The Business Journal - Serving Phoenix & the Valley of the Sun articles from October 1994

The Business Journal - Serving Phoenix & the Valley of the Sun archives from October 1994

Olin building $30 million Mesa plant. (Olin Corp.'s planned electronic plant in Mesa, Arizona)
October 28, 1994... The growing ranks of microelectronic manufacturing companies in the Valley has attracted a major supplier that is building a $30 million plant in Mesa. Olin Corp., a producer of chemicals used in the manufacturing of electronic chips, has...

Sale values Phoenician at $238.5M. (Phoenician Resort)
October 28, 1994... The market value of The Phoenician resort stands at about 90 percent of its 1988 construction cost. The assessment comes at a time when the hospitality market is at its strongest point within the six-year span. ITT Corp. of New York became...

Governor wins vote on influential poll. (Governor Fife Symington)
October 28, 1994... Gov. Fife Symington, who oversees a $4.2 billion state budget and 40,000 employees, has ranked eighth in The Business Journal's top 10 list of influential business leaders. The Republican gubernatorial incumbent ranked one step higher than...

UDC Homes shopping for partners.
October 28, 1994... UDC Homes Inc. must radically restructure its finances in the next six months and the Tempe homebuilder is negotiating with potential investors to do so, analysts and company officials say. Richard Kraemer, UDC's president and CEO, says the...

Journal readers respond to plight of Evans family. (Business Journal Serving Phoenix and the Valley of the Sun; homeless Michael Evans and family)
October 28, 1994... Thanks to members of the local business community, Michael Evans and his family no longer are homeless. The Business Journal received at least a dozen calls from concerned individuals and business owners, asking where they could send money or...

State lures record number of new firms. (Arizona)
October 28, 1994... Continued population growth, a strong economy and a positive business climate combined to bring a record number of business expansions and relocations to the state during the first six months of 1994. During the first half of the year, 177...

Venture capital conference to display 12 firms. (1994 Arizona Venture Capital Conference)
October 28, 1994... The 1994 Arizona Venture Capital Conference has selected 12 Arizona companies as finalists to present their business plans to a panel of national financial experts. The Dec. 15 conference, sponsored by the Phoenix Chamber of Commerce, brings...

Sky Harbor tries to land Phoenix-to-London flight. (Sky Harbor International Airport)
October 28, 1994... Continental Airlines executives remain non-committal after a month-long campaign by Phoenix officials to begin non-stop service to London from Sky Harbor International Airport. The carrier currently flies a non-stop Denver-London route, but...

Local chambers split on tobacco tax vote.
October 28, 1994... The proposed added state tobacco tax, one of the most volatile health care topics in business today, has caused severe splits in the Arizona business community. Proposition 200, The Tobacco Tax and Health Care Act, proposes a tobacco tax...

State bids for Micron Technology $1.3 billion manufacturing plant. (Arizona)
October 28, 1994... Arizona's economic development community is putting together a proposal it hopes will land another billion-dollar microelectronics manufacturing plant in the state. The Arizona Department of Commerce is preparing a proposal to present to...

Architecture awards build on design, efficiency. (American Institute of Architects of Arizona)
October 28, 1994... There was a time not so long ago when a person had to travel out of the state to view quality architecture. Now, examples of architectural excellence -- in highrises, family residences and public buildings -- can be found throughout the...

Two developers make great condo team. (Evans Withycombe Inc.'s founders Steve Evans and Keith Withycombe)
October 28, 1994... It seems as if Steve Evans and Keith Withycombe were destined to end up together. The similarities and common ground shared by the two should have thrust them together long ago. Both are long time residents of Arizona. Evans is 49,...

Home-health care firms vie for contracts.
October 28, 1994... Arizona home-health care companies are positioning themselves for market dominance and head-to-head competition to secure managed-care contracts. Home-health care companies are acquiring smaller firms, expanding into other markets in the...

SunQuest HealthCare adding two nursing homes.
October 28, 1994... Scottsdale-based SunQuest HealthCare Corp. has inked leases for two more skilled nursing facilities in Arizona and Nevada, and has signed a management agreement for one in Alabama. The acquisitions add 362 beds to SunQuest's portfolio of...

Reports of health reform death exaggerated.
October 28, 1994... Although national health care reform is dead and buried, it's definitely not resting in peace. Reform may not have happened at the federal level, but that's not stopping employers and health and insurance communities from health care reform...

Benefit plans put more onus on workers.
October 28, 1994... The Rouse Cos. Inc., a Phoenix-based firm that provides financial education as a benefit for employees of several corporations nationwide, plans to take its show out of the country. Australia seems to be the likely first step, says Kenneth...

