Business Journal-Portland articles from October 1999

Business Journal-Portland archives from October 1999

Class-action suits pile up for Rite Aid.(state justice officials investigate complaints that the drugstore chain has been fraudulently overcharging uninsured customers)
October 1, 1999... State justice officials are looking into a Florida complaint that Rite Aid Corp. set out to fraudulently overcharge its uninsured customers during a two-year period. Officials say the complaint raises new questions about the Pennsylvania drug...

Tension marks start of Powell's sessions.(union begins initial contract talks with Powell's Books Inc.)
October 1, 1999... Union negotiators representing Powell's bookstore employees said initial contract talks with Powell's management suggest that crafting a bargaining agreement may prove to be a contentious process. The biggest sticking point so far: Powell's...

Did labor pressure push manager to re-bid pact.(Service Employees International Union secures the rebidding of cleaning contracts for three buildings owned by Rosenburg Real Estate Equity Funds Management)
October 1, 1999... Before Irish folk rocker Billy Bragg sang labor-rights songs at a Washington Park Rose Garden concert earlier this month, he ranted to the crowd for several minutes about grievances Portland union janitors have with Rosenburg Real Estate Equity...

At last! Someone has a sense of humor about the millennium.(Moffatt/Rosenthal Advertising creates an ad lampooning the Y2K problem for the Oregon Lottery's Countdown 2000 scratch-card game)
October 1, 1999... We've heard the words "Y2K readiness" ad nauseam. We've stockpiled cans of Hormel chili and plotted New Year's parties to avoid the predicted snafus of the airline and power systems. So it only seems fair to make fun of Y2K by having badly...

Online-asset swap meet on a virtual roll.(AssetExchange.com's services for companies seeking to buy and sell portfolios of loans)(Company Profile)
October 1, 1999... Renaissance Holdings Inc. is always looking to buy portfolios of other companies' credit-card loans. To find good buys, the Beaverton loan servicer uses internal hunters. It also relies on third-party brokers. And lately, it started turning to...

KEX takes aim at KXL with new partnerships.(news radio stations in Portland, Oregon)
October 1, 1999... Competition for radio's morning drive-time is taking a new course. Two years after investing in a 24-hour news lineup, AM 620 K-NEWS has dumped its news team and shifted two popular syndicated shows - Dr. Laura Schlessinger and Rush...

Salem Electric offering salmon-friendly program.(electric utility's gives customers a chance to donate to fish habitat-improvement projects)
October 1, 1999... Starting today, the Northwest's signature fish has a new friend. Salem Electric is launching a salmon-friendly campaign, that will give its customers the chance to donate to local fish-habitat-improvement projects when paying their...

SEC hits Itex Corp. with 'fraudulent scheme' suit.(Securities and Exchange Commission)
October 1, 1999... The federal Securities and Exchange Commission has filed a lawsuit against Portland-based Itex Corp. and several of its executives. The action capped a three-year investigation that began with informal inquiries by the SEC in June 1996. ...

The Bon Marche embarks on reinventing itself.(department store chain)
October 1, 1999... The Bon Marche has embarked on a new branding strategy to distinguish the department-store chain from its powerful competition, primarily Nordstrom Inc. The Bon is trying to fashion itself into a distinctly Northwest brand, through...

Unfinished business: the ILWU organized Powell's, but can it get a contract?(International Longshoremen's and Warehousemen's Union; Powell's )
October 1, 1999... If it's a book you want, Powell's World of Books almost certainly will have it. But if what you're looking for is a bargaining agreement from owner Michael Powell, it may not be in stock just yet. When organizers from the International...

Courting investment.(Focus on Venture Oregon)(venture capital flows into Oregon)(Industry Overview)
October 1, 1999... Venture capitalists nationwide discovered Oregon this year, pumping an eye-catching $80 million into local start-ups in the first half of 1999, according to a survey by PricewaterhouseCoopers. That's 135 percent more than the $34 million...

Maturing local angel network fueling investments.(Focus on Venture Oregon)(wealthy investors increase investments in fledgling enterprises in Oregon)(Industry Overview)
October 1, 1999... Record-setting investments of venture capital in Oregon companies have captured headlines this year. But observers say the phenomenon owes much to earlier, smaller investments that rarely got any press. Those smaller investments were made...

