Puget Sound Business Journal articles from March 2000

Puget Sound Business Journal archives from March 2000

Danaher plans to split off Fluke Corp's networks unit.(network test equipment division to be spun off)(Brief Article)
March 31, 2000... A rapidly expanding unit of Everett based Fluke Corp. will be split off by its parent company to capitalize on the growing market for test equipment for computer networks and the Internet. The new company, to be called Fluke Networks,...

BRIEFCASE.(executive appoinments)(Brief Article)
March 31, 2000... * ADVERTISING, MARKETING AND PUBLIC RELATIONS The following joined Text 100 Public Relations in Seattle: Tina Christiansen and Kristen Peters, account coordinator; Katherine Cheng and Jane Wilson, account executive; Christopher Barker,...

Mixed record for state tax break.(tax break for businesses locating in distressed neighborhoods)
March 31, 2000... 'Empowerment zones' get little use Seattle Packaging Corp. used a tax break for distressed neighborhoods when it spent $15 million on new machinery for its Seattle plant on South Norfolk Street. The investment helped the company land...

Rivals hitting the gas as expansion drives begin.(Grand Prix Raceway rejects acquisition offer from Traxx International)(Brief Article)
March 31, 2000... Two local start-up companies are racing to become national players in the world of indoor gokart racing. And their rivalry may have intensified last week when one, Grand Prix Raceway of Fife, rejected an acquisition offer from the other,...

Seal of approval for fish?(Alaskan salmon fishery seeking sustainability certification)(Brief Article)
March 31, 2000... A London organization's pending decision about the health of the Alaska salmon population could give Seattle's salmon fishing industry an edge in world markets. The Marine Stewardship Council -- a nonprofit that assesses whether...

Wealthy encouraged to take flying personally.(Galvin Flying Services and Northwest Aircraft Expo market private aircraft)(Brief Article)
March 31, 2000... Ten thousand millionaires supposedly live in the Puget Sound area, and Galvin Flying Services wants more of them to own aircraft. The Seattle-based flying center is planning a May 13 Northwest Aircraft Expo at Boeing Field to show off what's...

Biz jets make a comeback.(business aircraft)(Brief Article)
March 31, 2000... Galvin is surely on to something. Attorneys in the aviation practice of Lane Powell Spears Lubersky LLP in Seattle are seeing plenty of high-flying executives these days. More corporations and individuals, feeling prosperous and fed up...

Already a collector's item.(Berger Partnership postcard resembles Pokemon cards)(Brief Article)
March 31, 2000... Nintendo's Pokemon characters have quickly become a cultural phenomenon, with grade-school boys obsessing over the collectible trading cards featuring Pikachu, Charmander and their ilk. But here's one that even the most rabid collector...

Local fans back baseball.(Brief Article)
March 31, 2000... A recent poll shows the Seattle metro area has more avid baseball fans than most cities. The city ranked seventh among 64 markets in a Scarborough Research Corp. survey that asked 170,000 people if they are very interested in baseball. ...

Fast-funds outlets closed.(Safeco Corp. closes two retail mutual fund outlets in the Seattle area)(Brief Article)
March 31, 2000... Safeco Corp. has shuttered the two retail locations where the Seattle-based financial services company sells mutual funds. Spokesman Le Roi Brashears explained that the closures, in downtown Seattle on Fifth Avenue and another in Redmond,...

CORRECTION.(U.S. Venture Partners is first venture capital to open a Seattle-area office)(Brief Article)(Correction Notice)
March 31, 2000... Silicon Valley VCs A March 17 story on Mohr Davidow Ventures incorrectly identified the first Silicon Valley venture capital firm to open a Seattle-area office. U.S. Venture Partners has had a local office since 1990. Its managing...

