The Business Journal - Serving Phoenix & the Valley of the Sun articles from August 1997

The Business Journal - Serving Phoenix & the Valley of the Sun archives from August 1997

JCPenney may hoist its anchor. (department store chain may vacate its store at Chris-Town Mall)
August 1, 1997... Chris-Town Mall store could be closing The future of JCPenney Co.'s Chris-Town store, one of only three traditional department store anchors left at the aging mall. appears to be in question. Rumors have been swirling around the retail...

Food agent cooks up kosher deal. (J. Sosnick and Son sells Levin Distributing to its general manager)
August 1, 1997... Local management of a grocery store supplier sealed a deal this week to buy out the firm's California-based owners. Levin Distributing, the only distributor of Manischewitz kosher products in Arizona, was sold Monday to general manager Herb...

Rural/Metro smokes past competition by acquisition.
August 1, 1997... Without sirens or whistles, emergency-services provider Rural/Metro Corp. is blazing onto the corporate scene with its acquisition of nearly 20 ambulance and related companies during the past year. The Scottsdale company has pumped additional...

Lawsuit filed in Microtest parking spat.
August 1, 1997... Less than four months after publicly settling their differences, Phoenix computer networking company Microtest Inc. and builders of a nearby medical center have come to blows again. Microtest's landlord is suing to block construction of the...

Medicaid contract leaves cavity in dental HMO. (United Dental Care Inc.)
August 1, 1997... United Dental Care, a Dallas-based dental health maintenance organization. is bleeding red ink in Arizona, while dentists scream for reimbursements for services provided to the state's poor. The company has lost about $4.2 million so far on its...

RotorWay employees buy their way to top. (Rotorway International becomes an employee-owned business)
August 1, 1997... Most of the 35 employees at Chandler-based RotorWay International are getting the ultimate promotion as the company finalizes its latest sale. Their new job title? Boss. The 7-year-old manufacturer of build-it-yourself helicopters recently...

AutoNation leases site in booming NW Valley. (to open second store in Phoenix, AZ)
August 1, 1997... AutoNation USA, a superstore among automotive dealers, will open its second Valley location at the southeast comer of Bell Road and Interstate 17 in Phoenix, sources said this week. The company, a subsidiary of Florida-based Republic Industries...

Spanish TV mag on the grow. (Television Y Mas magazine)
August 1, 1997... Riding the tide of the exploding Hispanic market, the Phoenix-based publisher of Television Y Mas magazine is launching a regional expansion. The company, which started five years ago and currently puts out its weekly Spanish-language TV guide...

New hand on throttle of state bar. (Stuart Forsyth, executive director of State Bar of Arizona and the Arizona Bar Foundation)
August 1, 1997... "I want to move the bar forward - but with a gentle hand so the decisions are wise." STUART FORSYTH TITLE executive director ORGANIZATION State Bar of Arizona and the Arizona Bar Foundation AGE 54 HOME Paradise Valley...

Gone but not forgotten. (retired chief executive officers find employment as corporate directors after retirement)(Retirement Trends)
August 1, 1997... Ex-CEOs lured to service on company boards after retirement What happens to chief executives when they retire? For years, they have been in the public eye - scrutinized for every business decision and called upon to speculate on every...

State commission formed to focus on aging. (Arizona Commission on Aging and End of Life)(Retirement Trends)
August 1, 1997... It's business as usual for Gov. Fife Symington. The governor found the time last week to create a new commission, despite hours on the witness stand in his defense of federal charges against him of bank fraud and perjury. Called the Arizona...

Continental Homes targeting baby boomers. (to build its second retirement community in Gilbert, AZ)(Retirement Trends)
August 1, 1997... Continental Homes Inc. is developing its second retirement community in the Valley, with hopes to build others in several states. The Scottsdale-based company is following the path of other homebuilders, eager to get into the lucrative...

Netwest sets off assisted-living market boom. (Netwest Development Corp. to build six retirement communities and assisted-living units in Arizona)(Retirement Trends)
August 1, 1997... Tucson-based Netwest Development Corp. is gearing up to build six retirement and assisted-living units in the Valley and rural Arizona. The projects are slated for Peoria, Yuma, Casa Grande and Tucson at a cost of between $10 million and $12...

