Business First-Columbus articles from October 1999

Business First-Columbus archives from October 1999

American Eagle eyes repair hub.(airline plans to setup jet maintenance operations at Columbus International Airport)(Statistical Data Included)
October 1, 1999... Carrier would put jet maintenance works at redeveloping International Air Center A private facility next to Port Columbus International Airport could become a maintenance hub for the regional carrier of AMR Corp.'s American Airlines. ...

Hotel wave is splashing over Dublin.(Ohio)(Statistical Data Included)
October 1, 1999... Additions could help convention business, but at a heavy cost Dublin has become so popular for hotel development there's growing concern among lodging operators that the city's existing hotels will even more squeezed. A Lorms &...

Jackets' GM focuses on ice with year 'til puck drops.(Columbus Blue Jackets general manager Doug MacLean)
October 1, 1999... Doug MacLean was attending a conference on worker shortages sponsored by the Greater Columbus Chamber of Commerce when a thought suddenly came to him. "What am I doing here?" the president and general manager of the Columbus Blue Jackets...

Kenney tees up golf community at site in Southern Delaware.(real estate developer Don Kenney; Delaware County, Ohio)(Statistical Data Included)
October 1, 1999... Columbus real estate developer Don Kenney plans a 1,000-acre country club community in Southern Delaware County, anchored by a 220-acre Jack Nicklaus-signature golf course. Kenney expects to submit formal plans to Liberty Township and the...

Telecommunications firms using new services to lure more business customers.
October 1, 1999... Three years after the Telecommunications Act opened markets to competitors, more than a half-dozen companies are offering local, long-distance and high-speed data services to businesses in Columbus, according to the Public Utilities Commission...

Juniper mulls plans to put more wrecks in his shops.(Three C Auto Body Shops Pres. Bob Juniper)(Statistical Data Included)
October 1, 1999... Bob Juniper wants a larger piece of the $100 million a year Central Ohioans shell out to fix their wrecked vehicles. So Juniper, president of Three C Auto Body Shops Inc., is developing ways to reach motorists who don't patronize his shops...

More residents, more travel fueling demand for pipeline.(Marathon Ashland Petroleum LLC plans to construct pipeline from Cattlesburg, KY, to Columbus, OH)
October 1, 1999... The thought of a petroleum pipeline stretching 130 miles across Ohio's heartland may sound pleasing to few, but the company proposing it says it isn't a matter of Ohioans wanting the pipeline. Rather, it's a matter of needing it. ...

Coffee in hand, Guernsey makes Worthington debut.(Guernsey Bank opens branch in Ohio)(Statistical Data Included)
October 1, 1999... The newest concept in branch banking is set to debut in Central Ohio Oct. 6 when Guernsey Bank opens with a $1.2 million branch in Worthington, complete with a cafe and library. The full-service office would become the first in the area for...

Cable rival closely watching WBNS-Time Warner talks.(Ameritech New Media)
October 1, 1999... As Time Warner Communications and the Dispatch Broadcast Group continue to tussle over Ohio News Network, Time Warner's lone competitor in Central Ohio is preparing for a steady stream of new customers should its rival lose the area's CBS...

Ohio HMOs membership, finances up modestly in '98.(Statistical Data Included)
October 1, 1999... HMOs in Ohio reversed two years of collective losses in 1998, while their combined enrollment continued to climb, according to an Ohio Hospital Association reported released Oct. 1. According to the 1999 Ohio Health Insuring Corporations...

Survey: Women have easier time finding capital.(Brief Article)
October 8, 1999... Female entrepreneurs have an easier time obtaining capital than their counterparts did 10 to 20 years ago, a recent survey of small business owners in New York found. Nearly 60 percent of women business owners under age 40 sought financing...

Walgreen has Columbus Rx.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
October 8, 1999... Drugstore merchant confirms more stores to follow North Side Start-up this fall Walgreen Co. will make its long-awaited launch into Columbus from the city's North Side this fall. The drugstore operator is building its first area store...

