Philadelphia Business Journal articles from March 2001, page 3

Philadelphia Business Journal archives from March 2001

Electronic Payment Exchange.
March 16, 2001... Payment processors Electronic Payment Exchange of New Castle, Del., launched epxbnank.com, an online bank for its merchant client base; the Web site is a private label version of thehancorp.com

Parke Bank.
March 16, 2001... Parke Bank of Washington Township, N.J. achieved profitability in its second year in business, having opened on Jan. 28, 1999. It has more than $50 million in assets and returned year-end profits of $439,791. The bank plans to open an office...

Will there be a shortage of obstetricians?
March 16, 2001... The Pennsylvania Medical Society issued a report that indicates soaring liability insurance premiums could lead to a shortage of obstetricians throughout the state. The medical society, the state's largest physician advocacy group, said...

New Center opens.
March 16, 2001... La Fortaleza, a physical therapy services provider that serves the Latino communities of North Philadelphia, opened a new treatment center in Port Richmond. The 2,600-square-foot facility in a shopping center on Aramingo Avenue is next...

Contract ends.
March 16, 2001... Unable to negotiate a new deal, Aetna U.S. Healthcare and Lehigh Valley Hospital in Allentown terminated their relationship after a five-year contract expired at the end of February. Aetna is continuing to cover members who go to Lehigh...

Chestnut Hill Hospital.
March 16, 2001... Chestnut Hill Hospital completed its $2 million emergency department expansion project. The expansion was funded entirely through donations from individuals, families, corporations, employees, physicians, trustees, volunteers, community...

Genesis Health Ventures Inc.
March 16, 2001... Genesis Health Ventures Inc. of Kennett Square signed a multi-year contract with CareFirst Blue Cross and Blue Shield, which covers members of CareFirst's affiliates serving Delaware, Maryland, and Washington. The deal extends long-term-care...

Joann Richichi.
March 16, 2001... A Washington Township, N.J., physician has published her first book Dr. Joann Richichi, sai she decided to write "Nine Months to Go: What You Need to Know," to provide expectant women with "down-to-earth" information about what to expect...

La Colombe brews a hot idea for coffee, city.
March 16, 2001... La Colombe partner Todd Carmichael likens his new business venture to selling vodka in Russia or exporting wine to France. Selling coffee in Seattle, he figures, should be a natural. While it is a "mature" coffee market, says...

Film fun.
March 16, 2001... While Iberti and Carmichael push for La Colombe to make Philadelphia the coffee capital of the world, Sharon Pinkenson continues to push its image as the film center of the East Coast. She's not slowing down, but last week gushed that she...

National Business Travelers Association.
March 16, 2001... A push is on to start a local chapter of the National Business Travelers Association. The group has bout 100 interested joiner types already excited to sign up, says organizer Sharon G. Miller, vice president of business development for...

Philadelphia Business Travelers Association.
March 16, 2001... The Philadelphia Business Travelers Association (Philly BTA) plans to expand the philosophies of NBTA, offering its chapter members the opportunity to expand their information network and promote the value of travel management as an industry....

Mich. group purchases shopping center.
March 16, 2001... Lured by an open market, a Michigan investment group bought the Bradford Plaza Shopping Center in West Chester for about $10.4 million. The seller was Wellsford Capital Properties LLC of New York. Adam Lutz, principal with the purchaser,...

A legend goes suburban.
March 16, 2001... Chef Jimmy Rubino Jr., proprietor of the famous Ralph's Italian Restaurant in South Philadelphia, is taking his fourth-generation recipes to Ambler. Jimmy Rubino's Ralph's of South Philadelphia is scheduled to open at the corner...

Local K'Nexpert.
March 16, 2001... Nicholas Matone, a 9-year-old from Stroudsburg, was one of 10 kids chosen to serve on an advisory panel for K'Nex Industries, a construction toy manufacturer in Hatfield. The company calls its advisers K'Nexperts. The brown-haired,...

Wolverine Equities Co.
March 16, 2001... Wolverine Equities Co., an affiliate of The Staubach Co. of Dallas, bought CVS properties in Easton and Prospect Park as part of a $288 million purchase of 96 of the drugstore chain's properties in 15 states and the District of Columbia....

