Denver Business Journal articles from December 1996

Denver Business Journal archives from December 1996

FAA probes Northwest. (Federal Aviation Administration; Northwest Airlines Corp.)
December 6, 1996... Special to the Business Journal Northwest Airlines Corp. is the subject of a Federal Aviation Administration investigation into possible safety and security rules violations at Denver International Airport. Admiral Cathal L. Flynn, FAA...

Smaller players chase new accounts. (bank marketing in Colorado)
December 6, 1996... For Colorado's middle class of banks, keeping up with Colorado National Bank and Norwest Colorado isn't easy. Realizing they can't be biggest, Bank One Colorado, Wells Fargo Colorado, Key Bank of Colorado and FirstBank Holding Company of...

High-tech toys hike HQ costs. (Corporate Express Corp.'s planned headquarters)
December 6, 1996... Corp. Express may spend $30M The notoriously frugal Jirka Rysavy is over budget and behind schedule building a new headquarters for the company he propelled to the top of the office-supply heap in 10 short years, Corporate Express Corp. One...

Fan clubs boldly go to new places. (Star Trek and Star Wars fan club magazine publisher Dan Madsen)
December 6, 1996... Aurora's science-fiction clubs hit 'warp speed' Dan Madsen didn't realize when he started his small "Star Trek" newsletter back in high school that it would bloom into a $5 million business. But after being licensed by Paramount Pictures to...

Golden company finds Santa is its bag. (The Noerr Programs in Golden, CO)
December 6, 1996... While many people devote a good portion of their December leisure time to holiday shopping and festivities, Judy Noerr and her husband, Philip Byrne, prepare for the season 365 days a year. Noerr founded The Noerr Programs in 1989 in...

Villa may be reborn as power center. (redevelopment of the Villa Italia Mall in Denver, CO)
December 6, 1996... Villa Italia Mall is headed toward demolition and will be redeveloped into an entertainment/power center, Grubb & Ellis Co. predicts in the retail portion of its 1997 real estate forecast for Denver. According to the report, which will be...

Hyatt DTC owner readies hotel's sale. (sale of the Hyatt Regency Tech Center in Denver, CO)
December 6, 1996... The other shoe has dropped for the Hyatt Regency Tech Center, one of metropolitan Denver's premier hotels. Chicago-based Hyatt Corp. purchased the 450-room property in August 1995 for an estimated $54 million, reportedly with the idea of...

United launches image-improvement bid. (United Airlines)
December 6, 1996... United Airlines is polishing its image to translate its. friendly skies credo to its Earth-bound concourses across the globe. Denver International Airport's largest carrier plans to pitch a broad marketing effort centered around "hassle free...

Commercenter snags first two tenants. (Majestic Commercenter in Denver, CO)
December 6, 1996... ProSource, Hibbert sign up to take space It's been a good week for Aurora-based Majestic Commercenter, an 800-acre industrial park near the burgeoning Denver International Airport Gateway. The park's owner and developer, Majestic Realty Co....

Auditor may thwart Denver hospital plans. (city auditor Don Mares' disapproval of plans to transfer Denver Health Medical Center to an independent authority)
December 6, 1996... City Auditor Don Mares said he won't approve the pending transfer of the Denver Health Medical Center to an independent authority until he gets answers to legal questions about the transfer. But city officials believe the issues can be resolved...

Battery marker tries for a national charge. (AVT Inc.)
December 6, 1996... Regional success AVT thinks big AVT Inc. is hoping its regional success in custom battery manufacturing can power it to national prominence. The Littleton-based company is preparing a surge to expand its business beyond the Rocky Mountain...

Defense eases up on contracts. (Dept. of Defense plans to minimize contract consolidation)
December 6, 1996... Procurement policy change called for biz WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Department of Defense is expected to significantly reduce consolidation of contracts, a scenario that until now has hurt hundreds of small businesses across the nation. Senior...

PanEnergy's CEO lands splashy deals. (Paul Anderson)
December 6, 1996... PanEnergy Corp. CEO Paul Anderson likes to keep a low profile when he runs meetings at the sprawling Houston-based natural gas pipeline company. But he has a penchant for making a splash in the deal-making game. Two years ago, he made his mark...

