San Francisco Business Times articles from February 1994

San Francisco Business Times archives from February 1994

Opposition strangling Pacific Bell. (includes related article)
February 25, 1994... Opposition is growing against a much-heralded plan from Pacific Bell to wire the state with a $16 billion information superhighway. The San Francisco-based utility's proposal to build the futuristic fiberoptic network has come under fire...

Malcolm's revenge. (Malcolm Davies, chief executive officer of Cadkey Inc.)
February 25, 1994... Software executive Malcolm Davies, passed over in 1992 for the CEO's post at Autodesk Inc., is sitting at the helm of a feisty competitor and is plotting his revenge. The day Carol Bartz became CEO of Autodesk she ushered in her own...

Mother's Cookies launches international expansion plan. (Mother's Cake and Cookie Co.)
February 25, 1994... In an effort to break through several years of flat sales, Mother's Cake & Cookie Co. of Oakland is embarking on a major market expansion to new retail outlets in both the United States and foreign countries. [CHART OMITTED] The...

Post-quake premiums go for a ride. (earthquake insurance rates in San Francisco Bay Area)(includes related article)
February 25, 1994... Last month's Northridge earthquake has rattled the global insurance industry enough to send Bay Area commercial earthquake premiums and deductibles soaring, while availability plummets. Availability -- especially of new coverage -- is...

TakeCare rumored to have new long-distance romance. (explores possibility of a merger with United HealthCare Corp.)
February 25, 1994... TakeCare Inc., which has been the target of intense speculation since it announced and then rescinded a Jan. 10 agreement to merge with FHP International Corp., may soon tie the knot with a new suitor, say sources close to the Concord-based...

Ferry services float bids for key high-traffic route. (Blue and Gold Fleet; Harbor Bay Maritime)
February 25, 1994... Two local ferry companies are vying for the contract to service the busy Oakland-Alameda-San Francisco route. The route, which is subsidized by the City of Alameda and the Port of Oakland, is currently being served by the Blue and Gold...

Port to hotel: it's time to check out. (Port of Oakland; Ramada Hotel at Oakland Airport)
February 25, 1994... Owners of the Ramada Hotel at Oakland Airport have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection to forestall eviction after their landlord, the Port of Oakland, rebuffed a plan to sell the hotel. Listing liabilities of $5.6 million and...

KBLX signs off of Oakland, tunes in to new S.F. digs.
February 25, 1994... A "quiet storm" is fixing to descend upon South of Market. East Bay radio station KBLX is moving from its tattered Emeryville and Berkeley digs to a polished space at 55 Hawthorne St. in San Francisco. KBLX, which has signed on for...

Consolidation of office supply market resumes. (BT Office Products USA acquires Kielty and Dayton Co.)
February 25, 1994... Hayward-based Kielty & Dayton Co., the Bay Area's third-largest office supply dealer, has sold out to a huge international distributor that already owns the region's second-largest supplier. BT OP USA paid an undisclosed amount for Kielty...

Banner year for IPOs, despite lack of interest in biotechs.
February 25, 1994... Racking up unprecedented volumes in the initial public offering market, 1993 was a year when the big boys of investment banking thundered through the Bay Area. The Business Times' List of the largest initial public offerings in the Bay...

Natural Wonders Inc. (Proxy Report Excerpts) (Company Profile)
February 25, 1994... UPDATE Natural Wonders' 123 mall-based stores sell ecology and science-oriented merchandise. With strong venture capital backing, the company has boosted its revenues considerably in its seven years of existence. But the company has...

Bankers break new ground, resume real estate lending. (Mutual Funds: What If Investors Take Flight?)
February 25, 1994... The credit crunch may not be over, but for a select segment of capital-hungry builders and developers, Bay Area lenders are willing to jump back into the real estate market. Last year the banking industry posted record profits, and now,...

As refinancing boom fades to echo, shakeout looms. (Mutual Funds: What If Investors Take Flight?)
February 25, 1994... Though reports of its death might be a bit premature, some mortgage industry experts say the refinancing boom is over and a shakeout in the industry has already begun. [CHART OMITTED] "It's not dead yet, but it's definitely slowed...

Mutual funds: is investor flight waiting in the wings? (Mutual Funds: What If Investors Take Flight?)
February 25, 1994... There was that squeamish feeling of deja vu all over again. It was a Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which had chugged along so merrily like the little engine that could, all of a sudden couldn't. On Feb. 4 it seemed to have...

State Bar proposes business court: revised legal system would help speed resolution of business litigation. (California State Bar Association)
February 18, 1994... A proposal by the California State Bar Association to establish a "fast track" litigation court to handle civil lawsuits involving businesses is nearing reality, and a push is on to include the Bay Area in the pilot project. Legislation will...

Prohibition-era law has vintners stomping mad: wineries want restrictions on wine sales dropped.
February 18, 1994... A growing chorus of Bay Area vintners are clamoring for exemption from a Prohibition-era state law that precludes them from also owning a stake in restaurants that pour their spirits. A flurry of requests have been filed with legislators in...

