The Business Journal - Serving Phoenix & the Valley of the Sun articles from October 1993

The Business Journal - Serving Phoenix & the Valley of the Sun archives from October 1993

Diesel prices rise 42 percent.
October 29, 1993... Valley truckers say they face highway robbery every time they stop to fill their fuel tanks. It's their customers, though, who ultimately will be forced to hand over their money. The price of diesel fuel has jumped from about 64 cents to 91...

City Hall to create office surplus: new complex to house municipal operations.
October 29, 1993... The city of Phoenix will start to create a glut of vacant, low-grade downtown office space next month as employees begin moving into a new City Hall complex. The $83 million complex consists of two buildings with more than 630,000 square...

New provision may spur end-of-year bankruptcies.
October 29, 1993... A number of Phoenix-area companies are going to be rushing to file for bankruptcy protection before the end of the year to beat a new tax provision in the federal budget bill, local experts say. The repeal of a stock-for-debt exemption in...

FCC investigating real estate activities of US West. (US WEST Communications Inc.)
October 29, 1993... The Federal Communications Commission and Arizona regulators are conducting extensive investigations into US West's real estate activities. Certain real estate transactions, and the press reports analyzing them, have raised sufficient...

Pace stock offering expected to raise $25 million. (Pace American Group Inc.)
October 29, 1993... Pace American Group Inc., a Tucson insurance company, continues on the expansion trail and is looking to raise $25 million through the sale of its common stock. The 2 million shares would be priced at $11.25 each, according to the...

Home Express plans to re-enter Phoenix market with two stores.
October 29, 1993... Home Express officials think the chain can succeed this time around in the Phoenix marketplace because of an improving retail arena -- and, more importantly, because they finally did their homework. The home furnishings superstore is...

Miller guided KTVK to top of ratings. (KTVK-TV CEO Bill Miller)
October 29, 1993... "The one thing about this job is that I love it, and I love coming to work every day." After a week of spending 12-hour days at work, Bill Miller relaxes by settling down in front of his home computer -- one that is linked directly to the...

This wave of bank mergers is still cresting. (Focus on Banking and Finance) (Industry Overview)
October 29, 1993... The latest wave of mergers and acquisitions in Arizona banking may not be as noticeable as the one resulting from interstate banking in 1986, which took the ownership of most of the industry out of state. But it might not be over yet, either....

FARE agenda focuses on cutting state spending. (Fiscal Accountability and Reform Efforts Committee) (Focus on Banking and Finance) (Industry Overview)
October 29, 1993... The Fiscal Accountability & Reform Efforts Committee, a grassroots effort by local business heavyweights to promote the restructuring of state government, has set its 1994 legislative agenda. The group was formed a couple of years ago to...

Bankers' wish list includes trustee exemptions. (new banking laws) (Focus on Banking and Finance) (Industry Overview)
October 29, 1993... Arizona's bankers have set their sights on some state legislation for their industry -- and topping the list is a firm definition of lender liability. The Arizona Bankers Association, the banking industry's local organization and lobbying...

AZX trading volume near 'critical mass,' official says. (Arizona Stock Exchange) (Focus on Banking and Finance) (Industry Overview)
October 29, 1993... The Arizona Stock Exchange, which opened for trading just a year and half ago, is generating enough revenue to meet operating expenses and is nearing a "critical mass" of daily trading volume, says the company's president. "It has been...

Net income up 378 percent at Arizona's banks. (Focus on Banking and Finance) (Industry Overview)
October 29, 1993... Arizona banks took a giant step on their trek toward increased profitability with an overall 378 percent increase in net income for the second quarter of 1993, according to Sheshunoff Information Services. The state's 38 banks, with a total...

Local SBA district posts record fourth quarter. (Small Business Administration) (Focus on Banking and Finance) (Industry Overview)
October 29, 1993... A record-setting fourth quarter brought to a close another record fiscal year in terms of numbers and dollar amounts of loans for the Phoenix district office of the U.S. Small Business Administration. Once again leading the way among...

