Business Journal-Portland articles from March 2000

Business Journal-Portland archives from March 2000

Biotech stocks come bouding back.
March 3, 2000... After being shoved aside by internet stocks five years ago, biotech and medical device stocks are "back with a vengeance," say investors and venture capitalists. For the first time since 1992, the Nasdaq Biotech Index is outperforming...

Bowflex bunch braces for new growth spurt.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2000... In a critical bid to show Wall Street that it can diversity, Vancouver's Direct Focus Inc. will soon start shipping a new line of Nautilus brand home-fitness equipment. Direct Focus established itself in the mid-1990s as a direct-sales...

Lawyer makes a case for crisis intervention.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2000... Most days, Bob Newell's goal is justice in the courtroom, but occasionally he delivers mercy across the globe on behalf of Portland-based Mercy Corps International. Since 1984, his travels on behalf of the relief and development agency...

Beaverton Travel deal represents Zuno's entry into Portland area.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2000... A fast-growing Seattle travel agency company recently bought Beaverton Travel, its first step in a plan to build a major presence in the Portland metropolitan area. The acquisition by Zuno Travel extends a trend of consolidation in the...

The Thin Man is launched into the larger universe.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2000... I was asleep almost before my head hit the pillow. It had been a tough day Improperly used hyphens, "Wiederhorn" misspelled again, no expense-account lunch. Then the bombshell: The Thin Man announced his resignation. As slumber overtook...

Battle involving oversight of insurance regs heating up.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2000... Insurers want the feds to stay away from their regulatory processes. Most small and medium insurers, responding to large banks' recent push to give federal regulators more insurance industry oversight, say they want state regulators to...

InFocus stock jumps about $7 in a week.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2000... InFocus Systems Inc. has been pushed to record territory by a groundswell of investor enthusiasm that emerged over the past few days. "We blew through our all-time record [on Tuesday, Feb. 29]," said Scott Hildebrandt, InFocus chief...

The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2000... The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) announced its game plan for potentially eliminating the release of persistent bioaccumulative toxic pollutants--better known as PBTs--across the state. The plan is in response to an executive...

Agritope Inc.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2000... The U.S. Patent office issued three new plant-related patents to Portland-based Agritope Inc. The patents cover a promoter to regulate the expression of genes in plants, a novel protein to detect a new strain of grapevine leafroll virus...

Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2000... Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research in Portland was awarded a $4.07 million contract from the National Heart Lung & Blood Institute. The money will fund a five-year study regarding a type of iron overload disorder called...

The Oregon Senate.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2000... The Oregon Senate confirmed the nomination of former U.S. Sen. Mark Hatfield to the Oregon Health Sciences University's Board of Directors. Hatfield, who will fill the seat previously held by Neil Goldschmidt, has served on the Oregon Health...

RB Rubber.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2000... Fiscal 1999 delivered record sales, as well as a profit, to RB Rubber, the company reported this week. Sales increased 25.3 percent to $10.8 million. RB's shares also earned 21 cents per diluted share, compared to a loss of four cents a share...

AVI BioPharma Inc.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 3, 2000... Portland's AVI BioPharma Inc. reported a net loss of $2.3 million for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 1999, compared to a net loss of $2.4 million for the same period a year earlier. For all of 1999 AVI recorded a net loss of $8.3 million, compared...

Tektronix Inc.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2000... Tektronix Inc., a Portland-based test and measurement equipment company, introduced the TLA 600 Series logic analyzer--a new series of test instruments that simplifies the design of mainstream electronic products. Demand for the product is...

StanCorp Financial Group Inc.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 3, 2000... StanCorp Financial Group Inc. said Tuesday its board of directors authorized the repurchase of up to 1.6 million shares of its common stock. That's on top of the nearly completed purchase of 1.7 million shares which the company initiated in...

The Portland Veterans Administration.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2000... The Portland Veterans Administration signed a contract with Providence Home and Community Services to provide hospice care to veterans. It is the first hospice program of its kind for VAs in the nation. It will be used as a model for other...

Families in Good Company.
March 3, 2000... Families in Good Company, a Portland-based nonprofit, was awarded an "Innovative Excellence Award" from the Alliance of Work/Life Professionals. The nonprofit was acknowledged for its efforts to promote family-friendly businesses around...

Dakota.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2000... Dakota, a local retailer that sells an eclectic mix of home furnishings and accessories, plans to close its downtown Portland location. Owner Barbara Brunner declined to discuss why she is closing that store, located at 722 S.W. Taylor St., in...

