St. Louis Business Journal articles from October 1999

St. Louis Business Journal archives from October 1999

City lobbies to keep Ernst downtown.(Ernst and Young L.L.P. being pursuaded by St. Louis. MO, to stay in the city)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
October 4, 1999... Ernst & Young's downtown office lease in Gateway One doesn't expire for nearly two years. Yet already downtown officials have started a full-court press to persuade the Big Five accounting firm to stay put. Mayor Clarence Harmon as well as...

LiquidLidz tosses hat in online ring.(Western Textile Company Inc.'s website, LiquidLidz.com)
October 4, 1999... Hip hat lovers from New York to Australia are flipping their lids over a recently launched Web site based in Clayton. For $18 to $50, customers of LiquidLidz.com can design and order a custom cap. The site offers four styles - "bucket,"...

Missouri State Bank posts biggest profit gain: 416%.(Missouri State Bank and Trust Co.)
October 4, 1999... St. Louis area banks were twice as profitable as their counterparts nationwide in the first half of 1999. The largest banks here increased net income an average of 19.9 percent for the six months ending June 30, compared with the same...

RGA likely to stay publicly traded.(Reinsurance Group of America Inc.)
October 4, 1999... Reinsurance Group of America Inc. appears likely to remain a publicly traded company, despite speculation that its soon-to-be majority owner, MetLife, would take the Chesterfield-based firm private. An announcement was expected by Oct. 1 on...

Missouri State Bank raises $10 million in new capital.(Missouri State Bank and Trust Co.)
October 4, 1999... Puts it in position for public stock offering Trustcorp Financial Inc., the parent company of Missouri State Bank and Trust Co., has raised $10 million in capital through a private stock placement. The new capital will allow the bank...

Westar Corp. to build $3.9 million engineering center research park.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
October 4, 1999... Westar Corp. is stepping off the court to build a new $3.9 million engineering center at Missouri Research Park. The company, located in a former racquetball club, needs a more high-tech building. Paric Corp. will build the...

Internet company invests $11 million in asseTrade.(Internet Capital Group)
October 4, 1999... A Clayton firm that specializes in online auctions of industrial equipment expects its operations here to grow to as many as 25 people this year. The local expansion of asseTrade.com follows an $11.5 million investment in the business by...

Influence on pace o hit $4 million in first year.(Influence Internet LLC)
October 4, 1999... Influence LLC, already on track to post 1999 revenue of $4.1 million or more, plans to double revenue every year by helping clients design their Web presence. Craig Kaminer wants his new company to be a general contractor in World Wide Web...

Marshall forges metals-based pharmaceutical firm.(MetaPhore Pharmaceuticals Inc.'s founder Garland Marshall)
October 4, 1999... Washington University professor Garland Marshall has landed $7.2 million from a group of mostly local investors for a new company looking into metals-based pharmaceuticals. One leading investor is Belleau Development, an investment firm...

Crescent shines with 12% sales growth.(Crescent Parts and Equipment Co. Inc.)
October 4, 1999... Giudicis, Lammert heat up results by adopting open-book policy Business activity: A decision in 1997 to open its books to employees by adopting Open Book Management practices has the revenue stream flowing at Crescent Parts & Equipment Co....

'Reregulation' keps utility clients flowing for TelCon.(TelCon Associates)
October 4, 1999... Harold Stover makes no bones about how complicated commercial utility bills can be. As administrative director of engineering for St. Mary's Good Samaritan Inc. in Centralia, Ill., he gets a 16-page electric bill for the 500,000-square-foot...

Battle grows for SSM hospital.(SSM Health Care-St. Louis and Women's Health Partners launch letter-writing campaign for the proposed Women's Hospital Center in Chesterfield, Missouri)
October 11, 1999... Doctors are orchestrating a massive letter-writing campaign, aimed at swaying the votes of Missouri regulators considering the proposed $33.6 million Women's Hospital Center in Chesterfield. The Certificate of Need Program, which advises...

Drurys expand chain, add 2,000 rooms.(Drury Inn and Suites)
October 11, 1999... Drury Inn & Suites faces construction delays in downtown St. Louis, but the hotel operator is on a building tear nationwide. The Drury family plans to add 1,000 rooms to its operations in 1999 - and another 1,000 next year. The...

