Denver Business Journal articles from December 2000

Denver Business Journal archives from December 2000

Slowdown predicted.(in economy)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
December 29, 2000... But Colorado should fare better than the US. as a whole Colorado should fare better than the country as a whole in the new year, avoiding a recession, but the state could still face a significant economic slowdown. "The economy in...

DIA growth gets ready to fly.(Denver International Airport)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
December 29, 2000... On the heels of what should be another record-breaking year in passenger traffic, Denver International Airport is gearing up for major expansions on several levels. During the first 10 months of 1999, passenger traffic was 1.6 percent...

Lawyers volunteer less time.(in Colorado)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
December 29, 2000... Amount of work for free declines From domestic violence to landlord-tenant disputes, legal cases involving low-income people are overwhelming groups that rely on Denver attorneys to donate their services. Organizations are reluctant...

Legislator considers plan to fix transportation woes.(in Denver, Colorado)(Brief Article)
December 29, 2000... Everyone knows that traffic is fast turning Denver into the gridlock capital of the Rocky Mountains. What isn't known is who will pay for the desperately needed fixes. The hunt for money, at the federal level, the state level and even in...

Prominent lawyer joins Snell & Wilmer.(Neil Peck)(Brief Article)
December 29, 2000... Attorney Neil Peck recently left Davis Graham & Stubbs LLP after almost 29 years to join Snell & Wilmer LLP, a regional law firm that opened its Denver office last spring. At Davis Graham & Stubbs, Peck, 61, was a partner specializing in...

List omits Denver-area companies.(Forbes list)(Brief Article)
December 29, 2000... Fortune Magazine is out with its annual list of 100 Best Companies to Work For, and -- horror of horrors -- not a single Colorado-based company is on the list. Well, that's not entirely the whole picture. No. 1 ranked Container Store...

Giving parkers a break.(over New Years' weekend in Colorado)(Brief Article)
December 29, 2000... Denver Mayor Wellington E. Webb extended the holiday parking amnesty in downtown Denver over the New Year's weekend. Parking tickets will not be issued Saturday, Dec. 30, 2000, through Monday, Jan. 1, 2001, at working, non-bagged meters. ...

Speaking of forgiveness.(Colorado State University)(Brief Article)
December 29, 2000... Noting that a federal law passed by Congress in 1991 metes out lighter court sentences to businesses if they have corporate codes of conduct, Colorado State University is launching an entirely online course in business ethics for corporate...

Spas gain acceptance.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
December 29, 2000... Whether it's a full-scale glamour treatment or the basic sauna and massage, getting customers to accept the idea that "pampering is OK" is the toughest challenge for Denver area spa owners. It's a gender and generational challenge....

Study: Workers get middling grades.(in Denver)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
December 29, 2000... Employers in the Denver area gave their employees an overall "merely satisfied" rating in a recent study conducted by professors and students from Metropolitan State College of Denver's marketing department. According to the study,...

Bars brace for Dec. 31 festivities.(in Colorado)(Brief Article)
December 29, 2000... Bar and restaurant owners expect big improvement in New Year's Eve sales this year with Y2K fears put to rest and a huge celebration planned in downtown Denver. But they're also gearing up to handle a commensurate increase in drunken...

Feds moving to keep health records secret.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
December 29, 2000... New regs to be costly, time consuming Move over Y2K, HIPAA is here. U.S. health-care companies are facing an overhaul of their information systems that could not only put them in a time crunch but also cost them big bucks. The...

Fan clubs will explore life in corporate world.(Fantastic Media)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
December 29, 2000... 'Star Wars,' 'Star Trek' biz to change hands Dan Madsen, the biggest fan of "Star Wars" and "Star Trek" around, is selling his business. The president of the official fan clubs for both science fiction series, Madsen has reached a...

Friedland to pay $30M for Summitville spill.(chemical spill from gold mine)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
December 29, 2000... Robert Friedland, whose gold-mining company was blamed for a chemical spill that killed off all life in a 17-mile stretch of the Alamosa River system eight years ago, agreed last week to pay the state $30 million. The state sued the...

