Business First-Columbus articles from December 1994

Business First-Columbus archives from December 1994

Tensions divided beverage firm. (Robins Beverage Group Inc.; brothers split family business due to different operating philosophies) (Special Report)
December 26, 1994... Robins brothers aren't speaking Lou Robins has spent nearly 60 years in the beverage business. Robins, 80, is chairman, in name only, of Robins Wine & Spirits Inc. These days, he's at the office a lot less. He spends about six months of...

City has big plans, no czar for arena. (Columbus, Ohio; arena and soccer stadium project delayed by absence of full-time coordinator)
December 26, 1994... Columbus's business and civic leaders want a downtown arena and soccer stadium, but so far they do not have a czar to coordinate efforts. No one is working full time on the projects. The main man for the Greater Columbus Chamber of Commerce...

Kessler seeks to clear name in convention ethics case. (New Albany Co Chmn. John W. Kessler; conflict of interest violations during Franklin County Convention Facilities Authority)
December 26, 1994... Developer John W. Kessler is leaving himself open to an ethics probe even though the statute of limitations for one incident has passed. Kessler is chairman of New Albany Co. Kessler is being investigated for possible conflict of interest...

Push for alternative fuels drives Metropane to IPO. (Metropane Inc. mulls initial public offering)
December 26, 1994... Metropane Inc. is tanking it up to go public early next year. The Columbus-based company, which converts gasoline-powered vehicles to burn alternative fuels like propane, is in the final stages of selecting an underwriter to take the company...

When regulation fails to measure true costs. (government regulations branded by economists as costly and poorly-designed) (Small Business Strategies)
December 26, 1994... Are the huge costs associated with government regulation matched by off-setting benefits? Rochester Institute of Technology economist Thomas Hopkins, a former deputy administrator of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), notes that...

1994: the year that was. (business developments in Columbus, Ohio) (Inside Report: Year in Review)
December 26, 1994... JANUARY Borden restructures Look for Elsie the Cow and the products she touts to play a big role in turning around troubled Borden Inc., company officials said Jan. 10. Borden, as part of a massive restructuring, planned to shed its...

President of family business accepts that he'll never own it. (Robert Weiler Co. Pres. Sam Koon)(includes sidebar) (Special Report)
December 26, 1994... At times Sam Koon has wondered whether his days were numbered at the Robert Weiler Co. As president of the family owned commercial real estate brokerage firm, Koon, 38, oversees the appraisal side of the business and is in charge of about...

M/I Schottenstein Homes Inc. (Proxy Report Excerpts) (Company Profile)
December 26, 1994... NYSE MHO M/I Schottenstein Homes is one of the nation's leading builders of single family homes. The company built its first home in Columbus in 1976 and started its expansion into new markets in 1981. The company's homes currently range...

Skestos, Havens clans to buy shares of Midland. (Columbus businessmen John F. Havens and George A. Skestos; Midland Mutual Life Insurance Co.)
December 19, 1994... The families of Columbus businessmen John F. Havens and George A. Skestos are planning to buy 21 percent each of a restructured Midland Mutual Life Insurance Co. An entity controlled by the family of Havens -- former chairman of Banc One and...

Tranquil Granville balks at development.
December 19, 1994... In Granville, where residents cherish the quiet New England atmosphere, the intrusion of development from Columbus is an unhappy affair. But as it has become clear that development is coming one way or another, the issue for the village of...

Dublin Securities victims have little recourse.
December 19, 1994... Thousands of investors defrauded of $14 million by Dublin Securities have a slim chance of getting any of their money back. In addition, the government has spent $1.2 million so far to prosecute various cases related to the Worthington-based...

How sick is mental health? (Harding Hospital, Greater Columbus, Ohio)
December 19, 1994... George Harding's family has been a leader in mental health care for four generations. Watching psychiatric funding erode, Harding warns quality care at big institutions could be replaced by generic treatment at low-cost clinics. Since the...

Ethics probe targets Kessler. (John Kessler, chairman of New Albany Co.)
December 12, 1994... Tipsters urge media to look at role in convention center deals Someone has been out to get New Albany Co. Chairman John W. Kessler. Last week, anonymous and unnamed tipsters were calling the Columbus news media pushing a story that Kessler...

Midland policyholders get 'pittance' in buyout, insurance expert claims. (Midland Mutual Life Insurance)
December 12, 1994... An investor group that includes Midland Mutual Life Insurance insiders is about to pay "a pittance" to buy out the ownership interest of the company's 131,000 policyholders, according to one insurance industry expert. Although Midland has...