Customer support brings success. (U.S. Office Equipment Inc.)(Company Profile)
August 1, 1997... "The larger companies have lost focus and it has given me the opportunity to excel." Robert Ripp said he got tired of building "another gentleman's castle" and decided the time - and the Phoenix market - was right to start a company of his...

Buyout unlocks Axxess growth. (Axxess Technologies)
August 8, 1997... Axxess Technologies. a growing Tempe company whose chief recently was nominated for entreprenuer of the year honors, is in the process of acquiring a major competitor that could double the firm's size. Beyond that, Axxess is eyeing a...

Homebuyers' big break. (Fannie Mae's Flexible97 mortgage)
August 8, 1997... Fannie Mae relaxes downpayment rules A loan product just launched in Phoenix could dramatically change the first-time homebuyers segment of the real estate market. The new product lowers the minimum down payment to 3 percent - and, unlike...

WavePhore growth fueled by $24 million capital infusion. (WavePhore Inc.)
August 8, 1997... WavePhore Inc., which hopes to beam data into computers via TV signals this fall, has received a little good news of its own with a $24 million private placement. The Phoenix company recently completed the sale of preferred stock, at $1,000...

UA hot lot touts $25M price tag. (University of AZ)
August 8, 1997... One of the largest and most desirable parcels of industrial dirt remaining in the Valley will go to market next month, with an expected sales price of $25 million. The University of Arizona will auction off a 281-acre parcel at the southwest...

Sandsharks sell bites of franchise. (Arizona Sandsharks indoor soccer team)
August 8, 1997... Owners of the Arizona Sandsharks are selling off a 25 percent stake in the indoor-soccer franchise, hoping to raise $630,000. The exempt public offering; now circulating among potential investors, is for 126 shares, with each unit carrying a...

Viad execs share sobering experience with Homebase. (Viad Corp.; Homebase Youth Services Inc.)
August 8, 1997... Many chief executives probably can't imagine life on the streets. Bob Bohannon, president and CEO of Viad Corp., and John Teets, his predecessor, experienced it first hand. Teets and Bohannon spent a Friday evening along Van Buren and...

Smitty's stores testing waters for new look. (Smitty's Food and Drug Centers)
August 8, 1997... The Valley's 23 Smitty's Food & Drug Centers are in the running for an overhaul that would include a new name and a new look. Although company officials are tight-lipped on details, they did confirm they are testing a new format at two Valley...

Internet is 'brand-new' Avnet marketplace. (Avnet Inc.)
August 8, 1997... Electronic component distributor Avnet Inc. has barely settled into its new Phoenix headquarters, but already is moving on to new territory. The company will enter the Internet sales arena within the next two weeks with a new subsidiary, Avnet...

Royal Grip's sell-off try creates trouble off the tee. (Royal Grip Inc.)
August 8, 1997... A decision by Tempe golf-club grip maker Royal Grip Inc. to sell off its local manufacturing operations appears to be backfiring, with delays and quality-control problems creating even more headaches for the beleaguered company. According to...

Hilton sharpens sales team to single Pointe. (Hilton Hotels Corp.; Pointe Hilton Resorts)
August 8, 1997... In its biggest restructuring move to date, Pointe Hilton Resorts has centralized its sales divisions making Phoenix a test site for Hilton Hotels Corp. nationwide. After signing a $1 million, five-year lease for office space, Pointe director...

Golden years tarnished by fading retiree benefits.
August 8, 1997... Retiring before age 65 no longer carries all of the benefits it once did as employers reduce what they offer for retiree health-care plans. Some are simply limiting what's covered while others are increasing employee cost sharing. Still other...

Tucson Airport awaits FAA approval for fees. (Tucson International Airport; Federal Aviation Administration)
August 8, 1997... If the FAA gives the go-ahead, Tucson International Airport will be able to tack on an extra few bucks to passengers' fares in order to pay for $17 million in improvements, mostly to upgrade its baggage handling system. Tucson International is...

To infinity and beyond: orbital sciences ASU satellite to study Earth's plant life. (AZ State University)
August 8, 1997... Soon Arizona State University students will have an eye in the sky that will monitor the state of plant life on Earth - with the data possibly used to increase conservation efficiency. Over the course of the three-year project, students - under...