Zero Base will anchor offices at new arena.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
October 8, 1999... The Zero Base advertising agency has chosen a high-profile spot downtown to hang its neon shingle. The Dublin-based firm will become a 17,000-square-foot anchor tenant on the top floor of the Offices at Nationwide Arena, being built on the...

Incorporations law overhaul hits snag.
October 8, 1999... The first major overhaul in nearly 50 years for Ohio's General Corporation Law has hit a last-minute bump over a liability provision opposed by trial lawyers -- a small-business snafu just discovered by the bill's sponsor. The bill sailed...

CEO-to-be Owens sees plenty of prospects to expand Bob Evans' restaurant business.(Statistical Data Included)
October 8, 1999... When Bob Evans Farms Inc. bought Owens Family Sausage in 1987, Stewart Owens had no intention of moving out of his new house in suburban Dallas. More than a decade later, Owens not only has moved out of Texas, but he's about to move in to...

A tale of three Ohio cities' best-sellers.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
October 8, 1999... Contributors: Doug Buchanan and Brian Ball. Who knew people in Columbus prefer John Kasich over great sex? The best-seller information is courtesy of Amazon.com, the Internet's largest book retailer. Amazon recently began publishing...

Corrections & Amplifications.
October 8, 1999... The Twigs of Children's Hospital will hold its Twig Bazaar preview party Oct.14 and conduct its Twig Bazaar on Nov.14. Contact Cathy Kellerman at 614-722-2994 for information: Incorrect dates were supplied for the Corporate Calendar listing...

Rivals picking up accounts once serviced by Unimag.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
October 8, 1999... National magazine suppliers have pushed into the territory once dominated by United Magazine Cos., a Dublin business that has been the nation's fifth-largest magazine wholesaler. The companies have moved in amid reports United Magazine,...

McCoy says Internet shifting ground underneath banks.(Brief Article)
October 8, 1999... Bank One CEO John B. McCoy has watched the Internet roil industries like book sellers, travel agents and car dealers and says he knew the medium would soon transform banking. "It's important you don't think about the Internet as...

URS Greiner hires director to pursue prison design jobs.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
October 8, 1999... The design firm URS Greiner Wood-ward Clyde plans to expand its work on prisons, jails and other detention facilities after hiring a top criminal justice center designer at its Columbus office. Allen L. Patrick, until recently an NBBJ...

As millennium nears, banks prepare cash contingencies.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
October 8, 1999... How much cash do you plan to have on hand for Y2K? Banks and credit unions would love to know the answer, which has moved to the forefront now that computer testing is finished and year 2000 is less than 100 days away. Oct 1 marked the...

Nonprofits find nice payoff in auctioning donated cars.(Brief Article)
October 8, 1999... As cars whizzed by on I-70 on a cool fall evening, auctioneer Mike Brandly talked up the features of a 1988 Ford Taurus station wagon. "Power windows, air conditioning, new tires -- pretty loaded there, guys," Brandly said to an attentive...

Ohio not aboard OCC review of insurance sales by bankers.(Brief Article)
October 8, 1999... Feds want to exchange info on complaints that consumers make The federal regulator for national banks has begun to establish, a role for itself in insurance regulation, but so far Ohio officials have not joined with the agency. The...

Scotts Co. makes $1M donation to YMCA.(Brief Article)
October 8, 1999... Scotts Co. has made a $1 million contribution to the Union County Family YMCA and P.C. Williams Family Center. The gift will fund approximately 70 percent of the cost of the YMCA's new indoor pool, part of a $3.5 million campaign to expand...

OSU turns up research of stress' effect on healing.(Brief Article)
October 8, 1999... Ohio State University Medical School has been awarded two five-year grants totaling $18.5 million from the National Institutes of Health to continue research on how stress affects wound healing. One grant designates Ohio State as one of...

Advanced Bus consolidates at ex-BMY plant.(Brief Article)
October 8, 1999... A Columbus-based manufacturer of mid-sized transit buses plans to consolidate at a former military truck and school bus assembly plant in Union County by mid-November. Advanced Bus Industries Ltd. would leave its plant on Paragon Drive and...