State's investment in 'strips' results in $37M paper loss. (Ohio; U.S. Treasury strips)
December 12, 1994... About one-fourth of Ohio's $2.5 billion general fund is tied up in securities valued at $36.7 million less than the state paid for them. While the state will not lose money on the securities, known as U.S. Treasury strips, if they are held to...

Guide ranks Mt. Carmel as area's low-cost leader. (Columbus, Ohio; hospital groups)
December 12, 1994... Ohio State University Hospitals has the highest average charges for a sampling of common procedures among the five largest local hospital groups, while Mount Carmel Health charges the least for those services. And there's good news for the...

Area income is near national average. (Greater Columbus, Ohio)
December 12, 1994... The per capita income (PCI) of Greater Columbus residents is close to the national figure, according to a recent American City Business Journals study. Business First is a subsidiary of American City Business Journals. In 1992, the area's...

Service firms thrive in complex niche markets. (Business to Business: Services Guide)
December 12, 1994... From workers' comp to Cobra, there's a specialist to assist Sue Watkins had a client who went through three insurance carriers over the course of a year. Fortunately, said Watkins, president and owner of Knights of Columbus Medical Claims...

Legal liabilities add to temp worker appeal. (Business to Business: Services Guide)
December 12, 1994... Temporary agencies are doing a booming business and the trend is expected to continue, say industry experts. There are a number of reasons why, said Chris DeCapua, vice president of Dawson Personnel Services in Columbus. First, the price of...

When the baby is the family business. (Pride & Joy: The Family Business)
December 5, 1994... Taking care of a family business is like taking care of a small child. Like a child, the business demands the time and energy of family members whose sole purpose is to nurture and care for it. When it is sick, family members think nothing of...

Nothing succeeds like succession plan. (Crane Plastics Co.) (Pride & Joy: The Family Business)
December 5, 1994... Brothers Jameson and Robert Crane never gave much thought to a succession plan. And who could blame them? There were no family members in senior management because the company had a policy of not hiring relatives. "We were anti-nepotistic...

Mt. Carmel seeks OK for Dublin surgery center. (Mount Carmel Health Service Corp.)
December 5, 1994... In recent months, Columbus's larger hospitals have contemplated the Dublin landscape and been impressed by what they saw: a rapidly growing suburban community with a wealthy, well-insured population. Rather inexplicably, however, the observers...

Plan to sell Hoot, start over is no joke, publisher says. (humor newspaper)
December 5, 1994... Irv Oslin has decided to give Hoot the boot. The founder and owner of the local humor newspaper said he will put it up for sale this month. Oslin wants to concentrate on a column-writing career he started two years ago. Hoot is a free...

Granville-area lodge caters to execs, families. (Cherry Valley Lodge)
December 5, 1994... In 1991, Stephen Larsen saw more businesses clamoring for a comfortable place to hold meetings in Greater Columbus. The Arizona developer also saw that busy executives and families wanted a place where they could escape for a weekend....

Bank rules may loosen under Republican rule.
December 5, 1994... Soon-to-be Speaker Newt Gingrich's impending shakeup of U.S. House committees could lead to some long-awaited regulatory relief for the banking industry. The transition team that Gingrich has assembled to help the new Republican majority...

Banks, software firms ponder Microsoft bid. (Microsoft Corp.)
December 5, 1994... Several Greater Columbus companies are keeping their eyes on Microsoft Corp.'s recent moves beyond its software empire into other industries. The Seattle-based software giant recently announced it will: * launch the Microsoft Network, a...

Pruning profit from holiday tree sales. (Northern Lights Tree Farm President Denise Pagura) (Small Business Strategies)
December 5, 1994... No one knows better than Denise Pagura that Christmas is a labor-intensive, year-round proposition. If Pagura had taken the advice of high school counselors, she would have become a nurse or a teacher. Instead she used the knowledge of...

20% off! Small business gets major tax credit for new equipment. (Ohio) (Small Business Strategies)
December 5, 1994... Ohio has enacted a temporary tax credit that could help small to medium-sized companies compete with larger firms. Senate Bill 269, sponsored by state Sen. Anthony Sinagra, (R-Cleveland), calls for a corporate income tax credit for purchases...

Firm reaps profit from marital infidelity. (After Hours Private Investigations Corp.) (Small Business Strategies)
December 5, 1994... A new Columbus firm is cashing in on marital infidelity with a package called Perplexing Scruples designed to nab partners who are not honoring their marital vows. After Hours Private Investigations Corp. began operating in August and...