As Starbucks pours it on, Coffee Cartel feels the heat.(coffee shops in the St. Louis, Missouri area)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
October 11, 1999... Since Starbucks opened a few doors down the street almost three weeks ago, Coffee Cartel has seen a 5 percent drop in sales. The independent's owners say competing with the java giant hasn't put their shop in the Central West End out of...

Venture capital firms sink $9 million in StreamSearch.(StreamSearch.com. Inc.)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
October 11, 1999... Rob Shambro unsuccessfully had been scouring the country, seeking investors for his fledgling StreamSearch.com. Then Shambro, 29, had two chance meetings and closed on $9 million in venture money. The first break came in early June on...

Ominpoint Communications to bring 150 jobs to area.(wireless phone service operator to start operations in St. Louis, Missouri)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
October 11, 1999... New Jersey-based Omnipoint Communications announced Oct. 6 that it's expanding into St. Louis. The move will create 50 to 60 permanent jobs in the area, along with about 100 temporary jobs in construction and telecommunications, said...

Tracy Elsperman Hart is named president of Tarlton.(general contractor Tarlton Corp.)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
October 11, 1999... Only woman to lead a top 20 general contractor When Tracy Elsperman Hart left St. Louis for Chicago in 1985, she didn't intend to move back to her hometown. However, prompted by a job offer for her husband in St. Louis, Hart decided to...

Allstate faces lawsuits over claims payment policies.(Allstate Insurance Co.)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
October 11, 1999... Dozens of lawsuits have been fried in St. Louis area courts over the claims payment policies of Allstate Insurance Co., the second largest personal insurance firm in the United States The suits were filed after the Northbrook, Ill.-based...

Abrams sell their very best Hallmarks to Kirlin's.(Meryl and Cheryl Abrams sell their Amy's Hallmark stores)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
October 11, 1999... With the recent sale of their five local Amy's Hallmark stores to Hallmark industry leader Kirlin's Inc., Murray and Cheryl Abrams are adjusting to retirement. Although the Amy's stores were continuing to grow, the Creve Coeur couple...

SmartSite has StudioPointe pointed in right direction.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
October 11, 1999... Local Web developer StudioPointe plans to go national with software that makes it easier for companies to update their Web sites. The Web page software is expected to increase StudioPointe's revenue 270 percent this year, said executive...

Global moratorium on e-commerce tarriffs urged.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
October 11, 1999... The authors of the 1998 bill that imposed a three-year moratorium on new Internet taxes in the United States now want a permanent moratorium on global e-commerce tariffs. Rep. Christopher Cox, R-Calif., and Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore.,...

United, Blue Choice increase co-pays as ER visits jump.(United Healthcare of the Midwest and Blue Choice and Blue Cross; emergency room)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
October 11, 1999... The number of emergency room visits at Missouri hospitals jumped 4.3 percent in 1998, the biggest increase in at least five years. St. Louis area hospitals also saw a 4.3 percent increase in ER visits in 1998, compared to the previous year....

Medicare patients pay freight for Gateway ambulance rides.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
October 11, 1999... Gateway Ambulance has notified area nursing homes that it is now billing Medicare patients directly for non-emergency transport. The reason: Many claims for non-emergency transports are being denied by Medicare administrators. Bob...

Regional tax for downtown studied.
October 18, 1999... Downtown development officials and St. Louis 2004 are testing the feasibility of a regional sales tax -- levied in both the city and St. Louis County -- that would help pay for the ambitious $1.5 billion plan to revitalize downtown St. Louis....

Builders hit brick wall - no materials.
October 18, 1999... Brick, glass, wallboard are in short supply The construction boom is causing a mad scramble for bricks and other building materials, including insulation, gypsum wallboard and reflective glass. Glayco Construction Co. had to go to Ohio...

Chicago firm buys 0SI for $800 million.
October 18, 1999... St. Louis-based Outsourcing Solutions Inc. has been purchased for $800 million by Madison Dearborn Partners, a leading private equity investment firm in Chicago. Timothy Beffa, who will remain as president and chief executive, of OSI, said...