Valley colleges offering business Spanish classes. (Valley of the Sun, Arizona educational institutions)
August 8, 1997... Arizona's growing Hispanic population and business opportunities in Spanish-speaking countries are primary reasons some business community members want to know more than the basic hola and hasta la vista. Frank Brabec, business development...

Joint ad campaign targets high-tech hopefuls. (Semiconductor Industry/Education Partnership)
August 8, 1997... Radio listeners already know about the exciting, fast-paced careers offered by the trucking industry. And that a certain Sally Struthers-affiliated correspondence school can open the doors to untold riches. Now, semiconductor makers are trying...

Senior citizens vote 'no' on schools, but volunteer. (senior school volunteers)
August 8, 1997... Lester Dray believes a person never stops learning. So the 81-year-old Peoria resident volunteers time each week during the school year at Apache Elementary School. Dray, who lives in Westbrook Village, an adult-only community, volunteers time...

Teach for America earns foundation grant. (college graduates as teachers)
August 8, 1997... Teach For America, which places outstanding college graduates from all academic majors for two years as teachers in the nation's most under-resourced schools, is getting a major boost in Arizona. The group recently received a $10,310 grant from...

Computer guru launches 'klinic' for US teachers. (Komputer Klinic for Teachers)
August 8, 1997... Kim Komando, a Phoenix-based syndicated high-tech columnist, is hoping to do her part to help educate educators about the Internet. Komando is creating a web page specifically for teachers to ask computer and Internet questions and get expert...

Horsepower sales to the powerful. (automobile sales)
August 8, 1997... In the Valley's business world, Joseph "Rocky" Quatrochi is the equivalent of a car salesman to the stars. By virtue of necessity, the high-end driving machines he has sold over his 14 years in the industry - which range from Porsche to...

Combining doctors is a natural. (Prime Medical Centers Inc.)
August 8, 1997... The worlds of traditional medicine and holistic medicine have been like oil and water - sort of an either/or proposition that don't like to commingle. But founders of Phoenix-based Prime Medical Centers Inc. have found a way to mix the two,...

ADFlex leads positive AZ stock price gain. (ADFlex Solutions Inc.)
August 8, 1997... Arizona stocks were mostly up in July, with a good number showing price gains of more than 30 percent in the month. Shares in Chandler-based ADFlex Solutions Inc. gained 74 percent - climbing from a close of $15 at the end of June to $26.13...

Life after merger death. (Catholic Healthcare West relocates headquarters to Phoenix, Arizona)
August 15, 1997... Catholic Healthcare chooses Phoenix Catholic Healthcare West has chosen Phoenix as its new headquarters for back-office operations expected to create from 400 to 500 jobs. The San Francisco-based health care system. which also operates St....

Colangelo group invests $1M in teen TV program. (Jerry Colangelo)
August 15, 1997... An upstart production company has struck it rich, lining up financing of almost $1 million from high-profile investors including Jerry Colangelo and Eddie Lynch as its first TV project is picked up by a local network affiliate. Phoenix-based...

Unreturned calls cost city 400 jobs. (N.I.E. International Inc.'s expansion in Mobile, Alabama)
August 15, 1997... Phoenix may serve as headquarters for computer distributor NIE International Inc., but the city won't be home to the company's latest expansion. Mobile, Ala. - barely a speck on the high-tech map - beat out the Valley for the company's new $20...

New player to build downtown. (Camden Property Trust)
August 15, 1997... Camden Property Trust of Houston, the nation's fourth-largest apartment real estate investment trust, has sped by its competition to emerge as the first developer of upscale urban housing in downtown Phoenix. City officials, who long have...

Go-Video gets go-ahead sign from shareholders.
August 15, 1997... Scottsdale-based home electronics maker Go-Video Inc. has received a significant vote of confidence from a group of shareholders that raised its stake in the company. Kirr, Marbach & Co. LLC, a Columbus, Ind.-based investment firm that...

Sub shops bite into Valley sandwich market. (submarine; Jersey Mike)
August 15, 1997... Yet another submarine sandwich chain relishing an aggressive national expansion is looking to spread itself across the Valley. In its first move west, Jersey Mike's plans to turn the Valley into one of several regional hubs across the country....

