Puget Sound Business Journal articles from May 2000

Puget Sound Business Journal archives from May 2000

Off on a WildTangent.(Statistical Data Included)
May 26, 2000... $15 million will speed streaming animation Thanks to technology developed by RealNetworks Inc. and Microsoft Corp., many people now listen to music or watch short video clips on their personal computers via the Internet. A small...

Plane parts going online.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 26, 2000... Avolo entering a crowded arena with ambitious plan A Seattle-based start-up has launched an online transaction center for buying and selling aircraft replacement parts, leaping into a crowded field where everyone from The Boeing Co. on...

Headbone is set for a sale.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 26, 2000... A big brother for kids site Headbone Interactive Inc., which already runs one of the Internet's top independent sites for kids, is negotiating a sale that will "greatly expand our reach," according to one of its major investors. The...

Meals.com has expensive recipe for growth.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 26, 2000... Jens Molbak was so keen on Coinstar Inc.'s Web subsidiary that he left the helm of the bigger company to plot strategy for the Internet unit; Meals.com. Molbak believes he's zeroed in on the smartest Web strategy for a recipe site. His...

Online start-up goes elsewhere for millions.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 26, 2000... A promising Internet start-up has passed on moving to Washington from the Midwest, in part because this state couldn't match huge cash inducements offered by other states. RealMed Corp., which plans to process medical insurance claims...

Commission buys the farm.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 26, 2000... The Washington Farmed Salmon Commission is folding its nets, simply because there are too few fish farmers. When the commission was created in 1992 there were 10 Washington fish farmers, and farmed fish sold for more than $4 a pound, said...

Something doesn't ad up.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 26, 2000... It's well known in the newspaper business that the Knight Ridder newspaper chain -- which owns 49.5 percent of The Seattle Times -- and the local daily often don't agree. Currently they seem to be disagreeing on advertising sales...

Out of the Zone.(Peter Potterfield leaves MountainZone.com.)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 26, 2000... Peter Potterfield, who for the past four years has toiled away in a Seattle office cubicle helping MotmtainZone.com create a spectator sport out of mountain climbing, announced he's leaving the company May 31. Potterfield has been editor...

CORRECTION.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 26, 2000... Corporate Citizenship In the Corporate Citizenship section published May 19, the article "Uncharitable Odds" misstated the type of work done by the firm Morton Clarke Fu & Metcalf. It is an investment services firm, licensed as a...

Buffett buys Ben Bridge Jeweler.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 26, 2000... Ben Bridge Jeweler, a 63-store chain based in Seattle, agreed to a be acquired by a unit of Warren Buffett's Omaha-based Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Ben Bridge, now run by the third generation of family members, reported 1998 sales of $137...

MSFT announces e-books deals.(Brief Article)
May 26, 2000... Microsoft Corp. announced several deals to promote its Microsoft Reader technology for handheld PCs. The Redmond software company said users can get free downloads from barnesandnoble.com of 15 titles based on the "Star Trek" television...

Dendreon reduces IPO target.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 26, 2000... Dendreon Corp. of Seattle has scaled back its initial public offering to $72 million, down from $100 million when it originally filed IPO documents in March. The biotechnology company said it expects to sell 4.5 million shares at $12 to $14...

PSE sees big savings in outsourcing.(Puget Sound Energy Inc.)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 26, 2000... Utility plans to contract out for maintenance, construction; unions vow a fight Puget Sound Energy Inc.'s plan to outsource its maintenance and construction work is expected save the company millions of dollars in operating costs, but...

Sunterra struggling.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 26, 2000... But local resorts are unaffected for now Time-share resort operator Sunterra Pacific Inc. of Bellevue has so far dodged a financial crisis that could swamp its parent company, Sunterra Corp. of Orlando, Fla. Cash-starved Sunterra...

Moving again.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 26, 2000... Freight mobility plans back on track Just seven months after the passage of Initiative 695 seemingly blocked prospects for improved freight movement in Western Washington, the "Fast Corridor" project has been revived. State and local...

Microchip will pump $180M into fab plant.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 26, 2000... Microchip Technology Inc. needed new production space fast, which is the driving reason why the Chandler, Ariz., manufacturer of semiconductors is buying the former Matsushita plant in Puyallup. "Our business is doing very well, we're...

Former WRQ exec heads Eastside software start-up.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 26, 2000... Kevin Klustner has left the friendly confines of one of the state's oldest and largest software companies for the challenge of a venture capital-backed start-up. Last week Klustner ended a nine-year career at WRQ Inc. - the last year...

