Washington Business Journal articles from October 1999

Washington Business Journal archives from October 1999

Road rift splits business groups.
October 29, 1999... It's hard enough for business groups to get their highway-heavy transportation agenda past a smart-growth governor in Annapolis, budget crunchers in Richmond and no-growthers at the local level. Now business groups are having a difficult...

A silver opportunity.
October 29, 1999... When Baba San started as a dishwasher at the Silver Diner in Tysons Corner eight years ago, he didn't speak a lick of English. The then 21-year-old immigrant from Senegal had to get help from some employees at the restaurant to help him...

National spotlight shines on Md. gov.
October 29, 1999... Maryland Gov. Parris Glen-dening is fast becoming to smart growth what Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson is to welfare reform and New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani is to zero-tolerance policing -- a national authority on a national issue. His...

Arnold executives slip out to start Web marketing firm.
October 29, 1999... After a discreet exit from the area's leading ad agency, a trio of Arnold Communications execs have reemerged as founders of Solven.com an Internet marketing firm. Since the May departure of former Arnold President Pete Hanley, a slew of...

Lobbyists are really out to lunch.
October 29, 1999... Contributing: Matthew Swibel The Greater Washington Board of Trade's Bill Lecos usually finds himself on the opposite end of the bullhorn from Stewart Schwartz, whose Coalition for Smarter Growth fights most of the business group's pet...

VarsityBooks clicks on new ZIP code.
October 29, 1999... Contributing: Matthew Swibel Is VarsityBooks.com, the online seller of college textbooks, really ready for a change in corporate culture? The fast-growing e-commerce site, founded in 1997 by Eric Kuhn and Tim Levy, has outgrown...

D.C. team won't run afoul of Orioles.
October 29, 1999... Contributing: Matthew Swibel A new study shows that a Major League Baseball franchise in Washington would have little impact on the drawing power of the Baltimore Orioles. The report was prepared for Washington Baseball Club, a team...

'Rice Report' goes against the grain.
October 29, 1999... Contributing: Matthew Swibel Politics makes strange bedfellows, or couchfellows, as is the-case on "The Rice Report," the newest media entry covering local politics. The 30-minute show, which has yet to find a home on television, is...

Tivoli trials threaten Columbia Heights plan.
October 29, 1999... Developers say their struggle with preservationists over the fate of the Tivoli Theater is threatening the city's redevelopment plan for Columbia Heights. Two of the biggest pieces of the $149 million project are either in jeopardy or...

JBG expands Blue Cross site to attract DOT.
October 29, 1999... Hoping to land the Department of Transportation as a tenant, JBG and J.E. Robert Cos. are, buying the rest of the block surrounding the Blue Cross/Blue Shield building they own in Southwest D.C. The District-based developers have agreed...

Howard admits La Clinica.
October 29, 1999... Mt. Pleasant clinic gets $1.2 million shot in arm Howard University Hospital has forged an affiliation with a Mount Pleasant clinic that serves D.C.'s burgeoning Hispanic population, vowing to spend $1.2 million there over the next three...

Stafford developer buys 800 acres for $7 million.
October 29, 1999... Stafford, Dulles land slated for industrial, office development Who says airports make bad neighbors? Certainly not Andrew Garrett. His company, Stafford County-based Garrett Development, bought close to 800 acres of land near the...

BWI parking problems prompt state to take action.
October 29, 1999... Baltimore/Washington International Airport's recent surge in popularity among business and leisure travelers is causing a parking shortage -- a dearth that could threaten the facility's reputation as the region's easiest-to-use airport. ...

Agencies swoon over AssociationCentral.com.
October 29, 1999... AssociationCentral.com hopes a new ad campaign hitting print and online media will make it the ultimate tool for associations to increase revenue, and deliver information to the public. The nascent dot-com, which is marketed by...

Northern Virginia firms benefit from state grant monies.
October 29, 1999... Virginia Gov. Jim Gilmore dispersed $11.7 million in grant money to community and economic development groups, throughout the state Oct. 22. More than $3 million of the total -- about 25 percent -- is going to Northern Virginia...

Report: Greater Southeast suitor too ill to pay mortgage.
October 29, 1999... It was never clear why Greater Southeast Community Hospital, teetering dangerously on the edge of shutting down for several months, balked at a $24 million bid by an Arizona-based for-profit suitor. But one of the suitor's dealings in...

IHS hires investment banker, fuels rumors.
October 29, 1999... Integrated Health Services (IHS) announced it was not selling its RoTech division in mid-October; the next day, the company's stock slipped to 25 cents. That was a record until Oct. 26, when it dropped even further, to 28 cents. For...