Evening, grad students push enrollments at area colleges.(Brief Article)
October 8, 1999... Despite the lure of plenty of available jobs in a healthy economy, some Columbus-area colleges will enjoy record enrollments this fall, due mostly to large freshman classes arid students who take courses at night. Otterbein, Columbus State...

House votes to extend SBIR program seven years.(Brief Article)
October 8, 1999... The House of Representatives has voted to extend the Small Business Innovation Research program for seven years. The SBIR program requires federal agencies with research and development budgets of more than $100 million to spend at least 2...

Buckeye Institute expected to take COTA plan to task.(Brief Article)
October 8, 1999... Backers of COTA's bid to expand public transit are making strange bedfellows. Bankers and union officials, home builders and environmentalists, leaders of a giant university and leaders of neighborhood groups have come together to lobby...

Ameritech signs up Obetz cable franchise.(Brief Article)
October 8, 1999... Chicago-based Ameritech New Media announced Oct. 5 that it has signed two new cable television franchises for its Americast cable service, in Obetz and in suburban Wheeling, Ill. The 21st and 22nd such agreements signed this year give the cable...

Ohio gets praise for helping 'at-risk' students find work.(Brief Article)
October 8, 1999... An innovative high school job program hatched 20 years ago in the state of Delaware has blossomed in Ohio to make the Buckeye State the most successful of the 28 states that have adopted the program. The national program, Jobs for America's...

Shopping center experts to gather in Columbus.(Brief Article)
October 8, 1999... More than 500 people are expected to attend the New York-based International Council of Shopping Centers' regional meeting in Columbus. Called an idea exchange targeting the Ohio and West Virginia markets, the meeting is scheduled for Oct....

Foundation formed to aid Ohio's Appalachian region.(Brief Article)
October 8, 1999... Long underserved by philanthropy, the Appalachian region of Ohio has a new community foundation and CEO for its startup. The Foundation for Appalachian Ohio will focus its early efforts on raising money from individuals and companies with...

Ohio steel producers output slid in first half.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
October 8, 1999... Production from Ohio steel makers fell in the first half of this year, one of several indicators of the industry's health that declined over the first six months, the Ohio Steel Council reported. The council said total production by Ohio...

Congress lining up support for women's business push.(Brief Article)
October 8, 1999... Can welfare mothers become successful entrepreneurs? The directors of Women's Business Centers think many of them can, and Congress is betting on it. The House passed a bill Oct. 4 that would boost the efforts of Women's Business Centers to...

Small-biz lobby lining up behind targeted tort reform.(Brief Article)
October 8, 1999... It's easy to find small businesses that have been victimized by frivolous lawsuits. Roger R. Geiger, executive director of the Ohio chapter of the National Federation of independent Business, offers these examples: * An Athens County...

Hilton moves toward opening by 'topping off'.(Brief Article)
October 8, 1999... The 313-room Hilton Columbus at the Easton development marked its "topping off" Sept. 30, nine months before its scheduled opening in July. Danis Corp. of Dayton is general contractor on the full-service hotel. The topping off marked...

Employers shouldn't ignore value of employee investment education.(Brief Article)
October 8, 1999... When the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) was implemented in 1974, company-sponsored 401(k) plans did not exist as they do today. Now there are an estimated 35 million Americans enrolled in such programs - more than 80 percent of...

OSU shows off maternity center over the Internet.(Brief Article)
October 8, 1999... The Ohio State University Medical Center has unveiled an online version of its newly renovated maternity center. The Web site address is www.osumedcenter.edu. The site's primary feature is an interactive tour of a birthing suite that gives...

Mitchell's newest eating spot cooks up charity fund-raiser.(Brief Article)
October 8, 1999... One of Columbus' busiest restaurateurs will help the Leukemia Society's Central Ohio chapter raise money through the second annual Shell Shocked event scheduled for Oct. 15. This year, lobster, clams, chicken and potatoes will be cooked up...