Weyerhaeuser, Boeing go online.(planning to join consortiums building online markets)(Brief Article)
March 31, 2000... The Boeing Co. and Weyerhaeuser Co. each announced plans to establish online markets in conjunction with their respective industry rivals. The Boeing Co. joined with aerospace and defense contractors Lockheed Martin Corp., BAE Systems...

Orchards sued over hiring.(allegation that firms are using illegal aliens to drive down orchard wages)(Brief Article)
March 31, 2000... Seattle attorney Steve Berman is suing three Yakima Valley companies on behalf of legal Mexican immigrants, claiming the firms conspired to hire large numbers of illegal workers in order to depress prevailing wages for orchard work. The...

Seeking a hire plane.(Boullioun Aviation Services Inc. is building lease aircraft fleet)(Brief Article)
March 31, 2000... Aircraft leasing firm is quadrupling its fleet Asia's air travel market is rebounding, and Boullioun Aviation Services Inc. is taking off with it. Owned by Deutsche Bank of Germany, the Bellevue-based aircraft leasing company expects...

New forests for Pope to manage.(Pope Resources' subsidiary Olympic Resource Management to manage forest assets for Pioneer Resources)(Brief Article)
March 31, 2000... Trees from failed REIT venture wind up in Pope Resources' portfolio Olympic Resource Management, a subsidiary of Pope Resources Inc. of Poulsbo, has landed a new timberland-management job that replaces a lost contract but comes with a...

TeraBeam generates big buzz with laser-fast link.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 31, 2000... TeraBeam Networks Inc. has been overwhelmed since coming out of stealth mode three weeks ago with its plan to offer super-high-speed data communications by beaming a laser through office windows. Newsletter subscribers of the technology...

CentralH Q. corn targeting military personnel.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 31, 2000... The battle for military supremacy on the Web is under way, and Seattle-based CentralHQ.com is ready to deploy. This week CentralHQ.com will debut the first of a series of Web portals targeting the individual branches of the military: the...

Costco, BCC support child-care venture.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 31, 2000... Costco Wholesale Corp. and Bellevue Community College launched a $1.85 million fund-raising campaign to support building a model child-care and family-learning center for the Eastside, where child-care space is in short supply. The proposed...

Active Voice, AVT may stay on hold for awhile.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 31, 2000... The bad news may not be over for Active Voice Corp. and AVT Corp., the two local makers of unified messaging systems that last week shocked investors with news of falling revenues. While the companies blamed the slump on lingering Y2K...

VoiceStream plans Wichita call center.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 31, 2000... Bellevue-based VoiceStream Wireless Corp. plans to build an $18 million customer call center in Wichita, Kan., providing jobs for up to 450 people there. The project, due to get under way immediately and to open for business by late...

Sunhawk.com hoping to spread its wings.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 31, 2000... If you're a musician who's tried to download sheet music from the Internet, you've probably heard of Sunhawk.com Corp. If not, you probably missed the company's initial public offering a little more than a month ago. The tiny Seattle...

Restaurants join retailers in Freeman's new project.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 31, 2000... The Corner at Bellevue Square, a major addition to the region's powerhouse mall, has landed a few more tenants including P.F. Chang's China Bistro Inc. Bellevue Square owner Kemper Freeman Jr. has signed RE Chang's, a national chain of...

Tacoma budget cuts may affect waterfront owners.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 31, 2000... Companies on Tacoma's waterfront could pay more for fire insurance because of the city's decision to close a fireboat station and take one of two fireboats out of service, although waterfront facilities report no signs of climbing premiums....

Biz groups challenge OSHA on ergonomics regulations.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 31, 2000... Business lobbyists are preparing a legal challenge to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's proposed ergonomics regulation, which would require nearly 2 million employers to establish programs to protect their employees from...

Duwamish neighbors stall postal center plan.(Brief Article)
March 31, 2000... A deal between the city of Seattle and the Seattle School District over redeveloping a former Postal Service center in the Duwamish industrial district has encountered another hurdle. Two groups, the Seattle Committee to Save Schools and...

