Business Journal-Portland articles from November 2000

Business Journal-Portland archives from November 2000

Roll-up time for assisted living firms?
November 3, 2000... Regent Assisted Living Inc. is gearing up for a major expansion. The Portland-based developer of senior housing has hired New York investment firm Cohen & Steers Capital Management Inc. to help raise $20 million to $50 million in capital...

VC tries to find old PARC magic.
November 3, 2000... Xerox Corp. wants help running its fabled Palo Alto Research Center, and Jeff Tung of Vancouver's Timberline Venture Partners may be the person to provide it. As a former principal in Xerox's venture capital arm, Tung invested in startups...

OSM haunted by the past.
November 3, 2000... In the escalating battle between organized labor and Oregon Steel Mills, the two sides have rarely agreed on anything. But both would say that the attempt to operate smoothly and make a profit from steel produced at an ancient mill in Pueblo,...

Meadows may go to L.A. billionaire.
November 3, 2000... The beleaguered Portland Meadows racetrack has attracted a deep-pocketed potential owner who, racing enthusiasts say could drastically change the face of Oregon racing. Portland Meadows owners and Magna Entertainment, based in Santa...

Thorne's challenges mount as the port's woes multiply.
November 3, 2000... By postponing his retirement indefinitely, Port of Portland executive director Mike Thorne is essentially trying to clean up some unfinished--and some brand-new--business at the port. Thorne announced on Aug. 9 that he planned to retire at...

That's a halt for Sundance Film Center.
November 3, 2000... Construction has halted on the already-delayed Sundance Film Center in downtown Portland, the result of a bankruptcy filing by General Cinema Theatres Inc. Construction work on the half-finished, seven-screen theater project temporarily...

The editor is transported to a very untaxing future.
November 3, 2000... I was flying across the Steel Bridge on the way to work one morning when an SUV roared up from behind and knocked me right through a hole in time into the year 2075. I lay dazed on the pavement. The Diamondback, now a twisted mass of metal...

Qwest unveils wireless talking internet service.
November 3, 2000... * Qwest Communications International Inc. has begun offering a talking Internet service over wireless phones. Qwest, which recently finalized its purchase of US West, now can offer personalized news, sports, traffic reports, airline...

KGW Northwest NewsChannel 8.
November 3, 2000... * KGW Northwest NewsChannel 8 has signed Portland Trail Blazer head coach Mike Dunleavy as a permanent contributor to "Sports Sunday with Colin Cowherd." Dunleavy began his appearances last Sunday He will host his own segment, "One on One with...

Accent Semiconductor Technologies Inc.
November 3, 2000... * Accent Semiconductor Technologies Inc., makers of process control and measurement tools for the optoelectronic, wireless and silicon semiconductor industries, announced a name change to Accent Optical Technologies Inc. effective Oct. 20. The...

Bonneville Power Administration.
November 3, 2000... * The Bonneville Power Administration has launched an internet auction site that will help head off power shortages this winter. When frigid weather is forecasted, BPA will bid for power by posting a price on an internet web site. Large...

CTR Inc.
November 3, 2000... * CTR Inc., a Portland-based technology firm, has contracted with the Oregon State Lottery to help it implement financial and materials management systems. The systems include general ledger, accounts payable, accounts receivable, cash...

WebTrends Corp.
November 3, 2000... * WebTrends Corp. (Nasdaq:WEBT), a provider of solutions for e-business intelligence and visitor relationship management, announced that it has been granted a U.S. Patent for its FastTrends database technology, which significantly reduces...

Microfield Graphics Inc.
November 3, 2000... * Microfield Graphics Inc. (OTCBB:MICG) has completed the previously announced sale of substantially all of its assets to Greensteel Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of PolyVision Corporation. Proceeds of the sale were $2 million paid at closing...

Sale fallout: Heathman's Fery resigns.
November 3, 2000... Local hotel executive Bruce Fery has resigned as chief executive officer of The Heathman Group, one month after the management firm lost its trophy asset, The Heathman Hotel. Fery said that he resigned as a result of the sale of the hotel...

Christenson flips switch in Eugene.
November 3, 2000... In a move aimed at uniting and strengthening two of the leading electrical contractors in Oregon, Portland-based Christenson Electric Inc. recently acquired Philips Electric of Eugene. Christenson Electric, a 55-year-old company that...

