Colorado Springs Business Journal (CO) articles from June 2003

Colorado Springs Business Journal (CO) archives from June 2003

School voucher court battle looming.
June 6, 2003... Byline: Lance Gurwell Colorado is the first state to approve a school voucher program since last year's favorable Supreme Court ruling, and the Colorado Education Association quickly challenged it. The CEA said besides violating the...

Orchestra rises from ashes, Smith remains conductor.
June 6, 2003... Byline: Lance Gurwell The fiscal and ultimate physical demise of the former Colorado Springs Symphony Orchestra, and its resuscitation into a new philharmonic ensemble, continues to generate media coverage locally and nationally. ...

Gaming revenues down for third straight month.
June 6, 2003... Byline: Lance Gurwell What are the odds? In April, the last month for which numbers are available, Colorado's casinos rolled snake eyes for the third consecutive month over a year ago, and even if the odds are not known, even a...

998 cadets graduate from Air Force Academy.
June 6, 2003... Byline: Marylou Doehrman Last week, three sets of twins, 49 siblings of former cadets and 46 second generation graduates tossed their hats in the air as they celebrated the end of their college era. They were among 998 cadets graduating...

Library advocates look to the community for input.
June 6, 2003... Byline: Becky Hurley Books constitute capital. A library book lasts as long as a house, for hundreds of years. It is not, then, an article of mere consumption but fairly of capital, and often in the case of professional men, setting out...

Falcon: City in the making, school district explodes.
June 6, 2003... Byline: Marylou Doehrman When Frank Patton opened Frankie's Bar and Grill on North Powers Boulevard 19 years ago, the boulevard was a mere two lanes, with just a sprinkling of brave business owners dotting the corridor. Although a few...

Colorado Springs Real Estate Briefs June 6, 2003.
June 6, 2003... Byline: Becky Hurley As the homebuilding business slows from last year's hectic pace, mortgage rates continue to fall to historic lows. So how many times can one owner refinance the same house? With a thirty-year fixed rate loan offered...

Sweet profits reward innovative, locally-based company.
June 6, 2003... Byline: Becky Hurley It may be one of Colorado Springs' best-kept and sweetest secrets. Impact Confections arrived in Colorado Springs in early 2000, but three years later it still remains a curiosity to many locals. "Many people...

Colo. Springs trying to repair, maintain bridges on tight budget.
June 13, 2003... Byline: Lance Gurwell If you poke around under a bridge for a living, you just never know what you'll find. But, the scariest discovery for a professional bridge inspector would be finding a span in eminent danger of collapse -- a...

Veterinary dentist relieves pain, promotes longer life.
June 13, 2003... Byline: Becky Hurley From a three-hundred-pound llama with a fractured tooth to a snake in need of a fang root canal, Dr. Tony Woodward is building a reputation as the Dr. Doolittle for molars and mandibles. But not all visits involve...

Artist incubator program extends aid to nonprofits.
June 13, 2003... Byline: Marylou Doehrman Being creative with business plans is as vital to an art center's success as the creative genres they represent. The Business of Art Center (BAC) in Manitou Springs was launched in October 1988, and its original...

Fountain's high growth highlighted by local experts.
June 13, 2003... Byline: Becky Hurley Sit down with Ken Barela, Fountain mayor; Greg Nyhoff, city manager; and Ron Johnson, owner and president of the Pikes Peak International Raceway, and be prepared for an optimistic chorus from "We Are the Champions"...

Trading jobs a win for company and employee.
June 13, 2003... Byline: Becky Hurley Companies like Nokia, Ben & Jerry's and now, Colorado Springs-based College Pharmacy all share a common distinction as pioneers in the field of job trading. So does the hospitality industry's CHIC Hospitality...

The business to business mentoring relationship.
June 13, 2003... Byline: Marylou Doehrman Mentoring has become so popular that in January 2003 the U.S. Congress, President Bush, and governors and mayors across the country proclaimed January as National Mentoring Month. The definition of mentoring...

Unusual partnership combines expertise for park condos.
June 13, 2003... Byline: Eric Grimm An unusual partnership has brought together custom homebuilder and commercial construction skills to develop 28 West, a 29-unit, six-story condominium project a block south of the Fine Arts Center. Local custom-home...

Public meeting on new downtown courthouse scheduled.
June 13, 2003... Byline: Eric Grimm The first of four public hearings to discuss the El Paso County judicial annex project has been scheduled by the courthouse's architect, DLR Group, in association with Design Collaborative, a company that specializes in...

Colorado's tax amnesty program nears penalty-free deadline.
June 13, 2003... Byline: Lance Gurwell Like a pimple on prom day, it just won't go away -- that embarrassing Colorado tax bill, and the annoying collection reminders arriving with the frequency of ants at a picnic. Colorado revenuers are getting a...

Springs Life: Former Green Beret brings smiles to children's faces.
June 13, 2003... Byline: Lance Gurwell He looks like Santa Claus, acts like a clown; he's a wizard with balloons and his magic act is a work in progress. Dick Gladfelter's alter ego is Rolo the Clown, and he didn't steal the name from the caramel...

