Business First of Buffalo articles from April 1995

Business First of Buffalo archives from April 1995

200 apartments planned in Amherst. (developer Michael Joseph to build apartment complex in Amherst, New York)
April 24, 1995... Developer set to buy vacant 28-acre parcel near UB from state A vacant 28-acre Sweet Home Road parcel now owned by the State could be home to Amherst's newest apartment complex. All that's standing in the way of a deal between local...

Prior owner holds claim on Kittinger. (Kittinger Co.; mortgage agreement between owner Ladd Furniture Inc. and buyer USC Industries Inc.)
April 24, 1995... Kittinger Co. may have reached the end of the line in Buffalo, but its name could live on in the hands of a prior owner. In the month before Kittinger laid off its last local workers. Ladd Furniture Inc. took steps to ensure that it would be...

Buffett's financial stakes run quiet, run deep in WNY. (investor Warren Buffet's shareholdings in Western New York-based firms)(includes sidebar)
April 24, 1995... Like wind on the prairie from where he hails, Warren Buffett is unseen and everywhere in corporate Western New York. Few company officials know of it. And Buffett himself may not. But the Omaha-based king of American investors holds a direct...

Programs take aim at area's high rate of infant mortality. (Caring for Tomorrow's Children program and Better Health Plan Inc.'s Better Health for Babies program motivate women to seek prenatal care)
April 24, 1995... Two health-care programs are using incentives such as baby and maternity clothes, diaper services and car seats to motivate expectant mothers to seek prenatal care. Their effort is to help decrease the area's high incidence of infant...

Zoning changes could bring more development to Amherst. (proposed rezoning of Bryant Woods and Forbes Homes Inc. property in Amherst, New York, for commercial uses)
April 24, 1995... They should put all this land on the market as soon as possible. This can't be a prolonged process, because right now you can't find a piece of property that has the proper zoning, especially in the five- to six-acre lot size." Local...

Group tackles problem of getting inner-city workers out to the jobs. (coalition of employment agencies and businesses lobby for more bus routes to growth areas)(includes sidebar)
April 24, 1995... A coalition of job training agencies and suburban businesses are searching for more ways to get inner-city job candidates to job-laden, high-growth areas such as Amherst. The group is poised to lobby for more bus routes at a time when...

Former Channel 7 owners file appeal in Prozeralik libel case. (businessman John Prozeralik; Capital Cities Communications Inc. seeks reversal of decision favoring plaintiff)
April 24, 1995... The award is outlandish. There is $6 million for loss of reputation, yet Mr. Prozeralik testified that his reputation was good before the broadcast, after the broadcast and now." The libel case brought by John Prozeralik against the former...

Wegmans confirms plans for new West Seneca store. (Wegmans Food Markets Inc. to replace old store in West Seneca, New York)
April 24, 1995... Wegmans Food Markets Inc. is replacing its West Seneca store with a 100,500-square-foot store. "The store is being replaced," said Ann McCarthy, Wegmans spokeswoman. "It's all part of our policy and intention to keep our stores current."...

NYSEG's request to curb cogeneration causes sparks. (New York State Electric and Gas Corp. seeks three-year moratorium on cogeneration facility construction)
April 24, 1995... New York State Electric and Gas Corp. has asked regulators for permission to restructure its flexible rates and keep manufacturers from building cogeneration plants for three years at a stretch. The request is the latest battle in a war...

Blues seek MD input for treatment guidelines. (Erie County Medical Society and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Western New York Inc.; guidelines for Community Blue)
April 17, 1995... A medical treatment program is creating an unlikely union: doctors and an insurance company. The Erie County Medical Society and Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Western New York Inc. are collaborating on guidelines to be used by doctors and...

Consumer electronics demand makes business crackle at Tam Ceramics (Tam Cermics Inc.)
April 17, 1995... After 89 years, Tam Ceramics Inc. has an identity crisis. The Niagara Falls specialty chemical manufacturer built its reputation and growth on ceramics. But suddenly the electronics division has taken off, and company officials say it is...

Ruling puts greenbacks out to pasture at Fort Erie track. (Canadian federal ruling on horse race betting; Fort Erie Race Track)
April 17, 1995... The ripples of a battle between a Windsor, Ont., horse racing track and the Canadian federal government are being felt 250 miles away in Fort Erie. A Canadian federal ruling that mandates all horse racing tracks accept bets only in Canadian...

Ownership of WYRK, WJYE tunes in to public offering. (American Radio Systems Inc.'s initial public offering)
April 17, 1995... American Radio Systems Inc., the Boston-based owners of three area radio stations, is going public. The public offering, in which American Radio Systems hopes to raise about $55 million through the sale of 2.8 million shares of Class A...