Jewelry stores dressing up downtown Portland.
November 3, 2000... If downtown Portland is a diamond in the rough, then retail jewelers are preparing to cut and polish. Local jewelers Dave and Rick Rogaway are preparing to open a diamond-only store at 534 S.W Broadway. They'll open the doors to the...

Oregon Steel bedeviled by more losses.
November 3, 2000... Losses are continuing for Oregon Steel Mills. The company reported a $401,000 net loss, or 2 cents per share, on revenue of $157 million in its third quarter. That's an improvement from the second quarter and it's better than the 7...

Are fates of CEO and Regent too closely entwined?
November 3, 2000... Regent Assisted Living Inc. says it wants to expand by acquiring other companies. But, in its first expansion phase, it built facilities. And many of those facilities were built by a company owned by Regent's chief executive. Walter Bowen,...

Cascade Station looks sweeter to its backers.
November 3, 2000... Portland City Council's fine-tuning last week of the Cascade Station development plan will pave the way for the project's initial building permits. That means some of the development's shiny new structures could pop up before 2002. The...

Northwest PR shops prosper riding new economy.
November 3, 2000... A Seattle public relations firm is adding staff and expanding its business after betting heavily on the new economy by deciding to represent nothing but internet-related firms. The Silver Co. has grown from six employees in June 1999 to...

Silicon Valley elite torn between Bush or Gore.
November 3, 2000... If support from Silicon Valley is any indication, the Gore-Bush presidential contest is indeed too close to call. Both candidates' campaigns released impressively long lists of endorsements from technology leaders this week. Each list...

Docs are pulling the plug on managed care.
November 3, 2000... The post-mortem for Valley Physicians Organization might read like this: "Succumbed to misplaced optimism about the future of managed care." Faced with declining patient rolls and inadequate payments for services, the 140-doctor...

Gordon Haycock.
November 3, 2000... PERSONAL INFORMATION Name: Gordon Haycock Organization: Grant Thornton LLP Title: Portland Managing Partner and member of the Grant Thornton Executive Board What we do: Grant Thornton is an international accounting and...

The Meadows: A dying breed?
November 3, 2000... Selling Portland Meadows may be the only way to save it Like the old gray mare who ain't what she used to be, the Portland Meadows horse racing facility has been whipped, bullied and written off. Yet its owners, the Ferryman family,...

Portland is a tier-two real estate powerhouse.
November 3, 2000... In the mood for some rankings? It's an ideal time to have such a hankering now that Portland is recognized among industry experts as one of the nation's top cities for commercial real estate investment. Well, at least P-town is a favorite...

Physician groups deal a blow to Providence plan.
November 3, 2000... Doctors are high-fiving Portland Clinic and NW Primary Care Group's recent victory over Providence Health Plans. The two physician groups boldly dropped out of the InterHospital Physicians Association last month and bargained for a sweet...

ROUNDTABLE TO SHUT OPERATIONS.
November 3, 2000... After 15 years, The Northwest Healthcare Roundtable is folding. President Maria Biesterfeld sent a letter this week to the nonprofit organization's members and attendees to tell them the Nov. 15 program would be the last. The round table,...

MOVE THE BACKHOE OUT OF THE WAY.
November 3, 2000... After more than a year of construction, Southwest Washington Medical Center on Nov. 2 celebrated completion of the $6 million expansion of its Radiation Oncology Unit. The 12,963-square-foot unit features a new radiation therapy simulator, a...

Arch Venture 's new fund open to PDX startups.
November 3, 2000... Arch Venture Partners, a Chicago-based venture capital firm whose Seattle office is one of the Northwest's most active early-stage technology investors, has closed on $250 million of a new fund that could top out at $400 million. All its...

DIGITAL DOLLARS.
November 3, 2000... On a more modest scale, venture capital firm Digital Partners of Seattle announced the closing of a new $36 million fund. Managers said the firm will make seed and early-stage investments in Pacific Northwest technology companies,...

AUDIO HIJINKS.
November 3, 2000... Local buyout firm Hanover Partners Inc. has led a purchase of Beaverton's Audio Precision Inc. The Beaverton manufacturer produces devices for testing and measuring audio signals in high-end audio and broadcast equipment. API's global...

CROSSING THE BORDER.
November 3, 2000... PremierWest Bancorp has taken a first step toward pervading the retail banking market from Southern Oregon to Northern California. The six-month-old Medford-based bank said it agreed to buy the parent of Timberline Community Bank in...

