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

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

Going to the movies: Rainbow Studios begins work on animated film, TV pilot.
October 10, 1997... Phoenix-based video game maker Rainbow Studios appears to be closing in on its own pot of gold, beginning production work for its first movie and completing a television pilot for Steven Spielberg's DreamWorks SKG. The projects are the...

Ford steers into Valley. (Ford Motor Credit Co)
October 10, 1997... Ford Motor Co. is establishing its first major presence in Arizona with a move here by one of its subsidiaries. Ford Motor Credit Co. is moving the headquarters of its collections division - soon to be a separate business - to the Valley....

Plastics firm to create 100 jobs. (Landis Plastics)
October 10, 1997... Landis Plastics, a privately held manufacturer based in Chicago Ridge, Ill., will build its first manufacturing facility in the West at Mission Business Park in Tolleson, creating 100 immediate jobs. The company recently assembled 18 acres at...

Thompson, 'Republic' heat up paper chase. (Thompson Newspapers)
October 10, 1997... The agreement that has Thomson Newspapers acquiring Ottaway Newspapers' Daily News-Sun has fired up the presses for a second battle between The Arizona Republic and a Thomson-run newspaper. The first battle was initiated earlier this year...

Columbia takes shot at managed care. (Columbia hospitals in Valley of the Sun)
October 10, 1997... The two Columbia hospitals in the Valley are trying to lock in a bigger share of the managed-care market. "We are trying to provide a vehicle in which physicians and hospitals can effectively contract with managed-care companies and to provide...

Tax plan blindsides developers. (imposition of development tax)
October 10, 1997... Developers have ponied up to the table when it comes to paying impact fees and helping to offset the costs related to development. When it comes to a new tax being proposed by the city of Mesa, however, they don't want to play. The...

Biltmore will not be Biltmore much longer. (Biltmore Investors Bank)
October 10, 1997... Phoenix's Biltmore Investors Bank will shed its association with one of the Valley's elegant areas when a new name is announced early next year. Representatives at the bank's Wisconsin-based parent company - who have been mum on the subject up...

Farmers take Uncle Sam to court over water tax.
October 10, 1997... What the Interior Department gave some central Arizona farmers for their water rights, the Internal Revenue Service wants back. For Jacob S. Stephens II and his two sons, Jacob III and Russell, all of Litchfield Park, that could cost almost...

Atlanta firm tosses hat into AZ health arena.
October 10, 1997... Atlanta-based HBO & Co. quietly is becoming more entrenched in the Arizona health care market. No, HBO does not stand for Home Box Office, the cable television channel. In this case, HBO & Co., or HBOC, is a health information technology...

FPA strikes deal with radiology group. (FPA Medical Management Inc.)
October 10, 1997... San Diego-based FPA Medical Management Inc. has forged a national partnership with International Radiology Group, a deal that will kick off in Phoenix and follow in other parts of the country within a year. Dallas-based International Radiology...

State info technology agency quiet but effective. (Arizona)
October 10, 1997... A new government agency slated to oversee other state agency's information technology projects quietly began operating three months ago. But the lack of hoopla doesn't mean the agency hasn't been busy. So far, the Government Information...

Author touts Motorola's successful profile. (Motorola Inc)
October 10, 1997... Company executives looking for a profile of success need not look further than Motorola Inc., according to best-selling author and management consultant Oren Harari. Harari is the author of a new book, "Leapfrogging the Competition: Five Giant...

Mooove over, milkmen. (Shamrock's Food high tech facilities)
October 10, 1997... Got milk? Shamrock delivers with high-tech efficiency Cows and milk, curds and whey, high and tech. The last word pairing may seem out of place for one of the state's longest lasting dairy companies, but Shamrock officials hope to bolster...

Unity tackles big problem with 'SmallCycle.' (SmallCycle, a software maintenance program)
October 10, 1997... There are few things as embarrassing to a high-tech company these days as hearing about its web-site problems from potential customers trying to access it. Scottsdale-based Unity Software Systems promises to reduce those instances with...

High tech gains 8,000 jobs in state last year. (new high tech jobs in Arizona)
October 10, 1997... Arizona added 8,000 new high-tech jobs to its work force last year, but failed to keep pace with the fastest-growing industries of other states, according to preliminary statistics from the American Electronics Association. In the group's...

Insight gears for future with stock options. (Insight Enterprises Inc)
October 10, 1997... Tempe-based Insight Enterprises Inc. is building from the inside, through stock option plans for employees. The computer hardware and software distributor adopted a stock option plan when it went public in January 1995. "It aligns the...

