St. Louis Business Journal articles from March 2000

St. Louis Business Journal archives from March 2000

A Shopping list for May.(Brief Article)
March 6, 2000... May Department Stores Go. -- cash rich and looking to buy -- has industry analysts buzzing about possible acquisition targets. In the past month, May, which operates Famous-Barr and Lord & Taylor here, has been paired with everybody from Ann...

Suburban papers price: $265 million.(Brief Article)
March 6, 2000... The Suburban Newspapers of Greater St. Louis and five other Midwest papers the Journal Register Co. recently put up for sale could be sold for at least $600 million. The package would net the company $462 million after taxes, according to...

Wash U. company nets $355 million.(Brief Article)
March 6, 2000... Cisco snaps up firm started by three professors Tired of watching their high-speed switching technology languish under license to other companies, a trio of Washington University engineering professors started-their own company in 1998. In...

President Casino tries to stay afloat.(Brief Article)
March 6, 2000... As the President Casino makes plans to move closer to Laclede's Landing to boost attendance, the boat's parent company is treading water. The stock price for St. Louis-based President Casinos Inc. has dropped steadily over the past 12...

Brush strokes.(Brief Article)
March 6, 2000... Barney Ebsworth sold his travel company, Intrav, a year ago, but he's still taking his art collection on the road. Ebsworth and his wire, Pam Ebsworth gave given the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., two major 20th century American...

Behind the wheel.(Brief Article)
March 6, 2000... Enterprise Rent-A-Car and Autobytel.com have teamed on a pilot program that allows motorists to take cars they are considering purchasing out for a weekend test drive. Boston is the initial test market; Enterprise said it would consider...

In brief.(Brief Article)
March 6, 2000... The Dowd & Dowd law firm is taking over the Metropolitan Sewer District's appeal of a long-running, 1992 rate hike case, since converted to a class-action settlement. Kohn, Shands, Elbert, Gianoulakis & Giljum had handled MSD work for the last...

Ahoy!(Brief Article)
March 6, 2000... Unigraphics Solutions' handiwork is out in front at the America's Cup. The hull for New Zealand's entry was formed with donated design software FROM Unigraphics. After a fourth straight win, New Zealand is one victory away from a 5-0 shutout of...

Cheers.(Brief Article)
March 6, 2000... Bill and Pam Reichhardt are toasting their purchase of Pioneer Wholesale Liquor and Wine Co., a local specialty spirits distribution firm. The Reichhardts bought Pioneer Jan. 6 for an undisclosed price from David Kay and Lynn Pilz, who founded...

Change of address.(Brief Article)
March 6, 2000... Christopher's will nearly double its space, when it moves June 1 from 11.2 E. Jefferson to 127 E. Argonne in Kirkwood, in a location being vacated by Russ Nixon Auto Parts. Owner Christopher Thau said the gift shop will have 4,600 square feet...

Making the grade.(Brief Article)
March 6, 2000... Jones Pharma, Express Scripts and Anheuser-Busch ranked at or near the top of their industry groups in the Wall Street Journal's shareholder scorecard. The Feb. 24 report measured returns to stockholders over one, three, five and 10 years....

All fired up.(Brief Article)
March 6, 2000... Colt Safety has just recorded its largest one-time purchase order. President and chief executive Christine Bierman said the St. Louis Fire Department bought 350 self-contained breathing apparatus, plus face masks and other accessories, and Colt...

Full plates.(Brief Article)
March 6, 2000... What does it take to feed the St. Louis Rams? Super Smokers BBQ set out spreads for 10 meals for the team and recently added up the totals: 500 servings of pulled pork, 540 servings of baby back ribs, 1,020 servings of chicken and 100 servings...

Branching out.
March 6, 2000... Llywelyn's Pub -- a fixture in the Central West End for a quarter-century -- is about to open a second location. The restaurant will open April 1 in West Port Plaza, said co-owner Chris Marshall. Marshall and Scott Kemper bought Llywelyn's in...