Combining forces not a big priority for lawyers.
November 3, 2000... A column or two ago, I made the blithe statement that the multidisciplinary practice, or MDP, issue going to go away any time soon. It seems, however, that it may be my off-the-cuff statement that will go away soon. Lawyers aren't...

LAWYERS RAISE MONEY FOR NEEDY.
November 3, 2000... When lawyers aren't busy debating weighty issues, filing briefs and trying cases, they can be found doing good deeds in the community No, this isn't leading up to a lawyer-joke punch line. The Oregon Lawyers Against Hunger Food Drive...

PERKINS LAWYER RECERTIFIED.
November 3, 2000... Steven Hedberg, a partner at Perkins Coie, was recertified by the American Bankruptcy Board of Certification as an expert in business bankruptcy law and creditors' rights law. Hedberg, who leads the firm's local reorganization and...

FIOS ADDS BOARD MEMBER.
November 3, 2000... Local firm Fios Inc. added veteran venture capitalist Will Neuhauser to its board. Why is this legal news? Because Fios is a young company that is establishing its reputation as a provider of electronic evidence discovery to law firms. In...

THE LAWYER COMPETITION BEGINS.
November 3, 2000... I'm sure all professions do this, but lawyers really seem to love ranking and categorizing each other. According to American Lawyer magazine, Perkins Coie ranked No. 2 out of 89 firms in the extra-large category in terms of mid-level...

THE NEW POWER BROKERS.
November 3, 2000... A new generation of players are influencing the Portland scene Greater Portland's most powerful are shifting along with the New Economy. Gone are the days when the city's bank and utility executives and well-heeled limber and steel...

It's payback time for local cybermillionaires.
November 3, 2000... Last week, internet entrepreneur Scott Taylor invited 18 of his colleagues to lunch at the Hilton to persuade them to sink their money into biomedical research. It may take more than crab cakes and salad to convince them. The cyber...

White males still hold most positions of power.
November 3, 2000... When it comes to greater Portland's movers and shakers, older, white men still outnumber women, Latinos and other minorities. But the so-called downtown boys' club doesn't reflect the changing demographics of the region--or what is...

VCs putting faith into biotechnology industry.
November 3, 2000... It's been a big year for biotechnology. When Celera Genomics announced in January that it had sequenced 90 percent of the human genome, the revelation was compared to the invention of the wheel. Add to that a 12 percent rise in the AMEX...

'Fund of funds' lets investors jump into VC pool.
November 3, 2000... Imagine laying every dollar bill invested in venture capital fund of funds in 1999 end to end. You would have the equivalent distance of almost four round trips to the moon. That's a lot of dollars. As the term implies, a venture capital...

Is online purchasing right for your business?
November 3, 2000... From cattle to construction, small businesses are going online in record numbers to purchase goods and services from trusted suppliers and online exchanges. Small businesses spent $55.4 billion buying goods and services over the internet...

Seattle Tilth sows fruitful legacy with younger gardeners.
November 3, 2000... Along with boosting its profile and increasing its fund-raising reach, Seattle Tilth is taking steps to stay ahead of the competition and to create a legacy by appealing to the youngest gardeners. Competition is increasing, as more area...

Planting seeds for success.
November 3, 2000... Seattle Tilth puts together a more professional organization to better spread the world about good, healthy food. Seattle Tilth Association is digging deeper into the dirt. After 22 years of surviving as a largely volunteer effort, the...

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE.
November 3, 2000... ARCHITECTURE Mulvanny G2 Architects hired Mark Gribbons, principal-in-charge; Joe Leslie, project manager; Scott Shannon, job captain; Cami Schmidt, architectural technician; and Joe Cook, CADO technician II. CONSULTING The MBL...

The New Economy's woes.
November 3, 2000... It was mere months ago that internet companies were raising the bar on stock performance with stratospheric first-day "pops" and lightning-fast trips to triple digits. Now investors are so down on dotcoms that some are valued at less than their...

The port should go for new blood.
November 3, 2000... How sagacious was the decision by the Port of Portland to talk Mike Thorne out of his scheduled year-end retirement? If the port is serious about reversing the momentum on such issues as channel deepening and West Hayden Island development, is...