Koplar seeks $4 million from Acme.
October 18, 1999... Edward J. "Ted" Koplar, who sold the family's KPLR-TV station to Acme Communications two years ago, says the new owners owe him $4 million for breaching his management contract. Acme disclosed the rift in a recent filing with the federal...

Mayor$ race.
October 18, 1999... Mayor Clarence Harmon ended the third quarter with $150,356 cash on hand in his campaign coffers, while his Democratic challenger, Aldermanic Board President Francis Slay, Wad $316,394 cash on hand on Sept 30, according to campaign finance...

Smokin'.
October 18, 1999... Bandana's Bar-B-Q will open its fourth restaurant in late October at 11750 Gravois in Sunset Hills. The company purchased the four-acre site, formerly Turtles Restaurant and Bar, for $1.2 million, said Bandana's co-owner David Seitz. A separate...

No blarney.
October 18, 1999... After months of delays, Patrick Holloran and Matthew McGuire have set a Nov. 5 opening date for McGurk's Public House, their new restaurant in leased Space in the 124-year-old O'Fallon, Mo., public meeting house. Holloran said they spent about...

Net effect.
October 18, 1999... Caroline Chicoine, an attorney with Blackwell Sanders Peper Martin, is among a group of 21 worldwide experts that will develop guidelines for the Internet. Their Work on establishing policy for the assignment of domain names is expected to have...

Electronic leap.
October 18, 1999... Mark Witzling was named vice president of marketing and sales at SportsHuddle.com, a St. Louis-based, on-line high school sports information service. He jumped over from Ralston Purina Co., where he created and directed the company's...

Walk on the wild side.
October 18, 1999... Laurie's Shoes in Glendale will get a little wild on Oct. 23, when it displays the full line of H.S. Trask & Co. men's shoes. The Bozeman, Mont., firm, founded by Kirkwood native Harrison Trask, manufactures shoes from the hides of bison and...

No waiting.
October 18, 1999... SSM St. Joseph Health Center and SSM St. Joseph Hospital West have mailed 50,000 videos promoting the hospitals' services to St. Charles County residents. The videos include a pitch for a new Access Care Card, a "smart card" with a magnetic...

Of note.
October 18, 1999... About 100 people were on hand Oct. 12 for the initial performance of the Saint Louis Symphony's "Tunes at Noon" -- free lunchtime concerts on the second Tuesday of each month through May at the Equitable Building downtown. AT&T is underwriting...

Search for success.
October 18, 1999... Russian businesswoman Nonna Viazinkina will get a first-hand look at executive recruiting, American-style, during her internship at Annie Gray Associates. President Annie Gray said Viazinkina, who heads the recruiting department of a Russian...

TWA to reap windfall from Priceline.com ticket deal.
October 18, 1999... Trans World Airlines, which fills empty seats via Priceline.com, soon will see a $22 million windfall from shares in the Internet auctioneer. According to recent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, TWA got warrants to buy...

Wells Fargo creates local office with Merc flavor.
October 18, 1999... Wells Fargo & Co. has opened a foreign exchange office in St. Louis, staffed with five former Mercantile Bancorporation foreign exchange advisers. The local office, 100 S. Brentwo6cl Blvd., is headed by Larry Kirschner, Mercantile's former...

Corrections.
October 18, 1999... Kevin Lasater The name of Kevin Lasater, senior vice president for McCarthy, was misspelled in a story on area health-care remodeling projects in the Oct. 11 issue. RCGA The St. Louis Regional Commerce & Growth Association has...

Primary Network plugs in 3 more acquisitions.
October 18, 1999... Primary Network has added three more Internet Service Providers to its on-going buying spree. Maryland Heights-based Primary spent $2.1 million on the three ISPs, picking up a total of about 7,200 customers in Missouri and Oklahoma, most...

JJO Control buys Hilco division, revenue doubles to $4 million.
October 18, 1999... JJO Control Systems Inc., a company in Manchester that helps manufacturers automate production lines, has doubled in size with the purchase of a division of Earth City-based Hilco Technologies. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. But Ken...