Suit: MatchLogic snoops.(MatchLogic sued by Florida man)(Brief Article)
December 29, 2000... MatchLogic Inc., a Westminster Internet marketing company, has been sued by a Florida man who claims the company has secretly intercepted personal data from millions of online users. Gary Herr of Orlando said in a lawsuit that the company...

United to debut new flight.(United Air Lines Inc.)(Brief Article)
December 29, 2000... United Airlines will begin flying nonstop to Anchorage, Alaska, beginning June 7, the airline announced last week. It will replace the flight that now has one stop in Seattle. The service will run from June 7 to Sept. 4. United will fly an...

Take a last Mile High look.(Mile High Stadium)(Brief Article)
December 29, 2000... Bronco fans who want to say one last farewell to Mile High Stadium are in luck. The city will offer tours of the stadium after the last Bronco game of the season. According to the mayor's office, fans will get to walk onto the field, sit...

Pennaco Energy to be sold.(Pennaco Energy Inc. will be acquired by USX-Marathon Group)(Brief Article)
December 29, 2000... Denver-based Pennaco Energy Inc. will be acquired by USX-Marathon Group for about $417 million in cash in a deal announced Dec. 22. Two-year-old Pennaco produces coal bed methane gas from the Powder River Basin in northern Wyoming and...

Vari-L moves back release.(Vari-L Company Inc.)(Brief Article)
December 29, 2000... Denver-based Vari-L Co. Inc. has pushed back the release of its restated financial information. Originally expected to come in the fourth quarter, the financial data now is expected in January. Vari-L, which makes components for the...

Multi-Link has good year.(Multi-Link Telecommunications Inc.)(Brief Article)
December 29, 2000... Denver-based Multi-Link Telecommunications Inc. is enjoying a good year. The company, which provides voice messaging services, has seen its service area expand from a single city to seven, and the number of employees increase from 50 to 167....

Real estate agencies adding new benefits.(Coldwell Banker)(Brief Article)
December 29, 2000... Affordable housing gets financial boost Kate Rossi, president of Cold-well Banker Moore and Co., says that agents in her industry are notorious for not having retirement savings. "I know how it is. I was an agent," she said. "I'd get...

Housing funds approved.(Brief Article)
December 29, 2000... Congress passed a spending bill Dec. 15 that included legislation to increase housing resources in Colorado and nationwide. The bill authorized increases for the low-income housing tax credit and private activity bond programs, which are...

Anthem tries 'novel' capitated deal plan.(Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield)(Brief Article)
December 29, 2000... Although risk arrangements with providers failed miserably last year, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield is giving it another go -- this time, with a twist. Under traditional risk -- or capitated -- arrangements, a managed care company...

Caring for Colorado update.(Brief Article)
December 29, 2000... More than a year ago, Colorado received $155 million for health-related programs, but the foundation charged with spending it is still setting its priorities. Caring for Colorado was formed when Blue Cross Blue Shield of Colorado...

Nurses rally.(United American Nurses)(Brief Article)
December 29, 2000... Expect to hear more about the nursing shortage -- and its effect on patient care -- in 2001. United American Nurses, a labor organization, has launched a national visibility campaign on problems with staffing registered nurses. It plans...

Clinton contractor plan assailed by Republicans.(Brief Article)
December 29, 2000... The Clinton administration is playing beat the clock with a new regulation that empowers federal contracting officers to block contracts to companies who, in their judgment, do not have a "satisfactory" record of compliance with federal laws....

Workplace injuries decline.(Bureau of Labor Statistics)(Brief Article)
December 29, 2000... Job-related injuries and illnesses fell in 1999 for the seventh year in a row, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. There were 5.7 million nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses last year, a 4 percent drop from the previous...

Merger threshold raised.(Federal Trade Commission)(Brief Article)
December 29, 2000... As part of its final budget deal, Congress reduced the regulatory burdens for small mergers and acquisitions by increasing the threshold for antitrust reviews from $15 million to $50 million. This means that parties involved in...