Colorado College taps GE Johnson for $2 million Palmer Hall job.
June 13, 2003... Byline: Eric Grimm Colorado College awarded Colorado Springs-based GE Johnson Construction Co.'s Special Projects Division a $2 million contract for the campus' Palmer Hall renovation. Construction begins in August and should be completed...

Citywalk Lofts under construction on Kiowa St.
June 13, 2003... Byline: Eric Grimm Citywalk Downtown Lofts condominiums are under construction at 417 E. Kiowa St., developing 83 residential units, including six penthouse suites. GE Johnson Construction Co. is the builder, and expects to have the...

May construction valuation up, but total units down from April.
June 13, 2003... Byline: Eric Grimm Pikes Peak region construction valuations were up in every category in May, with construction-permit valuation topping out at $111.6 million -- including the $20 million, 323,576-square-foot Progressive Insurance offices...

Federal Information Superiority Conference held in Colorado Springs.
June 20, 2003... Byline: Lance Gurwell Comedian George Carlin practically built a career lampooning the military. Military intelligence was an oxymoron, he joked, and he used the word so habitually it's a wonder he didn't have to pay Webster...

Community centers help temper health care flurries.
June 20, 2003... Byline: Marylou Doehrman The tempestuous world of health care continues to make news and impact communities and organizations everywhere. Rising health insurance costs and massive layoffs have expanded the need across the country for...

Award-winning designer's success rooted in flexibility.
June 20, 2003... Byline: Becky Hurley Cindy Senger reins in her excitement -- but it's tough to remain nonchalant about winning three prestigious awards at the Fifth Annual Interior Design "Celebrate Design" Awards, sponsored by the Colorado chapter of...

National restaurants are finding Colorado Springs.
June 20, 2003... Byline: Becky Hurley Pikes Peak appears to be a magnet for national restaurant chain expansion. And according to local experts, there's no end in sight. From the Macaroni Grills and On-the-Border openings of the mid-1990s to today's...

Leveling the playing field for women business owners.
June 20, 2003... Byline: Marylou Doehrman In 1994, the federal government, as a result of the Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act, mandated that 5 percent of government contracts be awarded to women business enterprises. According to the National...

Colorado Springs Real Estate Briefs June 20, 2003.
June 20, 2003... Byline: Becky Hurley Commercial real estate brokers and regular column contributors -- please take a minute to review the following information on changes in reporting real estate transactions. In an effort to provide meaningful and...

Water supplies remain tight.
June 20, 2003... Byline: Lance Gurwell There never seems to be an end when it comes to reckless water users. The latest is a tree, the tamarisk, which some people call salt cedar. It was imported from the Mediterranean about 100 years ago, and in the...

New El Paso County jail moving forward.
June 20, 2003... Byline: Lance Gurwell Despite voter rejection in two elections -- once in 1996, again last year -- El Paso County is moving ahead on construction on the new jail and other buildings estimated to cost $40 million. Shortly after voters...

Raising the bar on client loyalty.
June 27, 2003... Byline: Becky Hurley In virtually all industries, marketers and strategists are grappling with the dynamics of a mature market. In mature markets, competition erodes competitive niches and new players enter with new value propositions. As...

Forming alliances moves laser optic company forward.
June 27, 2003... Byline: Becky Hurley The entrepreneurial world is full of surprises. Take Directed Energy Solutions, for example. No glossy sign adorns its entry; its offices and adjacent prototype development center are low-key -- almost clinical in...

Transition marketing for seasonal, opposing products.
June 27, 2003... Byline: Marylou Doehrman Christy Sports is celebrating its 45th anniversary this summer, and the Colorado-based retail operation is faced each fall and spring with a unique marketing challenge: switching gears from skis and snowboards to...

Colorado Springs Real Estate Briefs June 27, 2003.
June 27, 2003... Byline: Becky Hurley This week we start with a glimpse at the residential real estate market. In a special real estate overview published in the June 2003 issue of Money Magazine, a comparison is provided of which areas of the country...

Veterinary business also in the catbird seat.
June 27, 2003... Byline: Marylou Doehrman When a dog owner drives to Denver and pays $5,000 for an MRI for the pooch, it's evident that many companion animals have a secure spot in their adopted human family. "People are loyal to their animals, and loyal...

Pet industry unaffected by slow economy.
June 27, 2003... Byline: Marylou Doehrman A man should be judged by the way he treats the animals. -- Mahatma Ghandi People with pets have lower blood fat levels and lower blood pressure levels than people without pets, according to a recent study...

New executive director brings lots of experience.
June 27, 2003... Byline: Stacie Ledden On June 23, 2003, the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Colorado Springs welcomed its new executive director. Deana Romero is swamped already, trying to get the word out that she's taken the helm of the Hispanic...

Your business plan: A roadmap to success whether you're a start-up or existing company.
June 27, 2003... Byline: Eric Grimm Your business plan isn't just a document to support a loan application, but your roadmap to success -- a valuable tool to help you keep competitors at bay and refocus strategy to meet the challenge of the day. A...

The SBA has inducted seven Colorado Springs businesses into its Wall of Fame.
June 27, 2003... Byline: Lance Gurwell The Small Business Administration has inducted seven Colorado Springs businesses into its Wall of Fame. The inductees were honored this month in a ceremony it shared with the Greater Colorado Springs Chamber of...