Denver Business Journal articles from October 1998

Denver Business Journal archives from October 1998

Pen deal winds up in court; Denver firm claims rival stole secrets.(Colorado Pen Co sues Group One Capital Corp and Group One Retail Management)
October 1, 1998... Colorado Pen Co. has written its way into federal court. The retailer claims in a lawsuit that two companies broke a confidentiality agreement and stole proprietary information that helped them start a competing chain of upscale retail pen...

Here come the brides: entrepreneur plans industry directory.(Laurene Gerson's Colorado Consumers to launch wedding industry yellow pages directory, The Wedding Directory)
October 1, 1998... Weddings are a $1 billion industry in Colorado, where more than 25,000 couples get married each year and spend an average of $16,000 for everything from catering to photography. Laurene Gerson and her company, Colorado Consumers, The...

Union brass targets Norwest Corp.(Colorado labor unions boycott firm to protest its relationship with Oregon Steel)
October 1, 1998... Groups protest relationship with mills Colorado union leaders are taking aim at Norwest Corp., the state's largest bank, in one of the country's fastest-growing boycotts. Some 170 unions, nonprofits and other groups sympathetic to...

Lockheed lamenting EELV loss; Boeing outbids launch leader.(Lockheed Martin Corp's failed bid for contracts to build Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicles for US Air Force)
October 1, 1998... The postmortem for Lockheed Martin Corp.'s disappointing performance in the bid to win U.S. Air Force contracts to build and launch the next generation of rockets revealed one simple reality. Boeing Co. underbid Lockheed Martin Astronautics...

Lucent weighs options.(Lucent Technologies Inc to announce new site in Colorado)
October 1, 1998... Southern campus to be announced Telecommunications giant Lucent Technologies Inc. should announce the site of its new, rambling southern office campus in the next week or so. The three finalists for a 600,000-square-foot,...

'W' flag will fly over new downtown hotel.(Starwood Hotels and Resorts' hotel in Denver, Colorado, to carry Westin Hotels & Resorts' W Hotels brandname)
October 1, 1998... Phoenix-based Starwood Hotels & Resorts will put the name of its new, as-yet-unveiled concept on the hotel it's developing in downtown Denver. The former 1616 Glenarm office building, primely located on the 16th Street Mall across from the...

Deal with TCI may pay at last for CSG.(CSG Systems International Inc's deal with Tele-Communications Inc for its SUMMITrak billing operation)
October 1, 1998... Last year, CSG Systems International Inc. bought a pig in a poke. The Denver billing systems company inked a nine-figure check for Tele-Communications Inc.'s SUMMITrak billing operation with little insight into what it was buying. What...

After Westin, DIA looks to second hotel.(site for another hotel available near Denver International Airport)
October 1, 1998... There's a site for another hotel near the Denver International Airport terminal, but don't look for it to be developed anytime soon. When the city and county of Denver began going after airport hotel developers a couple of years ago, they...

Paramount doctors consider suing health plans.(Paramount Physicians Network to file lawsuit against Blue Cross Blue Shield of Colorado and other health plans)
October 1, 1998... Physicians from the failed Paramount Physicians Network are moving closer to filing a class-action lawsuit against Blue Cross Blue Shield of Colorado and other health plans. The 1,500 doctors announced Oct. 23 they would dissolve the...

Iomega looks for non-PC uses for its popular Zip drive.
October 1, 1998... Iomega Corp. has made a name for itself in data storage with its external Zip drives. But at the company's Longmont facility, Iomega is working to extend the Zip drive from its position as the PC sidecar, and encourage original equipment...

Small consultants find chance to grow on Web; Internet startup challenges big players.(Expert Marketplace)
October 1, 1998... A Denver-based Internet startup intends to wield the Web to level the playing field for the smaller consulting companies ready to challenge the Big Five accounting firms. The Expert Marketplace employs the Internet to make its vast...