There's something about Marysville.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 31, 2000... In Snohomish County, the city of Marysville is trying to position itself to capture some of the growth that may be headed its way. Marysville is moving ahead with a $3.5 million overhaul of State Avenue, a major downtown thoroughfare. The...

Seattle's Public-Private Partnership Review Panel.(Brief Article)
March 31, 2000... Seattle's Public-Private Partnership Review Panel, formed this month, will review the city's plans for South Lake Union. Seattle wants to buy the Naval Reserve Station and redevelop four surplus properties south of the lake.

DocuTouch of Seattle.(Brief Article)
March 31, 2000... DocuTouch of Seattle and iPolitics.com of Bellevue will provide online voting for the King County and state Republican conventions this spring, the two companies announced. The party expects online balloting will provide faster results than...

Drugstore.com sales click for struggling Botanika.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 31, 2000... Can the Internet help lift a debt-ridden retail chain out of Chapter 11? Garden Botanika Inc., the personal-care products retailer mired in bankruptcy proceedings for nearly a year, has made strides in e-commerce while its store business...

Cell Therapeutics seeks OK for leukemia drug.(Brief Article)
March 31, 2000... Cell Therapeutics Inc. of Seattle said it has filed a new drug application with the Food and Drug Administration for approval of arsenic trioxide as a treatment for one type of leukemia. The biotechnology company acquired the drug candidate...

Roundtable for women biz owners.
March 31, 2000... When a banker talks about profit vs. cash flow, do you wonder why you should care? Do you understand why getting the contract of your dreams that pencils out as profitable could have the effect of putting you out of business? Do you...

Another breakfast menu planned.(Brief Article)
March 31, 2000... North Seattle Community College will host the Women's Network Breakfast from 7 to 9 a.m., April 7 at the college. Topic of discussion will be "Creating Trust: The Foundation of Success." Guest speaker will be Jean Hamilton. Cost to attend...

Small biz development center relocates.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 31, 2000... The Washington Small business Development Center's Spokane office recently relocated from Washington State University in Pullman to 601W. First Ave. in Spokane. The business development center provides counseling, training and research...

MAJOR PROMOTIONS.(Brief Article)
March 31, 2000... Fiddlehead creates imaginative promotional products for an impressive array of clients When Janet Tupper started Fiddlehead 10 years ago, she hoped to hire two or three employees and build a business that did a few million dollars in...

Learn to manage your state and local tax obligations.(Statistical Data Included)
March 31, 2000... Before you can take steps to manage and potentially minimize your state and local tax obligations, it's important to understand what they are. Many unsuspecting small business owners owe taxes outside their home state and don't realize it....

Integrated marketing is now considered the norm.(Brief Article)
March 31, 2000... As a retired ad agency practitioner, I've always maintained allegiance to the profession. The value of advertising as a marketing weapon will always remain evident. Even in these days of rampant online marketing activity, the dot-corns have...

Imandi ads show too much for some channels.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 31, 2000... Too cheeky? That's the opinion of some television networks regarding Redmond-based Imandi.com Inc.'s $20 million ad campaign. CNN, Home and Garden Television, Headline News and A&E have chosen not to run one of the television spots...

Safeco Corp.
March 31, 2000... Safeco Corp. has narrowed its search for a new advertising agency down to three shops. The finalists for the Seattle-based insurance company's account, estimated at $5 million to $6 million, are Co-pacino, Publicis and WongDoody. The agencies...

Richard Woltjer.
March 31, 2000... Richard Woltjer, founder and publisher of Media Inc., has sold the quarterly glossy to his partners. The new publisher is Jim Baker, a former vice president of Media Index Publishing Inc., which owns the local trade magazine.

Bazillion Inc.(Brief Article)
March 31, 2000... Seattle's Copacino has been selected by Bazillion Inc. as its advertising agency. Bazillion is a Seattle-based communications services start-up. The company will offer consumers and small businesses high-speed Internet access, long distance...