Web donations boost WAMU's fund-raising drive.
October 29, 1999... Nearly a third of WAMU's record-breaking membership campaign Oct. 8 came from online giving, breathing new life into public radio's fund-raising methods. WAMU-FM 88.5 collected $1.15 million from 13,748 pledges, surpassing the station's...

N.C. company bids $250,000 for 5 Bike USAs.
October 29, 1999... Performance, a Chapel Hill, N.C.-based bicycle company, has bid $250,000 to assume leases and buy some equipment at five of Bikes USA's D.C. stores. Performance is interested in the stores in Reston, Tysons Corner, Springfield,...

DBED moves to downsize Md. financing programs.
October 29, 1999... Maryland's economic development agency soon could be a much leaner and meaner machine. A state panel examining the Department of Business & Economic Development's operations has recommended that the multitude of state financing programs...

Local architect partners with New York firm.
October 29, 1999... Having taken a bite out of the Big Apple, architecture firm Beyer Blinder Belle has set its sites on Washington. The New York-based firm -- famous for restoring Grand Central Station's main terminal, the Ellis Island National Museum of...

Tourism coalition to kick off series of walking tours.
October 29, 1999... For the D.C. Heritage Tourism Coalition, 2000 promises to be a year the city won't forget. That's because it marks the launch of the coalition's Heritage Trails, a citywide walking tour program aimed at bringing visitors and tourism...

Report finds travel agents slacking in e-commerce.
October 29, 1999... Mike Greenwald, co-owner of D.C.-based Personalized Travel, takes his business seriously. He vows to find the right deal for you. The agency can be located online, and the Web site has proven a useful tool. It allows customers to e-mail...

Gabe Battista.
October 29, 1999... It's fitting that Gabe Battista, formerly head of Network Solutions, would land the top spot at Talk.com, arguably one of the Net's most powerful domain names. Battista makes no bones about why he arrived in January: to stabilize a rocky...

E.spire calls on Columbia.
October 29, 1999... Telecom company will consolidate Maryland offices in new facility E.spire Communications, one of the country's leading telecommunications providers, is planning to consolidate two of its local offices and move several hundred employees...

MLC finds new identify.
October 29, 1999... MLC Holdings, a Herndon company that leases technology equipment and provides financial services, is changing its name and stock symbol Nov. 1. The company will-become ePlus to underscore a new focus on e-commerce. The stock will...

CyberCash results don't move stock.
October 29, 1999... CyberCash shares were down 38 cents Oct. 27 after the company reported a smaller-than-expected loss per share for the third quarter. The Reston-based e-commerce company lost $14.2 million, or 65 cents a share, compared with a lost of $7.6...

Online Resources & Communications.
October 29, 1999... Shares of Online Resources & Communications Corp. are trading near their low since the company went public in June. The Stock (Nasdaq: ORCC) closed up 38 cents to $10.50 Oct. 27, the day the McLean online banking software company reported...

Telecorp files for IPO.
October 29, 1999... Arlington-based Telecorp announced it has filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission for an initial public offering. The offering will be led by Salomon Smith Barney and Lehman Bros., and co-managed by Deutsche...

DynCorp captures S40M HCFA contract.
October 29, 1999... Reston-based DynCorp announced its subsidiary, DynKePRO, was awarded a $40 million contract with the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA). The contract allows DynKePRO to continue operation of an HCFA-sponsored Clinical Data...

Digital Paper gets $750,000 line of credit.
October 29, 1999... Alexandria-based Digital Paper, an Internet software company, announced it has secured a $750,000 line of credit from Silicon Valley Bank. The bank's regional office in Reston extended the line of credit to support Digital Paper's growth and...

PSINet acquires Australian Internet service provider.
October 29, 1999... Commercial Internet access provider PSINet said Monday it acquired closely held Australian Internet service provider Zircon Systems, marking its first move into the world's eighth-largest telecommunications market. Terms of the deal were not...

Dell chooses webMethods for B2B Direct initiative.
October 29, 1999... Fairfax-based webMethods announced that Dell Computer will use webMethods B2B to provide the backbone online procurement transaction integration system for Dell's B2B Direct initiative. Under the terms of the agreement, Dell customers in the...

Yupi.com, Network Solutions join forces.
October 29, 1999... Yupi.com, a Spanish-language network of sites on the Internet, and Network Solutions, a registrar of Web addresses ending in .com, .net. and .org, announced an agreement allowing Yupi.com to begin promoting Network Solutions' Web address...