Boulder firm gets boost from Utah software deal.(HeurisTec Corp forms alliance with Tomax Technologies to bundle software)
October 1, 1998... Large repairers nave looked to HeurisTec Corp. for its flagship labor scheduling software product, SuperSked, for several years. But the company is preparing for its user base to explode given a new alliance with Tomax Technologies Inc. that...

Perlmutter profiting in Northglenn. (city sales taxes to be shared by real estate developer Jordon Perlmutter and Co under the subsidy plan of the Northglenn City Council in Colorado)
October 2, 1998... Northglenn will ask voters to consecrate a financial package that shares $11.8 million in city sales taxes with developer Jordon Perlmutter & Co. Perlmutter is redeveloping the city's retail core on the Northglenn Mall block along 104th...

Oil, gas firms over a barrel. (major economic setbacks experienced by small oil and gas companies in Denver, Colorado)(Industry Overview)
October 2, 1998... Denver's small oil and gas companies have sustained major economic losses this year due to plummeting world oil prices. With oil fetching between $12 and $14 per barrel in the field, it has become uneconomical for many companies to...

Drug tests put a lid on pain. (drug testing for arthritis sufferers in Colorado conducted by Merck & Co and G.D. Searle & Co)
October 2, 1998... Arthritis sufferers in Colorado and surrounding states are sampling a new class of painkillers, touted by some as "superpainkillers," at the Denver Arthritis Clinic. The drugs are among a slew of new arthritis medicines that drug...

Consultant steers I-25 compromise. (consultancy services of Carter & Burgess Inc on the construction of an interchange at Interstate 25 in Colorado)
October 2, 1998... Unable to reach a consensus on where to place a new interchange on Interstate 25, Thornton, Wesminster and Broomfield are counting on an outside consultant to help them resolve their differences. "We all realize we need a new interchange....

Sturm storms telecoms. (plans of Don Sturm to relocate FirstWorld Communications in Englewood, Colorado)
October 2, 1998... When financier Don Sturm peruses his portfolio of investments a year from now, he hopes to have a few more telecommunications successes amidst his already enviable holdings. Chief among them is FirstWorld Communications, a San Diego-based...

Logix latest to battle the Year 2000 problem. (Logix Solution Inc's year 2000 computer crisis services)
October 2, 1998... Although Logix Solutions Inc. is a fairly new player in the world of Year 2000 Problem solution providers, its clients are actually benefiting from more than 25 years of experience in high-tech project management. Rita Dozal, Logix's...

Second competitor pours on the speed. (faster Internet access technology introduced by ICG Communications Inc)
October 2, 1998... ICG Communications Inc. is preparing to launch a high-speed data service in the metro area, marking the second large-scale release of the speedy Internet access technology in Denver. The Englewood-based phone company is on track to begin...

Car inspection firm opens Denver office. (car inspection services offered by LemonBusters in Colorado)
October 2, 1998... LemonBusters, one of the country's largest car inspection services, wants to squeeze some lemonade in Denver. The Austin, Texas, company has set up an office in Denver to assist car buyers and leasing company inspect used cars. ...

CD-ROMs ease job training. (interactive CD-ROM training modules introduced by M.L. Wartell and Associates Video and Computerized Training Group)
October 2, 1998... A small Denver-based company is asking its industrial clients to throw out their 5-inch-thick training manuals and switch to the latest in interactive computerized technology. M.L. Wartell & Associates Video & Computerized Training Group...

UIH takes on the world: but Wall Street unkind to cable company. (United International Holdings Inc.)
October 9, 1998... 1998 was supposed to be a break-out year for United International Holdings Inc. The Englewood operator of global cable systems made a series of calculated moves to transform itself from a little-understood holding company into an international...

Taxis hail fare hike; Rates jump 14 percent from old levels.
October 9, 1998... Metro Denver's largest taxi companies quietly have put through their first fare hikes in six years, leaving American Cab Co. as the lowest-priced operator in town. Metro Taxi started the move to higher fares in mid-1997 when it raised its per...

