Philadelphia Business Journal articles from April 1993

Philadelphia Business Journal archives from April 1993

SEPTA taps Harrisburg to raise funding to cover '93-'94 shortfall. (Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority)
April 26, 1993... SEPTA's $624 million budget proposal has a message for state legislators that's none too subtle: Send money. Fast. Or else. In fact, officials of the regional transportation authority didn't just request a bigger subsidy from Harrisburg....

Renovation of Plaza will help it compete with the ritzier Court. (Plaza at King of Prussia and Court at King of Prussia shopping malls)(includes related article)
April 26, 1993... Khaki in the Court and Plaid in the Plaza is how insiders have described the King of Prussia Mall. Conventional wisdom has it that the Court at King of Prussia, home to Bloomingdale's, Macy's and Strawbridge & Clothier along with smaller,...

Opinions divided on data bank. (National Health Practitioner Data Bank)
April 26, 1993... NATIONAL HEALTH PRACTITIONER DATA BANK REPORTS PERCENT OF CATEGORY NUMBER TOTAL REPORTS ADVERSE ACTIONS 9,022 16.2...

Local investor network may take concept nationwide. (Pennsylvania Private Investors Group) (Regional Report: Chester County)
April 26, 1993... The Pennsylvania Private Investors Group, a club of millionaires that meets to audition entrepreneurs in search of financing, plans to establish a national network of identical groups, according to organizers. With 27 current members, the...

CoreStates will make bank acquisitions selectively. (CoreStates Bank N.A.)
April 26, 1993... CoreStates Chairman Terrence A. Larsen reaffirmed CoreStates' strategy of remaining independent while pursuing what he called "highly selective, moderate acquisitions." Responding to questions from shareholders about whether the banking...

Two jazz lovers reissue classic CDs that were thought to be long lost. (Howard Rosen and Jerry Gordon of Evidence Music Inc.)
April 26, 1993... "That was Clarence 'Gatemouth' Brown," gushed Howard Rosen after hanging up the telephone. "And he loooooves the CD." That news pleased business partner Jerry Gordon. The two hope Brown, a noted blues guitarist, will push the recordings at...

Issue: carrying debt. (debt of Philadelphia-area companies) (Regional Report: Chester County)
April 26, 1993... LARGEST AREA PUBLIC COMPANIES Ranked by Total Long-Term Debt in 1991, in Billions 1. Bell Atlantic Corp. $7,959.50 2. Philadelphia Electric Co. $5,415.58 3. Unisys Corp. ...

After being burned 4 years ago, Harrisburg skittish on tax reform. (Harrisburg, Pennsylvania) (Regional Report: Chester County)
April 26, 1993... Municipal officials waiting on Harrisburg to reform their local tax structure should take some advice from the top: Don't expect anything soon. Local tax reform has crept back into the Capitol consciousness, but lawmakers are wary of...

Scott Paper struggling to keep place in the world's washrooms. (Annual Meetings)
April 26, 1993... Hand Scott Paper Co. a tissue. The company will shed 1,200 to 1,300 jobs this year as the personal care and cleaning giant continues to struggle globally. Flat earnings and competition cry out for harsh measures, said Philip E. Lippincott,...

Shareholders are impatient with UJB's slow recovery. (U.J.B. Financial Corp.) (Annual Meetings)
April 26, 1993... At its April 19 annual meeting in Princeton, UJB Financial Corp.'s top management and board of directors felt the backwash of last year's proxy battle despite an emerging turnaround in the bank's financial condition and future outlook. "The...

Reassessing on hold while county appeals decision. (property tax reassessment) (Regional Report: Chester County)
April 26, 1993... The issue of reassessing Chester County's rolling countryside has pitted farmers against homeowners and county commissioners against the court. Unfair property values stirred advocates of a countywide reassessment to action. They won a round...

Bypass may ease gridlock, spur new development. (Exton Bypass) (Regional Report: Chester County)
April 26, 1993... Businesses and their customers in and around Exton have battled gridlock and traffic snarls on a two-lane Route 30 for years. Relief via the long-awaited Exton Bypass now may be at hand. Construction of the 5.5-mile bypass has already begun...

Little proves there's more than one way to head West. (West Company Inc. CEO William G. Little) (Regional Report: Chester County)
April 26, 1993... If William G. Little is to be envied, it's not for his title, his salary or his reputation within the specialized field of health-care devices. It's because his work is fun. "There are very few opportunities to be a CEO," said the president...