Bartering helps small companies beat cash crunch. (Small Business Strategies)
December 5, 1994... Bartering, that centuries-old tradition of trading goods for goods, can also be a boon to entrepreneurs wrestling with cash flow problems. Tradecard/Tradecorp has been helping businesses trade products here since 1976. About 1,400 companies...

Self-help group to aid home-alone workers. (Home Office Professionals) (Small Business Strategies)
December 5, 1994... Not too long ago, Jim Keyes decided to go shopping for a new computer. His old machine had seen better days, and he decided it was time to get something that one didn't need a crank to start. Keyes quickly discovered that computers are...

Keycorp. (Proxy Report Excerpts) (Company Profile)
December 5, 1994... NYSE KEY KeyCorp is one of the largest financial services holding companies in the nation with more than 1,300 offices in 22 states. Cleveland-based Society Corp. merged with KeyCorp on March 1, 1994. Under the agreement, KeyCorp...

Some don't give enough thought to transferring firm's ownership. (Pride & Joy: The Family Business)
December 5, 1994... About 20 years ago, Fred Ricart walked into his father's dealership as an employee and walked out its owner. "Dad shook my hand and said, 'I'm going to Florida,'" said Fred, 43, co-owner of Ricart Automotive, Greater Columbus's largest new...

Sons show fathers the way in Ruscilli clan. (Ruscilli Construction Company Inc.) (Pride & Joy: The Family Business)
December 5, 1994... L. Jack Ruscilli doesn't like to think in terms of what-ifs. He's just glad there was a buy/sell agreement in place six years ago when his brother, Robert Ruscilli, died in a car accident at age 43. "It's hard to tell if the company would...

Unlike death, estate taxes are avoidable. (Pride & Joy: The Family Business)
December 5, 1994... As with succession planning, the earlier you start planning your estate, the better. "Plan early," advises Earl Hamilton, a partner with the law firm of Hamilton, Kramer, Myers & Cheek, who said clients come to him both in crisis situations...

Lady Buckeyes soar with new radio deal. (women's basketball team)
December 5, 1994... Fifty stations join basketball network The name of the game for college basketball is exposure. And Ohio State University's women's program is getting it like never before. Boosted by an appearance in the national championship game two...

Lightening up. (Ohio Statehouse) (Inside Report: Construction, Architecture & Engineering)
December 5, 1994... Long admired on the outside but shabbily treated on the inside, the Ohio Statehouse is getting an internal facelift. The changes promise to restore the building's natural light to its original brilliance. "It's unbelievable the way the...

Topography now comes on computer. (Franklin County Auditor's CD-ROM disk offering data on land and utility lines) (Inside Report: Construction, Architecture & Engineering)
December 5, 1994... Auditor offers data on land, utility lines Engineers, architects and developers wanting to know the lay of the land will soon be able to order it on CD-ROM disk from the Franklin County Auditor's Office. The auditor's office has one of the...

Apartments with family values: forget about swingles, designer adds linoleum with kids in mind. (Inside Report: Construction, Architecture & Engineering)
December 5, 1994... Attention, apartment builders: not all families want two-bedroom townhomes. There are too many such apartments in the Columbus market and they're built too much alike, said contractor Daniel Terlecki of Commonwealth Capital Corp. The elderly...

Heavy security: weighty Precast decorations foil terrorists and picnic table thieves. (Architectural Precast Inc.) (Inside Report: Construction, Architecture & Engineering)
December 5, 1994... Looking for a decorative planter that doubles as a tank trap? Surprisingly, a lot of people are. And a South Columbus firm is filling the need. The planters, made of reinforced concrete and weighing 7,000 pounds apiece, are used by...

Retailers revive stores that sell themselves. (Inside Report: Construction, Architecture & Engineering)
December 5, 1994... Lately, it's not so much the merchandise that's selling, it's the store itself that's selling the customers. Recent openings in Columbus are good examples of this latest trend in retailing: The store as a sales draw. Galyan's Sporting Goods...

Somewhat shaky mortgage applicants get status boost. (Inside Report: Construction, Architecture & Engineering)
December 5, 1994... Scrambling to find new borrowers in a time of rising interest rates and moribund loan demand, mortgage lenders are increasingly accommodating to credit-scarred consumers who once would have been turned away. In the past few months several...

Home inspectors: much authority, little regulation. (Inside Report: Construction, Architecture & Engineering)
December 5, 1994... Pre-purchase home inspections are quickly becoming routine for home buyers in many parts of the country. The demand for home inspectors has caused an explosive growth in the number of unqualified individuals going into the business. One...