Washington Business Journal articles from November 1999

Washington Business Journal archives from November 1999

Dispute delays Gallery Place TIF.
November 26, 1999... Last-minute labor issues are threatening to derail approval of the District's first tax-increment financing project at Gallery Place, a massive retail and entertainment complex proposed by developers Herb Miller and Chip Akridge. With...

Eyes on the prize.
November 26, 1999... Laser eye centers spend millions to capture market Byron Cooper never thought he'd consider laser eye surgery. And Cooper, president of the D.C. Medical Society, spent even less time listening to incessant radio ads promoting the...

NE snags high-tech tenant with MCI.
November 26, 1999... Thanks to a number of baby steps, NoMa is beginning to compete with No Va for the region's high-tech tenants. MCI WorldCom is the most recent technology firm to move into the District's burgeoning NoMa, or north of Massachusetts Avenue,...

Greater Southeast plans Nov. 29 layoff.
November 26, 1999... About 10 precent of Greater Southeast Community Hospital's nearly 1,000 employees will get pink slips the last week of November -- and Doctors Community Healthcare, which agreed to buy the troubled hospital last month, is looking to lay off...

Is that your final answer?(Brief Article)
November 26, 1999... The battle over the Tivoli Theater's future is beginning to resemble a popular TV quiz show. But there are no "final answers" in the ongoing series, "Who Wants to Develop Columbia Heights?" The D.C. Redevelopment Land Agency has narrowed...

Y2K reveals D.C's dark side.(Brief Article)
November 26, 1999... British journalist Andrew Marshall is a keen observer of America's quirks, and he's a bit confused by all the fuss over Y2K on this side of the Atlantic. Britain is enticing tourists to spend New Year's Eve at London's Millennium Dome,...

Agents of change: guns and money.(Brief Article)
November 26, 1999... District officials soon will have 15 million reasons to be thankful. The city is poised to sell land at the intersection of New York and Florida avenues NE to the federal government for $15 million. Currently used as a storage lot for...

Airports authority lands in D.C.(Brief Article)
November 26, 1999... Everyone except tourists, taxi drivers and postal workers know that both of Washington's airports are actually in Virginia. Or are they? "National and Dulles both have a Washington, D.C., postal address," said Tara Hamilton, spokeswoman...

Correction.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
November 26, 1999... The Washington region ranked fourth nationally in third-quarter venture capital financing. With $638 million, the area moved from seventh place the previous quarter, finishing behind Silicon Valley, New England and New York. The Now. 19-25...

Drug-buying group unites independent pharmacies.(Care Drug Centers)
November 26, 1999... For 40 years, Care Drug Centers helped the region's independent pharmacies get volume discounts. Now the Landover-based pharmaceutical buying group is changing its prescription by converting into a pharmacy franchiser. The primary...

Sheraton Premiere employees unionize.(Brief Article)
November 26, 1999... A Tysons Corner hotel -- once at the center of a union battle -- will begin negotiating employee contracts with the hotel union in January. A "clear majority" of the Sheraton Premiere's 166 workers eligible for representation signed...

Ultraprise puts one foot in N. Va., leaves one in W. Va.
November 26, 1999... David Levine's foot is in the door of the Northern Virginia tech community, but he could still back out. Levine's Internet firm - Ultraprise -- is moving its headquarters and sales staff from Shepherdstown, W.Va., to Dulles. But the...

Independent hotel owner realizes three-year goal.(Greg Miller)(Brief Article)
November 26, 1999... A $12 million Alexandria-based hotel management company is adding to its portfolio. On Dec. 17, pm Hospitality Strategies is opening the newly renovated Fairfield Inn by Marriott in Beltsville. The 170-room hotel, located off Interstate...

New Web site brings together furniture dealers.(Retailmetro)(Brief Article)
November 26, 1999... Gaithersburg-based Retailmetro has launched a new business-to-business e-commerce site to market to the $179 billion home furnishings industry. The site is designed to make transactions between furniture manufacturers and retailers...