Rural hospitals recruit much-needed family doctors. (Regional Report: Chester County)
April 26, 1993... The shortage of primary-care physicians in rural Pennsylvania is not just a problem afflicting the small towns that dot the map far from major metropolitan areas. Even the Delaware Valley has not escaped the scarcity of family doctors....

Businesses and hospitals jockey over New Jersey health reform. (Health Care Heroes Awards)
April 19, 1993... Revamping New Jersey's deeply troubled, $800 million-a-year health-care system for the uninsured is a big and thankless task, but there's been no shortage of volunteers for the job. In fact, soon after Democratic Gov. James J. Florio approved...

Conrail agrees to CP Rail access. (Consolidated Rail Corp. allows access to CP Rail at Tigoa Marine Terminal in Philadelphia)
April 19, 1993... After two months of haggling at the insistence of state legislators, Conrail has agreed to give its Canadian rival, CP Rail System, access to cargo-container traffic at Tioga Marine Terminal. The deal, which was awaiting approval by officials...

Baseball is pitching hard for fans.
April 19, 1993... Here's the windup and the pitch... Jackets, caps, tote bags, fireworks. You name it, baseball marketers have stepped to the plate with a season packed with giveaways and promotions. "The days of opening ticket windows and sitting back are...

CoreStates at critical juncture: sell or remain independent. (CoreStates Financial Corp.) (Company Profile)
April 19, 1993... CoreStates Financial Corp, the last major regional banking company based in Philadelphia, will face a pleased but curious set of shareholders April 20. A $23 billion-asset that ranks among the nation's most profitable and financially fit,...

U.S. Healthcare to export managed care overseas. (Health Care Heroes Awards)
April 19, 1993... Americans may look at the Canadians or Britons and wish for socialized medicine. But the American grass is greener for a British health insurer that has signed a deal with U.S. Healthcare Inc. British United Provident Association has asked...

Their field of dreams has removable grass. (convertible stadium as conceptualized by the Greenway Group)
April 19, 1993... On top of a table inside an old Bucks County farmhouse is a model of what could become the stadium of the future. Its main element is a real grass field that can be rolled away when it isn't needed. The convertible stadium is the hope of the...

A choice for hospitals: treating the poor or greeting the taxman.
April 19, 1993... Philadelphia hospitals may soon be asked to provide more free services to the city's poor. Either that, or perhaps face the taxman. The Rendell administration is exploring how to get money from local hospitals, universities and other...

Greater Atlantic targets seniors with managed care. (Greater Atlantic Health Services) (Health Care Heroes Awards)
April 19, 1993... With a lifetime of experience, senior citizens may be skeptical when a company offers them something for nothing. But with investment interest rates low and fixed monthly incomes down with them, many have found that it may pay to investigate...

Rite Aid is positioning itself as a 'health-care manager.'
April 19, 1993... Small retailers live in fear of competition from national chain stores, but when a national retailer -- already stronger in its advertising, name recognition and number of locations -- creates a guaranteed customer base, it's enough to make...

New facility at Presbyterian takes cardiac care to heart. (Presbyterian Medical Center; Philadelphia Heart Institute) (Health Care Heroes Awards)
April 19, 1993... Presbyterian Medical Center is unlocking the mysteries of cardiac care with its new outpatient facility devoted to research, teaching, nutrition and fitness. The Philadelphia Heart Institute "isn't a quick fix or program of the day," said I....

What's in a name? Some stockholders at PECO ask. (Philadelphia Electric Co. changes name to PECO Energy Co.)
April 19, 1993... A utility by any other name might: 1) smell as sweet. 2) smell sweeter. 3) save a couple of million dollars. When it comes to Philadelphia Electric Co., the answer depends on who's talking. On April 14 -- despite some objections by...

Chestnut St. retailers against new fed building. (Philadelphia)
April 19, 1993... The proposed federal office complex, planned for construction at 30th and Walnut Streets, has many groups grumbling because they say the project would create more problems than it would solve. Add another group to the opposing side: retailers...

Nothing could be finer than a Main Line Carolina's. (bistro in Philadelphia)
April 19, 1993... An easygoing buzz from talk, drinks and jazz flows through Carolina's near Rittenhouse Square, one of the city's premier bistros now stirring from the economic blues that rocked competitors. "I count us as being extremely lucky," said owner...

SBA making loans despite its share of critics. (Small Business Administration)
April 19, 1993... A year after efforts to step up Small Business Administration lending in the mid-Atlantic region, lenders aren't resting on their laurels. They continue to court small-business borrowers even as critics of SBA loans threaten again to kill its...

