Orlando Business Journal articles from September 1999

Orlando Business Journal archives from September 1999

Princeton falls off the auction block - for now.(Princeton Hospital)
September 24, 1999... ORLANDO - Princeton Hospital's would-be suitors have left it stranded at the altar. The shuttered hospital went back on the auction block Sept. 14. This time there were no bidders. "Now they have to try to figure out what to do with...

Hospitals, doctors turn to new insurance to add protection.(Moore Stephens Lovelace offers insurance for billing errors in the healthcare industry)
September 24, 1999... Local CPA firm stakes early lead in trend to provide insurance for billing errors ORLANDO - Malpractice insurance was only the beginning. Now health care professionals can buy another line of coverage designed just for them. ...

Boat manufacturer goes all out.(Velocity Powerboats)
September 24, 1999... Sanford business is winning races and customers with its power and pleasure boats. SANFORD - Steve Stepp likes to push his Velocity Powerboats to the limit racing against the big boys. At a recent racing competition. Team Marine...

Lakeland agency is partnering with others to diversify and grow.(Lakeland, FL-based Lanier Upshaw Inc.)(Brief Article)
September 24, 1999... LAKELAND - Lanier Upshaw Inc. has managed to survive the latter half of the 20th century without defaulting or being bought out. Now, its new chief executive officer wants to make sure it will be around well into the next millennium. ...

Is Dell's smooth road to success about to get bumpy?(Dell Computer Corp.)
September 24, 1999... The numbers speak volumes about Dell Computer Corp.'s past and current success. Stock values have grown more than 53,000 percent in the last 10 years. Revenue topped $18 billion in fiscal 1999, a 48 percent improvement from 1998. And...

State warns HMOs about low payments.(Florida)
September 17, 1999... TALLAHASSEE - Florida's Department of Insurance is warning Florida HMOs that automatically "downcoding" medical claims without investigating them is illegal. The bulletin was issued because the department has received complaints...

Time share sales hit home.
September 17, 1999... Upscale residential communities are the latest entry in local time share market. KISSIMMEE - The British buy time shares in mobile homes. A Harley Davidson motorcycle can even be purchased as a time share. Now, Kissimmee-based...

ADA suit targets more hotels.(Americans with Disabilities Act)
September 17, 1999... Disability litigation now involves more than two dozen local properties. ORLANDO - Ten more metro Orlando hotels have been accused of violating the federal Americans with Disabilities Act, bringing the total number of corporate and...

Nurses, doctors trade jabs over prescriptions.
September 17, 1999... ORLANDO - Nurses expect to lose ground Sept. 25 when nursing and physician officials hold a conference call to discuss a proposed rule that would allow certain nurses to prescribe narcotics. The proposed rule states that advanced...

Massey sues equipment retailer; retailer sues manufacturer.(Massey Cadillac Inc; SPX Corp)
September 17, 1999... ORLANDO - There is a whole lot of shakin' going on, all of the parties agree - but no one is willing to accept responsibility. The violent shaking comes from 18 Benwil 9,000-pound automobile lifts and a single Benwil 9,000-pound alignment...

FRA cooking up new legislative menu.(Florida Restaurant Association)
September 17, 1999... ORLANDO - Orlando Business Journal caught up with Carol Dover, the Florida Restaurant Association's energetic president and CEO, during the 1999 Foodservice Show at the Orange County Convention Center Sept. 10. Dover took a moment to...

Porsche 911: the latest and greatest edition yet.
September 17, 1999... Tom: The line between indescribable pleasure and abject terror is a fine line indeed. I'm reminded of that as I go careening under the tunnel into the final turn at the legendary Road Atlanta, a turn that requires you to go fiat out in third...

Cruise industry makes economic splash.(Statistical Data Included)
September 17, 1999... Jacksonville considers launching itself as a home port to cash in on floating vacations. JACKSONVILLE -The cruise-ship business generates an annual economic impact of $3.3 billion in Miami and $751 million in Fort Lauderdale. In Cape...

