defected to Dorsey & Whitney, triggering the collapse of the 108-year-old firm. Now, 50 more...

ESCO spin-off finds success by catering to client.(ECS Integrated Technology)
March 5, 1999... ESCO Corp.'s chief information officer and his team were well into a major computer systems upgrade when the CIO realized he had a problem. "I'm probably going to lose half the staff when we're done; it's a hot market," Richard Ducharme...

State pension funnels $300M to KKR fund.(Oregon; Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.)
March 5, 1999... The state employees pension fund will place $300 million in a new European investment partnership being launched by leveraged buy-out firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. Oregon will join Washington state's employee retirement fund, which...

Contaminated tannery land put up for sale.(Frontier Leather Co.'s property)
March 5, 1999... The Frontier Leather Co. is selling its 11.93-acre tannery property in Sherwood. The parcel includes two industrial buildings totaling 73,000 square feet, Southern Pacific Railroad frontage and an unknown amount of contamination. The...

Jerry Smith.(Executive Profile)(Cascade Direct/Postal Data Processing president)
March 5, 1999... PERSONAL INFORMATION Name: Gerald (Jerry) Smith Organization: Cascade Direct/Postal Data Processing Title: President What we do: Direct mail advertising services Education: B.S, business administration, Portland State...

Curtain slams down on Celebrity Forum.(convention service firm closes)
March 12, 1999... After nearly six years of bringing high-profile speakers to Portland. Celebrity Forum Inc. abruptly shut down its operation this week - leaving creditors, sponsors and some 2,000 ticket holders in the lurch mid season. Diane Daley-Eaton...

Craft store veteran to challenge competitors with new superstore.(developer Jim Ross to build CarftMart in Portland, Oregon)
March 12, 1999... Jim Ross built a Portland-based chain of successful craft and hobby stores over 15 years, then sold the business in 1994 to nationally known Michaels Stores Inc, for $20 million. Now Ross is back, preparing to open CraftMart, a...

Mallya, others pursuing Full Sail Brewery.(Vijay Mallya to buy brewing firm)
March 12, 1999... Industry sources say Vijay Mallya, the Indian liquor and beer magnate who has vowed to get a piece of Oregon s craft-brewing business. has his sights set on Full Sail Brewing Co. Full Sail Brewing officials confirmed they are considering...

KVO, Mentor agree to go their separate ways.(KVO Public Relations; Mentor Graphics Corp.)
March 12, 1999... Long-time partners Mentor Graphics Corp. and KVO Public Relations are getting a divorce. The 15-year relationship will formally end at the close of this month, but the proceedings began several months ago, according to sources at both...

Adidas: U.S. sales hot, worldwide profit down.(Adidas-Salomon AG)
March 12, 1999... Adidas-Salomon AG, the international sports apparel and equipment maker, isn't quite meeting the lofty goals it set for itself. But its latest financial results show it retained the title of fastest-growing major sporting goods maker for 1998....

Internet consulting firm gets $7M on way to IPO.(venture capital firms invest in Emerald Solutions Inc.)
March 12, 1999... Emerald Solutions Inc., a Portland-based consulting firm with an internet emphasis, has secured enough venture funding to tide it over until it goes public. The company announced this week that two venture capital firms invested a total of...

Down a slippery slope: bad news is coming fast for TreeSource investors.(lumber company TreeSource Industries Inc.)
March 12, 1999... Despite a name change, new management and a long-term plan in the works, TreeSource Industries Inc. remains tethered to high lumber prices and low log prices to turn a profit. Trouble is, those figures often fluctuate, and the company continues...

What's the deal?(commercial real estate investment market in Portland, Oregon)
March 12, 1999... It's still a sellers' market for Portland commercial real estate, but the question is for how long... Portland's commercial real estate investment market remains with the seller, but there are signs that the tide is turning. The question...

Langley's in the big leagues of investment.(real estate investment trust Langley Investment Co.)
March 12, 1999... In today's transient work force, where employees switch alliances at the drop of a hat, investment specialist Scott Langley is an enigma. With more than 20 years of real estate experience under his bell Cushman & Wakefield is the only...

The rock behind Pioneer Square portfolio sale.(real estate investment broker Rick Wolfen)
March 12, 1999... If you ever want to ensure yourself business in real estate asset management, acquire for your client a portfolio of buildings and then sell it 27 months later for a $20 million profit. It works. Just ask investment broker Rick Wolfen. He's...

Have union, will organize - anyone.(International Longshore & Warehouse Union's organizing efforts in Portland, OR)
March 19, 1999... The longshoreman's union has launched an aggressive campaign to win new members in Portland, and it's looking beyond the docks for prospects. Retail clerks at Powell's City of Books got the campaign rolling when they asked the...

Medical group finds its hard to get high on law.(Oregon Medical Association's stand on the state's medical marijuana law)
March 19, 1999... Oregon's Medical Marijuana law went down smoothly with voters last November. It passed by more than 100,000 votes, or 54 percent. That voter mandate, however, is turning out to be a harsh toke for the Oregon Medical Association. The OMA is...

Bank of America accuses Zapp of fraud in loan deal.(Atlas Telecom founder and CEO Ray Zapp)
March 19, 1999... Bank of America has accused Ray Zapp, founder and chief executive officer of now-defunct Atlas Telecom Inc., of fraud in a civil suit in Multnomah County Circuit Court. The bank alleges that Zapp fraudulently transferred his ownership...