PDC wants authority to buy old Sizzler.(Portland Development Commission wants to acquire former Sizzler restaurant site across the street from the Oregon Convention Center)
October 8, 1999... The Portland Development Commission wants a property owner to develop a site across the street from the Oregon Convention Center the way it sees fit, and it's prepared to flex its muscles to get it. The PDC has asked Portland City Council...

Pamplin builds radio empire to cover NW.(Robert Pamplin Jr., president of R.B. Pamplin Corp; northwest)
October 8, 1999... Local businessman Robert Pamplin Jr. is on a radio-station buying spree, with plans to acquire enough stations in Oregon, Washington and California "to cover the West." Or so says Pamplin, 58, president of R.B. Pamplin Corp. Pamplin...

Tek off-loads tainted land to eager west-side buyers.(Tektronix Inc. sells 300-acre block of land that formerly housed its Beaverton, Oregon facility)
October 8, 1999... The nearly 300-acre block of land historically defining Tektronix Inc.'s Beaverton campus has recently become a clearing house. And despite the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality's concerns about pollutants on all but one of the lots...

Coffee People's latest strategy: carve out more Portland turf.
October 8, 1999... The new owners of Portland's Coffee People have brewed a minor expansion plan for the string of coffee stores. Executives at Coffee People and parent company Diedrich Coffee said they want to expand the 26-outlet chain to 60 Portland-area...

Mind behind the Tiger ads heads for SF.(Chuck McBride, creator of the Tiger Woods ads, is hired by TBWA Chiat/Day)
October 8, 1999... A hotshot advertising executive is leaving Portland and heading for San Francisco to put some creative knitting back into the threadbare Levi's brand. Chuck McBride has been hired by TBWA Chiat/Day to run the creative side of the ad...

Beaverton-based commuter-rail study funded.(Oregon)
October 8, 1999... A proposal to establish commuter-rail service between Beaverton and Wilsonville has gained momentum, thanks to action by the U.S. Congress. A commuter-rail service that would operate on existing freight-train tracks and connect Washington...

Digimarc figures it'll raise $35M by going public.(Digimarc Corp.)
October 8, 1999... Digimarc Corp. wants to put its mark on Wall Street this week with an initial public offering that is expected to raise $35 million for the Portland-based developer of digital watermark technology. Digimarc's products, which protect...

Is a 'for sale' sign up in Praegitzer's front yard?(Praegitzer Industries)
October 8, 1999... Praegitzer Industries Inc. has fallen hard and it may need outside help to get up. Executives with the Tualatin-based maker of printed circuit boards said that the company isn't specifically putting itself up for sale. But it isn't ruling...

Endeavour to manage $25M of OPERS money.(Endeavour Capital; Oregon Public Employees Retirement System)
October 8, 1999... Portland merchant-banking firm Endeavour Capital obtained authority to manage $25 million in state retirement money boosting prospects for its third investment fund. The $25 million commitment is small for the $30 billion Oregon Public...

Legendary Scottish patience seals acquisition.(Scottish Power PLC acquires PacifiCorp)
October 8, 1999... The final regulatory hurdle standing in the way of PacifiCorp's acquisition by Scottish Power PLC was removed Wednesday when the Oregon Public Utility Commission approved the deal. The utility watchdogs, however, didn't sign off on the deal...

E-commerce convert.(Norm Thompson Outfitters Inc. launches an expanded Web site)
October 8, 1999... Norm Thompson hopes its late internet move boosts sales Browsers at Norm Thompson's flagship store in Northwest Portland view a captivating selection of some 1,300 gifts, apparel items and specialty foods. Consumers who call the catalog...

City mulls wood-frame rules.(Portland, Oregon)(Brief Article)
October 15, 1999... The Portland Fire Bureau, hoping to prevent fires like the spectacular Kearney Plaza Apartments blaze in August, is considering tighter construction rules for builders of "significant" wood-framed buildings. Jim Schwager, a senior engineer...

Enron's software subsidiary will stay, even if PGE is sold.(Enron Communications; Portland General Electric)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
October 15, 1999... As Enron considers selling off Portland General Electric, Enron Communications, the utility's warp-speed growth software co-subsidiary, will stay put in its burgeoning Portland headquarters. Speculation had held that, should the PGE sale go...