Alzheimer's research showcased in Valley. (Phoenix, Arizona)
October 28, 1994... The ever advancing age of those in the Baby Boomer generation has generated a new emphasis for research on Alzheimer's disease. The degenerative disease of the central nervous system generally afflicts the elderly -- and Baby Boomers aren't...

Poe & Brown wants to buy insurance firms. (Poe and Brown of Arizona Inc.)
October 28, 1994... Poe & Brown of Arizona Inc., a general insurance agency, is planning to purchase other agencies. Bud Davidson, president of Poe & Brown of Arizona, says now that he has sold his private insurance company to Daytona Beach, Fla.-based Poe &...

Tempe vitamin maker takes shot at Valley. (21st Century Laboratories Inc.)
October 28, 1994... A Tempe company that manufactures vitamins and related health products has its products available on local store shelves. The six-week-old trial run at 18 ABCO Supermarkets marks a major milestone for 21st Century Laboratories Inc., says...

Smoke-free workplace wafting for the future.
October 28, 1994... Arizona employers are looking toward the smoke-free environment at Cigna Healthcare of Arizona as a role model for developing their own smoke-free workplaces. Dr. Leland Fairbanks, a family practice physician for Cigna, was the keynote...

Good insurance more than cost savings.
October 28, 1994... Health care competition is alive and well, and you can put it to work for your company and your employees. Premium costs are rising at the slowest rates in years; in some instances, they are going down. The quality of health care and customer...

New recruits, salaries flat at law firms.
October 28, 1994... The Valley's big law firms will add about 70 new associates to their ranks in 1995, showing little to no increase from this year's figures. Salaries also are expected to remain flat. The hiring partners and directors from several Phoenix...

Lawyers devote brain trust to intellectual rights.
October 28, 1994... With more and more microelectronics firms and computer software companies establishing a local presence, the Valley is becoming a silicon desert. The growth is spurring an expansion in local law firms, too, as more and more of them expand...

Lawyers head toward fixed-pay structures.
October 28, 1994... The days of businesses paying a law firm a big retainer to stick with them through thick and thin are long gone. Attorneys now are in an increasingly competitive market place and are faced with finding ways to maximize their services in order...

Some lawyers don't want ads to soar with eagle.
October 28, 1994... Many lawyers are reluctant to exploit a privilege that was granted to them 16 years ago: advertising. The U.S. Supreme Court in 1978 gave law firms the privilege to market their services with advertising. Most remain hesitant to do so, at...

Case could change rules on firing workers. (lawsuit between Christine McKennon and the Nashville Banner)
October 28, 1994... Businesses soon may have a new way to defend themselves against lawsuits from former employees who claim they have been wrongfully fired. The new defense weapon could reduce the number of discrimination suits brought on businesses, say legal...

Mediation not yet tried in bankruptcy court jam.
October 28, 1994... Bankruptcy filings have skyrocketed in Arizona since the mid-1980s, backing up the courts, but the Arizona district has yet to try alternative dispute resolutions to thin the dockets. Commercial Law Affiliates, a not-for-profit organization...

Going out: on the menu: spaghetti joints.
October 21, 1994... Executives of two Phoenix restaurant companies are prepared to pepper the Valley with nearly 20 new spaghetti restaurants. The upstart chains are Bssghetti, by East Side Restaurant LLC, and Italianni's, by Main St. & Main Inc. Both...

Staying in: coming attraction: video wars.
October 21, 1994... The battle for control over Valley residents' videocassette recorders has begun. Portland-based Hollywood Entertainment plans to open 25 to 30 video-rental stores in the Valley in the next few years, say company representatives. In a VCR...

Burden on corporate Arizona. (homeless persons)
October 21, 1994... When Larry Schwartz was vacationing in Turkey, one Turk incredulously asked him if Americans actually eat out of garbage cans. Schwartz, executive director for the Arizona Medical Clinic, was embarrassed for his country when he had to admit...

Chubby grocer bags 'Boss' title. (Eddie Basha)
October 21, 1994... Eddie Basha, Democratic gubernatorial candidate who is running on a "people not politics" campaign, is ninth in The Business Journal's list of most influential business leaders. His opponent, incumbent Republican Gov. Fife Symington also made...

ASU plans to handle student loans directly. (Arizona State University)
October 21, 1994... Arizona State University's plan to begin processing student loans directly through the university has local bankers scurrying to attract business from other schools. In response to ASU becoming a direct lender to university students, a group...

