Denver Business Journal articles from September 1997

Denver Business Journal archives from September 1997

One Civic Center may go on the block. (One Civic Center Plaza)
September 5, 1997... One Civic Center Plaza at 1560 Broadway. one of downtown Denver's largest and best-located office buildings, soon may be tip for grabs. The 589,157-square-foot high rise's principal owner, the California Public Employees Retirement System, is...

Ag losses pad total for storms. (agriculture)(Industry Overview)
September 5, 1997... Final tally will top $200M in damages Four late summer storms that ripped through Colorado have caused nearly $200 million in damage and the total could climb even higher, a Denver Business Journal survey shows. Insurance companies have...

Business the natural way. (natural foods industry)(Industry Overview)
September 5, 1997... After years of growth in excess of 20 percent a year, the nation s natural and organic foods industry has reached $15 billion in annual sales and Colorado companies are harvesting the results. From suppliers and manufacturers to retailers....

Why simple math holds key to Stapleton. (Denver Stapleton International Airport)
September 5, 1997... Not so very long ago, Denver's top elected officials told Wall Street investors that Stapleton Airport's property would fetch a cool $100 million. Today, the $100 million figure once bandied about in bond documents for the financing of Denver...

Time Warner grows in suburbs. (Time Warner Communications)
September 5, 1997... Time Warner Communications, an arm of media giant Time Warner Inc., is ballooning in metropolitan Denver and looking for space to fit its expanding employee ranks. The communications company, whose telephony business both in local access and...

More companies dropping 'Golden' from their address. (Golden, Colorado)
September 5, 1997... NHancement Technologies the latest to leave Jeffco hub Esmond Goei got tired of wishing Denver International Airport would land direct flights to Asia, tired of fighting morning traffic jams on the way there and tired of waiting for U S West to...

Comfort Inn opens purse to fund facelift.
September 5, 1997... The Comfort Inn in downtown Denver, facing new competition from the expansion of the Adam's Mark Hotel and the upcoming opening of a Courtyard by Marriott, will undergo a $2.5 million facelift this fall and winter. The 229 guest rooms in the...

Silverado II speculation leads flurry of deal talk.
September 5, 1997... As large institutions continue to tweak their real estate portfolios and other investors take advantage of a muscular Denver-area real estate market, office buildings continue to sell at a rapid clip. "There's continued strong interest here by...

Tanning Technologies opens London office.
September 5, 1997... Tanning Technologies Corp. has opened an office near London, marking the first international expansion for the rapidly growing Denver company. The computer systems integration consultants staffed the office in Berkshire, England, with 15...

Right of way issue going before voters: telecom companies oppose new fees.
September 5, 1997... Denver wants the power to charge cable and telephone companies a fee for laying lines under city streets and alleys, but the telecommunications industry appears to be preparing for a fight. Voters will have the chance to decide the proposed...

Homebuilders playing catch-up. (Denver, Colorado)(Industry Overview)
September 5, 1997... Housing starts trail earlier booms in population, job growth The metro area's housing stock continues to play catch-up with the rapid population and job growth of the early 1990s. Population and job growth have slowed since 1994, but for the...

Long-term contracts snarl deregulation issue. (Colorado's electric cooperatives)
September 5, 1997... Colorado's rural electric cooperatives may be stuck with higher wholesale prices Investor-owned utilities aren't the only ones dealing with stranded-cost issues in the debate over electricity deregulation. Generation and transmission...

Colorado economy once again chugging along.
September 5, 1997... More and more, the Colorado economy looks like a mirror of the nation as a whole. In the first of what promises to be a fall flurry of forecasts, Colorado National Bank economist Tucker Adams released an upbeat report on the state's prospects...

Losses add up at HMOs while hospitals profit. (health maintenance organizations)
September 5, 1997... Half of the health-maintenance organizations in Colorado lost money during the first six months of 1997, while the state's hospitals continued to see increasing profits, according to an analysis of the health-care industry in the publication...

Feds question former AMR employees: inquiries focus on ambulance firm's billings. (American Medical Response Inc)
September 12, 1997... Inquiries focus on ambulance firm's billings Federal and state investigators for the Medicare and Medicaid health-care programs have questioned former employees of Aurora-based American Medical Response inc., the nation's largest ambulance...

Colo. focus of fraud fighters.
September 12, 1997... Colorado's health-care industry soon will be the target of a federal anti-fraud initiative called "Operation Restore Trust" that has already turned up $188 million in erroneous charges in five states. Operation Restore Trust was launched in...