GST may have rejected prebankruptcy offers.(GST Telecommunications)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 26, 2000... GST Telecommunications Inc. may have passed up several chances to avoid a fire sale. Instead, the Vancouver, Wash.-based telecommunications company gambled on a turnaround, and lost Now, it is being sold through bankruptcy court for far...

Visa proposal raising high-tech industry's hackles.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 26, 2000... The House Judiciary Committee passed legislation to allow an unlimited number of H-1B visas to be issued to foreign professionals, but the bill includes several eligibility requirements opposed by the high-tech industry. The Technology...

Online travel firms take different routes to market.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 26, 2000... Three local firms are tackling the online travel niche by heading in entirely different directions. * Olympia-based GeoAgents.com is positioning itself as a business-to-business firm. GeoAgents offers e-commerce functions to the nation's...

Eastwood unforgiven in showdown over ADA.(Clint Eastwood, Americans with Disabilities Act)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 26, 2000... Becky Ogle is no Clint Eastwood fan. The disabled rights activist from Bethesda, Md., parked her wheelchair outside the House Judiciary Committee's hearing room to confront the movie star after he testified in favor of modifying the...

Costco shares plunge over trimmed forecast.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 26, 2000... Costco Wholesale Corp. warned that its fourth-quarter earnings could be 1 or 2 cents below the analyst consensus of 45 cents per share, triggering a heavy sell-off in the stock. The company reported third-quarter net income rose 14 percent to...

Courtlink buys another firm.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 26, 2000... Bellevue-based Courtlink said it is acquiring Pennsylvania-based MarketSpan Inc., just weeks after absorbing another online court information service, JusticeLink. Now known as CourtLink/JusticeLink, the company said it will have more than...

RocketVox raises $2M.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 26, 2000... RocketVox, a Seaffle-based start-up planning to deliver special-interest video over the Internet, has raised $2 million in seed financing. The company was founded in February by CEO Kelly Smith, a former executive at RealNetworks. The...

Sonus expects FDA action.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 26, 2000... Sonus Pharmaceuticals Inc. of Bothell said the Food and Drug Administration could complete its review of the company's EchoGen product by October. The ultrasound contrast agent, designed to improve the images created in echocardiography scans...

Quadrant begins Getty buildings in Fremont.(Brief Article)
May 26, 2000... Quadrant Corp. has begun construction of two buildings for Getty Images Inc. at the Quadrant Lake Union Center in Seattle's Fremont neighborhood. Online imagery marketer Getty will occupy the buildings, totaling 176,000 square feet, by...

European fund partners with Second Avenue.(Brief Article)
May 26, 2000... Seattle-based Second Avenue Partners has formed a strategic partnership with CVC Capital Partners of London aimed at investing jointly in Internet and telecom ventures on both continents. Second Avenue Partners, recently established by...

Radiant Research buys a rival.(Brief Article)
May 26, 2000... Radiant Research Inc. of Kirkland said it is acquiring the pharmaceutical research operations of Cincinnati-based Hill Top Research Inc. Radiant said the deal will make it the nation's largest owner of clinical-trials research sites, with 38...

FizzyLab raises $9.5M.(Brief Article)
May 26, 2000... FizzyLab of Seattle has raised $9.5 million to speed development of its technology for archiving and searching Web sites. The company's first round of venture financing came from Walden VC of San Francisco and other investors including New...

Action Engine gets VC fuel.
May 26, 2000... Action Engine Corp. has landed $7.7 million in first-round funding for its transactional services for wireless and wired Web-enabled devices. Investors included Olympic Venture Partners and Northwest Venture Associates.

ShopNow changes its name once again.(Brief Article)
May 26, 2000... Only a year after it became ShopNow.com Inc., the Seattle company is changing its name to Network Commerce Inc. The company said the name better reflects its role as a provider of technology, services and commerce networks for...

State Bar reviews rule on lawyers and others.(Brief Article)
May 26, 2000... After months on the sidelines, the Washington State Bar Association is wading into one of the legal community's thorniest debates -- whether lawyers should be allowed to go into business with other kinds of professionals. The state bar's...

PSBJ wins 14 journalism awards.(Brief Article)
May 26, 2000... The Puget Sound Business Journal won 14 awards last week at the Society of Professional Journalists Western Washington chapter's Excellence in Journalism 2000 competition, including four first-place trophies. The awards, in the category of...