Thunderbirds help line up new golf event. (includes related article)
October 21, 1994... It was the kind of news that can lead to an accident for people who take telephone calls while driving. Fortunately, Michael Kennedy had pulled over first. Kennedy, a principal with the Phoenix law firm Gallagher & Kennedy, was in San...

Arizona banks in U.S. top 10 in loan growth. (Industry Overview)
October 21, 1994... Arizona bankers had the eighth-highest loan growth in the nation for the second quarter of 1994, according to statistics by Veribanc Inc. The state's banks posted an overall 13.5 percent growth in loans for the period ended June 30. The...

US West rations numbers as telephone demand climbs. (US West Communications)
October 21, 1994... US West Communications is handing out new telephone numbers faster than anticipated in Arizona and the company is rationing prefixes in an attempt to prevent a shortfall before a new area-code is added in March. Large businesses with several...

Public television adds a business news program.
October 21, 1994... Cassie Seifert, co-anchor for The Nightly Business Report, is in the Valley promoting her program and its morning counterpart, The Morning Business Report, and the creation of a news-brief segment that airs during prime time. The 60-second...

Six in state on Inc.'s fastest-growing list. (Inc. magazine)
October 21, 1994... Six Arizona businesses are on the Inc. magazine list of the 500 fastest-growing private companies in the nation. Spectrum Astro at No. 19 is the highest ranking Arizona company on the list. The Gilbert-based company posted 1993 sales of $17.3...

Office vacancy rates hit 13-year record. (Focus On Real Estate, Development and Construction)
October 21, 1994... More than 712,000 square feet of office space was absorbed in the Valley during the third quarter, driving vacancy rates below 16 percent for the time in more than 13 years. Despite the steady decline in vacancy rates and an inching upward of...

Housing starts strong, but homebuilders' stock lagging. (Focus On Real Estate, Development and Construction)
October 21, 1994... The Valley's publicly-held homebuilders are being hammered on their stock price because of a national gloom about decreasing home sales. The slam is happening even though the majority here are posting increased sales and earnings as...

Intel's $1.3 billion plant drains construction pool. (Focus On Real Estate, Development and Construction)
October 21, 1994... Intel Corp. is spending nearly $1 million a day on construction at its manufacturing complex and plans to have more than 1,500 construction workers at the site by year end, putting an even greater strain on the Valley's available labor pool....

REITs still hot source of money for deals. (real estate investment trusts) (Focus On Real Estate, Development and Construction)
October 21, 1994... Real estate investment trusts have been a hot issue on the markets for the past few years. The publicly traded pools of real estate assets have raised almost $8 billion nationwide for the first three quarters of 1994 and the momentum continues....

Plat thickens for usage of high-tech mapping. (Focus On Real Estate, Development and Construction)
October 21, 1994... Mapping technology that initially was developed for the Cold War is being harnessed for an ever-increasing number of civil uses. More than 3,000 city planners, geologists, disaster-relief managers and others will share the latest technologies...

Shea Homes uses TQM to lift its market share. (Total Quality Management) (Focus On Real Estate, Development and Construction)
October 21, 1994... While Total, Quality Management has become the operating system for many 1990s businesses, some tout their use of TQM, but change very little about their operations. But one Valley homebuilding company has proven that it has taken TQM to...

Development of factory outlets grows in Valley. (Arizona) (Focus On Real Estate, Development and Construction)
October 21, 1994... Factory outlet centers, a retail mainstay on the East Coast, are now popping up in Arizona and around the Valley. Just a few years ago only one factory outlet store could be found in the Valley, but now there are four centers operating around...

Alvarez wins minority builder award. (Martin Alvarez) (Focus On Real Estate, Development and Construction)
October 21, 1994... Martin Alvarez, president of Chandler-based Sun Eagle Corp., has been selected to receive the 1995 Outstanding Minority Constructor Award. The award, co-sponsored by the National Association of Minority Constructors and Arizona State...

US West chief makes connections. (Don Bliss, vice-president of U S WEST Communications Inc.)
October 14, 1994... One of the most influential men in Arizona wakes up at 5 a.m. every day to care for his terminally ill wife. He gently bathes her, applies her makeup and styles her hair. Her dignity and his own are important to Don Bliss, the man who runs...

U-Haul fights $1.47 billion verdict in family feud. (U-Haul International Inc.)
October 14, 1994... The U-Haul board led by chairman Joe Shoen is fighting the record $1.47 billion verdict unloaded on it by a jury Oct. 7, continuing the bitter six-year Shoen family feud. The jury verdict sided with the moving company's founder L.S. Shoen...