Will Portland talk itself out soon? Many radio talk jocks hope not.(Portland, Oregon's talk radio market continues to expand)
October 15, 1999... Portland won't shut up. Last week KPAM-AM became the city's ninth station with a talk format, pushing Portland right up to the top of metropolitan talk-radio markets. The city has attracted more news and talk hosts and programs - from...

Contract with IBM gives InFocus new optimism.(InFocus Systems Inc.)(Brief Article)
October 15, 1999... InFocus Systems Inc. isn't in turnaround mode anymore. It's going in the right direction and at full speed. After a record-breaking third quarter that handily beat Wall Street expectations, the Wilsonville maker of projection devices is on...

Software maker calls Portland home, sort of.(Oregon's Transim Inc.)(Brief Article)
October 15, 1999... A small developer of simulation software has picked Portland as the location for its senior staff. But the company's chief executive stops just short of calling Portland the headquarters for Transim Inc. "Headquarters is a big term for a...

Nike's patent-infringement loss still considered a win against knock-offs.(Brief Article)
October 15, 1999... Despite losing a U.S. Supreme Court patent-infringement appeal, Nike Inc. will continue working to combat "product counterfeiters" that co-opt the company's product innovations. Vada Manager, Nike's director of global-issues management,...

Small-business disciples continue to proliferate.(Brief Article)
October 15, 1999... More people are starting businesses than having babies. The rattling off of that statistic, 3.9 million new businesses vs. 3.8 million new babies, in the latest federal Health and Human Services report, drew gasps from the crowd at the...

Coast Guard questions onion-exporting practice.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
October 15, 1999... Northwest onion growers have enjoyed modest success in exporting fresh onions to Japan, but the U.S. Coast Guard's revised interpretation of shipping rules threatens to slam the door on their overseas business. For decades, onion exporters...

Eugene start-up ready to roll with Intel's help.(Templex Technology Inc.)
October 15, 1999... A four-year-old University of Oregon spin-off recently received a major investment from Intel Corp. that will allow the Eugene company to bring its optical technology to market. Templex Technology Inc. is not disclosing how much money Intel...

Tourism map companies litigate copyrights.
October 15, 1999... Two publishers of maps for Portland tourists have squared off in a federal courtroom in a dispute over copyright infringements. Tourmap Co., of Seattle, has sued Portland Visitors Map LLC as well as an independent contractor associated with...

HomeGrocer.com, W&K to team up.(Wieden & Kennedy)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
October 15, 1999... Determined to jump-start its marketplace presence, internet grocer HomeGrocer.com Inc. has budgeted $120 million in advertising expenditures to support its aggressive expansion plans over the next year. The Kirkland, Wash.-based firm has...

Oregon Steel wants a break.(Brief Article)
October 22, 1999... State regulators have proposed making Oregon Steel Mills Inc.'s plant in North Portland exempt from federal air-pollution standards that the company has been required to follow for years. Portland-based Oregon Steel is attempting to get a...

Employers escalate health-plan cost war.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
October 22, 1999... A coalition of 25 employers seeking greater buying power in the health-care marketplace may adopt a radical model of health coverage that would spur more competition among Oregon health plans and doctors. The ultimate goal is to cut costs. ...

Three internet retailers racing for market share.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
October 22, 1999... Steve Wood had SO much fun--and made such a profit--building one electronic-commerce company that he wants to do it again. Earlier this decade, Wood guided the growth of Hood River software retailer Surplus Direct, selling the $100 million...

City, state land deal driven by PDC's east-side strategy.(Portland Development Commission.)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
October 22, 1999... A pending land deal between the Oregon Department of Transportation and the city may spark redevelopment on the central east side. ODOT and the Portland Development. Commission are negotiating a deal that would allow the city to assume...

Hey buddy, can you spare a truck to feed the poor?(Oregon Food Bank.)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
October 22, 1999... Lori Tarlow needs a truck. You know anyone who can help her find one? A 16-footer would do nicely. See, Tarlow needs the truck to pick up the food and other goods she's helping to gather for The Oregon Food Bank. If she has to put it all in the...

Paintball may have detractors, but it's becoming business.(Statistical Data Included)
October 22, 1999... Surrounded by the rat-tat-tat of paintball gunfire, Jeff Mudrow, owner of Paintball Station, sprints across a ditch and up a hill at the Outdoor Paintball Field in Albany. "We better get out of here," he advises the not-so-intrepid reporter...