Tech institute's Portland campus to open in May.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 3, 2000... Denver-based Information Technology Institute's Portland campus is just about ready for the start of classes May 1. "We've actually exceeded all our hopes and dreams," said Tim Brugger, lead admissions associate. With only a...

High-tech industry asked to support new initiative.(OregonWorks)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 3, 2000... Will OregonWorks help to bring Oregon workers? The Software Association of Oregon hopes so. With a new web site that targets cyberspace experts and top engineering students alike, the sponsor-heavy OregonWorks initiative seems ready to...

Horseradish maker to exit Beaverton for Hillsboro.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 3, 2000... Old-time mustard maker Beaverton Foods Inc. plans to build a modern plant. The 72-year-old company intends to spend approximately $8 million to develop a 70,000-square-foot plant, office and warehouse complex in Hillsboro, said vice...

High fashion amassing in downtown area.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2000... After spending several years putting high-fashion dresses on display in other people's stores, entrepreneur Daniel McCall has opted to open his own shop. McCall, 28, said he's leased space in downtown Portland for a small boutique that...

What Americans would do if they struck it rich.
March 3, 2000... Hitting the road, from the Odyssey to On The Road to Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, is a time-honored method to find answers to important questions. Although David Brancaccio is no Jack Kerouac (or Odysseus, for that matter), he...

Starbucks founder unveils $340M venture fund.(Maveron LLC)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 3, 2000... Maveron LLC of Seattle has raised a huge new fund of $340 million, building by far the largest bankroll ever for a venture capital fund in this region. The firm founded by Starbucks chairman Howard Schultz and investment banker Dan Levitan...

Nationwide VC network has about $1B in funds.(Draper Fisher Jurvetson)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 3, 2000... Redwood City venture capitalist Tim Draper is going nationwide, forming a coast-to-coast network of linked venture funds to pursue the geographical growth of the internet. Draper Fisher Jurvetson will soon start affiliated funds based in...

OSHA formalizes home inspections policy.(Occupational Safety and Health Administration)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 3, 2000... It's official: The Occupational Safety and Health Administration will not inspect home offices and doesn't expect employers to inspect them either, according to a directive sent Feb. 25 to all OSHA offices. The directive explicitly relieves...

Amtrak is ready to ride Acela to self-sufficiency.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 3, 2000... Ross Capon gives good reviews to Amtrak's first step toward providing high-speed rail service. "It actually arrived early," Capon saidof his Acela Regional train, which whisked him from Boston to New York City in under four hours, compared...

Former PrintPaks execs set sights on teen girls.(with Kibu)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 3, 2000... The PrintPaks gang, or at least a few of its members, is back, flush with cash and ready for action. PrintPaks and its founder, Judy MacDonald, grabbed some attention in Portland when the local business was sold to Mattel in early 1998. ...

Sally McCracken.(Oregon Community Foundation)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 3, 2000... PERSONAL INFORMATION Name: Sally McCracken Organization: I am currently working with the Giving In Oregon Council, a committee of the Oregon Community Foundation. Title: Chairwoman, however most people have called me a "civic...

Don't look up!
March 3, 2000... Flying Rhinoceros is airborne and accelerating on the net The Time Warner/America Online mega merger was hailed by virtually everyone in the technology field for its potential to send internet content via broadband. Here in Portland, the...

Thanks to 'Metal Grab,' the 'light' goes on for this lad.(school visit by Mentor Graphics' Katherine Whitehill)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 3, 2000... There's a perception that technology companies could be better corporate citizens. I'm in no position to judge where local companies fall on the philanthropy scale, but at least one local company made an illuminating impression on one...

ANOTHER MEANING FOR 'QUIET'.(Electric Lightwave's stock performance)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 3, 2000... Remember the company that advertised itself as "the quiet company?" Well, I don't remember the company, but I do remember the ad tagline, which is probably some sort of testament to the power of advertising. Anyway, that line came to mind...

WHAT IT IS AND WHY.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2000... Some people, myself included, wonder if technology could be the death of custom service. After all, how will a generation weaned on dot-com interactions learn about dealing with a real person? But The Oregon Graduate Institute of Science...

VULCAN ADVENTURE.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2000... Be forewarned. If you go to the web seeking information on Paul Allen's venture-capital arm, Vulcan Ventures, you may find yourself involved in an entirely different venture. A reporter colleague here typed in what one would assume was the...