Companies battle libel on the Web; Chat rooms pose legal challenges. (public companies in Colorado)
October 9, 1998... It's become a running joke: The Inter net is the CB radio of the '90s. But the CEOs of several Colorado public companies aren't laughing any more. The stock market has emerged as a dominant subject for lively discussion on the Internet as...

Pavilions sets mark for downtown retail; Center promises to change 16th street. (Denver Pavilions)(includes related articles on profiles of people responsible for the development of the center)
October 9, 1998... It took 10 years, but Nov. 5 will mark the opening of the Denver Pavilions, a 350,000-square-foot entertainment and retail center on two blocks in the heart of downtown. Bill Denton came to Denver in 1988 to build the a Pavilions-like project...

Impressive tenant roster draws prestigious shops. (Denver Pavilions in Colorado)
October 9, 1998... Once United Artists, Hard Rock Cafe, NikeTown and Virgin Megastore were signed as the anchor tenants, retailers were scrambling to be a part of the $104 million Denver Pavilions project. "Everything we really shot for, that we really wanted, we...

Iridium set to unveil globe-trotting phone.
October 9, 1998... If being a good executive means never having to say you're out of pocket, there's a new phone service ideal for traveling CEOs. Iridium, run by a much-balleyhooed international consortium, is preparing to sell its anywhere-on-the-planet mobile...

Denver keeps 500 Diners Clubs jobs; Citicorp had announced layoffs of 900. (Citicorp Diners Club)
October 9, 1998... Denver will keep 500 of the 900 jobs that Citicorp Diners Club had originally planned to move out of the metro area. Citicorp announced June 30 it would close its Inverness Business Park location as part of a national consolidation effort...

Companies begin looking for perfect gifts. (Denver, Colorado)
October 9, 1998... Not sure what to give your best customers or favorite clients for the holidays? How about a crystal bowl, a personalized bottle of wine or fresh-baked bread? It's not too early to begin the search. In fact, retailers that specialize in...

US Airways dispute could prompt strike; airline's talks with machinists stalled.
October 9, 1998... The brewing labor dispute between US Airways and its machinists union could produce a full-blown strike this fall that would shut down the Arlington, Va.-based airline. Contract talks have stalled between US Airways and the International...

Road work slows business; South Santa Fe stores losing customers to construction.
October 9, 1998... Construction on South Santa Fe Drive has not only slowed traffic, but also sales for businesses located along the road. The construction work is rebuilding the Santa Fe and Belleview Avenue intersection into an interchange. The four-year...

Brookfield plots new office building. (Brookfield Development Corp.)
October 16, 1998... A new, upscale office building may sprout in the next couple of years behind downtown's recently built, rambling Denver Pavilions retail and entertainment center. The building would be the first new office construction in the central business...

Grain glut hurt Colo. agriculture; record harvest creates huge storage problem.
October 16, 1998... Millions of bushels of corn will sit on the ground at risk of rotting because state grain elevators and silos are bursting at the scams. Three years of above-average harvests. combined with depressed commodity prices, have laid the foundation...

Ambulance contract might jack up prices. (Boulder's Board of County Commissioners' decision not to renew contract with Medical Response)
October 16, 1998... Boulder County residents who call an ambulance in 1999 may be in for surprise when they get the bill. Boulder's Board of County Commissioners decided not to renew American Medical Response's contract in June, instead putting the county's 911...

Investment bankers boost oil, gas efforts; First Reserve, A.G. Edwards open offices. (First Reserve Corp.; A.G. Edwards & Sons)
October 16, 1998... The bottom may have dropped out of the crude oil market, but that hasn't stopped two major investment banking firms From increasing their oil-and-gas presence in the Denver area. First Reserve Corp. and A.G. Edwards & Sons have opened new...

Financial crunch hurting developers.
October 16, 1998... The meltdown in the nation's financial markets this summer is hurting an area that's enjoyed a free flow of cash in recent years - the commercial real estate lending market. Real estate experts from Denver to the nation's financial centers are...