FTC probes retail 'slotting'.(Federal Trade Commission)(Brief Article)
December 29, 2000... The final budget deal approved by Congress also includes $900,000 for the Federal Trade Commission to complete its investigation of "slotting" fees in the grocery business -- deals supermarkets make with manufacturers and other suppliers to...

NFIB appoints chairman.(National Federation of Independent Business)(Brief Article)
December 29, 2000... Tom Musser, an electrical contractor from Kennett Square, Pa., will become chairman of the National Federation of Independent Business in January. Musser succeeds longtime NEIB Chairman Jim Herr, chairman and CEO of Herr Foods in...

Analysts predict telecom mergers in '01.(ICG Communications Inc.)(Brief Article)
December 29, 2000... Many telecommunications businesses that took a beating this year will be glad to put 2000 behind them and move on to better things in 2001. Unfortunately, analysts don't have a lot of positive things to say about the upcoming months. For...

Commercial real estate faces uncertain future.(CMD Realty Investors Inc.)(Brief Article)
December 29, 2000... The new year may usher in something Denver's commercial real estate market hasn't seen much of for almost a decade: uncertainty. A handful of factors could have a tremendous effect on whether the metro area's commercial market stays...

New year will bring even more high tech.(Yipes Communications)(Brief Article)
December 29, 2000... Expect to 'need' wireless gadgets Remember when technology was the onerous force that threatened to end the world as we know it in a Y2K meltdown? What a difference a year makes. In the final days of 2000, technology is our best...

NEWSMAKERS.(Scandvic Enterprises Inc vp Paul A. LaRocco)(Brief Article)
December 29, 2000... Architecture and design DLR Group promoted six staff members. Robert D. Binder was promoted to senior associate and Glenn Boardmann, Steve Duncanson, Bill Valdez, Mike Yeager and Becky Hurley were promoted to associates. Binder directs...

DBJ STOCK REPORT.(Illustration)(Statistical Data Included)
December 29, 2000... DBJ STOCK REPORT DBJ Index -8.3% 1702.93 NASDAQ -11.8% 2340.12 S&P 500 -2.84% 1274.87 Dow Jones Industrial 0.50% 10487.29 Top 10 Weekly...

DBJ FUNDWATCH.(mutual fund price movements)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
December 29, 2000... DBJ FUNDWATCH 1 Wk. 4 Wk. YTD 3 yrs. Fund Name 12/21/00 11/22/00 12/31/99 12/18/97 Berger Sm Cap Val;Instt -0.93 0.43 17.9 40.27 Berger Sm Cap...

Denver radio received shockwaves in 2000.(format and ownership changes)(Brief Article)
December 29, 2000... Denver's AM-PM radio dial, home to 29 stations, saw its share of format and ownership changes during the past year. Gone are classical music and shock jocks. What's in includes hits from the '80s and Spanish language formats. Perhaps...

A farewell salute to Mile High Stadium.(construction for new Broncos stadium continues ahead of schedule and under budget)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
December 29, 2000... New Broncos stadium could beat schedule by month, budget by $8M The Denver Broncos' new stadium could be a remarkable exception to the wearying trend of major construction projects running late and becoming besieged by cost explosions....

U.S. needs to develop national energy policy.(Brief Article)
December 29, 2000... The dizzying rise in heating fuel costs this year should be wake-up call for a nation complacent about the importance of national and state energy policies. Rising natural gas rates, like the gasoline price hikes that the nation...

It's time for a party.(Denver to celebrate new year)(Brief Article)
December 29, 2000... We were disappointed a year ago when Denver chose not to ring in 2000 with some sort of downtown celebration because we were unconvinced of the Y2K threat. Still, it was probably better to be safe than sorry from the standpoint of Mayor...

Responding to 'giving' column.
December 29, 2000... As executive director of the Denver-based Blue Knights Drum and Bugle Corps, I read with great interest your editorial on "The business of giving" (Dec. 15-21). The demise of Up With People is of great concern to us in light of your statement...