Chambers unite to confront Va. gov.(Washington, D.C. area chambers of commerce)(Brief Article)
November 26, 1999... Virginia's business groups want to make sure campaign rhetoric regarding the state's transportation needs isn't just rhetoric. The Virginia Chamber of Commerce and the Fairfax County, Hampton Roads, Greater Richmond and Roanoke Regional...

Officials cross fingers for Va. funding for GMU.(George Mason University Manassas Campus)
November 26, 1999... Prince William County officials are hopeful that 2000 will be the year the Virginia General Assembly approves full funding for the next phase at George Mason University's Manassas campus. Funding for the $22 million third phase of the...

Northern League eyes RFK for baseball team.(Brief Article)
November 26, 1999... Venerable RFK Stadium could see new life as the home of a baseball team in the independent Northern League thanks to a group headed by actor Bill Murray and the son of late maverick baseball owner Bill Veeck. Mike Veeck, whose ownership...

Philly REIT buys BWI buildings.(Corporate Office Properties Trust)(Brief Article)
November 26, 1999... Corporate Office Properties Trust is continuing its buying spree in the BWI airport area, with the $26 million purchase in mid-November of two Class A office buildings at Gateway International. The Philadelphia-area real estate investment...

Dental site to take bite out of consumer market.(rdental.com)
November 26, 1999... This spring, Robert Fleshner and Lou Shuman could have used a psychic. The two were all set to start a dental practice management firm when they had second thoughts: Why serve just D.C. when you can serve the world with a dental Web...

Connie Ling.
November 26, 1999... Some people argue that only half of all Web sites will stand the test of time. Others cynics say just a third. Connie Ling, president of Foofoo.com, thinks the ones that succeed will illustrate the difference between building an internet...

Space via Internet.
November 26, 1999... Veridian teaches NASA how to use the Web in space An Alexandria company is working on technology to take the middleman out of conducting experiments in space. Veridian, a privately held information security firm founded in 1997, is...

NAS joins farces with Cisco.
November 26, 1999... Network Access Solutions' stock rose to a new 52-week high on news it is working with Cisco Systems to offer businesses enhanced Web service. Shares of the Sterling-based company (Nasdaq: NASC) gained $2 to close at $25.13 Nov. 23. ...

TeleCorp surges on first day.
November 26, 1999... TeleCorp began trading at $20 Nov. 23. By the end of the day, it had gained about 65 percent, closing at $33. The Arlington-based cellular telephone company sold 9.2 million shares to the public, raising $184 million. It plans to use...

MedImmune.
November 26, 1999... Shares of Medlmmune hit a new 52-week high Nov. 22. The stock (Nasdaq: MEDI) closed at $126.75 but gave back a little the next as the Gaithersburg-based biotechnology company completed its acquisition of U.S. Bioscience. The stock...

A guide to the anti-cybersquatting protection act.
November 26, 1999... A number of businesses have expressed their frustration during the past few years with third-party interlopers who have registered one or more company trademarks as their own domain names on the World Wide Web, with a view to selling the...

TeleCorp prices IPO, sells 2M shares to AT&T Wireless.
November 26, 1999... Arlington-based TeleCorp priced its initial public offering of 9.2 million shares at $20 per each. Existing shareholders are being offered 1.6 million of these shares. Trading began Nov. 23. In a separate concurrent offering, the company...

Greenbelt gets new tech training center.
November 26, 1999... Greenbelt-based Leading Through Change, a training, organizational development and project management firm, will open its technology training center in Greenbelt's Capital Office Park Dec. 7. The center will offer training in technical...

Kenda Systems acquires Arcus Staffing Resources.
November 26, 1999... Kenda Systems, an international provider of technology consulting and software development services bought the assets of Arcus Staffing Resources from Boston-based Iron Mountain. Salem, N.H.-based Kenda now has offices in 18 metro...