PAM HAS NEW WEB SITE.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2000... The Portland Art Museum has a new and improved web site courtesy of Lattice Semiconductor Corp. The site provides immediate access to information on the museum, its collection and special exhibits. The new site, portlandartmuseum.org,...

In Oregon, open-heart review process is enough.
March 3, 2000... While working on a story about Tuality Healthcare's debate over open-heart surgery, I was reminded again of how Oregon truly marches to its own drummer. State public-health officials told me, matter of factly, that a community hospital did...

BIOTECH SUBSIDIARY HERE?(Brief Article)
March 3, 2000... Two forces in the European biotech community may soon be moving to Oregon. Adnagen GmbH CEO Stefanie Waschuetza and other executives from the Germany-based company will visit the OHSU campus and other Oregon sites March 21-25 to explore a...

ROSES IRRITATE VANCOUVER PHYSICIAN.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2000... Speaking of drug companies: Dr. Daniel Highkin of the Vancouver Clinic, one of the doctors who related his frustration with pharmaceutical representatives in the Jan. 28 Focus Section, did not take the time to smell the roses on Valentine's...

Gorge Games return with major Sponsor, TV exposure.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2000... Talk about guilt by association. When mulling whether to write about the upcoming Subaru Gorge Games, I first pictured a series of competitions built around the four screaming morons from the Mountain Dew ads. I imagined the imbeciles doing...

PDX's new air-cargo facility driven by e-commerce, TC.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2000... The shovel hit the dirt last week on a new air-cargo logistics center at Portland International Airport. AMB Property Corp. and Trammel Crow Co. are working jointly on the 159,500-square-foot, two-building "pass through" facility on the...

NEW HOME, NEW IMAGE.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2000... We recently reported that Insignia/ESG Inc. moved its local headquarters from Beaverton to Lake Oswego's Centerpointe Office Park, a property it also happens to manage. Days after Insignia gets new digs, it will receive a new corporate...

BIG '0' TO GROW.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2000... Oregonian Publishing Co. announced last week its purchase of the 11-acre U.S. Steel Works complex on Northwest Nicolai Street. The Oregonian plans to build a new printing press and mailroom on the site, which abuts Interstate 405. The U.S....

NORRIS, NORRIS & NORRIS.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2000... In the last real estate column, Norris Beggs & Simpson was incorrectly identified as leasing agent for the new-sprung Willamette 205 Corporate Center. In fact, brokers Jim Loenning and Randy Davis represent the Norris & Stevens firm. My...

Bill's passage fuels merger rumor mill.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2000... Consolidation of banks, brokerages and insurance companies will likely result from a new financial services bill that takes effect this month. "We just need to see the first one happen--somebody to make the first deal--and everybody else...

All for one, one for all?(Brief Article)
March 3, 2000... It was the most sweeping federal financial services measure in years, a bill that smashed 60-year-old barriers between insurers, bankers and securities dealers. Yet, when Congress finally passed the Financial Services Modernization Act...

New law finds local insurers playing waiting game.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2000... Northwest financial players say that just because local companies can offer new services and seek exciting business alliances under a new law doesn't mean they will. The federal Financial Services Modernization Act takes effect March 11,...

Consumer advocates give bill mixed review.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2000... At what point will it hit consumers that their financial-services dynamic has changed? Will it occur when they deal with all of their financial advisers during one visit? Or how about when they're deleting scores of e-mail...

A thousand headaches later, a bill is passed.(Frank Brawner's dream)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2000... On June 16, 1933, the U.S. Congress passed the Glass-Steagal Act, which prevented banks from selling securities and other financial-related products. Six days later, Frank Brawner, who would spend his entire professional life trying to...

Living and sleeping and dreaming financial services.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2000... I dreamed about financial modernization recently. Seriously, I woke up after dreaming that a securities dealer and I were discussing why bankers were allowed to sell annuities. I also remember her dissertation as to why Merrill Lynch could...

Top 25 commercial insurance agencies.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2000... Top 25 commercial insurance agencies Tam Jenkins Ranked by number of metro emoloyees Number of Rank ...

Urban Fauna: Pet supplies, doggie care and jewelry.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2000... Suzanne Losh sells imported silver jewelry. Her fiance, Devin Laurence Field, creates metal sculpture. So when Losh opened a shop that offered pet supplies and daycare service for dogs, both the jewelry and the sculpture went on sale there....

Doggie day out in the Pearl.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2000... When Stella arrives at Northwest Portland's Urban Fauna, her eyes light up. She rushes into the shop and excitedly greets her friends and fellow canines, who, like the 5-month-old golden retriever, regularly receive daycare at the store. ...

