Business First of Buffalo articles from May 1995

Business First of Buffalo archives from May 1995

Enrollment mushrooms at area HMOs. (health maintenance organizations in Buffalo, New York)
May 29, 1995... Independent Health's $19 million surplus in 1994 contrasts with Community Blue's $6.6 million loss 1994 brought a disparity of financial results for the three HMOs in Western New York. Revenues, expenses and membership increased across the...

Albright-Knox frames marketing plan on exhibit of Paley paintings. (Albright-Knox Art Gallery; William S. Paley Art Collection)(includes related article)
May 29, 1995... The William S. Paley Art Collection paints a picture of high art and high hopes for the Albright-Knox Art Gallery. As the Albright-Knox begins planning for a capital and endowment campaign, the touring exhibit brings modern art masterworks...

Taxman logs on to fees charged by bulletin boards.
May 29, 1995... Welcome to a part of the underground economy. Western New York is home to more than 500 computer bulletin board services, and at least two are sounding a note of caution for their colleagues who toil in the dark. "I'm expecting the alarm...

Despite rising price tag, Buffalo keeps the faith on Market Arcade. (Buffalo, New York)
May 29, 1995... The Buffalo Urban Renewal Agency has mapped out a new action plan for one of its costliest projects, the Market Arcade complex. The downtown Theater District landmark is alternately praised for its century-old architecture and intangible...

Medical implant manufacturers face challenge to raw materials.
May 29, 1995... Wilson Greatbatch Ltd. is running out of Teflon to put in pacemaker batteries and DuPont Co. won't sell the Clarence company any more. Business risk is forcing large companies like DuPont to distance themselves from the medical products...

Radio ownership shuffle spins new digs for several stations.
May 29, 1995... The long-awaited sale of WGRF-FM and WUFX-FM is prompting a real estate shuffle that involves studios and off-air functions of other radio stations. The $12.45 million sale of the stations to Mercury Broadcasting Corp. by Rich Communications...

Auto slowdown not putting brakes on local plants. (automobile industry in Western New York State)
May 29, 1995... After a run of 18 months, the superheated level of overtime for auto workers in Western New York is cooling off. But the decline in extra hours, attributed to slipping sales in the U.S. auto industry, is not yet widespread. It seems not to be...

Development agency in Amherst outlines stance on downsizing firms. (Amherst Industrial Development Agency)
May 29, 1995... The Amherst Industrial Development Agency has adopted a policy for companies that want to receive bonding if the business is downsizing. The issue came to a head last month when the agency was asked to consider approving a $4.2 million bond...

Park's new owners say they'll keep newspapers. (Park Communications Inc.)
May 29, 1995... Critics said $711.4 million was too high a price to pay for Park Communications Inc. But Gary Knapp, one of the two principals who bought the Ithaca-based media company, expects to prove them wrong. And without having to dismantle the...

American Biorganics expects buyout to double workforce.
May 29, 1995... A Wheatfield biochemical manufacturer is expected to double in size after a planned acquisition by an Illinois chemical company. American Biorganics Inc. will expand facilities and add 40 employees when it becomes a wholly owned subsidiary of...

Exports called key to economic expansion.
May 29, 1995... No nation has ever increased its wealth without reaching outside its borders, so history tells us. With that statement, Rep. Amo Houghton, R-Corning, opened the first in a series of six nationwide pilot programs, "Business Export...

Buffalo center tests cyberspace learning. (King Urban Life Center in Buffalo, New York)
May 29, 1995... Each day, the typical student at the King Urban Life Center often reads aloud, writes and consults with a range of teachers, students and - most importantly - parents. Much of it is recorded on computer. While Buffalo may not be a hot bed...

Computer services picking way around issues of libel.
May 29, 1995... Niagara Falls restaurateur John Prozeralik might consider himself fortunate that he was libeled in television and radio newscasts back in 1982. At least it didn't happen in cyberspace. Prozeralik was awarded $11.5 million in the libel...

Wessel faces fight for leadership post. (AFL-CIO Labor Council Pres. George Wessel)
May 22, 1995... Union leaders privately calling for AFL-CIO leader to retire One of Western New York's highest-profile labor leaders is likely to face multiple challengers should he decide to seek re-election. Several area labor leaders are privately...

Air base strategy: make the best case, prepare for the worst. (closure of the Niagara Falls Air Base)
May 22, 1995... One of the Niagara Falls area's largest employers could shut down, leaving a community with 1,000 acres of land in search of a vision. The Niagara Falls Air Base is on a list of facilities that the U.S. Defense Base Realignment and Closure...

Buffalo homes like to roam all over cable dial. (survey of cable television viewing)
May 22, 1995... Murphy Brown and Jerry Seinfeld appear to be sharing more TV viewing time with the likes of Chris Berman and Judge Lance Ito than ever before. A recently released study by Cable Media, a West Seneca agency that sells local advertising on 17...

