Business Journal-Portland articles from September 1998

Business Journal-Portland archives from September 1998

Parties in state's Pamcorp disaster settle.(Pacific Aircraft Maintenance Corp.)
September 11, 1998... The parties involved in the $75 million lawsuit over the Pamcorp deal, approaching a Nov. 6 trial date to determine who was responsible for the failed venture, have reached a settlement behind closed doors. Litigants in the Pamcorp case...

City lays claim to subsidized housing.(Portland, Oregon)
September 11, 1998... The Portland City Council is expected to pass an ordinance next week giving it the right of first refusal on the sale of all federally subsidized Section 8 housing projects in the city. The ordinance, which affects 87 properties containing...

Data transfer problemsolver knocking on some big doors.(Tactix ReEngineering)
September 11, 1998... A small Portland software firm thinks it has discovered a unique way to solve one of the most vexing problems facing corporations with multiple locations - how to quickly and accurately transfer data from a central location to computer systems...

Oregon fish processors claim federal red tape is costing them.
September 11, 1998... Oregon fish processors, already struggling with restrictions on fishing for many species, say red tape has ruined their chances of making money on fish exported to some overseas markets. The industry, led by fish processing giant Pacific...

Make room on the couch for another competitor.(OptimumCare Corp.)
September 11, 1998... A California behavioral health company will debut in Portland by year-end as part of a national expansion plan targeting West Coast markets first. The Laguna Niguel, Calif.-based OptimumCare Corp. plans to add 18 new, freestanding clinics...

Software giant SAP gives hefty boost to local ABC.(ABC Technologies Inc.)
September 11, 1998... ABC Technologies Inc., a fast-growing Beaverton software company, has aligned itself with one of the major players in the international software world. SAP, the German behemoth considered to be the world's third-largest software company...

Downtown Seattle leaders pushing super group.(Downtown Seattle Association)
September 11, 1998... The Downtown Seattle Association is on the verge of going public with a plan to form a single business improvement area encompassing most of the downtown business district. Downtown Seattle now has seven separate business improvement areas,...

GladRags inventor invites women to fight waste.(reusable menstrual pad maker Keepers! Inc.'s Brenda Mallory)
September 11, 1998... Brenda Mallory's home-grown business of making reusable menstrual pads, dubbed GladRags, is in a growth cycle. Her company, Keepers! Inc., recently moved to a new pad in North Portland from the cramped space it had occupied in Mallory's...

Kevin Kelly.(First Call McCall Heating & Cooling CEO and owner)
September 11, 1998... PERSONAL INFORMATION Name: Kevin Kelly Organization: First Call McCall Heating & Cooling What we do: We have evolved from a residential home heating oil fuel company to a full-service provider of heating and cooling services. ...

Perfectionist gets it right.(Marathon Management's Bob Johnson)
September 11, 1998... Bob Johnson could have retired from the property management business a long time ago. But one gigantic character "flaw" has kept him toiling away in the workaday world: He's a perfectionist. Most people are satisfied with being above...

New visitors through new convention centers.(Washington communities)
September 11, 1998... From Seattle to Walla Walla, communities throughout the state of Washington are trying to bring more visitors to town by either expanding or building new conference and convention centers. At least 10 Washington communities are...

Wilshire's tumble blamed on megatrends.(Wilshire Financial Services Group; performance of stocks)
September 18, 1998... Plunging stock prices for Wilshire Financial Services Group and Wilshire Real Estate Investment Trust reflect turmoil in their industries as a whole, rather than poor performance by the Portland companies, according to analysts who follow the...

Future Shop store has no tomorrows.(closure of consumer electronics store)
September 18, 1998... Future Shop Inc.'s downtown store is history. Only a year after establishing a presence here and raising the stakes in the competition among consumer electronics retailers, Future Shop has closed its flagship store at the corner of...

State closed kidZtime down, but some investors stayed in.(kidZtime TV Inc.)
September 18, 1998... Dreams of making big money in cable television are looking more like a nightmare for investors who tuned into kidZtime TV Inc.'s sales pitch. In Oregon, where state officials cracked down on kidZtime, some investors who could have recouped...