Management debate continues.
December 29, 2000... I read the letter from Michael Smith of SBC & Associates Inc. in the current issue concerning management consultants. ("A management consultant speaks out," Dec. 22-28) Mr. Smith is either terribly biased, misinformed or just doesn't know his...

Appointed to the board.(Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, Denver Branch)(Brief Article)
December 29, 2000... Virginia K. Berkeley, president of Colorado Business Bank Denver has been appointed a director of the Denver branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. Former Kaiser Permanente exec Kathryn A. "Kate" Paul was reappointed to the...

Gas prices could get closer study.(Brief Article)
December 22, 2000... With Xcel Energy Inc. expected to file its third request in six months to raise natural gas prices for residential and business customers, some are saying it's time to revisit Colorado's method of paying for natural gas. The state's...

Looking back, ahead at economy.(Brief Article)
December 22, 2000... Economists seem to agree that Colorado's economy will continue growing in 2001, but at a slightly slower pace despite a rash of layoff notices, "lower than expected" earnings announcements and dizzying declines in stock prices as 2000 draws...

IPOs started with bang, ended with whimper.
December 22, 2000... If anyone ever doubted that fear and greed are major Wall Street drivers, all they have to do is look at 2000's market for initial public offerings. Investors were still excited about making a killing on technology companies going into...

Expect more or less of the same in 2001.(Statistical Data Included)
December 22, 2000... Economic outlook says labor market, salaries will remain high next year Colorado's employers, who have been struggling all year to lure good employees and then hope they'll stay, will likely be stuck with that tight labor market through...

Denver grads rank on top of the class.(Brief Article)
December 22, 2000... America's most highly educated major metropolitan area is Denver, where 38.7 percent of all adults hold bachelor's degrees. The Denver-Boulder-Greeley area has the largest percentage of college grads among 36 selected metros, according to...

Venture to sing along.(Brief Article)
December 22, 2000... If we're so smart, then we won't have any trouble following the words to this timely and seasonal song, written by authors Brian Hill and Dee Power. Their book, "Inside Secrets To Venture Capital," published by John Wiley & Sons, comes out in...

Light rail draws more riders.(Brief Article)
December 22, 2000... Commuters who never considered taking a bus to work have flocked to the new Southwest light rail line, according to a survey released this week by the Regional Transportation District. The $15,000 survey was conducted in September for RTD...

Colorado hospitals join union ranks.
December 22, 2000... The unionization of health-care workers made headlines this year when Kaiser Permanente workers went on strike for 20 days, and Saint Joseph Hospital employees became the first health-care workers to unionize in Colorado in more than 20...

The big bust of Y2K: the millennium bug.(Statistical Data Included)
December 22, 2000... While the world waited last New Year's eve for Armageddon, Denver Mayor Wellington Webb and his staff huddled in the basement of City Hall ready to deal with any Y2K emergency. Computer technicians stood by for the climactic moment, even...

Correction.(Correction Notice)
December 22, 2000... The name of the instructor chef at Cook Street was misspelled in a cutline on page 3A in the Dec. 15-21 edition. His name is Allen Burton.

Newspaper war ends as dailies file for JOA.(Denver Post, Denver Rocky Mountain News seek joint operating agreement)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
December 22, 2000... Post, News combo plan may get OK soon Owners of The Denver Post and the Denver Rocky Mountain News announced in May that the two competing newspapers would seek to form a Joint Operating Agreement, ending one of the nation's oldest...

Warren Buffet company to buy Johns Manville.(Brief Article)
December 22, 2000... Berkshire Hathaway Inc., the investment company owned by billionaire Warren Buffett, will buy Denver-based building materials company Johns Manville. Berkshire Hathaway will pay $13 a share, or about $1.92 billion, for Johns Manville....

Pick runs Denver company.(Brief Article)
December 22, 2000... President-elect George W. Bush's choice to run the Commerce Department has ties to Denver. He's Don Evans, a Texas oilman who is chairman and CEO of Denver-based Tom Brown Inc., an oil and gas company. The two men have known each other...

