Business First-Columbus articles from April 1997

Business First-Columbus archives from April 1997

School funding decision may escalate border war.
April 4, 1997... If Ohio is forced to raise business and other taxes as a result of a sweeping court decision outlawing the state's school financing formula, already-competitive border states would benefit at the Buckeye State's expense. That's the message...

Breech shapes Big Bear chain in his own easy-going image. (Stephen Breech)
April 4, 1997... Bags-to-riches prez discusses pricing online shopping TV He's not an actor, and && yes, he really started as a bagger 39 years ago at a Big Bear store. A year after he began to star in television spots, Stephen Breech cannot appear in Big...

Greater Columbus reels in three new movie theaters.
April 4, 1997... Movie theater developers continue to find Columbus to their liking. A Buffalo-based developer plans an 18-screen movie theater adjacent to its Consumer Square East retail center, the third cinema complex planned or under construction south of...

Banks fight credit union legislation.
April 4, 1997... Ohio has become both a battleground and command post in a national feud between credit unions and banks. After several months of coaxing by an Ohio credit union lobbyist, Rep. Steven C. LaTourette, R-Painesville, introduced a bill March 20...

Grange lets Capital Law School out of lease on S. High Street. (Grange Insurance Cos.)
April 4, 1997... Grange Insurance Cos. is releasing Capital Law School from the last two years of its South High Street lease in a gift valued at about $333,000. Josiah Blackmore, Capital University president, said the move is one of several major...

Battelle takes third of fed's $373M in '96 local spending. (Battelle Commercial Institute)
April 4, 1997... Battelle Memorial Institute leads all Greater Columbus federal government contractors with more than a third of the seven-county market cornered in 1996, a Business First analysis shows. Battelle had $129.6 million in federal contract billings...

Target taps Columbus stores for 'convenience' grocery test.
April 4, 1997... Four Target stores in Columbus are among 13 nationwide that are now in the grocery business. On March 9, Target began selling "convenience" type groceries at its Target stores at 5855 Chantry Drive, 3720 Soldano Blvd., 1717 Olentangy River...

T&R plans expansion of property management division. (T and Properties)
April 4, 1997... T&R Properties, one of Central Ohio's larger residential builders and property managers, plans an aggressive expansion of its property management business through new construction and acquisition. T&R President Bon Sabatino said the plan calls...

Community Health plans to introduce Medicare HMO. (Community Health Plan of Ohio; health maintenance organization)
April 4, 1997... Newark-based Community Health Plan of Ohio plans to launch two Medicare HMO products this summer, pending federal approval. The not-for-profit insurer, which has 14 rural hospitals and 35,000 enrollees in its network, hopes the CHPO Senior and...

GAO study: more employers cut health-care benefits for families. (General Accounting Office)
April 4, 1997... WASHINGTON - U.S. workers are increasingly finding their employers shying away from providing family health insurance coverage. Approximately 29 million workers, or almost 25 percent of the work force, are employed by companies that do not...

Donors Forum launches giving-awareness initiative.
April 4, 1997... Aware that baby boomers stand to inherit $8 trillion to $12 trillion of their parents' accumulated wealth, a Columbus-based organization of philanthropic groups is launching a campaign to substantially increase philanthropy in Ohio. Donors...

Columbus State to hire 2 VPs to develop new strategic plan. (Columbus State Community College)
April 4, 1997... Columbus State Community College is putting a team in place to prepare the school for the next century and build more corporate and political awareness. After seven months on the job, college President Valeriana Moeller has established a list...

Ameritech brings cell-cordless combination telephone online. (Ameritech Cellular)
April 4, 1997... Ameritech Cellular will be the first company in Columbus to offer a new generation of telephones that work in cordless and cellular modes. In the home or office, Ameritech's Dual-Link phone will act as a cordless phone and be charged at...

Private colleges partner on programs to cut costs.
April 4, 1997... Ohio's private colleges are collectively working on programs to reduce their annual operating costs by $20 million while expanding services to students and staffs. The Ohio Foundation of Independent Colleges Inc., an alliance of 36 private...

National testing gets optional OK. (test in reading and mathematics)(Education & Training)
April 4, 1997... The voluntary national tests in reading and math that President Clinton is proposing for fourth and eighth graders could have implications not only for students, but for the business world as well. The debate continues as to the importance of...