Syntellect reports low earnings and cancels merger during October. (Focus on Banking and Finance) (Industry Overview)
October 29, 1993... Syntellect Inc., Phoenix, topped the Arizona list of biggest stock drops during October. The computer software network voice processor manufacturer and marketer had a mixed month with what the company TABULAR DATA OMITTED termed...

Loans to small firms lacking: only 15 percent of loans going to small businesses.
October 22, 1993... Only 15 percent of all bank loans in Arizona are made to small businesses -- yet smaller firms comprise nearly all of the state's business. According to at least one study, that performance falls way below the national average of about 69...

IDA boosts small business loans. (Maricopa County Industrial Development Authority)
October 22, 1993... Caliber Bank and the Arizona MultiBank have teamed with Maricopa County Industrial Development Authority in a program to loosen up lending for small businesses. The Capital Access Program is designed to help business owners who previously...

U-Haul selling $150 million in preferred stock. (U-Haul International Inc.)
October 22, 1993... Amerco, the holding company of Phoenix-based U-Haul International Inc., is raising more than $150 million in its first major public equity offering. The offering, however, consists of preferred, non-voting and non-convertible stock, which...

ASU athletes called 'sham' employees in suit. (Arizona State University)
October 22, 1993... Two Arizona State University basketball players have been dragged into a Texas lawsuit with allegations in a sworn statement that they were "sham" employees of a Dallas radio station. The statement by a former co-owner of the radio station...

Class-action judgment may cost DPS $5M. (Arizona Department of Public Safety)
October 22, 1993... A recent U.S. District Court ruling will cost the Department of Public Safety up to $5 million as employees recoup unpaid overtime from the state agency. The summary judgment allows many current and former Arizona Department of Public Safety...

Solar lighting firm comes to Phoenix. (Solar Outdoor Lighting)
October 22, 1993... Anticipated turn-ons: bus-stop shelters, parking lots A Stuart, Fla., company wants to turn Arizona on to solar lighting. And so far business is good, says Steve Robbins, executive vice president and inventor of many of the products made by...

No. 6 Paul Johnson pursues business development. (Who's the Boss?: The Valley's Top Ten)
October 22, 1993... Hanging outside Phoenix Mayor Paul Johnson's office is a photograph he calls his "Yitzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafat" picture. In some ways, it bears a striking resemblance to the photo that ran in newspapers worldwide Sept. 14 -- the one that...

Thompson takes 'non-NASA' approach. (David Thompson) (Profile)
October 22, 1993... David Thompson looks out his window at the parcel next door, the future site of a few hundred more engineers. But Thompson shows little interest in the office space his company is constructing. The chairman and chief executive of Orbital...

State's new housing market makes huge gains. (Arizona) (Focus on Real Estate and Development)
October 22, 1993... Single-family sector leading the way Land deals, construction starts and residential community grand openings are springing up in all areas of the Valley -- all pointing to an improved new housing market. No one is calling it a "boom," but...

Slow going in So. California skews good quarter for Webb. (Del Webb Corp.) (Focus on Real Estate and Development)
October 22, 1993... Sharply declined home orders in Southern California dragged down the figures from strong sales gains in Del Webb Corp.'s Sun City communities in Arizona and Nevada, leading to a slight decrease in total sales for the builder's first fiscal...

Fennemore Craig firm reportedly steamed; move would open space at One Renaissance. (Arizona's oldest law firm; office building)
October 15, 1993... Reportedly prompted by a bruised ego, the law firm Fennemore Craig is considering a move from the upper floors of One Renaissance into a building of its own. The law firm, which leases 92,000 square feet of space downtown at 2 N. Central...

Media America to launch 24-hour news station. (Media America Corp.)
October 15, 1993... Media America Corp. has snagged a cable channel from Dimension Cable to air a 24-hour all-news station that will focus on local events. The station will begin operating in January 1995. A full staff will be hired, including producers,...

