Denver Business Journal articles from August 1998

Denver Business Journal archives from August 1998

Bear market claws at Colo. stocks. (Colorado stock markets)
August 7, 1998... For Colorado stocks, the bear market has arrived. As the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 indexes teeter on the brink of a correction, the majority of Colorado companies already suffer from 30 percent or greater declines in their...

E-470 cost takes toll on trucks. (new highway toll)
August 7, 1998... Big rigs are balking at road's hefty fees High tolls could drive truckers away from the new E-470 beltway on the metro area's eastern edge. The E-470 Public Highway Authority has proposed charging five-axle trucks 60 cents a mile to travel...

Manville raises the roof. (Johns Manville Corp.)
August 7, 1998... Denver-based Johns Manville Corp. may have hit a home run at the new Bank One Ballpark in Phoenix, but another company swung the bat. Manville, a maker of insulation and building products, takes credit for the $355 million ballpark's fancy...

Heading Bloomingdales off at the mall. (May Department Stores buys Joslins department store in Colorado)
August 7, 1998... There's a not-so-subtle message behind May Department Stores' sudden decision to buy the soon-to-be vacant Joslins department store at the Park Meadows mall and turn it into a Lord & Taylor. Have you figured it out? Just in case you...

Telecom company bides time for IPO. (initial public offering for Time Warner Telecom Inc.)
August 7, 1998... Time Warner unit delays plans to go public For her 40th birthday, Larissa Herda received an enviable promotion and a huge new challenge, but a public offering didn't pop out of the cake. What the recently appointed president and CEO of Time...

'Dirty' business pay more to top executives.
August 7, 1998... Dirtier companies pay their executives more than their environmentally friendly competitors, according to a study by an associate professor at the University of Colorado at Denver. In 1995, Naomi Soderstrom began researching whether companies...

Davis Audio-Visual files for Chapter 11. (Davis Audio-Visual Inc.'s bankruptcy petition)
August 7, 1998... Bankruptcy petition lists $3.9M in liabilities, $1.7M in assets Davis Audio-Visual Inc., which provides sales and rentals of audio-visual equipment, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on July 27, claiming $3.9 million in liabilities and...

Accelr8 offers product at right price - free. (Accelr8 Technologies Corp.)
August 7, 1998... Despite projections for a net loss this quarter, Accelr8 Technologies Corp. won't charge users a dime for its latest product. Accelr8's newest offering, Ignition 2000, is a diagnostic tool for discovering Year 2000 problems within a computer...

Playing to win. (game developer Stephen Kal bets on Pyramid Dice)
August 7, 1998... Entrepreneur bets on 'Pyramid Dice' Stephen Kal has a "dicey proposition" for Donald Trump types. Invest in his casino table game, Pyramid Dice, and rake in handsome returns. Kal is a 43-year-old Denver game developer seeking $7.5 million on...

E-470 project splinters contractors.
August 14, 1998... Teams bidding on remaining $300M job Breakups in the construction industry are about as common as splits in Hollywood marriages. What isn't common is the massive split that the players building the E-470 tollway are planning so they can win...

Keeping a legend alive: comic artist's nephew protects Kirby estate. (Robert Katz)
August 14, 1998... He doesn't wear a mask and cape and, as far as he knows, his superpowers are in remission, but Robert Katz fights against a great injustice. As trustee for his uncle's estate, the nephew of comic artist Jack Kirby struggles to gain some long...

Office investors shopping around: J.D. Edwards may repurchase property.
August 14, 1998... J.D. Edwards may repurchase property The summer heat and annual August malaise may have dampened some buyers' ardor for acquiring Denver-area office buildings, but others are still shopping - and buying. And owners are continuing to look at...

'Everest' scales new heights for museum: IMAX film breaks box-office records.
August 14, 1998... Looking at Mt. Everest, climbers see the risk and reward associated with tackling the mountain. So did the Denver Museum of Natural History when it took a serious look at the mountain in 1994. Today, the museum sees dollar signs atop the...

McGraw broadens info base. (McGraw-Hill Inc.)
August 14, 1998... CEO wants to expand operations in Denver Count McGraw-Hill chief executive Harold "Terry" McGraw III as one executive who thinks international business is going to boom in Colorado in the next century. McGraw, who heads one of the world's...

Idea for Rainforest hatched in his house. (Denver, Colorado-based Rainforest Cafe's Steven Schussler)
August 14, 1998... Schussler used home as the prototype Steven Schussler is a self-proclaimed "nutty professor" who said he wasn't especially surprised when he regularly began receiving telephone calls from psychiatrists in 1989. Concerned friends had asked...

State stretches out definition of a limo. (Colorado)
August 14, 1998... New law includes sport utility vehicles Corporate travelers can tool around Denver under a new definition of luxury. Vans and sport utility vehicles started qualifying for duty as luxury limousines in July, thanks to a change in state law...

Lights, camera, action! SunStone wraps up its first production. (SunStone Communications Inc.)(Small Business Strategies)
August 14, 1998... A small Denver film company is attempting to steal a piece of Hollywood's pie by producing feature-length, family-oriented movies for the direct-to-video and cable television markets. Using a concept called participatory filmmaking, SunStone...