Wall Street's confidence in Nike rebound reflected in rising stock.
March 19, 1999... Adidas-America might have trumped Nike Inc. on its hometown turf by vowing to move its corporate headquarters to North Portland. But when it comes to the global community, Nike is regaining lost ground. In the past year, the Beaverton-based...

Quest's back with Clackamas office development.(Quest Investment Management)
March 19, 1999... Quest Investment Management is emerging from hibernation. After five years of waiting for rents to rise and land costs to stabilize, Quest owner Monte Johnson is jumping back in the mix with a 103,000-square-foot, Class A office building on...

Oregon milk farmers hit hard as prices plummet.
March 19, 1999... Northwest dairy producers will have to adjust to a milk market gone sour, as strong wholesale milk prices nationwide have taken an unexpected nose-dive. Wholesale prices - above $16 per 100 pounds of milk for months - dropped to $10.27 in...

City has problems with design of high-rise project.(Portland, OR)
March 19, 1999... The developer of a proposed high-rise office and residential development in the Lloyd District pulled itself from a city design review hearing earlier this month after a staff report listed several "major outstanding design issues." Had...

Investor scrambling after G.I. Joe scrubs IPO.(investor Roy Rose; initial public offering)
March 19, 1999... G.I. Joe's Inc.'s decision to scrub its initial public offering leaves the sports and automotive retailer looking for other forms of financing and local investor Roy Rose scrambling to liquidate some other holdings. G.I. Joe's said March...

New merchant banker's offering money, advice.(Preusch Capital Resources Inc)
March 19, 1999... Al Preusch has a response to the oft-heard complaint that Portland doesn't have enough investment resources for emerging businesses. He's formed Preusch Capital Resources Inc., a new full-service merchant banking firm. Sources in the local...

Lawrence Huss.(Executive Profile)(U S West Inc VP, Oregon)
March 19, 1999... PERSONAL INFORMATION Name: Lawrence D. Huss Organization: US West Inc. Title: Vice president, Oregon What we do: Telecommunications Education: B.B.A., Gonzaga University, 1966; J.D., University of Montana, 1969 ...

Hoffman strikes back at auditors.(Hoffman Construction refutes auditors claims on Snake River Prison project)(Company Business and Marketing)
March 26, 1999... The $173 million Snake River Prison expansion project was completed on time and within budget. In fact, the project's general contractor and construction manager, Hoffman Construction, is forecasting a minimum of $1.4 million in savings to the...

'Discharged' Warta slams GST in lawsuit.(former GST Telecommunications Chmn. and CEO John Warta)
March 26, 1999... The way John Warta tells it, he was blindsided by the people he trusted and betrayed by the board he'd assembled. Eyebrows were raised last summer - June 15, to be exact - when Warta, then chairman and CEO of $163 million (sales) GST...

Max, the tireless siteseer, wants to rate your work.(WebCriteria web site evaluator)(Company Business and Marketing)
March 26, 1999... Seems like most any business worth its salt maintains a web site these days. But how can they know if it's effective? Former Tektronix managers Alistair Williamson and Chris Tilt think they have the answer. They have founded a Portland...

Spared by Asian flu, JAE to inject $6 million in Tualatin.(JAE Oregon)
March 26, 1999... JAE Oregon's nearly complete $6 million expansion demonstrates that not all Japanese companies with local operations are being forced to scale back. Though unwilling to give details, the local head of JAE Oregon said the company already is...

Developer closer to city approval on Lloyd Center towers project.(Transworld Properties)
March 26, 1999... Fewer criticisms and more compliments characterize the revised staff report on Transworld Properties' proposed two tower office and residential development in the Lloyd District. The "major, outstanding" design issues are down to four from...

Pacific Foods' soymilk joins dairy products.
March 26, 1999... With its latest marketing tactic, Pacific Foods of Oregon has taken aim at getting shoppers in mainstream grocery stores to switch from cow's milk to the beany beverage it produces by the millions of gallons in Tualatin. Pacific Foods,...

GST executives hired him, then didn't want to pay.(GST Telecommunications Inc.)
March 26, 1999... GST Telecommunications Inc. is being asked to help foot the bill for the failure of a business run by its former chief executive officer. Corey Ford, a former top executive of PCS Plus, is claiming that his employment contract was breached...

Local real estate journal swallowed by Comps.com.(Real Estate Transaction Journal)
March 26, 1999... Portland's Real Estate Transaction Journal is being purchased by an internet-based real estate listing and transaction service that last month filed to become a public company. San Diego-based Comps.com submitted an initial public offering...

20/20 Software focusing more on corporations.
March 26, 1999... 20/20 Software is gambling that its vision of the future is accurate. Executives for the 7-year-old Beaverton software firm are in the midst of a transition they believe will take it from small and profitable to a large, more profitable...

Ron Saxton.(Ater Wynne chairman)
March 26, 1999... PERSONAL INFORMATION Name: Ron Saxton Organization: Ater Wynne LLP Title: Chairman What we do: Ater Wynne is a Pacific Northwest business and government law firm unique in its commitment to the community and in its style of...

Bringing on the muscle: entrepreneur Ron Wiener retools with two pros on board.(PrintBid.Com)
March 26, 1999... Ron Wiener, a fixture in local entrepreneurial circles, may finally have the right mix to create a start-up winner. Wiener, who's had his share of setbacks as an entrepreneur, has attracted some topflight operations and marketing talent to...