Denver Business Journal articles from April 1998

Denver Business Journal archives from April 1998

Summer season sizzles: tourism looks strong. (Colorado)
April 24, 1998... The snow may be melting and ski season ending, but that doesn't mean you can't get away to your favorite ski resort for the weekend. No matter how high the temperature, Colorado resorts have a full line-up of activities to attract visitors...

Anschutz spearheads L.A. arena deal. (billionaire Phil Anschutz; L.A. Arena Co.)
April 24, 1998... Murdoch teams with Denver billionaire Phil Anschutz has done it again. The Denver billionaire led the charge to bring Australian media baron Rupert Murdoch, his News Corp. and their partner in sports ventures, Liberty Media Corp., into...

PSC, KN tangle over gas pipeline. (Public Service Company of Colorado; KN Energy Inc.)
April 24, 1998... Public Service Company of Colorado and KN Energy Inc. can't seem to agree on anything, including which regulatory body has jurisdiction over their Front Range pipeline projects. KN filed its plan for the Front Runner Pipeline with the Federal...

Coors targets minorities in new market strategy. (Coors Brewing Co.)
April 24, 1998... Coors Brewing Co. is tapping into the African-American market with the help of an Oakland, Calif., advertising firm. The Golden-based beer manufacturer has picked Carol H. Williams Advertising to handle a multimilliondollar national campaign...

Photonics struts its Colo. stuff. (Colorado)
April 24, 1998... 'Light' industry looks for a statewide role Photonics could be the biggest Front Range business that no one's ever heard of. But the industry hopes that's about to change with the creation of a statewide association and several key...

U.S. Bank and Wells Fargo may tango. (U.S. Bancorp; Wells Fargo and Co.)
April 24, 1998... Jack Grundhofer, as CEO of First Bank System, tried and failed to break big into California with the purchase of First Interstate Bank in 1996. He may be trying again as CEO of U.S. Bancorp. Wells Fargo outbid First Bank, which went on to...

Verdict expected soon for Jones-BCI lawsuit. (Jones Intercable Inc.; BCI Telecom Holdings Inc.)
April 24, 1998... Case outcome could alter the face of cable giant Cable industry watchers are anxiously awaiting a decision in the scrap between BCI Telecom Holdings Inc. and Jones Intercable Inc. The potential cornerstone court case could alter the face of...

Airport adds aviation ally. (Centennial Airport, Denver, Colorado)
April 24, 1998... National association supports Centennial & battle The National Business Aviation Association has thrown its weight behind business users at Centennial Airport in a brewing and potentially bruising fight against community activists. The...

'Roth mania' spills over to other IRAs. (individual retirement accounts)
April 24, 1998... Tax deadline prompts flurry of April activity at mutual fund investment centers Mutual fund investment centers proved almost as popular in April as H&R Block offices. Investors interested in Individual Retirement Arrangements have...

Business Bank uses IPO to expand Colo. reach. (Colorado Business Bankshares Inc. holds initial public offering)
April 24, 1998... Colorado Business Bankshares Inc. wants to straddle the large gap between the super-regional banks and the state's smallest independents with an initial public offering. The Denver-based bank-holding company filed last week with the U.S....

DIA flunks Year 2000 compliance test. (Denver International Airport)
April 17, 1998... Task force counting computer fix toll Denver International Airport has been billed as the airport for the 21st century. But it appears that billions of dollars in expenditures didn't include Year 2000 compliance. Today, DIA officials are...

TCI set to expand its reach. (Tele-Communications Inc.'s contracts with Sun Microsystem Inc. and Microsoft Corp.)
April 17, 1998... Deals likely to grow software portfolio Tele-Communications Inc. may soon boast one of the region's largest software portfolios. The Englewood cable giant, with a penchant for taking a piece of its partners, is poised to become a major...

Hog wild over Harleys. (Denver, CO, motorcycle dealer Freedom Harley-Davidson)
April 17, 1998... Bob Bell didn't leave a comfortable post at Public Service Company of Colorado Inc. to ride motorcycles just for fun. He signed on as operations manager at Freedom Harley-Davidson in Denver, putting both his career and his hobby on the same...

