Business First of Buffalo articles from April 2000

Business First of Buffalo archives from April 2000

No peace on bridge.(Peace Bridge between US and Canada)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 3, 2000... Poll shows nearly equal support for twin and signature spans No one knows yet what a new Peace Bridge will look like. But one thing appears certain: After a two-year contest in which the design of the U.S.-Canada bridge has been debated...

Rigas, Adelphia finish deal for Sabres, arena.(Tim Rigas, Adelphia Communications, Buffalo Sabres)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 3, 2000... In about 30 days Tim Rigas and Adelphia Communications Corp. hope to have 30 months of uncertainty all bundled in a nice, tight package. If Rigas' wish comes true, his family will finally own the Buffalo Sabres franchise, the lease on...

Nonprofits link up to serve hungry.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 3, 2000... When hungry people come into the Lackawanna Food Pantry Sister Dorothy DeMaria does a lot more than make sure they leave with a bag full of groceries. Serving food pantry customers means serving up a healthy portion of information on everything...

QUARTER FOR YOUR THOUGHTS.(New York state quarter)(Brief Article)(Polling Data)(Statistical Data Included)
April 3, 2000... Goldhaber Research Associates asked Western New Yorkers what they,d like to see on the back of the federal government's special New York state quarter to be issued next year. Surprisingly, nearly as many responded with a downstate symbol as...

5th Coast.(Fleming Cos. relocates to Ohio)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 3, 2000... Thumbs up [ldots]to Bishop Henry Mansell for writing off a debt of about $5.5 million. owed to the Catholic Diocese by 55 parishes. Many priests and diocesan officials say relief from the debt will now free the parishes to do more work for...

On the Street.
April 3, 2000... On the Street Other Senate Candidates Edition Subject Word on the street Dennis Vacco Although the former state attorney general has just about...

No more nonsense.
April 3, 2000... It doesn't make sense that the Buffalo Board of Education is starting to make sense. We suspect they're really pod people from outer space who have attained positions of pseudo-power here on Earth. After all, this is the same school system...

Rochester-based firm buys local company.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 3, 2000... Customers of Network Development Group, a local network solutions and MIS company, can expect a greater range of services following an acquisition. NDG was acquired this week by NetSetGo Inc., a Rochester company specializing in...

Ownership changes at parts importer.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 3, 2000... ACF Imports Inc has changed ownership. John Romanelli Jr., president and general manager of the West Seneca company, bought the business from his father-in-law, Albert Forst. Terms were not disclosed. ACF is an importer and assembler...

Public Broadcasting, schools sign lease deal.
April 3, 2000... An agreement between the WNY Public Broadcasting Association and the Buffalo Board of Education will allow the district to provide training and staff development downtown. The agreement will enable the board to lease 15,600 square feet of...

Clarifications & amplifications.
April 3, 2000... HR Works Inc., formerly Personnel Works Inc., was incorrectly identified in the March 27 issue The Rochester-based firm provides human resources functions on an outsourced basis.

YMCA launches Southtowns expansion.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... Plans by the Ismailia Shrine Temple to build a facility in Orchard Park this year will allow the YMCA of Greater Buffalo to expand its facility in the Southtowns. The Ismailia Shrine will build a 14,000-square-foot facility on property it...

Turnipseed promoted by Federal Reserve.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... Carl Turnipseed, manager of the Federal Reserve's Buffalo branch for six years, has been promoted to executive vice president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Turnipseed, who also held the title of senior vice' president, will be...

Parent of 3 Niagara County dailies weighs acquisition of more papers.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... The owner of Niagara County's three daily newspapers is looking at the possibility of buying some of the U.S. newspapers that the Thomson Corp. in February announced that it will sell. But Michael Reed, president of Birmingham, Ala. -based...

Tops Markets acquires 87 Sugar Creek stores.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... Tops Markets Inc. has gone on a shopping spree, buying up Sugar Greek convenience stores. Sugar Creek, with headquarters in Rochester, has 87 stores across New York state, including four in Erie County. The stores account for $142 million...

Boy Scouts food drive takes place on April 8.
April 3, 2000... The Boy Scouts of America will be conducting its annual Scouting for Food Drive this week. Scouts will be out in area neighborhoods April 1 placing special food drive bags on resident's doors. The community is asked to fill the bags with...

