Business First-Columbus articles from March 1995

Business First-Columbus archives from March 1995

State picks California firm for $1.5M mental health deal. (U.S. Behavioral Health)
March 6, 1995... A decision by the state to contract with a single provider for all employee mental health benefits will save taxpayers $1.5 million next year and the Ohio Department of Administrative Services its share of administrative hassles. It will also...

FDIC rate cut would boost bank profits. (Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.) (Industry Overview)
March 6, 1995... Banks are looking forward to a huge break on the premiums they pay to insure deposits. If a recent Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. proposal goes through, Ohio banks will save $171 million a year, based on last year's average deposits....

Stricter rules to govern airport taxis. (Columbus Airport Authority)
March 6, 1995... The Columbus Airport Authority has hired a new company to manage cab service and will soon require cabs be less than six years old. Within a year, taxis serving Port Columbus will have to meet new criteria set by the airport authority to...

HMS Direct to shift 30 jobs to Cincinnati, cut 20 here. (Hameroff Milenthal Spence Direct)
March 6, 1995... Hameroff/Milenthal/Spence is moving its direct marketing and telemarketing division known as H/M/S Direct to Cincinnati. About 30 Columbus jobs will be shifted to the Cincinnati office, which H/M/S President Rick Milenthal said will make the...

Hooters success here prompts second unit on Dublin-Granville. (Hooter's of America Inc.; location in Columbus, OH)
March 6, 1995... Hooters is opening its second Columbus restaurant in April, almost exactly a year after it entered the market. The 4,800-square-foot restaurant will open at 2171 E. Dublin-Granville Road, between Karl Road and Cleveland Avenue. The site...

Airport adding new lot with 700 long-term spaces. (Columbus Airport Authority; parking lot)
March 6, 1995... A new long-term parking lot will open at the airport next month and offer air travelers 700 more spaces at a lower cost. The 30-acre lot is at the corner of International Gateway and Stelzer Road, which is farther from the terminal than the...

American Family Insurance opens local beachhead. (American Family Mutual Insurance industry Co.)
March 6, 1995... A Wisconsin insurance company with a family focus is expanding into Ohio, and it will use Columbus as its springboard. The American Family Insurance Group began advertising last week through Columbus television, radio and newspaper outlets. It...

Midland Life wants 'A' rating back from Best. (Midland Life Insurance Co.; A.M. Best Company Inc.)
March 6, 1995... The Midland Life Insurance Co. has cleared some significant hurdles in the past 18 months. It has converted from a mutual company to a stock company and has received cash infusions of $73 million as part of the deal. Now, Midland wants to get...

Mills James to open office in Cincinnati. (Mills James Productions)
March 6, 1995... Mills/James Productions plans to open a regional office in Cincinnati in the spring. Part of the reason is to service a growing clientele in the area, said Ken Mills, president. One of those clients is a couple, Michael and Helene Elkus,...

Local employers prefer state, private health reform. (includes related article)
March 6, 1995... With the death of health care reform at the federal level, Greater Columbus employers now want the state to step in and make changes. This is according to a recent survey conducted by the management consulting firm of Godwins Booke & Dickenson....

Columbus State buys building on Grant Avenue for expansion. (Columbus State Community College)
March 6, 1995... Columbus State Community College has added a piece to its expansion plans. This week, Columbus State got approval from the state controlling board to pay $745,000 for the 20,000-square-foot building at 164 N. Grant Ave. The property initially...

15 bowling centers roll out Mr. King Pin ad campaign.
March 6, 1995... Fifteen Columbus area bowling centers have united to support a marketing program to put bowling in the forefront of people's minds when it comes to recreation. For the past 10 years or so, bowling has not been promoted on a national basis....

Great Western to get $1M facelift. (Great Western Shopping Center)
March 6, 1995... Great Western Shopping Center is undergoing some cosmetic surgery. The 40-year-old center, which was remodeled in 1979, is getting a major facelift this year that will cost more than $1 million. A Don M. Casto Organization-Joseph Skilken Co....