APS cuts Snell & Wilmer work. (Arizona Public Service Co; Phoenix law firm)
October 15, 1993... Arizona Public Service Co. executives have slashed the company's account with Phoenix law firm Snell & Wilmer by about $2 million. Furthermore, APS no longer will list Snell & Wilmer as general counsel in its annual reports, APS officials...

AWA Partners to bid again for America West. (America West Airlines)
October 15, 1993... AWA Partners, the only bidder for America West Airlines, is preparing to make its third and richest offer after its first two proposals were rejected by the airline's board of directors. But analysts believe AWA Partners is not the carrier's...

Chicago chain enters pizza war with plans for 12 stores. (Rosati's restaurants)
October 15, 1993... The pizza wars continue in the Valley, with a dozen Rosati's restaurants scheduled to open here within the next two years. The Chicago-based chain is focusing on the Valley for expansion because of the area's growth potential and thriving...

Info Enterprises to launch law, engineering services.
October 15, 1993... Phoenix-based Info Enterprises is on its way to becoming one of Motorola's newest major business units, with two key announcements expected this month: * a joint venture with Arthur Andersen & Co. to bring Info Enterprises' information...

Delta Dental, others fight over pricing structures.
October 15, 1993... Competition is driving Arizona's largest dental insurer, Delta Dental Plan, to strong-arm some of its providers into reducing their fees -- a move that could jeopardize dentist and patient membership in competing dental referral plans. In a...

Law firms avoid layoffs, but cut back on hiring.
October 15, 1993... The Valley's top law firms have avoided layoffs during the economically troubled '90s, but have been forced to cut back on the hiring of new attorneys and summer law clerks. Jones Osborn, president of Meyer, Hendricks, Victor, Osborn &...

Hardaway Connections ceases: two new firms open. (Arizona public relations firm)
October 15, 1993... Hardaway Connections, one of the oldest public relations firms in Arizona, is splitting up. Three of its top account executives are going off on their own to open a firm, and Francine Hardaway is starting another new operation. Bill Meek,...

No contracts signed yet under recycling legislation.
October 15, 1993... If you legislate it, they will come. That was the thinking behind a law enacted in April to entice recycling firms into the state. The law provides tax breaks to companies who manufacture recycled and solar products or use such materials in...

Software firm inks contract with Kimball. (Avalon Software Inc; Kimball Industries Inc)
October 15, 1993... Avalon Software Inc.'s manufacturing software will be implemented at piano maker Kimball Industries Inc. facilities around the world -- an agreement that reflects the Tucson firm's new marketing strategy. Avalon makes sophisticated...

No. 7 Symington brings business savvy to office. (Arizona Governor Fife Symington)
October 15, 1993... Developer-turned-politician Fife Symington likes to say he has brought a little business sense to the office of governor. He has given the office a sense of direction and business savvy that it lacked in previous administrations, he says. His...

Virginia Gilliam: Best Western executive 'on loan' to marketing programs division.
October 15, 1993... Texas blood flows through the strong-willed veins of Virginia Gilliam, branding everything she does with a mark of practicality and common sense. Although she left the Lone Star State after marrying in 1961, Gilliam still carries the roots...

Local health care leaders dissect Clinton's plan. (Focus on Health Benefits and Insurance)
October 15, 1993... The President's health care reform package is headed for Congress, and most businesses and individuals are trying to decipher it and how it would affect them. A handful of Arizona's leaders in the health care industry were asked their...

Small business views impact of proposed health reform. (Pres Clinton's health care reform package) (Focus on Health, Benefits and Insurance)
October 15, 1993... Small-business needs and assistance are supposed to be major considerations in President Clinton's health care reform package. Just how much the program addresses these issues and what the program's effect might be on small business is...

Smaller businesses have rosy economic outlook. (Focus on Health, Benefits and Insurance)
October 15, 1993... Despite spiraling health care and other costs, increased taxes and a national recession that just won't go away, six out of 10 small businesses expect revenues and profits to increase over the next 12 months. Also, one in four expect to...

Regulation of health purchasing alliances opposed.
October 15, 1993... No matter what economic effects President Clinton's health care reform has on small business, one thing appears certain: Any benefits accrued by the plan will be at the cost of relinquishing control of health benefits programs to big,...