Metro Commercial Real Estate.
March 16, 2001... Mount Laurel, N.J.-based Metro Commercial Real Estate closed six retail leases worth about $1.6 million, including a 12,000 square-foot lease for Children's World learning Centers in Uwchlan, an 8,500 square-foot lease for Dollar Magic in...

Michael Salove Co.
March 16, 2001... Commercial real estate broker Michael Salove Co. negotiated a lease for a freestanding Macy's Furniture Gallery in Maple Shade, N.J., the first in the Philadelphia area. Salove also closed a lease for a Pier One Imports at the Shoppes at...

Hillier to till the $66M Farm Show rehab.
March 16, 2001... The Hillier Group will oversee the $66 million expansion and renovation of the Farm Show Complex, housed on 60 acres in Harrisburg. A big to-do for the state, the Farm Show has been an annual event for the last 85 years and is considered...

New AIA chief.
March 16, 2001... John Claypool has been named executive director of the Philadelphia chapter of the American Institute of Architects, beginning in April. He replaces Sandra L. Garz, who was executive director for seven years and resigned to seek other...

Moving on.
March 16, 2001... In the latest of a spate of commercial real estate folks switching firms, Tim Pulte has left Grubb & Ellis to join GMH Capital Partners as senior vice president and director of corporate services. Pulte leaves Grubb & Ellis after 15...

Extension granted.
March 16, 2001... The Federal Reserve Board has extended the comment period until May 1 for those wishing to add input to what has become a controversial issue of letting federally chartered banks take on real estate brokerage and property management work. ...

The fine print.
March 16, 2001... Binswanger/CBB has formed a new partnership with New Jersey real estate company Charles' Klatskin Co. Inc. of Teterboro. The team referred to as "Binswanger Klatskin" hopes to have an impact on the Garden State's northern and central...

Capsule reimbursed after merger dries up.
March 16, 2001... Long-distance provider Capsule Communications Inc. will receive $400,000 over the next few months from a former merger partner that terminated their agreement earlier this year. Bethesda-based Startec Global Communications Corp. said it...

Black boxes.
March 16, 2001... Comcast Cablevision of Southeast Pennsylvania Inc. has filed a lawsuit in federal court in Philadelphia against, a Delaware company for allegedly manufacturing cable box descramblers. The suit alleges Claymont, Del., electronics store R&R...

CEO Portrait.
March 16, 2001... Clelland Green Personal information Name: Clelland Green Title: CEO Company: America's Choice Healthplans. Type of company: Online benefits administrator in King of Prussia. Recent project: We converted our product...

DEFENSE GIANT ENTERS NEW ERA.
March 16, 2001... The challenges are many for one of the largest employers in the Delaware Valley. Play word association with South Jersey and what comes to mind? Campbell Soup? The New Jersey Devil? The Pine Barrens? Philadelphia's bedroom...

Economic impact calculated at $1.3 billion.
March 16, 2001... As the largest employer in the tri-county South Jersey area, Lockheed Martin obviously plays a big role in the local economy. Question is, how big? Real big, according to Capital Plans Ltd., of Saddle River, N.J. Some food for...

From RCA to Lockheed, music to defense.
March 16, 2001... The company's operations in S. Jersey have seen huge changes So, what exactly does legendary opera tenor Enrico Caruso have to do with Lockheed Martin's presence in South Jersey? More than you might think. The Bethesda-Md.-based...

Smaller firms feed on Lockheed contracts.
March 16, 2001... A slew of companies rely heavily on the company for business Lockheed Martin's sphere of influence in South Jersey extends well beyond its main operations in Moorestown and Camden. Given that it's the largest employer in Camden,...

Labor, Lockheed in collaborative mode.
March 16, 2001... Three different labor unions claim more than half of the Lockheed Martin employees at the Naval Electronics & Surveillance Systems-Surface Systems plant, but don't count on Cesar Chavez-style activism from members. No pickets. No...

Making videos work.
March 16, 2001... Bill Nicoletti is personalizing what some consider an impersonal medium. Nicoletti is the founder, owner and president of Visual Innovations Film & Video, a Philadelphia video production company that creates productions such as...

Awash in faxes? Try a Web-based service.
March 16, 2001... Is the floor by your fax machine littered with paper every morning? Do your clients get a busy signal when they try to send you a fax? Do you wish there was a way to receive confidential faxes, away from the entire office's eyes? And do you...

