Business First-Columbus articles from January 1995

Business First-Columbus archives from January 1995

Bed tax funds hit record high. (Greater Columbus, Ohio) (Shop Talk) (Column)
January 2, 1995... It appears as if the area will tuck away record bed tax revenues for 1994. The Greater Columbus Convention and Visitors Bureau estimates that the figure could reach $15 million. If so, it would exceed the $14.8 million record generated in...

City elite buy into Midland. (Midland Financial Services)
January 2, 1995... Investors include board members, Wolfe family's businesses A who's who of Columbus business people makes up the investor group that is to take control of Midland Financial Services, the new stock company formed from Midland Mutual Life...

Arena complex site valued at $40 million. (Columbus downtown arena and stadium complex)
January 2, 1995... If Columbus builds a downtown arena and stadium complex, it will occupy land owned by the state of Ohio, Nationwide Insurance, a Columbus Southern Power subsidiary and a Cincinnati real estate company. Most of the land is vacant or parking...

Wal-Mart plans store at Tuttle. (Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Tuttle Crossing Boulevard in Columbus, Ohio)
January 2, 1995... The creeping Goliath that is Wal-Mart is looking to take another bite out of the Columbus market. The Arkansas-based retailer is considering developing its third store immediately west of Interstate 270 and south of Tuttle Crossing Boulevard...

Dallas restaurant chain to open 2 units at Tuttle. (restaurant parent firm Brinker International; Tuttle Crossing Boulevard in Columbus)
January 2, 1995... Brinker International continues to build its Columbus presence. The Dallas-based parent of Chili's Grill has received building permits for two Tuttle Crossing sites -- at 6115 and 6135 Parkcenter Circle in Tuttle's northeast quadrant, just...

Area depends less on manufacturing jobs. (Columbus, Ohio)
January 2, 1995... Greater Columbus has a lower percentage of manufacturing jobs than the nation as a whole, but hourly wages are higher, according to a recent American City Business Journals study. Business First is a subsidiary of American City Business...

Federal regulation lacks cost-benefit analyses. (Small Business Strategies)
January 2, 1995... Across half a dozen presidential administrations, through countless policy initiatives, the federal regulatory apparatus has insinuated itself into virtually every corner of American commerce. For many employers, the tightening embrace of the...

Borror Corp. jumps back. (stock prices) (The Week In Columbus Stocks)
January 2, 1995... Borror Corp. was the week's top gainer, increasing 29 percent to close Dec. 27 at $5. Among stocks of local interest, 40 increased, 28 decreased and 10 were unchanged. Borror's chief financial officer, Ron Gratz, said the company is pleased...

Printer gets boost from bank contract. (NidaEcksteinFord Printing Inc.; Huntington Bancshares Inc.)
January 9, 1995... Nida Eckstein Ford Printing Inc. is shifting into high gear thanks to a new contract with Huntington Bancshares Inc.'s service subsidiary. Just before Christmas, the commercial printer signed a one-year contract with Huntington which will...

Boise to buy Wasserstrom paper unit. (Boise Cascade Corp.; Wasserstrom Co.)
January 9, 1995... Continental also said to have unit on block Boise Cascade Corp. has agreed to purchase the paper supply segment of Wasserstrom Co.'s office products division. At the same time, Continental Office is said to be in negotiations to sell its...

Feds say Suburban News, C.M. owe overtime pay. (Suburban News Publications; C.M. Media Inc.)
January 9, 1995... Publisher Max Brown is working to settle a dispute with the U.S. Department of Labor over back pay he allegedly owes 51 editorial employees. On Dec. 21, the department slapped Brown, his C.M. Media Inc. and Suburban News Publications with a...

Software start-up secures $3M in venture funds. (Salesoft Inc.)
January 9, 1995... Salesoft Inc. won't be living on a shoestring anymore. The start-up founded by Gregory A. Miller, former president of Symix Systems Inc., has attracted $3 million in venture capital. The company, which manufactures and sells software that...

Riverside says it carries big debt load easily. (Riverside Methodist Hospital)
January 9, 1995... Riverside Methodist Hospitals is carrying a significantly higher debt load than area hospitals as a group, according to a local health care research group. A report prepared by Columbus-based Center for Healthcare Industry Performance Studies...

Area's manufacturing jobs pay more than U.S. average. (Columbus, Ohio)
January 9, 1995... Manufacturing workers in Greater Columbus earn more than the national average, according to a recent American City Business Journals study. Business First is a subsidiary of American City Business Journals. Manufacturing production workers...

Insilco biggest gainer for 1994. (Insilco Corp.'s stock price)
January 9, 1995... Insilco was the year's top gainer, increasing 84.3 percent to close Dec. 30 at $24.88. Among stocks of local interest, 36 increased while 42 decreased for the year. Robert L. Smialek, chairman, president and CEO, said he is pleased with the...

Health plan's demise boosts HMO profits. (health maintenance organizations)
January 9, 1995... Health groups now enroll 20% of Columbus market President Clinton's health care stocking may have yielded only a lump of coal, but the year-end was cheery for shareholders in health maintenance organizations. The Columbus market seems to be...

Wexner, Kessler sell Town St. Inn for $5.8 million. (Wexner Investment Co.; New Albany Co. Chmn. John W. Kessler; sale of Holiday Inn City Center)
January 16, 1995... Florida chain adds Holiday Inn Some big names in Columbus's business community have sold the city's 10th largest hotel. City Centre Limited Partnership, which was managed by members of billionaire Leslie S. Wexner's Wexner Investment Co.,...