What Dial Corp. snubbed Denver. (Dial Corp.'s search for a new location)
December 6, 1996... Arizona made itself irresistible PHOENIX - When Dial Corp. chief executive officer Malcolm Jozoff arrived here this summer, he and his wife rented a home in Paradise Valley. Shortly afterward, the house was burglarized and badly vandalized....

Customer retention aim of Norwest deal. (Norwest Bank Minnesota's plans for National Business Finance Inc.)
December 6, 1996... Norwest Bank Minnesota has big plans for National Business Finance Inc., a Denver-based factoring company the Minneapolis-based bank acquired in October. National Business Finance had about $100 million in revenue in 1995. Norwest plans to...

Norwest wrests no. 1 spot from rival CNB. (Norwest Bank Colorado; Colorado National Bank)
December 6, 1996... 'Better is better' proclaims boss While Bank One and Key Bank map strategies and dream of grandeur, Colorado National Bank and Norwest Bank Colorado continue to jostle for the throne. Norwest recently bumped off Colorado National Bank as the...

Denver lands enviro HQ. (CET Environmental Services Inc.)
December 13, 1996... One of the largest environmental remediation contractors in the West is moving its headquarters to Colorado. CET Environmental Services Inc., which employs between 300 and 400 people nationwide, decided to move its headquarters to Denver from...

Welfare reform, roads top '97 agenda. (legislative agenda)
December 13, 1996... Like children staring up the chimney on Christmas Eve, business leaders are awaiting the new General Assembly and wondering if they will get a coveted Tickle Me Elmo or an empty stocking. The two biggest agenda items when the legislative...

Exam targets Antero: HMO scrutinized. (Antero Healthplans; health maintenance organization)
December 13, 1996... One of the largest managed-care health plans in the state, Antero Healthplans, has been cited by the Colorado Division of Insurance for violations of state law that probably will result in the company being fined. Antero, based in Denver, is...

Why yesterday's tactics may stymie TCI. (Tele-Communications Inc.)
December 13, 1996... True to its Western roots, Tele-Communications Inc. has built an empire by dodging bullets. In the early 1970s, the Englewood cable giant dodged creditors and banks and put its financial house in order. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, it...

Westminster consultant arrested. (Michael Gould)
December 13, 1996... Small-business marketing specialists Wharton M.B.A. questioned A Westminster small-business marketing consultant whose specialty is helping inventors launch their products has been arrested amid allegations he misrepresented his educational...

Christmas trees a growing industry.
December 13, 1996... Lot operator say 'education' changes environmental attitudes Denver-area Christmas-tree sellers are seeing sales increase as attitudes about buying real trees shift. Sales of fresh-cut trees had been declining, partly due to consumers'...

Chefs seek proper mix between money, meals. (restaurant industry)
December 13, 1996... Management skills key to success Many chefs dream of owning their own restaurants, but it takes more than great cuisine to operate a successful eatery. For one thing, it takes a lot of money, said Joan Brewster, executive director of the ACF...

Tech job shortage hits the U.S.
December 13, 1996... Wages climbing with demand WASHINGTON, D.C. - A shortage of qualified technology workers around the country is driving up wages, affecting college curriculums and separating the nation's true tech centers from the also-rans. After a bitter...

Putting down roots as state's weed czar. (Eric Lane, state weed coordinator for the Colorado Dept. of Agriculture's Division of Plant Industry)
December 13, 1996... He may not wield as much power as Nicholas II of Russia, but Colorado's new noxious weed czar rules with an iron fist when it comes to eradicating the state's weed problems. Eric Lane, 26, took over the post of state weed coordinator for the...

Aetna shops for HMO to grow Colo. presence. (Aetna Inc.; health maintenance organization)
December 13, 1996... Frontier an acquisition candidate? Aetna Inc., which is trying to transform itself into a national leader in managed health care, plans to enter the crowded health-maintenance organization field in Colorado next year - probably by acquiring an...

