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

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

Wrapping up Esplanade: final development plans proposed on controversial site. (Camelback Esplanade project, Phoenix, Arizona)
July 4, 1997... Camelback Esplanade master plan In what could be the last in a series of zoning cases involving the controversial Camelback Esplanade project at 24th Street and Camelback Road in Phoenix, developers are seeking approvals to build two...

Sunrise wins $2.2 million charter deal.
July 4, 1997... Scottsdale-based Sunrise Educational Services Inc., the largest preschool operator in the Valley, has secured a $2.2 million charter contract to add kindergarten through third-grade classes at its 24 Valley preschools. Beginning this fall,...

Mayo becomes HMO player. (Mayo Clinic Scottsdale; health maintenance organization)
July 4, 1997... Just when Mayo Clinic Scottsdale started to cut the cake for its 10th anniversary, it received a nod from the Arizona Department of Insurance to start its own health maintenance organization. In the past, Mayo Clinic had dragged its feet,...

Stretching a dollar, a hard sell in Phoenix.
July 4, 1997... Your money doesn't have as much Spandex as you might think. In a survey conducted for The Business Journal, Phoenix ranked 85th of the 99 largest metropolitan areas in terms of how far its residents' income will stretch. Pennsylvania-based...

First Capital banking on second stock sale to raise lending limit.
July 4, 1997... First Capital Bank of Arizona expects to raise more than $3.5 million in a secondary stock offering launched June 23. The Phoenix-based community bank is offering 230,000 shares of common stock at $16.50 per share. Existing shareholders have...

County offers settlement to health care company. (Maricopa County, Arizona)
July 4, 1997... The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors has agreed to pay $600,000 to Healthcare Providers Inc., which was rejected in December in its bid to take over the county health system. HPI had borrowed the $600,000 from Medical Professional...

Paging company to provide Tempe with 300 positions.
July 4, 1997... Following a thorough search of sites across the country, Arch Communications Group Inc. has relocated its national services division from Dallas to Tempe and expects to employ 300 people in the next few years, if not sooner. If business grows...

Mediation moves resolve from months to minutes. (new judiciary process)
July 4, 1997... Attorneys snared in discovery disputes now can seek a judge's opinion in a 15-minute mediation rather than file paperwork and wait months for a resolution. A pilot program beginning July 11 in Maricopa County Superior Court will allow...

Local brokerage takes look at community bank stocks.
July 4, 1997... Publicly traded community banks in the West are the focus of a new market monitor sponsored by Phoenix-based Peacock, Hislop, Staley & Given Inc. The inaugural issue of the investment banking firm's Western Financial Services Review went out...

Valley First raises $4.4M. (Valley First Community Bank)
July 4, 1997... Valley First Community Bank successfully completed a $4.4 million stock offering and opened for business this week. The state-chartered bank received its banking charter from the state and began operations June 30. A stock offering that...

Incubator takes software firms under wing. (Arizona Technology Incubator)
July 4, 1997... The Arizona Technology Incubator has accepted three new companies into its fold, and despite reluctance from some to invest in the often uncertain industry, two of them are software firms. ATI's newest clients are Emsquare Research Inc., which...

Search yields new executive for high-tech firm hatchery. (Arizona Technology Incubator Executive VP Bill Nietzke)
July 4, 1997... After a six-month search, officials at the Arizona Technology Incubator have hired the group's first executive vice president. Bill Neitzke, a seven-year Valley resident who has served in executive roles at several start-up companies, said he...

Consolidating contracts costs small businesses.
July 4, 1997... The federal government's effort to consolidate contracts in the name of efficiency has squeezed thousands of small businesses out of the procurement marketplace and left others with their contracts slashed drastically. A detailed report on the...

OSHA sets stricter rules, questions 80,000 firms. (Occupational Safety and Health Administration)
July 4, 1997... WASHINGTON - The Occupational Safety & Health Administration is changing the way it collects workplace injury data to make businesses more accountable for unsafe practices. The federal agency is surveying more than 80,000 businesses nationwide...

Central chairman gathers up stock. (Central Newspapers Inc. chairman Frank Russell)
July 4, 1997... Central Newspapers Inc. chairman Frank Russell - temporarily at least - has gained control of more than one third of The Arizona Republic's parent's stock. Russell said he had no comment on gaining sole control of an additional 23.45 percent...