Germany replacing Seattle consulate with a volunteer.(Brief Article)
May 26, 2000... The German consulate general in San Francisco is close to choosing an honorary Northwest consul, replacing the career diplomats who have operated a Seattle consulate since 1952. The consulate here was closed in January due to German...

Slow growth at nPassage.(Brief Article)
May 26, 2000... NPassage Inc., a Seattle-based provider of Internet-based freight forwarding services for heavy freight movements, is growing more slowly than founders had first predicted. While the company in late 1999 predicted sales of $3 million to...

Juice tariffs welcomed.(Brief Article)
May 26, 2000... Washington apple growers are happy about the 52 percent anti-dumping tariffs on Chinese juice concentrate, imposed by the U.S. International Trade Commission last week. Calling the impact "huge," Washington State Apple Commission...

Attorneys general will get specific on privacy.(Brief Article)
May 26, 2000... The privacy issue, a hot topic in the 2000 state Legislature, will dominate the agenda when state and territorial attorneys general gather next month in Seattle for their biggest meeting of the year. The prominence of the privacy issue at...

Short Cressman sharpens its focus.(Brief Article)
May 26, 2000... Short Cressman & Burgess PLLC, a 55-lawyer firm in downtown Seattle, is making some strategic moves so it doesn't get knocked off stride by the changing legal marketplace. Short Cressman, once considered a general-practice firm, is trying...

Washington State Bar Association.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 26, 2000... About 76 percent of the 482 candidates who took the bar examination in March passed the test, according to the Washington State Bar Association. The 369 candidates who passed are now eligible for admission to the bar.

Victor Melfi.(Prairielaw.com)(Brief Article)
May 26, 2000... Victor Melfi was recently named CEO of Prairielaw.com, a start-up in Seattle that provides legal resources for consumers on the Internet. Melfi was most recently CEO of Virtual Spin Inc., an e-commerce software company in Bellevue.

Oregon Water Resource Department.(Martha Pagel leaves)(Brief Article)
May 26, 2000... Martha Pagel, the director of the Oregon Water Resource Department, has left state government to practice regional water and environmental law at Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt, one of Portland's largest firms.

Small biz week is May 22-26.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 26, 2000... According to the Internal Revenue Service, there are 25 million small businesses in the United States. And in the mid-1990s, those businesses produced annual revenues of more than $15 trillion. This week is National Small Business Week....

Survey measures technology impact.(Brief Article)
May 26, 2000... The 2000 Deloitte & Touche Top Rung survey, "The Choices We Make: Technology in the Lives of Professional Women," is winding down. Visit the Web site www.thetoprung.com to fill out the five-minute questionnaire. Five $100 HomeGrocer.com gift...

Breakfast planned.(Brief Article)
May 26, 2000... North Seattle Community College is hosting the women's network breakfast from 7 to 9 a.m. June 2 at the college, 9600 College Way N. in Seattle. Topic of discussion will be marketing strategies and objectives.

ZEST FOR PESTO.(Brief Article)
May 26, 2000... Cibo Fresh Specialties owners changed their packaging in 1996 in an effort to make their gourmet cheeses, butters and pestos more affordable. The change was part of an effort to take the small specialty food company national. The new...

Credit cards can help streamline accounts payables.(Brief Article)
May 26, 2000... Imagine having just one invoice to pay and one check to write each month. Seem farfetched? It doesn't have to be. The path to streamlining your small business accounts payable may be as simple as using company credit cards. ...

Stamps.com quadruples its space in Bellevue.(Brief Article)
May 26, 2000... Stamps.com Inc., a Santa Monica, Calif.-based provider of Internet-based mailing and shipping services, has agreed to lease 75,500 square feet from Sterling Realty Organization in Sterling Plaza 2, at 3545 Factorial Blvd. in Bellevue. ...

Union Station building close to full occupancy.(Brief Article)
May 26, 2000... Leasing is nearly complete at 505 Union Station -- Vulcan Northwest Inc.'s new Pioneer Square/International District headquarters. Though it isn't scheduled to open until September, 85 percent of the building is already leased, said Larry...

Quadrant Willows full.(Brief Article)
May 26, 2000... Web3000 and Ericsson Corp. have signed on as the final tenants in Bellevue's Quadrant Willows Corporate Center. The technology firms join such companies as Advanced Digital Information Corp., AT&T Local Services, Nokia Mobile Phones,...

