South Florida Business Journal articles from February 1998

South Florida Business Journal archives from February 1998

Big plans, big stores for Dillard's. (Dillard Department Stores Inc.)
February 6, 1998... Three stores planned for this area - including the biggest in the state Dillard's department stores, which has taken its time arriving in Palm Beach County, is moving forward with plans to build at least three stores in the area, one of which...

More spec race in Boca. (speculative building in Boca Raton, Florida)
February 6, 1998... Sussman deal is latest spec office building in area A partnership led by broker Jeff Sussman struck a $2 million deal to buy three acres from the Sheraton Boca Raton Hotel in a move that clears the way for another speculative building in Boca...

Merging to survive - and thrive. (InSource Inc.)(Company Profile)
February 6, 1998... Three small insurers combine many years of experience and expertise to increase clout for their customers in the post-Hurricane Andrew era A sense of history runs through InSource Inc., one of the largest privately owned insurance and financial...

Businesses say Florida should retire new stance on seniors.
February 6, 1998... Stop! Before you break our (financial) heart. That's the new tune Florida Department of Elder Affairs officials are singing about retirees. But it's not exactly music to the ears of many South Florida developers and businessmen who depend on...

Board weighs rules for alternative medicine. (Florida Board of Medicine)
February 6, 1998... Florida Board of Medicine wants conference to cope with herbalists and others Besieged by unorthodox doctors vying for recognition, a committee of the Florida Board of Medicine has called for a statewide conference to consider how to cope with...

Borrowing from 401(k) presents many drawbacks.
February 6, 1998... When Tamara Cox left her job to begin graduate school, she considered tapping her 401(k) plan to help with tuition. If she chooses to do so, she could face a hefty 10-percent tax penalty for removing the money before age 591/2, and the money...

Clinton plan means more bucks for SBA loans. (Small Business Administration)
February 6, 1998... If it's approved, more start-up and operating loans would be made, area SBA chief says Regional and national directors of the Small Business Administration say that President Clinton's proposed budget would provide record levels of lending and...

Canadian visitors cut back because of weakened dollar. (South Florida)
February 6, 1998... BROWARD-CANADA SNAPSHOT Statistics for Canadians visiting Florida. Figures from Palm Beach and Dade counties were not available. Visitors' Spending Year Visitors Total Spending Average Spending 1997 (est.) ...

La Quinta to build at Peninsula Center. (La Quinta Inns)
February 13, 1998... The hotelier that is trying to carve out a niche as "an oasis from the world" will soon be helping the proposed Peninsula Corporate Center carve out a spot in the cramped Boca Raton office market. San Antonio, Texas-based La Quinta Inns has...

Community banks waging a comeback. (banking industry)
February 13, 1998... While the number of community banks in Palm Beach County and elsewhere has been steadily declining since the early 1990s, there are signs that these small banks may be on the verge of a comeback. In 1984, there were 20 community banks in Palm...

CityPlace aiming for unique atmosphere. (department store)
February 13, 1998... It's not likely to be a place for bargain hunting or unearthing a deal at a department store's one-day sale. Creators of CityPlace in West Palm Beach have a different strategy for luring shoppers. Project officials said "no thank you" to...

Packaging with punch. (packaging technique)
February 13, 1998... Mark Weithorn makes sure customers judge a product by what's on the outside of the box When marketing specialist Mark Weithorn first met Miami gadget maker Shane Samole, Samole's company was struggling. The entrepreneur launched Excalibur...

Publix taking steps to improve human resources. (Publix Super Markets Inc.)
February 13, 1998... A year after the announced settlement of its multimillion-dollar, class-action gender discrimination case, Publix Super Markets Inc. has settled into a new reporting scheme. According to Jennifer Bush, spokeswoman for the Lakeland-based...

New contracts, cost cutting pay off for West Palm's InTime. (InTime Systems International)
February 13, 1998... Software developer's moves send stock up from a record low in January InTime Systems International, a West Palm Beach-based software developer and human resources consultant, has seen its stock price rebound in recent weeks to a 52-week high...

Holographic labels help smoke out fake stogies. (counterfeit cigars)
February 13, 1998... High-tech stickers aim to snuff out counterfeit cigars Holographic or other types of proprietary seals to prevent counterfeiting can be found on credit cards, compact disc boxes and other consumer items. So why not cigar boxes?...

Fun-train lays off 20, but says it's still on track. (First American Railway)
February 13, 1998... Is the Florida Fun-Train poised to derail? Hollywood-based First American Railways has chalked up more than $5 million in red ink, lost 80 percent of its scheduled riders, laid off 20 employees and watched its stock plunge from $3.50 to 50...

Citibank's chief wants more high-tech banking. (Frits Seegers)
February 13, 1998... Citibank's new president for Florida, Frits Seegers, is a favorite of American Airlines. He flies over 6,000 miles a week commuting from his base in San Francisco, where he also heads Citibank's California and Nevada operations, to his hotel...

Kitchens of the Oceans buying Jacksonville plant.
February 13, 1998... But NLRB could block shrimp processor's move if union vote is the motive Labor officials still could block Kitchens of the Oceans' move from Deerfield Beach to Jacksonville, and a public incentive package appears dead. Despite those...

Deals put Blue Lake nearly half full. (Blue Lake Corporate Center at Boca Raton, FL)
February 20, 1998... Two pending leases at old IBM campus take up 140,000 square feet Two pending deals at Boca Raton's Blue Lake Corporate Center are ready to push leasing at the former IBM campus right up against the 50 percent mark. Completing both deals will...