Some firms too rich to be disadvantaged.
October 18, 1999... Rule eliminates minority firms with worth of more than $750,000 Edith James, owner of J&J Steel Erectors, figures her personal net worth is no one's business. So she refused to fill out a personal finance disclosure form sent out by...

What a difference a year makes.
October 18, 1999... Rams merchandising flies off shelves as team soars Rams fans are celebrating gridiron victories by snatching up team caps, jerseys and jackets at stores throughout the St. Louis area. "We did so much business Sunday (Oct 10) we couldn't...

Law could close company if one equal partner wants out.(Brief Article)
October 18, 1999... A new Missouri law, which could spell disaster for corporations with two 50 percent shareholders, is about to be tested in St. Louis Circuit Court. Lawyers and accountants statewide are beginning to take notice of Missouri Statute 351.467,...

Clayton, Michelson near deal on $60 million complex.(Michelson Organization)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
October 18, 1999... Negotiations are nearing completion between Clayton and the developers of a proposed $60 million hotel, retail and office complex. Several issues, including what hotel will anchor the site, remain sticking points, said Mayor Francis "Frank"...

Seco Products Corp. closes; 230 out of jobs in Washington, Mo.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
October 18, 1999... Bank of America is talking with several potential buyers for Seco Products Corp., a Washington, Mo.-based manufacturer that closed its doors without warning Oct. 7. Workers were shut out and have not received paychecks for at least two...

Bond fails in bid to block OSHA's ergonomics rule.(Occupational Safety and Health Administration )(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
October 18, 1999... The Occupational Safety and Health Administration beat back the latest effort on Capitol Hill to prevent it from requiring businesses to establish ergonomics programs. Sen. Christopher "Kit" Bond, R-Mo., tried to attach an amendment Oct. 7...

CPI's merger off; World Events forms joint venture.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
October 18, 1999... CPI's merger with American Securities Capital Partners is off. American Securities nixed the deal because of what it called material changes in CPI. The operator of Sears Portrait Studios reported recently that sales were down $500,000 from...

World Events Productions Ltd.(Brief Article)
October 18, 1999... World Events Productions Ltd. of St. Louis has formed a joint venture with Calico Entertainment. The new company, Calico World Entertainment, will provide animated, children's TV programming. Claudia and Tom Burton of Calico Entertainment will...

Spartech Corp.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
October 18, 1999... Clayton-based Spartech Corp. bought OS Plastics of Cornwall, Ontario, for $5 million. OS Plastics, which makes polypropylene sheet, has annual revenue of $7 million. The acquisition was the second this month for Spartech, which is headed by...

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Missouri.(Brief Article)
October 18, 1999... Settlement of a long-running dispute stemming from the reorganization of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Missouri has hit a snag. A court-appointed attorney recommends that a judge in Jefferson City reject a proposed settlement involving...

Arch Coal.(Brief Article)
October 18, 1999... Arch Coal has decided not to sell two mines in Central Appalachia. Arch said the bids it received for the mines were not high enough. The company still is reviewing the potential sale of a mine in eastern Kentucky, with a decision expected by...

A.G. Edwards.(Brief Article)
October 18, 1999... A.G. Edwards earned the top ranking in a national survey of full-service brokerage firms for the third time in the past 12 months. Kiplinger's Magazine announced in its "Stocks 2000" issue that A.G. Edwards took the No. 1 spot in the magazine's...

Mallinckrodt.(Brief Article)
October 18, 1999... Mallinckrodt faces a patent infringement lawsuit. A California-based medical technology company, Masimo, filed the suit over a new Mallinckrodt product that measures pulse rates and oxygen levels in blood.

SBC Communications.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
October 18, 1999... SBC Communications has restructured its ranks into functional groups covering 13 states in the Southwest and Midwest and along the West Coast. The shuffling in executive ranks is in preparation for the takeover of Ameritech Corp., which SBC...

Planet Hollywood.(Brief Article)
October 18, 1999... Planet Hollywood, which is closing nine of its 32 U.S. locations, will keep its profitable local operation open. The St. Louis-themed restaurant on Laclede's Landing opened in October 1997. Planet Hollywood and 25 of its subsidiaries have filed...