Mills to hold $132 million following Viasystems IPO.
March 6, 2000... James Mills, chairman and chief executive of Viasystems Group Inc., will control more than $132 million in the electronics manufacturing firm's stock after it goes public. Timothy Conlon, president and chief operating officer, will control...

RCGA hires Battelle to grow life sciences strategy.(Regional Chamber and Growth Association, Battelle Memorial Institute)(Brief Article)
March 6, 2000... The St. Louis Regional Chamber and Growth Association (RCGA) has hired Battelle Memorial Institute of Columbus, Ohio, to help develop a plant and life sciences strategy for the St. Louis area. The Battelle contract, for $200,000, began at...

RCGA seeks sponsor for regional cab commission.(Brief Article)
March 6, 2000... The St. Louis Regional Chamber and Growth Association continues to push a Missouri legislative proposal to create a regional taxicab commission, although the RCGA has yet to find a sponsor for the plan halfway through the legislative session....

A.G. Edwards, Nexstar among eScout investors.(Brief Article)
March 6, 2000... A.G. Edwards Capital and Nexstar Financial are part of an investment group that has pumped $25 million into eScout.com, a business-to-business e-commerce site developed by UMB Financial Corp. Other investors are: Mayfield Fund, a venture...

Corrections.
March 6, 2000... Chemical Dynamics Inc. Jeff Hawley, George Convy and Tim Convy represented Chemical Dynamics Inc. in the sale of a building in Bridgeton. This information was incorrect in the Business Leads section in the Feb. 28 issue.

Missouri sets record for venture capital: $283 million.(Brief Article)
March 6, 2000... Four deals in the St. Louis area pushed Missouri to $67 million in venture capital investments for the last three months of 1999. That brought the state to a record $283.5 million in venture investments for 20 companies last year -- more...

New law firm to lease space in west county.(Brief Article)
March 6, 2000... A new law firm -- Mickes, Tueth, Keeney, Cooper, Mohan & Jackstadt -- is close to negotiating a lease for offices in west St. Louis County Tom Mickes, who is leading nearly 20 lawyers in the group, said he and his new partners have...

Harvard professor draws up Inner Circle.(Brief Article)
March 6, 2000... Executives from area companies including World Wide Technology, G.A. Sullivan and AeroTech are taking an interest in a new local firm that aims to use the Internet to knit small and medium-size companies into the U.S. supply chain. The...

Fusz provides auto buyers quotes on Web.(Brief Article)
March 6, 2000... All major car sellers have Web sites. Some will even answer customers who ask for a price quote via the Web. But Lou Fusz Motor Co. has gone a step further, posting firm prices on much of its inventory and moving the metal over the Internet....

LoanSurfer enters Chicago, buys 2 mortgage brokers.(Brief Article)
March 6, 2000... LoanSurfer.com, an online mortgage company that landed $3 million in venture capital last year, has expanded its operations to. Chicago by purchasing a pair of mortgage origination businesses, RealMart.com and MBLO Mortgage. With the...

Symphony's director of development leaving for Minneapolis/St. Paul.(Jon Limbacher)(Brief Article)
March 6, 2000... Jon Limbacher, vice president and director of development for the Saint Louis Symphony, will leave the organization later this spring to take a job with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. During his tenure here, Limbacher boosted annual...

Plant research to blossom under tobacco legislation.(Brief Article)
March 6, 2000... Economic development officials have persuaded health-care providers and many legislators that a portion of the state's $6.7 billion tobacco settlement should be used to infuse capital into the state's life sciences industry. The decision...

Duke-Weeks plans $50 million office/industrial park.(Brief Article)
March 6, 2000... Duke-Weeks Realty is hammering out the details on a $50 million office and industrial development in Maryland Heights. The 100-acre South Heights project follows Duke-Weeks' recent completion of the last building in its $45 million West...

