Washington Business Journal articles from June 1998

Washington Business Journal archives from June 1998

Smith to sell office portfolio: Vornado likely to pay over $1B for properties. (Charles E. Smith Management Inc.; Vornado Realty Trust)
June 19, 1998... Charles E. Smith Cos. is close to selling its 15 million-square-foot office portfolio to New Jersey-based Vornado Realty Trust, according to people familiar with the talks. The transaction, which would be valued at more than $1 billion, is...

D.C. fund hits wall in Senate. (lack of approval for the funding of the National Capital Revitalization Corp.)
June 19, 1998... The effort to create a District economic development authority is running into roadblocks in the U.S. Senate, which is reluctant to approve $50 million in start-up funding for the new agency. District officials and business leaders are...

Holy Cross hires consultant as CEO. (Holy Cross Health System Corp.'s hiring of Kevin J. Sexton as chief executive officer)
June 19, 1998... Holy Cross Health System found a new leader after a nine-month search. Kevin J. Sexton will take the reins of the Silver Spring-based health system, which includes a 442-bed hospital, a rehabilitation and nursing center, and a transitional...

Sole survivor: one-man tech firm to issue dividend 13 years after IPO. (Systems Technology Associates plans to issue a stock dividend after its initial public offering)
June 19, 1998... For the first time since it went public in 1985, Systems Technology Associates Inc. plans to issue a stock dividend. This is great news for the Sterling company's 320 shareholders and its chief executive officer, Terry A. Scott. But Scott...

Kaempfer may get Holland & Knight. (Kaempfer Co.'s signing of lead tenants for its proposed office building)
June 19, 1998... Kaempfer Co. is close to signing the D.C. office of Holland & Knight as lead tenant for its proposed office building at 2099 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. The Tampa, Fla.-based law firm would take about half of the 200,000-square-foot building, said...

All that's missing are tenants: developers busy on downtown retail projects. (Washington, DC)
June 19, 1998... Put together the thoughts of down-town boosters and industry experts, and the retail vision for the heart of Washington looks something like this: MCI Center sparks big-time retail development in the immediate area, including the...

Reynolds hit with new suit over Adams. (lawsuit filed against Abigail Adams National Bancorp investor Marshall T. Reynolds)
June 19, 1998... In a role reversal, investors who own fewer than 2,000 shares of Abigail Adams National Bancorp stock are suing Marshall T. Reynolds, two other Adams board members and investment bank Ferris, Baker Watts Inc. in U.S. District Court and the...

Macy's coming to expanded Fair Oaks. (Fair Oaks Shopping Center)
June 19, 1998... Fair Oaks Shopping Center plans a major expansion that would make it the area's third-largest retail complex. Fair Oaks said New York-based Macy's will build a completely new store at the retail center. In addition, Dallas-based J.C. Penney...

Alliance foes say Blues expected CEO to leave. (lawsuit filed against the alliance formed by Blue Cross Blue Shield of the National Capital Area and Maryland Inc.)
June 19, 1998... Blue Cross Blue Shield of the National Capital Area altered the terms of its chief executive officer's contract last year, guaranteeing Larry C. Glasscock $2.8 million if he left the health insurer because his position changed, according to...

SBICs to fund 'new era' for women's businesses. (small business investment company)
June 19, 1998... In January, Patty Abramson, who runs a women-owned venture capital firm in the District, got a call from the Small Business Administration. SBA officials wanted to know if Abramson's firm, Women's Growth Capital Fund, was in terested in the...

Prince George's goes on defense with tax package. (incentives offered by Prince George's County, Virginia)
June 19, 1998... Fear of losing its high-tech companies to Montgomery County has spurred Prince George's County lawmakers into action. Two bills that would give high-tech companies tax incentives to stay or move into Prince George's were approved June 15 by a...

India, Pakistan sanctions threaten area companies. (Washington, D.C.)
June 19, 1998... Sanctions imposed on India and Pakistan for last month's nuclear tests are causing headaches for local companies. "We're up to our eyeballs right now in assessing these issues for Washington companies," said Thomas B. McVey, head of the...