Zoning at core of metal company dispute. (National Metals Co.)
July 4, 1997... When National Metals Co. decided to expand its operation to include a spur from the Santa Fe Railway, neighbors surrounding the business saw an opportunity to seek recompense - both regulatory and monetarily - for a decade's worth of what they...

Cleanup clears way for possible youth center.
July 4, 1997... Remedial Solutions of Arizona has turned a junk pile in the middle of the town of Guadalupe into what may be the future site of the Boys and Girls Club of the East Valley. A 2-acre parcel in Guadalupe had been used as a dump by a previous...

Recycling system targets industrial wastewater.
July 4, 1997... For years, Jim Eden has been helping people clean things. He's operated his own janitorial supply service. He sells products that help clean the water in commercial water-cooling towers and in residential evaporative coolers. And, he markets a...

In-flight shopping orders up profits, puts catalog firm on solid ground.
July 4, 1997... Sky Mall, Inc. has gives new meaning to the phrase "window shopping." The Phoenix-based catalog company - which lets consumers browse at 30,000 feet - has been providing in-flight shopping to airline passengers since 1990, and is fast-becoming...

Launching an expansion. (Spectrum Astro Inc.)
July 11, 1997... Gilbert headquarters beams up new jobs for satellite maker Gilbert satellite manufacturer Spectrum Astro Inc. is about to embark on a corporate expansion that will give the firm its own campus on 80 to 100 acres and allow for a doubling of...

Check card bounced out at Bank One. (includes related article)
July 11, 1997... The sun may be setting on check-guarantee cards in Arizona. Bank One this month began notifying customers in Arizona that the bank will pull the check-guarantee feature as of Aug. 31. Norwest Bank Arizona also is "definitely considering a...

Awash in debt, Unison Healthcare owes chairman: millions owed on loans, acquisition. (Bruce Whitehead)
July 11, 1997... While Scottsdale's Unison Healthcare Corp. struggles to overcome its crushing debt, one of its largest creditors holding the keys to its future is chairman Bruce Whitehead. Whitehead, who owns 7.8 percent of publicly traded Unison shares, and...

PMT ambulance company makes rerun to Chapter 11. (Professional Medical Transport Inc.)
July 11, 1997... Less than three months after Professional Medical Transport Inc. secured dismissal of a bankruptcy filed in 1994, the company has refiled in Chapter 11. The ambulance service provider filed for reorganization and protection from creditors on...

New real estate brokerage concept arrives. (real estate development rights for Keller Williams Realty offices)
July 11, 1997... A longtime real estate player in the Valley has tapped into a new brokerage concept that he said gives agents the benefits of both traditional and nontraditional houses - without the risk. Dennis McComb, a former executive at Gosnell Builders,...

'Underdog' unafraid of challenges. (Southwestco Wireless LP)
July 11, 1997... If life is a sport, SouthwestCo Wireless president Greg Klimek has no intentions of sitting on the sidelines. The 37-year-old executive - who once harbored dreams of playing professional basketball, baseball or football - has overseen the...

Sweeping popularity: small businesses find good use for idle checking account funds.(Industry Overview)
July 11, 1997... Small businesses find good use for idle checking account funds One of the toughest challenges small-business managers face every day is finding ways to get the most out of their company's money. Be it buying equipment and supplies, paying...

Bank finds niche in trust/management area. (National Bank of Arizona)
July 11, 1997... National Bank of Arizona is off to a strong start in the trust and investment management business. Since opening in mid-April, the division has booked new business or received commitments for more than $100 million in assets, according to...

Valley's growth in exports draws credit-risk insurers. (Sun Valley, Arizona)
July 11, 1997... One of only a handful of insurance brokerage firms that specialize in export credit has moved into the Valley - due in part to Arizona's increased export growth led by offshoots of the high-tech industry. Export Risk Management Inc., a New...

Samaritan, Quest form 800-worker lab. (Samaritan Health System; Quest Diagnostics Inc.; Sonora Quest Laboratories LLC)
July 11, 1997... Samaritan Health System and Quest Diagnostics Inc. have concluded two years of negotiations to form a joint venture of laboratory services in Arizona. Called Sonora Quest Laboratories LLC, the venture will employ 800 people and operate more...

