Puget Sound Business Journal articles from March 2001, page 2

Puget Sound Business Journal archives from March 2001

Fisher lines up a new buyer for its flour mills.(Fisher Communications Inc. to sell mills to Pendleton Flour Mills)(Brief Article)
March 23, 2001... Fisher Communications Inc. of Seattle has found a buyer for its flour milling assets in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and California. The company said Pendleton Flour Mills LLC of Pendleton, Ore., has signed an agreement to buy the assets in a...

Developers tap the brakes on planned projects.(Brief Article)
March 23, 2001... The cooling of the commercial real estate market has injected a new measure of prudence into the Puget Sound region's development community, threatening to put some prominent projects on hold until the situation turns around. Even before...

N2H2 lays off 51.(Brief Article)
March 23, 2001... N2H2 Inc., a Seattle-based provider of Internet filtering software, said it will cut 51 jobs in order to reach cash-flow goals. The company said the cuts, which will save about $1.5 million in its third quarter, will allow it to become...

OneName switches business model and captures new clients and cash.(Brief Article)
March 23, 2001... OneName Corp., which had hoped to launch its privacy platform with consumers, has changed its business model. The company now contracts with corporations that want to add privacy controls to their Web sites and services. It's landed new...

RETURN TO PROFITABILITY.(Brief Article)
March 23, 2001... WestFarm's CEO John Mueller concentrates on core competencies to put dairy-product business back in black In the three years since John Mueller took over as president and CEO of WestFarm Foods Inc., he's steered the farmer's cooperative...

CNC purchase worries Thurston Co. officials.(acquisition of CNC Containers by Amcor Ltd.)(Brief Article)
March 23, 2001... The recent purchase of CNC Containers by Australian packing company Amcor Ltd. has Thurston County officials questioning the company's future. CNC Containers is one of Thurston County's largest manufacturers, employing at least 200...

Fulcrum lands $4.5M from Incepta for expansion.(Brief Article)
March 23, 2001... Fulcrum Technologies Inc., which keeps track of the expensive equipment used by telecommunications firms, has landed $4.5 million from venture, company Incepta Ventures. The Seattle company plans to use the money to expand...

Bill would allow local residents to determine road projects.(transportation measure enabling local residents to vote on a package of highway improvements and local taxes to fund them)(Brief Article)
March 23, 2001... Crippling traffic congestion has rallied nearly every state senator from King County in support of a transportation measure enabling local residents to vote on a package of highway improvements and local taxes to fund them. Introduced as...

Fish-funnel plan could generate billions in electricity.(Brief Article)
March 23, 2001... This summer Steve Hays will watch 24 years of work begin to take shape as the Chelan Public Utility District begins construction on the largest fish-protection project ever undertaken by a PUD. Starting in June, Chelan PUD will begin...

Former Bogle chairman back at a regional law firm.(Jim Tune joins Stoel Rivers LLP)(Brief Article)
March 23, 2001... Jim Tune, the high-profile attorney who stayed on the bridge of Bogle & Gates PLLC when the Seattle law firm foundered and sank, is on the move again. Tune has accepted a senior statesman role at the Seattle office of Stoel Rives LLP, a...

Trade globally, debate locally.(John Spiers training class)(Brief Article)
March 23, 2001... Importer John Spiers promises a spirited dialogue during his one-day class, World Trade Policy Bootcamp, which he's offering through the ASUW Experimental College this term. During the one-day course, Spiers plans to review contending...

High-tech quake monitoring finds Safeco Field safe.(Construction Technology Laboratories )(Brief Article)
March 23, 2001... Safeco Field took a pretty severe rattling in the region's recent earthquake. Needless to say, once the ground stopped shaking, a lot of people needed to know how well the building had held up -- especially that retractable roof, which...

CORRECTIONS.(Correction Notice)
March 23, 2001... Port proposals A story on the Port of Seattle in the March 16 issue misidentified a port commissioner. His name is Bob Edwards. Power plants A story in the March 16 issue on revisions to the proposed Sumas 2 power plant erred in...

Horse-racing industry backs aid for racetrack.(Emerald Downs racetrack)(Brief Article)
March 23, 2001... Owners and breeders would be saddled with added 10 years of support payments The state's horse-racing industry is riding to the rescue of Emerald Downs, the struggling Auburn racetrack whose success is pivotal to the future of...

Investors respond to Primal urge.(Primal Inc.)(Brief Article)
March 23, 2001... Biotech impresario Nowinski launches fourth local firm with $22M Biotechnology entrepreneur Robert Nowinski is starting up his fourth richly financed local company, after stepping down from his position as chairman and chief executive of...

