Puget Sound Business Journal articles from July 1995

Puget Sound Business Journal archives from July 1995

An early I-164 supporter backs off. (Washington State's private property rights initiative)
July 28, 1995... Some backers reconsider their support as ballot battle begins to heat up With Initiative 164 apparently headed for the statewide ballot in November, some supporters of the private property rights initiative may be quietly backing away from...

Tenants, competitors wonder what's in store for SuperMall. (1.2 million-square foot SuperMall of the Great Northwest in Auburn, Washington)
July 28, 1995... Some liken it to an 800-pound gorilla coming into a crowded cage. But the unveiling of the SuperMall of the Great Northwest on Aug. 25 doesn't scare most neighboring malls and retail centers. Instead, they say the increased customer traffic...

Cutter & Buck slates an IPO to raise upwards of $8 million. (Cutter and Buck Inc.; initial public offering)
July 28, 1995... A Seattle designer of sleek brand-name golfing apparel and other men's sportswear is going public with a stock offering to raise $8.75 million to $11.25 million. Cutter & Buck Inc. is a 5-year-old firm that has grown steadily to 45 employees...

Toll Free Cellular rings in $8 million to finance rollout. (Toll Free Cellular Inc.)
July 28, 1995... Stuck in traffic between I-90 and I-405 two years ago, John Clark decided to make an airline reservation on his cellular phone. Wouldn't it be great, he thought, if he could make the call for free using an 800 number, just like he could from...

Smelters are eager for alternatives to BPA power. (Bonneville Power Administration)
July 28, 1995... One-half of Alcoa's Wenatchee aluminum smelter is operating these days, because it buys cheap electricity from a nearby dam. The other half, obligated to buy relatively expensive power supplied by the Bonneville Power Administration, has been...

Food wholesaler Supervalu leads way into Japan market. (Supervalu International)
July 28, 1995... Japanese grocery shoppers' desire to stretch their yen has created a burgeoning market for Supervalu International. The Tacoma food wholesale exporter's volume has been growing 20 percent annually for the last five years, and Supervalu...

Russell Co. is building $1 billion Asia fund. (Frank Russell Co.)
July 28, 1995... Frank Russell Co. of Tacoma is spearheading formation of a $1 billion pool of private capital for direct investment in the infrastructure of China and other Asian nations. So far, $500 million has been committed to the Asian Infrastructure...

Highballin' Paccar expected to weather slump in truck sales. (PACCAR Inc.)
July 21, 1995... An expected downshift in the truck sales market probably won't appreciably slow Paccar Inc.'s pace. Analysts don't expect the coming down cycle to be as angst-producing for Paccar as Boeing's has been. The Bellevue-based truck builder is...

PETA moving to Seattle area. (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals; Washington)
July 21, 1995... Nation's largest animal-rights group will find friends, skeptics The nation's largest animal-rights group plans to relocate its headquarters to the Seattle area, a move likely to stoke an issue that's already ignited numerous peaceful...

South End office market makes surprising rebound. (South King County, Washington)
July 21, 1995... Far sooner than anyone dared hope, South King County's office market has begun to recover from its Boeing-induced recession. Two major lease deals and the demolition of a vacant office tower at Southcenter have chopped vacancies to well below...

Olin may keep busy if new Lockheed rocket takes off. (Olin Aerospace Co.; Lockheed Martin Corp.)
July 21, 1995... The handiwork of several local companies will thunder aloft Tuesday at the top of the new LLV-1 Lockheed Martin satellite launch vehicle. Redmond-based Olin Aerospace Co. and Seattle-based Paine Corp. both manufactured parts of the guidance...

Edmark delivers results to enthusiastic stock market. (Edmark Corp.)
July 21, 1995... Edmark Corp., whose stock reached dizzying heights this week, plans to cash in on the boom in high-tech stocks. After announcing record annual sales this week, the Redmond educational-software maker announced plans to sell more stock to the...

The roar from within. (office noise; acoustical consultants)(Environmental Quarterly)
July 21, 1995... Office noise a problem because of open plans, touchiness over overheard conversations Tappity-tap. Tappity-tap. That used to be a pervasive sound in offices. But now that computers have replaced typewriters and laser printers have...

Fruit farmers doing better than expected this year. (eastern Washington)
July 21, 1995... For some Eastern Washington fruit growers, life is not a bowl of cherries this year. But thanks to rotten weather in California, fruit farmers are faring better than expected, says state agriculture statistician Doug Hasslen. Washington's...

Tollycraft drops Portland move, anchors in Kelso. (Tollycraft Corp.; Oregon; Washington)
July 21, 1995... Tollycraft Yachts, one of Cowlitz County's largest employers, has decided not to move to Portland after all. Instead, the Kelso-based builder of luxury yachts will expand to an additional 3.5-acre site nearby on the Columbia River, and will...

