Business First-Columbus articles from August 1995

Business First-Columbus archives from August 1995

Poll: support sputters for COTA tax. (sales tax increase for bus-service expansion opposed by citizens of Franklin County, Ohio, according to Central Ohio Transportation Authority study)
August 7, 1995... A majority of Franklin County residents opposes a sales tax hike to expand bus service now that plans for a light-rail transit system are dead, a survey shows. According to a Central Ohio Transportation Authority poll, 52.3 percent of...

Paving the way to communication. (results of strike at Anderson Concrete)
August 7, 1995... Meetings keep lines open after concrete firm strike The dust is settling one year after a four-week strike at Columbus' largest ready-mix concrete supplier, but Andy Anderson says some hard feelings remain. "Business is good and lots of...

OSU merchants dream of revival: crime, lack of parking are key concerns: survey. (Ohio State University)
August 7, 1995... Earl Webb remembers the days when the Ohio State University campus area was the place to be, and the area now known as the Short North was condemned as a bad neighborhood, marred by drugs, vandalism and dilapidated buildings. These days, Webb...

Multicon plans office project at Brewery District warehouse. (Multicon Development Co.)
August 7, 1995... In what will be the third recent development project on the west side of the Brewery District, Multicon Development Co. plans to convert an old warehouse at 111 W. Liberty St. into 22,000 square feet of office space. The $1 million project was...

Two former managers sue Ameritech in age bias case. (Ameritech Corp.)
August 7, 1995... Two former senior managers have slapped Ameritech Corp. and three affiliates including the former Ohio Bell Telephone Co. with an $18 million age discrimination lawsuit. The complaint, filed July 28 in Franklin County Common Pleas Court,...

Help wanted: employers scramble to fill positions.
August 7, 1995... John Roslovic is happy about the construction boom sweeping the city. But as the city's unemployment rate falls, he and other local contractors are scrambling to attract more workers. Roslovic, vice president of Roslovic & Partners Inc., says...

'Easy Street' rehab program puts patient on recovery road.
August 7, 1995... A cost-effective, real-life rehabilitation program purchased by Regency Manor is boosting the south Columbus nursing home's competitiveness and sparking the interest of physicians and managed-care insurers alike. The program, a miniature...

Do-it-yourself networking thrives.(Small Business Strategies)
August 7, 1995... Groups aid new entrepreneurs Columbus business networks are trying to be the start-up entrepreneur's best friend. More than a half-dozen groups already meet on a weekly basis and spinoff networks are multiplying. Tim Moore, owner of...

Columbus's EBOC unchanged by recent court ruling. (Equal Business Opportunity Commission of Columbus, Ohio)(Small Business Strategies)
August 7, 1995... Gwen Rogers, executive director of the Equal Business Opportunity Commission office, worried when she first heard the news that the U.S. Supreme Court had curtailed governments' efforts at affirmative action through set-aside contracting. But...

Mt. Carmel, St. Ann's forge joint venture. (Mount Carmel Health; St. ann's Hospital)
August 14, 1995... Single board to dictate hospitals' operations After months of negotiations, Mount Carmel Health and St. Ann's Hospital have formed a joint venture corporation that will control nearly all aspects of the two hospitals' operations. As...

Small business on the marketing docket. (prepaid legal services)
August 14, 1995... Prepaid legal services discover a new niche Jim Reed, owner of J.R. Signs and Services in Groveport, recently sold a sign to a customer in New York. But when the sign fell down because a subcontractor installed it incorrectly, Reed's insurance...

Great Southern eyes affiliation with Westin. (Great Southern Hotel; Westin Hotel Co.)
August 14, 1995... Negotiations are under way to affiliate downtown's landmark Great Southern Hotel with the Westin Hotels & Resorts international conglomerate by year's end. The hotel's owner, GS Holdings of Florida, believes hooking Up with Westin through a...

Warner Cable hopes media blitz hits high note for Music Choice.
August 14, 1995... Warner Cable is spending $50,000 on an ad campaign that it hopes will clear up misconceptions about Music Choice, a 24-hour music subscription service. "There's been a bit of confusion in people thinking it is just another channel on their...

Fitness firm hopes to pump up on Galyan's deal. (Ultimate Form Fitness Inc.)
August 14, 1995... Ultimate Form Fitness Inc. is marketing its muscle in creative ways. The personal fitness firm has recently struck a deal with Galyan's to provide the sporting goods retailer's best customers with a free session, paid for by the store. Greg...

State Auto Financial Corp. (Proxy Report Excerpts)(Company Profile)
August 14, 1995... STFC Nasdaq State Auto Financial Corp. is a property and casualty insurance holding company that went public in June 1991. The company and its subsidiaries are affiliated with State Automobile Mutual Insurance Co, which owns 67 percent of the...