No problems for convention center in Congress. (Washington Convention Center)
June 19, 1998... Following final approval by D.C. Council, the plan to build a new Washington Convention Center at Mount Vernon square is expected to pass easily through Congress. Congressional staffers said they did not foresee any major problems that could...

D.C. leads nation in loss of banks, thrifts since '92. (Washington)
June 19, 1998... Washington is the most consolidated banking market among all states and territories in the United States, according to a new study by SNL Securities. The Charlottesville, Va., research firm found the 43 percent decline in banks and thrifts...

Alternative medicine business booms.
June 19, 1998... When Dr. James Gordon held a recent conference on alternative treatments for cancer, he was in for a surprise. Unlike standard medical conferences, more than 50 percent of the 900 attendees at the Crystal City conference were patients....

Richard Ernst: NVCC president's 30-year 'adventure' comes to a close. (Northern Virginia Community College)
June 19, 1998... "President" is a temporary title in Washington. Presidents come and go every few years. But across the river at Northern Virginia Community College, Richard J. Ernst has held the designation for 30 years, spanning seven White House...

Telecom battle heats up: Pepco plans to spend $150M on Starpower. (Potomac Electric Power Co.)(Technology Update)
June 19, 1998... The ante in the high-stakes game over which company will ultimately dominate telecommunications in the area just got raised. During the next three years, Potomac Electric Power Co. will pump $150 million into a joint venture that will lay...

High-tech training attracts avalanche of interest.(Technology Update)
June 19, 1998... It's been fun for me over the past 30 years. That's how I would describe my tenure as president of Northern Virginia Community College. I'm retiring July 1 and also will be stepping down as chair of the Northern Virginia Regional Partnership....

Defense research agency trains entrepreneurs. (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency)
June 19, 1998... Whoever said the U.S. government breeds only cogs? Although some government workers may be pegged lazy or ineffective by private sector proponents, there's one agency that has earned just the opposite reputation. Arlington-based Defense...

Knowledge management makes information work.
June 19, 1998... Does unlimited information access - through the World Wide Web, corporate intranets, e-mail and other information services - guarantee your company stays well-informed? The answer is an emphatic "no." Access to information does not make your...

Virginia high-tech center reaches for new goals. (Center for Innovative Technology)
June 19, 1998... During the 1994 legislative session, a number of voices could be heard in Virginia state government calling for the dissolution of the Center for Innovative Technology. That quasi-governmental economic development agency had been created a...

Telogy bases its future on Internet phone calls. (Telogy Networks Inc.)
June 19, 1998... According to market researchers who specialize in technology studies, some 11 percent of all U.S. and international telephone calls will be made on the Internet five years from now. That's good news for Web users - the monthly Internet...

Let's close gender gap in information technology.
June 19, 1998... As an educator and father of two women, I am professionally and personally concerned about what I see as a gender gap in the field of information technology. When I speak of a gender gap, I want to make it clear that there is no evidence in...

Retraining is shrinking IT work force shortage. (information technology)
June 19, 1998... Tremendous media attention has been given to the shortage of technical talent in the workplace. By now, almost everyone is aware that this shortage is costing the area economy billions of dollars in lost opportunity costs. Witnessing the...

Focus now on questions IT brings to 21st century. (information technology)
June 19, 1998... High technology. The 21st century. Responsibility. What do these three things have in common? In a word: everything. In three short years we will be in a new century. What could be more invigorating than the thought of living in a new...

In pursuit of a patent. (difficulties in obtaining patents in the US)
June 19, 1998... Amateur inventor Franklin Nash was at a boat show last July when he was struck by an idea that would change his life. "None of the medium-sized boats had bathrooms," Nash recalled. That night, he went home with the seed of a new invention...