Korean Americans form bank.(Pacific International Bank)(Brief Article)
March 23, 2001... Community bank will serve growing group A group of 49 founders has pooled $550,000 in seed money to form a Korean American community bank in North Seattle, aiming to serve the niche market of more than 3,000 Korean-owned businesses in the...

Let them eat cheesecake, says restaurant chain.(The Cheesecake Factory Inc. )(Brief Article)
March 23, 2001... Local lovers of gooey desserts and ample portions will soon have a chance to sample the legendary cheesecakes of The Cheesecake Factory Inc. The company will install one of its 10,000-square-foot mega-restaurants in the expanded Washington...

Satellite merger left in limbo.(Teledesic Corp. and New 100 Global Communications Ltd.)(Brief Article)
March 23, 2001... Citing unfavorable market conditions, Bellevue-based Teledesic Corp. and New 100 Global Communications Ltd. of London withdrew their plan to combine under the umbrella of Craig McCaw's Kirkland-based holding company, ICO-Teledesic Global Ltd....

Corixa cuts staff after drug delay.(Brief Article)
March 23, 2001... Food and Drug Administration officials told Seattle-based Corixa Corp. that its lymphoma drug candidate Bexxar needs more study. Corixa said it will trim 10 percent to 15 percent of its research and administrative staff, mostly from its...

Buoyant region grows nervous.(Brief Article)
March 23, 2001... Local economy is still strong, but questions keep piling up Dark clouds are gathering around Washington's economy, although most economists so far believe the state will dodge a recession. The national economy is wobbling, stock...

Buoyant region grows nervous.
March 23, 2001... Boeing bombshell adds a new element of uncertainty The Boeing Co. will remain an economic linchpin of the region despite its sudden announcement that it will move its headquarters out of state, but the blow will resonate in many quarters...

A gain in the neck.(medical equipment and supplies industry)(Brief Article)
March 23, 2001... Artificial spinal disc attracts $23 million to M.I. company The world's largest maker of implantable medical devices has joined other backers in investing $23 million in Spinal Dynamics Inc. of Mercer Island, which is set to begin sales...

A new path to profitability.(Brief Article)
March 23, 2001... Onvia.com eyes higher margins, lower bum rate Seattle-based online exchange Onvia.com Inc. has entered a smaller market, but one with a better chance of profitability. Since its acquisition of a leading business-to-government...

Amazon hit with class-action suits.(Amazon.com Inc.)(Brief Article)
March 23, 2001... Three law firms filed separate law suits against Seattle-based Amazon.com Inc., alleging it improperly inflated the price of the company's shares by overstating its revenues. The suits, including one by Keller Rohrback LLP of Seattle,...

Port revamp urged.
March 16, 2001... Panel pushes closure, development options The Port of Seattle should close some significant waterfront operations and closely scrutinize the profitability of several others, a citizens panel told the agency this week. The panel's...

Cities, biz locked in B&O tax battle.
March 16, 2001... When Shinoda Floral Inc. of Snohomish last year delivered flowers to a Tacoma shop, a city employee spotted the delivery truck and took note: The wholesale florist lacked a business license with the city. Tacoma sent owner Paul Shinoda a...

Fast forward.
March 16, 2001... A regional effort to improve freight movements is gaining speed While the region's battle over traffic priorities and funding rages, an ambitious plan to improve local freight shipments is making quiet, steady progress. The Fast...

Malls may recast movie multiplexes.
March 16, 2001... Theaters won't easily fit new retail roles SeaTac Mall general manager Bob Fliday doesn't know yet whether troubled AMC Entertainment will close the 12-screen movie theater complex it has operated since 1976. But he's thought about...

Safeco aims to sell credit unit.
March 16, 2001... In his first major restructuring move since joining Safeco Corp. in January, president and CEO Mike McGavick plans to sell its credit and leasing subsidiary. The Seattle insurer said it has retained Goldman Sachs to find a buyer for the...

Teledesic will work with rival.
March 16, 2001... ICO-Teledesic Global Ltd. of Kirkland and Ellipso Inc. of Washington, D.C., inked a collaboration deal that may lead to a merger of the two satellite communications companies. The mobile satellite industry has failed spectacularly in...

Seattle port gets earthquake bill.
March 16, 2001... Officials said Port of Seattle facilities sustained $71.5 million in damage during the earthquake two weeks ago. The Feb. 28 earthquake caused $32.4 million in damage at Sea-Tac International Airport, and $39.1 million in damage at the...

New trackers join money hunt.
March 16, 2001... A new boutique investment bank has formed from the local remnants of the Prudential Volpe Technology Group, a division of Prudential Securities. Capital Run LLC, led by veteran investment banker John Siegler, has set up shop in downtown...

