Pittsburgh Business Times articles from August 1998

Pittsburgh Business Times archives from August 1998

Monthly tabloid to target Pittsburgh's young and hip. (UR Media Group Inc's new tabloid UR Pittsburg)
August 28, 1998... UR Pittsburgh plans to hit the streets on Sept. 18 NORTH SIDE - A new tabloid targeting young working professionals and college students is set to debut Sept. 18. UR Pittsburgh, published by privately held UR Media Group Inc. of Washington...

Beset by problems, Philip Services pulls back. (leaves new Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, headquarters and moves in with local subsidiary D&L Inc)
August 28, 1998... DOWNTOWN - Philip Services Corp., the Ontario company that established its U.S. headquarters in Pittsburgh amid much fanfare earlier this year, is struggling. Battered by losses and lawsuits, the recycler of aluminum, copper and steel scrap...

Observer-Reporter stakes a claim against the dailies. (Pennsylvania newspaper Washington Observer-Reporter implement aggressive measures to beat competition)
August 28, 1998... Washington paper invests in independence WASHINGTON, Pa - Observer Publishing Co., parent of the Washington Observer-Reporter, is spending $1.3 million to send a message to the Tribune-Review and Post-Gazette. The regions fourth-largest...

Signal execs get sentence for jail time. (Signal Internet Technologies CEO James Graham, Chmn Terry Collison and Dir Marcia Hooper sentenced to at least days in county jail for misdemeanor offenses)
August 28, 1998... Company to appeal ruling on labor law violation GREEN TREE - A local magistrate has sentenced three officials of an area software firm to no less than 10 days in the Allegheny County Jail for failing to pay a sales commission to a former...

HealthSouth Corp. angling to acquire a piece of AHERF. (bids for Allegheny Health and Research Foundation's eastern Pennsylvania operations)
August 28, 1998... For-profit rehab firm casts an eye on Montgomery County facility PHILADELPHIA - A third for-profit health-care company - this one seeking to buy just one property - has joined the bidding war for the Pittsburgh-based Allegheny Health and...

Building a business from the ground up. (R.E. Crawford CEO Bob Crawford)
August 28, 1998... Bob Crawford's retail contracting company will top $50 million this year Bob Crawford has always been his own boss. His cranberry-colored triangular glasses, biker boots and Harley-Davidson give you a hint. His first entrepreneurial...

Coke plant proposed former LTV site promises cleaner operation. (Sun Coal & Coke Co plans to build factory in Hazelwood, Pennsylvania, site owned by LTV Corp)
August 28, 1998... Sun Coal & Coke says new ovens will cut emissions HAZELWOOD - Sun Coal & Coke Co. needs to overcome a few hurdles before it can begin building a new high-tech, environmentally friendly coke plant here and pick up some sizable state financial...

NOXSO Corp. finalizes plans to emerge from Chapter 11 organization.
August 28, 1998... 19-year-old company still working to get product test off the ground BETHEL PARK - NOXSO Corp. may be standing on the brink of success - again. The firm is finalizing the details of a strategy to get out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy...

McLaren/Hart aims for integration of its environmental business units. (McLaren/Hart Environmental Engineering Corp)
August 28, 1998... Maturing market prompts firms to find skills to ride 'next wave' NORTH SHORE - At environmental consulting firm McLaren/Hart Inc., a tightening market means employees will work old skills into new contracts. In the face of a regulation...

New caps on PIDA loans mean less cash flows to projects at local firms. (Pennsylvania Industrial Development Authority)
August 28, 1998... Companies say too many strings attached to low-interest state cash A smaller cap on Pennsylvania Industrial Development Authority loans had a major effect on the amount of money the program distributed in this region last year. A $1...

AHERF lays off 96; HealthAmerica files suit. (Allegheny Health Education and Research Foundation)
August 14, 1998... DOWNTOWN - The parent foundation of Allegheny General Hospital said it will lay off 96 local workers who managed care for HealthAmerica subscribers. The announcement came one day after HealthAmerica sued Allegheny Health Education and...

Managers, venture fund buy General American. (Mason Wells Leveraged Buyout Fund; General American President Richard Snedden and EVP Dennis O'Donoghue)
August 14, 1998... Real estate closing service firm may grow with deal DOWNTOWN - Owners of General American Corp. have sold most of their stake in the $60 million provider of home equity ciosing services to managers and the venture capital arm of a Milwaukee...

KDKA hopes links with radio siblings will attract younger set of listeners. (WDSY, WBZZ and WZPT)
August 14, 1998... CBS Corp.'s four local stations could join forces for sales DOWNTOWN - Perennial radio ratings and sales champion KDKA-AM is exploring ways to increase income by teaming with its three Green Tree-based siblings. They have the one thing KDKA...

Technology, acquisitions aid growth of PNC Bank's Kentucky operations.
August 14, 1998... Employment expect to rise at mortgage-service unit LOUISVILLE, Ky. - PNC BankCorp. President James Rohr displayed the demeanor of a proud father as he talked about his company's thriving divisions operating under the auspices of PNC Bank,...