Get outside of the office to think outside the box. (creativity in marketing)
June 19, 1998... Everybody professes to admire it. Most want to acquire it. Some even know it when they see it. In the marketing world, it's normally a subject of interest to everyone. It's creativity, and it's essential for marketing success in today's...

Shop 'til you drop - or until you find the best deal. (shopping for high technology equipment)
June 19, 1998... Every once in a while I am frightened to learn how much it pays to shop around. I say that because, like you, I don't always take the time. We all know the benefits of comparative shopping. It's easy to save a few percent with a few minutes...

Dreyfus plans K Street tower. (Louis Dreyfus Property Group's construction of an office building on an undeveloped K Street site)
June 12, 1998... Developer to build 11-story spec office building Louis Dreyfus Property Group wild roll the dice on an undeveloped K Street site by constructing an office building without signed tenants. The New York-based developer, which bought the...

Bankruptcy defense. (FastComm Communications Corp's decision to file for bankruptcy protection under Chapter 11 of the US Bankruptcy Code)
June 12, 1998... Legal judgment prompts FastComm's filing Four months after a jury awarded its former chief operating officer a $ 1.2 million judgment, FastComm Communications Corp. has suffered another blow - this time of its own making. The...

D.C. seeks GSA help to develop two prime sites. (Washington, D.C. officials' proposal to hold an international design competition for the redevelopment of Sixth Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW; General Services Administration)
June 12, 1998... District officials are seeking federal help in finding developers for two prime city-owned sites, one along the National Mall and another west of Union Station. The city is asking the General Services Administration to hold an international...

Retail center parks next to battlefield. (AIG Baker Shopping Center Properties LLC's plans to build a power center near the Manassas National Battlefield Park, Virginia)
June 12, 1998... An Alabama retail developer is gearing up to build a power center on the edge of Manassas National Battlefield Park, after avoiding a skirmish with park officials over its impact. "To put this the simplest way I can, we talked to them," said...

Start-up bank, small thrift offer stock to investors. (Eagle Bancorp Inc and American Federal Savings Bank's direct public offerings)
June 12, 1998... As fast as banks and thrifts consolidate in the area, newer or smaller financial institutions step in to fill the void. Based on that trend, Eagle Bancorp Inc., a start-up community bank in Bethesda, and American Federal Savings Bank, a small...

Convention center gets ad agency. (Ad Agency Inc's receipt of the account to promote a new convention center based in Washington, D.C.)
June 12, 1998... Now that the D.C. Council has given preliminary approval to building a new $650 million convention center, the Washington Convention Center Authority wants to start promoting it. The authority has hired a local advertising agency to help it...

Manor Care employees await fate. (Manor Care Inc's merger with Health Care and Retirement Corp)
June 12, 1998... About 500 employees at Manor Care Inc. are in 'limbo after the company agreed to a $2.4 billion merger with an Ohio competitor. Gaithersburg-based Manor Care, which owns assisted living facilities nationally, would become part of Health Care...

Commercial TV losing viewers.
June 12, 1998... Cable steals many; others aren't turning on their sets "Seinfeld" just wasn't enough. Even though the hit sitcom's finale boosted the ratings of local NBC affiliate WRC-Channel 4 this quarter, area commercial television stations suffered...

Alexandria tech company makes plans to go public. (Softworks Inc)
June 12, 1998... A local company that helps other businesses address their Year 2000 computer issues acknowledged that reprogramming its own systems could prove costly. Softworks Inc. of Alexandria made the disclosure as part of its initial public stock...

High-rise shows resurgence of D.C. rental market. (Washington, D.C.)
June 12, 1998... Charles E. Smith Residential Realty Inc. has broken ground on a $25 million, 142-unit apartment building on Connecticut Avenue NW, only the third new, market-rate rental community in the District in the last six years. The 11-story Park...

Wall St. bullish on local finance firm's prospects. (meeting between HealthCare Financial Partners Inc and Wall Street analysts)
June 12, 1998... On June 11, 1997, HealthCare Financial Partners Inc. shares hit a low of $16.38. A year later, the stock's high might depend on the latest trade. The stock recently peaked at $59.75 during trading June 8, but there is no end in sight to the...