Symix cuts staff, will close offices. (Symix Computer Systems Inc.) (Week in Review)
March 6, 1995... To improve efficiency and profitability, Symix Systems Inc. has cut 10 percent of its staff and plans to close some offices. Last week, the company announced that, effective immediately, it had dismissed 38 of its employees and would close...

Legent. (proxy report excerpts) (Taking Stock) (Company Profile)
March 6, 1995... Nasdaq-NMS LGNT Legent Corp. develops and markets systems software to large users of computer technology. The company is one of the 10 largest software companies in the world. The Vienna, Va.-based company's merger with Columbus-based Goal...

SBA scenario: more applicants, fewer loan $. (Small Business Administration) (Small Business Strategies)
March 6, 1995... Fed lenders won't be guaranteeing as much The future direction of the Small Business Administration is up in the air as contradictory factors act on its guaranteed lending program. First, administrators say funding for the program is going to...

Used car dealers say image is undeserved. (Small Business Strategies)
March 6, 1995... The image of a used car salesman is not exactly revered. The vision of a screaming maniac with hair like Don King often comes to mind ("COME OUT TODAY! . . . OUR PRICES ARE IN-SANE!!!"). In fact, some would go so far as to say the image of a used...

State deposit program benefits smaller banks. (Inside Report)
March 6, 1995... Bridge Ohio is about the business of bridging gaps between Ohio bankers, the communities they serve, and the taxes their depositors pay. The brainchild of Ohio Treasurer J. Kenneth Blackwell, Bridge stands for Blackwell Reinvestment Initiative...

State deposit guidelines skewed to small bidders. (Inside Report)
March 6, 1995... Bridge Ohio was implemented in July 1994 to encourage local bankers to bid on state treasury certificates of deposits and then use that money to make loans in their communities. "The state treasury is a central repository for billions of tax...

Small business still awaits loan dollar flood. (Inside Report)
March 6, 1995... Loan securitization draws little immediate response It's going to take time and experience before a federal law passed last year to standardize underwriting of non-guaranteed small business loans results in an increase in loan capital. The...

Out-of-line spending gets lender attention. (Inside Report)
March 6, 1995... In advertising, you want to stand out. On your business loan application, you want to be average. Anything that deviates from the norm - profit/loss ratios, inventory, assets, expenses - will set off alarms in the loan officer's mind. If you...

Future accountants face 25% increase in class hours. (Inside Report)
March 6, 1995... Because of a new Ohio statutory requirement, many accounting graduates will be finding it easy to relate to Rodney Dangerfield in the movie "Back to School." Beginning Jan. 1, 2000, accounting graduates will need 150 semester hours before they...

Banc One nixes affiliates' independence. (Banc One Corp. consolidates banks and creates vision of 'togetherness')
March 13, 1995... Total freedom 'strangling' company, McCoy says Banc One Corp.'s widely scattered banks have lost their independence to the holding company's new vision of togetherness. Chairman and CEO John B. McCoy recently reversed a 26-year Banc One...

New engineering firm takes off. (M-E Engineering Inc.)
March 13, 1995... Shige Moroi says he could never be a part of an arranged marriage like the one his parents had. "I would have told them to get lost," he said of a marriage broker. But that is just how he sees his partnership with Ray Jones. And much to his...

Wilkins leads pack for U.S. Health job. (William W. Wilkins favored as new U.S. Health Corp. CEO)
March 13, 1995... William W. Wilkins, U.S. Health Corp.'s chief operating officer, is the early favorite to take over as its new CEO, bringing to the health care colossus something it badly needs and something its departing CEO, Erie Chapman, apparently lacked: an...

Cleveland-area REIT buys 198 apartments. (Cleveland, Ohio; Real Estate Investment Trust; Associated Estates Realty Corp.)
March 13, 1995... Associated Estates Realty Corp. has acquired another tandem of apartment complexes. Last month, the Richmond Heights, Ohio-based real estate investment trust spent $7.5 million in separate transactions for the 102-unit Arrowhead Station and...