Buffalo running out of land for use as industrial parks. (New York)
April 17, 1995... Land, or the lack of it, is posing a unique problem for Buffalo City Hall planners. Land in the city's two main industrial parks is becoming a scarce commodity. The Thruway Industrial Park off William Street has all of its 75 acres either...

Marine buys Watertown bank. (Marine Midland Banks Inc.; New York; United Northern Federal Savings Bank)(includes related article)
April 17, 1995... After years of forced inactivity, Marine Midland Bank has jumped back into bank acquisitions by agreeing to purchase a Watertown savings bank. United Northern Federal Savings Bank, an $85 million-asset thrift, has two offices and a small...

Freed Maxick adds 14 accountants, cites 'dramatic' upturn in business. (Freed Maxick Sachs and Murphy P.C.)
April 17, 1995... Freed Maxick Sachs & Murphy P.C., the area's second-largest accounting firm, has increased its staff by about 21 percent. Firm executives are hopeful that the growth will continue during the next three to five years. Since mid-December,...

Zone officials like the look of new incentive program. (New York economic development zones)
April 17, 1995... The state has ironed out most of the wrinkles in an investment program intended to infuse economic development zones with private capital, but it may be awhile before the zones are able to cash in on it. Retooled and ready to be pitched...

Shea's goes Hollywood with Main Street marquee. (Shea's Performing Arts Center; Buffalo, New York)(includes related article)
April 17, 1995... One year into a renovation program, Shea's Performing Arts Center is preparing to show off its most visible change Hollywood-style. Shea's will unveil a $700,000 marquee on May 2, the same day that "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor...

Empower your workers to uncover their creativity.
April 17, 1995... Think about your work as a supervisor, manager or executive. How do you reward, award or support your people for being creative? Or is being creative just part of their job? Face it, if you want your people to be creative, they need your...

Donor software can assist nonprofits with bottom line. (nonprofit organizations)
April 17, 1995... If your organization relies on donations, pledges or gifts to fund operations, it faces many challenges. You need to keep donors happy by providing accurate receipts. The Internal Revenue Service wants you to help your donors take proper...

Taking new tack on computer training. (Westwood-Squibb Pharmaceuticals Inc.)(Special Report: Small Business Handbook)
April 17, 1995... Westwood Squibb takes outsourcing and puts it on site When Westwood Squibb Pharmaceuticals installed a Local Area Network at its Buffalo facility last year, it was faced with training half of its 600 employees on how to use it. "There was...

New Wegmans sends companies on office search. (Wegman's Food Markets Inc. store in Buffalo, New York)
April 10, 1995... Buffalo is promising to offer them assistance Plans for a Wegmans supermarket near Buffalo State College are sending 17 companies scurrying into the local real estate market looking for new space. Wegmans announced in the fall that it...

United Way to de-emphasize member agencies. (United Way of Buffalo and Erie County)
April 10, 1995... The United Way of Buffalo and Erie County is considering a change in the way member and non-member agencies receive funding. A broad-reaching reform plan being circulated to heads of nonprofits would de-emphasize member agencies and instead...

Incoming CEO of Dunlop says profitability will drive expansion. (Dunlop Tire Corp.'s P. David Campbell)
April 10, 1995... Going into the 21st century with higher worldwide tire production goals, Dunlop Tire Corp. is weighing several options, including expanding its Tonawanda plant. Two other possibilities: * Expanding its plant in Huntsville, Ala. *...

Planning agency maps WNY's transit strategies. (Niagara Frontier Transportation Committee; Western New York State)
April 10, 1995... A plan to take Western New York transportation systems into the year 2010 recommends new roads, new rails and new technologies to keep up with shifting commuting patterns and regional growth. Among the things being considered:...

M&T plans Albany bank branch. (Manufacturers and Traders Trust Co.; New York State)
April 10, 1995... M&T Bank was barely finished nailing down a lead position in the Albany residential mortgage market when it turned its sights on the consumer and commercial deposit base. The Buffalo-based bank has applied to the Federal Reserve Board for...

Hospitals create medical complex in north Amherst. (New York State)
April 10, 1995... Two physician groups and three of the area's largest hospitals are creating a comprehensive medical complex near the Amherst-North Tonawanda border. The project is a joint venture of Tonawanda Pediatrics and Highgate Medical Group, which...

Corporate parent of WHTT weighs investment options. (Kiss L.P.'s radio station in Buffalo, New York)(includes related article)
April 10, 1995... The local radio industry is anything but static these days. In a period marked by ownership and management changes at several area stations, the parent of one of Buffalo's highest-rated stations is weighing several options that could lead to...

