The Business Journal - Serving Phoenix & the Valley of the Sun articles from May 1995

The Business Journal - Serving Phoenix & the Valley of the Sun archives from May 1995

Mercy lays off 250; health giant says it's preparing for future. (Mercy Healthcare Arizona)
May 5, 1995... Mercy Healthcare Arizona is reducing its workforce by 250 at a time when its profits have surpassed any other Arizona hospital system. Mercy, which operates St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center, the state's largest hospital, began layoffs...

State banks show gains; assets grow. (Arizona)(Industry Overview)
May 5, 1995... The balance sheet is improving for Arizona banks - non-performing loans are down 16 percent and assets are up 5.8 percent statewide. The state's 34 banks recorded total profits of $258 million for 1994, according to the most recent report...

TEP charged up for state power play. (Tucson Electric Power Co.)
May 5, 1995... Tucson Electric Power Co.'s offer to buy federal power facilities is the latest move in a strategy to take advantage of a changing power landscape that already has the company trying to make deals with some of the big customers now hooked into...

Buckeye OKs 5,700-home master-planned community. (Buckeye, Arizona)
May 5, 1995... Local land owners have received final approval from the town of Buckeye on plans for a massive master-planned community in the West Valley with more than 5,700 homes, 1,100 apartments and 120 acres of commercial development. The Shawver Trust,...

Hispanic chamber offering health-care plan. (Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce)
May 5, 1995... For the first time, the Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce has entered into an alliance to offer an affordable health-care plan to its 530 members statewide. The Hispanic Chamber has formed an alliance with CIGNA HealthCare of Arizona to...

Eidinger named to head Aetna Health Plans. (Richard Eidinger; Aetna Life and Casualty Co.)
May 5, 1995... Aetna Health Plans, which is trying to partner with physicians in a highly competitive market, has appointed a medical doctor as president and CEO of Aetna Health Plans of Arizona Inc. Dr. Richard Eidinger will be charged with growing and...

Multibank may expand resources; group aims to provide loans for small businesses. (Arizona Multibank Community Development Corp.)
May 5, 1995... Two additional banks may be joining the Arizona MultiBank consortium, a group of local banks formed to help finance small businesses that traditional banks won't touch. The investment pool is funded on a long-term basis by 13 Arizona banks....

State HMO enrollment soars. (Arizona health maintenance organizations)(Industry Overview)
May 19, 1995... Enrollment is up and all but one of Arizona's health maintenance organizations are making money. Enrollment is increasing because more employers are buying managed-care products in an effort to control the rising costs of medical benefits....

U-Haul papa pans board's payoff plans. (U-Haul International founder L.S. Shoen)
May 19, 1995... It ain't over 'til it's over. The long-running family feud over control of the giant U-Haul truck rental company is continuing for another round. Lawyers for U-Haul patriarch and founder L.S. Shoen on May 15 filed a motion in U.S. Bankruptcy...

Boss' pay flying high, too. (Arizona health maintenance organization executives)
May 19, 1995... For the first time, Arizona's health maintenance organizations are required by the Arizona Department of Insurance to disclose how much they are paying their top executives. Rick Barrett, former president and CEO of Intergroup of Arizona Inc.,...

Schrock new retail chief at Bank One. (Bank One, Arizona Exec. VP Saundra Schrock)
May 19, 1995... Some of Saundra Schrock's female co-workers at Bank One Arizona gave her a jar full of broken glass and a tiny hammer after her promotion last week - she didn't get it at first. Later she realized the symbolism. She had broken through the glass...

SBA halts guarantees for refinancing loans. (Small Business Administration)
May 19, 1995... Small-business owners needing to refinance loans could be left out in the cold as the U.S. Small Business Administration closes its doors to them. As of May 15, the SBA no longer guarantees most loans for refinancing, a move officials say will...

SBA hawking 504 program for businesses. (Small Business Administration)
May 19, 1995... As the Small Business Administration cuts back some of its existing loan programs, it is trying to promote others. Joining forces with GTE Telephone Operations and the National Association of Development Companies, the SBA is launching its...

900-home community planned for W. Valley. (Sun Valley, Arizona; Crystal Gardens Properties LLC)
May 19, 1995... A local developer has purchased a 311-acre parcel in the west Valley and plans to begin construction in July on a 900-home, master-planned community centered around a 66-acre lake. The master-planned community is one of the first in nearly a...

Reduced funds likely to shrink courthouse. (planned federal courthouse in Phoenix, Arizona)
May 19, 1995... Cutting funds from $121.8 million to $109 million for the planned federal courthouse in downtown Phoenix could reduce the size of the building, but by how much officials aren't sure. The design of the courthouse also could undergo some changes...