Avenue A Inc.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 31, 2000... Avenue A Inc., an Internet media planning and buying agency, announced plans to open a European division based in London. The U.K. capital is home to many large advertising agencies. It's uncertain how many that office, slated to open...

Drugstore.com Inc.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 31, 2000... Drugstore.com Inc. of Bellevue launched its $30 million campaign. The ads, created by Minneapolis-based agency Fallon McElligott, feature a woman who never has to leave the bathtub. Erik Moris, senior director of communications for...

Big givers respond to Seattle YMCA campaign.(Brief Article)
March 31, 2000... In September 1998, the YMCA of Greater Seattle embarked on a $14 million capital campaign to expand and upgrade its 90-year-old downtown building. Next week, the YMCA will officially open its new, eight-level facility, having raised $15.6...

Nonprofit production.(Brief Article)
March 31, 2000... Filmmaker Oliver Tuthill goes about his craft in an unusual way -- he has a nonprofit production company, Autumn Tree Productions. Recently, Tuthill raised money from local businesses to produce a feature about the devastating impact of...

Access is top health care concern, poll finds.(Brief Article)
March 31, 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 is the...

Employers see hike in costs.(Brief Article)
March 31, 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...

WaMu executive Jewell takes a hike to RET.
March 31, 2000... Recreational Equipment Inc. has recruited well-known local bank executive Sally Jewell as its chief operating officer. The member-owned outdoor-gear retailer said Jewell will leave her post as president of Washington Mutual Bank's Commercial...

Amazon invests $17M in eZiba.com.
March 31, 2000... Amazon.com Inc. disclosed it has invested $17.5 million in eZiba.com, an online retailer of handcrafted products based in North Adams, Mass. Seattle-based Amazon.com said the deal, made in January, gives it a stake of approximately 20 percent...

Microsoft antitrust ruling delayed.
March 31, 2000... The federal judge trying the antitrust case against Microsoft Corp. postponed his expected ruling until next week. The delay extends the time for settlement talks between the Redmond software company and federal and state officials. The two...

KCTS gets $11M grant.(Brief Article)
March 31, 2000... The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced an $11 million matching grant to Seattle public broadcaster KCTS-TV. Kicking off KCTS-TV's Campaign for Digital Conversion, the gift will help fund the station's purchase of equipment necessary to...

Multiple Zones swings on Microsoft deal.
March 31, 2000... Shares of Multiple Zones International Inc. more than doubled after the company said it was chosen as the primary supplier of computer products and distribution services to Microsoft Corp.'s 20,000 U.S. employees. The Renton-based reseller...

Gates Foundation makes $133M in new grants.
March 31, 2000... The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced grants totaling more than $133 million to health-related organizations. The Seattle-based foundation is giving $25 million to the Global Alliance for TB Drug Development to help develop new...

T&W shutting down.
March 31, 2000... T&W Financial Corp. said it is winding down operations and doesn't expect to have enough assets to pay its secured and unsecured lenders. Trading in the Tacoma-based lender's stock was halted by the Nasdaq Stock Market earlier in the week.

ADIC is expanding.
March 31, 2000... Advanced Digital Information Corp. of Redmond said it is leasing an additional 78,000-square-foot building, nearly doubling the size of its facilities. The company, which makes data storage systems, said it needs more manufacturing capacity...

Unico buys Boise building.
March 31, 2000... Unico Properties Inc. of Seattle has acquired the 20-story U.S. Bank Plaza building in Boise, marking its first move outside Washington state. The company paid U.S. Bancorp an undisclosed amount for the 253,000-square-foot building, which is...

Starbucks in Shanghai.
March 31, 2000... Starbucks Coffee Co.'s international subsidiary said it has signed a licensing deal with Shanghai President Coffee Co. Ltd. to open retail locations in Shanghai, China. The first store will open in the third quarter of 2000, making Shanghai...

