Philadelphia Business Journal articles from February 1999

Philadelphia Business Journal archives from February 1999

PGW may be turned over.(Philadelphia Gas Works Co.)
February 26, 1999... Philadelphia Gas Works may be turned over to an outside utility to manage following a grim report on the city's prospects for selling the embattled operation. Peco Energy Co., Enron Corp. and Public Service Electric & Gas Co., among...

Flower Show is a thorn for some; is business lost to potentially bigger events because of it?(Philadelphia Flower Show)
February 26, 1999... Piles of mulch - about 70 tractor-trailers full - soon will make their way into the Philadelphia Convention Center to lay the groundwork for the Philadelphia Flower Show. Billed as the largest indoor flower show in the world, the...

Where we rank, how we're seen.(Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
February 26, 1999... Editor's Note: This is the second in a series aimed at examining the state of entrepreneurship in the Philadelphia region. Talk to almost anyone involved with the Philadelphia-area entrepreneurial scene and they'll tell you it's booming....

System switches medical schools.(Crozer-Keystone Health System switches affiliation from MCP Hahnemann University to Temple University School of Medicine)
February 26, 1999... In the latest reverberation to follow last year's collapse of the Allegheny health system, Crozer-Keystone Health System is switching its academic affiliation from MCP Hahnemann University to Temple University School of Medicine. John C....

Town regains its lost luster.(includes article on Mayor Joe Celano)(Hatboro, Pennsylvania)
February 26, 1999... HATBORO - First things first: Yes, they really made hats here once. Hatboro was founded by an English hatter, John Dawson, and the town even had a hat factory for a period, but its reputation as ground zero for headwear disappeared long...

Union spars with REIT.(Universal Health Services Inc.)
February 26, 1999... Food workers may stage proxy fight over directorship KING OF PRUSSIA - A food workers union is threatening to launch a proxy fight aimed at creating a "truly independent board" for a publicly traded real estate company. Officials at...

Tucker Anthony to start retail brokerage.(Tucker Anthony Inc.)
February 26, 1999... Tucker Anthony Inc. is launching a new Pennsylvania retail brokerage boutique based in Philadelphia, aiming to make a home for brokers and clients wary of bigger houses. "I can't keep up with the calls from the wirehouse managers and...

Wheat First Union fights Raymond James' plans.(Raymond James Associates Inc.)
February 26, 1999... Raymond James & Associates Inc.'s plans to develop a Philadelphia retail brokerage presence have prompted Wheat First Union to race into federal court for an injunction. As a result, a temporary restraining order was issued Feb. 17 that...

CollaGenex assuages dentists' fear of drug.(CollaGenex Pharmaceuticals Inc.; Periostat)
February 26, 1999... NEWTOWN - When CollaGenex Pharmaceuticals Inc. launched its first drug three months ago, CEO Brian M. Gallagher fully expected some dentists and periodontists would perceive it as a threat to their livelihood. "We were very sensitive to...

Food firm in fight over allegedly diverted profits.(Food Sciences Corp.)
February 26, 1999... MOUNT LAUREL, N.J. - A health-food development firm anti its one-time consultant are trading accusations of racketeering and betrayal over the company's account with Jenny Craig Inc. The consultant, Robert A. Katz, who contends that he...

Building next to Disney site to be renovated.(841 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA)
February 26, 1999... A 13-story classical style office building in Center City, long regarded as all-but-dead space, is undergoing $35 million in renovations and attracting tenants. The fact that it's next door to the property where a DisneyQuest may someday...

Tough times for city's new hotels.(Statistical Data Included)
February 19, 1999... Center City Hotel Market Percentage increases in demand 1998 1999 2000 2001 Commercial/business 2.1% 2.3% 2.5% 2.0% Convention and group meeting (4.9%) 4.0% 25.0% 20.0%...

Feeding off First Union's fumbling.(First Union Corp.)
February 19, 1999... Banks, non-banks, Philadelphians, Main Liners and out-of-state wheeler-dealers - all sorts of folks have gotten fat on the business that fell off First Union Corp.'s table during its debut year in the Philadelphia market. In late...

A new kind of cyberspace.(New York Information Technology Center)
February 19, 1999... NEW YORK - Once the headquarters of one of Wall Street's financial powerhouses, 55 Broad St. today is home to operations of some of the country's hottest new-media companies. That this is a place where technology, where being wired comes...