Small firms rewarded for documenting eco efforts. (King County, Washington)(Environmental Quarterly)(Directory)
July 21, 1995... Realizing that business managers know their operations best King County Solid Waste Division has approached the business community with a very enticing offer. the county's Dollars for Data program solicits and reviews innovative waste...

Puget Sound Power & Light Co. (Proxy Report Excerpts)(Company Profile)
July 21, 1995... P.O. Box 97034, Bellevue, WA 98009, (206) 454-6363 The company is an investor-owned public utility furnishing electric service in a territory covering approximately 4,500 square miles, mostly in the Puget Sound region. In December 1994, the...

Abodio's new site: downtown Seattle. (Abodio Stores Inc.; Washington)
July 14, 1995... Seattle-based Abodio Stores Inc. will open a sizable downtown furniture store this fall at Third Avenue and Pine Street, joining the stampede of prominent retailers rushing to set up shop along the city's white-hot Pine Street corridor. On...

From movies to macaroni, Tim Girvin makes his mark. (graphic designer; Tim Girvin Design Inc.)
July 14, 1995... As a college student in the early '70s, Tim Girvin acquired a penchant for doodling during class. Not one for doing anything halfway, Girvin filled his lab notebook with such elaborate designs that a marine biology professor suggested he...

Fisheries woes drag Royal Seafoods into Chapter 11. (Royal Seafoods Inc.)
July 14, 1995... Royal Seafoods Inc. hopes to avoid being sunk by its own ships. The Seattle-based seafood processing firm has filed for Chapter 11 protection, apparently the largest casualty to date in the financial crisis that's battering the bottom-fishing...

Omega stock rises despite auditor's warning. (Omega Environmental Inc.)
July 14, 1995... Omega Environmental Inc.'s stock has jumped 50 percent since June 30 despite an independent auditor's opinion that its financial problems "raise substantial doubt about the company's ability to continue as a going concern." That warning was...

Washington firms see strong prospects for Vietnam trade.
July 14, 1995... Given a choice, the Vietnamese would rather fly Boeing. That's the personal observation of Hiep Quach, senior international vice president for U.S. Bank in Seattle. Born in Vietnam himself, Quach remembers translating for a November 1993...

Redhook IPO won't slake Anheuser-Busch's thirst. (Redhook Ale Brewery Inc.; Anheuser-Busch Inc.)
July 14, 1995... Beer giant Anheuser-Busch plans to invest another $9.2 million in Redhook Ale Brewery Inc. in conjunction with the Seattle microbrewer's public offering later this year. By investing in a private placement, Anheuser-Busch will keep its...

Start-up markets Notable service for stock-watchers. (Notable Technologies Inc.)
July 14, 1995... Notable Technologies wants to make Wall Street as close as your belt-mounted pager. The Bellevue-based start-up, which is partly owned by McCaw Cellular Communications, has launched a service that sends up-to-the minute stock information to...

Strong-arming a retail rebirth. (retail development; Washington)(The Future of Downtown Seattle)
July 14, 1995... The 'build it and they will come' credo may have some flaws OK, here's the deal. Nordstrom will move into the old Frederick & Nelson building with help from a $24.2 million loan from the federal government. Meanwhile, the city will spend...

Builders, developers search got some Commons sense. (Seattle Commons)(The Future of Downtown Seattle)
July 14, 1995... The Seattle Commons: Would it really be the economic engine that turns Seattle's core into a 24-hour "urban village"? Maybe - but the process could take a lot longer, and with more fits and starts, than some Commons backers predict, say some...

Crunching the numbers in the Regrade. (Denny Regrade; Seattle, Washington downtown community)(The Future of Downtown Seattle)
July 14, 1995... From landlord, developer's perspective, market has been soft, but shows some recent strength Seattle's Denny Regrade is often cited as an emerging downtown community, a paragon of successful urban planning. But how healthy is it, really?...

Arts and craftiness of a thriving downtown. (cultural attractions in Seattle, Washington)(The Future of Downtown Seattle)
July 14, 1995... New downtown arts facilities create synergy but pro team discontent threatens south end prospects For years, downtown Seattle's cultural attractions have been lacking, with only the Fifth Avenue Theatre, a handful of smaller theaters and...

Seattle's Grand Dame chugs along. (Grand Central Building, Seattle Washington)(The Future of Downtown Seattle)
July 14, 1995... But Pioneer Square's long-standing gripes are still unresolved as under-utilized properties gather dust Containing bustling businesses within its scrubbed exterior, the 105-year-old Grand Central Building on Seattle's First Avenue South is...

The Boeing Co. (Proxy Report Excerpts)(Company Profile)
July 14, 1995... 7755 East Marginal Way S., Seattle, WA 98108, (206) 655-2121 Boeing is one of the world's major aerospace firms. Its commercial aircraft operations involve development, production and marketing of commercial jet aircraft and related support...