OSU Hospitals seeks state OK to renovate emergency department. (Ohio State University Hospitals)
March 13, 1995... Ohio State University Hospitals has applied to the state to renovate its emergency department and to expand the area from 30 beds to 45. According to the hospital's certificate of need application, the $5.7 million project is needed because "a...

Young Isaac team splits to pursue new ventures. (Artie Isaac buys out partner Brooks Young's stake and merges Young Isaac with Michael and Associates Inc.)
March 13, 1995... After 4 1/2 years together, Brooks Young and Artie Isaac are no longer Young Isaac. Isaac has bought out Young's stake and merged the firm with another local agency, Michael & Associates Inc. The new entity will retain the Young Isaac name....

Hush Puppies to expand, go rugged at Lane Avenue. (Hush Puppies Co. to pioneer new shoe store concept at Lane Avenue Shopping Center)
March 13, 1995... The Hush Puppies Shoe Store at Lane Avenue Shopping Center is getting ready to pilot a new concept that might end up in shoe stores all over the country. This summer the specialty store will move to a larger space within the mall, where it...

Cafe Courier to franchise its meals on wheels concept.
March 13, 1995... A restaurant delivery service is trying to franchise its concept. Since 1989, Cafe Courier has delivered restaurant-prepared meals to customers mostly in the north end of Columbus. The company has a staff of 50 and makes an average of 250 lunch...

Securities Division erred on charge against Steinfels. (Ohio Division of Securities; entrepreneur Victor Steinfels; alleged violation of Ohio Securities Act)
March 13, 1995... The Ohio Division of Securities has backtracked on its intent to discipline Dublin entrepreneur Victor Steinfels and two of his companies for alleged violations of the Ohio Securities Act. The division had accused Steinfels, his Vesmont...

Circleville Hospital unit complete. (Circleville, Ohio; Berger Hospital's new Outpatient Diagnostic Center and Women's Health Center)
March 13, 1995... A new Outpatient Diagnostic Center and Women's Health Center at Berger Hospital in Circleville is one of several expansion and renovation projects in the works at the 65-bed facility. Construction was completed last week on the...

Televangelist's ex-employee adds pay bias to lawsuit. (World Harvest Church pastor Rodney L. Parsley; Naomil Endicott; sexual harassment suit; sex discrimination in pay)
March 13, 1995... A settlement could be near for a sexual harassment lawsuit filed against the World Harvest Church, its charismatic pastor Rodney L. Parsley and Parsley's father. The lawsuit, originally filed by former church employee Naomil Endicott three...

Star Bank subsidiary to offer higher-risk consumer loans. (Star Banc Corp.)
March 13, 1995... Star Banc Corp. has formed a consumer finance subsidiary to make loans to people who have a hard time getting credit from banks. The subsidiary will focus on car loans through dealers at first, but eventually will offer second mortgages and...

Merger will expand Papnet's sales territory. (Papnet of Ohio Inc.)
March 13, 1995... Papnet of Ohio is laying plans to become a bigger and stronger company. Within the next three months, the Columbus-based company will merge with five other entities that, like Papnet, hold the rights to sell an advanced system for screening...

Cardinal Health Inc. (Proxy Report Excerpts) (Company Profile)
March 13, 1995... NYSE CAH Cardinal Health is the third largest drug distributor in the United States. The company provides an array of products and services to hospitals and managed care organizations, chain and independent retail pharmacies, and...

Trash plant not worth the money paid for it. (Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio' trash-burning power plant, Columbus, Ohio)
March 13, 1995... Columbus is stuck between a rock and a trash incinerator - and it's going to cost taxpayers millions and possibly open up Ohio to more out-of-state trash. The Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio's trash-burning power plant was scheduled to...

Builders pool resources to create new wetlands. (consolidated wetlands projects of Ohio Home Builders Association's Ohio Wetlands Foundation)
March 13, 1995... Sierra Club says swap cuts urban wildlife What the Ohio Home Builders Association touts as a win for the environment and the developer has the Ohio chapter of the Sierra Club doing a slow burn. In 1992, the OHBA created a not-for-profit...