'Just the Facts' CD-ROM offers info on UFOs. (Sky Creative Media Group)(Product Announcement)
August 15, 1997... A Phoenix media production company hopes to turn those strange lights in the sky into a jingly sound at the cash register with a CD-ROM that marks its entry into the consumer marketplace. Sky Creative Media Group, which generates graphics,...

Homebuying is virtual snap with new system. (Realty Executives' new software)
August 15, 1997... Computers long have helped with the mechanics of buying a home, crunching hundreds of numbers, quantifying applicants' credit worthiness and calculating their payments. Now, a local real estate company is using technology to help put a human...

Mesa on a mission - city wants new image. (Mesa, Arizona)
August 15, 1997... The city of Mesa has decided it's no longer content to stand on the sidewalk, watching all the business go by. Tired of ill-founded perceptions, media ridicule and a rather lackluster performance from an economic development perspective, the...

Scottsdale's office activity driven by freeway system. (Scottsdale, Arizona)
August 15, 1997... The commercial real estate market in Phoenix pulled down strong numbers for the second quarter and first half of 1997. Phoenix's office market expanded by more than 390,000 square feet, with more than 1 million square feet of space currently...

Women cement role in construction field.
August 15, 1997... Study finds more women taking home paychecks from nontraditional jobs More women are opting for hardhats and power tools than high heels and power suits in Arizona's work world than they ever have before. Women in nontraditional jobs - which...

Sweat equity, incentive plans gain popularity. (Phoenix, Arizona housing developers' program)
August 15, 1997... Phoenix-area homebuilders are promoting a mortgage option that lets people become homebuyers sooner. Hancock Communities and Diamond Key Homes within the past 10 months each began marketing their variations on a sweat-equity program offered...

Consultants stay steady course. (ICG Consulting)(Company Profile)
August 15, 1997... "Once we got into an account, it quickly became obvious who... had the knowledge, who had the experience." It might seem strange to fuel a company's growth on the concepts of rejecting business, turning down opportunities to diversify and...

MicroAge spawns hundreds of jobs. (MicroAge Inc.)
August 22, 1997... Tempe-based MicroAge Inc. is making some major moves as it navigates the transition from a computer equipment distributor to a high-tech services company. In the midst of significant internal growth and on the verge of a series of...

Ford Finance leaving California for Valley. (Ford Consumer Finance Corp moving to Valley of the Sun, Arizona)
August 22, 1997... Ford Consumer Finance Co. Inc. is moving its western region headquarters to Phoenix from California, adding at least 200 jobs here. It's part of a wave of large companies coming into Arizona, which will also bring 400 jobs to Flagstaff for a...

Court Oks trade zone. (Foreign trade zone designation of Valley of Sun, Arizona)
August 22, 1997... Intel Corp. and Valley economic development officials have won the first round of their fight to maintain property tax breaks offered through foreign trade zones - but opponents say the issue is far from settled. Maricopa County Superior Court...

Florida firm buys Success for $35.6 million. (Vistana Inc acquires Success Cos.)
August 22, 1997... Consolidation is marching forward in the vacation ownership industry as an Orlando, Fla.-based firm snaps up The Success Cos., a Phoenix timeshare development conglomerate, for the hefty sum of $35.6 million. Vistana Inc., a developer and...

Phoenix is slam dunk for b-ball league. (Continental Basketball Association moves to Phoenix, Arizona)
August 22, 1997... The Continental Basketball Association will be hooping it up in the Valley when it moves its St. Louis headquarters to Phoenix Sept. 1. The CBA, the official developmental league for the National Basketball Association, is the longest-running...

Insurance executives (quietly) vent woes. (complaints against Arizona Department of Insurance's power over insurance advertising)
August 22, 1997... The insurance industry is frustrated with the Arizona Department of Insurance, but fear of retribution is causing executives to hide behind rocks. The state insurance department is responsible for approving every piece of advertising that an...

Cine Capri not dead yet, but nearly there. (Cine Capri theater in Phoenix, Arizona)
August 22, 1997... The demise of the Cine Capri theater at 24th Street and Camelback Road appears imminent, but no one seems willing to stand up and sound the death knell. Not the developer, Houston-based Hines. Not the theater operator, Dan Harkins. Not...

