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

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

For vendors at BOB, it's hits & misses. (business progress of food vendors and suppliers at Bank One Ballpark in Arizona)
June 5, 1998... Being selected as a food vendor in Bank One Ballpark is not the automatic home run that some small businesses would expect. With a guaranteed traffic of nearly 46,000 people per event. it might appear that simply winning a contract to do...

New chip pivotal for Intel. (Intel Corp.'s Merced chip)
June 5, 1998... Many of those dancing semiconductor workers popularized by Intel Corp.'s television ads could find themselves shuffling to the unemployment line tender the company's latest cost-cutting steps. But amidst layoffs in the Valley and other parts of...

McCarthy picked to build retirement center.
June 5, 1998... The Ryerson Co. and McCarthy have teamed up again to build another residential retirement center. Following on the heels of their $19 million Heritage Palmeras in Sun City, the new Heritage Sun City West residential retirement center will...

Architecture firm offers database for planning. (Orcutt/Winslow Partnership)
June 5, 1998... Phoenix architectural from The Orcutt/Winslow Partnership is aggressively moving into the software services arena with a database planning package it developed a year ago. The company has snagged the Fiesta Bowl as the first buyer of its...

Computer designers get another shot at digitizers. (CalComp Technology Inc.)
June 5, 1998... Call it a mighty mouse. Graphic tablets, one of several computer input devices replaced in the late 1980s by the now-ubiquitous mouse, could make a comeback if a Valley hardware manufacturer has anything to say about it. The Scottsdale-based...

Plenty of good signs remain. (Arizona's semiconductor industry)(Industry Overview)
June 12, 1998... Troubles might be chipping away at some of Arizona's biggest semiconductor companies, but economic development officials say their confidence in the sector remains unshaken, despite recent news of layoffs and an industrywide slowdown. The...

Intel, Motorola take hard look at strategy.
June 12, 1998... It's a tale of two chip makers. Layoffs at Intel and Motorola are only the beginning of major changes planned for Arizona's two largest semiconductor manufacturers, company officials and industry analysts say. As predicted, both companies...

Growth plan put on hold. (environmental issues hampering urban growth in Phoenix, Arizona)
June 12, 1998... If you listen to members of the Valley's real estate and business communities, you would think they had' just won a war. In fact, they did win a battle after environmentalists decided this week to suspend their urban growth boundaries plan....

Norwest culture a priority. (effect of merger with Wells Fargo Bank on the corporate culture of Norwest Corp)
June 12, 1998... When the dust settles from the Norwest-Wells Fargo merger, officials from both companies hope the Norwest community-banking culture will have the upper hand. The two banks this week announced their intention to merge in a $34 billion deal. The...

A tale of two leases: Nola's future sense. (Nola's Mexican food restaurant)
June 12, 1998... The fate of Nola's at Biltmore Fashion Park in Phoenix is in limbo as two parties move forward with different plans for the space. Brian Weymouth, managing partner at Nola's, wants to replace the Mexican food eatery with a restaurant and...

Del Webb sings new song with Anthem. (Dell Webb Corp's expansion for a planned community called Anthem)
June 12, 1998... The opening and renaming of a master-planned community for all ages near New River is an expansion of community planning by Del Webb Corp., officials say. New plans for the master-planned community called Anthem, formerly called The Villages...

Outdoor aims to be one-stop shop. (Outdoor Systems Inc)
June 12, 1998... Outdoor Systems Inc.'s continued acquisition binge is about more than bulking up its North American markets, a company official says. It's also about becoming more of a one-stop shopping outlet for buyers looking to advertise in multiple...

Asia land of opportunity for some firms. (semiconductor exports from Arizona)
June 12, 1998... While the big players like Motorola Inc. and Intel Corp. blame their financial troubles in part on a slumping Asian economy, not everyone doing business there has been dealt a poor hand. For some, the time to start gambling is now....

On the forefront burner: new eateries need tender loving care.
June 12, 1998... To Brandon Maxwell, running a restaurant is like rearing a baby. "You've got to nurture the baby," said the president of Michael's restaurant in Scottsdale. "You've got to spend time with the baby." For Maxwell and his partners, chef Michael...

Uncertain future hurts state lottery. (Arizona)
June 19, 1998... Arizona Lottery officials have more to fret over than whether the No. 9 pops up in the Pick 3 drawing. In about five months, the state's voters will decide whether to kill the lottery. Until then: * The lottery's uncertain future is...

Motorola staying bullish on Valley. (Sun Valley, Arizona)
June 19, 1998... Motorola executives aren't letting worker cutbacks diminish the company's presence in the Valley and are forging ahead with a public relations campaign and more than $1 billion worth of building projects. Officials with the Schaumburg,...

