Puget Sound Business Journal articles from February 1999

Puget Sound Business Journal archives from February 1999

Ruckelshaus leads collaboration on salmon: consensus brings business, environmental leaders together.(Washington Salmon Collaboration; Bill Ruckelshaus)
February 26, 1999... Consensus brings business, environmental leaders together As state and local officials struggle with salmon protection plans, a group of business and environmental leaders led by Bill Ruckelshaus is working on its own blueprint to save...

Deals will put Headbone on the other small screen.(Headbone Interactive Inc.'s production agreements with The Discovery Channel and Fox Family Channel)
February 26, 1999... After toiling for more than a year to bring its quirky characters and offbeat style to television, Headbone Interactive Inc. has landed two Hollywood deals. The small Seattle company, known for its kids software and Internet site, has...

Westin Hotels to sign in at Lincoln Square.(Westin Hotels and Resorts; luxury hotel)
February 26, 1999... Westin Hotels & Resorts has signed a letter of intent to operate a 304-room luxury hotel in the proposed downtown Bellevue superblock project called Lincoln square. Westin president Juergen Bartels intends to stage a splashy presentation...

Outlook for timber exports to Japan is dim.
February 26, 1999... The last two years were miserable for Washington lumber and log exports to Japan, and the picture isn't likely to brighten much even if the economy improves for Asia's biggest forest-products importer. According to the University of...

Oregon shipwreck spurs proposal for crackdown.(New Carissa wreck)
February 26, 1999... The wreck of the New Carissa off the Oregon coast has prompted Rep. Peter DeFazio of Oregon, the top Democrat on the House Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Subcommittee, to propose a crackdown on foreign-flagged vessels with poor...

A charmed Half-Life.(Valve Inc.'s software game)
February 26, 1999... Valve Inc. is running wide open to keep up with demand for its hot new software game Simply by listening to its customers, a Kirkland start-up has vaulted to near the top of the software game world. After just eight weeks on store...

Group strives for a solution to pollution.(Pacific Northwest Pollution Prevention Resource Center; non-profit corporation for pollution control)
February 26, 1999... There's a big difference between pollution prevention and pollution control. That's the message of the Pacific Northwest Pollution Prevention Resource Center, an 8-year-old nonprofit corporation based in Seattle. The center acts as a...

Case closed.(includes related article on the movement of Bogle & Gates' attorneys)(closure of law firm Bogle & Gates)
February 19, 1999... After years of growing law firms, David Hargis is suddenly confronted with the awesome mechanics of closing one. The executive director of Bogle & Gates P.L.L.C. must dispose of old photographs of the founding partners, thousands of...

Order to go for ObaChine?(pan-Asia eatery of superchef Wolfgang Puck)
February 19, 1999... Eatery said ready to close; Sound Republic tabled After a fanfare debut in Seattle, California super-chef Wolfgang Puck appears ready to shutter ObaChine, the pan-Asian eatery on the trendy shopping block at Sixth and Pine. ...

Firms take aim at military housing.(privatization of housing at US military bases)
February 19, 1999... As the U.S. Army begins privatizing the 3,590 family housing units at Fort Lewis, a Seattle apartment-management firm is training its sights on the Defense Department program that will eventually turn over to private operators some 300,000...

$5M bankroll marks a giant step for Elf: new products help big companies manage their myriad legal costs.(Elf Technologies Inc.)
February 19, 1999... New products help big companies manage their myriad legal costs Mercer Island-based Elf Technologies Inc., which silent the past year reinventing itself, has landed $5 million in venture capital to help roll out its new product. Elf...

Yesler Software targets easy Web presentation.(multimedia presentation software)(Company Profile)
February 19, 1999... Borrowing a page from Visio Corp.'s successful strategy of making easy-to-use software for nontechies, a new Seattle start-up has created a simple way to create multimedia presentations for the Internet. Creating a multimedia...

CDCom pushes CD-ROM for records storage.(records storage company)
February 19, 1999... Paul Pinard hopes to triple sales this year to $1.5 million as his small company, CDCom, rolls out its CD storage technology and service. The Federal Way company has been toiling for the past five years on a computer storage system using...

Small by design.(Miller/Hull Partnership)
February 19, 1999... At Miller/Hull Partnership, growth takes a back seat to award-winning architecture produced in a comfortable environment The Seattle architecture firm Miller/Hull Partnership consistently wins local design awards and thus has the...