Mac vs. PCs - it depends upon you needs. (preference between Macintosh or PC)
October 10, 1997... As we become even more dependent on technology, one nagging question haunts all computer shoppers, Macintosh or PC? The answer to this age-old technological question is drawn along lines of personal preference. But what do you really know...

State helps victims keep track of criminals. (Arizona Dept of Corrections automated phone technology)
October 10, 1997... With the help of automated phone technology, the Arizona Department of Corrections is making it easier for crime victims and the public to track criminals as they wind their way through the state's justice system. With a nod to victim's-rights...

Ever present computer fraud can be prevented.
October 10, 1997... More than half of the largest companies in the world have been victims of fraud during the past fiscal year, with 25 percent of them losing $1 million or more in the past five years. Because information-management technology is so widespread,...

Financier transferring knowledge. (Morton Fleischer, Franchise Finance Corp of America CEO)
October 10, 1997... "I've accumulated so much capital, I, in good conscience, cannot spend it on foolishness." For a man who controls a vast financial empire and has an astounding grasp of numbers, there's a fun side to Morton Fleischer that you wouldn't expect...

Fabricator steels against failure. (Schuff Steel Co)
October 10, 1997... Going public hasn't changed the culture of Schuff Steel Co. except now there are a lot more investment people asking questions. And the road show, which took top officers of the Phoenix-based steel fabrication and erection company crosscountry...

Poised for power. (Matrix Solar Technologies to relocate headquarters in Arizona)
October 17, 1997... Matrix Solar sees profit in deregulated electric market The solar industry in Arizona could catch fire in the next several years as utility deregulation creates new economic development opportunities for producers of photovoltaic products....

Motorola to cut 200 positions. (Motorola Computer Group)
October 17, 1997... Motorola Inc.'s Tempe-based Computer Group is trying to find new positions for at least 200 workers affected by its abrupt exit last month from the Macintosh clone business, and is considering re-entering the personal computer market with an...

Retirement home hangs in balance. (Desert Crest Retirement Center of Phoenix, AZ, files for bankruptcy)
October 17, 1997... Some elderly Phoenicians are caught in a tussle between an affiliate of the Roman Catholic Church and a Delaware-based bank. The Desert Crest Retirement Center, a 15-acre complex in central Phoenix, is home to about 100 people. The Arizona...

Proposed helipad gets heart hospital neighbors buzzing. (Arizona Heart Hospital, Phoenix, AZ)
October 17, 1997... Neighbors near the Arizona Heart Hospital under construction at 20th Street and Thomas Road in Phoenix are furiously signing petitions, opposing a proposed helicopter pad. "You wouldn't like a helicopter landing outside your window," said...

Union targets TRW workers. (United Auto Workers)
October 17, 1997... After years of union rumblings at TRW's Mesa airbag plant, the United Auto Workers has launched an all-out effort to add employees there to its waning ranks. Officials at UAW, best known for representing workers at the nation's Big 3...

JPI to build student, luxury apartments.
October 17, 1997... A Dallas-based apartment developer is entering the Valley market with two distinct products - a student apartment community near Arizona State University and a luxury apartment complex in Scottsdale. JPI of Dallas will build Jefferson Commons,...

Arizona market ripe for Giant expansion. (Giant Industries Inc. to open six new gas stations in Phoenix, AZ)
October 17, 1997... Giant Industries Inc. is taking a giant step toward growing in Arizona. The Scottsdale-based petroleum products company plans to break ground on about six new gas stations in the Valley within the next six months. "We really like this...

Healthy economy drives state SBA lending higher. (Arizona)
October 17, 1997... A healthy economy is the primary reason U.S. Small Business Administration loans in Arizona shot from $273.1 million in fiscal 1996 to $374.7 million in fiscal 1997, according to an Arizona SBA official. Phil Mahoney, acting district director...

Required postage meter change-out better deal.
October 17, 1997... When Les Walker heard about the mandatory replacement of mechanical postage meters with electronic ones, he was skeptical about the results. The owner of Mail Boxes Etc. at Central Avenue and Camelback Road, Phoenix, had not planned to replace...

Electric utility lawyers balk at fusing deregulation cases. (Arizona Public Service Co.; Tucson Electric Power Co.; Citizens Utilities Co.; Arizona Electric Power Cooperative Inc.)
October 17, 1997... Attorneys representing electric companies in four separate lawsuits dealing with impending deregulation are saying "no" to a judge's suggestion the cases be consolidated. All four cases are at different steps within the judicial process, and...