AtYourOffice.com, AllBusiness.com ink deal.
October 29, 1999... Arlington-based online office product retailer AtYourOffice.com announced that it will serve as the exclusive seller of office products on AllBusiness.com's new Website. AllBusiness.com is a "virtual business partner" designed to provide...

Foofoo.com starts campaign on USAToday home page.
October 29, 1999... Arlington-based Foofoo.com announced it has signed a one-year advertising contract with USA Today, which will showcase the company on USAToday.com's homepage and other strategic locations throughout the site. As part of the agreement,...

Network Access Solutions names new CIO, VP.
October 29, 1999... Sterling-based Network Access Solutions announced the appointment of Lester Lichter as chief information officer. Lichter comes from Dallas-based Excel Communications where he worked in business development. Brian D. Roberts was named...

CareerBuilder shifts into high speed with Excalibur.
October 29, 1999... CareerBuilder of Reston will use Vienna-based Excalibur Technologies' search and retrieve product on its job-posting site. It's one of several contracts Excalibur has with job-searching Web sites. Other clients include Yahoo! Image Surfer and...

Radix II.
October 29, 1999... Radix II won a four-year, $2 million contract with the Defense Logistics Agency. The Oxon Hill-based company will upgrade and maintain a voice-response system for the Defense Department. The contract involves managing 19 sites across the...

Online Resources & Communications.(merges banking solutions with Symitar Systems Inc.)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
October 29, 1999... McLean-based Online Resources & Communications will see its Internet banking solutions integrated with Symitar Systems. Symitar is a data processor for 240 credit unions across the country; representing 2.5 million account holders.

CACI International.
October 29, 1999... Arlington-based CACI International won a five-year, $23 million contract to provide research support to the Office of Naval Research. CACI is specifically charged with finding field solutions for the Navy and Marine Corps in the areas of...

Universal Systems.(hired by Army Corps of Engineers)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
October 29, 1999... Universal Systems will make the Army Corps of Engineers a paperless organization by the end of a $1.65 million contract. The Chantilly-based IT company undertakes the project as the corps moves from its Massachusetts Avenue offices into...

Japanese cartoon distributor.(SyCoNet.com hires legal services)(Brief Article)
October 29, 1999... Manassas-based SyCoNet.com, a Japanese cartoon distributor, hired the law firm of Manatt, Phelps & Phillips to oversee its licensing agreements.

PcOrder.com's revenue rises.(pcOrder.com Inc.)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
October 29, 1999... PcOrder.com (Nasdaq: PCOR) reported revenue of $13.1 million for the quarter ended Sept. 30, a 134 percent increase over revenue of $5.6 million for the third quarter of 1998. For the nine months ended Sept. 30, total revenue increased 95...

CollegeHire signs Tellme.(CollegeHire.com, Tellme Networks)(Brief Article)
October 29, 1999... CollegeHire.com has signed an agreement with California-based startup Tellme Networks to manage a college recruiting program to attract information technology graduates. The agreement follows a successful seven-month pilot program. Tellme is...

Mactell shuts down.(Mactell Corp.)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
October 29, 1999... Mactell (OTC BB: MTLL), an Austin-based manufacturer of performance enhancement products for Apple computers, has closed. Mactell was formed to take advantage of Apple Computer's release of cloning licenses, but was hit hard when Apple...

Net.B@nk exceeds $1B.(3Q 1999)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
October 29, 1999... Net.B@ank (Nasdaq: NTBK), the first profitable Internet-only bank, reached over $1 billion in assets during the third quarter of 1999. The company also reported an 83 percent increase in net income for the third quarter. Net.B@nk is a member...

EnCommerce joins with iXL.(consulting partnership)(Brief Article)
October 29, 1999... Encommerce agreed to a consulting partnership with Atlanta's iXL. The companies have, joined to develop secure Internet relationship management that enables personalized customer interactions for both business-to-customer and...

SatCon acquires Calif. firm.(SatCon Technology Corp., Ling Electronics Inc.)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
October 29, 1999... Cambridge, Mass.-based SatCon Technology, which manufactures and sells power and energy products for telecommunications, acquired Anaheim, Calif.-based Ling Electronics and Ling Electronics from Mechanical Technology. SatCon issued 1.8...

Ionics wins $10M contract.(Ionics Inc.)
October 29, 1999... Watertown, Mass.-based Ionics announced it has received a $10 million contract from Atlanta-based NAG International to manufacture a storage system. to manage the containment of spent nuclear fuels at commercial U.S. nuclear energy Plants....