Millions seek haven in bankruptcy: soaring numbers lead to proposals for major reform. (includes related article on bankrupt Colorado companies)
September 12, 1997... Soaring numbers lead to proposals for major reform Bankruptcy is a growth business. More than 1.2 million Americans sought personal bankruptcy protection last year; another 1.6 million are expected to seek similar protection this year....

Small biz plays big role in roads tax debate. (small businesses oppose Colorado's proposed road tax)
September 12, 1997... The bitter public debate over Colorado's proposed roads tax shows once again that small business has become the unruly teenager on Colorado's political scene. The small-business juggernaut threatens to end the often-cozy relationship between...

Sports medicine is big business in Denver.(Health Care)
September 12, 1997... From the pros to the 'weekend warriors,' physicians keep busy When the University of Colorado's starting fullback, 220-pound Darren Fisk, injured his knee in a mid-August practice session, it was the kind of injury that could have kept him out...

TCI seeks big slice of Internet biz. (Tele-Communications Inc.)
September 12, 1997... The fight for Internet supremacy promises bare-knuckle action from the world's computer giants, but it also has the cable industry practicing the sweet science. One emerging battle is over the evolution of the one-way cable connection into a...

After a delay, Romani gets to show his stuff; Comiskey veteran turns to Pepsi Center. (Tim Romani, president of Ascent Arena Co and general manager of Pepsi Center, works for the construction of Pepsi baseball stadium)
September 12, 1997... Comiskey veteran turns to Pepsi Center Tim Romani, who's in charge of building Denver's $160 million Pepsi Center, was 25 years old in 1987 when he began building Chicago's new Comiskey Park baseball stadium, the first of the new generation of...

Dogfight brews over Cloverleaf; ousted director feuds with race track board. (Cloverleaf greyhound racetrack owner Alice Donahue seeks to oust general manager Joseph Pardi)
September 12, 1997... Ousted director feuds with race track board An owner of the Cloverleaf greyhound racetrack in Loveland is working to oust the current management and, possibly, sell the track, according to informed sources. Alice Donahue of Boston and...

Sluggish times for Colorado's exports.
September 12, 1997... Computer equipment and industrial machinery shipments - the load-bearing segment of Colorado's export economy - suffered another dismal quarter and added to a string of lackluster reports of the state's foreign trade. The crucial category,...

November decision due on Arsenal bid; contract protest delays cleanup work. (bidding for Rocky Mountain Arsenal's $1.2 billion program management contract)
September 12, 1997... Contract protest delays cleanup work The wait soon will be over for environmental companies bidding on the $1.2 billion program management contract at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal. After three months of investigations into conflict of interest...

High schools, colleges attract dedicated docs; love of sport, not money, motivates physicians.(Health Care)
September 12, 1997... Love of sport, not money, motivates physicians High school sports always have bred a particularly dedicated strain of fans, and Dr. Mark Siemer fits the profile. Siemer, 37, conducts physicals, mends bruises and treats a variety of head,...

Catholic Health Initiatives expands reach. (mergers with Sisters of Charity of Nazareth Health System)
September 12, 1997... LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Sisters of Charity of Nazareth Health System, the parent company of Caritas Health Services of Louisville, has merged with Catholic Health Initiatives, a national health-care organization based in Denver. Although no...

Coalition guides patients through appeals: year-old group uses mediation to resolve insurance disputes. (Patient Advocacy Coalition)(Health Care)
September 12, 1997... Year-old group uses mediation to resolve insurance disputes Denver now has a successful alternative to the ever-contentious relationship between insurance providers and patients. The year-old Patient Advocacy Coalition is helping them find...

Denver expected to see increase in business failures.
September 12, 1997... The metro area is expected to lag the nation when it comes to personal bankruptcies, but business failures are another story. Personal bankruptcies are expected to fall from 9,282 in 1990 to 6,552 in 2007, an almost 30 percent decline,...

Finance industry vows fight over new reforms.
September 12, 1997... WASHINGTON - Banks and credit card companies perhaps had the most to gain from changes in the bankruptcy code that made it tougher for consumers to write off their debt. But three years later, these financial institutions say they would have...

States vary on what creditors can't claim: bankruptcy filers try to shield their riches.
September 12, 1997... Bankruptcy filers try to shield their riches WASHINGTON - In the mid-1980s, hundreds of real estate developers around the nation found themselves in serious financial trouble; some were forced to go out of business or file for bankruptcy....

Feds want to change Chapter 11. (proposed bankruptcy law changes)(Small Business Strategies)
September 12, 1997... WASHINGTON - Consider this: After three years of toiling hard to make the company work, an entrepreneur falls behind on taxes, bank payments, paying his suppliers and keeping his employee workers' compensation and pension fund payments current....