Civica now 70 percent full.(Brief Article)
May 26, 2000... Software.com Inc. has signed a lease for 55,000 square feet in Bellevue's Civica Office Commons, bringing the Schnitzer Northwest development to 70 percent capacity. Software.com, based in Santa Barbara, Calif., joins previously...

Northwest Real Estate Technology Summit.(Brief Article)
May 26, 2000... The fifth annual Northwest Real Estate Technology Summit will be held Thursday, June 22 in Bellevue. The daylong program features a nationally known futurist, plus a series of seminars and a trade show. It will be held from 8 a.m. until 4...

East Coast analysts thirst for new Frappuccino.(Brief Article)
May 26, 2000... Analysts on the East Coast have been desperate to get their hands on something tall, cold and caffeinated. Chocolate Brownie Frappuccino is Starbucks Coffee Co.'s newest variation on its popular summer cooler, blended Frappuccino. Instead...

Kozmo deal detailed.(Brief Article)
May 26, 2000... Separately, Starbucks laid out its $150 million agreement with Kozmo.com Inc. in more detail in regulatory filings. The Seattle-based coffee giant and Kozmo.com, a one-hour delivery service for video rentals and convenience store items,...

Nicole Miller.(Brief Article)
May 26, 2000... New York designer Nicole Miller will debut in Seattle's Pacific Place shopping center with a boutique for women and men. Nicole Miller, known for her whimsical motif ties, scarves and other accessories, operates 32 boutiques in the United...

Wells Fargo.(Brief Article)
May 26, 2000... Wells Fargo opened a staffed bank branch inside the Whole Foods store in Seattle. It's the only Whole Foods store in which Wells Fargo operates. Texas-based Whole Foods Inc. has more than 100 natural food stores across the country. Wells...

Nordstrom Inc.(Brief Article)
May 26, 2000... Nordstrom Inc. this week announced a flurry of new store plans, including a deal to open seven stores in projects owned by The Rouse Co. The stores will be located in Las Vegas, Minneapolis, suburban Cincinnati, Louisville, suburban...

House considers stand-alone estate tax repeal.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 26, 2000... The House is expected to vote on legislation to phase out the federal estate tax the week of June 5. Congress passed similar legislation last year as part of a $792 billion tax cut, but that package was vetoed by President Clinton. A...

OSHA tightens procedures on interpretation letters.(Occupational Safety and Health Administration)(Brief Article)
May 26, 2000... In the wake of its about-face on home workplaces, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration is changing its procedures to make sure agency officials do not assert new policies when they respond to employers' questions. A Nov. 15,...

California, Texas lead in high-tech job growth.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 26, 2000... America's high-tech work force grew by 1.2 million workers from 1993 to 1999, with California, Texas, Virginia, Colorado and Georgia leading the way in job creation. This explosion in high-tech employment, documented in a new report by...

New SBA partnership targets Asian Americans.(Small Business Administration)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 26, 2000... The Small Business Administration agreed to work with the National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development to increase business opportunities for Asian Americans. The outreach effort is part of SBA's program to help...

Business relationships sought in Egypt, Thailand.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 26, 2000... While China gets all the headlines, the United States is quietly working to increase trade with other countries. SBA Administrator Aida Alvarez traveled to Egypt this month to launch a partnership to "jump-start" the growth of small...

UW pairs students with biotech firms.(University of Washington)(Brief Article)
May 26, 2000... The University of Washington's Molecular and Cellular Biology Program has begun a project to expose graduate students to the real world of biotechnology. Called the Biotechnology Industry Externship Program, graduate students can work...

SHARP TURN.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 26, 2000... Once considered too experimental, acupuncture is now regarded as a viable treatment option Not so many years ago, the idea that a health-insurance plan would cover acupuncture treatments seemed a little far-fetched. Now it's a...

Mobile dentists fill unique niche but just scrape by.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 26, 2000... A handful of local dentists reach out to those who otherwise wouldn't receive care Dr. Peter Moore has no office. As a mobile dentist, Moore's tools of the trade are three boxes of portable dental equipment and a Lincoln Navigator...

Flexibility helps medical evaluation firm remain fit.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 26, 2000... Medical Consultants Network is using technology to give it national exposure An employee is receiving physical therapy for a workplace-related injury, but after several months her employer wants to know whether further care is required...

Centers help parents by caring for sick kids.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 26, 2000... Each day more than 350,000 children under age 14 are too sick to attend school or daycare. One in three families has a parent that misses 10 or more workdays per year due to staying home to care for a sick child, according to the National...