Computer software aids insurers in hunt for fraud in medical bills. (ClaimCheck program developed by GMIS Inc.) (Health Care Heroes Awards)
April 19, 1993... "Upcoding" and "unbundling" may sound like high-tech computer terms, but what they really describe are efforts by unscrupulous doctors to trick the reimbursement system and collect higher fees. Upcoding refers to classifying general medical...

The man behind human resources at Penn Medical Center. (vice-president Dennis Colling) (Health Care Heroes Awards)
April 19, 1993... When Dennis Colling went back to college about a decade after earning his undergraduate degree, he figured he would get a master's degree and use it to land a job in finance. He figured wrong. "I took a few of those self-evaluation courses...

Mower renewed Misericordia by listening to its neighbors. (JoAnn K. Mower, CEO of Misericordia Hospital)
April 19, 1993... When JoAnn K. Mower came to Misericordia Hospital as chief executive officer of the West Philadelphia hospital in 1988, she knew she had her work cut out for her. "Misericordia definitely was the not the hospital of choice," she said. "I...

Penn plunges into gene therapy to try to treat inherited diseases. (University of Pennsylvania Medical Center) (Health Care Heroes Awards)
April 19, 1993... William Kelley, chief executive officer and dean of the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center, predicts gene therapy will be to 21st century medicine what vaccines and antibiotics have been to health care this century. He is far from the...

City tries to cut costs while preserving health services. (Philadelphia) (Health Care Heroes Awards)
April 19, 1993... When Philadelphia's new health commissioner Richard K. Ross went before City Council last year, he made a bold prediction: no cuts in services. His agency had a long list of ideas to balance the books and repeated all the buzzwords that...

Direct Konnections, Inc.: a full service management consulting firm. (Company Profile)
April 19, 1993... Direct Konnections, Inc., is a full service management consulting firm in Haddonfield, N.J., specializing in human resource management systems and general business software training. Deborah Karper, founder and owner of Direct Konnections,...

Scott & Sons Maintenance, Inc.: one of the region's fastest growing private companies. (Company Profile)
April 19, 1993... Scott & Sons Maintenance, Inc., is a minority-owned and operated facilities maintenance services company providing professional service and janitorial supplies to fulfill the wants and needs of business; from the smallest office to the largest...

WARZYN Inc.: one of the nation's leading environmental services organizations. (Company Profile)
April 19, 1993... Meeting regulatory demands is often the catalyst for environmental action, but industry is finding that far-sighted environmental solutions invariably make good business sense as well. WARZYN, Inc., Wayne, Pa., is one of the nation's leading...

Packard Press: renewed commitment to quality and service. (Company Profile)
April 19, 1993... "The financial printing industry, in fact the entire printing industry, has gone through tough times and dramatic changes. Some of the old giants of the industry such as Sorg and Pandick no longer exist, but Packard Press has weathered the...

The Hold Company: changing the hold button into a viable alternative medium. (Company Profile)
April 19, 1993... The statistics are alarming. Seven out of ten business calls are placed on hold. As many as 88% of business callers hang up when forced to hold, and 34% won't call back. Studies show those figures decrease significantly when companies play...

Warren Welsh & Thomson: providing insurance expertise to the Delaware Valley. (Company Profile)
April 19, 1993... Three strong insurance agencies, Warren and Welsh, H.A. Thomson and Pusey and Brosius, joined forces late last year, and the merger has created one of the ten largest privately-held insurance brokerage organizations in the Delaware Valley....

Omicron Consulting: riding the wave of technology. (Company Profile)
April 19, 1993... Pssssst. Guess how many Philadelphia companies were listed in Inc. Magazine's 1992 Inc. 500 list of privately held firms? The answer is one. That company is Omicron Consulting, one of the fastest growing international consulting firms in the...

Independence Blue Cross: pointing the way to health care reform. (Company Profile)
April 19, 1993... As the national debate on health care reform heats up, the focus is turning increasingly to private players in the system who are successfully implementing reform programs in their own organizations to provide benefit coverage and cost control....

Philadelphia Thermal Energy Corporation: the "QUIET" utility prepares for the 21st century. (Company Profile)
April 19, 1993... A year ago we profiled how Philadelphia Thermal Energy Corporation acquired the district heating utility from PECO in 1987 and revitalized an under utilized market into a regained position in the City energy supply. Now this established...

BHC Securities, Inc.: a successful behind-the-scenes venture. (Company Profile)
April 19, 1993... Suppose you're one of your bank's most important brokerage customers. You've been actively trading in stocks and mutual funds for the past two weeks, indeed, so actively that you've lost track of your transactions. And your monthly statement...