DMB developers planning to take over troubled UDC. (DMB Property Ventures L.P.; UDC Homes Inc.)
May 19, 1995... UDC Homes Inc. has entered into an agreement with DMB Property Ventures LP for the sale of the Tempe-based homebuilding company for $108 million. Phoenix-based DMB would own all of UDC's equity and a subordinated note following completion of a...

No cost savings seen in R&G staff merger. (Phoenix Newspapers Inc.; merger of 'Arizona Republic' and 'Phoenix Gazette' staff)
May 19, 1995... Phoenix Newspapers Inc. is looking to quickly combine the two news staffs of The Arizona Republic and The Phoenix Gazette, even though the move is not expected to reap any money savings, says John Oppedahl, the company's executive editor....

ABG general manager offers few reasons for resignation. (Arizona Business Gazette GM Mary Lou Bessette)
May 19, 1995... Although Mary Lou Bessette says she has been planning to resign from her position as general manager at the Arizona Business Gazette for the past two years, the reasons behind the immediacy of the May 16 announcement remain a mystery. John...

PIR officials want part of 'Sportacular.' (Phoenix International Raceway; Arizona Gov. Fife Symington's national sporting event campaign)
May 19, 1995... Officials at Phoenix International Raceway want to know why they weren't included in Gov. Fife Symington's $2 million "Sportacular" campaign. The initial announcement for the campaign included six national sporting events occurring in the...

Summer occupancy expected to heat up. (Sun Valley, Arizona resorts)
May 19, 1995... Local resort officials predict a brisk summer in terms of occupancy rates in the Valley, another indication that the 100-plus degree heat is no longer much of a consideration for tourists. "The bottom line is it looks like to me that we are...

Accounting business no longer a numbers game.
May 19, 1995... Accountants long ago ditched the green eyeshades, the sharpened pencils and the turning of countless ledger pages. But a much larger evolution of the workings within the industry is of more recent vintage. "We used to just tell people where...

Gantt leaving Great Western after Chapter 11 recovery. (Great Western Publishing Pres. Dean Gantt)
May 19, 1995... After helping Arizona's second largest printing company restructure and emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, Dean Gantt is stepping down from his position as president of Great Western Publishing, citing personal reasons for his...

Salvation Army official seeks to help youth.
May 19, 1995... The closer it gets to summer, the more likely Ken Davis will ponder the good times he experienced at camps during his youth. Davis is development director of The Salvation Army's Phoenix-based Southwest Division, overseeing its total...

Old Tucson still plugging along despite fire. (Old Tucson Studios theme park)
May 19, 1995... The only company filming at Old Tucson Studios is keeping the "show-must-go-on" attitude after an April 24 fire destroyed 40 percent of the popular Southern Arizona tourist attraction. In a testament to the flexibility of the movie industry,...

Accountant's figures add up to fun. (Henry and Horne C.P.A. Exec. Dir. Mel Anderson)(Company Profile)
May 19, 1995... Being an accountant really is lots of things. It can be a fun career." Mel Anderson's first accounting job paid him 50 cents a day - but only on the days he worked. Later, his accounting work led to things such as auditing and inventorying...

Boost seen from venture capitalists. (Arizona)(includes related article)(Focus on Banking and Finance)
May 19, 1995... Executives from four firms featured at last December's Arizona Venture Capital Conference say they expect to close on financing totaling $10 million in the next 30 days. Those equity deals would boost the total capital invested in Arizona as a...

Bankers bringing branch to business. (Bank of America Arizona)(Focus on Banking and Finance)
May 19, 1995... It's been a long time since doctors made house calls. But, the good old days are back - but not in the medical field - in the banking industry. Bank of America is close to launching its Banker On-Call program, the use of a dedicated group of...

Acquisition could help Scottsdale company. (Sendero Corp.; acquisition of Lincoln Holdings Inc. by Fiserv Inc.)(Focus on Banking and Finance)
May 19, 1995... Scottsdale-based Sendero Corp., which specializes in software for financial institutions, may have some new customers following the recent acquisition of Lincoln Holdings Inc. by Sendero's parent company, Fiserv Inc. In a move announced last...

Option for securing capital proposed to ACC. (Arizona Corporation Commission)(Focus on Banking and Finance)
May 19, 1995... A new state securities rule aimed at stimulating the formation of capital for small businesses and the promotion of economic growth has been proposed to the Arizona Corporation Commission. The proposed Rule 140 offers a third - and less...

Opus to build office tower. (Opus Southwest Corp., Pivotal Group Inc. and SVP Investment Managers L.P.)
May 26, 1995... 12-story structure at Esplanade first multi-tenant hi-rise in '90s The drought has ended. A partnership of Opus Southwest, The Pivotal Group and Southwest Value Partners plans to begin construction later this year on a $50 million, 12-story...