Caplan's defection to Equity a blow to namesake firm.(real estate agent Wilma Caplan; Equity Group Inc. Realtors; Windermere Cronin & Caplan Realty Group)
September 18, 1998... Wilma Caplan, a legend in the Portland residential real estate market, has left the company she founded in 1978 after a recent falling out with Brian Allen, who bought the company from Caplan and her partners last year. Caplan is going to...

After a year, potash terminal at Port of Portland is set to expand.(fertilizer; Oregon)
September 18, 1998... Bond financing and new owners could lead to an expansion of the Port of Portland's $$0 million potash terminal. Port commissioners have extended the deadline for the issuance of up to $10 million in bonds to cover past construction cost...

City lifts development fees on vacant buildings.(Portland, Oregon City Council; transportation systems development charge)
September 18, 1998... The Portland City Council took a load off vacant building owners this week - a year after it put the load on. The load was a transportation systems development charge that assessed buildings that had been vacant for more than 18 months as...

Korter now Washington Capital's man in Portland.(real estate consultant Bruce Korter; Washington Capital Management; Oregon)
September 18, 1998... Portland-based real estate consultant Bruce Korter ceased operations as Columbia Consulting Group this month to anchor an official Portland presence for Seattle-based investment advisory Washington Capital Management. Korter, who joins...

Providence Health bids for Hood River hospital.(Providence Health System; Hood River Memorial Hospital)
September 18, 1998... Hood River Memorial Hospital is mulling a merger with either Providence Health System in Portland or its rural neighbor, Mid-Columbia Medical Center in The Dalles. The 32-bed, nonprofit Hood River Memorial is located 60 miles east of...

Clear-cut issue has 'em sweating in Washington.(timber companies in Washington State; prohibition of clear-cut logging in Oregon)
September 18, 1998... Some of Washington's largest timber companies are mobilizing to defeat a November ballot initiative - an initiative that Washington voters will never see. In Oregon, Measure 64 would prohibit clear-cut logging by, protecting all trees more...

GST's 'hospitality' gets a boost with latest pact.(GST Telecommunications; contract with New Mexico Hotel and Motel Association)
September 18, 1998... GST Telecommunications has signed a major contract with a New Mexico hospitality association that should generate more than $1 million in annual revenue for the Vancouver-based telecommunications company. The contract with New Mexico Hotel...

Have clients, will travel.(New Venture Communications)
September 18, 1998... For a business that isn't even in business yet, New Venture Communications is sittin' pretty. The start-up public relations firm, which officially opens next month, already has seven seasoned employees on its payroll and a client roster...

Red-hot Freightliner expands work force, eyes port acreage. (Freightliner Corp)
September 25, 1998... Freightliner Corp., an old-line heavy truck maker, isn't showing its age these days. Thanks to new initiatives, thriving truck sales and the fast-growing Sterling division it bought from Ford Motor Co. last fall, it's on a growth tear....

Prestige Care reaches higher with Pinnacle. (acquisition of Pinnacle Health Care)
September 25, 1998... Prestige Care Inc. has agreed in principal to acquire Pinnacle Health Care as part of an aggressive build-or-buy strategy to remain a dominant player in assisted living and nursing home facilities in the West. The deal will increase revenue of...

Focusing on profits, Providence sells Wash. unit. (Providence Health Systems' sale of its Washington insurance operations)
September 25, 1998... Sisters of Providence Health System's decision to sell its money-losing Washington insurance operations to Regence BlueShield is, in a sense, a step back from Providence's traditional build-your-own-network philosophy. But the sale is right in...

Steel imports swamping Port of Portland.
September 25, 1998... Thanks to a strong U.S. dollar and economic troubles overseas, steel imports at the Port of Portland have jumped more than 84 percent compared to a year ago. Steel imports at the port reached 248,000 short tons for eight months ending in...

SureCare dissolves after ODS deal falls apart. (ODS Health Plan)
September 25, 1998... ODS Health Plan's intent to take over commercial policyholders of the Roseburg-based SureCare Heath Plans has fizzled out. The deal got clogged down in regulatory red tape and just didn't pencil out, according to Darryl Fisher, a member of the...

Nike shareholders invited - but not to speak. (Sep 1998 shareholders meeting)
September 25, 1998... At Nike Inc.'s 18th annual shareholders meeting in Memphis, Tenn., this week, Nike executives willingly took much of the blame for the poor year the company just endured. However, company bosses also made sure that, unlike last year's meeting,...