Key deal: discord between Mayor Paul Schell and the City Council prevented the sale of Key Tower.(Real Estate deals of the Year)(council rejects mayor's proposal to sell landmark tower)
February 19, 1999... The city of Seattle's sale of the 62-story Key Tower was last year's biggest real estate deal that didn't happen. Cashing in the Northwest's second tallest building for more than $230 million would have ranked behind only Seafirst Bank's...

Seafirst hits market peak in sale of 76-story tower.(Real Estate Deals of the Year)(Seattle-First National Bank sells Columbia Seafirst Center)
February 19, 1999... The Columbia Seafirst Center transaction could remain the largest deal on record for years The $404 million sale of the 76-story Columbia Seafirst Center is more than the biggest real estate deal of last year. It's the...

Industrial market: the South will rise again.(Real Estate Deals of the Year)(South King County)
February 19, 1999... Firms are starting to look as far south as Lacey in Thurston County Growing industrial companies looking for Puget Sound facilities continue to find a tight, almost evaporating market in Seattle. As a result, they're looking...

Kinzer finds way to get the deal done.(Real Estate Deals of the Year)(includes profile of Kinzer)(real estate broker Craig Kinzer)
February 19, 1999... Busy broker Craig Kinzer likes to think of himself as a 'preferred provider' Despite what others say, Craig Kinzer insists he's not a workaholic. What's more, he has no idea why the tag sticks. "They just don't know," says...

Record retail sales won't be repeated.(Real Estate Deals of the Year)(retail developments)
February 19, 1999... During one memorable moment in the midst of 1998, Paul Sleeth leaned back in his chair, heaved a big sigh of relief and knew it was time to celebrate. Sleeth, senior vice president of Colliers International, had just helped close the...

Tacoma eyes 'mega-terminal.'.(Port of Tacoma)
February 12, 1999... Puyallup tribe negotiating deal The Puyallup Tribe and the Port of Tacoma are negotiating to build a "mega-terminal" larger than anything the port could develop by itself. Key to the plan for a 250-acre development is a 170-acre...

Growth plan for e-grocer.(HomeGrocer.com Inc.)
February 12, 1999... HomeGrocer.com Inc., convinced it is succeeding while bigger rivals stumble, plans to expand into one or more markets by July. "Right now, our preference is to stay on the West Coast, said Terry Drayton, co-founder and chief executive of...

Costs up, plans out: big central Bellevue project is scrapped.(Bosa Development shelves planned 608-condo development)
February 12, 1999... A Canadian developer has jettisoned plans to create a three,tower, 608-condo mega-project on the north edge of downtown Bellevue, a move sure to give pause to other developers in the area. The project, called Residences at Trivista, would...

Wizards dealing hot cards; Pokemon game a hit for Magic maker.(Wizards of the Coast Inc.)
February 12, 1999... Wizards of the Coast Inc. has a monster hit on its hands, one that could boost total sales more than 20 percent this year. Wizards released its new Pokemon trading card game just six weeks ago, and has presold 125 million trading cards to...

Labor council will file challenge to Times, P-I.(agreement filed by Seattle Times and Seattle Post-Intelligencer opposed by King County Labor Council)
February 12, 1999... The King County Labor Council intends to file an objection with the U.S. Department of Justice to oppose the amended Joint Operating Agreement submitted by The Seattle Times Co. and Hearst Corp., owner of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. ...

Big sale ratifies a little firm's shift in strategy.(System 1 Software lands contract from Mellon Bank's leasing division)
February 12, 1999... New products helped System 1 Software Inc. land a $1 million order from Mellon Bank's leasing division - a huge deal for a little company. The sale is equal to half of the Seattle company's total revenues last year. And it's just the...

With the wind: High Voltage Integrated envisions many uses for its quiet, efficient 'electron wind generator.'.
February 12, 1999... Flip the switch on the small plastic box and suddenly, silently, air begins to blow from one open end. The nondescript box contains no motor, no fan, no moving parts at all But it blows air like a fan, and that's the crux of a tiny...

Cancer care: hospitals are expanding programs to keep pace with expanding cancer rate.
February 12, 1999... The population is aging, and that means the demand for cancer care is going to grow. To meet that demand, local hospitals are upgrading their cancer programs. They're also competing aggressively for cancer patients, because the economics...