PEOPLE.
March 16, 2001... * FINANCIAL SERVICES BDO Seidman LLP, Philadelphia, has named the following executives: Benjamin H. Mann, to senior manager of financial recovery services; John J. Benavage, senior manager in the assurance practice; Cathleen Mroz,...

Shopping Centers.
March 16, 2001... Shopping Centers RANKED BY GROSS LEASEABLE SQUARE FOOTAGE '01 Rank Name '00 Rank Address 1. The Plaza and The Court at King of Prussia [1] 160 N. Gulph Road King of...

Subsidiary expands.
March 16, 2001... BALA CYNWYD -- American Business Financial Services Inc. announced that its commercial lending subsidiary American Business Credit Inc. is expanding its small business lending program into Michigan and Tennessee. The subsidiary already...

Sales jump forecast.
March 16, 2001... OAKS -- Valley Forge Scientific Corp. officials told stockholders at its annual meeting that the company expects sales to climb to $1.2 million in the second quarter, up from $708,000 during the first three months, of its fiscal year. ...

GMAC unit makes deal.
March 16, 2001... Newman Financial Services Inc., a subsidiary of Horsham-based GMAC Commercial Holding Corp., acquired Paramount Financial Group LLC, a real estate investment company specializing in affordable housing funds. Paramount Financial provides...

Dow buying Rohm and Haas agri business.
March 16, 2001... Rohm and Haas Co., the specialty chemical maker based in Philadelphia, said it is selling its agricultural chemicals business to The Dow Chemical Co. for $1 billion. Under the agreement, Indianapolis-based Dow will acquire all of Robin...

Clothing maker to lay off nearly 400.
March 16, 2001... Pincus Bros. Inc., Philadelphia's last big-time men's clothing-maker, said it was closing its operations in Old City and laying off 367 people. It will, however, continue to operate a distribution facility in the Northeast, as well as a...

Firm pulls IPO plan.
March 16, 2001... Medical device maker UTI Corp. announced it will not proceed with its proposed initial public offering of common stock. The Collegeville company's board chose to withdraw its IPO registration statement with the Securities and Exchange...

Verizon execs get big bonuses.
March 16, 2001... Phone company Verizon Communications paid each of its two top executives about $11 million in cash and restricted stock last year to reward them for closing the merger between the former Bell. Atlantic Corp. and GTE Corp., according to a...

Vlasic selling off two lines.
March 16, 2001... Vlasic Foods International of Cherry Hill announced its intention to sell two of its United Kingdom businesses, Freshbake Frozen Foods and SonA canned and jarred fruits, to separate parties. The deals are expected to close in April. The...

Safeguard deal.
March 16, 2001... One of Safeguard Scientific Inc.'s first big success stories agreed to acquire a later one. Novell Inc., the Provo, Utah-based provider of Net services software, entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Cambridge Technology Partners...

Charming numbers.
March 16, 2001... Charming Shoppes Inc., a women's apparel retailer in Bensalem, reported a 32 percent increase in net income for the fiscal year ended Feb. 3. Excluding a reduction of almost $600,000 caused by an accounting change, net income was $51.6...

Lincoln CEO named chairman.
March 16, 2001... Lincoln National Corp. named CEO Jon A. Boscia as chairman of the board. The company said it doesn't have plans to fill the president's position. Lead director John M. Pietruski said Boscia has instituted much change and set aggressive goals...

Crown Cork expects poor results.
March 16, 2001... Crown Cork & Seal Co. Inc., a Philadelphia based packaging company, has indicated that it will suffer a tough year ahead that will result in among other issues, a $44 million reduction in non-cash pension income. Crown Cork anticipates a...

Weston going private.
March 16, 2001... Roy F. Weston Inc. of West Chester and affiliates of American Capital Strategies Ltd. entered into a definitive merger agreement under which Weston would be acquired and become a private company. Shares of Weston stock would be acquired...

Area's balance works to its advantage.
March 16, 2001... Philadelphia's inferiority about being second class in the high-tech space took on a new dimension during, the dot-corn gold rush of late 1999. Interestingly enough, as so often happens with gold rushes of any kind, the dot-corn rush...

A telecom turning point.
March 16, 2001... Last month marked the fifth anniversary of the Telecommunications Act -- a law aimed toward ending the local telephone monopoly in America. Five years ago, the belief was local telephone competition would flourish under the new law and...