Janney Montgomery Scott: committed to the Delaware Valley. (brokerage and financial services firm) (Company Profile)
April 19, 1993... If the Chamber of Commerce was looking for a model company to use in advertisements to bring businesses into the Philadelphia area, they'd probably want to consider Janney Montgomery Scott, the largest Delaware Valley-based regional firm....

The new Penn Del branch of AT&T's Global Business Communications Systems. (Company Profile)
April 19, 1993... Voice processing, the technology that includes voice messaging and voice response systems, is revolutionizing the way companies do business. Though companies of every size use the technology, about half of all large companies in the United...

State files tax lien against Eagles. (Philadelphia Eagles)
April 12, 1993... Reggie White doesn't appear to be the only one for whom the Philadelphia Eagles can't find enough money -- the state has charged that the football team owes about $432,000 in overdue taxes and penalties. That's a little bit more than the...

Direct marketing becoming economic motor in region.
April 12, 1993... For as long as there have been things you don't want to buy, there have been salesmen you don't want to meet. Years ago, slamming the door on the Fuller Brush man's foot was the best way to stymie direct sales techniques. "I gave at the...

Filene's opening downtown. (Filene's Basement Corp.)
April 12, 1993... Filene's Basement Inc., the expansion-minded, off-price apparel retailer based in Boston, will open its first downtown Philadelphia store this fall in the Chestnut Street building vacated three months ago by the upscale but downsizing Wallach's...

Possible conflict of interest mars debut of nursing mag.
April 12, 1993... The Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News are rethinking their remedy for ailing recruitment ads -- a direct-mail magazine for nurses -- after learning of a possible conflict with the publishing company hired to produce the publication....

Private insurers turn attention to SWIF fund - again. (State Workmen's Insurance Fund)
April 12, 1993... With reform measures for workers compensation insurance being considered for the second straight year in Harrisburg, private insurers are again focusing attention on the State Workmen's Insurance Fund, or SWIF, Pennsylvania's state-run workers...

Report may lead to reversal of five environmental pacts. (unfair business practices by the EPA)
April 12, 1993... The Environmental Protection Agency's internal watchdog, the Office of Inspector General, has issued findings that support a small local firm's claims of unfair business practices by the EPA. "We are very pleased with the Inspector General's...

Bio-Pharm, Conrex get venture capital funding. (Bio-Pharm Clinical Services Inc.; Conrex Pharmaceutical Corp.)
April 12, 1993... Two Philadelphia-area companies involved in the pharmaceutical industry have secured a total of about $4.5 million in venture capital funding, which they both plan to use to expand staff. Both companies, which specialize in growing niches of...

All-American feast is featured at Jack's place. (Jack McDavid, owner of Jack's Firehouse restaurant) (After Business)
April 12, 1993... Owner/Chef Jack McDavid stops by our table at Jack's Firehouse to see how we liked our lunch. I am flattered because he dressed up for the occasion. He put his write chef's jacket on over his bib overalls. My pal starts to praise his cooking,...

Deciding how much dough to charge for bread. (Breadsmith bread bakery) (Small Business)
April 12, 1993... Spending $80,000 on an authentic, 8-ton, stone hearth oven imported from France was just the cost of doing business to Thomas Ivory. "To produce a world-class product, you've got to have world-class equipment and ingredients," said the...

Voorhees' Main Street developers shunt $100 million dispute to N.J. court. (real estate development in New Jersey; Radnor Corp.) (Real Estate Month)
April 12, 1993... It was envisioned as a town center with homes, shops, expensive condos and corporate offices. The thrust of the argument is similar to a lender-liability lawsuit: The developer claims the source of his money withheld funds at a crucial...

Preservationists await ruling on Boyd Theater case. (preservation of historic sites) (Real Estate Month)
April 12, 1993... Historic preservation plans in Philadelphia and municipalities throughout the state remain stalled, while everyone awaits the results of a rare rehearing of a ruling by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. It was the Supreme Court that caused that...

Home builders expect spring to bring buyers. (Real Estate Month)
April 12, 1993... To home builders, the resale market is kind of a beast. When it's down, it drags the new-home market down with it. But when it's up, it doesn't necessarily help. Late last year, the resale market boomed, reaching levels not seen since the...

A tale of 75 million bunnies and 300 million candy eggs. (Frankford Candy and Chocolate Company Inc.)
April 5, 1993... In one aging South Philadelphia factory, rabbits multiply on an assembly line. Sweet smells tickle the nose. Pink and yellow eyes and bow ties are set in delicate molds. The Alice in Wonderland scene mocks its rough and tumble neighborhood,...