Climate conference focuses on clean energy strategies.
March 31, 2000... Prominent investors, high-tech entrepreneurs, policymakers and environmental leaders will gather in Seattle next week for the Seattle Summit On Protecting the World's Climate. Highlighted by the Symposium on Clean Energy: The Next High...

BUILDING SAIL.
March 31, 2000... The Production Network floated its way to a bargain when it purchased its new headquarters for a buck Suzie Burke could barely contain her laughter. John Vadino, CEO of the event-management and design firm The Production Network,...

Companies tread carefully in export market.
March 31, 2000... Washington environmental companies are finding new export business in the Asian economic rebound, but only if they target their efforts carefully "You're getting a slow but steady demand that has a great opportunity for increasing...

Finding the green helps businesses cut costs.
March 31, 2000... Phil and Gennie Reynolds, owners of Phil's Finishing Touches, admit it wasn't exactly concern for the environment that persuaded them to clean up their waste water and increase their recycling of cardboard and metals. "The motivation was...

Salmon listing creates a boom for biologists.
March 31, 2000... At first glance, the Endangered Species Act and job creation don't seem to belong in the same sentence. More often, they're viewed as diametrically opposed forces -- a perception reinforced by the experiences of Washington timber workers...

ENVIRONMENTAL LABS.
March 31, 2000... ENVIRONMENTAL LABS The largest in Washington state. Ranked by 1999 billings for Washington offices Environmental lab ...

New emphasis on old energy source may help city shine.
March 31, 2000... Solar-powered electricity in Seattle? Imagine the mere strength of a shining sun generating enough power to provide electricity for every building and home in Seattle -- sun power that will help light Virginia Mason Medical Center, the...

To build a House.
March 31, 2000... A DOLLAR-BY-DOLLAR RECKONING OF ONE NEW HOME'S COSTS SHOWS HOW DIFFICULT IT WILL BE TO CURB THE REGION'S HOUSING PRICES In 1998 home builder Charlie Conner paid $1.22 million for 4.6 acres of wooded hillside in Juanita that would become...

FALLING BEHIND.
March 31, 2000... THE GAP BETWEEN PERSONAL INCOME AND HOME PRICES IS TURNING INTO AN ABYSS FOR MANY OF THE REGION'S RESIDENTS; MEANWHILE, THE HOUSING SUPPLY ISN'T KEEPING UP WITH DEMAND Francisco de la Torre knows he can't afford the kind of house he...

FILLING IN.
March 31, 2000... SEATTLE OFFERS A VARIETY OF CITY-BACKED PROGRAMS INTENDED TO ENCOURAGE MORE HOUSING ON URBAN SITES Cynthia Parker owned a seven-bedroom house before she moved to Seattle. But that was in Anchorage, Alaska, where a well-maintained...

PAPER WAIT.
March 31, 2000... BUILDERS SAY THE SLOW TRUDGE THROUGH BUREAUCRATIC RED TAPE AND REGULATORY PAPERWORK DELAYS PERMITTING FOR MANY PROJECTS, DRIVING UP COSTS Len Brannen knows what he would do to slow the steep rise in local housing prices. "One of the...

Savor the French countryside in Redmond.
March 31, 2000... In the unlikely venue of an old country house a few blocks from bustling downtown Redmond, we found a gem of a restaurant. Country Garden Bistro combines the elegance of continental cuisine with the down-home feel of a country kitchen and the...

REGIONAL STOCKS.
March 31, 2000... REGIONAL STOCKS Percent Closing price 52-week range change 3/24 3/17 High Low Best performers Multiple Zones 51.05% 9.06...

The Boeing Co.
March 31, 2000... The Boeing Co. is a worldwide manufacturer of commercial jetliners and military aircraft, and a NASA contractor. The company also produces helicopters, electronic and defense systems, missiles, rocket engines, launch systems and advanced...