Up to 20 percent of medical claims are fraudulent. (Focus on Health, Benefits and Insurance)
October 15, 1993... Law enforcement officials say they are fighting an epidemic within the medical field: fraud. Billions of dollars are being doled out for medical services that are unnecessary, exaggerated or simply non-existent, experts say. Fraud accounts...

Canadian, U.S. systems compared. (health care in both countries) (Focus on Health Benefits and Insurance)
October 15, 1993... Doctors practice excessive defensive medicine, creating a paper trail of defense in case there's a malpractice suit in the future. The government sees physician incomes as a ripe target for reducing health care costs, and the people with the...

Diagnosis of dystonia is rarer than the disorder. (neorological disorder) (Focus on Health, Benefits and Insurance)
October 15, 1993... At first, Beverly Knudson didn't want to believe anything was wrong. Her right hand, which had always been sure enough to do free-hand engravings, developed a slight unsteadiness. Nothing to worry about, she thought. Then came the spasms...

Frogskin growing by leaps and bounds. (textile made in Arizona) (Focus on Health, Benefits and Insurance)
October 15, 1993... Jan Steinberg created a product called Frogwear in 1989 to protect her children from the sun's harmful ultraviolet rays. Five years later, she has a growing business with 30 employees and is ready to begin marketing the Arizona-made clothing in...

Intel to revive 386 chip here. (Intel Corp.'s 386 microprocessor)
October 8, 1993... Intel Corp. is bringing its 386 microprocessor to the Valley -- a move that likely will mean more jobs and additional construction at the chip maker's Chandler campus. Moving 386 operations from Santa Clara, Calif., is a transition for the...

Caliber Bank not for sale, Knight says. (Caliber Bank Pres. Lyle Knight)
October 8, 1993... Arizona's largest independent bank is not for sale, despite speculation whirling about it, according to the bank's top local official. Caliber Bank is, however, operating profitably as an institution for small and medium-size businesses. It...

Thomas Mall redevelopment gets city aid with stipulations.
October 8, 1993... The city of Phoenix is on its way to granting an incentive package of $1.35 million for the redevelopment of Thomas Mall. This time, however, the city appears to be playing it smart. Officials for the first time have tied to the incentive...

Colangelo wants to go public with baseball team ownership. (Phoenix Suns Pres. Jerry Colangelo)
October 8, 1993... How would you like to own a piece of a new Major League Baseball franchise? The Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association are publicly owned. So are the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League. If a new Major League...

California pizza chain targets Valley for expansion. (Mountain Mike's Pizza)
October 8, 1993... A California pizza chain is preparing to expand into the Phoenix market, with stores likely to open early next year, company officials say. Mountain Mike's Pizza, a 66-unit chain based in Old Town Sacramento, Calif., is looking at the...

Bad blood between execs isn't hurting America West. (America West Airlines Inc. Chmn William Franke and Pres. Mike Conway)
October 8, 1993... America West Airline chairman William Franke and CEO Mike Conway don't get along. So what? The relationship between the two has not hampered the airline's operating performance too much, according to those who watch the company most closely....

Restaurants busting out all over East Camelback. (Industry Overview)
October 8, 1993... Rival restaurateurs are testing the limit of how many high-profile eateries a two-block stretch of East Camelback Road can support. The target zone is the Biltmore area, between 24th and 26th streets. "The Camelback Corridor is a good...

Snell's credibility and intensity place him at No. 8. (Pinnacle West Capital Corp. CEO Richard Snell)
October 8, 1993... The Snell name is well-known in the Valley, so it's no surprise to see Richard Snell, chairman and CEO of Pinnacle West Capital Corp., as No. 8 on The Business Journal's list of the most influential business leaders. Snell, unlike most of...

IBM Arizona showing a profit after restructuring.
October 8, 1993... Computer giant IBM is well into its restructuring to survive in a more competitive marketplace after record losses. Its Arizona division has most of its layoffs behind it and is already profitable. Robert LaBant, senior vice president of...