Puerto Rican chamber makes deal to grow.(Statistical Data Included)
September 17, 1999... Sanford/Seminole County Chamber of Commerce is partnering with the Puerto Rican Chamber of Commerce of Central Florida to improve opportunities for business growth. Puerto Rican Chamber Director Michael Rodriguez says the alliance is in...

Investment clubs offer hands-on finance training.(Statistical Data Included)
September 17, 1999... Beth Hill realized she didn't know much about investing, so she decided she better get some help. By word-of-mouth, she heard about a local investment club affiliated with the National Association of Investors Corp., and she joined. That...

SunTrust Banks adds line of Florida Internet services.(Statistical Data Included)
September 17, 1999... SunTrust Banks Inc. is extending its Internet banking services to more than 2 million customer households in Florida, Georgia, Tennessee and Alabama. The move enables SunTrust consumer and small business customers to conduct selected banking...

Dyer's Rx: cheaper insurance.(Florida Sen. Buddy Dyer)
September 10, 1999... ORLANDO - One of the state's most vocal advocates of access to health care is sponsoring a bill that, if passed, would allow insurers to sell policies eliminating coverage for procedures ranging from mammograms to dental surgery. It's a...

Styles sells; firm is poised for growth.(Jean Styles' sale of Styles Estates Ltd. and Advantage Vacation Homes by Styles Inc. to ResortQuest International)
September 10, 1999... KISSIMMEE - Jean Styles never thought about selling the vacation home company she worked nearly two decades to create. But when the traditional offer-you-can't-refuse offer came along, she says she had to accept. Two of Styles'...

County's cash cow thinning.(Orange County, Florida's Tourist Development Tax)
September 3, 1999... But demands for a slice of Orange County's resort tax revenue keeps building ORLANDO - Orange County's sturdy cash cow - the Tourist Development Tax - is starting to look a little gaunt. That's the word from a Financial adviser to...

Holliday: local sales strong.(mortgage banker Holliday Fenoglio Fowler L.P. continues to close deals in Orlando, FL)
September 3, 1999... ORLANDO - The office is gone, but the deals aren't. A second member of the soon-to-be-shuttered Orlando office of Holliday Fenoglio Fowler has decided to continue with the company. Along with Thomas Hayden, who previously managed the...

Auction stalls, ex-workers file for $3M.(Princeton Hospital, Orlando, FL)
September 3, 1999... ORLANDO - The planned auction of Princeton Hospital stalled, and former employees announced they will seek roughly $3 million from proceeds of the sale - once there is one. That figure includes at least $262,000 for three weeks worth of...

Auction papers shed light on Plaza problems.(Hotel Royal Plaza, Lake Buena Vista, FL)
September 3, 1999... LAKE BUENA VISTA - As a Chicago lender prepares to sell its stake in the Hotel Royal Plaza, details of financial troubles plaguing the high-profile property have begun to surface in auction documents. Heller Financial is selling its $9...

ORHS delves into debt to pay off bonds.(Orlando Regional Healthcare System issues $270 million worth of new bonds)
September 3, 1999... ORLANDO - Several years of operational losses and about $11 million in disputed medical claims have created financial challenges for Orlando Regional Healthcare System - and prompted a New York bond rating agency to assign an A2 rating with a...

Lights! Camera! Question marks!(Monarch Studios)(Company Profile)
September 3, 1999... Monarch Studios promises plenty, but some wonder where the money men are. DAYTONA BEACH - If Monarch Studios were a movie, it would be Mystery Men. The company only incorporated to do business in Florida a scant four months ago. ...

Silver bullet: firm grows profits with weaponry.(Company Profile)
September 3, 1999... MELBOURNE - What a difference a lathe makes. Alphatech System's recent leap into machining special ammunition for the military has grown the company's revenues, sparked an ambitious training effort and led to its first expansion outside...