Acquisitions continue for Niagara Bancorp.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... Three months after making its initial foray into Central New York, Niagara Bancorp Inc. again is expanding outside its Western New York base. The acquisition of Auburn-based Iroquois Bancorp Inc., a $595 million-asset holding company for...

Delphi engineers win design award.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... A six-member team of Delphi Harrison Thermal Systems engineers has earned the parent Company's highest award for design and innovative excellence. The 1999 "Boss" Kettering Award, from Delphi Automotive Systems Corp., is for one of Delphi...

Small-business owners oppose ergonomics bill.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... Dennis Richards sees OSHA's proposed ergonomics regulations as unnecessary and too costly a move for small businesses. "If they make it an across-the-board generic, rule, it would hurt us," said Richards, owner of Richards Machine Tool Co....

Holiday wrapping up another Pepsi Tournament.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... The NCAA basketball tournament may have been the most widely recognized sporting event to hit town in the month of March, but it wasn't the longest running. Holiday Twin Rinks in Cheektowaga will be concluding its 24th annual Pepsi Hockey...

Sportservice prepares for Opening Day.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 3, 2000... Major league, baseball teams have been getting ready for the 2000 season for more than a month and so, too, have the people charged with stadium operations. Buffalo-based Sportservice, owned by Delaware North Cos., is ready for the beginning...

NFL news.(Buffalo Bills)(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... There were a lot of eyeballs on the Buffalo Bills again in the 1999 season. The Bills pulled a 43.9 rating and a 78 share in the Buffalo TV market according to figures released through Nielsen Media Research. Nielsen rated Buffalo among the...

A summer happening: Baseball and bands.(Buffalo Trax)(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... Buffalo Trax, an independent music promoter, has put together a regional 10-city, 16-show Trax Baseball Tour with stops throughout New York state, Pennsylvania and Ohio. M&T Bank is again the corporate sponsor for the tour that will play...

Growth on the agenda at Graphic Controls.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... Sam Heleba knows image means everything. As vice president and general manager of Graphic Controls, he touts the company's plans to move into a new manufacturing facility. "It's a large challenge that I welcome. People here are...

Food service provider expands.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... Personal Touch Food Service Inc., a Buffalo-based food service provider, has expanded its reach into the industrial and business market, while preserving the jobs of 30 workers. Personal Touch took possession of Sermat Inc. in June through...

Tonawanda plaza in line for a new look.(Colvin-Eggert Plaza)(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... Just about one year ago, the Benchmark Group bought the Colvin-Eggert Plaza and made a promise to give the tired plaza a new look. There were also rumors at the time that the plaza was going to be razed with either a hotel or chain...

Home-buying help.(Affordable Home Show)(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... The Greater Buffalo Association of Realtors has announced a plan to help a first time or low-income home buyer. The association is offering a $2,000 down payment assistance grant to a qualified buyer. The buyer must select a home in Erie...

Ground breakings.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... Two companies, one in Cheektowaga and the other in Lancaster, received boosts for their respective expansion plans from the Empire State Development Corp. The ESDC is expected to award a $75,000 capital grant to CertainTeed Corp. of...

Friendship Economic Development Zone.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... * Not all the positive economic developments comes from Erie County. The Friendship Economic Development Zone said it has received a letter of intent from CPR Medical Inc. of Albuquerque, N.M., to build a 100,000-square-foot operation in...

Laux Sporting Goods Inc.
April 3, 2000... * Laux Sporting Goods Inc. has renewed its lease at the Walden Galleria and at the same time moved to new space in the mall. Laux moved from the mall's lower level to a second floor spot near the Sears Roebuck & Co. store.

Uniland Development Co.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... * Uniland Development Co. has had one tenant renew its lease while landing a new tenant for a different site. CIBER, an IT solutions company renewed its lease at Uniland's Sheridan Meadows Corporate Park while Healtheon/Web MD, an Internet...

Cancer support center forms WNY affiliate.(Gilda's Club WNY)(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... People with cancer and their families will soon have a place to call their own where they can go to laugh, meet others and learn how to live with the disease. That place will be Gilda's Club WNY. The organization, named in honor of the late...

Hoop expectations gearing up at St. Bona.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... As the NCAA men's basketball championship prepares for its culmination this weekend in Indianapolis, St. Bonaventure's postseason appearance has, like 59 other participants, faded into the background. It was without a doubt along, long...