Voting for real people in politics.
November 3, 2000... People ask me all the time: "Andy for whom did you vote?" Okay, that's fiction. No one gives a Neil Bushwhack for whom I voted. And if they did, they'd more likely put it, "Who did you vote for?" Since no one really cares--and since...

Telecom hotels are an insult to Portland's bright Pearl.
November 3, 2000... To the editor: Re: "Telecom hotel" editorial published Oct. 20: This Business Journal editorial board is sadly misinformed about the Pearl District. As a sub-area of the River District, our neighborhood has thrived on the...

Winners & Losers.
November 3, 2000... West Linn Round Table Pizza This particular pizzeria donated all of its profits from October 24 to the Marylhurst Early Childhood Center, an award-winning preschool and kindergarten. Not only was it a nice philanthropic gesture, it was a...

SLAPSHOTS.
November 3, 2000... Music that mystifies pop culture [****] How on earth did Radiohead become popular? They're the antithesis of famous acts enjoying multi-platinum sales. Unlike Britney Spears, they've got imagination. Unlike N'Sync, they've got whimsy....

The Numbers Game.
November 3, 2000... [TABLE HAS BEEN CLIPPED]

Insider Trading.
November 3, 2000... The buying and selling of stock shares by area executives Brian Cook President/CEO Direct Focus Inc. Shares to sell: 15,000 Share price: $43 [*] Share Value: $645,000 Thomas Clarke President Nike Inc....

Most active Small Business Administration lenders.
November 3, 2000... [TABLE HAS BEEN CLIPPED]

Largest SBA loans.
November 3, 2000... [TABLE HAS BEEN CLIPPED]

Decision Point: DeKoning had to go.
November 10, 2000... Decision Point Systems "terminated" chief executive Robert DeKoning last week, saying he wasn't the man to take the company into the future. Now, Decision Point can add finding a new CEO to a to-do list that includes launching a new...

Time to rethink West Hayden, Thorne says.
November 10, 2000... For the second time in as many weeks, The Port of Portland has made a surprise announcement: It is rethinking its massive proposal to develop West Hayden Island. Port executive director Mike Thorne told commissioners at their monthly...

DeMarini/Wilson deal tightens softball grip.
November 10, 2000... In January, local bat-maker Ray DeMarini had plenty of ideas on how deep-pocketed Wilson Sporting Goods Co. might advance his plans. Now, nine months after Wilson bought DeMarini Sports Inc. for $18 million, officials for both companies...

Oregon Steel chooses Rocky labor relations path.
November 10, 2000... When Oregon Steel Mills tried to right a foundering 112-year-old rail-, rod- and pipe-making mill in Pueblo, Colo. in the early 1990s, mill profits were the stated goal. Ultimately, however, what the company came away with was a labor relations...

PDC acquisition binge could steer MLK development effort.
November 10, 2000... The Portland Development Commission this week may approve two land purchases that would round out a growing commercial district on Northeast Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. Development commission project coordinator Lois Cortell said the...

GSN goes for experience with new CEO.
November 10, 2000... Fresh off his stint leading Concentrex Inc., local executive Matt Chapman has accepted the posts of president and chief executive officer with Portland's Global Services Network. Chapman officially joined GSN on Nov. 8. The company's main...

The case of the lost keys and the Good Samaritans.
November 10, 2000... I've felt deeper despair, of course. Yet it was certainly an unpleasant sensation in the pit of my stomach, as I stood at night in the economy parking lot at PDX, kids in tow, realizing that I had lost my keys while traveling that day. Car...

LP agrees to $80M deal for mill and chip facility.
November 10, 2000... Louisiana-Pacific Corp. (NYSE:LPX) has agreed to sell its Samoa, Calif., pulp-mill and chip export facility to LaPointe Partners Inc. Under the terms of the agreement, LaPointe Partners, a management, consulting and M&A firm focused in the pulp...

StanCorp Financial Group Inc.
November 10, 2000... StanCorp Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:SFG) unveiled a New York subsidiary, The Standard Life Insurance Company of New York. The new company, a sister company to Standard Insurance Company headquartered in Portland, will be based in White Plains,...

AVI BioPharma, Inc.
November 10, 2000... AVI BioPharma, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVII, AVIIW, AVIIZ), a biopharmaceutical company developing products based on cancer immunotherapy and gene-targeted drug technologies, said that, for the third quarter of 2000, it suffered a net loss of $2.2...