McGowan brothers purchase 'Fallout' building on Washington Ave.(McGowan Development Co.)(Brief Article)
March 6, 2000... McGowan Development Co., active buyers in downtown for the past two years, purchased the "Fallout" building at 1324 Washington Ave. from developers Peter Rothschild and Dennis Norman for $768,000 or $l2 a squarefoot. The McGowans want to...

Milnot Holdinq being sold; Amdocs Ltd. buying Solect.(H.J. Heinz Co. buys Milnot)(Brief Article)
March 6, 2000... H.J. Heinz Co. has agreed to buy Milnot Holding Corp., owner of the Beech-Nut brand prepared baby foods. Terms of the purchase were not disclosed. Milnot is among the largest privately owned companies in St. Louis with $92 million in revenue in...

Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc.(rumored to be in talks to acquire Carlsberg Brewing)(Brief Article)
March 6, 2000... Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc. declined to comment on a published report it was in talks to acquire Danish brewer Carlsberg in a $3.2 billion deal. The Mail, a British newspaper, said a number of potential bidders were interested in Carlsberg,...

Amdocs Ltd.(Brief Article)
March 6, 2000... Amdocs Ltd. will buy Solect Technology Group Inc. for about $1 billion in stock. The deal will help St. Louis-based Amdocs expand its presence for billing and customer care software in the Internet protocol market, where voice and data are...

Spartech Corp.(acquires High Performance Plastics Inc.)(Brief Article)
March 6, 2000... Spartech Corp., headed by Bradley Buechler, completed the purchase for about $216 million of a specialty plastics company which will expand the company's product line to the aerospace, mass transit and medical industries. Spartech purchased...

Ameristar Casino St. Louis.(signs lease agreement with Futuresouth Inc.)(Brief Article)
March 6, 2000... Ameristar Casino St. Louis said it has entered into a definitive agreement with Futuresouth Inc. to acquire a lease for a site along the Mississippi River in Lemay for the development of the first casino in south St. Louis County. A Futuresouth...

Emerson Electric Co.(Westinghouse Process Control project)(Brief Article)
March 6, 2000... An Emerson Electric Co. division has been awarded a major role in a $240 million project by the City of Detroit Water and Sewerage Department. Westinghouse Process Control will handle approximately half of the total contract. Westinghouse will...

ESCO Electronics Corp.(sells Rantec Microwave & Electronics Inc.)(Brief Article)
March 6, 2000... ESCO Electronics Corp. announced it has sold its microwave antenna business to a small group of investors for $2.1 million. The microwave antenna business had operated as part of ESCO's Rantec Microwave & Electronics Inc. The St. Louis-based...

May Department Stores Co.(allocates profit sharing funds to employees)(Brief Article)
March 6, 2000... The May Department Stores Co. announced it allocated $54 million to 50,000 associates, including 4,400 in the St. Louis area, who are members of its profit-sharing plan. May associates contributed a total of $89 million to the plan in 1999,...

Monsanto Co.(Pharmacia Corp. appoints Alexandra van Horne)(Brief Article)
March 6, 2000... Monsanto Co. and Pharmacia & Upjohn said Alexandra van Horne was named corporate vice president and treasurer of Pharmacia Corp., the combined company to be created as a result of their proposed merger. Van Home, 43, has served in the same role...

Brown Shoe Co. Inc.(developing Digimon shoes)(Brief Article)
March 6, 2000... Brown Shoe Co. Inc.'s Buster Brown & Co. unit will design and market children's shoes featuring Digimon: Digital Monsters TV cartoon characters from Saban Consumer Products, a unit of the Fox Television Network. St. Louis-based Brown Shoe said...

Wash U. takes cardiac car to the suburbs.(opens Heart Care Institute with Barnes-Jewish Hospital)(Brief Article)
March 6, 2000... Launches $5 million Heart Care Institute Washington University School of Medicine and Barnes-Jewish Hospital are about a month away from opening the Heart Care Institute in a new medical office building at Barnes-Jewish West County Hospital...