State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co.(Brief Article)
October 18, 1999... The area served by State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co.'s federal sayings bank is growing. Four months after it opened to customers in St. Louis and central Illinois, State Farm Bank is beginning expansion into the rest of Missouri and...

Business Response Inc.(Brief Article)
October 18, 1999... Business Response Inc. of St. Louis is hiring 300 people at its two St. Louis call centers in Creve Coeur and Overland.

Pistrui Group adds new services, Utley as chief information officer.(Brief Article)
October 18, 1999... The information superhighway now has an exit in Edwardsville. The Pistrui Group Inc., in an attempt to provide more holistic consulting services, has added information technology design to its existing services, and hired two technology...

Sheffield Pharmaceuticals signs deal with Elan Corp.(Brief Article)
October 18, 1999... Deal gives Sheffield access to funding, technoloy that can "shrink" steroid molecules St. Louis-based Sheffield Pharmaceuticals Inc. has entered into a joint venture with Elan Corp. to develop three inhaled steroid products to treat...

Hospital-owned groups lost an average of $80,000 per doctor last year.(Brief Article)
October 18, 1999... Hospital-owned doctor groups lost an average of $80,000 per physician in 1999, according to a nationwide survey, and a St. Louis-based health-care executive who advised on the survey said St. Louis doctor groups are no different. In fact,...

Medical people.(Brief Article)
October 18, 1999... Jeanne Cantalin was appointed associate counsel, Tenet Health System, for the system's Missouri hospitals and facilities. Joshua Sanes, professor of anatomy and neurobiology at Washington University School of Medicine, was named the Alumni...

Stan Gellman Graphic Design wins two awards.(Brief Article)
October 18, 1999... Stan Gellman Graphic Design Inc. won a pair of awards from publishing giant Hearst Books International. The publisher gave two "International Creativity" awards to Stan Gellman designs in this year's 29th annual design competition. It gave...

Dr. Joseph St. Geme.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
October 18, 1999... Dr. Joseph St. Geme, associate professor of pediatrics, received a five-year, $1.4 million grant from the Nation Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders.

Patrick Stuart.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
October 18, 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.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
October 18, 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.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
October 18, 1999... Dr. Martha Clabby, instructor of pediatrics, received a two-year, $70,000 grant from the American Heart Association.

Dr. Frank Zimmerman.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
October 18, 1999... Dr. Frank Zimmerman, instructor of pediatrics, received a two-year, $70,000 grant from the American Heart Association.

Ma Zhongmin.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
October 18, 1999... Ma Zhongmin, research assistant professor of medicine, received a four-year, $300,000 grant from the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation International.

Dora Angelaki.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
October 18, 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.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
October 18, 1999... Dr. Thomas Diacovo, professor of surgery, received a one-year, $60,000 grant from the Edward Mallinckrodt Jr. Foundation.

Dr. Kenneth Ludmerer.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
October 18, 1999... Dr. Kenneth Ludmerer, professor of medicine, received a three-year, $105,000 grant from the Charles E. Culpeper Foundation.

Pamela Hoppe.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
October 18, 1999... Pamela Hoppe, research instructor of genetics, received a three-year, $313,208 grant from the National Science Foundation.

Dr. Martin Wax.(Brief Article)
October 18, 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.(Brief Article)
October 18, 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.(Brief Article)
October 18, 1999... Dr. John Trotter, professor of neurology, received a three-year, $247,242 grant from the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

Vijay Sharma.(Brief Article)
October 18, 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.(Brief Article)
October 18, 1999... Barbara Zehnbauer, associate professor of pediatrics, received a five-year $977,295 grant from the National Cancer Institute.

Ted Hansen.(Brief Article)
October 18, 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.(Brief Article)
October 18, 1999... Alan Shiels, assistant professor of ophthalmology and visual sciences, received a three-year, $796,295 grant from the National Eye Institutes.

Dr. Jeffrey Saffitz.(Brief Article)
October 18, 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.(Brief Article)
October 18, 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.(Brief Article)
October 18, 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.(Brief Article)
October 18, 1999... David Russel, professor of molecular microbiology, received a four-year, $1.2 million grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.