Business First of Buffalo articles from July 1999

Business First of Buffalo archives from July 1999

Independent pharmacists feeling blue over latest cut.(Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Western New York is asking small pharmacies to take a 2% cut in reimbursement rates if they want to join its newest network)
July 5, 1999... For independent pharmacists doing business with Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Western New York, it's deja vu all over again. The area's mom-and-pop drugstores in June were invited into a network of pharmacies serving Blue Cross members but at...

TRW seeks $4.5 million for century-old mansion.(TRW Inc. to sell its Buffalo corporate headquarters)
July 5, 1999... The former Butler Mansion on Delaware Avenue, one of Buffalo's best known properties, now is in the hands of the real estate community. To no one's surprise, TRW Inc., the new owners of LucasVarity plc, has listed the historic and...

Small banks' stocks remain flat despite solid earnings.(western New York)(Industry Overview)
July 5, 1999... Even solid earnings, strong asset quality and successful acquisitions are not enough to translate into higher stock prices for many small banks. Take Niagara Bancorp for example. The $1.59 billion-asset parent of Lockport Savings Bank has:...

Acquisition of Republic could face court challenge.(HSBC Holdings PLC set to buy Republic New York Corp.)
July 5, 1999... A New York City activist group says it is challenging HSBC's plan to buy Republic New York Corp. on grounds that the deal violates provisions of the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977. Matthew Lee, who heads Inner City Press/Community on...

Banking at home: community banks find niches to hold their own against big city competitors.(Special Report: Banking & Finance)(western New York)(Industry Overview)
July 5, 1999... Community banks find niches to hold their own against big city competitors Playing on a field dominated by burly but agile Goliaths wielding flashy moves like consolidation and expansion into non-banking services, small community banks are...

Bank officials say public OK with name changes at HSBC.(Special Report: Banking & Finance)
July 5, 1999... Three months after changing its name to HSBC, the former Marine Midland Bank is finding customers agreeing with its "fewer letters, more bank" philosophy. It's business as usual, only better, in the wake of a transition that took hold...

Banker adds up reasons for picking career.(Special Report: Banking & Finance)(Judith McCauley, assistant branch manager at Lockport Savings Bank)
July 5, 1999... Judith McCauley always had zero confidence in her math skills. So she never pictured herself working for a bank. But Lockport Savings Bank, where she applied for a job in 1990, detected other abilities, like her desire to volunteer for...

All around the towns: bus operator gets kids and tourists from here to there.(Ridge Road Express Inc.)(Company Profile)
July 5, 1999... Bus operator gets kids and tourists from here to there What's up: The private company is a school bus contractor and charter and tour motor coach operator with main office and maintenance facilities in the Town of Lockport, and other...

Taylor's closing fuels speculation.(clothing store closure)
July 12, 1999... The closing of Taylor's, an upscale women's clothing store, has many people wondering about the fate of the Main Street building. Taylor's, located in the former Adam Meldrum & Anderson Co. Inc. flagship department store, is considered a...

Regional fund battles reality of WNY market.(Bullfinch Western New York)
July 12, 1999... The investment community was skeptical when two Buffalo area natives in 1997 founded a regional mutual fund catering to Western New York investors. As the New York Times observed, the new Bullfinch Fund Western New York Series was the...

Automakers, UAW identify key issues.(United Auto Workers)
July 12, 1999... Job security and outsourcing of sub-assembly parts are at the heart of negotiations between the United Auto Workers and the nation's Big 3 automakers. Nearly a month into negotiations between General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co, and...

Fort Erie betting on slot payoff.(Fort Erie Race Track's additional slot machines)
July 12, 1999... Remaining a one-trick pony in the horse racing game won't get track owners to the winner's circle much anymore. That's why, starting in late August, Fort Erie Race Track will gamble that the addition of 1,200 slot machines will signal a new...

Hospital affiliation talks resume in Niagara County.(Niagara County, New York's Lockport Memorial Hospital and Inter-Community Memorial Hospital)
July 12, 1999... Lockport Memorial Hospital and Newfane's Inter-Community Memorial Hospital are once again talking partnership following last month's broken negotiations between the Lockport facility and Kaleida Health. The Niagara County hospitals hope to...

Catholic system faces union negotiators.(Catholic Health System)
July 12, 1999... Several bargaining units have begun contract negotiations or have taken other union action at facilities in the Catholic Health System. Health-care workers at McAuley-Seton Home Care, a Cheektowaga home health care agency of the Catholic...

Modern pickup trucks aren't just for hauling anymore.
July 12, 1999... The old philosophy that anyone who drove a truck had a business is long past. Trucks are everywhere, beginning with the supermarket and the shopping mall. That take on the popularity of pickup trucks belongs to Duane Paddock, president of...

Making old trucks run again takes a load of time and cash.(Classic Automobile Restoration of Buffalo, New York)
July 12, 1999... Jerry Powarski loves his "Stewart." So much so, he's willing to spend countless hours and thousands of dollars to make it the best it can be. His Stewart is a truck, made by the defunct Stewart Motor Corp. Powarski is an auto specialist,...