Barry shareholder alleges insider trading. (R.G. Barry Corp.)
January 16, 1995... For the second time in a month, a disgruntled shareholder has slapped footwear giant R.G. Barry Corp. with a lawsuit alleging the company misled shareholders about its earnings potential last year. The federal lawsuit also accuses Chairman and...

Key Brewery projects near fruition. (Brewery District, Columbus, Ohio; renovation of Worly Building; shopping center project of R.J. Solove and Associates)
January 16, 1995... Two major projects appear ready to reshape the west face of the Brewery District. With a scaled-down renovation of the Worly Building scheduled to be completed in May and the proposed development of a 215,000-square-foot shopping center moving...

Developer may build 5 mid-priced inns here. (Concepts in Lodging Inc. planning five new hotels in Columbus, Ohio)
January 16, 1995... If plans become reality, Columbus could ultimately see up to five new mid-priced hotels over the course of several years, according to the head of a new development company. "The market segment that is ripe for development is the middle," said...

Insurers' demands drive hospital alliances. (hospitals forge alliances to attract managed care organizations)
January 16, 1995... For the evolving alliance among Mount Carmel Health, Doctors Hospital and St. Ann's Hospital, the road that will lead to unified operations will be muddy and clogged with tough choices about what to cut, what to keep. But at the end of that...

Foreign traders get word on translation. (companies doing business overseas advised contract with foreign language services)
January 16, 1995... Companies planning to do business overseas should take extra measures when preparing for meetings with foreign associates. Whether a company is going abroad for the first time or not, management should be familiar with the market needs and...

Lancaster Colony. (Lancaster Colony Corp.)(Proxy Report Excerpts) (Company Profile)
January 16, 1995... Nasdaq-NMS LANC Lancaster Colony Corp. manufactures and markets three families of products - specialty foods (retail and foodservice), automotive and glassware and candles. Brand names include Marzetti salad dressings, vegetable dips, fruit...

Faced with change, residents go commercial. (rezoning in Columbus, Ohio)
January 23, 1995... Rare rezoning seeks to control destiny When James Johnson bought his house on Tuttle Road 22 years ago, the area was farmland. "You could practically go to sleep in the street when we moved out here," he said. But an interchange and a...

U.S. Health sticks nose into alliance. (U.S. Health Corp.)
January 23, 1995... St. Ann's: will it be sold to Mount Carmel Health or not? U.S. Health Corp., an outsider to the recently announced "alliance" of those hospitals, is saying publicly that St. Ann's has decided to sell to Mount Carmel's parent organization, but...

Only the lonely: local commuters go solo. (Columbus, Ohio)
January 23, 1995... When Robert Moeller was looking for a job, he wanted it to be within walking distance of his Short North apartment or along a bus line. He definitely did not want to buy a car. Getting around without a car "makes life a little more...

Banc One moves into servicing health claims. (Banc One Corp.)
January 23, 1995... Banks have been making small waves in the health care claims processing industry, but a Banc One Corp. subsidiary called System One is trying to make a big splash and Columbus is one of its target markets. System One is marketing a network...

Rocky Shoes & Boots Inc. (proxy report excerpts) (Company Profile)
January 23, 1995... Nasdaq-NMS RCKY Rocky Shoes & Boots Inc. designs, manufactures and markets men's and women's footwear through several distribution channels. Its products are manufactured primarily in the company's facilities located in Ohio, Puerto Rico and...

Tight space feeds rumors of tower. (speculations about a new office building to be built in Columbus, OH)
January 30, 1995... Despite the buzz, no one is ready to take big step The drought in downtown office development may be ready to break. As space continues to dry up, drizzles of rumors suggest that a new building is being planned. The talk has reached...

Slim pickins: giant retailers struggle to find enough workers. (small labor market in Columbus, OH)
January 30, 1995... Big league scouts weren't the only ones searching for recruits last season at Columbus Clippers games. Incredible Universe sent out talent scouts in August to hand out hundreds of fliers to recruit employees. That wasn't enough, however, to...

Independent cabbies hustle to get fare share. (taxi drivers in Columbus, OH)
January 30, 1995... Some days,$they work 10, 12, 16 hours just to break even. They have no office, no company-provided health insurance. The U.S. Department of Labor rates theirs as one of the nation's most dangerous jobs - more dangerous, even, than police work....

Renegade surgeon seeks to compete with hospitals. (Francis Barnes plans new outpatient surgical clinic in Columbus, OH)
January 30, 1995... Of the four - count 'em, four - entities now seeking state approval to build an outpatient surgery center around Columbus's outerbelt, Francis Barnes is convinced his proposal is the most worthy... and the least likely to be approved....

Interest on deposits lags Fed rate hikes. (Industry Overview)
January 30, 1995... If the Federal Reserve increases interest rates again this week, chances are the rates depositors receive will not jump immediately. Banks have been quick to adjust their loan rates to the Fed's actions, which have moved the prime rate from 6...

Rising newsprint costs put squeeze on printers. (Industry Overview)
January 30, 1995... Surging newsprint costs and shortages recently forced Freeport printer James W. Carson to do the unusual to get a job done. In November, the president of Freeport Press Inc. took to the streets of his town with a few employees to find an...

Value City. (Value City Department Stores Inc.)(Proxy Report Excerpts) (Company Profile)
January 30, 1995... NYSE VCD Value City Department Stores is a full line, off-price chain of 81 stores in 12 states. Its stores offer men's, women's and children's clothing as well as housewares, hardware, toys, jewelry and other accessories. The company has...