Would it be un-PC to buy stock of porn site IPO? (Internet Entertainment Group's planned initial public offering)
September 25, 1998... Seth Warshavsky, chief executive of what may be the largest network of pornography sites on the Internet, is making preparations to take his Seattle company public. But investment bankers may shy away from this lucrative but dubious...

Goofing off's part of the job. (Rosen Brown Direct's new director Mazana Bruggman)
September 25, 1998... Rosen Brown Direct finds it's profitable to have more fun Mazana Bruggman is the new director of fun at Rosen Brown Direct, an 8-year-old, $20 million (billings) direct marketing firm in Portland. "I'm mad with the power of it all." Bruggman...

A calling leads to a jewel. (Associate Jewelers' owner Kim Klementis)
September 25, 1998... Thanks to a flair for turning gems into attractive jewelry, Associate Jewelers' Kim Klementis has earned the respect of his customers. A unique problem brought 520-pound Andre "The Giant" Roussimoff to Portland to meet Kim Klementis, a master...

Low vacancy rate cramping tenants' style.(office vacancies in Portland, OR's Central City buildings)
September 25, 1998... Office vacancies in Portland's premier Central City buildings have dipped to a 20-year low, according to the third-quarter numbers of Norris, Beggs & Simpson, Portland's largest locally-owned brokerage house. With at least four new...

Red-hot Freightliner expands work force, eyes port acreage.
September 25, 1998... Freightliner Corp., an old-line heavy truck maker, isn't showing its age these days. Thanks to new initiatives, thriving truck sales and the fast-growing Sterling division it bought from Ford Motor Co. last fall, it's on a growth tear. ...

Prestige Care reaches higher with Pinnacle.(acquisition of Pinnacle Health Care)
September 25, 1998... Prestige Care Inc. has agreed in principal to acquire Pinnacle Health Care as part of an aggressive build-or-buy strategy to remain a dominant player in assisted living and nursing home facilities in the West. The deal will increase...

Focusing on profits, Providence sells Wash. unit.(Providence Health System)
September 25, 1998... Sisters of Providence Health System's decision to sell its money-losing Washington insurance operations to Regence BlueShield is, in a sense, a step back from Providence's traditional build-your-own-network philosophy. But the sale is...

National players swallow Portland executive suites.
September 25, 1998... Portland is the latest market for two well capitalized East Coast companies bent on creating a national - if not international - brand by consolidating the fragmented executive suites industry. In the last month, Riverfront Executive Suites...

Oregon USFS worker sues tree-paint maker.(Forest Service's worker Carla Tipton; Niles Chemical Paint Co.)
September 25, 1998... For years, Carla Tipton's paint crews were getting sick, and she wanted to know the cause. Tipton, who works in the Wallowa and Whitman national forests in Eastern Oregon, believes she has found the cause and is suing a Michigan company...

Steel imports swamping Port of Portland, others.
September 25, 1998... Thanks to a strong U.S. dollar and economic troubles overseas, steel imports at the Port of Portland have jumped more than 84 percent compared to a year ago. Steel imports at the port reached 248,000 short tons for eight months ending in...

Nike shareholders invited - but not to speak.
September 25, 1998... At Nike Inc.'s 18th annual shareholders meeting in Memphis, Tenn., this week, Nike executives willingly took much of the blame for the poor year the company just endured. However, company bosses also made sure that, unlike last year's meeting,...

Executive profile: James Cooper.(Xerox of the Pacific Northwest manager of sales operations for Oregon)
September 25, 1998... PERSONAL INFORMATION Name: James Cooper Organization: Xerox of the Pacific Northwest (1997 revenues of $280 million) Title: Manager of sales operations for Oregon. Northern California and Southwest Washington What we do:...

Goofing off's part of the job; Rosen Brown Direct finds it's profitable to have more fun.(Corporate Strategies)
September 25, 1998... Mazana Bruggman is the new director of fun at Rosen Brown Direct, an 8-year-old, $20 million (billings) direct marketing firm in Portland. "I'm mad with the power of it all," Bruggman joked, "but it makes us more of a team." The...

Measure 66 could supply river restoration funds.(Focus on Environment)
September 25, 1998... Passing the hat is a painful, not to mention unpredictable, way to save salmon, enhance watersheds and improve water quality. But for years, it has been the state payment plan for such programs. Clean water efforts have been financed by...