Throwing in the trowel: Boca Raton's Q.E.P. goes from family business to world leader.
February 20, 1998... Leonard Gould remembers being 10 years old and helping out in the family business. His mother and father, Susan and Lewis Gould, ran and were the sole employees of Q.E.P., a company that made a product called the bathtub edging kit. While...

Barclay's aims to become 'McDonald's of real estate': Palm Beach luxury broker's Econohousing offices will target the working middle class. (Barclay's Group International)
February 20, 1998... The Palm Beach real estate company that built a $200-million-a-year business selling mansions to the rich and famous is now reaching out to the working middle class. Realizing that there are only so many multimillion-dollar estates to be sold,...

Agents travel in tough new world. (travel agency business in Palm Beach County, FL)(Industry Overview)
February 20, 1998... Despite concerns in the travel industry that agencies would be forced to close after domestic airlines cut their commission rates last year, the travel agency business in Palm Beach County shows few signs of slowing down. A review by the...

Working through fun: Innovative Leisure has expanded its business from organizing company picnic activities to corporate training.
February 20, 1998... Terry Foley's entrepreneurial ways go back to when he was growing up in Cocoa Beach. At the age of five, he had his first business where he collected and sold frogs and toads. Later he had a lawn service. Then he started a detective agency...

Wishing upon a Legislature: Florida Hospital Association general counsel calls for reform. (interview with Bill Bell)(Interview)
February 20, 1998... Once a year for more than a decade, caravans of hospital administrators have converged on Tallahassee to educate lawmakers on health-care economics. In that sense, the March 11 Hospital Day in the Legislature, sponsored by the Florida Hospital...

Wide open debate: Holistic dentistry draws criticism from South Florida's traditional doctors but receives praise from patients.
February 20, 1998... Dr. Hilda Ming Lo experienced a condition called spasmodic dysphonia that nearly paralyzed her vocal chords. The 55-year-old assistant professor at the University of Miami School of Medicine said the problem literally rendered her speechless....

California chain makes its debut in Aventura: Restoration Hardware planning major national expansion this year. (Aventura Mall in South Florida)
February 20, 1998... Restoration Hardware, a stylish California chain that sells an eclectic mix of furniture, home accessories and unusual hardware, has just opened its first store in South Florida and plans to open two more by the end of the summer. The chain...

Nontoxic bug spray doesn't bug humans - but price does; Boca Raton firm's safer insecticide may be bought by Palm Beach schools. (Bugs 'R' Gone from EnviroMan)
February 20, 1998... Boca Raton firm's safer insecticide may be bought by Palm Beach schools If you build a better bug spray, the world may or may not beat a path to your door - but you'll certainly be able to charge more. Twice as much, in the case of Robert...

Repeat customers keep business sizzling at steakhouses.(Industry Overview)
February 20, 1998... Morton's Steakhouse doesn't have a to-go menu. And it doesn't have Styrofoam containers or plastic knives. But when movie star Sylvester Stallone isn't in the mood to go out for dinner, the eatery doesn't hesitate to put his medium rare...

More than a bit o' blarney on Clematis. (Rooney's Public House to open at 213 Clematis St. on West Palm Beach)
February 27, 1998... A stroll down West Palm Beach's Clematis Street these days has revelry-seekers tripping over shamrocks. Rooney's Public House, the fourth Irish-themed pub on the street, is set to open next week at 213 Clematis. Brothers Joseph and Patrick...

Banking on him: Memphis-based Union Planters hangs its hopes for its Florida expansion on new local CEO Adolfo Henriques. (Union Planters Corp starts Florida bank acquisitions with Capital Bancorp in Miami)
February 27, 1998... If it ain't broke, don't fix it - but don't hesitate to enhance it, either. That's Union Planters Corp.'s philosophy when it comes to developing its recent acquisition, Capital Bancorp in Miami. While the Memphis-based bank aims to keep...

If he can make it here, he'll make it anywhere; Donald Baxter proves Boca is a good place for a mutual fund manager.
February 27, 1998... Donald Baxter of Boca Raton proves a mutual fund manager can find stock market winners without being part of the financial industry's hordes in New York and Boston. "If you're based there or go there a lot, you listen to all the same people...

New financing program gives hope to manufacturers. (Florida Development Finance Corp provides expansion loans to small manufacturers)
February 27, 1998... It provides loans with interest rates of about 30 percent below prime South Florida's small manufacturers now have another place to look for expansion loans. The source is a new program from the Florida Development Finance Corp., an arm of...

Home equity-based lending grows in popularity but poses many risks. (UC Lending offers home-equity based lending)
February 27, 1998... A man in a television advertisement relaxes on a beach, burie to his neck in sand, broadcasting how he paid off his high-interest credit cards with a home equity-based loan from UC Lending. He lowered his total monthly payments by more than...

Port tries to zap auto theft with new gamma ray gizmo. (Port of Miami uses Stolen Auto Recovery System from Argos Vision Systems)
February 27, 1998... On another occasion, the steel shipping container might have left the Port of Miami bound for South America, with the stolen luxury vehicle tucked inside. Not this time. Within its first hours of operation, a new gamma-ray scanner that...

Growing pains: Broward County faces criticism for paying $120 million to expand Port Everglades.
February 27, 1998... The latest figures coming from Port Everglades show revenues continuing to rise, up nearly $5 million from projected levels and up $8.2 million over last year. The port will need all the revenue it can generate in coming years. The $120...

Homeowners may get insurance cut; insurance commissioner seeking 15% rate rollback. (Bill Nelson proposes homeowners' insurance rate rollback)
February 27, 1998... Florida's insurance commissioner is proposing a change in the state's homeowners' insurance industry that could roll back rates by 15 percent - the first since Hurricane Andrew tore across South Florida in 1992. Andrew caused more economic...