Conrail monopoly is ending. (Consolidated Rail Corp.)
April 5, 1993... Conrail's virtual monopoly on rail-freight service to and from Philadelphia is history. Officials at the Interstate Commerce Commission confirmed that the regulatory agency will require Consolidated Rail Corp. to give the CP Rail System...

Rules take proxy statements from the arcane to the sane. (Securities and Exchange Commission rules)
April 5, 1993... In this spring's season of annual meetings, investors are getting a good, and in some cases, eye-popping look at how much chief executives are making. "The mood of the country has changed in favor of shareholder rights. I think shareholders...

Blue Cross plans to unveil a revamped PPO. (Independence Blue Cross; preferred provider organization) (Annual Meetings)
April 5, 1993... Independence Blue Cross, the region's biggest seller of traditional indemnity health insurance, wants to grab a larger share of the managed-care market. Later this year, according to Blue Cross President and Chief Executive Officer G. Fred...

Dilworth firm sees blue skies in its future. (Dilworth, Paxson, Kalish and Kauffman)
April 5, 1993... Dilworth, Paxson, Kalish & Kauffman was once one of Philadelphia's 10 largest law firms. But about a year and a half ago, it suffered massive layoffs and defections, and went through an extensive overhaul of operations. Now the firm -- whose...

Specialized skills, sales jobs available, but few had takers. (Pennsylvania)
April 5, 1993... While economists call this a "jobless recovery," Gary Pena is looking for management trainees. And what credentials is he looking for? A valid drivers license, proof of insurance, reliable vehicle and "desire to succeed." Pena is hiring...

Fumo close to introducing measure to sell Phila. airport. (state Sen. Vincent Fumo; Philadelphia International Airport)
April 5, 1993... It's one more time in Harrisburg for turning Philadelphia International Airport into a regional operation. Only this time, it's with Democrats. State Sen. Vincent Fumo is close to introducing legislation where the city would sell the massive...

In one year, 1,000 hospital jobs were lost in region. (Pennsylvania)
April 5, 1993... Within the last year nearly 1,000 jobs were eliminated at the region's hospitals through layoffs or attrition, and more staff cuts are expected this year, according to a survey conducted by the Delaware Valley Hospital Council. "Hospitals...

Meridian-Commonwealth deal foretells the future. (merger of Commonwealth Bancshares Corp. and Meridian Bancorp Inc.)
April 5, 1993... Commonwealth Bancshares Corp.'s decision to merge with Meridian Bancorp Inc. is the first of what bankers and industry analysts say will be a new wave of midsize bank mergers that could engulf as much as $20 billion in Pennsylvania banks assets...

Climate appears sunny for investment firms. (investment firms' initial public offerings) (Industry Overview)
April 5, 1993... The brush fire of initial public offerings in recent months is creating sparks at some local venture capital funds. That may mean new financing opportunities for small companies if they find the right match with a capital source. "We're in a...

Husband and wife find home is where the office should be. (David and Mary Virtue; Media Link Distribution Services) (Home Offices) (Company Profile)
April 5, 1993... Four years ago, David and Mary Virtue decided to move David's business from a small space inside a printer's office in Northeast Philadelphia to the basement of their West Chester home. "David worked in Philadelphia for a couple of years and...

For many folks, work is as close as a basement, garage or den. (home-based businesses) (Home Offices)
April 5, 1993... The home is not only our castle. Increasingly, it's becoming our office, too. Everyone from free-lance writers to accountants to computer programmers is setting up shop in converted basements, garages, bedrooms, dens, even barns. More...

Supreme Court tightens rules on home-office deductions. (home-based businesses) (Home Offices)
April 5, 1993... In an unanticipated reversal of all previous lower court rulings, the U.S. Supreme Court in January made it tougher to claim tax deductions for home-office expenses. In its 8-1 ruling in IRS Commissioner vs. Soliman, the court said...

Neither snow nor rain nor traffic can keep her from the office. (home-based businesses) (Home Offices)
April 5, 1993... * At-home workers have total freedom but need to establish a strict routine. The Monday after the "Blizzard of the 1993" was fraught with hassles and dangers for rush-hour commuters. SEPTA lines were either shut down or running way behind...

Home-office teacher practices what she preaches. (Carol Landis-Collyer) (Home Offices)
April 5, 1993... As a child, Carol Landis-Collyer would watch her father operate his upscale upholstery and decorating business from their home at 21st Street and Rittenhouse Square, Philadelphia. Among her father's clients were Nan Duskin, St. Patrick's...