1,250 homes planned in southeast Phoenix. (land developer Sunbelt Holdings Inc. will build master-planned community in Arizona)
May 26, 1995... A developer has assembled a 281-acre parcel in south Phoenix and plans to begin building by early next year the first of 1,250 homes in what would be the area's first master-planned community. The infusion of a major master-planned community...

St. Joe's to dump new hi-rise. (St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center, Arizona)
May 26, 1995... Mercy Healthcare Arizona plans to put its brand new $18 million medical office building up for sale. Mary Yarbrough, Mercy's new president and CEO, says the building is expensive. "One of the things that I'm doing is assessing the feasibility...

Philosophies vary as law firms regroup. (Meyer, Hendricks, Victor, Osborn and Maledon; Meyer, Hendricks, Victor, Ruffner and Bivens)
May 26, 1995... Two distinct personalities are evolving at two Valley law firms that splintered in April from the venerable 25-year-old law house of Meyer Hendricks Victor Osborn & Maledon PA. Osborn Maledon PA, with 27 lawyers, is the larger of the two twigs...

St. Joseph's workers unhappy after layoffs. (St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center, Phoenix, Arizona)
May 26, 1995... Employees who still nave jobs at Mercy Healthcare Arizona are grumbling that they are being inundated with extra duties that will negatively affect the quality of patient care. The health system, which operates St. Joseph's Hospital and...

4-member team heads First Interstate division. (First Interstate Bancorp.)
May 26, 1995... A new management team is in place for First Interstate Bancorp's investment banking division that is expected to provide more cost-effective solutions for customers who need financing. Through advisory, placement and underwriting services, the...

Banks take aim at check-washing. (Arizona)
May 26, 1995... Banks throughout Arizona are trying to clean up "check-washing" schemes with a variety of new security measures built into personal checks. Check-washing is a way criminals chemically treat a check to remove its ink. They can then re-endorse...

R&G staffers working full time on merger. (Arizona Republic and Phoenix Gazette)
May 26, 1995... An eight-member committee of newsroom staffers from both The Arizona Republic and The Phoenix Gazette is working nearly full time to meet a June 22 deadline on how best to combine the news operations of the two largest newspapers in Phoenix....

Businesses lured to offer summer jobs. (Small Business Youth Employment Program offers small businesses incentives to hire youth workers)
May 26, 1995... Small-business owners are being wooed with $250,000 in incentives through a pilot program of the city of Phoenix to provide jobs this summer for youths 16 to 21 years of age. Under the city's new Small Business Youth Employment Program,...

State wooing French, Japanese. (Arizona expands international tourism program)
May 26, 1995... The Arizona Office of Tourism is expanding international tourism efforts in two growing hotbeds - France and Japan in response to increased interest from travel professionals in those countries. That interest is shown by the number of requests...

Arizona arts groups performing very well. (Arizona Theater Company, Arizona Opera Company and Ballet Arizona)
May 26, 1995... The state's three largest performing arts groups - Arizona Theatre Co., Arizona Opera Co. and Ballet Arizona - are reporting record attendance and ticket sales at the end of their 1994-95 seasons. "We were able to surpass our ticket sales this...

Tempe man fined in securities scheme. (Adam Mided; Arizona)
May 26, 1995... A Tempe man has been fined $2,000 and ordered to stop soliciting funds to start a national chain of CD-ROM stores. The Arizona Corporation Commission last week says it negotiated a settlement with Adam Mided, 58, who was charged with selling...

Chef has knack for great taste. (Eddie Matney)(Profile)
May 26, 1995... When Phoenix chef Eddie Matney got his first job as a broiler cook at a small-town steakhouse at age 17 he had to stand on a platform to see what he was cooking. Since then, Matney has grown, both in stature and - more importantly - in cooking...

Parents find alternative in charters. (charter schools)(Focus on Education)
May 26, 1995... Since Gov. Fife Symington signed charter schools into law last summer, 34 schools have been chartered in Arizona. The overwhelming number represents a strong desire to change the way students are taught in Arizona, says Cuyler Reid, a board...

SEC wants ethics taught to stockbrokers.(Focus on Education)
May 26, 1995... Registered securities dealers and brokers in Arizona may have to go back to school, but not to learn about buying or trading stocks - the training is to teach them how to do it ethically. The training and assessment program, approved by the...

Mercy and Sun Health form geriatrics alliance. (Mercy Healthcare Arizona)
May 26, 1995... Mercy Healthcare Arizona and Sun Health have joined forces to form a geriatric fellowship training program. The two Valley health institutions will provide economic support and facilities for physician trainees. Two physicians will begin the...