Cellular One eyes Dublin for offices. (Dublin, OH)
March 20, 1995... City hopes road will lure 2 firms The city of Dublin is hoping its $275,000 investment to design a new road will encourage development along some prime land fronting I-270. When completed, the new road will connect Coffman and Dublin roads....

Banks step up small business lending. (includes related article)
March 20, 1995... For years, banks snubbed small business owners, passing them over for loans in favor of bigger businesses borrowing bigger money. Commercial lenders were trained to read financial statements for large businesses and did not know how to evaluate...

Ron Foth Sr. accused of burglary. (president of Ron Foth Advertising Inc.)
March 20, 1995... South side family says he broke in, assaulted them A south side family has filed a $500,000 civil lawsuit against Columbus advertising executive Ronald D. Foth Sr., alleging unlawful assault. The lawsuit stems from an encounter last April...

BalletMet, union dicker over dancers' salaries. (American Guild of Musical Artists)
March 20, 1995... BalletMet expects to wrap up a new contract with its 22 dancers by April 2. Chief negotiator Jonathan R. Vaughn said last week that the framework is in place to reach an agreement with the American Guild of Musical Artists, the national union...

Building managers get help from firm's new software. (Virtual Facilities)
March 20, 1995... Schooley Caldwell Associates has long helped companies design space. Now an affiliate of the Columbus-based architecture and engineering firm is helping them manage it. Since the beginning of the year, the company's newly created Virtual...

Three-C Body chases lawyers for referrals. (Three-C Body Shop Inc.)
March 20, 1995... Three-C Body Shop Inc., has created Advantage Inc., a new division aimed at serving personal injury attorneys and their clients. Advantage acts as an advocate for people who have been in accidents. It acts as a liaison between the consumer and...

Reseller opens new office in Brazil. (Callard Co.)
March 20, 1995... The Callard Co. is breaking new ground as it expands internationally with a new office in Brazil. Callard resells customized promotional items, such as pens, T-shirts and note pads. The Dublin-based firm plans to use the Brazilian office,...

Emerson Electric Co. (Proxy Report Excerpts) (Company Profile)
March 20, 1995... NSYE EMR Emerson Electric Co., the parent company of Liebert Corp. of Columbus, was founded in 1890 in St. Louis. The company manufactured electric motors and fans and during World War II made aircraft armament items. The company is now a...

Pre-paid cards put users in your debit. (debit cards)(includes related article) (Inside Report: Telecommunications)
March 20, 1995... Corporate logos keep sponsors top-of-mind Pre-paid calling cards are more than a convenience to users. They've become handy promotions for companies who want customers to think of them whenever they make a phone call. Use of the cards is...

Technology and income: start-up costs may limit installation of coaxial lines. (Inside Report: Telecommunications)
March 20, 1995... Competition is coming to the telecommunications industry, but whether you'll see changes in your neighborhood anytime soon may depend on whether you live in a rich or a poor area. Assuming regulatory approval is given, Ameritech and Warner...

Cellular services target wireless data as boom market. (data transmission via cellular telephone lines) (Inside Report: Telecommunications)
March 20, 1995... Until just a couple of years ago, cellular phone providers like Ameritech and Cellular One were primarily concerned with building their system and filling gaps in their coverage areas. Now that the network is accessible to nearly everyone,...

Local firms on top of Trade Point technology. (Inside Report: Telecommunications)
March 20, 1995... Online data old hat to transmission services For some Columbus companies, the North American Trade Point is just a newer, fancier rest stop on the information highway. Companies like CompuServe Inc. and Online Computer Library Services...

U.S. Health plans 1st hospital HMO. (U.S. Health Corp.; health maintenance organization)
March 27, 1995... First came affiliations with small, rural hospitals; then the establishment of a PPO managed health care plan; then the purchase of a large physicians practice, Central Ohio Medical Group. Now, U.S. Health Corp. has formed an HMO, bringing it...

Loss of Borden stings Price Waterhouse; Deloitte & Touche gets rival's prime account. (Borden Inc.; Deloitte and Touche L.L.P.)
March 27, 1995... If it's Borden, it's got to be good. Just ask William H. Carter. After 20 years with the "Big Six" accounting finn Price Waterhouse, including the last two as the partner in charge of its Borden account, Carter is bolting PW to become...