Expanding market opportunities: BOMA restructures membership. (Denver Metro Building Owners and Managers Association)(BOMA Update)
September 12, 1997... BOMA Restructures Membership The Denver Metro Building Owners and Managers Association has announced the restructuring of its dues and membership requirements as part of an extensive recruiting campaign. The new dues structure is intended to...

Denver office market conditions: second quarter 1997.(BOMA Update)
September 12, 1997... Denver's office market has seen some positive changes for all property classifications. Net absorption for the area was 938,867 square feet, well ahead of mid-year 1996's figure of 80,340 square feet, and the highest mid-year figure since 1994....

U S West jumps on PCS bandwagon. (U S West Communications Inc.; Personal Communications Services)
September 19, 1997... Baby Bell will vie for wireless customers U S West Communications Inc. is ready to roll out its wireless phone service along the Front Range, marking yet another entry in the already crowded mobile phone field. The local phone company plans...

Rivals seek to lock up biz. (competition among Denver, CO's wireless service providers)
September 19, 1997... Denver is shaping up as one of the most competitive wireless markets nationwide, with five wireless service providers. And the number will swell to six soon when U S West launches its U S West personal communications service. The competition...

Denver falters at ad game. (Colorado; advertising)
September 19, 1997... Denver may be the greatest professional sports town in America but it is a minor-league player, at best, when it comes to advertising. Denver does not run in the same circles as San Francisco or Minneapolis, and whether it ever will is the...

Software firms look overseas.
September 19, 1997... Why CresSoft taps Pakistan talent pool CresSoft Inc. of Englewood enjoys the luxury of watching the heated battle for software engineers from the sidelines. It avoids the barbarous labor market by operating its three software development...

Financial Planning college sold. (Denver, CO's College for Financial Planning)
September 19, 1997... The Apollo Group Inc., parent of the University of Phoenix, will pay $35 million for the Denver-based College for Financial Planning. The deal, set to close Sept. 24, consists of $17.5 million in cash and another $17.5 million in Apollo common...

Power lab boosts ties to industry. (National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, CO)
September 19, 1997... But NREL faces conservative critics Critics of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden claim that the organization's mission is a waste of time and taxpayer's money. But the lab's proponents believe that its continued research...

Security Capital grabs for global deals. (Security Capital Industrial Trust)
September 19, 1997... Aurora-based Security Capital Industrial Trust, this country's largest publicly held owner of industrial real estate, has hitched its wagon to the European Union in a big way. In July, SCI sprouted a branch in Amsterdam to provide distribution...

BetaWest cuts final tie to U S West at year-end. (BetaWest Inc.; U S West Inc.)
September 19, 1997... The long and sometimes tortuous relationship between Denver-based telephone giant U S West Inc. and its former real estate subsidiary, BetaWest Inc., finally ends at the end of the year. That's when BetaWest's pact to provide asset management...

SoundTrack's sound-alike spots satirize Shane. (Tom Shane of The Shane Co.)
September 19, 1997... Ultimate Electronics, operator of Colorado's SoundTrack stores, has hit the airwaves with a series of commercial spots that sound pretty familiar to Denverites. In the spots, Ultimate Electronics President Dave Workman sounds suspiciously like...

Employment outlook bright for '98 graduates. (Colorado)
September 19, 1997... The job outlook for next year's college graduates, especially those majoring in computer science, engineering and business, is bright. According to some of the state's largest colleges and universities, the number of companies approaching them...

Services biggest chunk of gross state product. (Colorado)
September 19, 1997... When it comes to goods and services, Colorado's economy is short on the first and long on the second. About 20 percent of the state's economic output is represented in services, while manufacturing only represented 12.7 percent, according to...

Satellite launches EchoStar toward 300 channels. (EchoStar Communications Corp.)
September 19, 1997... Echostar Communications Corp. is prepping to launch another satellite that could double the number of television channels offered by the direct broadcast satellite provider. The launch, tentatively planned for Oct. 6 at Cape Canaveral Air...

Software firm settles with SEC, avoids fine. (Scientific Software-Intercomp)
September 19, 1997... A Denver-based oil and gas software company recently settled a financial fraud action filed against them by the Securities and Exchange Commission. But Scientific Software-Intercomp Inc. won't have to pay any penalties. The complaint...

Women's Foundation looking toward $10M mark. (Women's Foundation of Colorado)
September 19, 1997... The Women's Foundation of Colorado is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year and it definitely has something to cheer about. The organization, founded by such famous Denver women as Swanee Hunt, Merle Chambers, Dottie Lamm and Josie Heath,...

