St. Louis Business Journal articles from December 1999

St. Louis Business Journal archives from December 1999

AGE venture fund could hit $150 million.(Brief Article)
December 6, 1999... A.G. Edwards & Sons, which has honed a national reputation for conservative investing, is assembling a riskier venture capital fund with $110 million to $150 million in assets. The fund, part of A.G. Edwards Capital Inc., will invest in...

Piercing's hot, but not at work.
December 6, 1999... Enterprise, Maritz set policies Corporate America, meet Tina Farmer and Anthony Simmons. They're energetic and capable; their bosses say they are great employees. And between the two of them, they have 21 piercings on their heads and...

$60 million apartments.(Brief Article)
December 6, 1999... A proposal to build a $60 million apartment complex in Lake St. Louis has drawn criticism from some city leaders. If approved, the 696-unit Waterways of Lake St. Louis would be built on 70 acres along the east side of Henke Road, south of...

Sabreliner reorganizes, promotes seven execs.
December 6, 1999... As the federal trial involving SabreTech's role in the ValuJet Flight 592 crash draws to a close in Miami, parent company Sabreliner Corp. is making major organizational changes and looking to the future. The St. Louis-based aviation...

Moving on.(Brief Article)
December 6, 1999... Robert Wildrick, the former chief executive of defunct discounter Venture Stores Inc., has landed in Maryland as chief executive of Jos. A. Bank men's clothier chain. Wildrick presided over Venture's liquidation in 1998.

Orchard on Locust.(Brief Article)
December 6, 1999... Orchard Realty is targeting downtown's hot loft district. The Chicago developer has the former General American Life building at 1501 Locust under contract for close to the $4.5 million asking price. Orchard is interested in turning the...

Monkey business.
December 6, 1999... Local partners Sam Glasser, David Jump and other investors have snapped up the "Monkey" building at 1430 Washington Ave. for $450,000. The seller was Jack Randall. The building is named for its frieze of sculpted monkeys by Bob Cassffly.

By the numbers.(Brief Article)
December 6, 1999... St. Louis ranked 30th out of the 50 best big metro areas for starting and growing a business in the December issue of Inc. magazine, beating out San Francisco, Los Angeles and Chicago, numbers 31, 32 and 33, respectively. Phoenix was No. 1.

Check it out.(Brief Article)
December 6, 1999... St. Louis shoppers kept a relatively tight hold on their checkbooks over the recent Thanksgiving holiday weekend, according to Telecheck Services Inc. St. Louis sales during the biggest shopping weekend of the year increased 3.9 percent over...

New role.(Brief Article)
December 6, 1999... Gary Hawkins, former head of Prudential HealthCare in St. Louis, has survived the company's takeover by Aetna U.S. Healthcare. Hawkins will consult on consolidating operations in a 16-state area.

School ranks.(Brief Article)
December 6, 1999... Mary Institute and Country Day School ranked 7th in the nation among private schools last year in total donations and 6th in the nation in endowments. MICDS raised $8,078,499 in total giving, according to the school's recently issued 1998-1999...

Dierberg's passion.(Brief Article)
December 6, 1999... First Banks Inc. Chairman and Chief Executive James Dierberg caught the attention of the Wall Street Journal last month. The banker's winery-themed office in Clayton was featured in the WSJ's Nov. 24 Workspaces section. Dierberg owns wineries...

'Tis the season.(Brief Article)
December 6, 1999... Someone on your list yearning for alligator boots or how about stingray? Kansas-City based Finn's Exotic Boots has opened a store at 7911 Page Blvd. in the Boris Shoe Repair shop. Shoppers can choose from 115 pairs of boots -- snakeskin,...

Metropalis' millennium bash.
December 6, 1999... Downtown booster Metropolis is throwing its Millennium party at the A.D. Brown building at Washington and Tucker avenues. Images from the party --projected on a large outside wall courtesy of MediaARTS -- will be part of an international New...