We must save our kids from becoming killers.
March 16, 2001... OK, I admit it. I was relieved to learn that the 15-year-old accused of opening fire in a suburban San Diego high school was a middle-class, white kid. I was relieved not just because I am weary of media images that portray young black...

Pa. learned from Calif. deregulation missteps.
March 16, 2001... In hindsight, it's easy to look good in Pennsylvania when comparing it with rolling blackouts and the threat of bankrupt utilities brought about by deregulation in California. But in 1996 when Pennsylvania's utilities sat down with interested...

TIAA-CREF's.
March 16, 2001... TIAA-CREF's regional office took 25,000 square feet at 11 Penn Center in Center City. It will be moving from One Liberty Place. Tactix Real Estate Advisors represented the tenants; CB Richard Ellis the building

Poor Henry's American Street Brewery and Restaurant.
March 16, 2001... Poor Henry's American Street Brewery and Restaurant on American Street in the Northern Liberties section of Philadelphia is on the block for $3.25 million. The 60,000-square-foot building comes with a brewery, restaurant and entertainment...

PaineWebber Inc.
March 16, 2001... PaineWebber Inc. consolidated its space in Two Logan Square and Centre Square and took 44,888 square feet at the Mellon Bank Center in Center City. Cushman & Wakefield represented the tenant. Grubb & Ellis represented the landlord.

'Selling 2.0'.
March 16, 2001... By Josh Gordon Learn through seven separate research studies on thousands of sales people and buyers how to motivate customers to buy. Includes the 17 motivational approaches essential to success. Berkley Books, $12.95

'The Masterbrand Mandate'.
March 16, 2001... By Lynn B. Upshaw, Earl L. Taylor, Ph.D. Smarter brand management can give managers an edge over competitors, but managing an entire company as an enterprisewide masterbrand can yield even more leverage and lasting market value in the New...

'Memos to the President'.
March 16, 2001... Edited by James J. Schiro CEOs from leading U.S. corporations apply their knowledge of managing complex organizations to the monumental challenges facing the federal government. In memos addressed directly to the president, they discuss...

Towers pulled off market in face of economic slowdown.
March 9, 2001... The owners of two large Center City office buildings have pulled their properties off the market after failing to draw the offers they sought, indicating a growing skittishness in the real estate investment realm. A third downtown...

Law firm hit by series of defections.
March 9, 2001... Buchanan Ingersoll loses lawyers to an upstart new in Philadelphia's legal market Buchanan Ingersoll, a Pittsburgh law firm with a sizable presence locally, has been hit by a succession of high-profile defections, including those of 10...

Let the trials begin.
March 9, 2001... Temple's medical school aims for its share of a $5 billion industry Squeezed by receding insurance reimbursement rates, Temple University School of Medicine is accelerating its pursuit of a growing source of revenue for academic medical...

Liberty's big Lehigh Valley play.
March 9, 2001... The Lehigh Valley industrial market might be considered Liberty Property Trust's secret weapon when it comes to bolstering its bottom line. The area straight up the North-east Extension has delivered a boon to the Malvern-based real...

From the Polonia Bank Flyers Skate Zone!
March 9, 2001... First Union may. have the naming rights for the Flyers and 76ers home arena tied up for another two decades, but that hasn't stopped a local bank from signing its own sports-related naming rights deal. Polonia Bank of Northeast...

What slowdown?
March 9, 2001... Pennsylvania is not in a recession and, at least for now, continues to be in a state of expansion. That's according to respected West Chester based economist Mark Zandi of Economy.com. While that's good news, it doesn't mean...

Dot.bomb No. 3,546.
March 9, 2001... Another company in Comeast Interactive Capital's portfolio is hitting rough waters. The company calied off its public offering in November It had planned to raise $40.7 million. Bolt Inc., the New York-based operator of a Web site...

Urban faith.
March 9, 2001... A new magazihe for "urban teenage girls of faith" is scheduled to launch this summer. Esther Magazine's first print issue is due out in August. It will join year-old Web site of the same name and feature content generated by teenage...

Looking back.
March 9, 2001... Philadelphia history isn't all about men in wig and knickers refusing to pay their taxes. An upcoming WHYY-TV special takes a look at the city's manufacturing might in the 19th and early 20th century when it was still billed as the "workshop...

