Denver Business Journal articles from March 1998

Denver Business Journal archives from March 1998

Worker's comp authority scales back. (Colorado Compensation Insurance Authority)
March 6, 1998... Job cuts follow plunge in revenues Like a stunned construction worker who has slid off a scaffold, Colorado's largest underwriter of worker's compensation insurance is trying to regather itself. Falling premium revenues have pushed the...

Inside the hog farm fight. (conflict between Western Pork owner Peter Gadkowski and billionaire Philip Anshutz)(includes related article on Western Pork's hog facility)
March 6, 1998... YUMA - Peter Gadkowski has a bone to pick with billionaire Philip Anschutz. The owner of Yuma-based Western Pork believes Anschutz orchestrated the state Legislature's sudden fascination with corporate hog farms. But Jim Monaghan, a...

High-rise residences for DTC? (plans of the Simpson Housing Corp. to build a a high-rise apartment building near the Denver Technological Center in Colorado)
March 6, 1998... Simpson Housing deal could be first in decade Simpson Housing Corp., one of metropolitan Denver's largest apartment developers, is considering building the first high-rise apartment building in this area in about a decade. If Simpson takes...

Big payday looms for U S West execs. (retirement packages for U S West Inc. executives)
March 6, 1998... U S West Inc.'s proposed split will pull the rip cord on three golden parachutes, providing the company's executive triumvirate with a lucrative send-off. The formula for the retirement packages guarantees that millions of dollars will leave...

Dreamer envisions CD-ROM. (Interactive Dreaming CD-ROM developed by entrepreneur Ann Klein)
March 6, 1998... Software product interprets dreams For people who want to use all 24 hours of each day more productively, a new CD-ROM created by Denver entrepreneur Ann Klein, could be a dream come true. The CD-ROM, called Interactive Dreaming, helps...

Retooling National Jewish. (National Jewish Medical and Research Center in Denver, Colorado)
March 6, 1998... CFO Singleton puts hospital back on track In an increasingly managed market, efficient health care is in demand and one of Denver's oldest and most prestigious medical institutions is struggling to stay competitive. But on the eve of his...

Pretzelmaker ownership goes north. (Pretzelmaker Inc.)
March 6, 1998... Canadian company looking to buy Denver-based franchise Pretzelmaker Inc., one of Colorado's fastest-growing private companies, is being sold to a Canadian company. The Denver-based pretzel sellers have signed a letter of intent to be sold to...

Third-quarter exports from Colorado up 5.8%.
March 6, 1998... Despite a drop in Colorado's prime export category - computer equipment and industrial machinery - the state posted a somewhat surprising increase in total exports for the third quarter of 1997. "These numbers were better than expected," said...

Columbia-HealthOne needs home-care help. (Columbia-HealthOne LLC)_
March 6, 1998... Subcontractor sought to treat patients One week after announcing it will dissolve its Colorado Home Care division, Columbia-HealthOne is looking for ways to continue delivering the same services on a sub-contract basis. The hospital network...

PrimeStar retools to cement News Corp. deal. (News Corporation Ltd.)
March 6, 1998... Pennsylvania jobs transferred to Denver Last summer, in a move designed to make it a prime-time player in the digital-broadcast satellite field, PrimeStar Partners LP linked up with News Corp. It worked: The agreement instantly put the...

Denver oil firms bet big on Mississippi.
March 13, 1998... Key, Wolf drilling beneath salt domes Denver-based Key Production Co. Inc. is betting millions of dollars that an obscure energy pay in Mississippi will pay off big. Top management at notoriously low-profile Key believes that oceans of...

South is Denver's second 'downtown.' (economic growth of Douglas and Arapahoe counties in Colorado)
March 13, 1998... Traffic, housing and labor shortage are among problems that accompany mercurial growth As Colorado's economy booms, the south metro area has exploded. The population of Douglas and Arapahoe counties is approaching 600,000. More than...

Horse park could spur economic kick in pants. (Denver, Colorado)
March 13, 1998... High Prairie competes with Colo. Springs Move over, National Western. If plans for a 400-acre tract of land in Douglas County are approved, a horse of a different color may be coming to town. The tract of land in question is High Prairie...

High-tech trio bids for wireless transmissions. (U S West Communications Inc, EchoStar Communications Corp, Formus International Inc)
March 13, 1998... A new high-capacity wireless spectrum has captured the attention of several Colorado companies eager to take a chance on the emerging technology. U S West Communications Inc., EchoStar Communications Corp. and Formus International Inc. have...

Traffic threatens to snarl economic growth. (traffic at Interstate 25 in Denver, Colorado)
March 13, 1998... Light rail seen as answer to traffic woes Interstate 25, south of Denver, is the busiest stretch of highway in the state and is getting busier. Traffic counts compiled by the Colorado Department of Transportation reveal that more vehicles...

Scarce affordable housing adding to labor shortage. (Denver, Colorado)
March 13, 1998... When it comes to south metro's housing market, there's a buzzword on almost every economic development and city official's lips - work-force housing. Work-force housing used to be called affordable housing, but experts are hesitant to use the...

Entertainment projects take shape in 'burbs. (entertainment-related facilities in Denver's southeastern suburbs)
March 13, 1998... Look out, LoDo. Entertainment projects are coming into their own in Denver's southeastern suburbs. The influx of retail development that has occurred in the south suburbs over the past few years, particularly surrounding the Park Meadows mall,...