Sweeter Sugar Plum?
December 6, 1999... Ticket sales for the "Nutcracker at the Fox" were running close to 700 tickets ahead of last year for a total of 11,770 tickets sold as of Nov. 30. That's good news for Dance St. Louis Sally Bliss, who was ready to give up on the holiday...

Wrecking ball.(Brief Article)
December 6, 1999... The New York mortgage holders of downtown's dilapidated Arcade Building and local realtor Keith Barket have requested a demolition permit from the city of St. Louis. The landmark Arcade has been in New York bankruptcy court for years. In...

Retailers do soft-sell on Y2K preparedness goods.(Brief Article)
December 6, 1999... Preparedness -- not panic. That's the slogan of a number of area retailers, when it comes to the once-in-a-millennium phenomenon known as Y2K. While many have gone to extraordinary lengths to ensure their own operations are Y2K-ready,...

Enterprise to pick up some research space.(Brief Article)
December 6, 1999... Enterprise Rent-A-Car is searching for space to expand its computer hardware and research center now located in Clayton. Rick Dames, senior vice president Pace Corporate Services and representative for Enterprise, said the company is...

TA Realty to buy Clayton Center for $40 million.(Brief Article)
December 6, 1999... TA Realty Associates, one of the largest commercial landholders in the area, plans to buy Clayton Center from WHCTS Real Estate Limited Partnership. Real estate sources say TA Realty was to close on the center, located at 120 S. Central...

Name an overachiever under 40.
December 6, 1999... The St. Louis Business Journal is seeking nominations for its sixth annual 40 Under 40 special section. The section, which will run in the Jan. 10, 2000, issue, will recognize 40 outstanding business and professional leaders under age 40....

Husch & Eppenberger.(correction to November 15, 1999 article on the law firm)(Brief Article)(Correction Notice)
December 6, 1999... Christopher Erblich, Scott Hammel, Thomas Palazzolo, Sarah Magufee, Mark Smith and Stephen Buck have been named members of the Husch-& Eppenberger law firm. Their titles were incorrect in the Nov. 15 issue.

SAVVIS Communications.(correction to November 29, 1999 article on the largest Internet service providers.)(Brief Article)(Correction Notice)
December 6, 1999... SAVVIS Communications' address is 717 Office Parkway St. Louis, Mo. 63141. SAVVIS' St. Louis office phone number is 468-7500, its fax number is 468-7555 and its sales phone number is (800) 877-7SAVVIS. This information was incorrect on the...

Ingram named chairman at First Financial Planners.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
December 6, 1999... Darrell Ingram, the former chief executive of Petrolite Corp., has taken over as chairman of First Financial Planners Inc. He was one of three outside directors appointed recently to First Financial's board after the Missouri Division of...

Curtain falling on additional cinemas here in near future.(Brief Article)
December 6, 1999... With 32 cinemas and a new megaplex coming this winter, owners of area movie houses say the St. Louis market may not have room for more. With the opening of two cinema complexes this year and a 21-screen megaplex opening in Chesterfield...

Hemingway collection gives Furniture Brands a leg up.(Brief Article)
December 6, 1999... Furniture is not generally considered a hot holiday item, but a new line from St. Louis-based Furniture Brands International Inc. is clearly on somebody's list this year. The company's new Ernest Hemingway collection from the Thomasvile...

Adamson toasts new accounts.
December 6, 1999... Adamson, a Clayton marketing firm, has won a pair of wine and spirit accounts estimated to be worth $3.5 million to the agency. The new accounts are the Green Mountain Cidery, owned by Manchester, England-based H.P Bulmer, and Ironstone...

Internet connection boosts investor interest in Amdocs.
December 6, 1999... Local software maker Amdocs Ltd. has seen its stock price soar in recent weeks, helped by Wall Street's interest in the customers Amdocs is nabbing in cyberspace. Amdocs stock rose 32 percent in October, to $28 a share, making it the...

Engineered Support lands $6.8 million in military orders.(Engineered Support Systems)
December 6, 1999... Engineered Support Systems won $6.8 million in new orders for heating and cooling equipment from the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Army. According to the company, the Air Force exercised options to buy $4.8 million in heat pumps used to heat and...