Marshall Trimble: historian livens up conventions with his small-town anecdotes.
October 8, 1993... Somewhere along the line, people have attached labels to Marshall Trimble's name. At times, he's "Marshall Trimble: The Will Rogers of Arizona." At other times, he's "Marshall Trimble: The dean of Arizona historians." For a while, his...

Motorola Computer Group planning new facility and products. (Focus on Computers and Office Technology)
October 8, 1993... Tempe employment increases to 990 A year after consolidating operations in Tempe, Motorola Computer Group is introducing a new line of products, launching a multimillion-dollar ad campaign and planning to build an additional...

Take future into account when choosing business software. (Focus on Computers and Office Technology)
October 8, 1993... It is easy to make a mistake when buying accounting software. In fact, small businesses change systems an average of once every three years looking for something that better fits their needs, says Scott Pochron, who heads up Toback & Co.'s...

VLSI makes chip sets for Compaq 'mobile companion.' (VLSI Technology Inc.; Compaq Computers Corp.) (Focus on Computers and Office Technology)
October 8, 1993... VLSI Technology Inc.'s Portable Systems Division in Tempe is making the chip sets for Compaq Computer's entry into personal digital assistant products. The product, which Compaq prefers to call a "mobile companion," is scheduled for delivery...

Several Valley firms develop accounting software. (Focus on Computers and Office Technology)
October 8, 1993... Arizona has a strong software-development community, and the area of accounting software is no exception. At least four Valley companies have been developing such programs since the dawn of personal computers: Cyma Systems Inc., which sells...

Pen is mightier than mouse for computer-phobics. (Focus on Computers and Office Technology)
October 8, 1993... Pen-based computing has been around for some time, but the industry only recognized the technology as a new personal computing platform -- as distinct from desktop computing -- as recently as four years ago. Basically, pen-based computing...

Q45 delivers quality, performance for hefty price. (1994 Infiniti Q45)
October 8, 1993... Buying the 1994 Infiniti Q45 comes at a high price (about $50,000), but you get an automobile that is loaded with features and takes quality very seriously. Stepping inside the Q, you can feel the craftsmanship -- or "harmony," as the folks...

$90M Western theme park planned.
October 1, 1993... Plans are being developed to build a $90 million Western-theme amusement complex at the WestWorld equestrian center in North Scottsdale. The facility will include a theme park the size and scope of Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, Calif.,...

Chicken wars come to the Valley. (chicken restaurants sprout up in the Valley of the Sun)
October 1, 1993... Retailers are crowing these days about chicken -- and two direct competitors are preparing to enter the greater Phoenix market in a battle for the ever-healthy rotisserie chicken-eating yuppies of the 1990s. Kenny Rogers Roasters (yes, it's...

MultiBank building momentum; ends first year with 13 projects totaling $1.85 million. (Arizona MultiBank Community Development Corp.)
October 1, 1993... The Arizona MultiBank Community Development Corp., the state's only such entity funded by commercial banks, is ending its first year with 13 projects on its books with a total value of about $1.85 million. Not a typical lender, the MultiBank...

Retail center planned soon at 32nd and Camelback. (Phoenix, Arizona)
October 1, 1993... The southwest corner of 32nd Street and Camelback Road could be a retail and restaurant center by Christmas 1994. Developer DMB has filed a rezoning request with the city of Phoenix in an effort to develop a retail center of about 160,000...

New community planned east of Fountain Hills.
October 1, 1993... It's one of those developments that makes the casual observer scratch his head in wonderment: A new master-planned community is being planned 6 miles east of Fountain Hills. That's just minutes from Saguaro Lake, a let's-pack-the-suitcase...

Only 21 percent of conventions rebooked with King Day. (state holiday honori ng Martin Luther King Jr.)
October 1, 1993... Only 21 percent of the conventions Phoenix lost because of the lack of a paid state holiday honoring Martin Luther King Jr. have been rebooked since the holiday was enacted. The loss in economic impact from the conventions that remain...