Lab spin-off pursues billion-dollar drug.(IgX Oxford Hepatitis Corp.)
February 19, 1999... One of the region's leading biomedical research labs has spun off its first company, one formed to commercialize a drug being developed to combat hepatitis and other forms of liver disease. IgX Oxford Hepatitis Corp. was established...

Rival club to take a shot at the Addys.(Philadelphia Addy Awards)
February 19, 1999... A protracted dispute over the judging of Philadelphia's Addy Awards has prompted a splinter group to challenge the city's venerable advertising event with a rival awards show. Backed by a new sponsor, the Art Directors' Club of...

Foundation gets louder.(Philadelphia Foundation)
February 19, 1999... The Philadelphia Foundation, which has seen its assets more than double since 1991, plans to launch a major effort this spring to boost its local profile. The campaign will aim to make the public more aware of the foundation and hew to...

South St. awaits royal treatment.(rehabilitation of south street west)
February 19, 1999... South Street may have a reputation as the hippest street in town, but it would be tough to convince retailers of that on the bleak blocks west of 10th Street. Hope, however, could be on the way. Several movements are under way to...

Heating companies boil over the heat.(includes related article on Daleco Resources Corp.)
February 19, 1999... Unusually low energy prices and unseasonably warm weather are causing widespread problems for oil and natural gas companies throughout the Philadelphia region. Reported earnings have dropped as much as 25 percent for companies struggling...

Will WorldGate IPO skyrocket?(WorldGate Communications Inc./initial public offering)
February 19, 1999... BENSALEM - The Philadelphia area's next high-flying Internet stock could belong to a company based here. WorldGate Communications Inc. has filed notice with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it plans to raise $64.4 million by...

Dranoff casts eye on Venice island factory.(Carl Dranoff, developer of historic properties)
February 19, 1999... Carl Dranoff, a developer of historic properties in Old City, Center City and University City, now wants a piece of Manayunk, too. Dranoff has plans to redevelop three acres of Venice Island - a strip of land in the Schuylkill River...

Business publication sold to its employees; the monthly Small Business News sale is part of a larger realignment by its former Ohio owner.
February 19, 1999... Small Business News has sold its Philadelphia publication to local employees who plan to close the monthly's Center City location and open a suburban office. The newspaper's editor, Darrell L. Browning, said he had stepped down to pursue...

Dissent among tourism pros.(tourism agencies in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to undergo major reorganization)
February 12, 1999... Fissures develop in plans to reorganize Phila.'s hospitality duties Philadelphia's tourism officials presented a united front this week when they announced the success of a hotel promotion to salvage business from the lost NBA All-Star...

Energy firm losing gas fast.(Castle Energy Corp.)
February 12, 1999... The company made what turned out to be a wrong move in selling off wells and pipeline to pay off debt. RADNOR - With its biggest contract about to end, Castle Energy Corp. is hoping to buy natural gas or oil ventures from distressed...

Aiming at what's next in wireless.(InterDigital Communications Corp.'s contract with Nokia)
February 12, 1999... KING OF PRUSSIA - InterDigital Communications Corp. has signed an agreement with cellphone giant Nokia that could make it one of the world's top suppliers of wireless-transmission technology. The agreement calls for the Finnish wireless...

Enron sweet-talking local outfits.(energy firm seeks contracts to managed facilities)
February 12, 1999... Texas utility is discussing maintenance contracts with dozens of companies Enron Corp. wants to make sure your ballpark hotdog is hot and the beer is cold. The Texas energy giant, competing with Peco Energy Co. and others in the...

New HMO goes against the tide.(health maintenance organization Healthcare Management Alternatives Inc. enters Medicare market)
February 12, 1999... While HMOs in other parts of the country have either scaled back their Medicare operations or abandoned them altogether, Philadelphia-based Healthcare Management Alternatives is jumping into the market. "We are committed to the...

Benecol launch sours; FDA seeks more info.(agency requires McNeil Consumer Products Co. to supply more safety information about its dietary supplement)
February 12, 1999... Agency says new margarine is a food additive FORT WASHINGTON - Surrendering to Food and Drug Administration demands, McNeil Consumer Products Co. has agreed to supply the agency with additional safety information about its...

Geosphere lands big Dow contract.(software company GeoSphere Emergency Responses Systems Inc., Dow Chemical Co.)
February 12, 1999... Its crisis-management software receives a huge endorsement DOYLESTOWN - A company that has developed a software system that tells chemical-plant personnel how to respond to emergencies has signed a deal with The Dow Chemical Co. that...