OSU gets down to building business. (Ohio State University's Fisher College of Business)
August 14, 1995... $81 million Fisher campus includes new library, hotel, exec education center Ground has been broken for the $81 million Fisher College of Business at Ohio State University - but what will the complex bring to the business community when it is...

Hospitals cut back on psych services.
August 21, 1995... Insurers force shift to outpatient care Count inpatient mental health services as the latest health-care sector to experience cutbacks and consolidation at local hospitals. Ohio State University Hospitals and Riverside Methodist Hospitals...

New line drives Potter expansion. (Ed Potter Inc.)
August 21, 1995... Ed Potter Inc., one of two Mercedes-Benz dealerships in Columbus, is spending nearly $1 million to expand and remodel its operations. The dealership is expanding its car lot to make room for 100 new All-Activity Vehicles. The AAVs are Mercedes'...

Columbus firm brings Windows 95 to the world. (PAC Services)
August 21, 1995... Ordinarily, billionaire software magnate Bill Gates and Richard Egner, a self-described art snob who traveled in an underground band until six years ago, would make an unlikely pair. But the long-awaited and almost sidelined release of Windows...

Carriers dial up service plans for small business callers. (telecommunications carriers)
August 21, 1995... Telecommunications carriers are beginning to realize the true value of small and midsize businesses. LCI International, Sprint, MCI and AT&T are marketing special long-distance calling programs geared toward smaller companies. "They are...

Health Coalition seeks new focus as regs change. (Health Coalition of Central Ohio)
August 21, 1995... The Health Coalition of Central Ohio is at a crossroads. The local health planning and watchdog group is grappling with what its new role should be now that a significant source of its authority - the state Certificate of Need law regulating...

Tort reform makes comeback at statehouse. (Ohio)
August 21, 1995... Tort cases are out of control, hospitals and businesses say, driving up defense costs and raising insurance premiums. Lawyers respond that the system isn't broken and wonder why state legislators want to fix it. "Tort reform in Ohio, as well...

Ohio taps emerging locales for foreign trade.
August 21, 1995... Columbus-based Atromick International is pushing its medical carts into South Korea. With a population of more than 34.7 million, South Korea is a ripe market for the company to penetrate, says Dan Jones, vice president of international sales....

Bancinsurance Corp. (proxy report excerpts)(Company Profile)
August 21, 1995... BCIS Nasdaq Bancinsurance Corp. is a specialty property insurance holding company engaged through its property/casualty insurance subsidiary, Ohio Indemnity Co., in underwriting niche insurance. Among its products are "Ultimate Loss...

OSU, U.S. Health outline strategy. (Ohio State University Hospitals; U.S. Health Corp.)
August 28, 1995... U.S. Health Corp. and Ohio State University Hospitals are fleshing out details of a collaborative effort they announced earlier this summer. According to a memo obtained by Business First, the two local health-care giants are considering: *...

Women businesses aren't a long shot in the Short North. (retail district in Columbus, Ohio)
August 28, 1995... When Malvina Dobkin moved her Russian Tea Room to the Short North, the restaurant had few neighbors. But Dobkin was attracted by the area's proximity to Ohio State and downtown. She also thought her ethnic food would be well received. That...

Downtown seeks bigger portion of retail boom. (Columbus, Ohio)
August 28, 1995... Cartoon Corner owner Tim Durfey makes a living dealing in make-believe, but it was stark reality that prompted him to move his downtown novelty gift shop to the suburbs a year ago. "People don't like to go downtown, regardless of all the...

Nationwise Chapter 11 filing shifts lawsuits into neutral. (Nation Wise Automotive Inc.)
August 28, 1995... Last week's Chapter 11 filing by Nationwise Automotive Inc. has temporarily put the brakes on at least six lawsuits against the Columbus-based auto parts chain. The complaints range from claims of nonpayment for goods and services to a...

Time Warner ready to dial up local phone service. (Time Warner Cable)
August 28, 1995... Promising lower rates, Time Warner Cable is poised to offer local telephone service in Franklin and 36 other Ohio counties now that competition-minded state regulators have given the cable giant the go-ahead. Time Warner is the second company...

Bypass key to Lancaster downtown plan. (highway bypass in Ohio)
August 28, 1995... Many towns that spring up along state highways welcome the traffic that brings customers right by merchants' doors. For Lancaster, however, it's proven to be too much of a good thing. Route 33 is the major road between Lancaster and Columbus,...

DuPont sees future in Circleville film factory. (E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company Inc.; Ohio)
August 28, 1995... If not a match made in heaven, the relationship between DuPont Co. and Pickaway County is at least a well-packaged relationship. DuPont, the Fortune 500 chemical manufacturer, has been manufacturing at Circleville for more than 40 years....