Women rise to top of biotechnology companies: doors to the industry's executive suites are swinging open.
February 18, 1994... Armed with doctorate degrees in chemistry and the biological sciences, increasing numbers of women are cracking the top echelons of Bay Area biotechnology and medical technology companies. A decade ago, women in top biotech management was...

Hospital execs claim HMOs are bleeding them dry. (health maintenance organizations)
February 18, 1994... Local hospital industry leaders say profit-hungry HMOs are consuming an increasingly large share of the health-care premium dollar, at the expense of the region's hospitals and doctors. In testimony this month before Congress, the CEO of the...

Proposal for massive outdoor market turning into tough sell.
February 18, 1994... South Embarcadero merchants, already suffering the ill-effects of a long-running road construction project along their storefronts, are fretting anew over a proposal to turn neighboring Pier 30/32 into a giant outdoor market featuring more than...

Greenbriar Cos. set to make second run at REIT offering. (real estate investment trusts)
February 18, 1994... After a sharp rebuke from the investment community, the Greenbriar Cos. has redesigned a proposal real estate investment trust and plans to file the new REIT offering with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company will attempt to...

Clinical victories boost value of Bay Area biotechs. (San Francisco Bay Area)
February 18, 1994... Defying a national trend, Bay Area biotech companies had a banner year in 1993 as the market value of 17 of the top 25 companies rose, according to this week's List of largest biotech companies. Local biotechs, led by No. 1-ranked Genentech...

Crass actions: business's case against class-action suits. (Business of Law)
February 18, 1994... The scenario is all too familiar, especially in Bay Area high-tech circles. An unexpected announcement sends a publicly traded company's stock into a downward spiral. Within a matter of days -- or even hours -- the company is hit with a...

Top women-owned law firm establishing new precedent. (Allswang, Smith and Walsh) (Business of Law)
February 18, 1994... It has all the trappings of a traditional law firm: the prestigious Financial District address on Montgomery Street; the marble foyer and the firm name in raised gold letters; the private offices with magnificent views of San Francisco and the...

The lawyers businesses fear most: they're diligent, persistent and passionate - and potentially lethal. (includes personal profiles) (Business of Law)
February 18, 1994... It started for Joe Cotchett when a fellow attorney asked him to come to Southern California and meet with Jesus Martinez, a 70-year-old gardener who had squirreled away $18,000 from a lifetime of laboring only to have lost it all in Lincoln...

S.F. may join $800M PG&E suit; antitrust class-action lawsuit could change the way energy utilities do business. (Pacific Gas & Electric)
February 11, 1994... Supervisor Terence Hallinan said he may ask the Board of Supervisors to instruct the city attorney to take action to support or join an $800 million class-action lawsuit that charges Pacific Gas & Electric with violating antitrust laws....

PAC power. (political action committee)
February 11, 1994... * Oakland business leaders have formed a political action committee under the belief that what the city needs to help it become solvent and adopt a more pro-commerce climate is a little... Fed up with a projected $28 million city budget...

H-P on blitz to ink more 'video server' deals. (Hewlett-Packard Co.)
February 11, 1994... Having scored a major victory by signing a multimillion dollar deal with Pacific Telesis Group, Hewlett-Packard Co. is scouring the planet in an effort to sell its sophisticated "video servers" to other major communications companies. The Palo...

NUMMI auto plant may have to slam brakes on suppliers; trade deal to punish Japan could backfire. (New United Motor Manufacturing Inc.)
February 11, 1994... A little-discussed proposal in trade talks between the United States and Japan could eliminate some $800 million in auto parts contracts California companies get each year from Fremont-based New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. To help narrow...

Superhighway to schools will pick up business on way; proposal would funnel $150 million a year to tech firms. One question: who will pay?
February 11, 1994... A proposal by the California Public Utilities Commission that would grant $150 million annually to route the information superhighway into schools and libraries would also be a boon to Bay Area business. The Schools and Libraries Information...

Signs of life. (Herring Media Group reaches agreement with Gannett Outdoor)
February 11, 1994... A small San Francisco media design and consulting firm has reached an agreement with billboard giant Gannett Outdoor to begin offering advertisers billboards that will feature moving images, not unlike the futuristic scenes from the movie Blade...

With Du Pont gone from its garden, DNA Plant hopes for bumper crop. (E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company Inc.; DNA Plant Technology Corp.)
February 11, 1994... DNA Plant Technology Corp. has concluded a complex transaction with Du Pont that gives the biotech greater control of its business. But at least one observer believes the swap may mean that Du Pont has "soured" on the company's key FreshWorld...

Bank of S.F. fortifying itself for international lending. (Bank of San Francisco)
February 11, 1994... The Bank of San Francisco is preparing to raise as much as $25 million through a private placement to boost its capital and position it for a push into international banking. Officials at the bank refused to discuss the terms of the private...

Shipshape; fight for freight creates buyers' market. (Carriers polish service.)(Del Monte Corp.; American President Lines) (International Trade Quarterly)
February 11, 1994... When San Francisco-based Del Monte Corp. discovered costly replication of services among its import departments this month, it turned to an unlikely source for help in streamlining the process -- its shipping contractor. American President...