Building a 'leadership infrastructure'.
March 16, 2001... Boston nonprofit serving minority professionals may open first branch here A Boston-based nonprofit that helps companies and communities retain and develop professionals of color is considering Seattle for its first branch office. ...

With a package like this, who wouldn't retire?
March 16, 2001... One executive who won't exactly have to rely on Social Security when he retires is Kirk Lanterman, the longtime chairman and CEO of Seattle-based Holland America Line-Westours Inc. A recent filing with the Securities and Exchange...

Chang's comes to town.
March 16, 2001... Seattle has already partaken of Paul Fleming's steakhouse concept, Fleming's Prime Steakhouse, in downtown. Now another chain he had a hand in creating, P.F. Chang's China Bistro Inc., will open at The Corner at Bellevue Square early next...

Campagne's campaign leads to expansion.
March 16, 2001... Peter Lewis, owner of the Cafe Campagne restaurant in the Pike Place Market, reports that he's won a protracted battle with the Pike Place Market Historical Commission to add 650 square feet to his downstairs Market eatery. The Market...

AAA's new ads steer in a familiar direction.
March 16, 2001... AAA Washington wants people to know that it is still a phone call away if you blow a tire or run out of gas. The not-for-profit, which has its state headquarters in Bellevue, has launched a new advertising campaign on the radio and in...

Got milk? Washington's cows answer affirmatively.
March 16, 2001... Washington's dairy cows -- the nation's most productive -- pumped out a record 65 million gallons of milk last year, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture statistics reported by the Dairy Farmers of Washington. The state's milk...

Lumera racing forward to speed fiber networks.
March 16, 2001... Lumera Corp., the fiber-optic technology spinoff of Microvision Inc., received a huge endorsement this week from Cisco Systems line. Now the startup plans to move swiftly to prove its claims of a new technology that can carry fiber-optic...

Penford launches a data-software spinoff.
March 16, 2001... Starch manufacturer's venture lands $1.8M Eoscene Inc., a spinoff from Penford Corp., has nabbed $1.8 million in seed capital slated for the sale and marketing of its Web-based business software. The Seattle startup, 15 percent owned...

Web company Chase Bobko hunts for funds.
March 16, 2001... Chase Bobko Inc., a Seattle-based Web development firm, is negotiating with a public company that may acquire the 60-person firm. The talks are one aspect of a search for new financing, said Patricia Chase, chairman and founder of Chase...

Zumiez rides boards, gear to steady growth.
March 16, 2001... Check it out, dude -- in a year when many retailers are wiping out, Zumiez Inc. is riding to success on a wave of teen-age mania for skateboarding and snowboarding. The Everett-based retail chain plans to grow from 64 stores to 80 this...

Dallas luxury-apartment developer eyes Issaquah site.
March 16, 2001... Dallas-based luxury apartment builder JPI Partners Inc. is close to buying a 10-acre parcel at Intracorp's massive Cougar Mountain East Village development in Issaquah. The parcel is just one of four -- totaling about 49 acres -- that...

Capital Stream attracts a big ally, $20 million.
March 16, 2001... Flush with a $20 million venture capital infusion and a deal with Bank of America, CapitalStream Inc. sees 2001 as a make-or-break year. The Seattle company makes Web-based software designed to automate the commercial financing process...

MidStream aims to simplify streaming media.
March 16, 2001... MidStream Technologies Inc. plans to take on market leader nCube Corp. and new entrants such as Compaq Computer Corp. in the race to provide streaming media servers for the Internet. The Bellevue startup plans to debut its servers later...

THE EUROPEAN PLAN.
March 16, 2001... Starbucks is extra hot in Japan; now Howard Schultz is ready to caffeinate the Continent After witnessing the company's record-breaking first store opening in Zurich, Switzerland, last week, Starbucks Coffee Co. chairman Howard Schultz...

Developer alters Sumas power plant details.
March 16, 2001... The debate over three tons of pollution may still be enough to keep National Energy Systems Co.'s proposed 660-megawatt natural gas-fired power plant from ever getting off the drawing board. The Kirkland-based company has revised its...

Ad revenue slowdown affects regional papers.
March 16, 2001... A nationwide slump in newspaper advertising revenues is being felt in the Puget Sound region. Some crucial ad categories have been affected, executives with a range of newspapers say. The slowdown has yet to cause severe financial...

WestFarm building sale puts prime site on market.
March 16, 2001... WestFarm Foods, the venerable Seattle company behind the Darigold product line, has put its longtime Elliott Avenue headquarters up for sale in anticipation of moving to another site. The move, spurred by WestFarm's push for greater...