Mall expansion to ease parking worries. (Expansion of Scottsdale Fashion Square in Scottsdale, Arizona)
August 22, 1997... The latest joke floating around the Valley's singles set is that trying to find a date is like looking for a parking space at Scottsdale Fashion Square: All the good ones are taken, and the only remaining ones are handicapped. Insensitive and...

Bank One's low-cost checking is expanding. (Bank One)
August 22, 1997... A Bank One product first offered in Arizona is being adopted in the banking company's other markets. Bank One's low-cost checking product, "Basic One," is geared toward people who like to do their banking through automated teller machines. The...

CoreData backs up teleworkers. (CoreData Inc Launches new software RemoteWorx)
August 22, 1997... Phoenix backup software maker CoreData Inc. hopes it has found a vehicle for market dominance with a new offering that targets telecommuters and corporate road warriors. RemoteWorx, a version of the company's backup software designed for...

The last resort: Valley hotels 'go the extra mile' in their quest for the guest. (Sun Valley, Arizona, hotels)
August 22, 1997... Getting someone to try something once - that's not so bad. Hotels and resorts face the challenge of getting guests tO come back. Savvy travelers are demanding more amenities at hotels, and hotels are forking out the extra bucks to accommodate...

Ex-banker invests in high-tech future. (John Lewis, President of MicroAge Inc's Integrated Group)
August 22, 1997... "Too many people fall into the trap of trying to be somebody else. You have to be what works for you." JOHN LEWIS TITLE president, Integration Group COMPANY MicroAge Inc. AGE 44 HOME Paradise Valley SPOUSE Melodie...

Non-niche builder covers all the bases in tough industry. (Cohen Contracting Pres Richard Cohen)
August 22, 1997... Richard Cohen, president of Cohen Contracting Inc., is living proof that hard work can result in success, especially in a field as competitive as construction. Having paid his dues as a laborer, foreman, estimator, office administrator and...

Tech wave washes over Chandler; Intel Corp. to spend $100 million in Fab 12 expansion. (Chandler, Arizona)
August 29, 1997... Intel Corp. is leading a surge of high-tech growth in the east Valley, embarking on a construction boom highlighted by a $100 million Fab 12 expansion that will provide the high-tech giant with a "cheaper, better fab." The "low-cost expansion"...

High-tech firm launches $6M expansion. (Interface Data Systems)
August 29, 1997... Phoenix-based Interface Data Systems is initiating a $6 million local expansion and casting its gaze overseas in several developments bent on multiplying revenue tenfold in the next five years. In addition to internal growth that will more than...

Circle K, counties square off in fight over property taxes.
August 29, 1997... Several groups that successfully pushed for elimination of the business personal property tax last year - a hot issue for small businesses drowning in costs and paperwork - are now crying foul at the way their efforts are being put into action....

PetSmart chain barks at suitors with poison pill.
August 29, 1997... The tables may be turning. PetSmart Inc. has spent a good deal of money acquiring other companies. But as its stock sits near its 52-week low due to a drastic second-quarter hit, a recent document shows management may now feel vulnerable to...

Motorola may expand MOS-12. (wafer fabrication division)
August 29, 1997... It's high tech-mania in the east Valley, as no fewer than five major technology firms ponder significant expansions. While Intel moves forward with a $100 million expansion for the Pentium processor. Motorola's Semiconductor Products Sector is...

Skin surgery device marketer to go public. (Thermosurgery Technologies Inc.)
August 29, 1997... Thermosurgery Technologies Inc., which is marketing an electronic instrument to cure worldwide disfiguring skin diseases, is gearing up to go public. Gene Hedin, president of Phoenix-based Thermosurgery, has raised more than $6 million...

Title firms take shelter under same umbrella.
August 29, 1997... Two of Arizona's biggest title companies will join forces, pending approval of a national merger. Richmond, Va.-based Lawyers Title Insurance Corp. recently signed a deal to acquire Transnation Title Insurance Co. and Commonwealth Land Title...

Software group drafting young talent. (Arizona Software Association)
August 29, 1997... The Arizona Software Association plans to scour the Valley's universities, colleges, and high schools, but the organization isn't looking for the workers of tomorrow. It wants them now. Officials with the group say they may have overlooked...

Call center brings potential 300 Valley jobs. (Bankfirst Corp.)
August 29, 1997... Bankfirst is watching its credit-card business take off from a new customer service center near Sky Harbor Airport. The South Dakota-based company has recently hired close to 70 customer service representatives and plans to boost that number -...