Marketing aimed at consumers who aren't so dumb.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2000... Scratch a churchgoing advertiser or marketer and you will be accosted by all manner of self-justification, couched in language about the legality of otherwise harmful products and the economic well-being that good old-fashioned capitalistic...

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE.(executive hiring)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2000... COMMUNICATIONS Laurie Kelley was hired as marketing and strategic planning vice president by Oregon Public Broadcasting. Integra Telecom appointed Jim Huesgen president and chief operating officer. Oregon Press Women Inc. elected...

Amgen investment buoys Bioject's needle-less strategy.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2000... One of the world's leading biotech companies, Amgen Inc., last Wednesday invested $1.5 million in Portland-based Bioject Medical Technologies for use of its needle-less technology. Amgen intends to test Bioject's Iject needle-free injection...

The Numbers Game.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2000... The Numbers Game FACTS & FIGURES FOR SELLING YOUR HOME ONLINE NATIONAL WEST SOUTHWEST SOUTHEAST Home price average: $217,660 $265,084 $178,453 $176,846...

Insider Trading.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2000... Insider Trading The buying and selling of stock shares by area executives Gregg Kantor Vice president NW Natural Gas Co. Shares bought: 100 Share price: $22.13 Share value: ...

Biotech stocks come bouding back.
March 3, 2000... After being shoved aside by internet stocks five years ago, biotech and medical device stocks are "back with a vengeance," say investors and venture capitalists. For the first time since 1992, the Nasdaq Biotech Index is outperforming...

Merger bolsters InFocus dominance.(InFocus Systems Inc. and Proxima merger)(Brief Article)
March 10, 2000... The second time was the charm for InFocus Systems Inc. and Proxima. The two companies announced earlier this week plans for a "merger," which actually appears to be more of an acquisition. InFocus is maintaining stock control, top...

Brownfield's black eye frustrates EPA'S vision.(areas thought to suffer from historical pollution)(Brief Article)
March 10, 2000... On the commute into work this morning, many Portlanders passed tracts of land that are as barren as the moon, abandoned buildings that are remnants of a bygone industrial era, and miscellaneous heaps of crumbled concrete and steel. ...

With the shackles off, Concentrex set to roll.(to sell insurance products via banks)(Brief Article)
March 10, 2000... Small banks now have a chance to start selling insurance policies, and Portland's Concentrex Inc. wants to serve as their conduit. Concentrex has formed its own insurance agency to obtain insurance products from major underwriters and pass...

Civic Stadium redesign concepts resonate with allusions to past.
March 10, 2000... Fans of the city's incoming pro baseball and soccer teams could see at least three "signature" design components in the renovated Civic Stadium. Copies of the proposed stadium redesign obtained by The Business Journal suggest defining...

She no longer dreads the grocery shopping routine.(mother uses HomeGrocer service)(Brief Article)
March 10, 2000... About nine years ago, when my first daughter was a toddler, I recall thinking that if someone would just deliver a double latte to my house, I could make it through the afternoon. Staying at home full-time with a toddler had put a new twist...

OGI researchers project could lead to piloting by computer.(Oregon Graduate Institute)(Brief Article)
March 10, 2000... Oregon Graduate Institute researchers from three different disciplines are hoping to demonstrate that a computer, running sophisticated software programs that utilize current environmental information, can pilot ships and aircraft without human...

U.S. Rep. puts political heat on steelmaker.(invesigation of Oregon Steel Mills' Rocky Mountain Steel Mill)(Brief Article)
March 10, 2000... The road isn't getting any easier for beleaguered Oregon Steel Mills. At the urging of Minnesota Congressman James Oberstar, the U.S. Depart-ment of Trans-portation is set to launch an investigation into safety practices at the Portland-based...

The Numbers Game.(fastest-growing occupations in Oregon)(Brief Article)
March 10, 2000... The Numbers Game FASTEST-GROWING OCCUPATIONS, [*] 1998-2008 1998 2008 Net Percent Occupation employment employment growth...

Insider Trading.(stock share trading by local executives)(Brief Article)
March 10, 2000... Insider Trading The buying and selling of stock shares by area executives Alex Hsu Shareholder Microsoft Corp. Shares to sell: 37,300 Share...

Worksystems receives grant to train workers.(Brief Article)
March 10, 2000... * The U.S. Labor Department has given Portland-based Worksystems $500,000 to assist workers seeking job training. The money, doled out by the department's Employment and Training Administration, aims to give area workers more job training...