Chamber moves fast to fill No. 2. (Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce to choose replacement for VP of operations and marketing Tom Clark)
April 17, 1998... President John Lay contacts short list of finalists in wake of Torn Clark's departure The Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce won't let the seat on Tom Clark's chair get cold before it announces a replacement for its No. 2 person. Clark, one...

Hasan: I'll help Pueblo. (Foundation Health Systems Chmn and CEO Malik Hasan to protect interest of Pueblo, Colorado, in the selling of QualMed Inc.)
April 17, 1998... QualMed's sale pains chairman If Dr. Malik Hasan has anything to say about it, Pueblo citizens concerned about Foundation Health Systems' departure from Colorado can rest a little easier. Hasan, the health plan provider's chairman and CEO,...

Telesynthesis serves as link in phone wars. (software firm offers package for telephone companies)
April 17, 1998... An Englewood company is offering the telecommunications industry an olive branch: a software package to oversee a customer's switch from one local phone company to another. TeleSynthesis is putting itself in the middle of the bitter fight...

Truckers form linchpin in effort to spot trouble. (American Trucking Assn. joins Colorado's traffic management program)
April 17, 1998... Avoiding traffic jams on Colorado's crowded roads should get easier under a new "Highway Watch" program. As many as 2,000 to 3,000 truckers in the state are expected to start reporting traffic conditions to a central call center run by Jacor...

Entrepreneur to offer Net access via satellite. (KaStarcom World Satellite's Internet access)
April 17, 1998... An Evergreen entrepreneur wants to do for rural Internet users what satellite broadcasters did for television watchers outside of cable's reach. David Drucker, an attorney and businessman with a talent for negotiating with the Federal...

Hazmat advice keeps employees from harm. (safety consultant Hazmat Plans and Programs)
April 17, 1998... When a Hollywood film crew entrenched themselves in a hangar at Stapleton in 1996, Aurora-based Hazmat Plans & Programs was called in to consult on safety issues. For seven weeks, Hazmat technicians monitored every stunt, every explosion and...

Harley lands role on the silver screen. (Harley Davidson Inc. agrees to let its name and image be used in IMAX's movie production of 'Feel the Wind')
April 17, 1998... IMAX film hopes to capture bike mystique Anyone who has ever experienced the thunderous power of a Harley motorcycle on the open road knows what it's like to feel the wind. For 95 years, that sense of freedom has been at the heart of the...

City jail lands bids from private firms. (four public correctional companies bid for construction of new Denver County, Colorado, jail)
April 10, 1998... Denver weighs sale-leaseback option Four public correctional companies want to build a new jail for Denver County and lease it back in the latest twist on privatization. The companies claim they can build a facility to replace the...

Mergers next step for HMOs. (Colorado-based health maintenance organizations)
April 10, 1998... Experts: Deals key to surviving downturn HMO executives are talking mergers, not medicine, as things heat up in Colorado's already competitive managed care market. No longer able to beat the competition with low premiums and exclusive...

Level 3 seeks OK for local service. (Level 3 Communications Inc. plans to offer telephone service in Denver, Colorado)
April 10, 1998... Level 3 Communications Inc. has filed for permission to provide local telephone service in the metro area. The fleet upstart with lofty aspirations to build a national fiber-optic network filed an application with the Colorado Public...

Dailies fight war of attrition. (market share of Denver, Colorado, newspaper companies Rocky Mountain News and Denver Post)
April 10, 1998... A look at the latest circulation claims The Rocky Mountain News and Denver Post have hunkered down for a protracted siege in the six-county metro area. Final numbers from the Audit Bureau of Circulations for the year ended Sept. 30, 1997,...

PYR plows ahead. (oil and gas exploration company PYR Energy Corp.)
April 10, 1998... 3-D gives boost to energy firm Scott Singdahlsen got tired of using his technological expertise to help other companies find oil and gas. He changed that in 1996 when he got out of the 3-D seismic consulting business and formed his own...