States torpedo kidZtime's claims. (potential lawsuit against kidZtime TV Inc.)
August 21, 1998... Idaho, Ohio hammer Colorado firm A Lakewood company that promised high returns for investing in "wholesome" children's television programs now faces the wrath of state securities commissioners and disgruntled investors from Massachusetts to...

Revenge of the M.D.s. (formation of the physicians' organization Millennial)
August 21, 1998... In May, a group of enterprising physicians set out to prove they could run a hospital and manage patient care better than corporate giant Columbia/HCA Healthcare Corp. They named their grand experiment Precedent Health Center. This month,...

Hunt's on for HMO members. (health maintenance organizations)
August 21, 1998... Open enrollment season under way The onset of autumn in Colorado means thousands of outdoor enthusiasts soon will descend upon prime hunting ground in search of game. It also signals the beginning of open enrollment season for health-plan...

Cartoons simplify the Web; NetSage helps online novices. (NetSage Corp.)
August 21, 1998... Animated characters born in Golden might just bridge the communication gap between computers and people for once and for all. The characters developed at NetSage Corp. were designed to find solutions to interface problems familiar to anyone who...

Investors want municipal bonds. (Denver, Colorado)
August 21, 1998... Low prices, shaky market fuel interest For most of the '90s, municipal bonds elicited yawns, even snores. Now they are starting to get a second look from nervous investors. A choppy stock market combined with bargain basement prices on...

Email Publishing deal sets course for future. (Email Publishing Inc.)
August 21, 1998... Acquisition adds broadcast service to Boulder startup Andrew Currie, president of Email Publishing Inc., always figured he'd sell his baby. That day has-arrived and he couldn't be happier. Today, Currie is waiting for the San Diego-based...

Program teaches technical skills to women. (Transformations program)
August 21, 1998... A new program presented through the Higher Education and Advanced Technology Center at Lowry offers women a hands-on opportunity to learn technical skills. Called Transformations, the program is funded by grants from Denver-area foundations....

Plaintiffs tell of kidZtme losses. (bankruptcy of kidZtime TV Inc)(includes related article on the plaintiffs' claims against the company)
August 28, 1998... Tipper Gore letter part of the pitch Thousands of investors across the country are waking to the sickening realization that they may see nothing out of the estimated $50 million they invested in a Denver-based venture. Frank MacDonald, like...

Hanson makes his move. (businessman Doug Hanson's expansion plans for Rocky Mountain Internet Inc)
August 28, 1998... Doug Hanson wasted little time changing the face of Rocky Mountain Internet. Now, he's about to change its name. With a major personal investment last October, Hanson arrived at Rocky Mountain Internet Inc. as its president, chairman, CEO and,...

Walkout strikes U S West managers: labor dispute tests loyalty of top workers.
August 28, 1998... U S West Inc.'s strike is exacting a toll, but not just on frustrated customers and leg-weary picketers. The nearly two-week-old strike is taxing the 14,000 managers who are left behind to keep the Baby Bell running smoothly across its 14-state...

Celestial sips retail operations: Boulder tea-maker to open more shops. (Celestial Seasonings Inc)
August 28, 1998... Celestial Seasonings Inc. has brewed up enough business from its gift shop and catalog that the Boulder-based tea maker plans to introduce small retail stores that will include tea bars. "We have had such good success and such good feedback...

Why Hayes gets so much of the pie. (success of Janus Funds professional portfolio manager Helen Young Hayes)
August 28, 1998... Janus whiz controls impressive wealth As an amateur triathlete and professional portfolio manager at Janus Funds, Helen Young Hayes understands the importance of hanging in for the long haul. A focused Hayes has managed to not only demolish...

Phone companies plot Denver entry; wireless service relies on rooftop setup.
August 28, 1998... Denver is about to attach a whole new meaning to the term wireless phone service. Two providers of local phone service, delivered via fixed wireless connections, are preparing to introduce their alternatives to business consumers eager for a...

Rodizio Grill serves up expansion plans.
August 28, 1998... Rodizio Grill, the Brazilian-style steakhouse that operates three restaurants in Denver, will open four more restaurants in three states by the end of 1998. The Denver-based restaurant group opened its first restaurant in June 1996 in...

Redcape joins family of Sun divisions; software developer expected to mesh well with new Jini product line. (Sun Microsystems Inc's acquisition of Boulder, CO-based Redcape Policy Software Inc)
August 28, 1998... This spring, when Scott McNealy, chairman of Sun Microsystems Inc., posed for a magazine cover in a super-hero outfit, complete with a flowing red cape, one Boulder startup got the joke. In the weeks following that issue's publication, Sun...

Rolling in the dough: Claytronics molds niche in education.
August 28, 1998... As the school year starts anew some youngsters will get a chance to sculpt Claytronics' brightly colored, scented modeling dough. The firm manufactures dough used in schools, preschools, day-care and other early-learning centers. The usual...