Questions loom over East Valley project. (planned construction of a convention center in Arizona)
June 19, 1998... A colossal project that combines a football stadium and one of the country's largest convention centers is planned for the Mesa-Tempe border. However, East Valley leaders say the proposed $1 billion multipurpose convention center, which would...

HealthPartners Arizona price tag set at $235M.
June 19, 1998... United HealthCare Services Inc. is paying $235 million to acquire HealthPartners of Arizona Inc. Terms of the cash transaction will not be released until it closes this fall, subject to regulatory approvals. Sources close to the deal however,...

Technology leader expands ATI statewide. (MicroAge Inc. co-founder Alan Hald; Arizona Technology Incubator)
June 19, 1998... The Arizona Technology Incubator is doing some growing of its own, with new offices in the works for Tucson and Flagstaff and a plan to take its economic development model nationwide. Alan Hald, a co-founder of both the ATI and MicroAge Inc.,...

Hospice head deals with dignity. (Dignita Hospice Care Inc. Pres. Gary Polsky)
June 19, 1998... Compassion given to life to the end Ask those who know Gary Polsky to describe him in a single word and they all say: "'Passionate." "Gary's strongest suits are his enthusiasm and his passion for the hospice industry," said Bill Loutos, a...

Investigation of disasters leads firm to new heights. (Kurt Grosz & Associates)(Success Strategies for Small Business)
June 19, 1998... Kurt Grosz looks for mistakes. That's his job. He and his staff determine why buildings collapse in earthquakes and whether contractors obeyed building codes or finished their work according to contract documents. They also study...

Quest for diversity: big Valley firms fail to make a case for minority partners.
June 19, 1998... Big Valley law firms fail to make a case for minority partners Valley law firms are struggling in their attempts to improve diversity in their partner ranks. Of the 510 partners in the nine largest firms, 74 are women and 13 are minorities,...

What new giant brings to Arizona. (Avnet Inc. opens headquarters in Phoenix)
June 26, 1998... Avnet Inc. will become Arizona's largest locally headquartered company when it inaugurates its Phoenix headquarters next Wednesday, but don't expect a lot of self-adulation from new CEO Roy Vallee. Vallee, who takes over as CEO today (June 26),...

Q & A. (interview of Avnet Inc. CEO Roy Vallee)
June 26, 1998... Roy Vallee, who became Avnet's CEO effective today, talked about his role in the company, the company's role in Arizona and the economic climate in a wide-ranging interview with the Business Journal this week. Here are the highlights of that...

Two firms win $26M in venture funds. (Scottsdale, AZ-based technology companies AllApartments.com and SalesLogix Corp.)
June 26, 1998... Two Valley technology firms are getting a boost from venture-capital funds, securing a combined $26 million in separate second-round deals that financial experts say reflect a healthy investment trend for Arizona startups. AllApartments.com,...

Park Central face lift takes on new retail. (Park Central Mall in Phoenix, Aeizona)
June 26, 1998... A new retail look to Park Central Mall, along with a mid-rise office building and another hotel, is part of the uptown Phoenix mall's renovation saga. A five- or six-story office building is proposed for the northeastern corner of the parking...

Castle Hot Springs sold again. (Castle Hot Springs Resort, Arizona)
June 26, 1998... A century-old resort in the rugged desert canyons north of Phoenix has a new owner. David Garrett, of the Vermont-based Garrett Hotel Group, now owns Castle Hot Springs Resort, which is on a rugged dirt road 15 miles northwest of Lake...

Stearns Bank changes leadership again. (Stearns Bank of Arizona's management changes)
June 26, 1998... For a bank that's not even l-year-old yet, Stearns Bank of Arizona has seen plenty of turnover. Within the past two weeks, its second president has left and its second chief credit officer has resigned. The management changes are intended to...

Bank USA moves corporate offices to Valley. (Valley of the Sun, Arizona)
June 26, 1998... Bank USA has relocated its headquarters from California to Arizona taking advantage of changes in the Valley's banking scene, such as management turnover and branch closures. The bank, headed by Frank Ortwine, recently opened a full-service...

Two framing companies plan major expansions. (Hall of Frames Inc.; FastFrame USA Inc.)
June 26, 1998... Two framing companies have crafted plans to expand into and out of the greater Phoenix area. Hall of Frames Inc., Phoenix, wants to franchise 150 to 200 stores across the nation. And Fastframe USA Inc. of Newbury Park, Calif., is looking to...

Peoria offers value not found anywhere. (Peoria, Arizona)
June 26, 1998... City growth doubles in the past 8 years Peoria, unlike any other Valley community, has a couple of aces up its sleeve in the Valley's high-stakes poker game called growth. It has a sports complex where the San Diego Padres and the Seattle...