Surgeons vie to make the cut on medical auction sites.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 26, 2000... Reaction ranges from disdain to curiosity over online bidding for aesthetic surgery The Internet has added a new wrinkle to the debate over health-care costs. In March, a Southern California-based medical Web site, Medicine On-Line,...

HEALTH INSURERS.(Illustration)(Statistical Data Included)
May 26, 2000... HEALTH INSURERS The largest in the state. Ranked by total enrollment in Washington. Was. ...

High-tech tools help dentists sculpt new smiles.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 26, 2000... Modern dentistry is much more focused on patient comfort and aesthetics Few professions have gone through more changes in the past 100 years than dentistry. In previous times, all a dentist could do in most cases was pull the...

PREFERRED PROVIDER ORGANIZATIONS.(Illustration)(Statistical Data Included)
May 26, 2000... PREFERRED PROVIDER ORGANIZATIONS The largest in Washington state. Listed alphabetically Primary Total PPO ...

Comparative information improves quality of care.(Brief Article)
May 26, 2000... In these competitive and turbulent times in the health-care industry, there is probably not one Puget Sound health-care executive who does not consider daily how to increase revenue, reduce cost, curb waste and improve patient care. ...

Comparative information.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 26, 2000... Historically, health-care information technology has provided hospitals with a means to analyze their internal information and determine clinical care and cost-reduction opportunities. This information is vital to performance improvement...

Patient feedback.(Brief Article)
May 26, 2000... Many hospitals across the country use patient satisfaction surveys to determine how their patients rate the care they received and then use this information to identify specific areas for improvement, such as education of patients and...

Emphasis on inpatient services influences design.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 26, 2000... For the past 25 years, the health-care design practice within most architectural firms has concentrated on outpatient facilities as insurers have steadily shifted payment incentives from inpatient care to outpatient care. The few...

Alternative treatment therapies go mainstream.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 26, 2000... The latest hot trend in medicine is really a very old one in disguise -- "natural" medicine. What's new is that traditional doctors are prescribing so-called alternative therapies in ever-increasing numbers. And patients who formerly...

Cultural affinities.(Brief Article)
May 26, 2000... Many cultural elements within the alternative medicine movement make it especially appealing to baby boomers. One is that it allows people to be actively involved in their own healing. boomers are not passive consumers. They want to be...

Paradigm shift.(increasing acceptance of homeopathic medicine)(Brief Article)
May 26, 2000... But boomers are also among the most sophisticated of consumers. They want the best of both worlds -- the latest scientific advances (with proper clinical data), as well as low-risk, low-cost natural medicines. That's where the new trend of...

Doctors join the bandwagon.(natural medicines including homeopathic preparations)(Brief Article)
May 26, 2000... The superior quality of many new alternative drugs, plus the strong demands of patients, are prompting conventional practitioners to investigate -- and prescribe -- natural products, including homeopathic drugs. A recent survey at the...

REGIONAL STOCKS.(local stocks' price variations)(Brief Article)
May 26, 2000... REGIONAL STOCKS Percent Closing price 52-week range Best performers change 5/23 5/16 High Low Ackerley Group 5.73% 12.69...

Icos Corp.(report including officer compensation)(Brief Article)
May 26, 2000... Icos develops proprietary biopharmaceuticals and small-molecule pharmaceuticals for the treatment of inflammatory diseases, certain cardiovascular diseases and cancer. Icos and its affiliates have four product candidates in clinical trials,...

New breed of variable annuities looks better.(Brief Article)
May 26, 2000... Variable annuities are tax-deferred mutual funds wrapped in a life insurance policy. Their expenses have historically averaged more than 2 percent annually, almost double that of ordinary mutual funds, and their payouts are eventually taxed...

BRIEFCASE.(executive appointments)(Brief Article)
May 26, 2000... * ADVERTISING, MARKETING AND PUBLIC RELATIONS Tom Calcagni and Tricia Chan were appointed senior vice president at MWW/Savitt in Seattle. Monica Roland was promoted to account executive at the Seattle office of The Rockey Co. *...

InterLam Inc.(moves to new facility)(Brief Article)
May 26, 2000... InterLam Inc., a distributor of laminates and adhesives, moved to 1201 E. D St., Suite 202, Tacoma WA 98421. The phone number is 253-627-3005.

Sprenger Insurance Agency.(changes its names to Bratrud Middleton Insurance)(Brief Article)
May 26, 2000... Sprenger Insurance Agency in Aubum has changed its name to Bratrud Middleton Insurance.