Techies line up for business training; computer nerds seek management skills.(Education & Training)
April 4, 1997... Computer nerds seek management skills Students in Bob Paschke's customer service class ask if he remembers them 20 years ago as young members of a technical training program. Today, those wiser students are coming back to further their careers...

Colleges ease into Internet education.(Education & Training)
April 4, 1997... Universities are increasingly using the Internet as a teaching tool to reach new markets. Ohio State University is moving several of its classes, mostly at graduate level, to cyberspace. There are about 250 classes held in computer labs on...

Tutoring franchises offer education to affluent.(Education & Training)
April 4, 1997... Seven years ago, Donna Kraus was a corporate trainer with Midland Insurance Co. It was her job to offer training in sales prospecting, communication and management. Someone she knew called her for the name of one of her friends, because the...

Firms offer to share costs - from basic GED to PhD.(Education & Training)
April 4, 1997... Companies are catching on that the key to productivity lies within the productivity and education of each employee. From GED classes to doctoral programs, companies are making it easier for employees to hit the books. Many companies now offer...

Fate of farms hinges on public preservation consensus.
April 4, 1997... DELAWARE - More than 4,000 acres of Delaware County farmland were converted for development during 1996. Currently, about 180,000 acres are used for agriculture in the county. Officials are exploring ways to ensure a portion of those farmlands...

Timing critical to tax benefits for S-corp conversions.(Small Business Strategies)
April 4, 1997... Corporations that could benefit from S-corp tax status might want to make that election before the end of the year to avoid a prohibitive tax that could take effect in 1998. With S-corp status, companies do not pay federal taxes, but their...

Big firms swallow smaller as lawn care services grow.(Small Business Strategies)
April 4, 1997... At the same time gardening has become one of the most popular hobbies, homeowners are seeking others to do lawn care. This market seems to be recession resistant, if not recession proof. As a result, one successful Columbus lawn-care business...

Software startups provide ripe opportunities for fraud.(Small Business Strategies)
April 4, 1997... After months of long hours, voluminous memos, endless meetings and last minute-glitches, your company's new software application is ready to go. A virtual switch is thrown and hundreds of workstations gleam with a new, friendly home screen,...

Home office workers want loosened tax rules.(Small Business Strategies)
April 4, 1997... Wave a red flag in front of a bull and most of the time he'll come charging straight at you. The same is true with home offices and the Internal Revenue Service. Certain deductions - no matter how legitimate - act as red flags on a business'...

Online venture board seeks to draw angels. (Small Business Administration's sponsored Web site that connect small businesses to private investors)(Small Business Strategies)
April 4, 1997... If you've had trouble finding venture capital for a business project, you might want to check out a new Web site sponsored by the Small Business Administration. You may find an angel there who can answer your prayers. The Web site is...

Chief justice balances politics and the judiciary. (Chief Justice Thomas J. Moyer)
April 18, 1997... Gov. Voinovich and legislative leaders could have their answer by the end of April on whether the Ohio Supreme Court will alter or clarify its landmark ruling outlawing the state's property-tax-based school-funding system. That's one...

Saint Louis Bread kneads way into Columbus market.(Company Profile)
April 18, 1997... A former Rax Restaurants regional manager has returned to Columbus to open the first of perhaps 10 sites of bakery-cafe chain Saint Louis Bread Co. Jeffrey S. Rains, who served as Saint Louis Bread vice president of operations until last fall,...

Executive protection specialists secure in their methods. (Robert Douglas Bond and Associates Inc.)
April 18, 1997... Don't call them bodyguards. "We are executive protection specialists," says Robert D. Bond, director of Redding, Calif.-based international corporate security firm Robert Douglas Bond and Associates Inc. Bodyguards are associated with...

Analysts nervous despite surplus in fed's pension guaranty program. (Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp.)
April 18, 1997... WASHINGTON - The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. says the pension plan of more than 36 million workers is safer than ever, but industry experts see some troubling signs for the 22-year-old government-sponsored agency. President Clinton bragged...

For Microsoft, show business is slow business. (Microsoft Network)
April 18, 1997... Software giant hits, misses in role as programming provider REDMOND, Wash. - It's production day at Microsoft Network's comedy show "15 Seconds of Fame," and three comedians are valiantly - and vainly - trying to parlay humor from a few insipid...