WITI tries rainy day approach to business; Boulder firm spreads word on weather. (WITI Corp.)
October 16, 1998... With its cash cow put out to pasture, WITI Corp. is embracing a new strategy and eyeing fresh markets to assure continued revenue growth at the Boulder-based company. WITI uses technology developed at the National Center for Atmospheric...

Amber waves of grain find home in bunker. (Bunker Hill Co.'s plan to store grain in munition bunkers)
October 16, 1998... Colorado's grain surplus and storage shortage have one entrepreneur scrambling to find room in an old Army depot. Bunker Hill Co., a subsidiary of the Colorado & Kansas Railroad, wants to store grain in the old munitions bunkers at the Pueblo...

Hard Rock thrives as 'Planet' melts down. (Hard Rock Cafe; Planet Hollywood)
October 16, 1998... Why can't the Planet be as solid as the Rock? At first blush, the two themed restaurants are almost identical. Both rely heavily on entertainment paraphernalia. Both are billed as a themed dining 'experience. But while Hard Rock is making...

Trillium tries to unload Platte land.
October 23, 1998... Trillium Corp. is pushing hard to sell its rambling 50 acres of land in downtown Denver's Central Platte Valley by the end of 1998, according to informed sources. The Bellingham, Wash.-based landowner supposedly wants to take advantage of the...

Doctors on brink of failing: bankruptcy possible for Paramount group. (Paramount Physician Network)
October 23, 1998... When Denver physicians cried foul at PacifiCare earlier this year, citing growing patient costs and a shrinking pool of money, the health plan was forced to rescue financially strapped practices with a bailout. Now Paramount Physician Network,...

Exempla to close 18 clinics. (Exempla Healthcare)
October 23, 1998... Health plans blamed for financial problems Exempla Healthcare will close 18 health clinics and lay off 25 staff physicians by the end of 1998 as part of a plan to streamline Exempla Medical Group. The downsizing comes on the heels of reduced...

Porter McLeod loses fight over payments; default judgment entered for insurer. (Porter McLeod Holdings Inc.)
October 23, 1998... Porter McLeod Holdings Inc. lost a couple of legal skirmishes recently, one in court. A state court judge recently slapped the Denver-based construction company with a default judgment of $28,853 for not paying insurance premiums. What's...

Broker anticipates 'new wave' of downtown offices. (Frederick Ross Co.)(Real Estate)
October 23, 1998... Block 109 identified as the next hot spot The next trend in downtown office buildings is about to wash over that submarket, according to Nathan Johnson, a broker and senior managing director at local commercial real estate brokerage the...

Homebuilder sues rival over house design. (Kaufman and Broad Home Corp.)
October 23, 1998... Kaufman and Broad Home Corp., one of the country's largest home builders, and its Colorado branch are suing a Colorado Springs rival for copying one of its house designs. The lawsuit exemplifies the protectiveness builders can display toward...

McDonald's takes bite from its land holdings; franchiser's real estate serves profits.(Real Estate)
October 23, 1998... Franchiser real estate serves profits There's no question McDonald's makes a lot of money selling hamburgers, but the famous chain also has made a name for itself as a landlord. Unlike almost all other franchisers, McDonald's buys the...

Merger puts NetSage in game with Microsoft.
October 23, 1998... Thanks to a merger closed this week, Golden-based NetSage Corp. has just inherited the world's largest software company as a key client. NetSage joined forces with FunArts Software, a Silicon Valley interface designer that has developed...

Computer consultant expands into Kansas. (Computer Gurus)
October 23, 1998... Firm makes acquisition in Wichita Computer Gurus, a homegrown Wichita, Kan., computer consulting firm, has been acquired by System Design Consultants Inc. of Denver. The price was not disclosed. With the acquisition, which was finalized...

Pick a card; business cards make good marketing tools. (X Design Co.)(Small Business Strategies)
October 23, 1998... It may be merely a small piece of paper, but it could be your ticket to success. Whether it's the usual 3 1/2-by-2 inch white rectangle or a more innovative shape with colors and designs, a business card can be an important advertising and...