Peter Piper rolls dough: banks toss $25 million to pizza chain for regional expansion. (Peter Piper Pizza)
July 25, 1997... Peter Piper Pizza is picking up the pace in its propagation of pizzerias, pumping $25 million into the biggest expansion it has ever seen. The Phoenix-based family pizza restaurant chain just received a $25 million revolving line of credit,...

Report: services fueling Valley's high-tech surge. (Arizona Dept of Economic Security, Sun Valley, AZ)
July 25, 1997... Economic leaders may be ignoring the fastest-growing sector of the high-tech arena in their quest to lure future Intels, Motorolas and Sumitomos to Arizona. In a still-unreleased report conducted by the Arizona Department of Economic Security,...

Employer liable for director's harassment. (Arizona Supreme Court decides on sexual harassment case)
July 25, 1997... In a state known to be friendly to businesses, an employer now can be held responsible for the sexually abusive actions of an employee, in light of a recent Arizona Supreme Court ruling. "The Supreme Court maybe has a different view of employer...

Developers take aim at non-golfers. (Country Club Communities)
July 25, 1997... A newly formed development company is hoping its focus on the Valley's social elite will spur interest in a high-end country club and residential community planned near Fountain Hills. But don't take the cover off your driver, yet. Country...

Scottsdale firm in pet industry merger. (MNI Group Inc acquires K.O.S. Industries Inc)
July 25, 1997... A Scottsdale-based kitty clean-up company was swept up in a stock deal this week. K.O.S. Industries Inc., which moved to Scottsdale Airpark two years ago, was acquired by The MNI Group Inc. in exchange for 600.000 shares of MNI. At press...

One-stop telecom shop set up. (Cabezon Telecom)
July 25, 1997... One of several upstart telecommunications resellers popping up in the Valley is launching some aggressive expansion plans. Cabezon Telecom is putting its own switching technology in place at its headquarters in downtown Phoenix, an ambitious,...

Charitable IRA is win-win situation for all. (independent retirement account; Arizona Community Foundation's Charitable Family IRA)
July 25, 1997... The Arizona Community Foundation is anticipating big growth over the next three years and plans to double its asset base to $200 million by 2000. In part, the growth will come from a new program for individuals to girl their pensions. When...

More funding likely for SBA loan programs. (Small Business Administration)
July 25, 1997... The U.S. Small Business Administration, which has had to limit the scope of loans it guarantees several times in past years due to larger than expected demand, could see a multibillion-dollar boost to some of its most popular programs next year....

Land-use attorney ducks spotlight. (Larry Lazarus)(Profile)
July 25, 1997... For an unassuming man with a low-key demeanor and a slight build, there's more to attorney Larry Lazarus than meets the eye. This is a man who can dance with the politicians while pursuing a zoning case; waltz with the wildebeest on a photo...

Call of the wild: finding the right wireless service may be a phone call away.(Computers & Office Technology)
July 25, 1997... They tap the planet's amazingly elaborate tele-communications infrastructure, connecting users hundreds thousands of miles apart and serving as a foundation of the modern economy. And yet for all their utility, home telephones have remained one...

Governments wrangle with Internet taxes.
July 25, 1997... WASHINGTON - With millions of dollars in potential revenue dangling like a carrot in front of them, local and state governments are sparring with the federal government over the right to tax Internet commerce. Local and state officials argue...

Valley homebuilders getting (Cyber)Smart. (Sun Valley, AZ)
July 25, 1997... Home automation once was a thing of the future or at the very least, a concept that only George and Jane Jetson could comprehend. But today, more and more Valley homebuilders are installing structured wiring in new houses that will allow you to...

Webb on web: seniors are strong market. (Del Webb Corp)
July 25, 1997... As the number of Internet users grow, companies are setting up office on the World Wide Web. A look at the site owned by Phoenix-based Del Webb Corp. shows how the company entered the online market. Del Webb, a builder of active adult...

'Going inside' was success path. (TEAMS Inc)(Keys to Emerging Businesses)
July 25, 1997... "We call it people intelligence. We are assessing and developing human capital." January 1993 was a big month for Mark Edwards. In order to grow his business, the chief executive and founder of TEAMS Inc. hired Ann Ewen as his president. He...

Liability cost could go up for deals abroad. (U.S. Alien Tort Claims Act case against Unocal Corp)
July 25, 1997... WASHINGTON - Businesses looking to export and sell their products and services abroad may want to think twice before jumping onto the global trade bandwagon. That's because a recent federal court ruling in California increases the liability...