Successful sales drive begins by listening to people, pro says.(sales consultant Steve Cotter of Towne Auto Group)
July 12, 1999... Steve Cotter sells sport utility vehicles, trucks and cars. It's his living. But his job is listening, he says. Sounds like a psychologist, but it isn't such an unreasonable stretch considering the similarities of style in the two professions....

Making sweet music.(Eastco Pro Media Corp.)(Company Profile)
July 12, 1999... From the pulpit to the Internet, booming company keeps rhythm with technology What's going on: "Technology is what's going on," said Holt Vaughn as he finished a phone call with a supplier regarding Eastco Pro Media's own line of cassette...

Fewer busy bees: fruit growers fear economic sting.
July 19, 1999... Fruit growers fear economic sting Honeybees are being attacked and the onslaught is posing a risk to an important element of the Western New York economy - apples. The villains are two different strains of mites. The tiny,...

New Era links growth to efficiency.(New Era Cap Co.)
July 19, 1999... Armed with significant contracts from virtually every major professional sports league and more than 200 college programs, New Era Cap Co. is on the verge of rapid growth. But the question is will that growth happen at all three of the...

Amherst collection agency signs deal at Bryant Woods.(Account Solutions Group to move its office to Bryant Woods Office Park)
July 19, 1999... Fast growing Account Solutions Group is moving ahead with an expansion plan that could see the company double its work force and increase square footage eight-fold. The Amherst-based collections agency has submitted plans to Amherst...

Customers have the power to choose electric power.(Western New York)
July 19, 1999... You no longer have to live in Lockport to have energy choice. Beginning Aug. 1, the market is wide open for all electric customers served by Western New York's two main electric utilities - Niagara Mohawk Power Corp. and New York State...

Architect sails into projects across Western New York.(Trautman Assoc. Pres. Paul Markwart)
July 19, 1999... Paul Markwart loves to sail. His computer screen saver shows a number of sailing scenes. A walk around his office and amid the renderings of area architecture are other sailing-related scenes. To Markwart, sailing isn't just a hobby, it's a...

Smile for the camera.(THS Sports Photography)
July 19, 1999... Action photography is the name of the game What's going on: As a restaurant/hotel management major at Rochester Institute of Technology, Stephen DeMeo played on the lacrosse team. When the RIT photographers made their way into the team's...

Unhealthy doubts: survey shows WNYers are skeptical about quality issues and cost savings promoted by managed care plans.(Western New Yorkers)(Statistical Data Included)
July 26, 1999... Consumers in Western New York and across the country don't have much faith that managed care can uphold its basic tenets of improving the quality while saving the costs of health care. Quite the contrary, a majority of area residents...

American Axle forges deal with Nissan.(American Axle & Manufacturing Inc.)
July 26, 1999... American Axle & Manufacturing Inc. has landed a major long-term contract with a new customer and assigned the work to its Western New York facilities. Beginning in August, the company's plant on East Delavan Avenue will produce steering...

Homebuyers cash in on WNY real estate.(West New York)(Statistical Data Included)
July 26, 1999... Isabelle Robitaille routinely sees, firsthand, both the joy and then sticker shock people go through when they move into Western New York. As president of Robitaille Relocation Centre in Williamsville, Robitaille's job is to find housing...

NFTA, construction unions negotiate labor agreement.(Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority)
July 26, 1999... Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority officials are moving to enter a project labor agreement with area unions for construction of a pending $85 million airport project that would add seven gates. The board of commissioners July 19...

Y2K 'survival' Web site targets small business.(Year 2000 computer transition problem)
July 26, 1999... Small businesses may have trouble without the staff or expertise to figure out what must be done to ensure their computers don't misread 2000 as 1900 when the new year rolls around. But New York state is doing what it can to provide...

Jugglers throw caution to the wind.
July 26, 1999... It's a bird! It's a plane! It's . . . a whole fryer chicken? Keep your eyes skyward this week, because the International Jugglers Association is holding its annual convention in Western New York, and you wouldn't want a stray throw to...

'Temp' agency thrives as job requests grow.
July 26, 1999... Joe Kreuz, Mark Pautler and Tom Thompson are at a crossroads. Their company, Advantage Professionals, has far exceeded their expectations and the decision they face is whether to expand, or to buy new Ferraris. With offices in Rochester,...

Web master keeps things from falling out of the 'Net.(World Wide Web; Internet)
July 26, 1999... When Joe Cascio talks about Web masters, he draws a parallel with the circus. "A Web master is like the ringmaster in that he's the one who actually understands how all aspects of a Web site come together, the one who understands how the...

Technology pioneer sees brighter future for office workers.(Buffalo Office Systems owner and president Ron Prazmark)
July 26, 1999... As his company celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, Ron Prazmark looks back on a career that has covered broad technological ground and looks ahead to an exciting era for the office equipment market. Now owner and president of Buffalo...

Ready aim fire: gun range owner keeps business on target.(Niagara Gun Range owner Dennis Deasy)
July 26, 1999... Niagara Gun Range 3445 Niagara Falls Blvd. North Tonawanda, N.Y. 14120 Phone: 693-4000 Fax: 693-4044 SMALL BUSINESS PROFILE What's going on: If you have a state pistol permit, you can walk into Niagara Gun Range and shoot in one of two...