Store gets a new name.(Brief Article)
December 22, 2000... Bauer Industries has rebranded its Sport Rack Vehicle Outfitters chain to show off an expanded line of merchandise. The first rebranding for the Sacramento-based company was at the Sport Rack Vehicle Outfitters location in Denver. ...

Company Will cut Jobs.(Brief Article)
December 22, 2000... MessageMedia Inc. has embarked on a cost-cutting program that will include eliminating about 100 jobs. MessageMedia, based in Superior, is an e-mail publishing company. It's publicly traded on Nasdaq under the symbol MESG. The...

Tom Brown cuts deal.(Tom Brown Inc., Stellarton Energy Corp. acquisition)(Brief Article)
December 22, 2000... Denver-based Tom Brown Inc., an independent energy exploration company, will acquire a Canadian company. Tom Brown has reached a definitive agreement to buy Stellarton Energy Corp., with the deal set to close in early 2001. The boards of...

Stock show looks for help.
December 22, 2000... The National Western Stock Show, Rodeo & Horse Show is putting out the call for temporary workers. The stock show runs next year from Jan. 6-21 and is now accepting applications for 800 temporary positions. The event needs workers in all...

Qwest wants open network.(Qwest Communications International Inc. seeks AT and T Corp. network access)(Brief Article)
December 22, 2000... Denver-based Qwest Communications International Inc. is asking AT&T for access to its communications network. Qwest wants to tap into AT&T'S cable network in Colorado and Washington. The company says it wants to be able to offer customers...

Level 3 launches service.(Level 3 Communications Inc.)(Brief Article)
December 22, 2000... Broomfield-based Level 3 Communications Inc. will launch its Internet service in Indianapolis and Sacramento this month. The company will open data centers in each city, which will bring the total number of U.S. cities Level 3 is offering...

Vari-L fails to win relisting.(Vari-L Company Inc., Nasdaq relisting)(Brief Article)
December 22, 2000... Denver-based Vari-L Co. Inc., which supplies components for the wireless telecommunications industry, has failed to win relisting to Nasdaq. The company's stock was delisted Sept. 7 because of the company's lack of audited financial...

YMCA announces sale.(Denver property sold to Colorado Coalition for the Homeless)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
December 22, 2000... The YMCA of Metropolitan Denver will sell its downtown building to another nonprofit organization, the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless. The property, at 16th and Lincoln streets in upper downtown Denver, will be primarily used to...

Fischer names new CEO.(Fischer Imaging Corp.)(Brief Article)
December 22, 2000... Fischer Imaging Corp., which designs and manufactures medical imaging systems, named Louis Rivelli as president and CEO. Former CEO Morgan W. Nields will continue as chairman of the company's board of directors. Rivelli was hired as...

United fined for violations.(United Air Lines Inc. receives Environmental Protection Agency fine)(Brief Article)
December 22, 2000... The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency fined United Airlines $68,695 for hazardous waste violations at Denver International Airport. The agency investigated United as part of a crackdown on companies that haven't been inspected by the...

NetLibrary withdraws IPO.(initial public offering)(Brief Article)
December 22, 2000... Citing "unfavorable market conditions," Boulder-based NetLibrary Inc. withdrew its planned initial public offering. The offering was expected to raise about $82 million. NetLibrary provides electronic books to libraries. IPO proceeds...

Frontier moves center.(Frontier Airlines Inc. signs lease agreement)(Brief Article)
December 22, 2000... Denver-based Frontier Airlines signed a 10-year lease with Gateway Office Four to relocate its call center and other customer service departments to a 16,000-square-foot office space at Gateway Park, located at I-70 and Chambers Road in...

Air traffic control errors up.(Denver, Colorado)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
December 22, 2000... Air traffic control errors in Denver have tripled, according to a new report. The report, by the inspector general's office within the U.S. Department of Transportation, found 33 errors in Denver in fiscal 2000, up from 11 in fiscal...

Court stays judgment.(New Frontier Media Inc. wins reprieve from J.P. Lipson suit)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
December 22, 2000... A Boulder company has won a reprieve from paying a $12 million judgment awarded by a jury earlier this year. A Boulder jury returned the judgment in September against New Frontier Media Inc., which operates pay television networks...