Evolution of south suburbs more style than substance. (house design in Denver, Colorado)
March 13, 1998... While technology and changing demographics are influencing new home design, suburban neighborhoods - at least in south metro Denver - have changed little in the last 50 years. New homes in suburban Denver are likely to come with enough wiring...

Cleary Gull pushes into Denver market.
March 13, 1998... A rapidly growing regional investment bank and brokerage has planted its flag on 17th Street with a firm push from one of the country's top merger moguls. Milwaukee-based Cleary Gull Reiland & McDevitt Inc. has opened a Denver office, bringing...

Ciber founder unlocks $100M treasure; Stevenson scores with STRYPES sale. (Ciber Chmn. and founder Bobby Stevenson)
March 20, 1998... Bobby Stevenson, founder and chairman of Ciber Inc., may be the only person in Denver who can have his cake and eat it too. In a $100 million deal, the likes of which Denver's never seen, Stevenson registered 2 million shares of his Ciber...

Creating her own legacy. (D.C. Burns Realty & Trust Co. Pres. Joy Burns) (includes related article on comments about Joy Burns)
March 20, 1998... Joy Burns is just getting started. At age 70, the president of D.C. Burns Realty & Trust Co. has too many appointments on her calendar to even consider retirement. After all, there's a new Denver Broncos stadium to be built, DU campus...

Golf gets its day in the sun; course building soars as demand skyrockets.
March 20, 1998... Course building soars as demand skyrockets The rush of newcomers to Colorado and baby boomers' focus on leisure have caused an explosion of new golf course construction in the state. Colorado opened roughly five new golf courses a year...

Pensions warned on annuity holdings: experts say variable offerings may diminish investment returns for popular 401(k)s.
March 20, 1998... Experts say variable offerings may diminish investment returns for popular 401(k)s More than a fourth of Colorado companies with retirement plans rely heavily on variable annuities. But the long-running practice has come under increasing...

Nike stretches Colorado subsidy limits.
March 20, 1998... Colorado's biggest incentive to attract a Nike Inc. headquarters operation may be the advocacy of its economic development officials. It's certainly not monetary rewards, which are among the puniest in the country. "You have to put it in...

'Everything is for sale' as REITs scout Denver. (real estate investment trusts)
March 20, 1998... The recent sale of Pacifica Holding Co.'s substantial real estate pool and the impending disposition of Miller-Anschutz-Global Holdings Inc.'s holdings are just the tip of the portfolio iceberg. Most holders of multiple properties are quietly...

Advocate: Blue Cross in no hurry to go public. (Blue Cross Blue Shield of Colorado)
March 20, 1998... Posting an after-tax loss of $26.5 million for 1997 and watching from the sidelines as HMO stock values slid to end the fiscal year in a major slump on Wall Street, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Colorado has more to worry about than Insurance...

Barrett poised for boom from Peru deal. (Barrett Resources Corp.)
March 20, 1998... Denver-based Barrett Resources Corp. could quadruple in size in 1998 if reserve estimates at its Peruvian operations prove true. The independent oil and gas company plans to drill three wildcat wells in its Block 67 site beginning in April....

Travel agency paves way for community; Highlands Ranch Travel's Marion Trummer is a pioneer in the fast-growing suburb.(Small Business Strategies)
March 20, 1998... Highlands Ranch Travel's Marion Trummer is a pioneer in the fast-growing suburb When Marion Trummer wanted to open her own travel agency in Highlands Ranch in 1983, she had to wait a year for a commercial building to be constructed. There...

Etkin's portfolio for sale. (Etkin Equities Inc.)
March 27, 1998... The Denver area's second-largest portfolio of industrial properties is up for grabs. Etkin Equities Inc. of Denver and Southfield, Mich., quietly has been marketing its 3 million-square-foot, mostly industrial portfolio in the metro area....

A walk through Pavilions. (Denver Pavilions project)
March 27, 1998... Seven months from completion, the Denver Pavilions is still not much more than a construction site to most passersby. But after a walk-through with development manager Susan Spencer, the design takes form and it is not hard to envision a...

Hewlett-Packard expands in Springs.
March 27, 1998... Hewlett-Packard Co. is upgrading its Colorado Springs facility to accommodate growth. The California-based computer giant expects to begin construction this spring on a pair of interconnecting office buildings that will include 125,000 square...

mFactory shut down by Quark; company closes doors on development firm.
March 27, 1998... By all accounts, Quark Inc. rescued mFactory Inc. from certain bankruptcy when it purchased the Silicon Valley-based software development firm in May 1997. But today, some of its former-employees and users are wondering why. On March 18, just...

Candles ignite success; retailer's expansion 'breaks the mold.' (Breaking the Mold Candle Co.)
March 27, 1998... With its fourth store opening this weekend and another under construction, Breaking the Mold Candle Co. is on fire. The Denver-based candle manufacturer and retailer got its start less than a year ago and already has expanded its production...

IPO watch: tracking 13 Colorado deals. (initial public offering)
March 27, 1998... Luck rather than disaster greeted most investors in Colorado's 13 initial public offerings last year. Seven of the state's newest public companies are up 20 percent or more since hitting the market, and four have topped 50 percent. Qwest...

Providers soon to offer Medicare health plans.
March 27, 1998... Change is in the air for Colorado managed care. After four months of debate, the Health Care Financing Administration is scheduled to release regulations April 1 that may make it easier for physicians and hospitals to offer their own Medicare...

Respectability eludes Boulder biotech firms.
March 27, 1998... Characterized equally by its successes and failures, Boulder's biotechnology industry is grappling with its identity. In a business where perception is everything, nearly a dozen companies are trying to carve a niche locally and sell themselves...