Plentiful pollock good news for fishing industry.
March 16, 2001... The beleaguered local fishing industry is enjoying one bit of good news this spring: the largest pollock harvest in more than 20 years. For 2001 the "total allowable catch" is 1.4 million metric tons of pollock for Alaska's Bering Sea, a...

Locke will push hard for water law reform.
March 16, 2001... Competing interests vie for legislative action Gov. Gary Locke's official declaration of drought this week only reconfirms that water is a critical issue, not just to arid Eastern Washington but also to the Puget Sound region. Beyond...

Water storage problems threaten many areas.
March 16, 2001... As drought afflicts the state, water supplies are shrinking dramatically in many areas -- as demands continue to grow. In its recently released report, the state Water Storage Task Force notes that "a growing state population, a healthy...

Seldom-used 'P4' committee asks city: Now what?
March 16, 2001... One year after the city of Seattle formed its Public-Private Partnership Review Panel, the advisory body is still trying to find its way. City officials convened the "P4" committee -- its shorthand name in City Hall -- on March 13, 2000,...

Taller in Tacoma.
March 16, 2001... New buildings could soar as high as 200 feet -- that's 16 to 20 stories, depending on the distance between floors -- on property being considered for redevelopment near the Tacoma Dome. The new height limit would include two parcels, now...

F'Way looks at downtown.
March 16, 2001... Federal Way will do a market study of its central business district as part of a larger effort to spur new private investment downtown. The city this spring will hire a consultant to estimate how much and what kind of downtown development...

Slowdown forces layoffs at Redmond fabricator.
March 16, 2001... The technology sector slowdown has forced electronics fabricator Etma Corp. into its first layoffs since the company was founded in 1985. Executive vice president John Rapp said Redmond-based Etma has laid off about 60 of its staff of...

Walker Bay readies launch.
March 16, 2001... For several weeks Walker Bay Boats has been pumping out its new injection-molded plastic 10-foot boats, building up inventory for a product launch in early April. The new boats are an upgrade from its current 8-foot dinghies, which have...

Bike recall nearly complete.
March 16, 2001... Seattle Bike Supply Inc. of Kent is in the last stages of a sizable recall of bicycles built with pedal crank arms that were too long. At the end of January company executives started hearing from dealers that children riding two models...

What's hot in stoves?
March 16, 2001... After being surprised by unexpectedly high demand for pellet stoves last season -- a reflection of energy worries and high natural gas prices -- executives at Lennox Hearth Products in Burlington aren't sure what 2001 will bring. The...

Growth plans prompt name change at Books for Kids.
March 16, 2001... Seattle-based charity Books for Kids has spent 11 years putting new books into the hands of at-risk children in the region. Now the organization is ready to enter a new phase, and has a new name that reflects its expanded horizons. Board...

AIDS group adjusts well to merger, name change.
March 16, 2001... It's less than ideal for a group to change its name in the middle of promoting a major fund-raiser. But that's what happened with the merger of Chicken Soup Brigade and Northwest AIDS Foundation, which became Lifelong AIDS Alliance last...

Community Capital Development.
March 16, 2001... A new networking group has formed to help nonprofit professionals exchange ideas. The Nonprofit Schmoozefest drew more than 60 people to its first event last month. Drew Tulchin, a nonprofit consultant and community lender at Community...

Microsoft managers.
March 16, 2001... Three former Microsoft managers have started a chapter of Portland-based Friends of the Children in Seattle. The group hires social-welfare professionals to mentor at-risk children. A first-year budget of $150,000 was raised by founders Nick...

Charitableway.com.
March 16, 2001... One of the pioneering pure-play Web companies set up to help nonprofits is calling it quits. Charitableway.com in San Carlos, Calif., founded by former Microsoft manager Pete Mountanos, raised $43 million but will close at the end of the...

Boeing alliance gives Trammell a big new role.
March 16, 2001... Trammell Crow Co. has won a coveted role as adviser to The Boeing Co. on its large Northwest real estate portfolio. Under a new alliance between the companies, a team based in the Seattle office of Trammell Crow will serve as consultants...

Pier 89 saga ends.
March 16, 2001... Immunex Corp. has paid $6 million for a slice of land toward the middle of Pier 89 on the Seattle waterfront, taking full ownership of the pier, King County property records show. The Seattle biotechnology company paid a total of slightly...

Big requirement delayed.
March 16, 2001... Seattle-based 360 Powered Corp. told real estate developers earlier this year that it would need as much as 250,000 square feet of office space over the next three years to accommodate its expected growth. Two weeks ago, the Internet...