Arizona venture-capital funding remains stable.
October 1, 1993... While national venture-capital markets last year rebounded from a 10-year low, investments in Arizona remained flat at about $50.6 million. That sent Arizona from among the top five states for venture-capital investments to 12th place -- but...

Small business concerned over health costs. (Arizona)
October 1, 1993... The national and local small-business response to President Clinton's health care reform proposal is mixed, with the overall cost a high-priority concern. On the state level, the Arizona Chamber of Commerce is taking a stance against the...

Astronauts take up a slice of Arizona. (shuttle mission bread-supplier Great Harvest Bread Co.)
October 1, 1993... When NASA space shuttle astronauts go into orbit, they take along a slice of Arizona -- honey whole wheat, raisin-studded or multigrain. Scottsdale-based Great Harvest Bread Co. supplies the shuttle missions with bread to stash in the food...

Health insurance rates stabilizing. (Arizona) (Small Business Success)
October 1, 1993... Now that most of the major health maintenance organizations are aggressively marketing their small-business health insurance plans, costs seem to have stabilized and become more comparable. "The bottom line is more people will be covered,"...

She finds sweet niche at Sky Harbor. (franchises at Sky Harbor International Airport) (Small Business Success)
October 1, 1993... It took Bettye Jackson two years to open three franchises at Sky Harbor International Airport, but only nine months to hit sales of $240,000 and exceed her revenue projections. The TCBY Yogurt, Mrs. Field's Cookies and Swensen's Ice Cream...

Program allows automatic contributions. (computer software program SureGift for Arizona charities)
October 1, 1993... Arizona charities can get regular contributions from donors, saving time and money, through a computer software program implemented by the Arizona Clearing House Association. The software, SureGift, is an automatic debit system. Each month,...

Sam Eichenfield: leading expansion of Dial spinoff is a dream come true for financier. (The Dial Corp.)
October 1, 1993... Sam Eichenfield dreamed of being the chairman of a New York Stock Exchange company, but didn't think it would ever happen -- and then The Dial Corp spun off its profitable commercial finance division. Now he is chairman and CEO of GFC...

Car phones may be standard features within a few years. (Focus on Automobile s)
October 1, 1993... Car phones used to be a rarity, attracting attention with big antennas. Then came the clunky cellular phones and the miniature flip phones, and now many car makers have added factory-installed phones to their list of options. New car phones...

Auto leasing gains acceptance in slow economy. (Focus on Automobiles)
October 1, 1993... To lease, or not to lease? For an increasing number of motorists, there's no question about it: Leasing their cars is preferred to purchasing. Industry analysts -- and many car dealers -- call it perhaps the most fundamental shift in...

Terri's to expand through franchising. (Terri's Consignment World) (Small Bu siness Success)
October 1, 1993... Franchises are the new objective at Terri's Consignment World. Eight years ago, owner Terri Bowersock realized that the continued success of her home-furnishings consignment business might rely on franchising, and she began laying the...

Libraries open economic development info centers. (Arizona) (Small Business Success)
October 1, 1993... Economic development information centers have been created in 23 Arizona libraries. The action is part of a statewide effort to include public and community-college libraries as key participants in local economic and community development....

Between a rock and a hard place. (Phoenix Rock Gym) (Small Business Success)
October 1, 1993... The idea of starting a business with no investors, no bank financing, no demographic or marketing studies, no business plan and nothing more than a "vision" seems ludicrous at best. But two 35-year-old rock-climbing hounds, Paul Diefenderfer...

Profits flowing fast at Water Mart. (Small Business Success)
October 1, 1993... In less than three years of operation, Water Mart has sprung from one store to 17, and new franchise requests are flooding the Chandler corporate office. An additional 15 franchises have been sold and are in various stages of development,...

Going nowhere fast - but that's OK. (Revolving Media Inc.) (Small Business S uccess)
October 1, 1993... The Phoenix firm Revolving Media Inc. is going nowhere fast, which is just the way its founder intended it. The company produces and markets advertisements that are displayed on the revolving plates of airport baggage carousels. The ads...