Sycamore raises $284.1M.
October 29, 1999... Chelmsford, Mass.-based Sycamore Networks, which makes equipment to improve the efficiency of fiber-optic networks, raised $284.1 million in an initial stock sale. The company sold 7.5 million shares at $38 each. The shares were priced $1...

Biogen shares fall.
October 29, 1999... Shares in Cambridge-based Biogen, one of the world's biggest biotech companies, fell as much as 14 percent after the company disclosed that it halted several trials of the experimental drug Antova because some patients suffered blood clots....

PeopleSoft joins Camstar.
October 29, 1999... Pleasanton, Calif.-based software maker PeopleSoft has formed a partnership with Camstar Systems to integrate the PeopleSoft Manufacturing Production solution with Camstar's InSite manufacturing execution system to facilitate better...

Discovery Toys picks eToys.
October 29, 1999... Livermore, Calif.-based Discovery Toys has chosen eToys of Santa Monica as its exclusive online distributor. Under the agreement, eToys will sell Discovery Toys' educational products through a feature shop on the eToys Web site.

Asyst aims for $2M offering.
October 29, 1999... Asyst Technologies of Fremont filed to sell 2 million shares in a public offering, with Merrill Lynch and Lehman Brothers acting as lead managers. The maker of automation systems for semi conductor manufacturers also reported net sales of...

Qwest goes into Calif.
October 29, 1999... Denver-based Qwest Communications International will offer high-speed Internet service in four California markets next year. The company will begin offering broadband high-speed services to Los Angeles business customers in the first quarter...

Select Comfort joins with AOL.
October 29, 1999... Eden Prairie, Minn.-based Select Comfort signed an agreement with America Online to make its comfort air beds available in ShopAOL, the world's largest online shopping site.

Retek IPO may set record.(Statistical Data Included)
October 29, 1999... Retek, the Web-based software maker for retailers that plans to launch an initial public offering next month, could set the highest valuation for any Minnesota company that's gone public so far this year. In papers filed this week with the...

Sprint inks broadband deals.
October 29, 1999... Sprint has inked new agreements with broadband content providers. Channel-SEEK, Orlando Sentinel Communications and Orlando Sentinel Interactive will furnish news, sports, weather and entertainment information via Sprint's high speed DSL...

Motorola buys into local firm.
October 29, 1999... Motorola has bought an interest in Orlando's Theseus Logic. Additionally, that company's semiconductor products sector and Theseus have struck an agreement to jointly develop products based on a semiconductor design patented by Theseus....

Bidnow to buy Gallatin.
October 29, 1999... Bidnow.com, a Warminster, Pa.-based TV-Web auction company, said it has entered into a letter of intent to acquire Gallatin Mortgage Co. of New Kensington, Pa., which is planning to develop an Internet bank. The structure of the proposed...

Fibercom snags two contracts.
October 29, 1999... Phoenix-based International Fiber-Com's (Nasdaq: IFCI) infrastructure development division was awarded two contracts worth more than $35 million. The company will install fiber network segments and turnkey development of citywide...

Hypercom acquires MicroTrax.(Brief Article)
October 29, 1999... Phoenix-based Hypercom (NYSE: HYC), a provider of electronic payment systems, acquired MicroTrax Ltd., a retail payment software company, with offices in Aliso Viejo, Calif., and Boulder, Colo. George Wallner, Hypercom's chief executive...

Telecom investments proposed.
October 29, 1999... Pennsylvania State Rep. Dan Frankel, D-Squirrel Hill, has introduced legislation that would let the state invest in Pennsylvania telecommunications businesses. A one-time $1 fee would be added to each telephone access line, wireless exchange...

Nexus Software acquired.
October 29, 1999... Nexus Software of Raleigh, which produces software to help link retail bank branches with Internet-based banking and Windows NT software, has been sold to a publicly traded Ohio company. Nexus will function as a wholly owned subsidiary of...

Excite@Home to buy firm.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
October 29, 1999... Excite@Home will acquire online greeting card site Blue Mountain Arts for about $780 million in cash and stock. Blue Mountain is the 14th most-visited web site and ranks among the leaders in e-commerce. The site offers free greeting cards and...

NextCard lands Onelist.
October 29, 1999... NextCard will be the exclusive credit card for Onelist, an Internet community provider with nearly 8 million members. San Francisco-based NextCard, which offers a Visa credit card exclusively online, will offer promotions and customized...