Oregon Environmental Quality Commission.
November 10, 2000... The Oregon Environmental Quality Commission named Stephanie Hallock to replace Langdon Marsh as its new director. On a one-year leave from her position as DEQ's Eastern Region administrator, Hallock currently serves on special assignment as...

GeoTrust Inc.
November 10, 2000... GeoTrust Inc. (www.geotrust.com), an online security firm, announced an alliance with SGS Societe Generale de Surveillance SA, the world's largest verification, testing and certification organization. By teaming up, GeoTrust and SGS...

The Greenbrier Companies.
November 10, 2000... The Greenbrier Companies (NYSE: GBX) said that its fourth-quarter earnings for the year ended Aug. 31 exceeded analysts' expectations by 50 percent. Net earnings and earnings per share for the fourth quarter were $5.4 million, or 38 cents...

Providence St. Vincent Medical Center.
November 10, 2000... Providence St. Vincent Medical Center has become the first hospital in Oregon to be designated a magnet program by one of the largest nursing accrediting and credentialing organizations. The hospital was singled out for demonstrating "sustained...

OraSure Technologies Inc.
November 10, 2000... Beaverton-based OraSure Technologies Inc. reported a net loss of $2.1 million on revenue of $7.2 million, a 9.3 percent increase over the same quarter last year. That compares to a loss of $1.9 million on revenue of $6.6 million for the same...

CORRECTIONS.
November 10, 2000... Timberline Venture Partners operates a $62 million venture capital fund. A Nov. 3 article stated the wrong amount.

Securities claims against ex-GST boss dropped.
November 10, 2000... GST Telecommunications Inc. founder and former chief executive John Warta is no longer a defendent in a class action shareholder's lawusit. A class action suit filed last fall claimed. Warta and other insiders misled investors by not...

And the winner is: Wieden & Kennedy, of course.
November 10, 2000... Portland's biggest ad agency, Wieden & Kennedy, once again ruled this year's Roseys, taking home 11 out of 19 awards for print and TV ads that sold us on beer and shoes. The ads--from the droll fisherman thirsty for a Miller High Life to...

OXIS asks new CEO to take fresh look at strategy.
November 10, 2000... With a new CEO on board, Oxis International Inc. is rethinking its strategy. The Portland company has backed off its year-old decision to sell its health care division and devote its attention solely to drug development. Its sole...

StanCorp puts empahsis on its core businesses.
November 10, 2000... StanCorp Financial Group, the corporate parent of Standard Insurance Co., is exiting one business line and buying a business line from another insurance company. In addition, the Portland company announed plans for a national marketing...

DeMarini is back at bat after battle with cancer.
November 10, 2000... When Wilson Sporting Goods Co. acquired bat maker DeMarini Sports Inc. in January it was with the express understanding that they'd receive the services of Ray DeMarini, the company's bulldog founder and chief executive. Just weeks after...

Local agency goes for new look, clients.
November 10, 2000... Almost two years after being acquired the multimedia agency CMD is sporting a new executive team and select roster of Fortune 500 clients. Gone is Jeff Martin, general manager and founding partner, who resigned at last week's board meeting....

Who's on first? Portland now eves Oakland A's.
November 10, 2000... The Oakland A's and city and county officials haven't thrown a single pitch toward keeping the team in the East Bay after its lease expires at the end of next season. And Portland is considered a candidate for the team's new home, if the...

AT&T Wireless could be belle of breakup ball.
November 10, 2000... AT&T Wireless Group, the jewel of parent AT&T Corp.'s four-way breakup, could look vastly different by the time the Redmond-based wireless company becomes officially independent in mid-2001. Potential partners "have been a bit reluctant to...

Kruse Oaks I benefits from Cisco's expansion.
November 10, 2000... Cisco Systems will more than double its office space in the Portland area by early 2001. The maker of internet networking products such as routers and switches has taken a five-year lease for the third floor of the new Spieker Properties...

Jerry Baldwin.
November 10, 2000... PERSONAL INFORMATION Name: Jerry Baldwin Title: Chairman, Peet's Coffee What we do: We're a roaster and retailer, committed both to quality and artisanship. Through our stores and via phone orders, we sell the best coffee and tea...

Building a lean flying machine.
November 10, 2000... Efficient production methods fatten Boeing's profit margin Boeing Commercial Airplane Group is making more money while selling fewer aircraft. That feat is possible because the gap between its costs and its revenue--the operating...