VC backs Frandata with $2.75 million.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
November 26, 1999... D.C.-based Frandata, which provides franchise information, finished its second round of financing. The operation got $2.75 million from Mid-Atlantic Venture Funds, RAF Industries, Osage Venture Partners, CMS Investor Resources and MPS...

WebMethods files for initial public offering.
November 26, 1999... WebMethods in Fairfax has filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission for an initial public offering of its common stock. The company provides software and services for business-to-business Web transactions. ...

Web-based mortgage service gets more capital.(Brief Article)
November 26, 1999... Battery Ventures, a national venture capital firm focused on e-commerce, has invested an additional $10 million in Pedestal, an Internet-based company for secondary mortgage buying and selling. Since January 1999, more than $1.4 billion...

Cysive to help firm integrate its Web sites.(Brief Article)
November 26, 1999... Reston-based Cysive, a builder of e-business structures, is working with Chicago-based Classified Ventures, the nation's largest supplier of classified ad information, to create a common technology platform for the company's Web sites. These...

FedCentre.com building national sales force.(Brief Article)
November 26, 1999... Reston-based FedCenter.com, a developer of e-commerce solutions, has opened new, offices in New York, Dallas and Los Angeles. The expansion is part of a plan to build a national sales force in the next year.

ITC Learning Corp. CEO resigns.(Brief Article)
November 26, 1999... Carl Stevens, CEO and president of Herndon-based ITC Learning Corp., resigned Nov. 22. Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Chris Mack was appointed interim CEO. The software training company received $1 million from a private...

Reston Chamber opens incubator doors.(Brief Article)
November 26, 1999... The Greater Reston Chamber of Commerce has chosen five companies for its incubator program: Applied Information Engineering Solutions, which provides infotech support to software developers; artisanNet.com, which is creating an e-commerce...

Network Solutions' deals promote dot-com directory.(Brief Article)
November 26, 1999... Herndon-based Network Solutions signed an agreement with Yahoo! allowing it to promote its Web domain name registry services on all Yahoo! Internet properties worldwide. In addition, Network Solutions will provide Web address...

OAO Technology Solutions.(Brief Article)
November 26, 1999... Greenbelt-based OAO Technology Solutions signed a contract with Tradecast Securities to design a combined Internet-and phone-based customer service center. * www.oaot.com

Raytheon.(Brief Article)
November 26, 1999... Raytheon, which has offices in Vienna, signed a $300 million contract with the U.S. Naval Facilities Engineering Command to provide base operations support in Guam. The eight-month contract, to begin in February, has seven one-year...

Saga Software.(Brief Article)
November 26, 1999... Reston-based Saga Software, a producer of enterprise management software, and Michigan-based Syntel, a tech consulting firm, signed an agreement to market integration solutions to Fortune 500 companies. * www.sagasoftware.com

Teoco.(Brief Article)
November 26, 1999... Fairfax-based Teoco has partnered with Ventera, in McLean, to help telecom providers manage their costs. Ventera's staff will be trained on Teoco's network cost-management systems so they can implement the systems for clients. Teoco...

Global TeleSystems.(Brief Article)
November 26, 1999... Washington-based Global TeleSystems and chello broadband, a European broadband Internet service provider, have signed an international network agreement. The deal makes GTS the preferred provider for chello's future advanced network...

IRE improves speed of data.(Brief Article)
November 26, 1999... Information Resource Engineering, the Baltimore-based infotech company, now offers its clients a new way to compress data so that it travels twice as fast over a telecommunications network. The technique, known as compression, complies...

Biotech's R&D moves to Md.(Brief Article)
November 26, 1999... Israeli firm IntelliGene will develop sexually transmitted disease tests at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County Technology Center. Though UMBC's location between Washington and Baltimore was an critical factor in deciding to set...