Yocream International.(Brief Article)
March 10, 2000... Portland's Yocream International said its sales have increased for the seventh consecutive quarter. Sales for the quarter that ended Jan. 31 rose 30 percent, from $2.2 million to $2.8 million. The company earned three cents per diluted share,...

Northwest Temporary & Staffing Services.(Brief Article)
March 10, 2000... Northwest Temporary & Staffing Services has bought Tacoma's OutSource International branch. The Washington office focuses on supplying manufacturing, distribution and assembly workers. Northwest now operates 28 staffing offices in four states.

TreeSource Industries'.(Brief Article)
March 10, 2000... TreeSource Industries' latest numbers show a smaller net loss than one experienced at the same time last year. TreeSource said it lost $1.5 million, or 14 cents per common share, in the three months ending Jan. 31, compared to $3.2 minion (and...

US West.(Brief Article)
March 10, 2000... US West has unveiled its contribution to the wireless internet market. BrowseNow, said the company allows for a single integrated internet access system, meaning wireless users don't need a different interface each time they want to "access the...

Horizon Broadcasting Group LLC.(Brief Article)
March 10, 2000... Horizon Broadcasting Group LLC is acquiring four radio stations in La Grande-Baker City radio market from Grande Radio Inc. The stations are KUBQ-FM La Grande (98.7 FM), KKBC-FM Baker City (95.3 FM), KLBM-AM La Grande (1450 AM) and KBKR-AM...

Lee Enterprises.(Brief Article)
March 10, 2000... Elsewhere in the exciting world of media megatrends, Lee Enterprises said it has crafted a partnership with 11 other media companies to create a national digital broadband distribution network. Locally, Lee Enterprises' KOIN-TV will be the...

WebTrends Corp.(Brief Article)
March 10, 2000... WebTrends Corp., a Portland provider of enterprise solutions for Visitor Relationship Management (TM), eBusiness Intelligence and eBusiness System Management, released WebTrends Live, an eService platform for real-time web site visitor...

The Tyee Group.(Brief Article)
March 10, 2000... Euro RSCG Worldwide has bought a majority interest in The Tyee Group, a leading maker of infomercials. The Portland-based group will be known as Tyee Euro RSCG and will become part of the Euro RSCG's Terms of the deal were not disclosed. "This...

Flir Systems Inc.(Brief Article)
March 10, 2000... Thermal imaging company Flir Systems Inc. lost 41 percent of its market capitalization this week after announcing that "several errors in its accounting records" could generate a loss for the quarter ended Dec. 31. The Portland company now...

Corillian Corp.(Brief Article)
March 10, 2000... Corillian Corp., a Beaverton provider of eFinance solutions for the internet, appointed John V Grispon senior vice president of business development. Grispon, 35, was formerly Microsoft's worldwide banking industry manager. Grispon was with...

Fox Sports Net.(Brief Article)
March 10, 2000... Fox Sports Net launched a website promotion for its Northwest viewers on Wednesday Viewers who watched the network show were encouraged to log onto the company's website and critique the show. Those providing feedback were automatically entered...

Paddle sports paying off for Hood River company.(Brief Article)
March 10, 2000... Outdoorplay Inc. has ambitions as big as the outdoors and the Hood River company now says it has the cash to begin satisfying those ambitions. The company has received a "significant" investment from Gregory Boudreau, a former Egghead.com...

PCC enlists businesses in battle to pass bond.(Brief Article)
March 10, 2000... Portland Community College has lined up the heavy hitters to support its $144 million bond request. Columbia Forest Products, Electro Scientific industries, Intel, NW Natural Gas, PGE, Precision Castparts, US Bank, US West and Wells Fargo...

New owners take over at Carbon Dioxide Inc.(Brief Article)
March 10, 2000... After nearly 30 years of servicing fire extinguishers, local businesswoman Carolyn Arntson has chopped her company in two and sold both pieces. Arntson owned Carbon Dioxide Inc., a Southeast Portland company whose operations fell into two...

PSU is first to offer c-commerce training program.(Brief Article)
March 10, 2000... For companies that understand it, e-commerce means growth and efficiency. For most outfits, though, e-commerce means frustration, a slippery notion that's difficult to manage and impossible to master. It's the latter group for which...

Port of Portland's clean-up plan may be too late.(Brief Article)
March 10, 2000... It's the salmon. And the trustees. And a decision about whom to please. Those were the fundamentals that were underscored when the Port of Portland made its own proposal for river clean-up as a critical March deadline draws near. The...