The Business Journal - Serving Phoenix & the Valley of the Sun articles from February 1998

The Business Journal - Serving Phoenix & the Valley of the Sun archives from February 1998

City targets 6 areas for developers. (Phoenix, Arizona)
February 6, 1998... In a move that could alter the city's growth, Phoenix officials soon will reveal a proposal to push development into large underdeveloped expanses of the city at the expense of others. Officials are putting the final touches on a plan to...

Era of hard lessons: real estate climate changing; risks remain.
February 6, 1998... The real estate climate that existed when former Gov. Fife Symington did the deals that ultimately resulted in his conviction on fraud charges has changed since the late '80s - a period of hard lessons and, for some, hard time. The regulatory...

Air standards spark debate.
February 6, 1998... Most businesses won't feel the rub from efforts to clean Arizona's skyline, but they could take heat from voters already grumbling about their heavy toll on individuals rather than industry. The task force created by Gov. Jane Hull last year to...

Valley HMO strikes back at competition. (HealthPartners Health Plans Inc)
February 6, 1998... A Phoenix health maintenance organization is crying foul play over attempts by a competitor to lure its brokers at a time when it appears to be vulnerable. Last month, Intergroup launched a bonus incentive program for insurance agents who...

Arizona gains top-20 status in venture capital.
February 6, 1998... Investors flocked to the Valley's emerging Silicon Desert last year, shelling out a record $122.2 million and propelling Arizona into the nation's top 20 states for venture capital. More Arizona companies are taking home growth-stage financing,...

Court awards $518,000 in non-compete lawsuit.
February 6, 1998... The Arizona Court of Appeals has upheld a $518,330 award, including punitive damages, to a technical writer who sued her former employer for interfering with her ability to find another job. Although the court awarded just $18,330 in lost wages...

Buyer clubs boost small-business perks.
February 6, 1998... COSTCO Wholesale and Sam's Club are going head to head with new benefit packages to try to attract more business members. Both warehouse discount companies are rolling out new programs this week that offer health insurance coverage for members....

SBA budget proposes $2 billion increase.
February 6, 1998... Entrepreneurs could receive as many as 60,000 new loans under the Small Business Administration's plan to beef up the nation's biggest small-business lending program. Calling it the "best SBA budget ever," Administrator Aida Alvarez said the...

Office developers targeting west Phoenix.
February 6, 1998... Developers are zeroing in on west Phoenix as a hot spot for suburban office buildings with lots of parking in an area close to an untapped labor force. The latest entry into west Valley development is The Alter Group of Lincolnwood, Ill. The...

Oh, what webs we weave: businesses re-creating sites to expand opportunities. (World Wide Web sites)(Telecommunications/Internet)
February 6, 1998... It wasn't too long ago that most people's idea of bringing the Internet into their business plan meant finding a programmer and figuring out the least awkward way of plastering a "www..." onto their business cards. But with the meteoric rise...

Utility chief rebuilds staff.
February 13, 1998... Business leaders are hoping the appointment of a new utilities director at the Arizona Corporation Commission is enough to electrify a deregulation process some observers fear has become mired by internal controversy. In the wake of debate...

German airline opts out.
February 13, 1998... Phoenix will be losing its only direct-flight connection to Germany but gaining an increase in airline service to Britain. German airline LTU International Airways, which has enjoyed success in its Phoenix service, is canceling its one-day a...

Hospitals mull paramedic costs. (hospitals halts supplies for paramedics)
February 13, 1998... The free ride is screeching to a hall for municipalities used to turning to hospitals for medical supplies for their paramedics. The Office of Inspector General in Washington, D.C., recently issued an advisory opinion that has caused hospitals...

Finova forms alliance for aircraft investments. (Finova Group Inc.)
February 13, 1998... The Finova Group Inc. is looking to a newly formed aircraft investment alliance to land business in a relatively wide open lending niche. The $125 million venture with Credit Suisse First Boston will invest in used commercial aircraft,...

Bennigan's plans six more Valley restaurants. (restaurant franchising)
February 13, 1998... Add six more Bennigan's to the Valley's restaurant menu. Metromedia Restaurant Group, which owns the Bennigan's concept, has formed a franchise deal with CTM Restaurants LLC, Mesa, to open six Bennigan's in the Phoenix area within five years....

Phoenix brewery seeks bankruptcy protection.
February 13, 1998... McFarlane Brewing Co. of Phoenix filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Jan. 26, seeking protection from creditors while it reorganizes. The biggest reason the Phoenix microbrewery filed is a lack of operating capital, said Jane McFarlane, who manages...

Wells Fargo blankets Valley in sales blitz. (Wells Fargo Bank N.A.)
February 13, 1998... Phoenix experienced a blizzard in February when Wells Fargo Bank conducted its "Business Blitz" marketing effort. It was coming down bankers Feb. 6, as 100 Wells Fargo representatives descended on Valley businesses - some as invited guests,...

Skip the roses, treat the heart with an exam. (cardiac screening)
February 13, 1998... OK, you Valentine's Day romantics: instead of fattening up your sweeties with chocolates, why not put your money where your heart is. Arrowhead Community Hospital and Phoenix Baptist Hospital and Medical Center are offering a $49 cardiac...