Former Soviet states 'not for the fainthearted'. (doing business in Russia)
June 12, 1998... A year ago, Virtual Defense and Development International Inc. in Bethesda was approached by an intermediary who said Moldova wanted to sell 21 MiG29 fighter planes to the highest bidder. The former member state of the old Soviet Union was...

District lowers rates to raise homeownership levels. (Washington, D.C.)
June 12, 1998... District government agencies are teaming up in an effort to increase the dramatically low percentage of city residents who own their homes. The D.C. Housing Finance Agency will offer single-family home mortgages with interest rates as low as...

NIH runs ads to increase SBIR grant applications. (National Institutes of Health; Small Business Innovation Research)
June 12, 1998... Attention, small businesses: $300 million awaits you. No, this is not a national Powerball drawing for small businesses. It's the National Institutes of Health urging small businesses to apply for federal research grants under the...

Small businesses get fewer government contracts.
June 12, 1998... The federal government's initiative to reform the government contracting process is alive and well. But it may be making some of the nation's smallest contractors sick. Small businesses are losing an increasing number of federal contracts to...

Survey explains Howard's emergence as tech mecca. (Howard County, Maryland)
June 12, 1998... Henry "Pete" Linsert and Bill Bialick have completely different stories about why and how their respective technology companies ended up in Howard County. But the executives have one thing in common: Linsert, chief executive officer of...

Bob Braunohler: JBG chief takes reins of builder' group at key juncture.
June 12, 1998... Until a few months ago, Bob Braunohler had never been president of anything. That was before he was named president last fall of the newly created JBG TrizecHahn Development Services, one of the region's largest commercial real estate...

Will transportation move? (planned relocation of the Department of Transportation headquarters in Washington, D.C.)
June 12, 1998... Billion-dollar lease at stake as government ponders where department will locate As the White House and Capitol Hill prepare to face off this summer over the future of the Department of Transportation headquarters, the owner of DOT's...

Beach houses: niche is small for fun design. (includes related article on profits associated with beach houses)
June 12, 1998... For Mark McInturff, beach houses are the icing on the cake: these are the projects that give free rein to his architectural enthusiasm, his sense of fun. "It's a looser set of rules," he said. "People don't want to replicate their town...

Best real estate deals of the year. (Washington State)
June 12, 1998... After enjoying the region's best year in real estate in nearly a decade, the real estate community took a moment to honor the year's best projects earlier this month. About 650 brokers, architects, developers and attorneys attended a...

Different strokes: embrace development, shy away. (Falls Church and Merrifield, Virginia)
June 12, 1998... Falls Church and neighboring Merrifield present a study in opposites. While Falls Church takes its first tentative steps toward economic development, Merrifield has rushed to embrace the building boom. Both municipalities have seen the...

Fairfax finds new takers for renovation tax break. (Fairfax County, Virginia)
June 12, 1998... Hoping to rejuvenate older buildings across the county, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors passed a major tax cut program a year ago in June. "It was picked up by the county to revitalize some of the older areas in Fairfax County where...

Managing construction speeds building of school. (includes related article on the Montgomery Blair's Web site and construction management)
June 12, 1998... Time was, schools were simpler structures. In addition to the requisite classrooms, offices, cafeteria and gymnasium, they might have a science lab, woodworking shop, maybe even a music room. When a new school had to be built, the school board...

Deadline looms for underground tank safety. (includes related article on underground storage tanks)
June 12, 1998... Year 2000 computer problems are getting all the press, but another potentially expensive deadline deserves at least some attention, especially if you're the owner and operator of an underground storage tank harboring petroleum-based fuels or...

New association targets owners and developers. (includes related article on the Associated Owners and Developers of McLean, Virginia)
June 12, 1998... Owners and developers, unite. One of the few networking organizations for developers and owners of diverse income and real estate is rebuilding its union. Although various associations exist that serve real estate owners, Associated Owners...