Business compact aims to keep 'homegrown' companies in WNY. (Buffalo Business Compact; Western New York State)
April 10, 1995... The Buffalo Business Compact isn't as much an economic symbol as it is a challenge, its chief architect says. Robert Rich Jr., president of Rich Products Corp., says the idea of the compact is a "call to arms" for locally based companies to...

Joint venture bids on Newfane nursing home. (Millard Fillmore Health System and National Health Care Affiliates; Newfane Health Facility)
April 3, 1995... Millard Fillmore Health System and National Health Care Affiliates Inc., a Buffalo-based nursing home and home-care company, jointly bid $1.7 million for Newfane Health Facility in a March 17 bankruptcy auction. Creditors favor the joint...

Area workers sweating over job picture; poll finds WNYers nervous about employment prospects. (Western New York)
April 3, 1995... The local economy has been improving at a slow, steady pace since mid-1991, but most Western New Yorkers still don't feel secure. A new Business First-Goldhaber Research Associates Poll finds that four-fifths of Erie County workers - 79.8...

Economy keeps moving, but shows signs of stalling. (Area Workers Sweating Over Job Picture)
April 3, 1995... Western New York's economy remains in the recovery mode, but its recent performance is raising disturbing questions about the long term. The Business First Economic Index slipped in February for the second consecutive month, falling an...

SBA cutbacks rally banks and business. (Small Business Administration)
April 3, 1995... Richard Buerk likens proposed cutbacks at the Small Business Administration to the aftermath of an explosion. "The federal government is dealing with a hand grenade," says Buerk, who runs Buerk Tool & Machine Corp. "Parts are going all over...

Lockport Savings plans check-clearing operation. (Lockport Savings Bank)
April 3, 1995... Lockport Savings Bank is moving its check-clearing operations in-house and hopes to generate extra income by offering the service to other small banks in the area. Most of the $930 million-asset bank's check clearing is now performed by...

New Peller & Mure owners say downtown store suits them fine. (Jay Hitzges and Jed Hannel; Buffalo, New York)
April 3, 1995... Upscale men's clothier Peller & Mure has changed hands. At a time when downtown Buffalo has lost several notable retailers in recent months, Peller & Mure's new owners say the store will say put. "I really think the opportunity is...

Steel caster purchase pushes up former Bethlehem plant's restart. (BRW Steel Corp.; Bethlehem Steel Corp.)
April 3, 1995... BRW Steel Corp. expects to start production at a mill in Johnstown, Pa., by the end of the year, paving the way for renewed steelmaking in Lackawanna as soon as April 1996. The company, formed to purchase mills from the former Bethlehem Steel...

Bank of Holland begins search to replace 92-year-old CEO. (Harold Haws)
April 3, 1995... The Bank of Holland hasn't had to face a task like it in 37 years: finding a new CEO. But that will change shortly. Harold Haws, 92, believed to be America's oldest active bank president, is expected to step down. His retirement, which is...

Nonunion firms say labor pact drives up Roswell project cost. (Empire State Chapter of Associated Builders and Contractors Inc.; Roswell Park Cancer Institute)
April 3, 1995... A nonunion construction group claims state mandates on labor have driven up costs 26 percent on the $241 million renovation at Roswell Park Cancer Institute. Union officials dispute the charge. Stuck in the middle is the cancer hospital....

Boost in practice facility costs sidelines other projects at Rich. (Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, Buffalo, Western New York)
April 3, 1995... The sound of jackhammers and other construction noises will fill Rich Stadium for the third straight season, but it could be the last major work on the Orchard Park stadium for awhile. Unless additional state or federal funding can be...

Checkup of area credit unions finds major players are healthy. (Buffalo, New York)(includes related article)
April 3, 1995... Instability of some U.S. credit unions and industry supervision that might be too relaxed have stepped up calls at the national level for tighter regulations. But there seems little reason to fret about the 25 largest credit unions in the...

Putting a global business into high gear. (Eastman Machine Co.; president Robert Stevenson)(includes related article) (Company Profile)
April 3, 1995... Eastman Machine's Robert Stevenson espouses the worldwide market Though Robert L. Stevenson is not named for the author of "Treasure Island," he, too, could write a book on fortunes sought overseas. "He is extremely knowledgeable on...

Father Sam's to break ground, bake bread at Buffalo location. (Father Sam's Syrian Bread Inc.)
April 3, 1995... Father Sam's Syrian Bread Inc. is moving to Buffalo. The Buffalo Urban Renewal Agency has named the company, now housed in North Tonawanda's Wurlitzer Industrial Park, designated developer for a 4.2-acre parcel in the Thruway Industrial Park....