Broker active in Asian-American community. (real estate broker Shirley Fong)
December 13, 1996... At a time when anti-immigration sentiment seems to be on the rise, Shirley Fong may have cause not to be optimistic about trying to raise awareness of the diverse Asian communities in Boulder. But the veteran real estate broker, who recently...

Work on condominium projects starts in spring. (Buffalo Lodge project in Keystone, CO)
December 13, 1996... Designs have been inked for two more condominium projects at the Keystone ski resort's ever-unfolding, $700 million River Run Village base development. What the latest River Run developments, the $21 million Buffalo Lodge and Dakota projects,...

Rainmaker Luppens, swaps Cushman sides. (Carl Luppens; Cushman & Wakefield of Colorado Inc.)
December 13, 1996... Move took months of Yet another of metropolitan Denver's commercial real estate rainmakers has taken his thunder and lightning to a different firm. Carl Luppens, office leasing whiz and former senior vice president at Cushman Realty Corp.,...

Magazine blames stock woes on mob meddling. (Business Week)
December 13, 1996... Denver-based International Nursing Services has found itself in a major investigative story about mob influence on Wall Street. In its most recent edition, Business Week listed International Nursing among 16 stocks it uncovered during a...

Question of a free press fuels debate within CPA. (Colorado Press Assn.)
December 13, 1996... A rose by any other name is still a rose, but what about a newspaper? How do you decide if these sheets of paper in your hands right now are a newspaper? That's a question the Colorado Press Association has been struggling with for years. and...

Closed-circuit questions bring out best in victims. (victims of Murrah Building bombing)
December 13, 1996... Most of the publicity the government has received in the Oklahoma City bombing case has stemmed from the actions or inaction of the prosecutors who are attempting to convict Terry Nichols and Timothy McVeigh. Lead prosecutor Joseph Hartzler and...

Trustee poses Sheridan settlement offer. (First Trust N.A.; Sheridan, CO)
December 13, 1996... Investors in municipal building may wind up 56 cents on the dollar The trustee representing investors who financed Sheridan's municipal building has asked a Minnesota court for permission to settle for 56 cents on the dollar....

Last-minute shippers find they're not alone. (US Postal Service)
December 13, 1996... The holidays bring good cheer and... lots of packages. Millions of packages will be sent from Denver this holiday season and while the local post office is still the most popular choice, more options than ever are available to consumers....

Historical Society boss closes book on 30 years. (Colorado Historical Society)
December 13, 1996... James Hartmann, who is retiring next month as president of the Colorado Historical Society, has one major frustration from his 30 years at the society. He wishes the financial resources available to the society in recent years had been there all...

Clear some room for 5.2 million Coloradans. (population growth in Colorado)
December 13, 1996... Colorado's population will continue to outpace the national average over the next 30 years, and as a group, Hispanics will grow faster than any other demographic. One of five Coloradans will claim a Hispanic heritage in 2025, up from one of...

Solid succession planning insures future.
December 13, 1996... Establish your 'exit strategy' early to cut postmortem tax liability Call it succession planning or continuity planning, but it's something the owners of businesses may not always think about. By not planning, a business owner essentially...

Mental health coverage gets boost.
December 13, 1996... Federal law raises payment limits; keeps costs in check A new federal law brings payment limits for mental health treatment into line with those for physical illness, but health care observers say there's no need yet to worry about higher...

Colo. firms offer domestic partner benefits.
December 13, 1996... Large companies extend coverage to mates of gay, lesbian workers Health coverage for gay and lesbian employees' domestic partners is on the rise among Colorado's larger employers, though it remains less common among small and mid-sized...

Logic mission factor in Pepsi Center talks. (proposed home of the Denver Nuggets basketball team)
December 13, 1996... It is a known fact that the midpoint between the number 17 and the number 10 is 13.5. Add dollar signs and a few zeros to these numbers and you have the current dilemma facing both the city of Denver and Ascent Entertainment Inc. as...

Blame DIA's faults on the client. (Denver International Airport)
December 13, 1996... During the months surrounding DIA's long-delayed opening almost two years ago, the content of most local and national media overflowed with the message that Denver's new airport was not only unnecessary but a predictable flop. Adding to the...