Past is present. (information on the General Post Office Building in Washington, D.C., which opened in 1842)
June 12, 1998... D.C. buildings with a history It's already been done: The Tariff Commission building, slated for redevelopment as a hotel as reported in the May 8-14 issue of Washington Business Journal, was built to replace Blodgett's Hotel, which stood at...

No, it's not good-bye to good buys in D.C. market. (Washington, D.C.)
June 12, 1998... Read the newspaper headlines or listen to the cocktail party banter, and you may conclude that large investors have completely taken over the Washington real estate market. Class A properties that may have received two or three offers five...

The way we work. (office of David M. Petrou, president of Eisner, Petrou and Associates)
June 12, 1998... A look at offices of area executives Office of: David M. Petrou President, Eisner, Petrou & Associates 927 15th St. NW, Washington In the opening scene of Steven Spielberg's first Indiana Jones adventure, Harrison Ford s double-crossing...

Area needs to court biotech industry to keep it. (Washington, D.C.)(Viewpoint)(Column)
June 12, 1998... The biotechnology industry in the Washington area is reaching a crossroads. This region has the opportunity to become either the undisputed leader in the life sciences arena or just one of many metropolitan areas which house companies...

Rosslyn Spectrum is business by day, art at night. (Arlington, Virginia)
June 12, 1998... Business and the arts, not always the most natural partners, work symbiotically in an alliance on the west side of the Potomac. Until 6 p.m., the space at 16011621 North Kent St. in Arlington is a corporate conference center. But just an hour...

Stop Y2K bug before it gets into your buildings. (Year 2000 computer crisis)(Column)
June 12, 1998... The Year 2000 - or Y2K - millennium bug can be a significant pest for those who own, lease, manage, rent or finance real estate. Many computer programs and embedded computer chips recognize only two digits when interpreting the year and may...

AIA's contract revision redefining construction. (American Institute of Architects)
June 12, 1998... The real estate recovery is well under way across the nation. Low interest rates and pent-up demand have stirred the long-dormant commercial real estate market. But, just as the long economic boom is having an impact on real estate investor...

Slow to growth. (Washington Insider Tours)
June 12, 1998... Happy with status quo, tour company just keeps on truckin' don't tell Tim Flowers and John Stein, co-founders and operators of Washington Insider Tours in the District, that big is better. To Flowers and Stein, size isn't important and...

Never underestimate the buying power of women.(The Nation's Capital)(Column)
June 12, 1998... A surprisingly large number of companies continue to ignore female consumers. You do so at your own peril. Last year, women earned more than $1 trillion dollars, and 64 percent of all working women now earn more than half their family's income....

Too much (or too little) family spoils the broth.(Family Business)(Column)
June 12, 1998... Family-owned businesses regularly battle the Little Red Riding Hood complex: How much family in the business is too little, how much is too much and how much is just right? It's kind of like putting the ingredients into a pot of Texas chili....

Brimmer's recipe poisons home rule. (criticisms against Andrew Brimmer, former chairman of Washington, D.C.'s financial control board)(Opinion)(Column)
June 12, 1998... Alice Rivlin already faces a challenging job as the next chairman of the D.C. financial control board. That daunting task will be made even more difficult, however, by the parting legacy of her predecessor, Andrew Brimmer. Brimmer dropped...

Convention center site 'dynamic'. (proposed convention center at Mount Vernon Square in Washington, D.C.)(Opinion)(Column)
June 12, 1998... Lewis K. Dawley III, general manager and chief executive officer of the Washington Convention Center Authority, is an old hand at guiding convention centers through the approval process and into operation. In Washington, he's only had to face...

Make all political contributions anonymous.(Comment)(Column)
June 12, 1998... On Aug. 23, 1996, Frederick W. Smith, the chairman of FedEx, met one-on-one with President Clinton in the Oval Office. Reportedly, Smith pressed Clinton to impose trade sanctions on Japan in retaliation for Tokyo's denying Federal Express the...