Poll shows support for health care access.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 3, 2000... A new poll commissioned by the Democratic Leadership Council found that only 7 percent of voters think giving patients the right to sue HMOs is the most important health care issue that government should address. Insuring everyone became...

Employers see increase hike in health care costs.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... Health care costs are up 9.7 percent this year, compared with 7.5 percent increases in 1998 and 1999, according to more than 500 employers surveyed by Watson Wyatt Worldwide and two nonprofit health care organizations. Health care...

OSHA targets sites for possible inspections.(Occupational Safety and Health Administration)(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... The Occupational Safety and Health Administration recently informed 13,000 employers that OSHA inspectors may be headed their way. For every 100 full-time workers, the employers on OSHA's target list had eight or more injuries or illnesses...

House subcommittee passes anti-spam bill.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... A House Commerce subcommittee unanimously passed legislation that would restrict unsolicited commercial e-mail, popularly known as spam. The legislation, sponsored by Rep. Heather Wilson, R-N.M., includes provisions that had been part of...

Law firms.(rankings)(Statistical Data Included)
April 3, 2000... Law firms Ranked by number of WNY attorneys Phone Prior Web...

Some federal tax breaks may escape Clinton veto.(Small Business Tax Fairness Act (H.R. 3832))(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... Despite President Clinton's threat to veto the legislation, business lobbyists are optimistic that some of the tax breaks passed by the House to ease the pain of a minimum wage increase will be enacted. The business tax relief package...

Bond seeks threshold for cash method.(Sen. Christopher S. Bond, R-Mo.)(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... Sen. Christopher S. Bond, R-Mo., introduced legislation to allow small businesses with annual gross receipts of less than $5 million to use the cash method of accounting instead of the more complicated accrual method. Bond's bill is...

Protecting the (electronic) paper trail.(healthcare records)(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... Medical pros worry about e-records coming to the field The Buffalo Medical Group has begun converting patient billing and scheduling functions to an electronic system and expects to do the same to its medical records in the next two years...

Varied interests sum up success.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... * SPECIAL REPORT FIRST PERSON A scholar of Russian language and culture; an advocate for women in general and women with limited opportunities in particular; a student of yoga-nia, which combines spirituality and aerobic exercise; a wife...

Don't take shortcuts when firing a worker.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... Hiring and firing is a daily part of corporate life. But while the former represents a positive step, the rejection and/or failure associated with the latter can bring a much different response. One area business owner said he has seen...

Lawyer to speak about human rights on Law Day.
April 3, 2000... Human rights lawyer Arthur Helton will be he featured speaker at the Bar Association of Erie County's Law Day Luncheon at 11:30 a.m. in the Statler's Golden Ballroom on April 28. Helton is senior fellow for refugee studies and preventive...

Best legal advice: Be nice at work.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 3, 2000... Anne Simet's goal is simple: The creation of workplaces "Where everyone feels comfortable and can do their best." It's a vision that Simet, a partner with Hodgson Russ Andrews Woods & Goodyear LLP, has worked toward realizing since the 1980s....

Airport expects relief from parking crunch.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... Low-cost airline carriers are bringing more and more people to the Buffalo Niagara International Airport. To handle the crush of travelers, more parking spaces are being added. "We know we are going to be pushed to the brink over the...

A new way to find candidates.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... A new recruitment resource for identifying job candidates with disabilities skilled in a wide variety of fields is available free to employers. The 2000 Workforce Recruitment Program database contains profiles of more than 1,200...

Dinner honors financial winners.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... Three awardees of Crystal Buffalo Awards received honors at a March 30 dinner sponsored by the Financial Planning Association of Western New York. The winners are: * Scott Bieler, president of West-Herr Automotive for entrepreneurial,...

Part by part.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... Heavy equipment finds new life at 'glorified junkyard' What's going on: Ask Steve Hansen what his business is about and you get this unorthodox response: "We're kind of a glorified junkyard for heavy construction equipment." Of course,...

Unified messaging services drop in price.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... When unified messaging was introduced in the mid-90s, small businesses could only look longingly at the $50,000 systems that larger companies could afford to adopt as their all-in-one messaging solution. What a difference a few years can...

Building Controls & Services Inc.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... Building Controls & Services Inc. was awarded contracts to provide temperature control and energy management services for St. Mary's Home of Erie, a new West Side facility, and to provide energy conservation services for the Grand Island...