Barnes-Jewish St. Peters plans ER expansion.(emergency room)(Brief Article)
March 6, 2000... Barnes-Jewish St. Peters Hospital is planning a $3 million expansion of its emergency room. Carm Moceri, president of Barnes-Jewish St. Peters, said st. Charles County's fast-growing population was taxing the emergency room's capacity. ...

Zilm appointed administrator of St. John's Mercy.(Michael Zilm, St. John's Mercy Hospital)(Brief Article)
March 6, 2000... Michael Zilm will take the helm at St. John's Mercy Hospital in Washington, Mo., April 3. Zilm, the former president of SSM St. Mary's Health Center in Richmond Heights, was named executive vice president and administrator at St. John's...

Washington University School of Medicine.
March 6, 2000... Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine received the following grants and awards:

David Gottlieb.(and Karen O'Malley receive grant)(Brief Article)
March 6, 2000... David Gottlieb, professor of anatomy and neurobiology and associate professor of biochemistry and molecular biophysics, and Karen O'Malley, professor of anatomy and neurobiology, received a one-year, $33,000 grant from the American Parkinson...

Thomas Meuser.(Brief Article)
March 6, 2000... Thomas Meuser, research instructor in neurology, received a two-year, $51,665 grant from the Alzheimer's Association for research into measuring "anticipatory grief" in caregivers of individuals diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease.

Dr. Maria Schmidt.(receives grant)(Brief Article)
March 6, 2000... Dr. Maria Schmidt, assistant professor of radiology received a one-year, $57,931 grant from the St. Louis Affiliate of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.

Linda Cottler.(receives subcontract for drug use research)(Brief Article)
March 6, 2000... Linda Cottler, professor of psychiatry received a one-year, $27,987 subcontract from the University of Cincinnati for research related to drug users.

Dr. Chung Hsu.(Brief Article)
March 6, 2000... Dr. Chung Hsu, professor of neurology, received a one-year, $48,750 subcontract from Chicago-based Rush-Presbyterian/St. Luke's Medical Center under a National Institutes of Health grant for research related to stroke prevention in...

Washington University School of Medicine.(Brief Article)
March 6, 2000... Investigators at Washington University School of Medicine have received a three-year, $2.6 million grant from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases to study how genes related to diabetes function. Principal...

Orthocare Systems Orthodontics.(Brief Article)
March 6, 2000... During February (National Children's Dental Health Month), Orthocare Systems Orthodontics will donate $100 for each set of braces they apply to be split between St. Louis Children's Hospital and Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital.

Medical People.(physicians moving to new positions: St. Louis, Missouri)
March 6, 2000... Dr. Dellice Dick haus has joined Drs. Thomas Siler, Frank Calandrino, Patrick Sandiford and Anthony Masi in their pulmonary medicine practice located in St. Charles. Drs. Jodie Rai and Mark Szewezyk have joined Overland Medical Center. ...

The write stuff.
March 6, 2000... Kerckhoff's Wordhandlers delivers $2.5 million in revenue from direct mail, word processing Business activity: Art Kerckhoff never wanted to own his own business. It took a visit to a direct-mail firm While he was working for his...

Practical solutions.(flextime)(Brief Article)
March 6, 2000... Do you offer flextime? Flextime has become a must in today's work environment. However, flextime arrangements must be carried out in an orderly manner to enable businesses to continue to best serve their clients. Jackie Postiglione ...

Dental insurance becomes a must benefit for workers.
March 6, 2000... Paper cuts and toothaches both hurt a lot more than they should. But while the pain of a paper cut will diminish on its own, a toothache can take hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars before the pain goes away. Enter dental insurance....

Spring break is good time to visit colleges of choice.
March 6, 2000... Many families are in the thick of planning activities for their children's spring vacations, and for those with a high school junior in residence, plans often include college visits. For many juniors, spring break will provide their first...

`It ain't necessarily so'.(Column)
March 6, 2000... One of the bad language habits we fall into is that we frequently believe something is so just because we say it is so. To put it another way, we use words to declare something to be the "truth." It's got to be what we say it is! And,...