Inner City buys building near Ninth and Oak.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
October 22, 1999... Another potential boon to the resurrection of downtown's West End arrived this month in the form of a $1.8 million package. Brothers Peter and Rick Michaelson of Inner City Properties bought the four-story North Pacific Building at 917 S.W...

Study: Owl listing failed to affect NW economy.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
October 22, 1999... * A new report from ECONNorthwest in Eugene says the Pacific Northwest did not experience massive job losses or a recession due to the addition of the spotted owl to the endangered species list. The study showed that both Oregon and Washington...

Meier & Frank department stores.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
October 22, 1999... Meier & Frank department stores announced a two-year plan to take over Zion's Co-operative Mercantile Institution, a Salt-Lake City-based department store strongly tied to the Mormon Church. If approved, Meier & Frank will nearly triple its...

Lattice Semiconductor Corp.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
October 22, 1999... Lattice Semiconductor Corp. intends to raise approximately $200 million-excluding proceeds, if any, of the over-allotment option-through an offering of convertible subordinated notes to qualified institutional investors. The company stated that...

Western Wood Products Association.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
October 22, 1999... Western Wood Products Association said 1998 Western lumber production dropped slightly. Lumber production in the West totaled slightly more than 16.49 billion board feet in 1998, down 1 percent from 1997 figures. WWPA said the decline came in...

Willamette Industries.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
October 22, 1999... Willamette Industries said its third-quarter earnings of $82 million on $1.1 billion in sales more than doubled compared with third-quarter 1998 results. The company earned 73 cents per diluted share in this year's third quarter, compared with...

Portland State University.(Brief Article)
October 22, 1999... A Portland State University department has received a $4.4 million grant to support education on family issues. The Research and Training Center of Family Support and Children's Mental Health will apply the grant toward research in family...

Brian Berger Public Relations.(Brief Article)
October 22, 1999... Brian Berger Public Relations has signed an agreement with Portland Trail Blazers forward Brian Grant to continue to assist with Grant's public relations, marketing, endorsement deals, business management and community-outreach projects. BBPR...

Enron Communications Inc.(Brief Article)
October 22, 1999... Enron Communications Inc., a Houston-based telecommunications subsidiary of Enron Corp., filled the 59,409-square-foot sublease in the PGE Corp. building. This sublease marks one of the largest office transactions of the year and is another...

Portland State.(Brief Article)
October 22, 1999... The Oregon Math, Engineering, Science Achievement Program, run out of Portland State, has hired Scott Minnix as its new executive director. Minnix is responsible for developing and expanding the program, which, among other things, aims to help...

Oregon Department of Human Services.(Brief Article)
October 22, 1999... The latest series of tobacco-sales compliance checks done in retail stores statewide shows an overall decrease in sales to minors. The study, conducted by the Oregon Department of Human Services in cooperation with Oregon State Police, found...

TriQuint Semiconductor Inc.(Brief Article)
October 22, 1999... TriQuint Semiconductor Inc. reported record-setting third quarter results. The Hillsboro, Ore.-based maker of specialty semiconductors reported third quarter revenue of $42.5 million, resulting in a 46 percent increase over the $29.1 million in...

Bioject finds a partner to help cardiac patients.(Brief Article)
October 22, 1999... Bioject Medical Technologies Inc., the developer of a device that injects medication without a needle, has signed a deal with a California company to jointly develop products to treat cardiac patients. Bioject's needle-free injector would...

Timberline is thriving, but not on Wall Street.(Brief Article)
October 22, 1999... For the second quarter in a row, Timberline Software Inc. announced record results and watched its stock get hammered by Wall Street. Neither company management nor two analysts who follow the company could pinpoint the cause of the...

Praegitzer restructures debt in turnaround play.(Brief Article)
October 22, 1999... Praegitzer Industries Inc. has negotiated some breathing room with its lenders. But the maker of printed circuit boards still has nearly $80 million in debt that has to be paid off by April 2005. The company has been reeling after an...

If he pulls it off, he gets a prize.(Brief Article)
October 22, 1999... In its recent 10-K, Praegitzer Industries Inc. disclosed an arrangement with Matt Bergeron, its president and chief operating officer, that gives him company stock at a reduced rate in exchange for a payment due the company by the end of 2006....