Apache Junction papers squaring off for readers. (Apache Junction News; Apache Junction Independent)
October 17, 1997... The weekly Apache Junction News is in its fourth month of existence, offering readers what one of its publishers, Ed Barker, considers better news coverage than the Apache Junction Independent. "There's no contest," he said. "We've got them...

New law allows pool for workers' comp. (Arizona)
October 17, 1997... Arizona employers looking to hook up with other employers in the state to insure their liability for workers' compensation now may do so, thanks to a new law passed during the 1997 legislative session. The Arizona Association of Industries...

Legal insurer open for business in the Valley. (National Legal Benefits Group opens Phoenix office)(Insurance & Benefits Trend)
October 17, 1997... A new company marketing legal insurance - in a fashion similar to how medical insurance is sold - has opened in the Valley. Just as medical coverage almost has become a given with a full-time job, legal insurance is beginning to follow the same...

Portability Act harms most small employers. (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996)(Insurance & Benefits Trend)
October 17, 1997... The Health Insurance Portability Act of 1996, or HIPAA, has been in effect only since July, but its impact on small employers has been most regrettable. Originally, HIPAA was designed, among other things, to make it easier for people to get...

Firm takes progressive approach to autos. (Progressive Insurance)(Insurance & Benefits Trend)
October 17, 1997... Consumers long have complained about the hassle of shopping for auto insurance, but Progressive Insurance is intent on changing things. The company, a subsidiary of The Progressive Corp. in Cleveland, has started advertising its Auto Pro...

Trial lawyers derail auto insurance reform. (Arizona Trial Lawyers Association)(Insurance & Benefits Trend)
October 17, 1997... The latest legislative attempt at auto insurance reform slammed into a wall when state trial lawyers led a successful drive to have a portion of the legislation put to a public vote next year. Trial lawyers say they hope the public will reject...

Actor takes role as restaurateur. (Ann Lee Harris, owner of Harris' restaurants in Phoenix, AZ and San Francisco, CA)
October 17, 1997... Ann Lee Harris no longer may perform for Broadway's masses or act in the limelight of television and movie cameras, but watching her conduct the nonstop activity in one of her restaurants, it's obvious that she never really left show business....

Eatery chain is serving success. (Famous Sam's Inc.)(Company Profile)
October 17, 1997... There are 28 Famous Sam's restaurants scattered around Arizona and New Mexico, and 25 more are set to break ground in Colorado. But once upon a time 0 or in 1963, to be more exact - there was only one such restaurant and sports grill, located...

Travel industry shaken. (effects of the airline commission cuts)
October 24, 1997... Agency-airline partnerships on crash-and-burn course Local travel agencies are shaving hours of operation, laying off staff, and charging fees for services in reaction to airline commission cuts. In September, national air carriers,...

Rauscher Pierce eyes Scottsdale sites. (Rauscher Pierce Refsnes Inc.; Scottsdale, AZ)
October 24, 1997... Rauscher Pierce Refsnes is eyeing two new local offices, amid a planned merger with sister firm Dain Bosworth. Interra Financial, parent company of Minneapolis-based Dain Bosworth and Dallas-based Rauscher, recently announced it will combine...

Former CyCare CEO flies high with new venture. (Cyne Systems Inc. CEO Jim Houtz)
October 24, 1997... Jim Houtz, who founded CyCare Inc. 29 years ago and sold it last year to HBO & Co. in a $287 million stock deal, is back in the entrepreneurial saddle. At 61, with two grandchildren, Houtz is starting JetPartners, a business he describes as a...

Computer firm masters future growth. (Mastering Inc.)
October 24, 1997... Scottsdale-based Mastering Inc., which until recently went by the name Mastering Computers, has paid $1.5 million cash to acquire future expansion acreage next to its new headquarters site at McCormick Ranch in Scottsdale. "Our goal is to stay...

'Republic' unsure about changes. ('Arizona Republic' newspaper)
October 24, 1997... It's too early to tell whether the overhaul of the ABG, or Arizona Business Gazette, will result in significant changes to The Arizona Republic's business news section. Reallocating resources from the weekly business newspaper to the Republic...

Mesa hotel employees approve unionization.
October 24, 1997... A Mesa hotel has become the second in the state to unionize. Employees of the Holiday Inn Express, located at 5750 E. Main St., have joined the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees International Union Local 631. The 90-room hotel has just...

Inficad business grows with Internet demand.
October 24, 1997... The ever-growing popularity of the Internet is translating into significant growth for fledgling service-provider Inficad Computing and Design. Having doubled its customer base to more than 5,000 over the past 12 months, the company is making...