13 St. Louis companies in Forbes Private 500.
December 6, 1999... Thirteen St. Louis firms have made the cut for Forbes Private 500, a listing of the nation's 500 largest private companies based on total revenue. Enterprise Rent-A-Car was top among St. Louis firms, ranked 24th withrevenue of $4.7...

Ross & Baruzzini launches new construction division.
December 6, 1999... The expanding Ross & Baruzzini engineering and architecture firm is getting into the construction business. The company launched a new division, Ross & Baruzzini Building Group Inc., and has hired Ronald Unterreiner, former chief financial...

New television ads focus on humor to boost Blues ticket sales.(St. Louis Blues)
December 6, 1999... Humor has been drafted to help the St. Louis Blues sell season tickets in a new series of TV ads that will run through the end of the hockey season. The ad campaign, developed by the Schupp Co. Inc., includes three, 30-second spots...

Small business that waits to act on Y2K may perish.
December 6, 1999... Up to 1.5 million small business owners won't take any steps to address the Year 2000 computer problem before Jan. 1, according to the National Federation of Independent Business. The new estimate is based on an October Gallup Organization...

Entrepreneurs form group.(National Commission on Entrepreneurship)
December 6, 1999... Nearly half of all Americans have the wrong idea about who is responsible for the nation's economic growth, according to the National Commission on Entrepreneurship. A poll commissioned by the new organization found that 45 percent of...

Women's Business Centers.
December 6, 1999... President Clinton is expected to sign legislation that will allow existing Women's Business Centers to apply for additional funding from the Small Business Administration once their original, five-year grants end. The House passed the...

Inventors continue patent fight.
December 6, 1999... Independent inventors who oppose changes in the U.S. patent system have vowed to continue their fight, even though patent legislation was tacked on to the budget bill passed by Congress and signed by President Clinton. Steven Michael...

Firms get break on paperwork.(minority-owned government contractors)
December 6, 1999... Minority-owned government contractors can now pursue federally funded state and local transportation projects without going through an additional round of extensive paperwork and examination. The Small Business Administration and the U.S....

General American Life selling group health business.
December 6, 1999... General American Life Insurance Co. has agreed to sell its Group Health division to Denver-based Great-West Life & Annuity Insurance Co. General American said the Group Health business will operate under its own identity as Gen Am Benefits and...

Charter Communications.(trading some cable systems)
December 6, 1999... Charter Communications has signed a letter of intent with AT&T Broadband & Internet Services (AT&T BIS) to trade certain cable systems, including the AT&T BIS-owned systems in the St. Louis area. When the transaction is completed, Charter will...

Kellwood Co.(Hal Upbin new chairman of the board)
December 6, 1999... St. Louis-based retailer Kellwood Co.'s board of directors elected Hal Upbin chairman of the board. He succeeds William McKenna, who became chairman emeritus. Both appointments are effective Dec. 1. Upbin is currently Kellwood's president and...

Reinsurance Group of America Inc.(IPO)
December 6, 1999... Reinsurance Group of America Inc. said it completed a $125 million private placement of common stock with New York-based Metropolitan Life Insurance Co., which has filed for what would be the largest initial public offering in the United...

Area Rescue Consortium of Hospitals (ARCH).(to be acquired by Air Methods)
December 6, 1999... Denver-based Air Methods Corp. announced that it has entered into a letter of intent to acquire Area Rescue Consortium of Hospitals (ARCH), which is a non-profit organization that provides air medical transport services to communities in the...

Coin Acceptors Inc.(to acquire Money Control)
December 6, 1999... Coin Acceptors Inc. has offered $90 million to acquire outstanding shares of U.K.-based Money Control, pending shareholder approval. Both companies manufacture coin devices and bill acceptors for vending machines. St. Louis-based Coin Acceptors...

Varner Technologies Inc.(buying controlling interest in Peppermill Capital)
December 6, 1999... Varner Technologies Inc., a St. Louis-based Internet service provider, purchased a controlling interest in Springfield, Ill.-based Peppermill Capital Corp., a venture capital firm. In addition, Peppermill and Varner have entered into an...

Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc.(president, Patrick Stokes new position)
December 6, 1999... Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc. announced its president, Patrick Stokes, will assume responsibility for the company's international beer business. Stokes succeeds John Purnell as chairman of the board of Anheuser-Busch International Inc. Purnell will...

Healthcare USA of Missouri LLC.
December 6, 1999... Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon is suing two HMOs for allegedly failing to test St. Louis children for lead poisoning. Nixon filed suit in the St. Louis City Circuit Court against Healthcare USA of Missouri LLC and Prudential Health Care...

BlueChoice.(Brief Article)
December 6, 1999... BlueChoice has agreed to pay the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program $6 million in a settlement after a government audit revealed that the St. Louis-based company overcharged the medical program for federal employees. Government auditors...

RehabCare hopes to double hospitals in three years.
December 6, 1999... Helped by upcoming changes in the Medicare payments system, Alan Henderson is aiming to double the number of hospitals in three years where RehabCare Group manages rehabilitation units. The chief executive of the St. Louis-based...

Spina to sell On Call, service that fielded calls for physicians.
December 6, 1999... Faced with a cash crunch, Linda Spina is selling her business that fielded calls for pediatricians, obstetricians and gynecologists. On Call Associates Ltd. answered phone calls on behalf of its clients and paged physicians when necessary....

Michael Ariel.(Brief Article)
December 6, 1999... Michael Ariel, associate professor of anatomy and neurobiology, received a three-year, $159,988 grant from the National Science Foundation for research on how information about the direction of the body's motion is processed by nerve cells in...

Maw-Shund Liu.(Brief Article)
December 6, 1999... Maw-Shund Liu, professor of pharmaceutical and physiological sciences, received a four-year, $631,027 renewal grant from the National Institutes of Health/National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute for research aimed at enabling genetic...

Dr. George Matuschak.(Brief Article)
December 6, 1999... Dr. George Matuschak, professor of internal medicine in the division of pulmonology and pulmonary occupational medicine, received a four-year, $794,376 renewal grant from the National Institutes of Health/National Institute of General Medical...

Dr. Justin Mott.(Brief Article)
December 6, 1999... Dr. Justin Mott, student of molecular microbiology and immunology has received a three-year, $90,000 training grant award from the American Diabetes Association for research on the underlying cause of decreased insulin secretion in diabeties.

Wendi Neckameyer.(Brief Article)
December 6, 1999... Wendi Neckameyer, assistant professor of pharmacological and physiological science, received a three-year, $221,436 grant from the National Institutes of Health/National Institute of Mental Health for research on the mechanisms that regulate...

Jefferson Memorial Hospital.(Brief Article)
December 6, 1999... The Business Development/Community Relations department of Jefferson Memorial Hospital received a first-place "Show-Me Excellence Award" from the Missouri Association for Healthcare Public Relations and Marketing for an advertising campaign.

Nurses for Newborns.(Brief Article)
December 6, 1999... Nurses for Newborns received the following grants: $40,000 from Lutheran Charities Foundation; $7,500 from St. Louis Association for Philanthropy; $35,000 from Baxter/Allegiance Foundation; $25,000 from Mercy Caritas Fund-Sisters of Mercy;...

Ranken Jordan Pediatric Rehabilitation Center.
December 6, 1999... Ranken Jordan Pediatric Rehabilitation Center has received a $2,500 grant from the St. Louis Rams Foundation to support the Arts in the Healing Environment program, aimed at encouraging creative skills of inpatient children.

SSM Health Care.
December 6, 1999... SSM Rehab, a member of SSM Health Care, received the 1999 Service Excellence Award for Prevention from the Brain Injury Association of Missouri for its Bike Fair program.

Washington University.
December 6, 1999... Washington University received a $900,000 grant from the W.M. Keck Foundation for research on the potential for reversing the effects of spinal cord injuries by transplantation of embryonic stem cells.

Dr. Joseph St. Geme.
December 6, 1999... Dr. Joseph St. Geme, associate professor of pediatrics, received a five-year, $1.4 million grant from the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders.