WebTrends busts loose; IMS enjoys a solid Q3.(Brief Article)
October 22, 1999... The latest technology-company earnings announcements show two companies breaking out of slumps, one established company continuing its impressive streak and a young company working hard to justify its high profile. The last is Portland's...

Strategic shift prompts PSU building deal.(Brief Article)
October 22, 1999... Portland State University, using $5.1 million worth of bonds, plans to purchase a building it already uses in the heart of its expanding campus. PSU said it will buy the University Center Building at 1881 S.W. Fifth Ave. The building's...

Pixelworks lands major customer for processor.(Brief Article)
October 22, 1999... Pixelworks has been waiting to talk about its customers. Now, the wait is over, and the first name released is a big one. The Tualatin-based maker of processors for displays is supplying processors for Compaq Computer Corp.'s line of...

Health--care charities topped by VA foundation.(Brief Article)
October 22, 1999... More money was donated to The Portland Veterans Affairs Research Foundation last year than any other Oregon health-care charity, according to IRS filings at the state charitable-trust and solicitation division. The foundation, independent...

Reverse 911's Portland debut delayed.(Brief Article)
October 22, 1999... While Lane County and U.S. West officials termed the Oct. 14 test of a "reverse 911" emergency-notification system a success, the system needs a bit more tweaking before it hits the Portland area. So said Paul Stein, support-services...

Telecom, airline industries lagging on Y2K work.(Brief Article)
October 22, 1999... Telecommunications companies like MCI WorldCom may be on the cutting edge of technology, but they're lagging behind in dealing with the year 2000 computer glitch. That's the verdict of Weiss Ratings Inc., winch bases its Y2K readiness...

DIGITAL DIVIDE KEEPS PAPER RECORDS ALIVE.(Brief Article)
October 22, 1999... Digital signatures may soon have the same legal authority as handwritten ones, but paper documents aren't museum pieces yet. The House Judiciary Committee approved a bill Oct. 13 that calls for a national standard for electronic signatures...

BILL PROVIDES LEGAL AMMO AGAINST 'CYBEBSQUATTERS'.(Brief Article)
October 22, 1999... The House Judiciary Committee unanimously approved legislation that would make it easier for owners of trademarks to take legal action against "cybersquatters" who steal their names for web sites. There currently is no law against people...

ELECTRONIC FILING SYSTEM STARTS FOR BIOTECH PATENTS.(Brief Article)
October 22, 1999... The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is a step closer to full-service e-commerce: It inaugurated its electronic filing system for biotechnology patents late last month with the filing of a gene-sequence listing for a pending application. ...

KEITH BARNES.(Brief Article)
October 22, 1999... PERSONAL INFORMATION Name: Keith Barnes Organization: Integrated Measurement Systems Inc. Title: CEO and president What we do: We design, manufacture and service systems and software used by design engineers to design and...

Tough as Oregon Steel.(Oregon Steel Mills)(Company Profile)
October 22, 1999... Portland company says it has a bright future despite problems Cheap imported steel moving across U.S. docks in record amounts has tested the mettle of domestic steel producers. Oregon Steel Mills Inc. was better prepared than many of its...

Strip malls may be ugly, but not to the consumer.(Industry Overview)
October 22, 1999... This just in: City and county planners throughout the Northwest--and perhaps in a 'burb near you--have been abducted and replaced by aliens from the planet Mega-Googooplex. Recent satellite photos of Mega-Googooplex have been recovered, and...

Humble high-tech writer tackles tough law beat.(Dan McMillan)(Brief Article)
October 22, 1999... In recent weeks, I've been referred to frequently as the "new Gina," a reference to former Business Journal reporter Gina Binole, who vigorously reported on the Portland legal community Well, I'm not the "new Gina"; I'm the old Dan...

NEW GROUP TO HONOR JUDGES.(Oregon Chapter of the American Judicature Society)(Brief Article)
October 22, 1999... Oregon lawyers have a new organization to join. A group of judges and attorneys have formed the Oregon Chapter of the American Judicature Society. The society is dedicated to the noble-sounding idea that "in a democratic society an...