Many small businesses to fix Y2K bug after it hits.(Brief Article)
November 26, 1999... Up to 500,000 small businesses have decided to wait until Jan. 1 to see if they have any Year 2000 computer problems, figuring they can address any glitches after they occur, says the White House's Y2K czar. This "fixing on failure"...

Many firms also lack Y2K staffing plans.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
November 26, 1999... The Society for Human Resource Management finds it "alarming" that 44 percent of the businesses it surveyed have no contingency plans for Y2K problems around the New Year's holiday. Only 39 percent of the human resources professionals...

Franchise relationships back on Congress' agenda.(Brief Article)
November 26, 1999... Legislation aimed at protecting franchise owners from being abused by franchisors was reintroduced by Rep. Howard Coble, R-N.C. The Small Business Franchise Act, which failed to pass Congress last year, would establish standards of...

Injury prevention programs work, survey concludes.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
November 26, 1999... Employers with ergonomics programs are less likely to have high rates of repetitive motion injuries, according to a survey of large companies in the manufacturing, transportation/communication, health and business services, and...

Network Solutions, inc.com help SBA expand online site.(Small Business Administration.)(Brief Article)
November 26, 1999... The Small Business Administration hooked up with Network Solutions and inc.com to beef up its Online Small Business Classroom. Network Solutions, a Herndon-based registrar of Web addresses, and inc.com, the Web site for Inc. magazine,...

High-tech boom changes the old real estate adage.(Brief Article)
November 26, 1999... Forget the old real estate mantra. Today's market is all about location, location, bandwith. Developers who don't understand that are going to be left with lots of vacant space. Speaking at a Nov. 18 District of Columbia Building...

Tishman Speyer takes chance in Woodland Park.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
November 26, 1999... Tishman Speyer Properties broke ground on two speculative buildings in Woodland Park, an office park located on the Dulles Access Toll Road. The two six-story buildings -- Plaza Ridge I and II -- each will have 156,000 rentable square...

New Web site helps biotech firms find space.(Brief Article)
November 26, 1999... Rockville-based Scheer Partners partnered with BioSpace.com to provide a new online service for biotech companies. Launched in March 1995, San Francisco-based BioSpace provides biotech companies with information on everything from where...

Millennium Building gets another tenant.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
November 26, 1999... D.C.-based Porter Novelli is getting ready for the new millennium. The large advertising and public relations firm is leaving its home at 1120 Connecticut Ave. NW for 38,384 square feet in the Millennium Building at 1909 K St. NW. ...

News & notes.(Promoting environmentally sound technologies.)(Brief Article)
November 26, 1999... The National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts in D.C. entered into an agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to promote green buildings. Through the Energy Star program, NAREIT will encourage building owners and...

Vaccine maker's buyout brings needed cash infusion.(Baxter International Inc. acquires North American Vaccine Inc.)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
November 26, 1999... North American Vaccine of Columbia announced Nov. 18 that it had signed a definitive agreement to be acquired by Deerfield, Ill.-based Baxter International in a stock-for-stock transaction valued at $390 million. The deal is expected to...

Doctors Community makes pivotal payment.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
November 26, 1999... Doctors Community Healthcare -- which struck a deal Nov. 13 to acquire Greater Southeast Community Hospital for $22 million -- has come through on its controversial $10.9 million mortgage note on Michael Reese Hospital in Chicago. An...

Visual Freedom to open in Chicago department stare.(Visual Freedom Center)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
November 26, 1999... Herndon-based Visual Freedom Center is planning an expansion into the Chicago area. Scheduled to open Nov. 20, the company's new laser eye center will, be housed in a Marshall Fields department store. It represents 3-year-old Visual...

Aetna funds Howard study.(Aetna U.S. Healthcare Inc., Howard University. College of Medicine)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
November 26, 1999... Aetna U.S. Healthcare announced Nov. 18 that it would donate $360,000 to Howard University School of Medicine for a study on asthma management in the inner city. Howard will use the money to implement a 12-month intervention program in...