Selling to Japan: how Bay Area businesses crack trade barriers. (International Trade Quarterly)
February 11, 1994... Despite rising trade tensions over Japan's closed markets, Bay Area businesses in several industries are breaking new ground in the Asian nation and reporting increasing exports to Japanese consumers. Among the sectors finally cracking...

Bay marketers tread gingerly in global marketplace. (International Trade Quarterly)
February 11, 1994... Toothpaste in Thailand, telephone cable in Australia, morale posters in Malaysia, and wild rice in Hong Kong. U.S. products and services are sold the world over, and increasingly, Bay Area marketing specialists are putting companies and their...

Top 10 small business opportunities. (includes related articles)
February 11, 1994... 1 Health care There is enormous change taking place in this industry. And there is a great need for creative solutions to the nation's health-care problems and the problems employers and health-care providers are encountering in their...

Arbitration policy lands BofA in court. (Bank of America)
February 4, 1994... A victory could help bank stymie class-action suits In a trial expected to have reverberations throughout the banking industry, Bank of America is battling a lawsuit that challenges its policy requiring that customers resolve disputes through...

Sega of America to open toy division. (Sega of America Inc.)
February 4, 1994... Sega of America Inc., the Redwood City-based maker of nationally popular video games, has confirmed that it is about to launch a new toy division. The company said its new division will produce electronic products and toys that will give...

Tug of war; Crowley Maritime backs off of stance on Bay tractor tugs. (Crowley Maritime Corp.)
February 4, 1994... Eight months after Crowley Maritime Corp. of Oakland announced it would invest $110 million in new tugboats designed to prevent oil spills, the company has reversed course by putting those orders on hold. Crowley made a big splash with...

Clio Awards transplanted to San Francisco; advertising's Oscar's will be 4-day festival.
February 4, 1994... After 34 years in New York, the Clio Awards, the advertising industry's version of the Oscars, is coming to San Francisco. James Smyth, CEO of the international awards ceremony, is bringing the advertising awards ceremony and its battered...

Business boosts Jordan's embattled Matrix program. (San Francisco Mayor Frank Jordan)
February 4, 1994... Even as clerics and homeless advocates turn up the heat on Mayor Frank Jordan, San Francisco business leaders are booming support for Matrix, Jordan's campaign to crack down on crime linked to street people. Matrix -- named for the...

High-tech splurge; U.S. lenders invest record $15 billion.
February 4, 1994... Banks showed a renewed interest in technology last year by spending a record $15.3 billion, according to a new report issued by Big Six accounting firm Ernst & Young. The increase reflects not only the healthier balance sheets that have...

Waldenbooks pens unhappy ending for four. (Walden Book Company Inc.)
February 4, 1994... Waldenbooks is planning to close four local bookstores, including the Bay Area's largest, the 18,228-square-foot Basset Books in San Francisco Shopping Centre, less than six months after it opened. The reason: a shift in company policy away...

Norris, Beggs split and sold. (Norris, Beggs and Simpson)
February 4, 1994... San Francisco-based real estate company Norris, Beggs & Simpson is being split in two and sold to two privately held companies, a move that could bring the firm nationwide exposure. West Palm Beach, Fla.-based real estate investment manager...

Natural Wonders still plagued by merchandising blunders; same-store sales still declining, merchandising manager resigns. (Natural Wonders Inc.; Michael Lubka)
February 4, 1994... Natural Wonders Inc.'s remerchandising plan to reverse declining sales appears to have fizzled with the resignation of the company's general merchandiser manager. Michael Lubka tendered his resignation after just five months on the job,...

Master of disaster; claims adjuster fills gap left by departed insurers. (Tom Frye) (Small Business Entrepreneurs)
February 4, 1994... Tom Frye doesn't look forward to natural disasters like the Los Angeles earthquake, but he can't deny they're good for business. Earthquakes, fires, car accidents and other damage-causing events create work for his company, Frye Claims...

Westamerica Bancorporation. (proxy report excerpts) (Company Profile)
February 4, 1994... ASE: WAB 1108 Fifth Ave. San Rafael 94901 (415) 257-8000 UPDATE Westamerica Bancorporation is the holding company for Westamerica Bank, Napa Valley Bank and Bank of Lake County. The company recently reported record quarterly earnings,...

'Cadillac' packages; fewer options doesn't mean benefits lack zip. (Insurance & Employee Benefits)
February 4, 1994... Like the luxury car for which it was named, the Cadillac benefits package has been redesigned for the 1990s with trimmer lines and new features. Rising costs have forced employers to pare the generous health-care coverage that characterized...

Worker's comp reform: is its promise failing? (Insurance & EMployee Benefits)
February 4, 1994... Last year's much-ballyhooed legislative attempts to reform California's workers' compensation laws could end up saving less than half of the $1.5 billion that proponents projected last July, according to critics of the reform package....

Economy pushes pension funds toward new abyss. (Insurance & Employee Benefits)
February 4, 1994... When recession hit the United States in the late 1970s, scandals galore surrounded ailing companies that diverted funds from employee pension plans to keep their operations afloat. Double-digit inflation and interest rates had bloated pension...