Creditors want money from failing EconoPage.
October 24, 1997... EconoPage Inc., a chain of 32 retail pager stores, including five in the Phoenix area, recently was beeped by creditors wanting to know when they would be paid. Company officials replied at a meeting with those creditors Oct. 2 at the Holiday...

Garduno's packs up for Arizona move. (Garduno's of Mexico's expansion plans)
October 24, 1997... An Albuquerque-based food chain is scouting sites for an expansion into Arizona that will bring at least 320 jobs to its two initial Valley locations. Garduno's of Mexico operates seven Garduno's Chili Packing Co. restaurants in New Mexico and...

GlobeNet nears software firm buyout. (GlobeNet Software)
October 24, 1997... The neighborhood Mary Kay Cosmetics saleswoman isn't the only one profiting from the seemingly endless barrage of direct-marketing programs. Tempe-based GlobeNet Software, which develops applications that help companies manage large multilevel...

Valley ad agencies add, trim key positions. (Arizona)
October 24, 1997... Three of the Valley's top ad agencies are fine tuning, but while Lavidge Hiegel Baumayr and Moses Anshell added key positions, Phoenix-based E.B. Lane & Associates axed one. Henry Perlmutter is out as director of E.B. Lane InterActive, the...

Lane to take the field at Bank One Ballpark. (E.B. Lane & Associates Inc.)
October 24, 1997... E.B. Lane & Associates Inc.'s latest client is based locally, but the work is national and could bring more than simple dollars to the Phoenix ad agency. It also could help E.B. Lane build relationships with potential future clients. "It...

Driving force. (Arizona's environmental projects)
October 24, 1997... 'Serious' ozone label puts use of alternative-fuel vehicles to the test The time may be right for alternative-fuel vehicles to impact the commercial sector. For several years, government agencies - the U.S. Postal Service, the city of...

Adair greases way for cleaner lubricants. (James Adair)
October 24, 1997... How can an engine lubricant do its share to protect the environment? James Adair, president of Adair Distributing Inc. in Phoenix, said a good engine lubricant additive will eliminate emissions and other noxious odors as it improves the...

Echo Gecko sounds off for conservation. (Scottsdale, AZ's environmental management system)
October 24, 1997... The city of Scottsdale, famous for its scenic beauty, has enlisted the likes of a lizard to help promote environmental awareness as part of an effort to preserve its beauty. Bug Echo Gecko has an even bigger job now. He is the symbol of the...

Success rises from cheesecake. (Edible Eats Inc.'s success)(Company Profile)
October 24, 1997... Scottsdale businessman Ron Friedman has no idea what made him think about them at the time. He's just glad he did. It happened a little more than a year ago when friend Gary Blumberg was telling him about a party he was planning. "Oh," said...

Warm charm paints art dealer. (James Mussallem)(Company Profile)
October 24, 1997... When the Mussallem family decided to open an oriental rug and art store and gallery in Phoenix five-and-a-half years ago, people told the family it wouldn't survive because it belonged on the East Coast - where the big money is - rather than in...

Health system hunts partner. (Maricopa County Board of Supervisors looks for non-profit partner for Maricopa Integrated Health System)
October 31, 1997... Less than a year after killing plans to privatize the Maricopa County health system, county officials are about to try it again. The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors is considering a partnership with another health system to stop its...

Ralston starts own 'Biltmore' bank. (Barbara Ralston to put up Biltmore Community Bank)
October 31, 1997... Two impressive names are about to come together to create a new bank in the prestigious Camelback Corridor in Phoenix. Barbara Ralston, a longtime name on the Valley banking scene, is starting her own bank, the Biltmore Community Bank. The...

Drug-store giant eyes Tolleson. (Rite Aid to build warehouse)
October 31, 1997... Rite Aid, one of the nation's largest drugstore chains, is looking for sites to build a warehouse of up to 845,000 square feet that ultimately could employ as many as 1,000 people. Company representatives have visited Arizona, met with economic...

Samaritan turns down latest hospital sale offer. (Samaritan Health System nixes sale)
October 31, 1997... Samaritan Health System has turned down an offer to sell out to Vanguard, a newly formed capital partner steered by former OrNda Healthcorp chief executive Charlie Martin. Instead, Samaritan has decided to go it alone. To address its capital...

The sky's the limit for expanding SkyMall Inc.
October 31, 1997... SkyMall Inc. announced today it has completed a new service center that could double its employment and boost redevelopment of Phoenix's south side. SkyMall CEO Bob Worsley was standing by early this week as employees got acquainted with...