Orlando Business Journal articles from June 1998

Orlando Business Journal archives from June 1998

Noted local surgeon fighting for license. (Dr. Michael Butler)
June 26, 1998... ORLANDO - Citing a continuing pattern of patient deaths, the Florida Department of Health last month issued a rare emergency order restricting the medical license of prominent Orlando general surgeon and past medical society President Dr....

State closing case on $12M gold scam. (American Coin Collectors's scam)
June 26, 1998... ORLANDO - The gold is gone, the brothers Murphy have vanished, and the state Attorney General's Office is preparing to shut its year-old civil case on a $12 million gold coin scheme spanning seven states. The problem, says Assistant Attorney...

Scrutiny of airport vending on the horizon. (Orlando Sanford Airport to be reclassified by the Federal Aviation Administration)
June 26, 1998... SANFORD - What's in a name? Tens of thousands of dollars in airport contracts, according to federal law. The Federal Aviation Administration is considering reclassifying Orlando Sanford Airport as a "primary airport" - a designation that...

Clearwater firm relocates; tech spinoffs planned.
June 26, 1998... MAITLAND - A small Clearwater company that cultivates early-stage technology ventures has relocated to Maitland to be closer to its promising new Orlando-area projects. And the company - Military Commercial Technologies Inc., or Milcom - is...

Mechanical Services sets course for Enfinity-and beyond. (Mechanical Services is one of the firms under the newly-formed Enfinity)
June 26, 1998... ORLANDO - Mechanical Services of Orlando Inc. is going public. The 20-year-old heating, ventilation and air-conditioning contractor has joined with seven other national firms to create an umbrella corporation - Enfinity Corp. - which in turn...

Hospital health plan awash in red ink. (Florida Hospital Premier Care health plan)
June 26, 1998... ORLANDO - A federal pilot project designed to cap health care costs for seniors is hemorrhaging cash. Sources close to the project say the Florida Hospital Premier Care health plan for the elderly is losing about $30 million annually, and...

Airport deal to lure cargo, international airlines. (Orlando International Airport)
June 26, 1998... ORLANDO - Orlando International Airport is mulling over a plan offering signatory status - a financial deal typically offered only to larger domestic airlines - to international and cargo airlines. "I think with this Orlando becomes more...

Has Florida Hospital clinched Medicaid pilot?
June 26, 1998... ORLANDO - Florida Hospital appears to have clinched participation in a pilot program treating Medicaid patients. The 1997 Legislature already specified Orange County as one of up to four demonstration sites - and Florida Hospital is the only...

Home care: an industry in crisis.(Focus: Health Care)
June 26, 1998... New Medicare payment rate devastating Forty-three of Florida's 390 Medicare-certified home health care facilities have shut down in the past month - seven in Central Florida - casualties of a congressional war against Medicare misuse. "We...

Terminal hitting turbulence. (multimillion dollar losses at Orlando Sanford Airport in Florida)
June 19, 1998... A case of overly rosy revenue forecasts? SANFORD - When Orlando Sanford Airport went to bond buyers to fund a one-of-a-kind international terminal, it promised multimillion dollar profits. Instead, the terminal is racking up multimillion...

New strategies turn around business park. (Airport International Park of Orlando)
June 19, 1998... ORLANDO - Something clearly was wrong. Business park operators Floyd Whiddon Jr. and Paul Sabga knew they had the right product, an outstanding location and certainly the know-how. But three sales totaling 73 acres valued at $5.5 million...

Hope strikes gold in Orange County dirt. (Bob Hope; real estate development)
June 5, 1998... After 20 years, laughing all the way to the bank ORLANDO - Comedian Bob Hope has struck Central Florida pay dirt. The 95-year-old entertainer plans to sell 80 acres later this year to a development team for an estimated gross profit of $19...

Brevard woman wins $1 M in same-sex harassment lawsuit. (Brevard County, Florida)
June 5, 1998... ORLANDO - In one of the first successful same-sex sexual harassment suits in the country, a Brevard County woman has won a $1 million judgment against Belk Lindsey Stores Inc. Steven M. Fahlgren and Jonathan C. Hollingshead of the Orlando law...

Hospital firm suffers setback in Texas federal court battle. (NewCare Hospital Corp.)
June 5, 1998... DALLAS - NewCare Hospital Corp. has lost another legal skirmish in its battle for control of an East Texas hospital. A federal judge in Dallas has temporarily barred NewCare and investor Dan Carter, who together own the hospital's bonds, from...

State's international trade group chalks up first default. (Florida Export Finance Corp.)
June 5, 1998... TALLAHASSEE - The Florida Export Finance Corp. recorded its first loan default this month. The biggest surprise, says J. Stephen Fancher, president and CEO of the quasi-government international trade group, is that it took so long. "We...

Commerce ruling leaves both sides wanting more in fish fight. (Chilean salmon imports)
June 5, 1998... ORLANDO - The U.S. Department of Commerce has scrapped allegations that Chile is illegally flooding the U.S. market with cheap salmon. The 11-month investigation was touched off by eight salmon farmers from Maine and Washington state. They...

Economists weight high cost of lower unemployment rates.
June 5, 1998... WASHINGTON - America's labor market is stretched so thin that local economies in several parts of the country will slow down considerably. At least 65 of the nation's top 99 metropolitan areas have an unemployment rate of less than 4...

Defunct Norman Bros. dealership to ex-CPA: you goofed. (Kane & Associates)
June 5, 1998... WINTER PARK - An auto dealership that went bust last year after its controller admitted stealing more than half a million dollars is suing its CPA for $1 million. Norman Brothers Nissan Inc.'s Orange Circuit Court suit alleges Gary D. Kane,...

Stacking the deck. (Florida Lift Systems Inc.)(Company Profile)
June 5, 1998... Stacking and racking. It isn't the sexiest business in the world, but to national Orlando-operating retailers such as Eckerd's, distributors such as Toys "R" Us and big-name resort enterprises such as Kissimmee's Vistana, streamlined...

Great lessons learned in business.(Small Business Strategies)
June 5, 1998... Some of the best workplace advice comes from peers, who already have learned a lesson or two on the best ways to do business. Orlando Business Journal asked Central Florida businesspeople the most valuable lessons they have learned in the...