Webb sale abuzz. (acquisition of Del Webb Communities Inc)
February 20, 1998... East Coast company cited as potential suitor The hot talk in the Valley's real estate community is that Del Webb is a prime target for acquisition and a deal might be imminent. Toll Brothers Inc. of Huntingdon, Pa., is being mentioned as the...

Phoenician may add prestigious St Regis to name. (merger between Starwood Hotel & Resorts and ITT Corp)
February 20, 1998... The prestigious Phoenician resort in Scottsdale may take on an even more legendary moniker, that of New York's St. Regis Hotel, built in 1904 by John Jacob Astor. Commenting on the merger of Phoenix-based Starwood Hotel & Resorts and New...

Union, doc woes mar St. Joseph. (St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix, Arizona)
February 20, 1998... Despite a financial turnaround, good grades from patients and a number of recent successes, St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center is finding it tough to keep many of its doctors and employees happy. Hospital employees arc stepping up...

Cities strike land deals. (Phoenix and Scottsdale, Arizona)
February 20, 1998... The booming cities of Scottsdale and Phoenix are responding to anti-growth sentiment by devising ways to preserve open space. And, surprisingly, developers aren't crying foul. In two major announcements recently, Scottsdale agreed to pay $95...

Biltmore Community Bank readies stock sale.
February 20, 1998... Arizona investors who like the idea of owning a piece of a bank are getting such a chance with a $2.8 million stock offering under way by Biltmore Community Bank. The start-up bank being organized by longtime Valley banker Barbara Ralston will...

Firm taking cranial headband overseas. (Cranial Technologies Inc)
February 20, 1998... Cranial Technologies Inc., a Phoenix firm that makes headbands to mold misshapen heads of babies, has expanded nationally and is going international. The private company has 10 licensed centers in the United States, one in Canada and another...

Dining discounts aim for professionals. (discount dining program Passport Unlimited for executives and professionals)
February 20, 1998... A new service in the Valley takes some of the punch out of a power lunch tab. Passport Unlimited, headed by husband and wife Bob and Jan Jones, is a discount dining program targeting Valley executives and professionals for membership. Members...

Auto dealer petitions IRS over $100,000 tax claim. (Midway Chevrolet Co appeals to Internal Revenue Service)
February 20, 1998... Midway Chevrolet Co. wants the courts to put the brakes on the Internal Revenue Service's demand for almost $101,000 in additional 1994-95 taxes. Midway, the Valley's 10th largest new-car dealership, and its subsidiaries filed a petition...

Mach One takes off with freight business. (Mach One Air Services Inc)(Company Profile)
February 20, 1998... Mike Entzminger wanted to get away front the trucking industry, but the business he started simply expanded on that form of transportation. Mach One Air Services is an air freight company that offers shipping via air and, with a fleet of...

Arizona lures Midwest bank. (North Country Bank)
February 27, 1998... North Country Bank. a native of Michigan's upper peninsula, is coming in from the cold to do banking in Arizona, as the state continues to attract banks from the Midwest. North Country Bank of Arizona is expected to open July 1 with two...

Blood boils over new scanner. (Mayo Clinic Scottsdale)
February 27, 1998... Mayo Clinic Scottsdale is the first medical center in Arizona to use a high-tech scanning process to detect signs of heart disease before symptoms appear. It already is giving its critics a case of cardiac arrest. Following quickly on Mayo's...

MicroAge retooling for future. (MicroAge Inc.)
February 27, 1998... Hard work, good planning and solid market research usually go far in the computer industry, but as officials at MicroAge Inc. are quickly learning, timing is everything. Despite a "strategic mistake" that led to a $5.4 million first-quarter...

Homebuilders moving toward consolidation. (homebuilding industry, Arizona)
February 27, 1998... There's a wave of consolidation hitting the homebuilding industry, and Phoenix, one of the hottest markets in the nation, is getting doused. Kaufman & Broad Homes Corp. of Los Angeles reportedly has been involved in serious negotiations to...

Blood services affected by managed care trend.
February 27, 1998... Arizona's two blood providers are feeling the effects of managed care - at least indirectly. As hospitals become more cost-conscious and look around for good deals from vendors, blood providers are being forced to compete for business that...

Bank One remains on top for commercial lending. (Bank One Corp.)
February 27, 1998... Bank One reported the highest lending figure - $297 million on 127 loans - in the 1997 Coopers & Lybrand LLP/The Business Journal survey of top real estate deals in Maricopa County. Of the bank's total amount, no single sector dominated, said...

ASM Lithography picks Tempe Research park. (ASM Lithography Inc.)
February 27, 1998... When ASM Lithography was looking for expansion space, there were no existing buildings that fit its need for advanced technology clean-room space. As an advanced wafer stepper manufacturer for the semiconductor industry, the company needed...

Viad tower sells for $73M to FP Arizona. (Viad Corporate Center; FP Arizona Inc.)
February 27, 1998... Viad Corporate Center, formerly known as the Dial Corporate Center, sold for $73 million, making it the largest overall sale with broker representation based on dollar value in 1997. FP Arizona Inc., a U.S. subsidiary of the Singapore...