Buffalo CVB taps Fla. tourism exec for president's job. (Greater Buffalo Convention and Visitors Bureau; Richard Geiger)
May 22, 1995... Orlando tourism executive Richard Geiger is expected to become the next president of the Greater Buffalo Convention and Visitors Bureau. A CVB search committee and the bureau's executive board have agreed on Geiger to succeed Kurt Alverson,...

Mental health providers form independent care network. (Behavioral Network Inc.)
May 22, 1995... A group of psychologists, psychiatrists and social workers in Erie County has formed a network to provide care and manage mental health services for HMOs, other health plans and employers. Behavioral Healthcare Network Inc., based in...

Hospitals say myths jeopardize state's health funds. (New York)
May 22, 1995... Continued funding of social medical programs and creation of the new American hospital must be part of the evolution of the country's health-care system. So said national and state health care officials addressing Western New York's...

Pataki's chief health aide promotes reform proposal. (New York Gov. George E. Pataki; Office of Health Systems Management Exec. Dir. Elyssa Ferrara)
May 22, 1995... Gov. Pataki wants New York's health-care system to generate less paperwork and more attention to patient care. His 16-point proposal to reduce bureaucracy, ease regulations and save the state $101 million, was brought to Buffalo by Elyssa...

Kelly taking all the snaps at downtown restaurant. (Buffalo Bills quarterback Jim Kelly; purchasing of sports City Grill and Network nightclub)
May 22, 1995... Buffalo Bills quarterback Jim Kelly is now calling the signals at the downtown restaurant and nightclub that bear his name. Earlier this month, Kelly purchased full interest in the Sports City Grill and adjoining Network club from operating...

Wheatfield supervisor maps blueprint for town growth. (New York; Supervisor Terry Kuehn)
May 22, 1995... Wheatfield's supervisor is looking to Amherst as a model for future growth of his town. Wheatfield's challenge, says Supervisor Terry Kuehn, is to learn from Amherst's successes - and mistakes. "I think some of the things that impressed me...

Quinn forum centers on needs, triumphs of manufacturing. (Rep. Jack Quinn; Buffalo, New York's manufacturing industry)
May 22, 1995... A congressional coalition to help manufacturers thrive will host bearings in Buffalo to explore challenges and triumphs faced by local industry. While shared success stories center on trade, the struggle is to keep manufacturing jobs, said...

Technology and training keep the presses rolling at Shipman Printing. (shipman Printing Industries Inc.)(Special Report: Small Business Handbook)
May 22, 1995... Shipman Printing Industries Inc. has never been the type of company to sit back quietly as technology advances. Frank Shipman, president of the Wheatfield company makes it his business to keep up with what's new in the printing industry and...

Patent output swings to smaller players.
May 15, 1995... Like a drill press driving into metal, Voss Manufacturing Inc. punches a few small holes in the "bigger-is-better" theory. Voss - a homegrown industrial machine shop and not the research arm of something much larger - has joined the ranks of...

Arts Council project draws ire from local architecture group. (Buffalo and Western New York Chapter of the American Institute of Architects)
May 15, 1995... A decision by a leading local arts group to use an out-of-town design firm for a proposed project is being questioned by an area architects group. The Buffalo and Western New York Chapter of the American Institute of Architects is upset that...

Bills plan arcade attractions at field house on game days. (Buffalo Bills football team)
May 15, 1995... In a move believed to be the first of its kind in the National Football League, the Buffalo Bills are planning a combination restaurant and a state-of-the-art arcade with an NFL-related theme. The complex, which will be open on game days, is...

United Way makes alterations in funding formula to agencies.
May 15, 1995... The United Way of Buffalo and Erie County is sending out $8.3 million in 1995 allocations, but for the first time the money is not going to traditional member agencies. Instead, the United Way is funding programs that tackle specific,...

UB students go high tech in interviewing for jobs. (University of Buffalo)
May 15, 1995... When James Ezick sat down for an internship interview recently, a warm body with a manila folder wasn't staring back at him. The University at Buffalo sophomore was being interviewed in Amherst by the EDS office in Herndon, Va., via new...

Bills' departure from playoffs left hotels with empty rooms. (Buffalo Bills football team)
May 15, 1995... The on-field misfortunes of the Buffalo Bills were a contributing factor to a slower than usual first quarter in the local lodging industry, hotel officials said. According to quarterly occupancy numbers compiled by Smith Travel Research...

Delaware North unit wins airport contracts. (Delaware North Companies Inc.)
May 15, 1995... CA One Services Inc., a subsidiary of Delaware North Cos. Inc., has landed one new airport contract and renewed two others. The three contracts are expected to generate gross revenues totaling more than $75 million. CA One, Delaware...

Banks chafe at expansion of credit-union market base.
May 15, 1995... The war is heating up between credit unions and banks, especially small community banks, usually with fewer than a half dozen branch offices. Fueling the conflict is the recent expansion attempt launched by one of Western New York's largest...

Banks experiment with hours in effort to land new customers.
May 15, 1995... Branch offices are showing the sometimes conflicting effect of bank efforts to cut costs while competing for new business. * Item: First Federal Savings and Loan Association, the Rochester-based thrift with 17 local offices, recently launched...