Commerce expands.
March 9, 2001... CHERRY HILL -- Commerce Bank announced plans to open more than 30 branches in New York during the next five years. Vernon W. Hill, chairman and president of Commerce, said the expansion is the next step in the bank's plan to serve all of...

Merck cuts prices.
March 9, 2001... Merck & Co. Inc. lowered the prices of its two HIV infection medicines, Crixivan and Stocrin in developing countries. The new prices are $600 per patient per year for Crixivan and $500 per patient per year for Stocrin in developing...

Report hailed.
March 9, 2001... Philadelphia Bar Association Chancellor Carl S. Primavera called a state grand jury report lambasting Philadelphia's judicial election system "confirmation of something we've always suspected." The chancellor once again called upon the...

CORRECTION.
March 9, 2001... A rankking in the Feb. 23-March 2 issue of the biggest mergers and acquisitions of 2000 omitted eBay Inc.'s acquisition of Half.com of Plymouth Meeting in a stock deal worth $224 million. That would have made it the 16th largest acquisition...

Anesthesiology firm runs out of gas.
March 9, 2001... FORT WASHINGTON -- A company formed in the mid-1990s with hopes of becoming a national provider of office-based anesthesiology services is pulling the plug on itself. Synergy Healthcare Services Inc., originally founded as OBA America,...

Electric charge zapping suppliers.
March 9, 2001... Firms' cost of business hurting competition Rising wholesale prices aren't the only thing driving energy competition out of Pennsylvania's deregulated market. "Capacity charges" also have gone through the roof. The charge -- what...

PVC ruling to determine if Verizon remains whole.
March 9, 2001... Verizon Communications Inc. could find out whether its Pennsylvania operations remain whole or are split in two by the end of the month. That's when the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission is expected to announce how it will execute...

Kenexa has been reeling in the funds.
March 9, 2001... Kenexa gets $26.5 million, bringing its total raised to $58 million in 13 months. WAYNE -- More than eight months after filing for an initial public offering it never pulled off, Kenexa Corp. has received $26.5 million in funding in a...

Viral drug fighter revamps license deal.
March 9, 2001... EXTON - ViroPharma Inc., hoping to secure a marketing partner for its lead drug candidate, has restructured its licensing deal with French pharmaceutical company Sanofi-Synthelabo Inc. Under the revised deal, Sanofi has agreed to accept...

Incubator funds go to mix of companies.
March 9, 2001... Ben Franklin Technology Partners has, over the years, invested a total of $14 million in area firms From a chemical manufacturer to a creator of bioengineered life forms, the five most recent recipients of Ben Franklin Technology...

Residents sue owner of the Southwark site.
March 9, 2001... Courtyard Apts. is accused of violating public housing rules Residents of the former Southwark Plaza public housing development in Philadelphia have sued the property's owner claiming that it violated public housing rules. The owner,...

'Angel' gathering draws hopeful entrepreneurs.
March 9, 2001... If past is prologue, about one out of every five companies that presents or exhibits at the Third Annual Angel Venture Forum in Center City next month has a chance of getting funded. Eighteen companies made presentations and six set up...

Airport woe catapults notion into Catavault.
March 9, 2001... Jonathan H. Bari remembers his "Aha!" moment. He was stuck in Logan International Airport in Boston, trying to log onto US Airways Inc.'s Web site with his laptop computer and unable to remember his password, which was scribbled down on a...

Terremark allies with local firm.
March 9, 2001... Terremark Worldwide Inc., a Miami-based Internet infrastructure and managed service provider, and esavio, a Berwyn-based systems integrator, have formed an alliance to provide esavio's services to customers at a giant data center Terremark is...

PUC orders returns.
March 9, 2001... The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission has ordered competitive local exchange carrier Arbros Communications to return 10,000 of its unused phone numbers. The Silver Spring, Md.-based CLEC needs to return numbers in the 506 NXX code of the...

Sedona launches services.
March 9, 2001... King of Prussia-based Sedona Corp. has launched a new suite of marketing services that provide customer relationship management support to small to midsize financial institutions.

Neoware products.
March 9, 2001... King of Prussia-based Neoware Systems Inc. has introduced Eon, a line of computing appliances that support Windows CE, Linux and Embedded NT operating systems and are run by one suite of management tools.