Medical marijuana remains contentious issue; despite passage of Initiative 692, distribution is still a big question mark.
February 12, 1999... For many marijuana smokers, it's not a matter of getting stoned - it's a matter of getting through the day. Ask Casey Wilbanks, who has suffered from AIDS and hepatitis for many years. Wilbanks, 44, smokes marijuana for a number of...

Hospital health plan caters to busy executives.(Virginia Mason Clinic)
February 12, 1999... Seattle's Virginia Mason Clinic offers VIP treatment to high-level business leaders Forget fancy dinners, corporate jets and vacations in Aruba. Firms that truly want to pamper their top managers enroll them in executive health programs,...

Wound care centers symbolize new approach.
February 12, 1999... Any patient with a serious wound dreads the possibility of losing a limb. For some 54,000 patients with chronic diabetic foot wounds each year, it's the last resort. Now, with the emergence of a more integrated and focused approach to...

Live and streaming: local firms aim at interactive broadcasting.(Seattle, Washington)
February 5, 1999... More than 1 million people logged onto their computers to watch a live broadcast of John Glenn returning to space last summer. At least two quadruple bypass surgeries were broadcast live on computers, and Sean Oliver has the distinction...

Bogle merger near?(union of Bogle and Gates L.L.P. and Dorsey and Whitney L.L.P.)
February 5, 1999... A deal may be near in the merger negotiations between the Minnesota law firm of Dorsey & Whitney L.L.P. and Bogle & Gates L.L.P., one of Seattle's oldest and most prominent law firms. Talks between the two firms were "at a delicate stage"...

Pacts give Alaska Air global reach; code-share deals strengthen regional carrier.
February 5, 1999... Africa may soon be the only place you can't reach on an Alaska Airlines ticket. The Seattle-based carrier is transforming itself into a virtual global carrier, without buying new aircraft or making risky intrusions into other airlines'...

Volvo unlikely to seek Paccar.(Vovlo AB; Paccar Inc)
February 5, 1999... Paccar Inc. may not be the most likely candidate for an acquisition bid by Volvo AB of Sweden, despite recent speculation in the press and on Wall Street. Volvo, which is selling its car division to Ford Motor Co. for $6.4 billion, has...

Worries rise over bakery.(closure of Wonder Bread factory likely due to consolidation of Interstate Bakeries Corp)
February 5, 1999... Seattle's Wonder Bread factory, for decades a fixture of the Central District, could become history if owner Interstate Bakeries Corp. consolidates outside Tacoma. Kansas City-based Interstate is upgrading a 150,000-square-foot cracker...

Times, P-I promise a feisty a.m. showdown.(competition between Seattle Times and Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
February 5, 1999... JOA tradeoffs enliven competition for dailies Will Seattle be a one-newspaper town? The critical question looms in the wake of an unexpected announcement by The Seattle Times Co. and Seattle Post-Intelligencer owner, New York-based...

F5 deals may lead to IPO.(FB Labs Inc)
February 5, 1999... F5 Labs Inc. signed a large distribution deal that could help the Seattle company zoom to $30 million in sales this year. The deal, with Cabletron Systems of New Hampshire, also helps strengthen the server control maker's business plan....

Pacifica Bank, latest in new wave, tops $15M.
February 5, 1999... A new Bellevue bank has raised an area record $15 million in initial capital, a clear sign that its founders expect to quickly grow the bank to substantial size. The large capitalization gives Pacifica Bank a strong start amid a spate of...

Intermind hunts $4M to pursue its software.(Intermind Corp)
February 5, 1999... Intermind Corp., given up for dead in late 1997, is stealthily charting a new direction. The Seattle company is out looking for 84 million with which to refine its software and develop new products. Drummond Reed, the original founder of...

Maker of computer speakers in merger.(Labtec Enterprises Inc)
February 5, 1999... Management in turmoil as Labtec nears deal As Labtec Enterprises Inc. approaches a crucial merger that will take the Vancouver, Wash., company public, both partners are showing signs of strain. Labtec expects its board and...

Key Technology Inc.(proxy report excerpts)(Company Profile)
February 5, 1999... 150 Avery St., Walla Walla WA 99362, 509-529-2161 Key Technology designs, manufactures, sells anti services process automation systems for the food processing industry and other industries that process product streams of discrete pieces....

RealNetworks, Microsoft vie for audio, video edge.
February 5, 1999... The race to build technology that will let the computer function more like a television is heating up. But the No. 1 player in the market, Seattle-based RealNetworks Inc., isn't conceding anything to the fast-gaining competition:...