Digene shareholders to sell 1.5 million shares.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
November 26, 1999... Stockholders of Beltsville-based Digene have agreed to privately place 1.5 million shares of the biotech firm's common stock. Digene, which makes DNA and RNA testing systems for the screening, monitoring and diagnosis of human diseases,...

News & notes.(Brief Article)
November 26, 1999... Donald Wilson, vice president of medical affairs and dean of the School of Medicine at the University of Maryland, has been designated chairman of Maryland's new Health Care Commission.... HealthExtras of Rockville has named Marshall Coleman...

Airports authority extends cab service bid deadline.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
November 26, 1999... Taxi operators looking for a crack at the Dulles cab contract have until Dec. 10 to submit a proposal to the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA). Officials extended the deadline twice to give bidders more time to submit...

Hotel occupancy on from 1998.(results of a study conducted by Smith Travel Research)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
November 26, 1999... Washington had the fifth highest hotel occupancy rate in the nation through September, according to a recent study by a Tennessee research group. Smith Travel Research of Hendersonville, Tenn., reported that New York holds the highest...

Rockville to sanction millennium events.(Brief Article)
November 26, 1999... Through Dec. 6, Rockville's Millennium Committee will be accepting applications to endorse events tied to the 2000 celebration. To be considered, programs must take place within Rockville's city limits between Jan. 1, 2000 and Jan. 1, 2001....

News & notes.(Brief Article)
November 26, 1999... Two D.C.-area hotels are ringing in the new year with music. Neil Sedaka and the Supremes starring Mary Wilson are headlining the Millennium Gala at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel. In Arlington, the Ritz-Carlton Pentagon City has its own...

Gov. candidates bank on wallets of area businesses.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
November 26, 1999... The next gubernatorial elections in Virginia and Maryland aren't until 2001 and 2002, but that's not keeping contenders for the top jobs in Richmond and Annapolis from starting to chase campaign contributors -- many of whom are from the local...

Duncan demands ICC documents from Glendening.(Doug Duncan, Parris Glendening)(Brief Article)
November 26, 1999... Montgomery County Executive Doug Duncan is trying to turn up the heat on Gov. Parris Glendening over his opposition to the Intercounty Connector (ICC). Duncan has requested Glendening turn over documents and state records related to the...

Alexandria EDA registers successful year.(Economic Development Authority)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
November 26, 1999... Alexandria's economic development authority helped bring 2,400 jobs and $4.5 million worth of tax revenue to the city during fiscal 1999, according to a recent city report. The main business recruitment group -- the Alexandria Economic...

Montgomery council limits zoning exceptions.(Brief Article)
November 26, 1999... The slow-growth-oriented Montgomery County Council is continuing its efforts to control development. The council has approved, legislation that limits zoning exceptions for commercial developments. The legislation requires the County...

Gilmore lines up all-star Internet panel.(Jim Gilmore)
November 26, 1999... George Mason University has released a prestigious preliminary list of speakers for its two-day Internet summit in March. Teligent CEO Alex Mandl, America Online Chairman Steve Case and Congressional Internet Caucus Chairman Rick Boucher,...

Starwood aims for European flair at 19th & M.(Brief Article)
November 26, 1999... There's a lot of activity these days on a high-profile corner along 19th and M streets NW. D.C.-based Starwood Urban, Investments is redeveloping a 20,000-square-foot, four-story structure on the corner into Class A office and restaurant...

Goodwill closes store in Alexandria.(Brief Article)
November 26, 1999... The Goodwill store at 7702-C Richmond Highway in Alexandria is closing to make room for a Home Depot. The 7,000-square-foot store, which had been open in the South Valley Shopping Center for nine years, lost its lease on the site, said...