YOUNG LAWYERS LIKE DWT.(Davis Wright Tremaine)(Brief Article)
October 22, 1999... I hesitate to include this item. Not because there's anything wrong with it but because I know an error on my part will bring forth a flood of angry e-mails and phone calls. I'm going ahead anyway. According to a recent survey conducted by...

SHOW WHITE OR EVIL QUEEN?(Calendar of Events)
October 22, 1999... This just in. The Barran Liebman annual employment-law seminar, which this year was cleverly entitled "The Grim Truth About Labor and Employment Law," was expected to draw an another good crowd. More than 400 people were expected to attend the...

DWT BENEFITS SEMINAR.(Calendar of Events)
October 22, 1999... Speaking of employee issues, Davis Wright Tremaine will present its ninth annual employee-benefits seminar for employers Nov. 3 at the RiverPlace Hotel, 1510 Harbor Way. Learn about 401(k) and COBRA.

BARRAN PARTNER ELECTED CHAIR-ELECT.(Brief Article)
October 22, 1999... Speaking of Barran Liebman, partner Nelson D. Atkin II has been elected chair-elect of the Oregon State Bar"s labor- and employment-law section, an organization of over 700 labor and law practitioners within the state. Over the past five...

OSB HONORS PRO BONO WORK.
October 22, 1999... Miller Nash, Wiener Hager & Carlsen, Lane Powell Spears Lubersky, Olsen & Huffman and Garvey Schubert & Barer recently were honored by the Oregon State Bar for pro bono work. The firms were winners of the 1998 Pro Bono Challenge. In 1998,...

ODS TOWER ATTRACTS LAWYERS.(Barran Liebman, Lane Powell Spears Lubersky)(Brief Article)
October 22, 1999... The ODS Tower is becoming law-firm central. Barran Liebman recently threw open the doors to its swank new office in the tower. Now, Lane Powell Spears Lubersky is sending out invitations for an open house at its new ODS Tower offices. ...

Elvis & Bonaparte takes on prestigious Webbys.(Brief Article)
October 22, 1999... It's only a matter of time before the Webby Awards, dubbed the "Oscars of the internet," will become almost as big a deal as the film awards. Portland-based advertising agency Elvis & Bonaparte got the plum job of the Webby Awards branding...

DOLAN ST. CLAIR STAYS BUSY.(Brief Article)
October 22, 1999... Just because former Nike marketing vice president Liz Dolan is heading up her own radio talk show doesn't mean the end of her Portland marketing agency. In fact, Dolan St. Clair Inc.'s main client will be Dolan's "Satellite Sisters," which...

NEW PARTNERSHIP.(Brief Article)
October 22, 1999... It'll be a year before the Children's Museum opens in the old OMSI building across from the Oregon Zoo. But the museum has already received marketing advice from Portland State University students. As part of Don Dickinson's media-strategy...

IN SEARCH OF CHOCOLATE.(Brief Article)
October 22, 1999... Hollywood is filled with success stories built on serendipity. Remember Lana Turner being discovered in the malt shop? If not for her chocolate craving late one night, Jill Goldsmith would not have been hired to write "NYPD Blue" scripts...

Medford, Roseburg banks merge, ready to expand.(Brief Article)
October 22, 1999... Two bantamweights in Southern Oregon banking plan to join forces in order to compete in the welterweight category. Medford's Bank of Southern Oregon announced on Oct. 8 that it had signed an agreement to acquire Roseburg's United Bancorp...

HARDBALL MCCOLL, PART II.(Brief Article)
October 22, 1999... Two weeks ago this column criticized Ross Yockey's new biography on Hugh McColl for failing to shed new light on why Bank of America's David Coulter resigned so quickly after BofA's merger with McColl's NationsBank. But an in-depth...

STADIUM BRANCH OPENS.(Brief Article)
October 22, 1999... Bank of the Northwest opened its fourth branch, in the Stadium Shopping Center, 2121 W. Burnside St., Portland. The branch, located in a spot last occupied by Boston Market, is managed by Dan Park, a former Wells Fargo Bank and First Interstate...

SBA LAUDS LENDER.(Brief Article)
October 22, 1999... The Small Business Administration honored Valley SBA Loan Center as top provider of loans to minority-owned businesses in Oregon and Southwest Washington, Valley's loans are funded by Valley Bank of Moreno Valley. Calif.