Publisher to launch Sunday paper. (Jack Harris; Columbus Times)
March 27, 1995... Veteran publisher Jack Harris is planning to challenge the Columbus Dispatch's monopoly of the Sunday newspaper market. Harris, publisher of the weekly Communicator News, is planning April 9 to launch another - the Columbus Times - a 24-page...

Jerry Solove closes firm, rejoins father. (merger of JSD Realty Inc. with R.J. Solove and Associates)
March 27, 1995... JSD Realty is no more. After six years of running the retail real estate brokerage, President Jerry Solove is merging JSD with R.J. Solove & Associates Realty Inc., a newly formed affiliate of his father's development company. Richard...

Solo health care attorneys form referral network. (Nanci Danison, Judi Hatcher, Tony Merry and Robert Morris)
March 27, 1995... When health care attorney Nanci Danison left the Columbus firm Vorys Sater Seymour & Pease this fall to launch her own practice, she turned her attention to two contradictory trends: As health care becomes increasingly complex, medical providers...

When it comes to eureka, Columbus ranks 45th. (number of patents granted to Columbus, Ohio)
March 27, 1995... When it comes to great minds, Columbus ranks 45th in the country. In 1993, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office issued patents for 107,030 inventions and original designs. Columbus inventors received 294 of those patents, or 21.1 patents per...

New liability policy covers officials of non-profits. (liability insurance)
March 27, 1995... A Cincinnati insurance broker is marketing a new plan that protects Ohio non-profits from the crippling costs of lawsuits filed against their directors and officers. Cincinnati Intermediaries Inc. worked with Fireman's Fund Insurance Co., a...

HMOs, hospitals weigh advantages of OhioCare. (health maintenance organizations; Ohio's Medicaid reform)
March 27, 1995... With federal approval of OhioCare, the state's answer to Medicaid reform, Ohio is establishing itself nationally as a front-runner in market-based health care reform. OhioCare will require Medicaid recipients to enroll in HMOs, thereby saving...

Despite strike, radio will carry Reds, Tribe. (baseball strike; radio stations WTVN and WMNI; Cincinnati Reds; Cleveland Indians)
March 27, 1995... Strike or no strike, local radio affiliates are playing ball with the Cincinnati Reds and Cleveland Indians this season. Officials from 610 WTVN radio and AM 920 WMNI report that they plan to honor their contracts to carry the Reds and Indians,...

Arts groups cater to new generation of members.
March 27, 1995... Area arts organizations are dealing with an "age-old problem." As their audience and support bases gray, groups including the Columbus Museum of Art, BalletMet and Opera/Columbus are urgently searching for methods and opportunities to...

Alco Standard Corp. (proxy report excerpts) (Company Profile)
March 27, 1995... NYSE ASN Alco Standard Corp. is a marketing, distribution and services company with $8 billion in annual revenues. Alco has two primary business segments. Alco Office Products is the largest distributor of copiers in North America, with a core...

North Market gets all the mod cons. (Inside Report: Construction, Architecture & Engineering)
March 27, 1995... As water dripped in plastic buckets just inches from the dried fruits and nuts she was selling, Ann Leonard rattled off the benefits of the North Market's move to a renovated warehouse later this year. Hot water. Air conditioning. Safe and...

Scioto turns trendy in urban plans. (Scioto River in Columbus, Ohio) (Inside Report: Construction, Architecture & Engineering)
March 27, 1995... For years, Columbus turned its back on the Scioto River. Industrial sites lined the banks and low-rent housing was built in the bottomlands of the peninsula. Pollution, crime and grime were the legacies of the era. Recently, however, an...

New retail, ticket areas likely in Port Columbus rehab. (Port Columbus International Airport) (Inside Report: Construction, Architecture & Engineering)
March 27, 1995... With the $21 million gate expansion project well under way at Port Columbus, the Airport Authority will decide this week the pace of the renovations to the terminal building. A four-phase, $13.3 million project will come before the authority...