Statistics suggest a mean season may be ahead.(Brief Article)
March 31, 2000... Many Wall Street experts believe that stocks will continue to produce gains at their long-term historical average -- 10 percent to 11 percent annually -- despite the astronomical rise during the '90s. But unfortunately, history suggests...

Kelly takes the high road.(Brief Article)
March 31, 2000... Alaska CEO handles crisis well John Kelly may be grimacing, but he's not ducking. It's a turbulent time for the Alaska Air Group chairman and CEO. The devastating crash of Flight 261 came amid investigations of Alaska Airlines'...

PSBJ special report frames housing issue.(Brief Article)
March 31, 2000... Everyone in the Puget Sound region knows that housing costs are high and getting higher. Almost everyone thinks they know why: Growth management. Nouveau riche techies. Greedy speculators. Greedy developers. Greedy sellers. Desperate buyers....

New economy needs old-fashioned planning.(Brief Article)
March 31, 2000... There are some new buzz words that tell an important story about what's driving our regional economy into the new century. It's dubbed the "new economy" and the phrase brings with it much fortune and much to be wary of. Forbes magazine...

Leadership training vital for Seattle's school principals.(Brief Article)
March 31, 2000... The year 2000 is an important year for us all as we will choose our next "class" of political leaders at the federal and state levels. Our elected officials are vital to our future; their leadership skills will make the difference on many...

Goldman Sachs coming to town.(opens Seattle office)(Brief Article)
March 24, 2000... Investment banking powerhouse Goldman Sachs & Co. will open an office in downtown Seattle in the next 12 months, making the bluechip Wall Street institution the first national investment banker whose deal-makers don't commute here by jet. ...

No fuel-proof answer.(Seattle area transportation sees effects of fuel prices)(Brief Article)
March 24, 2000... Oil price hikes hit transportation industry hard Puget Sound transportation companies are imposing surcharges and conserving precious fuel to counteract oil prices that have soared to the highest levels in nine years. At the USF...

Stellar set to launch.(interactive television)
March 24, 2000... Interactive TV box ready Executives at Stellar One Corp. have spent $40 million and toiled for nearly seven years to deliver an interactive television system, while most of the world dismissed the technology as overhyped and unwanted....

Online ed's future an academic question.
March 24, 2000... The future of higher education in Washington state may have already arrived at Edmonds and Bellevue community colleges. Online education -- or distance learning in academic-speak -- is increasingly taking over for traditional...

Fund manager: Paccar board too close for comfort.(Brief Article)
March 24, 2000... One of the nation's largest pension fund managers is pressing Bellevue-based Paccar Inc. to make its board of directors more independent. TIAA-CREF, which manages approximately $300 billion for university employees nationwide, claims the...

Going wild for turkeys.(Weyerhaeuser Co. recognized)(Brief Article)
March 24, 2000... After its nightmarish encounter with the northern spotted owl in the Northwest, the Weyerhaeuser Co. may be going to the birds. The National Wild Turkey Federation recently recognized the Federal Way company for contributing to efforts to...

The stars have spoken.(Julia Roberts endorses board game)(Brief Article)
March 24, 2000... Talk about publicity you just can't buy: During her appearance last week on an "Oprah" episode, movie megastar Julia Roberts gushingly endorsed Cranium, the hot-selling board game invented by former Microsofties Whit Alexander and Richard...

Back to school.(Seattle University small business research)(Brief Article)
March 24, 2000... Do you long to have a team of business analysts scrutinize your enterprise, but feel you can't afford it? Seattle University has a program for you -- and it's free. The university's Small Business Institute is looking for a ball-dozen small...

Oregon shows the way.(in economic development planning)(Brief Article)
March 24, 2000... Washington officials are working on the first statewide economic-vitality plan in years. But across the Columbia River in Oregon, state officials are into the second decade of their own strategic development plan. Oregon's experience...