Castle Rock enjoying solid growth. (Colorado)(Small Business Strategies)
September 19, 1997... Small business takes advantage of city's centralized employment base Castle Rock has become a hotbed for businesses seeking to tap into both the Denver and Colorado Springs markets, while creating a unique small-business niche of its own....

New panel regulates regulators. (Rocky Mountain/Great Plains Regulatory Fairness Board)(Small Business Strategies)
September 19, 1997... Fairness board provides forum for entrepreneurs Small-business owners always complain that they're over-regulated by government agencies and there's little they can do about it. But members of the federal government's newly formed "regulatory...

Castle Rock duo reinvents the mouse pad. (Colorado entrepreneurs Alan Lovejoy and Charlee King)(Small Business Strategies)
September 19, 1997... A few miles northeast of downtown Castle Rock, entrepreneurs Alan Love-joy and Charlee King operate a home-based business, selling a product designed for users of a technology that some consider a pain in the neck. Nothing more than a thick,...

Colorado's economy to remain strong in 1998.
September 19, 1997... How will the Colorado economy fare in the year ahead? Based on past trends, 'all signs point to continued growth and a positive outlook for the state's economy well into the 21st century. This is the conclusion drawn by Dr. Tucker Hart Adams,...

GAO findings will boost OSHA ergonomics push. (General Accounting Office; Occupational Safety and Health Administration)
September 19, 1997... WASHINGTON - The Occupational Health and Safety Administration has received a much-needed boost in its effort to set ergonomic standards in the workplace to reduce work-related injuries. A General Accounting Office study of five companies...

Survey on corruption points finger at Nigeria.
September 19, 1997... WASHINGTON - The breakdown of trade barriers among countries is providing new markets for goods and services. But open markets also are spawning rampant corruption in many countries, according to a Berlin-based nonprofit organization that tracks...

Film expo expected to draw 1,700 technology fans. (Rocky Mountain Film & Video Expo '97)
September 19, 1997... The Rocky Mountain Film & Video Expo '97, a showcase for the latest and greatest in digital and projector technology, is expected to draw more than 1,700 people Oct. 1-2 at the Holiday Inn-DIA. Mark Kramer, the expo's manager, said the event...

Tax Court scrutinizes Madden's Museum of Outdoor Arts. (real estate developer John Madden Jr.)
September 19, 1997... WASHINGTON - John Madden Jr.'s generosity may cost him some money. Madden, a commercial real estate developer, is facing a bill from the Internal Revenue Service for a financial arrangement between two of his ventures, the nonprofit Museum of...

$190M mark nears reality for Integer. (The Integer Group)
September 19, 1997... It's impossible to consider Denver's advertising community without taking a closer look at The Integer Group, the region's largest agency in terms of billings and number of employees. The agency reported $160 million in 1996 billings and...

Nova importing programmers from India. (Nova International Consulting)
September 19, 1997... When Nova International Consulting relocates employees, it means arranging for work visas and driving lessons along with the more traditional chores of moving a new worker. The Denver-based venture is recruiting engineers in India and luring...

I-70 viaducts heading for scrap heap: six-tenths of a mile will cost $90M. (rebuilding the highway betweem Washington Street and Brighton Boulevard)
September 26, 1997... Six-tenths of a mile will cost $90M The days of jaw-jarring rides along the rutted Interstate 70 viaducts east of the mousetrap are numbered. The Colorado Department of Transportation will open bidding Oct. 2 on the first phase of a $90...

Looking back at '87 troubles: brokers recount tales of Denver's dark days.
September 26, 1997... Brokers recount tales of Denver's dark days Metropolitan Denver's office market was so dismal in 1987 that survivors remember the period as if it were yesterday. It probably was the very bottom of a market that started to slide in 1985. It...

Attorney keeps hopping. (lawyer John Eckstein on beer business)
September 26, 1997... John Eckstein greets a visitor to his office with a handshake and an unusual offer for a corporate securities lawyer. "Can I get you a beer?" he asks, ushering the guest past the receptionist's desk to a fridge, well stocked with craft beers...

Small cap stocks gather momentum: some investment experts see shift away from blue chips.
September 26, 1997... Some investment experts see shift away from blue chips Small public companies have languished in a prison of neglect and underperformance for several years, constrained by the country's largest companies. But the winds of change rocked the...

Winter conventions gaining momentum: organizations, companies flock to mountains.
September 26, 1997... Organizations, companies flock to mountains As Colorado's ski areas prepare for the onslaught of vacationers, Denver day-trippers and local ski bums who arrive with the snow, they also are getting ready for increasing numbers of professionals...