A family affair: Siblings open Reston eatery.(Saint Basil)(Brief Article)
November 26, 1999... Saint Basil, a 5,000-square-foot restaurant in the Tall Oak Shopping Center in Reston, has opened. Siblings Sherry, Chris and Alex Mostaghim, whose family owned Springfield's Bozelli Deli for nearly 20 years, have opened the eatery,...

News & notes.(Brief Article)
November 26, 1999... Nordstrom opened a 43,000-square-foot Rack store in the I-270 Center in Gaithersburg. Nordstrom Rack offers brand-name and designer merchandise at 30 percent to 75 percent off regular retail prices. It is the' company's fifth Rack in the D.C....

T. Rowe Price adds Calvert to retirement options.(Brief Article)
November 26, 1999... T. Rowe Price Associates of Baltimore is adding the socially-responsible mutual funds of the Bethesda-based Calvert Group to the 401(k) menu that it offers companies for their retirement plans. T. Rowe Price is the seventh-largest...

New credit insurance rates proposed by MIA.(Brief Article)
November 26, 1999... The Maryland Insurance Administration is proposing a $6.2 million reduction in annual credit insurance rates. The proposed changes, the first in 20 years, would reduce credit life insurance rates by 24 percent and credit disability...

News & notes.(Access National Bank's stock offering.)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
November 26, 1999... Access National Bank in Chantilly closed its offering of common stock, raising $9.5 million. The bank is expected to open at the end of November.... Sterling-based. Community Bank of Northern Virginia opened a second branch in Eastern...

Laud-use attorney knocks down barriers to development.
November 26, 1999... Antonio Calabrese works a room like a politician. At a recent black-tie affair to honor Northern Virginia's top real estate deals, he barely has time to take a bite of his dinner before someone comes by to say hello and shake his hand....

Unfair share?
November 26, 1999... Advertisers aren't cashing in on urban radio audiences Tom Pope thinks something is shady about radio advertising, and the problem may have everything to do with the color of money. For many months, Pope has followed a hot trend in...

Online banner ads alive and kicking, says ad exec.
November 26, 1999... Although many advertising people talk about the glory days of banners in the past tense, there is at least one fervent advocate of the Internet ads that allow users to click through to an advertiser's Web site. Brayton Johnson is...

Most popular metro-area radio stations.(Illustration)(Statistical Data Included)
November 26, 1999... Most popular metro-area radio stations Cynthia Hobgood Ranked by 1998 Revenue[1] LAST YEAR'S 1998 ...

Fox's Tony Snow: There's nothing to talk about -- yet.(Brief Article)
November 26, 1999... For all the talkers in this town, there are few local talk show properties. And despite reports that Tony Snow -- Fox News personality and Alexandria resident -- might launch a syndicated talk show with WMAL-AM 630 or its ABC owner, it...

Firm predicts incubator's boomerang effect.(Brief Article)
November 26, 1999... Reston-based Marketing 101 has begun counseling a pack of tech firms participating in a Reston Chamber of Commerce incubator program. Although the marketing firm -- a Reston Chamber member -- assists incuabator-stage firms on a volunteer...

OneMain picks Arnold for its high-tech record.(Brief Article)
November 26, 1999... Reston-based OneMain.com, known as "your hometown Internet," has hired the leading hometown ad firm to he its agency of record. Arnold Communications' Washington branch won the seven-figure account because of its track record for...

PBS, AOL, rate high in new brand rankings.(Brief Article)
November 26, 1999... TV viewers continue to hold Public Broadcasting System in high regard. The publicly funded operation recently ranked higher than America Online and ESPN in terms of brand value, an important form of currency in media. The rankings are in...

Upstate N.Y. ad agency opens Frederick office.(Brief Article)
November 26, 1999... A Syracuse, N.Y.-based advertising agency has planted roots in Maryland's Interstate 270 biotech corridor. Crawford Advertising plans to hire a small staff within the next year as part of the agency's expansion to this market. "We've...