Concentration is key to top company's success. (data base management firm Data Management Solutions Inc.)(Top 150 Fastest-Growing Private Companies: April 10-16, 1998)
April 10, 1998... Company earns reputation for expertise Call the founders of Data Management Solutions narrow minded, and they won't take offense. They'll allow it's the secret to their company's growth. Launched by president Steve Wine and CEO Brian...

Denver tech firms see stock prices move up. (Denver, Colorado-based computer services company Tava Technologies Inc. and Internet service provider Rocky Mountain Internet Inc.)
April 10, 1998... Deals responsible for increased value Two Denver-based companies are seeing their stock prices surge as they extend their reach and reputations beyond the Rocky Mountain Region. "Anytime stock runs up a buck a day for four or five days...

Focused telemarketing is key to Ram's success. (computer memory manufacturer Rocky Mountain Ram)(Top 150 Fastest-Growing Private Companies: April 10-16, 1998)
April 10, 1998... Memory company targets frequent buyers When Lisa Schaeffer founded her company, Rocky Mountain Ram in 1995, she anticipated fast growth so she only signed a one-year lease. Today, Rocky Mountain Ram lists $11 million in revenue, a more than...

British Airways picks 777s for Denver flights. (Colorado)
April 10, 1998... With less than two months until its first scheduled flight out of Denver, British Airways can't advertise, quote fares, take reservations or sell seats. But like a jet creeping along the taxiway waiting for clearance, the carrier is ready to...

Nasdaq rules threaten 11 companies. (Colorado)
April 3, 1998... At least 11 Colorado companies have found themselves between the Nasdaq and a hard place. The companies face being dropped from the Nasdaq Small Cap or National markets at the end of May unless they can come into compliance with new listing...

Denver's largess swelling. (Denver Foundation)
April 3, 1998... Foundation assets see 100% growth Denver's oldest community foundation has finally gotten business savvy after 75 years of operation. Through calculated investments in stocks and bonds, an increase in donors and a change in accounting...

Colorado economy surprises.
April 3, 1998... Revised numbers show 'slowdown' premature The Colorado economy has pulled a major head-fake worthy of Denver Broncos running back Terrell Davis. After showing early signs of slowing down last year, revised numbers reveal job growth sped...

Superior's tactics anger landowners. (Superior Urban Renewal Authority)
April 3, 1998... People want fair market value for land on planned shopping center development The Superior Urban Renewal Authority may have broken ground April 1 on its planned shopping center, but its struggle with area landowners is far from over....

Jeffco-built spy satellite goes public. (Lacrosse)
April 3, 1998... NRO eases secrecy behind the Lacrosse The National Reconnaissance Office has parted the blinds on one of its premiere spy satellites in south Jefferson County, releasing the first-ever images along with skeletal information about the...

Practice management: the antidote to HMOs? (Specialty Care Network Inc.)
April 3, 1998... Lakewood's Specialty Care Network sets standard Wall Street cast a critical eye on health-maintenance organizations last year, skeptical of manage care's ability to control costs while turning a profit. Analysts instead embraced physician...

Software firm organizes computer files. (1Vision Software LLC)
April 3, 1998... Software developed by the engineers at l Vision Software LLC can organize all your computer files, even the ones that aren't found on your hard drive. The company's 1 Disk file management system tracks all files stored on removable media...

Centura makes room for doctors in suburbs. (Centura Health)
April 3, 1998... Highlands Ranch health care heats up Denver's second-largest hospital system will make its presence known in Highlands Ranch later this year when it opens a medical office building, the second one to open within the residential community...

Rate hike likely in wake of HMO's $187M loss. (Foundation Health Systems Inc.)
April 3, 1998... SACRAMENTO - Foundation Health Systems Inc. has reported a loss of $187 million for 1997, shedding its first red ink in eight years. The company blamed its loss on merger costs when Foundation Health Corp. of Rancho Cordova, Calif., joined...