State spars with AMR over bills. (American Medical Response Inc.: Colorado)
September 26, 1997... The state of Colorado has notified Aurora-based American Medical Response Inc. that it may begin making lower reimbursement payments in October for some Medicare and Medicaid patients, a decision that could cost the company $500,000 a year....

Villa Italia's future in hands of the voters: urban renewal authority on Nov. ballot.
September 26, 1997... Urban renewal authority on Nov. ballot Villa Italia Mall will be another Cinderella City by 2000 if measures are not taken to maintain shoppers and tenants, warn Lakewood city leaders and residents who are leading efforts to pass a ballot...

EchoStar's Riverfront buy vindicates office strategy. (EchoStar Communications Corp.)
September 26, 1997... Troubled EchoStar Communications Corp. this week purchased the bedraggled Riverfront Festival Center in Littleton for its new, campus-type corporate headquarters. The direct-broadcast satellite company paid $7.5 million for the...

Teachers pension fund will add call center staff. (Teachers Insurance Annuity Association)
September 26, 1997... Business is so brisk that Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association-College Retirement Equities Fund expects to add some 100 call center workers in Denver next year. New York-based Teachers, the world's largest pension fund with $200 billion...

Schock takes value approach to small caps: Westcore manager combines quantitative fundamental analyses. (Schock, Varilyn)(Interview)
September 26, 1997... Westcore manager combines quantitative, fundamental analyses For the last five years, many investors have treated the country's small public companies as living on the opposite sides of the railroad tracks from the rich blue chips. Westcore...

Planners sweat details of getting events ready: business booms for destination-management firms.
September 26, 1997... Business booms for destination-management firms A strong economy, new airport, prospering downtown and expanding convention center offer plenty of reasons to visit Denver, aside from great weather and the slew of professional sports. For...

In Denver, Andersen continues CPA dominance: merged Coopers, PW would take no. 2 spot.
September 26, 1997... Merged Coopers, PW would take No. 2 spot Coopers & Lybrand's merger with Price Waterhouse will create the world's largest accounting firm, but Denver remains an Andersen Worldwide stronghold. The new dynamic duo represents global revenues of...

Denver investors strike gold with Shell oil deal.
September 26, 1997... Trio with stock in Tejas stands to make $259M Shell Oil Co.'s acquisition of Houston-based Tejas Gas Corp. has made some well-heeled Denver investors just a tad richer. Denver oilman Frederic Hamilton, president of The Hamilton Cos., Charles...

Expected boost in demand prompts Amrion space hunt. (Amrion Inc.'s expansion)
September 26, 1997... Amrion Inc., a vitamin and nutritional supplement manufacturer based in Boulder, is supplementing its Longmont facility with an additional 180,000 square feet of space, real estate sources said. Swallowed in mid-September by Austin, Texas,...

Area investment clubs run with the bulls: volatile market viewed as an opportunity to buy for these methodic equity investors.
September 26, 1997... Volatile market viewed as an opportunity to buy for these methodic equity investors As the 10-year mark of the October 1987 crash approaches, longtime members of investment clubs in the Denver area say there's no need to worry when you're...

Ciber, Acceler8 profit from 2000 woes. (Ciber Inc.'s growth)
September 26, 1997... Year 2000 problems continue to provide big gains for metro Denver-based software companies that specialize in large, mainframe computers. Shares of fast-growing Ciber Inc. jumped about 10 percent to nearly $44 per share between Sept. 20 and...

DIA flights carry fewer international travelers. (Denver International Airport)
September 26, 1997... As city and airport officials scour the globe to win more international flights, three foreign carriers already at Denver International Airport are carrying fewer passengers this year than last. Despite a robust gain of almost 5 percent in...

Denver investor has stake in the success of Fun-Train. (investor Allen Harper)
September 26, 1997... HOLLYWOOD, Fla. - Allen Harper is counting on his brightly colored train to carry more than just tourists. Harper, developer of the Hollywood-based Florida Fun-Train, hopes the venture can haul parent company First American Railways Inc. to...

Car wash blues? Not Dubinsky: St. Louis entrepreneur sets sights on big expansion into Denver.
September 26, 1997... St. Louis entrepreneur sets sights on big expansion into Denver ST. LOUIS, Mo. - Having kept cars clean in the state of Missouri for more than 27 years, Waterway Gas & Wash is looking for other areas to conquer, with Denver being its first...

Denver REIT pushes into Kentucky market. (real estate investment trust)
September 26, 1997... A Denver real estate investment trust that's bullish on the industrial market is building two facilities totaling more than 400,000 square feet for $12 million in Boone County, Ky. Security Capital Industrial Trust Inc. broke ground in August...