Unison Healthcare misses filing deadline.
August 29, 1997... Unison Healthcare Corp., a Scottsdale-based operator of long-term care facilities plagued by heavy debt, has missed the deadline to file its quarterly report. As a result of delinquent filings, Unison's stock has been bumped down from trading...

Authentic Asian flavor adds spice to project. (Phoenix, AZ's Chinese Cultural Center)
August 29, 1997... One of the main goals behind the Chinese Cultural Center now under construction at 44th Street and the Red Mountain Freeway in Phoenix is to give the Valley's Chinese population a sense of community and an infrastructure that will help attract...

Shoppers mourn closing of small, old Fry's store.
August 29, 1997... Fry's Food and Drag Stores is closing one of its oldest grocery stores because the small neighborhood store was just too small. "The reason we're closing is we wanted to get a bigger store in that area, but that lot in that shopping center...

New Mack-Cali Realty Corp. to create a $3.3 billion REIT. (real estate insurance trust)
August 29, 1997... The Mack Co. will be expanding its tentacles in the Arizona market through a high-profile merger that will create one of the country's largest real estate investment trusts with a total market capitalization of $3.3 billion. Earlier this...

New-taste soda ready to pop into Phoenix. (Ginger's Kitchen LLC's new product)
August 29, 1997... By thinking small, and debating the minutia of the soda industry - everything from the proper ingredients to how to open a can - an Evergreen, Colo., couple hope to snag a meager portion of a $52 billion market. And in addition to Colorado,...

ADP unit emerges from Chandler to Tempe. (Automatic Data Processing Inc.)
August 29, 1997... Automatic Data Processing Inc. is expanding its emerging business service division in Tempe. That unit is breaking off from the existing office in Chandler and taking 12,000 square feet in a new office development by Opus Southwest Corp. in...

Scales of justice: minority bar associations file petition to ban hearsay comments.
August 29, 1997... There's always going to be an element of risk in appointing a judge - the stakes are high. An erroneous selection at the top could incite an avalanche of legal debacles. However, two minority bar organizations alleged in a petition to the...

Tempe computer dealer charged with Mac fraud; scheme linked to two other states. (Mac Sale International)
August 29, 1997... The owner of Tempe-based Mac Sale International has been indicted on 54 counts of mail fraud for his part in an alleged scheme to falsify sales receipts and bamboozle dealer incentives from Apple Computers. The charges are the latest...

Safeway Insurance hit with $100K fine by Department of Insurance.
August 29, 1997... The Arizona Department of Insurance has imposed a $100,000 civil penalty against Safeway Insurance Co. for canceling policyholders without giving appropriate notice. Safeway permitted its agent to bind or issue insurance on behalf of the...

Medtronic, others want new liability laws; pacemaker implant suppliers pulling product from manufacturing lines.
August 29, 1997... WASHINGTON - On a breezy fall afternoon last year, researchers at Medtronic Inc., a Minneapolis-based maker of permanent heart devices, were ecstatic. After four grueling years, they finally had figured out how to make the heart pacemaker more...

Legal consultant strikes stressful balance. (Deborah Andelt)
August 29, 1997... About 18 months ago, Deborah Andelt flew to Bali, Indonesia, to see if she could learn how other cultures achieve a balance between work and leisure. The trip changed her career for the belief. Andelt, a marketing consultant for Valley law...

Tax 'penalty' eased for small businesses.
August 29, 1997... One aspect of the $140 billion federal tax-cut bill may be mostly good public relations for Congress. The repeal of the alternative minimum tax law, included in Congress' small-business package finalized last month, applies to small...

Dual law degrees creating niche for Valley attorneys. (Arizona)
August 29, 1997... For Randall Lindsey, a law degree froth Arizona State University wasn't enough. The Phoenix attorney also picked up a Mexican law degree from the Instituto Technologico y de Estudio Superiores de Monterrey. While it usually takes four years to...

Growth drives Innovision into more space.
August 29, 1997... Driven by the expansion of its medical documents business, Phoenix-based Innovision Inc. is building a new 15,000-square-foot facility, just down the street from the space it has been leasing for the past five years. The company recently...