EDS lures away Oracle exec.
October 29, 1999... EDS has hired Philip Crawford, a senior vice president at Oracle, to serve as president of EDS International, the company's international business arm. Crawford, 48, will help expand EDS's focus on business growth and development in Europe,...

E-Loan crosses the pond.
October 29, 1999... Dublin-based E-Loan said it had struck a joint venture to acquire flexemortgage.com, the main online source of flexible mortgage information in the United Kingdom. The new venture, to be known as E-Loan Ltd., represents the Dublin, Calif....

IWeb debuts new technology.
October 29, 1999... San Jose-based iWeb.com has debuted a new technology that enables Internet service providers to send news, information and advertising to Web surfers regardless of what Web site they are visiting. The new technology was scheduled to debut...

NetManage buys Wall Data.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
October 29, 1999... Cupertino, Calif.-based NetManage, a maker of networking software, said it plans to buy its competitor Wall Data of Washington for $94 million in cash. The publicly-traded companies produce software that links personal computers and...

Ironside gets $28.5M.
October 29, 1999... Ironside Technologies, a Pleasantonbased supplier of business-to-business electronic commerce solutions, has secured $28.5 million in a third round of financing. In addition to continued contribution from existing investors GE Capital, Euclid...

Affymetrix stays course.
October 29, 1999... Affymetrix of Santa Clara, Calif., reported a loss of $5.2 million for the third quarter ended Sept. 30, compared with a loss of $5.2 million for the same period last year. Though sales of the company's GeneChip system and other products...

WatchGuard buys BeadleNet.
October 29, 1999... WatchGuard Technologies of Seattle, a provider of Internet broadcast security solutions, has acquired BeadleNet of Laguna Hills, Calif., for approximately $8 million in cash and stock. BeadleNet, which supplies Internet security solutions for...

Stamps.com buys iShip.com.
October 29, 1999... IShip.com of Bellevue, Wash., has agreed to be acquired for approximately $300 million in stock by Santa Monica, Calif.-based Stamps.com, an Internet postage company. IShip allows customers to price packages, arrange, shipping from several...

SkeleTech raises $5 million.
October 29, 1999... SkeleTech of Bothell, Wash., has raised $5 million in venture capital from two Seattle-area investment firms. The contract research organization, which offers preclinical services to drug and medical device companies, said the money will...

Drugstore.com reports loss.
October 29, 1999... Drugstore.com said sales rose to $12.2 million for the third quarter, compared with $3.6 million the previous quarter. The online retailer reported a net loss of $42 million, or $1.04 per share. Drugstore.com said it added 260,000 customers...

Bsquare IPO raises $60M.
October 29, 1999... Bsquare of Bellevue completed its initial public offering, selling 4 million shares at $15 apiece. The IPO brings gross proceeds of $60 million to the software company, which provides services and tools for companies incorporating the Windows...

Telecom plays hardball with soft-money donations.
October 29, 1999... The telecommunications industry is calling on its financial muscle to try to influence the next federal election. In the first half of 1999, the industry was the largest donor to the 2000 presidential campaign, giving $3.9 million in...

Cisco Systems scouts Boston for East Coast campus.
October 29, 1999... Cisco Systems, a West Coast high-tech giant with an appetite for gobbling up promising Massachusetts startups, is on the hunt again. But this time, Cisco wants to do some major building as well as buying. The Silicon Valley...

Big technology goes after lucrative small biz market.
October 29, 1999... The small business market, long ignored by tech companies, has suddenly become the industry's golden child. Microsoft, with its launch of bCentral, a Web site for small businesses, is just the latest company to trumpet its small business...

Blake to begin $40M K Street project.(Brief Article)
October 29, 1999... A trophy location is set to receive a trophy building. Blake Real Estate is ready to start work on a 12-story building at 1425 K St. NW. The D.C.-based company will strip the building down to its concrete supports. Groundbreaking on...

Akridge begins flex projects in Va., Md.(Brief Article)
October 29, 1999... D.C.-based John Akridge Cos. is continuing its expansion into low-rise flexible office and industrial space. The company recently broke ground on two projects: Gateway 270 in Clarks-burg and Cabot tech @ Beaumeade in Loudoun County. The...

Blackstone, Meridian pay $120M for Bethesda project.(Brief Article)
October 29, 1999... A prominent downtown Bethesda property is changing hands for $120 million. Blackstone Group, a New York-based investment firm, and the District's Meridian Group bought Bethesda Metro Center from Rockville-based CRI. Included in the...