Java cyber cafe percolates.(Brief Article)
October 8, 1999... A new cyber cafe Internet site has been launched by Columbus-based JavaMaster Coffee Roasters. Customers may browse through 75 varieties and flavors of coffees on the site and submit orders online, at www.javamastercolumbus.com. Ohio...

Summer stock slump.(Brief Article)
October 8, 1999... J.C. Bradford & Co.'s index of national restaurant stocks, fell 11 percent in August, compared with a 3.8 percent increase in the benchmark Nasdaq Composite. Among the 56 stocks in the index, decliners outnumbered gainers 45 to seven with stock...

Hops reschedules event.(Brief Article)
October 8, 1999... Hops has changed dates for the grand opening of its Polaris Parkway restaurant Originally scheduled for Oct. 5, Hops will serve complimentary appetizers and drinks from 5 to 7 p.m. Oct 12. An Avado Brands Inc. operation, Hops is a casual...

Meeting is scheduled on Clintonville plan.(Brief Article)
October 8, 1999... Findings of the city of Columbus' study on North High Street commercial development through Clintonville will be shared in a public meeting Oct. 11 at the Columbus Mennonite Church, 35 Oakland Park Ave. The meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. ...

Y2K suits, Internet taxes top concerns of CIOs.(Brief Article)
October 8, 1999... Internet taxation was the No. 2 legislative concern of chief information officers surveyed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Sixty-six percent of the 180 CIOs responding to the chamber's survey listed Internet taxes as a "very important" or...

SAFE Act 'alive and well' despite encryption policy.(Brief Article)
October 8, 1999... The Clinton administration's announcement that it will relax restrictions on exports of encryption technology is "long on potential but short on detail," says the sponsor of the Security and Freedom through Encryption Act. Rep. Bob...

Appeals court ruling limits EPA enforcement actions.(Brief Article)
October 8, 1999... The Environmental Protection Agency can't bring its own hazardous waste enforcement cases against companies that have settled the matter with state regulators, the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled. The appeals court upheld a...

California still nation's leader in patent recipients.(Brief Article)
October 8, 1999... California continues to be the innovation capital of the nation. Residents of California received 8,057 patents through the first half of 1999, more than twice the number of patents received by residents of the No. 2 state, New York. ...

Federal appeals court rules patients can sue HMOs.(Brief Article)
October 8, 1999... Patients don't need a bill of rights to sue their HMOs for medical malpractice; they can do so under current law, according to a U.S. Court of Appeals ruling in a lawsuit filed by a New Jersey couple against U.S. Healthcare. The appeals...

Taubman mulls value mall for Cincy-Dayton corridor.(Brief Article)
October 8, 1999... The developer of Columbus' City Center is proposing to build a mall for value-priced, retailers between Dayton and Cincinnati, but, only if a $23 million interchange is built off Interstate 75 south of Route 63. Executives for Bloomfield...

Three-way merger would blend community banks.(Brief Article)
October 8, 1999... Three community banks plan to fashion a unique $25 million merger, creating a publicly traded savings bank that would operate in Hamilton, Warren and Clinton counties. Peoples Building, Loan and Savings Co. would merge with Oakley Improved...

Starkist HQ swimming up river from Newport.(Brief Article)
October 8, 1999... The Cincinnati area will lose one of its high-profile corporate headquarters next summer when Starkist Foods Inc. consolidates its main offices in Pittsburgh, where its H.J. Heinz Co. parent is based. Starkist set up the headquarters in...

Diebold shopping, but with limited checkbook.(Brief Article)
October 8, 1999... Green-based Diebold Inc. is denying it's ready to spend $1.5 billion to buy Siemens AG's ATM and cash register business. Wall Street media speculated Diebold would acquire Nixdorf Retail and Banking Systems for its automated-teller machine...

Cincinnati weighing cost of riverfront resurrection.(Brief Article)
October 8, 1999... An ambitious development plan could trigger $600 million in private investment along Cincinnati's riverfront, but Hamilton County officials must first decide whether the area can afford it. Under a plan put together by 16 civic...