Voice-processing boosts Syntellect. (Focus on Telecommunications)
October 14, 1994... Syntellect Inc.'s new strategy in the high-growth field of voice processing appears to be paying off. After posting an $11.4 million loss amid restructuring in 1993, the Phoenix firm was back in the black for the quarter ended June 30 with...

Wireless message pad among new products. (InfoAdvantage service from PageMart Inc.) (Focus on Telecommunications)
October 14, 1994... Paging companies and computer manufacturers are forming alliances nationwide to offer new high-tech business tools to help the busy professional stay in touch while on the go. PageMart Inc., a Dallas-based nationwide communications company,...

Hotel firm files $135M offering. (Sonoran Hotel Capital Inc.)
October 7, 1994... Phoenix-based Sonoran Hotel Capital Inc. plans to raise $135 million through a real estate investment trust offering, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The offering is for 12.3 million common shares at a price...

Journal poll: leaders at top retain clout. (Business Journal Serving Phoenix & the Valley of the Sun)
October 7, 1994... The business climate in metropolitan Phoenix has swayed dramatically since last fall. Consider the booming real estate and construction industries that have caused sharp shortages of tradesmen. Or the successful emergence of Phoenix-based...

Peoria clinic plans growth, nursing home. (Arizona Medical Clinic)
October 7, 1994... The Arizona Medical Clinic is negotiating to purchase land surrounding its 72,000-square-foot facility so that it can double in size and build a 128-bed nursing home. The two projects could cost from $9 million to $12 million. Larry...

Ad contract spat brings counter pitch. (Taylor Advertising Inc.; Arizona)
October 7, 1994... Advertising executive Jay Taylor says he finds fault with a report that says his firm overcharged the state nearly $100,000 for bogus services. In fact, the state owes him an additional $40,000, Taylor says. Taylor Advertising Inc., of...

Bank One to place 295 ATMs in Arizona Circle K markets. (Bank One, Arizona N.A.; Circle K Convenience Stores Inc.)
October 7, 1994... Arizona's largest bank and largest convenience store chain are becoming partners in the cash business. Bank One Arizona is installing 295 automated teller machines in Circle K stores throughout Maricopa and Pima counties. "This will bring...

Single prices offered for health services. (Arizona Heart Institute and Foundation)
October 7, 1994... Valley physician groups and hospitals are beginning to offer single prices for some of their services in an effort to help employers and patients reduce health care costs. Arizona Heart Institute and Foundation guarantees a single price for...

Merger planned by HealthTrust and Columbia. (Columbia/HCA Healthcare Corp.; HealthTrust Incorporated-The Hospital Co.)
October 7, 1994... Columbia/HCA Healthcare Corp. and HealthTrust Inc. plan to merge, creating a $15 billion health care company and Arizona's second largest operator of hospitals. Only Samaritan Health System, which runs 2,312 beds in a dozen facilities, is...

600 contracts to be cut by Mercy Healthcare. (Mercy Healthcare Arizona)
October 7, 1994... Mercy Healthcare Arizona plans to terminate contracts with more than 600 physicians to help cut costs. The Phoenix-based hospital system is offering a new health-maintenance organization for its 7,000 employees, and will phase out its...

Electronics center to double plant size. (Tempe Electronics Center)
October 7, 1994... Varian Associates Inc. has begun a $7 million expansion that will nearly double the size of its Tempe Electronics Center and create 100 new jobs. It is expected to boost sales by 20 to 30 percent in the next year. The Palo Alto, Calif.,...

AmEx's Allegiance Realty arm is sold. (American Express' Allegiance Realty Group Inc.)
October 7, 1994... One of the Valley's largest commercial real estate management firms, Allegiance Realty Group. Inc., has been sold to the Insignia Financial Group Inc., a national real estate service firm. American Express, the parent company of Allegiance,...

700 apartment units planned for N.E. Phoenix. (northeast Phoenix, Arizona)
October 7, 1994... Evans Withycombe Residential Inc., the Valley's largest apartment developer and manager, has purchased three land parcels in north and northeast Phoenix with plans to build a total of 700 apartment units on the three sites. Evans Withycombe...

Sportsplex developer looks to expand. (Sportsplex Scottsdale; BG Development)
October 7, 1994... Interest from retailers and sporting goods manufacturers for space in the Sportsplex Scottsdale is so great that plans are being developed to expand the 640,000-square-foot mall, say the developers. In negotiating with prospective tenants, BG...