Three sponsor new e-business awards.
March 6, 2000... Arthur Andersen is honored to sponsor the 2000 St. Louis E-business Awards recognizing excellence in local e-business Web sites. The vision of our firm is to be the partner for success in the new economy, and we realize that the rapidly...

E-business awards judges.(Brief Article)
March 6, 2000... Brian Cauley is president and chief executive of MerlinTV.com. Previously, he was president of APL Digital, a major global Web development firm, ranked 14th in Adweek's Top 50 list. The company, part of the. Inter public Group, turned a 15...

Max Broadcasting Network Inc.(Brief Article)
March 6, 2000... www.maxfootball.com 1st place -- Business-to-Consumer 1st place -- Best Use of Graphics 1st place -- Best Use of Sound 1st place -- Most Unusual 3rd place -- Ease of Navigation 3rd place -- Most Innovative Date...

St. Louis Zoo.(Brief Article)
March 6, 2000... www.stlzoo.org 1st place -- Community Site Date launched: October 1997 Address: One Government Drive, St. Louis, Mo. 63110-1395 Phone: 314-781-0900 Fax: 314-647-7969 The St. Louis Zoo Web site mixes e-business with...

Center of Contemporary Arts (COCA).(Brief Article)
March 6, 2000... www.cocastl.org 3rd place -- Community Site Date launched: June 1999 Address: 524 Trinity Ave., St. Louis, Mo. 63130 Phone: (314) 725-6555 Fax: (314) 725-6222 In the rapidly changing Internet environment, Web sites...

Tourism Generates $12.6 Billion for Missouri in Fiscal Year 1999.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 6, 2000... Tourism generated more than $12.6 billion in revenues for the State of Missouri in Fiscal Year 1999, making it one of the state's top industries, on par with automobile manufacturing and agribusiness. Direct spending by tourists accounted for...

Tourism Funding Based on "Commission" System.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 6, 2000... Missouri's tourism industry benefits from one of the most progressive funding mechanisms ever created--a performance-based funding program that enables the industry to grow without tapping into the general revenue. Tax revenues from 17...

A Little Sumthin' Special About Missouri.(Brief Article)
March 6, 2000... Missouri is one of an increasing number of states to recognize the viability of an estimated $30 billion black tourism market. Last year, the Missouri Division of Tourism awarded all marketing, public relations and advertising targeted to the...

Popular "Where the Rivers Run" Advertising Campaign Returns for Third Year.(Brief Article)
March 6, 2000... The highly successful "Where the Rivers Run" advertising campaign launches its third year this spring with a fresh new approach to lure even more vacationers to Missouri through the high summer season. A print and broadcast advertising...

State Launches Hispanic Marketing Campaign.(Brief Article)
March 6, 2000... The State of Missouri's Division of Tourism has begun a new marketing program with the purpose of increasing the number of Hispanic/Latino visitors to our state. The program is being initiated with perfect timing, given the well-known fact that...

Maryland Heights--The Best Part of St. Louis.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 6, 2000... Maryland Heights-St. Louis offers some of the best accommodations in the St. Louis area. From the luxury of the Sheraton at West Port to the convenience of the Baymont Inn & Suites, Maryland Heights-St. Louis provides leisure and group...

Industry Employs 53,000 in St. Louis.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 6, 2000... The so-called "invisible industry" of hospitality is anything but hidden in St. Louis. "With more than 53,000 metropolitan area workers employed by the hospitality industry, it's clear that tourism plays a major role in the economy," said...

Express Scripts.(Brief Article)
March 6, 2000... www.drugdigest.org 2nd place -- Ease of Navigation 3rd place -- Business-to-Consumer Date launched: April 1999 Address: 1400 Riverport Drive, Maryland Heights, Mo. 63043 Phone: (314) 770-1666 Express Scripts Inc. put...

Maritz Performance Improvement Co.(Brief Article)
March 6, 2000... www.maritz.com/mpic/ 2nd place -- Most Informative (tie) Date launched: Oct. 1999 Address: 1400 South Highway Drive, Fenton Mo. 63099 Phone: (636) 827-1801 Fax: (636) 827-8592 John Terry, the chief in-house writer for...