Roberds Inc.(Brief Article)
October 8, 1999... Five months after they voted for representation by the United Food and Commercial Workers Union, commissioned sales employees of Dayton-based Roberds Inc. ratified a contract with the furniture, appliance and electronics retailer. The...

Dayton Dragons.(Brief Article)
October 8, 1999... Fifth Third Field likely would become the name of the Dayton Dragons' baseball park if a deal under negotiation is sealed. The Cincinnati bank declined to comment on the proposal, but observers told the Dayton Business News that naming rights...

Goodyear tire & Rubber Co.(Brief Article)
October 8, 1999... United Steelworkers said it will push for wage and benefit increases when the union reopens contract negotiations with Akron-based Goodyear tire & Rubber Co., the company's largest union, representing 19,000 workers.

Charter One Financial Inc.(Brief Article)
October 8, 1999... Cleveland-based Charter One Financial Inc. has closed its $1.2 billion acquisition of St. Paul Bancorp Inc., putting the Ohio bank into Chicago for the first time.

InfoSight Corp.(Brief Article)
October 8, 1999... InfoSight Corp. has introduced Into-Tint colored high-temperature metal tags. The tags, available in four colors, display automated barcode and tracking information, and can withstand harsh environments.

1999 Comprehensive Salary and Fringe Benefit Survey.(Brief Article)
October 8, 1999... The Mid-Ohio Administrators Group 1999 Comprehensive Salary and Fringe Benefit Survey is available for purchase from the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission. The survey comprises data from 19 member governments, and 33 new job benchmarks have...

Care Solutions Inc.(Brief Article)
October 8, 1999... Care Solutions Inc. has unveiled its CertainCert Cert2000 32-bit software workflow management system, which simplifies the entry, tracking and management of certificates of insurance. Tthe Microsoft SQL Server database engine also has been...

Painted Rain Interactive.(Brief Article)
October 8, 1999... Painted Rain Interactive, a multimedia design and development company, has introduced The eBusiness Card, which provides company information on a CD-ROM the size of a business card, available in nearly any shape and playable in any computer's...

SAS programming and consulting services.(Brief Article)
October 8, 1999... DeskTop Solutions has formed an alliance with American Systems Corporation in Chantilly, Va., making available SAS programming and consulting services and more effective solutions for government clients.

Midland Life Insurance Co.(Brief Article)
October 8, 1999... Midland Life Insurance Co. has entered an agreement with HomeCom Communications Inc., of Atlanta, to provide the Illuminator annuity series and high value term life products through Insure-Rate, a platform for electronic delivery of insurance...

Denison Hydraulics.(Brief Article)
October 8, 1999... Denison Hydraulics has added three medium-duty axial piston pumps to its PV product line and has introduced side-ported units to its line of hydrostatic transmissions. The Marysville company manufactures hydraulic components and systems.

Lexon Corp.(Brief Article)
October 8, 1999... Lexon Corp. has introduced CreditDirector credit processing software to improve credit application processing time.

Macola Software.(Brief Article)
October 8, 1999... Macola Software has released Microsoft SQL Server Version 7.0 with its business management software, Macola Progression Series 7.5, to allow businesses to more quickly analyze emerging trends. Macola, of Marion.

Dead men don't tell tales, but they can pay credit-card bills.(Brief Article)
October 8, 1999... Firm 's probate-tracking software clicks with creditors of the deceased A man dies and leaves an outstanding balance on his credit card. Typically, because of the complexity of probate law, a creditor would either write off the debtor...

Congress may put the brakes on future of full-size pickups.(Brief Article)
October 8, 1999... The full-size pickup trucks used by millions of small companies could be headed for the endangered species list if Congress doesn't take action to protect the availability of light trucks. The big showdown vote is coming up this fall in the...