Perkins gets tech twist.
March 16, 2001... The Perkins Building, under renovation in downtown Tacoma, has been renamed the Perkins Technology Tower after its owners, Gary Bodenstab and Bob Hollister, struck a deal with Optic Fusion Inc. of Tacoma to reposition the building as a...

Findanest.com acquires Student-Housing.com.
March 16, 2001... Seattle-based Findanest.com, a resource of homes and apartments for real estate agents and consumers, has acquired Student-Housing.com, a Web site providing relocation services to college students across the country. Jiva Holdings Inc.,...

Checking insurance eligibility online may cut costs.
March 16, 2001... Health insurers, physicians and hospitals here are working together to slash the administrative costs of managed care, which can eat up as much as 70 percent of medical-practice revenue. The first step has been to standardize and...

More rate hikes.
March 16, 2001... Expect another round of stiff health-insurance rate increases next year, according to an analysis by PacifiCare of Washington and of Oregon. The factors contributing to rising insurance premiums: * Medical groups need more payment...

B2B firms redraw plans as obstacles emerge.
March 16, 2001... When WorldCatch Inc. acquired American Gem Seafoods Inc. last week, it was yet another indication for Puget Sound business-to-business players that the online exchange model is not sustainable. WorldCatch, based in Seattle, began in 1999...

Airport Hilton's renovation adds rooms, style.
March 16, 2001... A $56 million overhaul has not only greatly expanded the Hilton Seattle Airport and Conference, but also given it a classier ambiance. The first renovation the hotel has seen since 1985 added 265 rooms, bringing the total to 396. Existing...

Four Seasons goes online.
March 16, 2001... High-speed Internet access service is being introduced in the Four Seasons Olympic Hotel's 450 guest rooms. Seattle-based Terabeam Corp. is installing the high-speed service, called Fiberless Optical, which transmits data via laser beams...

Edgewater offers 'new look'.
March 16, 2001... Renovations at The Edgewater Hotel on Seattle's waterfront are nearing completion. The $5.5 million undertaking, which began in spring 2000, is set for competition by June. Room renovations at the 236-room hotel are now 90 percent...

Quake repairs on schedule.
March 16, 2001... Owners of the 150-room Hilton Garden Inn in Renton are making post-earthquake repairs. About 50 of the rooms at the hotel, which is owned by Corte Madera, Calif.-based Larkspur Hospitality Co., were damaged after a water main in the...

Occupancy rates improve.
March 16, 2001... Occupancy rates for hotels in downtown Seattle increased to 57.6 percent in January 2001 from 52.1 percent in January 2000, according to a report released by Bellevue's Wolfgang Rood Hospitality Consulting. Rates also increased in Bellevue...

Skamania Lodge bought by N.J. investment group.
March 16, 2001... Skamania Lodge has been purchased by Skamania Opco LLC, a partnership between Dolce International and DLJ Real Estate Capital Partners. Located in the Columbia River Gorge community of Stevenson, Wash., the 195-room conference resort was...

Boeing beefs up work at Spokane parts plant.
March 16, 2001... The Boeing Co.'s plant on Spokane's West Plains is beginning to make up some lost altitude. Thanks to beefed-up production activity, the Seattle-based aircraft maker has called back to the plant about 90 employees who were laid off in...

Wireless deal joins VitalCom and Data Critical.
March 16, 2001... Data Critical Inc. of Redmond has agreed to acquire another provider of wireless communications to the health-care industry, VitalCom Inc. of Tustin, Calif. Although the companies reported nearly identical revenues last year, there's one big...

Par3 raises $12 million.
March 16, 2001... Par3 Communications Inc. of Seattle, which offers customer relationship management solutions, has raised $12 million in a second-round financing led by Nokia Venture Partners. Nokia Venture Partners, based in Menlo Park, Calif., joins...

Microsoft, eBay ink Internet partnership.
March 16, 2001... Online auctioneer eBay Inc. and Redmond-based Microsoft Corp. have signed an agreement to use each other's Internet technologies and services. The companies said they will work together to integrate San Jose, Calif.-based eBay's online...

Avenue A announces revenue shortfall.
March 16, 2001... Avenue A Inc. revised its first-quarter revenue projections downward, saying it expects revenues to be between $20 million and $25 million, instead of the $30 million to $33 million it had previously anticipated. The Seattle-based...

Wade Cook Financial warns of earthquake losses.
March 16, 2001... The corporate headquarters of Tukwila-based Wade Cook Financial Corp. suffered millions of dollars in damage Feb. 28 when the Nisqually Earthquake shook central Puget Sound, the company disclosed in a filing with the Securities and Exchange...