Patrick Stuart.
December 6, 1999... Patrick Stuart, research assistant professor of ophthalmology and visual sciences, received a five-year, $1.4 million grant from the National Eye Institute.

Thomas Ferguson.
December 6, 1999... Thomas Ferguson, associate professor of ophthalmology and visual sciences, received a four-year, $1.3 million grant from the National Eye Institute.

Dr. Martha Clabby.
December 6, 1999... Dr. Martha Clabby; instructor of pediatrics, received a two-year, $70,000 grant from the American Heart Association.

Dr. Frank Zimmerman.
December 6, 1999... Dr. Frank Zimmerman, instructor of pediatrics, received a two-year, $70,000 grant from the American Heart Association.

Ma Zhongmin.
December 6, 1999... Ma Zhongmin, research assistant professor of medicine, received a four-year, $300,000 grant from the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation International.

Dora Angelaki.
December 6, 1999... Dora Angelaki, associate professor of anatomy and neurobiology, received a one-year, $99,999 grant from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Dr. Thomas Diacovo.
December 6, 1999... Dr. Thomas Diacovo, professor of surgery, received a one-year, $60,000 grant from the Edward Mallinckrodt Jr. Foundation.

Dr. Kenneth Ludmerer.
December 6, 1999... Dr. Kenneth Ludmerer, professor of medicine, received a three-year, $105,000 grant from the Charles E. Culpeper Foundation.

Pamela Hoppe.
December 6, 1999... Pamela Hoppe, research instructor of genetics, received a three-year, $313,208 grant from the the National Science Foundation.

Dr. Martin Wax.
December 6, 1999... Dr. Martin Wax, associate professor of ophthalmology and visual sciences, received a one-year, $12,339 grant from the Glaucoma Research Foundation.

John Russell.
December 6, 1999... John Russell, professor of molecular biology and pharmacology, received a three-year, $315,011 grant from the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

Dr. John Trotter.
December 6, 1999... Dr. John Trotter, professor of neurology, received a three-year, $247,242 grant from the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

Vijay Sharma.
December 6, 1999... Vijay Sharma, research assistant professor of radiology, received a one-year, $249,394 grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

Barbara Zehnbauer.
December 6, 1999... Barbara Zehnbauer, associate professor of pediatrics, received a five-year, $977,295 grant from the National Cancer Institute.

Ted Hansen.
December 6, 1999... Ted Hansen, professor of genetics, received a five-year, $1.3 million grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

Alan Shiels.
December 6, 1999... Alan Shiels, assistant professor of ophthalmology and visual sciences, received a three-year, $796,295 grant from the National Eye Institute.

Dr. Jeffrey Saffitz.
December 6, 1999... Dr. Jeffrey Saffitz, professor of pathology, received a four-year, $1.1 million grant from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.

Dr. Elliot Nelson.
December 6, 1999... Dr. Elliot Nelson, assistant professor of psychiatry, received a five-year, $743,830 grant from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

Jay Ponder.
December 6, 1999... Jay Ponder, associate professor of biochemistry and molecular biophysics, received a three-year, $446,918 grant from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences.

David Russel.
December 6, 1999... David Russel, professor of molecular microbiology, received a four-year, $1.2 million grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

Karen O'Malley.
December 6, 1999... Karen O'Malley, professor of neurobiology, received a four-year, $987,532 grant from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.

Eugene Johnson.
December 6, 1999... Eugene Johnson, professor of neurology, received a five-year, $1.2 million grant from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.

James Laing.
December 6, 1999... James Laing, instructor of medicine, received a four-year, $260,000 grant from the American Heart Association.

Dr. Phyllis Hanson.
December 6, 1999... Dr. Phyllis Hanson, assistant professor of cell biology and physiology, received a one-year, $422,142 grant from the W.M. Keck Foundation.

Dr. Janet Rader.
December 6, 1999... Dr. Janet Rader, assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology, received a two-year, $252,000 grant from the American Cancer Society.