City should keep tobacco money. (Denver Employees Retirement Plan's intended divestment of its tobacco company stocks)
December 13, 1996... There are few things simpler than managing an already highly successful investment portfolio. Doing absolutely nothing comes immediately to mind. It does not take a mathematical genius with ESP to determine that long-term growth can be...

Fight to resume for tourism funding. (Colorado Travel & Tourism Authority)
December 13, 1996... Proponents of the state's $6.4 billion tourism industry aren't ready yet to sign the death warrant for the Colorado Travel & Tourism Authority, but most concede that the concept on which it is based needs major revisions. The industry will go...

'Stealth' spending to slow in 1997. (secret federal spending)
December 20, 1996... Colorado's stealth economy has cushioned the state from military cutbacks, but the flow of intelligence dollars could be slowing. For the first time, the Governor's Office of State Planning and Budgeting has studied "secret" federal spending...

DIA data tells tale of delays. (Denver International Airport)
December 20, 1996... Survey spotlights tardy air traffic Denver International Airport has won accolades for moving travelers more swiftly, snow or sunshine, than the old Stapleton. But the major airlines haven't necessarily kept pace. As holiday travelers get on...

Downtown's brainy CEO. (Bill Mosher, pres. and CEO of Downtown Denver Partnership Inc.)
December 20, 1996... Bill Mosher, president and CEO of Downtown Denver Partnership Inc., has downtown Denver in his blood. His late father, Henry C. Mosher, worked in the Mountain Bell office high rise, now the AT&T building, at 15th and Curtis streets, taking the...

MinCorp files Chapter 11 bankruptcy. (MinCorp. Ltd.)
December 20, 1996... MinCorp Ltd., one of the state's largest engineering firms, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Dec. 6 after announcing that it is being sold to Pasadena, Calif.-based Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. MinCorp, headquartered in Englewood,...

Soft cash powers elections. (political contributions)
December 20, 1996... Contributions raise questions WASHINGTON, D.C. - Much of the political exuberance between Democrats and the Republicans during this election year can be attributed to American corporations and wealthy individuals. For the first time in this...

Bumps ahead for Colorado economy.
December 20, 1996... There are some ripples appearing on Colorado's smooth economic path that could indicate trouble ahead, according to a preliminary study on Colorado's economic development efforts. The findings are contained in an interim report by BBC Research...

Copper sale may speed OK for Vail-Ralcorp deal. (Copper Mountain ski resort; Vail Resorts; Ralcorp Holdings Inc.)
December 20, 1996... The sale of the Copper Mountain ski resort to Intrawest Corp., which vaulted the Canadian company to the top of the ski industry, could have a bearing on another high-profile consolidation - the Vail Resorts' acquisition of the...

Alliance executive striking out on her own. (Claire Brockbank and her firm Seque Consulting)
December 20, 1996... The word "segue," the dictionary says, means "to make an immediate transition from one section or theme, as of music, to another." With that said, it's no surprise that Denver health-care veteran Claire Brockbank has named her new company "Segue...

KN expands to Mexico with international unit. (KN Energy Inc.)
December 20, 1996... Mexico's state-run energy program has been running out of gas for a number of years, but the country will soon get an energy infusion from one of Colorado's largest natural gas marketing and distribution companies. Lakewood-based KN Energy has...

No place like home. (Mom's HomeWork, a newsletter for mothers running home-based businesses)
December 20, 1996... Women start their own newsletter for home-based moms More women are discovering they can work from home and still bring home the bacon. But balancing the books while changing diapers is a difficult juggling act, which is why Wendy Smith and...

New law 'simplifies' retirement plans.
December 20, 1996... Congress creates 'Simple' plan, repeals SAR-SEP plan for small business Starting Jan. 1, Congress has made it a little easier for small businesses to offer retirement plans to their employees, but the impact of the new law remains to be seen....

TCI's stock problem torpedoes cable deal. (Tele-Communications Inc.)
December 20, 1996... Plummet in value squelches buy WASHINGTON, D.C. - A plunge in Tele-Communications Inc. stock has stymied a plan to buy out its minority-owned partner in Washington's cable television system. District Cablevision Inc., led by cable...