The last new bank? (Pennsylvania Capital Bank)(Special Report Banking and Finance)
August 14, 1998... Pennsylvania Capital, founded eight years ago, is thriving, but Pittsburgh is sitting out a national wave of bank startups. Despite a host of bank startups across the country and the state, the face of Pittsburgh's market has remained...

Local banking leaders develop new ventures to provide equity stakes. (Mellon Bank Corp. and PNC Bank Corp.)(Special Report Banking and Finance)
August 14, 1998... Venture subsidiaries go where bank shareholders fear to tread DOWNTOWN - Venture investing is a game, sometimes a risky one. But Pittsburgh's two largest banks are playing it primarily to provide an additional service to their institutional...

Midsized manufacturing interests provide fodder for investment firms.(Special Report Banking and Finance)
August 14, 1998... Stability, potential returns are key components for buyers DOWNTOWN - In the age of volatile high-tech investments, when fortunes are made and lost in a matter of days, it might not be sexy to invest in manufacturing. But it can pay....

Commercial National Financial Corp. (Proxy Report Excerpts)(Company Profile)
August 14, 1998... (NASDAQ: CNAF) Commercial National Financial Corp., located in Latrobe, is the holding company of Commercial National Bank of Westmoreland County. Last year, the company earned $4.1 million on revenue of $23,4 million, compared to earnings...

Who will decide AHERF's future? Judge and attorneys gather for bankruptcy case. (Allegheny Health, Education and Research Foundation)
August 7, 1998... Judge and attorneys gather for bankruptcy case DOWNTOWN - Professionals are starting to take their seats in the bankruptcy case of Allegheny General Hospital's parent foundation. The Chapter 11 filing by the Allegheny Health, Education and...

PNC buys a lot more than naming rights: bank gains exclusive marketing rights. (PNC Bank Corp.)
August 7, 1998... Bank gains exclusive marketing rights DOWNTOWN - PNC Bank Corp. is pitching in $30 million to put its name on the new Pittsburgh Pirates ballpark. But the deal, announced yesterday amid much fanfare, includes a little-talked-about but...

Other suitors wait in wings for newly single DQE Inc. Analysts deem local utility an attractive acquisition.
August 7, 1998... Analysts deem local utility an attractive acquisition DOWNTOWN - By calling off its plans to merge with Allegheny Energy Inc., DQE Inc. has again called attention to itself in the merger-manic utility industry. The company may not want to...

New U.S. rules could hurt Respironics: changes in medical reimbursements could affect product sales.
August 7, 1998... Changes in medical reimbursements could affect product sales FOREST HILLS - Proposed federal regulations that would affect one of Respironics Inc.'s main products are creating some blips on the radar screens of analysts who follow the...

Will SFX buy grind the acts? Local promoters fret over sale of DiCesare-Engler. (SFX Broadcasting Inc.)
August 7, 1998... Local promoters fret over sale of DiCesare-Engler STRIP DISTRICT - New York-based SFX Broadcasting Inc.'s purchase of DiCesare-Engler Productions has left smaller concert promoters reeling. It's certainly the end of an era - and of the...

Shelf life: retailers and manufacturers juggle expectations against reality when trying to anticipate the next big thing.
August 7, 1998... When the Spice Girls came blazing through Pittsburgh a few weeks ago, they left a lot of empty toy store shelves in their wake. Spice Girl dolls are the newest incarnation of the "hot" toy, a retailer's fondest dream - or worst nightmare,...

CIGNA HealthCare agrees to tap American HealthCare docs' group; network of 800 docs was cobbled together over five-year period.
August 7, 1998... Network of 800 does was cobbled together over five-year period DOWNTOWN - CIGNA HealthCare has signed an agreement with American HealthCare Group to use the group's Western Pennsylvania physician network. American HealthCare is a health...

'It's a monster.' James Grefenstette's bet on Dell has rocketed his fund to the top. (Dell Computer Corp.)
August 7, 1998... James Grefenstette and the fund he manages shared a simultaneous launch. Mr. Grefenstette picked up his bachelor's degree in business administration from Georgetown University in 1984, roughly the same time Federated Investors Inc. debuted...

Two New York fast-food chains hungry for Pittsburgh expansion; Ranch 1 and Desert Moon Cafe seeking franchisees in region.
August 7, 1998... Ranch* 1 and Desert Moon Care seeking franchisees in region Two fast-food chains are scouting the Pittsburgh area for new locations. New York City-based Ranch* 1 plans to open a minimum of 13 stores in the region by the end of 1999. The...

Homework as a good thing: telecommuting policies are an increasingly useful enticement for high-tech recruiting.
August 7, 1998... Good software developers are tough to come by. So when Vision Systems Inc. faced the prospect of losing one to the West Coast, company executives dangled the prospect of a telecommuting arrangement as a reason to stay. "We had to find a...