Paylinx.(Brief Article)
March 6, 2000... www.paylinx.com 2nd place -- Business-to-Business Date launched: Nov. 1,1999 Address: 9666 Olive Boulevard, St. Louis, Mo. 63132 Phone: (314) 692-0929 Fax: (314) 692-0805 PaylinX used to get hate mail about its Web...

A closer look.
March 6, 2000... THE THINKING PERSON'S GUIDE TO BUSINESS LEADS "Do you have activities at work to help relieve stress?" That the question Ron Janecke asked last week as part of Practical Solutions, a weekly feature on the Enterprise page. The...

Epworth, Y.E.S. join to assist youth in need, their families.(Brief Article)
March 6, 2000... Epworth Children & Family Services and Youth Emergency Service (Y.E.S.) have joined forces to create a single organization assisting youth in need and their families. The new organization, managed by Epworth, has a net worth of more than...

Super Smokers BBQ & Catering.(Brief Article)
March 6, 2000... www.supersmokers.com 2nd place -- Best Use of Sound 2nd place -- Most Innovative 3rd place -- Most Unusual Date launched: Oct. 10, 1999 Address: 601 Stockell Drive, Eureka, Mo. 63025 Phone: (636) 938-9742 Fax:...

PEOPLE.
March 6, 2000... Accounting At Arthur Andersen, Mike Howard has joined as senior manager in the private client services group, Chris Cassulo has been promoted to manager in the tax division and Brenda Hebenstreit has been promoted to manager in the...

KY PHARMACEUTICAL CO.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 6, 2000... Marc S. Hermelin Chief executive and vice chairman of the board KV Pharmaceutical Co. makes generic drugs and advanced drug-delivery processes. The company reported a profit of $23.3 million, or $1.17 a share, on sales of $114.8...

RehabCare Group Inc.(Brief Article)
March 6, 2000... Feb. 9, $25 Southwest Securities Buy. RehabCare reported a strong fourth quarter due to solid performances from the company's outpatient and staffing divisions. Revenues were about $5 million higher than our expectations, which...

Give Kmart a blue (green) light in city.(Brief Article)
March 6, 2000... The NIMBYs (Not In My Back Yard) live in every city in our country and often protest rezonings that bring undesirable elements to a neighborhood. In some cases, that could be a high-rise condominium. In others, it's a home for runaway teens....

Cabs create first impression of St. Louis.
March 6, 2000... During the past two weeks, the St. Louis Business Journal has highlighted the problem of erratic and often shoddy taxi service in St. Louis. At the St. Louis Convention & Visitors Commission, our thanks go out to this newspaper and its...

OSHA formalizes policy against home inspections.
March 6, 2000... It's official: The Occupational Safety and Health Administration will not inspect home offices and doesn't expect employers to inspect them either, according to a directive sent Feb. 25 to all OSHA offices. The directive also explicitly...

Dr. Anne Cross.(Brief Article)
March 6, 2000... Dr. Anne Cross, associate professor of neurology received a one-year, $27,500 grant from the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

David Russell.(Brief Article)
March 6, 2000... David Russell, professor of molecular microbiology, received a one-year, $45,050 subcontract from Texas A&M University for research related to drug discovery for persistent tuberculosis.

Ann Marie Craig.(Brief Article)
March 6, 2000... Ann Marie Craig, associate professor of anatomy and neurobiology, received a two-year, $174,890 subcontract from the University of California San Francisco.

Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America - St. Louis Chapter.(Brief Article)
March 6, 2000... The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America - St. Louis Chapter has received a $20,000 grant from the Deaconess Foundation.

Tenet Healthcare Corp.(Brief Article)
March 6, 2000... Tenet Healthcare Corp. has signed an exclusive agreement with One-Source Services Inc., a Cleveland, Ohio-based medical equipment service provider, for support of its medical laser systems.