It's time to retire Social Security earnings test.(Brief Article)
October 8, 1999... The Social Security retirement earnings test is a dinosaur. A holdover from a time when jobs were scarce, it is out of place in today's economy where companies have trouble filling positions, particularly ones calling for skilled labor. ...

PEOPLE On the move.(Brief Article)
October 8, 1999... ACCOUNTING Whalen & Co. has hired David S. Bumgarner, who owned and operated an independent accounting firm in Westerville for more than 30 years. ADVERTISING/MARKETING Edward G. Buns has joined Mesh Design and Communication Inc....

SHEDDING SOME LIGHT.(Brief Article)
October 8, 1999... In groups that constructively critique members' firms, small-business owners are hoping to make each stronger Call it "do it yourself determination" or "insider insight." Whatever the slogan, business owners increasingly are turning to...

CCDC honors bankers, firms.(Columbus Countywide Development Corp.)(Brief Article)
October 8, 1999... The Columbus Countywide Development Corp. honored bankers and businesses at its annual Lenders Recognition Dinner Oct. 6. The nonprofit small-business lender handed out these awards: * The Small Business Administration (SBA) 504 Project...

One answer to growing firms' organization dilemma -- LLCs.(limited liability companies)(Brief Article)
October 8, 1999... As a sole proprietor, you've enjoyed watching your business take off. Your customer base is building, orders are steady, and your overhead is under control. But with this growth, you now realize you can't handle everything yourself. You need to...

Legal Aid Society of Columbus.(Brief Article)
October 8, 1999... The Legal Aid Society of Columbus has been awarded two domestic violence grants from the Ohio Department of Human Services and the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Justice Program of the Violence Against Women Act. The grants, totaling...

Columbus State Community College.(Brief Article)
October 8, 1999... Columbus State Community College will receive a $350,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Education under its Strengthening Institutions Program, created under the Higher Education Act of 1965.

YMCA's Interfaith Hospitality Network.(Brief Article)
October 8, 1999... The YMCA's Interfaith Hospitality Network has expanded its services to allow homeless families 24-hour emergency housing. The YWCA was awarded nearly $1 million from the Community Shelter Board and an emergency shelter grant of $60,000 per year...

International Visitors Council Inc.(Brief Article)
October 8, 1999... The International Visitors Council Inc., in partnership with FirstLink, has been awarded a grant from the U.S. Information Agency, Office of Citizen Exchanges to conduct a Train-the-Trainer Program for Slovenia entitled" Fundraising for...

Without marketing, Web site will end up like a ghost town.(Brief Article)
October 8, 1999... With millions of Web sites out there, how will anyone find yours? How long will they stay when they do arrive? Will they ever come back? Not that long ago these weren't questions that needed to be answered. Your company merely had to launch...

Scope Leasing Inc.(Brief Article)
October 8, 1999... Scope Leasing Inc., specializing in aircraft financing, has surpassed $50 million in outstanding loans and leased assets, reflecting a 32 percent growth rate from last year.

Custom Coach Corp.(donates bus to running back Jerome Bettis)(Brief Article)
October 8, 1999... Custom Coach Corp. has delivered an MCI "E" model to Pittsburgh Steelers running back Jerome Bettis, whose nickname is "the Bus." Bettis will use the coach for travel during the 1999-2000 football season and for events with his "The Bus Stops...

Ohio Farm Bureau Federation.(Brief Article)
October 8, 1999... Membership in the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation has reached an all-time high of 201,000 for the just-concluded fiscal year. This is the 32nd consecutive year of increased membership far the federation.

ReSource Partner.(Brief Article)
October 8, 1999... ReSource Partner, an outsource provider of infrastructure management solutions, has renewed an outsourcing agreement with adhesives company Elmer's Products. ReSource Partner also has expanded its Application Service Provider model by offering...

WSFSJ TV-51.(Brief Article)
October 8, 1999... WSFSJ TV-51 has released its fall premiere of a locally produced daily program called "The Gathering;" With host Harvey Hook, the program airs weekdays at 11 a.m. and 6:30 p.m.-and features in-depth coverage and influential community members...