Just how much will Pru pay in Pa.?(settlement of Prudential Insurance Co.'s fraud case in Pennsylvania)
February 12, 1999... Despite a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision cutting off avenues of recourse, the $2 billion settlement in the Prudential Insurance Company of America fraud case is still a topic for debate in Pennsylvania. Prudential set aside the money...

Diversity: making good business sense.(human resource management consulting firm Elsie Cross Associates Inc.)
February 12, 1999... Gender- and color-blind development of talent is becoming a necessity The way Elsie Cross sees it, the problem isn't racism. Well, yes, the problem is racism. But racism itself may be part of something larger: An unfortunate misfire, a...

Filling a new script for success, generic drug company stays in step with the industry.(Lannett Company Inc.)
February 12, 1999... Generic drug company stays in step with the industry William Farber believed all along that he was sitting on a gold mine. As a seasoned veteran in the generic drug industry, he suspected that the Lannett Co. Inc., a Philadelphia...

Ex-partner alleges deceit.(includes related article)(former partner Kenneth Jacobsen files a lawsuit against Chimicles & Tikellis)
February 5, 1999... A one-time partner in a nationally recognized Haverford law firm has sued it for allegedly engaging in a pattern of deceit and betrayal. Kenneth Jacobsen's suit against Chimicles & Tikellis and its senior partner, Nicholas Chimicles,...

Dranoff, Penn team up on $54M deal.(developer Carl Dranoff; University of Pennsylvania)
February 5, 1999... The project represents the latest step in a drive to revitalize University City The University of Pennsylvania is teaming with developer Carl Dranoff to turn a vacant, block-long building on 32nd Street into a $54 million mix of...

AG opens review of Aetna, Pru deal.(Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office conducts a review of Aetna Inc.'s proposed acquisition of Prudential Insurance Co.)
February 5, 1999... The Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office is conducting an antitrust review of Aetna Inc.'s proposed $1 billion acquisition of Prudential Insurance Co.'s health insurance business. What's more, the American Medical Association has...

Comcast Corp.'s $5.9 billion quandary.
February 5, 1999... Comcast Corp.'s strategic investments over the years have grown into a staggering $5.9 billion in stock, thanks to consolidation in the telecommunications industry and the growth of the Internet. The stock, coupled with the cash Comcast...

Urban B&Bs growing in favor.(bed-and-breakfast trade)
February 5, 1999... The new Alexander Inn at 12th and Spruce streets is a hotel. No, it's a bed-and-breakfast. OK, by its owner's account, it's a "luxury hotel that thinks it's a bed-and-breakfast." Formerly the rundown Kesmon Hotel, where "tourists" more...

Return of the master chef.(Georges Perrier)
February 5, 1999... Georges Perrier has had it. "I'm taking control of my own destiny," Perrier exclaims, his arms gesturing wildly and slicing the air around him, his French accent desperately trying to catch up with his trademark tempo. Inspecting his...

Banks are hatching in S.J.(South Jersey)
February 5, 1999... South Jersey has become a new bank incubator, where investors can buy a piece of the action for as low as $1,000 - the same amount some big banks require as checking account minimums. And, instead of rolling out the red tape, even state...

Proven: Eagles' fans are fanatics.(football team Philadelphia Eagles)
February 5, 1999... The Philadelphia Eagles, a team that set a franchise record for losses this past season, scored higher than almost all of its gridiron foes in a new national study of fan allegiance. Only two other teams tallied a better ranking for fan...

Smaller retailers find expansion a mistake.
February 5, 1999... Some of the region's more ambitious small retailers, trying to act like big chains, have found themselves in full retreat. The most recent example of this: Fante's, a family-run cookware specialty shop started in the Italian Market 93...

Providing health info means healthy returns: InteliHealth amasses 2 million pages of reports.(Health Care Quarterly)
February 5, 1999... BLUE BELL - Anybody who has surfed the Internet to learn more about a particular illness or disease quickly discovers that the amount of health-care information in cyberspace is staggering. Just as overwhelming is the process of sifting...

Auditing hospital bills saving firms money: checking hospital overcharges is a big business.
February 5, 1999... Inflation in health care is back. Compounding the problem: hospital overcharges. According to one estimate, published in 1995, more than 90 percent of the roughly 31 million hospital bills processed each year are wrong, with overcharges...