Millard, Sheehan hospitals agree to affiliate again after a 12-year gap. (Millard Fillmore Health System; Sheehan Memorial Hospital)
May 15, 1995... History repeated itself May 3 when Millard Fillmore Health System and Sheehan Memorial Hospital agreed to affiliate. Twelve years ago, the hospitals had similar plans. Millard Fillmore submitted to the state its intention to merge with...

Savings Bond director sees Congress promoting thrift. (DeConcini, Dino)
May 15, 1995... The Washington-based head of the U.S. Savings Bonds program foresees the prospect of new legislation that would build incentives for Americans to save. Though uncertain of its specific form, Dino DeConcini, executive director of the Savings...

Zen and the art of leasing maintenance. (automotive service industry)
May 15, 1995... Some independent station owners are finding that when their customers trade in their old cars, they're also trading in their service relationship. The automotive service industry has mixed feelings about the public's growing enthusiasm for...

Body of work. (Castar collision shop franchises)
May 15, 1995... Carstar absorbing local collision shops into a franchise framework There's nothing nice about having your muffler fall off. But there is a certain security in knowing that if it's been replaced or repaired at one of the national franchise...

WNY in running for new GM engine. (Western New York; General Motors Corp.)
May 1, 1995... General Motors Corp.'s plant in the Town of Tonawanda is in the running to produce a new "world-class" engine that GM is developing for current and future small and midsize cars. Wherever the new product line lands, it will be a massive...

Hotel planned linking Roswell, Buffalo General. (includes related article)
May 1, 1995... Long-discussed plans for a hotel on the grounds of the downtown Buffalo medical campus have taken a major step forward. An Indiana developer is proposing a 100-room hotel at High and Ellicott streets, next to the Langston Hughes Institute....

WNY economy: short-term gain, long-term pain? (Western New York)
May 1, 1995... Short-term improvement, long-term uncertainty: That's the snapshot taken in March by the Business First Economic Index. The immediate news was upbeat, as Western New York's economy gained 4 percent in March, boosting the monthly index to...

Regulators say phone 'slamming' hits customers hard in the wallet.
May 1, 1995... Joanne Houston was slammed not once, but twice. Slamming is what regulators call having a carrier contact a customer's local phone company to reroute long distance calls through a new carrier, usually at a much higher price. It's happening...

Quebecor moves warehouse unit; machinist unions vote down strike. (Quebecor Printing Buffalo Inc.'s distribution center)
May 1, 1995... Quebecor Printing Buffalo Inc. has moved a free-standing distribution center in-house to company facilities in Depew. The apparent cost-cutting move comes at a time when the company and its 1,300 workers have: * Narrowly avoided a strike...

Nurses say hospitals' use of caregivers hurts patients.
May 1, 1995... The way that health-care facilities from Buffalo to New York City are shuffling nursing staffs is the topic of a state Assembly hearing May 9. The hearing was prompted by reports from nurses statewide that hospitals are cutting expenses by...

Niagara County business group backs push for administrator post. (Niagara County, New York)
May 1, 1995... Establishment of a county administrator position is one of the Niagara County Business Association's top priorities for its 1995 Agenda for Action. Niagara County is run by a legislative committee system in which part-time legislators set...

Integrated sells Laughlin Service. (Integrated Waste Services Inc.)
May 1, 1995... A locally based towing and rigging service is the latest asset to be shed by Integrated Waste Services Inc. Buffalo-based IWS has spun off Laughlin Service, a Tonawanda-based company it bought in 1992. Integrated announced last month that...

Developers seek financing assistance for project on former Hanna property. (Hanna Furnace Corp.'s former Buffalo property)
May 1, 1995... A local development team is renewing its efforts to transform the former Hanna Furnace Corp. property in Buffalo into a multiuse waterfront operation. Fuhrmann Tifft Development Corp. has an option on the 123-acre property around the Union...

State Labor Department launches jobless-to-entrepreneur program. (New York)
May 1, 1995... The state Labor Department commissioner hopes a new program will change the perception of the department from that of caretaker to that of job creator. For too long the department has been seen as merely a distributor for unemployment...

Trained counselors asking families for organ donations. (Western New York)
May 1, 1995... Asking a family to donate the organ of a dying loved one takes the right words delivered by the right person at the right time. But it's not easy and it's not always done. As a result, Western New York, as does the country, has too many...

WGR, Town of Tonawanda use Internet link to offer services. (WGR-AM; Internet computer network) (Evaluation)
May 1, 1995... Marketing needs have prompted two widely divergent local entities from putting information on the Internet. WGR-AM and the Town of Tonawanda are making information, though vastly different types of information, available on the Internet World...

Dollar's deep drop could push interest rates up, economist says. (Chase Manhattan Bank's Christopher Iggo)
May 1, 1995... Like most economists, Christopher Iggo would be surprised if the Federal Reserve launched a full-blown effort to strengthen the dollar. "In the U.S., more focus is put on jobs creation and economic growth than on inflation," says Iggo, New...