Action for Mental Health.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... Action for Mental Health began offering a new Peer Benefits Advisement Program. Through the initiative, Cornell University trained two Erie County residents with psychiatric disabilities to act as peer benefits advisers (one full-time, one...

Hadley Exhibits Inc.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... Hadley Exhibits Inc. was chosen to create a new airport security checkpoint system for ADT's federal systems division. Hadley was assisted on the project by local companies TR Manufacturing and Babcock Lumber. The systems will be installed in...

Hedria Consulting.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... MTV Music Television hired Amherst-based company Hedria Consulting to conduct a series of creativity seminars for its employees. Owner and President Hedria Lunken will present the seminars "Expand Your Creativity and Maximize Your Potential"...

PBB Global Logistics.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... PBB Global Logistics' updated Web site features a customs tariff search engine and a more user-friendly layout. The site has a complete listing of year 2000 tariff codes and duty rates on imports into Canada. The company's PBB ProDoc trade...

Tony Mills International Inc.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... Tony Mills International Inc., North American headquarters for DP Brakes, announced that DP Brakes will sponsor the Keith Code California Superbike School Tour 2000 beginning March 22 in Monterey, Calif. The company's involvement as sponsor...

SofTrek.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... Getzville software company SofTrek launched a redesigned Web site. The site includes information on PledgeMaker, the company's Oracle-based fund-raising software for nonprofit organizations. Other features are a listserv program for PledgeMaker...

Villa Maria College.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... Villa Maria College launched a redesigned Web site that includes information on the college's academic programs, student services, alumni updates and job placement services. Designed by Sassy Graphics, the site will also feature work on display...

Crowley Webb and Associates.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... Wine importer Caravelle Wine Selections chose Crowley Webb and Associates to develop its promotional marketing and advertising materials. The marketing communications agency will do work for Caravelle's Burgess Cellars, Grant Burge, Prosper...

TCS Inc.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... General contracting and construction management firm TCS Inc. was awarded two recent projects: the renovation and expansion of the Chez Ann Salon and Day Spain Williamsville's Walker Center and work for the 12,000-square-foot office and...

Advanced Refractory Technologies Inc.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... Advanced Refractory Technologies Inc. upgraded its two Web sites. They offer an overview of company products, technologies and markets as well as the company. newsletter and a listing of employment opportunities. A second-level feature permits...

Alliance Advisory Group Inc.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... Niagara Resource Corp./Guardian changed its name to Alliance Advisory Group Inc. The financial services firm plans to expand its Buffalo Rochester and Jamestown offices and move into the Syracuse, Binghamton and Albany markets in the next two...

Western New York Imaging Systems Inc.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... Document imaging company Western New York Imaging Systems Inc. held a ribbon-cutting ceremony March 15. The company, incorporated in September 1999 formed out of the partnership of Tom Rennie, Frank Rudy and Tony Lazzaro with Panasonic Document...

Success in selling begins and ends with you.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... What is the reality of selling? The way you do the things you do. Jeffrey, what's the easiest way to make a sale? Jeffrey, what's the best way to make a sale? Jeffrey, what's the fastest way to make a sale? Same answer: there is none....

Employee file protection guaranteed by new bill.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... Special interest groups streamed through the Capitol this week lobbying state lawmakers for money in the to-be-adopted state budget. Meanwhile, the budget progress is stalled, as legislative leaders have yet to begin conference committees that...

Arts Council grants target small programs.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... The Arts Council in Buffalo & Erie County has developed a new grant program to support small- and mid-size nonprofit art organizations. The Cultural Advancement Stabilization & Technology Grant program is sponsored in conjunction with the...

MORTGAGE RATES.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 3, 2000... * MORTGAGE RATES Fixed Adjustable Lender (phone) 30 yr. 15 yr. 1 yr. 3. yr. American Home Loans (873-3500) 8.25...

LOCAL ECONOMIC INDICATORS.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 3, 2000... * LOCAL ECONOMIC INDICATORS Indicator Period Total 1-year trend Business bankruptcy filings (per week) Feb. 6.3 +57.5% Construction contracts (total...

MONEY MARKET AND CD RATES-YIELDS.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 3, 2000... * MONEY MARKET AND CD RATES-YIELDS MM 6 mos. 12 mos. 24 mos. 48 mos. Bank of Castile 2.75-2.78 4.50-4.60 5.40-5.55 5.60-5.76 5.75-5.92 Cattaraugus County 2.45-2.48...