Medical offices are planned for site in Gilbert. (Arizona)
October 7, 1994... A Los Angeles investor plans to build a 38,000-square-foot medical office in Gilbert, a reflection of increasing demand and falling vacancy rates. Julian Geller of Los Angeles plans to build the first phase of the Baseline Professional...

Disaster-recovery teams organizing. (banks)
October 7, 1994... A car hits a power pole and electricity is knocked out for miles. The next day hundreds of checks bounce on the bank accounts of people who thought they had deposited funds to cover them. It is a banking nightmare. The role of banks'...

Phoenix buys out lease from Switzer's for block.
October 7, 1994... The city of Phoenix paid a premium price to put together a full block of land in downtown, but it has no immediate plans to offer the site to developers. In July, the city council approved a plan to buyout a lease agreement with Switzer's...

Scott Paper begins building $40 million plant in Yucca. (Scott Paper Co.)
October 7, 1994... Scott Paper Co. has begun construction on a $40 million, 200,000-square-foot manufacturing plant in Yucca south of Kingman. The plant, located on a 400-acre site in Yucca in Mohave County, is expected to be open by mid-1995, say company...

America West, Southwest explore alternatives for Sky Harbor's Terminal 4. (America West Airlines Inc.; Southwest Airlines Co.; Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport)
October 7, 1994... America West Airlines officials are trying to push Southwest Airlines out of the terminal the two airlines share at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. Airport officials say they tentatively plan to continue housing both airlines at...

Newsprint price hikes shrink publishers' margins.
October 7, 1994... The sharply rising price of newsprint is shrinking publishers' profit margins and will lead to increases in circulation costs and advertising rates at many newspapers across the country. Locally, publishers say they likely will increase...

New law allows out-of-state banks to consolidate here. (Arizona)
October 7, 1994... Out-of-state banks soon will be able to reorganize in Arizona and operate without a costly corporate structure. The just approved Interstate Branching Law would allow banks here to reduce their corporate staffing because the new law allows...

AmEx to cut 2,000 Phoenix jobs. (American Express Co.)
October 7, 1994... American Express Co. is eliminating approximately 2,000 Phoenix customer service jobs and closing three Valley operating centers over the next two years as part of a reconsolidation plan that will save $500 million in operating costs. Two...

Businesses befuddled by employee rules.
October 7, 1994... Government regulations often are confusing and businesses must comply or they risk penalties and lawsuits. The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 has been going into effect in phases and just recently began including small businesses,...

Touch-therapist rubs people the right way. (Marge Ebeling) (In the Background)
October 7, 1994... The history of healing through the laying-on of hands extends to Biblical times and beyond. Like other ancient forms of medical intervention, though, therapeutic touch -- as it is called today -- almost died out, giving way to what now are...

Simula stock jumps as it crashes into new markets. (Simula Inc.) (The Business Journal Monthly Stock Analysis)
October 7, 1994... Phoenix-based Simula Inc. topped this month's list of Arizona firms with the biggest share price increase. The crash safety product manufacturer had a 41.4 percent jump in its stock price during September on the news of its entry into a new...

He helped build local health care market. (Nick Devenney) (Profile)
October 7, 1994... Looking down over the Valley as the plane brings Nick Devenney back from his new architectural office in California, he gets a great sense of satisfaction seeing all the medical buildings he designed. Devenney, who will turn 60 in October,...

Meeting facilities adding space. (Phoenix, Arizona) (Focus on Meetings and Conventions)
October 7, 1994... The meeting and convention industry in metropolitan Phoenix has expanded quite literally in the past 12 months. Two new meetings and convention venues went on the market, while Sheraton Mesa Hotel expanded its meeting space and the Phoenix...

Room rates increasing as peak season begins. (hotels and resorts) (Focus on Meetings and Conventions)
October 7, 1994... Hotel and resort operators around the Valley are preparing to cash in during the upcoming peak convention and tourism season. Basic advertised rates, which are called rack rates, are expected to increase by at least 5 percent compared with...

Visitors want golf, skiing and cowboys. (Focus on Meetings and Conventions)
October 7, 1994... Convention attendees and other tourists want to live the Arizona lifestyle, rather than just see it through their hotel windows, says Staci Robinson, CEO of a Scottsdale tour company. Her company, Pro Connections Events Inc., offers tour...

Business taking meeting costs more seriously.
October 7, 1994... Executives are taking business meetings more seriously than in past years, putting more emphasis on work and less on outside activities such as golf or tennis. Businesses are looking at job productivity and bottom line returns when...