Denver hits a record.(Denver Mail Processing Center sets mail processing record)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
December 22, 2000... Denver can claim bragging rights for the sheer volume of mail processed at local post offices Dec. 18. That ranks as the busiest mailing day of the year nationwide. The Denver Mail Processing Center at 7500 E. 53rd Place processed 4.78...

Shopping center sold.(Brief Article)
December 22, 2000... Southwest Commons shopping center, located at Wadsworth Boulevard and Bowles Avenue has been sold to GMS Realty LLC. Mike Winn and Tim Richey of Cushman & Wakefield of Colorado handled the transaction. The 314,321 square foot...

Third World countries receive a helping 'hand'.(Brief Article)
December 22, 2000... Steve Guthrie was working on a development project at the port of Aden in Yemen in the mid-190s, when he met a young graduate student who would come up with a bright idea that would bring the two together years later. Guthrie's project,...

Colorado's 'cyber status' near nation's highest.(Brief Article)
December 22, 2000... Given the high-tech industry's headline-grabbing prowess in 2000, a DBJ issue devoted to a restrospect on the business climate of this waning year wouldn't be complete without a look at Colorado's "cyber status." Fortunately, the...

Taking a closer look.(report on employment in high-tech industry)(Brief Article)
December 22, 2000... This year, the AEA took its first crack at examining high-tech's effect on individual cities in a 135-page report called "Cybercities: A City-by-City Overview of the High Technology Industry." The report studied the technology industries of...

Shops at Tabor Center hope to reclaim crown.(Brief Article)
December 22, 2000... If it really is all about location, then downtown Denver's the Shops at Tabor Center has had at least one thing on its side since its 1984 opening. Despite having a prime spot on Denver's 16th Street Mall, the 110,000-square-foot retail space...

Election 2000 overview: Colorado stays moderate.(Brief Article)
December 22, 2000... With six statewide ballot initiatives, several referenda, local initiatives, state lawmakers and a president to weigh in on, Colorado voters had a lot to think about at the polls on Nov. 7. And local political analysts say the election...

Housing costs scaled new heights in 2000.
December 22, 2000... Just when it seemed that metro area housing costs couldn't get any higher, this year saw record prices in both the single-family and rental markets. While these record prices are good for people who already own homes, they have made the...

More people are calling downtown home.(Brief Article)
December 22, 2000... There's no doubt about it, people are coming back to the city. This was evident during the year 2000, when parts of Denver that were once home to rail yards, warehouses, hospitals and military bases became home to people. And the...

Oil and gas industry enjoys rebound in 2000.(Brief Article)
December 22, 2000... Prices jump up, exploration gears up -- but workers are hard to come by Colorado's oil and natural gas industry staggered back to its feet in 2000, buoyed by record-breaking prices for natural gas but skeptical about how long this round...

Tight labor market puts squeeze on those hiring.(Brief Article)
December 22, 2000... This year, an expanding economy and a shrinking pool of available workers once again tested the hiring mettle of Colorado employers -- and provided nearly unlimited opportunity for job seekers. The disequilibrium of Colorado's...

Bill Daniels died in 2000.(Obituary)
December 22, 2000... The cable capital lost one of its founding fathers when Bill Daniels died March 7 at the age of 79 after a long battle with a respiratory illness. Thousands of mourners turned Out for Daniels' memorial service the following week to pay...

'Merger of equals' left Qwest as clear winner.(Brief Article)
December 22, 2000... It was termed a "merger of equals," but since the marriage of U S West Communications and Qwest Communications International on June 30, Qwest clearly came out on top. The months leading up to the estimated $55 billion-to-$80 billion...

After U S West, Sol Trujillo takes job at Calif. tech firm.(Brief Article)
December 22, 2000... Sol Trujillo, former CEO of U S West Communications, found life after this year's merger of the Baby Bell and Qwest Communications International as the new CEO of a California technology venture. Trujillo, 48, spent five years as the head...