Though Hank's gone his memory lives on.
April 3, 2000... Some guys go straight home every day after work. They get right in the car and drive straight home. After dinner, they read the paper, take out the garbage, plop in front of the TV, or embark on some project in the house or the yard. Some...

Superintendent faces big test.(Brief Article)
April 3, 2000... The public image of the Buffalo City School District has suffered mightily in recent decades. Controversy and scandal have dogged the region's largest school district for far too long. But two moves by the school board last week could be the...

Let's face it: We're oil gluttons.
April 3, 2000... The sudden rise in gasoline prices shouldn't be a surprise. What's surprising is a lot of people are surprised. After nearly a decade of low gasoline prices, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries finally got its act together and...

Noco uses acquisition to build customer base.
April 3, 2000... Noco Energy Corp. strengthened its customer base in Niagara County with the acquisition of Schrack Oil. The deal adds more than 1,700 residential and 10 commercial customers to Noco, a heating oil, gasoline and diesel fuel distributor. ...

Marrano/Marc Equity enters Corning market.
April 3, 2000... Marrano/Marc Equity Corp., a West Seneca-based home builder, is constructing new single-family homes at the first master-planned residential community in the Corning area. Marrano has joined developer Upstate Partners L.C. of Utah to build...

Candor may be needed to avoid legal battles.
April 3, 2000... Everyone seems to be a management consultant these days: Winnie the Pooh, Attila the Hun, even Goldilocks! Personally, my favorite is Mother Goose. This article offers my interpretation of one of the classic Mother Goose nursery rhymes, "The...

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE.
April 3, 2000... David Simons, chief financial officer for Dunn Tire Corp., was promoted to the company's board of directors. He was with accounting firm Ernst & Young for 12 years before joining Dunn as corporate controller in 1993. Point-of-sale systems...

Brothers of Mercy.(set up job information phone line)(Brief Article)
April 10, 2000... The Brothers of Mercy campus in Clarence has established a job information telephone line and a Web site to allow the public to access information easier. A current listing of job opportunities at the Brothers of Mercy Nursing and...

Daemen College.(new master of science degree)(Brief Article)
April 10, 2000... Daemen College has introduced a new master of science degree and post baccalaureate advanced certificate program in palliative care nursing, beginning this summer. The master's degree, a 30-credit program, is designed for those who hold a...

CareGivers.(1999 Letchworth Award for Service Excellence)(Brief Article)
April 10, 2000... The Buffalo office of CareGivers won the 1999 Letchworth Award for Service Excellence. The corporate office of CareGivers, a group of licensed health care agencies with locations throughout upstate New York and Western Pennsylvania, measured...

Catholic Health System.(sixth Annual Docs Day for Kids)(Brief Article)
April 10, 2000... Catholic Health System doctors traded in their stethoscopes for aprons during the sixth Annual Docs Day for Kids. The Feb.27 event included the physicians serving as guest bartenders to help raise funds for special pediatric equipment at...

Holy Angels Academy.(and D'Yauville College)(Brief Article)
April 10, 2000... Holy Angels Academy and D'YauviIle College have partnered to provide a new health science program for high school juniors and seniors in the 2000-2001 academic year. The program will increase the number of courses in the natural sciences for...

Roswell Park Cancer Institute.(offers Smoke-Free 2000 calendars)(Brief Article)
April 10, 2000... Roswell Park Cancer Institute is offering free Smoke-Free 2000 calendars while supplies last. The calendar, supported by a grant from the SmithKline Beecham company, features artwork from area children who participated in the annual Give Me...

AIDS Community Services of WNY Inc.(Cause for Celebration benefit)(Brief Article)
April 10, 2000... Cause for Celebration, a benefit for AIDS Community Services of WNY Inc., raised more than $100,000 at its 11th annual event in February. Funds, used to fight AIDS in Western New York, were raised through private dinner parties, a dessert...

IRS extending hours for last-minute filers.(Internal Revenue Service)(Brief Article)
April 10, 2000... The Internal Revenue Service has expanded its hours and will be open weekends for walk-in service until April 18, the federal tax deadline. The Buffalo office, at 111 West Huron St. downtown, will be open during the week of April 10 from 8...