South Florida Business Journal articles from February 1999

South Florida Business Journal archives from February 1999

Hospitals see profits drop 30%.(Florida)(Brief Article)
February 26, 1999... Florida hospital profits dropped by almost a third in 1998 despite modest growth in patient revenues, according to a statewide survey being used to lobby for more government spending. Relying on unofficial figures from half the state's...

Where banking is a pleasure? South Florida banks expand their services at supermarkets.
February 26, 1999... South Florida banks expand their services at supermarkets Some bankers feel skeptical about the benefits of' branches in supermarkets, but other South Florida banks are taking the plunge or adding more store locations. The new...

New owners 'enquire' ... What's next? Tabloid seeks new avenues to compete with the mainstream.(National Enquirer)
February 26, 1999... Tabloid seeks new avenues to compete with the mainstream Each Friday when the National Enquirer hits the stands, the phones start ringing at the tabloid's Lantana headquarters. But it's not mostly outraged celebrities who are calling....

After turnover in Miami, NationsBank settles in; opportunities elsewhere caused former presidents to leave their positions.(Brief Article)
February 26, 1999... Opportunities elsewhere caused former presidents to leave their positions NationsBank is on its third Miami-area president since early last year, but this one promises to stick around. Robert Hilson, a 12-year NationsBank veteran who...

Is the sky about to fall? The Brazil crisis threatens to shake South Florida's real estate market.(Statistical Data Included)
February 26, 1999... The Brazil crisis threatens to shake South Florida's real estate market Brazil's currency rumblings are penetrating the walls of unsold luxury condominiums in South Florida. "The age, as recently as a year and a half ago, when...

Union Planters prepared to market business lending.(Union Planters Bank)(Brief Article)
February 26, 1999... Union Planters Bank plans to focus on marketing its business lending and consumer investment products to former customers of Republic National Bank of Miami alter it completes that acquisition. Adolfo Henriques, Union Planter's chairman...

Chicken soup for Latin America: South Florida hospitals give vacations a new twist.
February 26, 1999... The Spanish explorer Ponce de Leon came to Florida in 1513 searching, as legend has it, for the Fountain of Youth. Today, a new wave of visitors have begun to discover South Florida's restorative power. Medical tourism has arrived and,...

Thumbs down on Quantum Park movie deal; plans still alive for two Muvico complexes.(Muvico Theaters)
February 26, 1999... Plans still alive for two Muvico complexes A deal to put a 20-screen theater, restaurants and stores in Quantum Corporate Park is dead, but the outcome could actually be two new movie theaters in Boynton Beach. Fort Lauderdale-based...

Raising their sails: South Florida's three seaports take a pro-active approach.(Statistical Data Included)
February 26, 1999... It's a tricky time for South Florida seaports heading into the final year of the century. As major economic engines for Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties, the ports are increasingly being relied upon to provide jobs and...

Miami-Dade County lures financial service companies; task force outlines objectives for attracting firms, events.
February 26, 1999... Miami-Dade County is revising its strategy for recruiting financial services companies. Its target list is weighted toward firms looking to increase or improve their services to Latin America. Multinational banks looking to set up Latin...

Clark moves to No. 1 among general contractors.(Real Estate and Construction Monthly)(Clark Construction Group)(Statistical Data Included)
February 26, 1999... From the fountains, pool bars and cabanas of a historic Art Deco renovation to an office complex in Boca Raton, Clark Construction Group has been busy. With 1998 billings of $227 million, Clark's Hollywood office became South Florida's...

Death of intangible tax urged; governor wants a partial repeal accelerated, but business group seeks a lot more.(Florida)
February 19, 1999... Florida's widely criticized intangibles tax could die this year. Gov. Jeb Bush wants to repeal the tax on accounts receivables and lower the tax on stocks and bonds owned by individual investors and businesses. He's being urged by a...

Room to grow? Palm Beach County battle encapsules future regional debate.(disputes over an agricultural reserve)
February 19, 1999... As South Florida gets closer to buildout, the fight over what to do with the remaining undeveloped land is intensifying. The latest skirmish is over South Palm Beach County's final frontier: the 20,923 acre agricultural reserve. Voters...

Aerospace startup boosts local industry.(Competitive Design Co)
February 19, 1999... The downsizing at aircraft engine maker Pratt & Whitney has provided lift for a new aerospace engineering company based in Juno Beach. Competitive Design Co. was founded in October by local aerospace engineer Joe Brostmeyer, a specialist...

Building a brand: company's products known, not its name.(Tasco Sales Inc)
February 19, 1999... Even if a company has sold products nationally for years, it doesn't mean it has a brand name. That's the problem in a nutshell for Tasco Sales Inc. The Miramar-based optics distributor has remained largely anonymous to the general...

Cooker Restaurant.(Proxy Report Excerpts)(Company Profile)
February 19, 1999... Exchange: NYSE Symbol: CGR Address: 5500 Village Blvd West Palm Beach 33407 Phone: (561) 615-6000 Web site: www.cookers.com Employees: 5,527 Profile: Cooker owns and operates more than 60 restaurants in Florida,...

Dark secrets: Hoffman's Chocolate sweetens the year for employees and customers.(Hoffman's Chocolate Shoppes)
February 19, 1999... Paul Hoffman has a nickname around the office. "People refer to Paul as Willy Wonka," said Fred Meltzer, chief executive of Hoff man's Chocolate Shoppes. Instead of promising a lifetime of chocolate to five golden ticket holders,...

AmTrust focuses local lending on homebuilders.(AmTrust Bank)
February 19, 1999... Ohio bank says it keeps deposits in-state AmTrust Bank has gained notice the past two years for free checking accounts and passbook savings and money market accounts that offer South Florida's highest rates. Those rates have helped...

Long-time Pontiac dealer sells off business.(Stewart Pontiac)
February 19, 1999... Sixty years after Earl Stewart's father opened a Pontiac dealership on Dixie Highway, Stewart is selling the business to another car dealer and considering an offer to sell the land. Stewart has an agreement to sell Stewart Pontiac in...

Republic's exec ranks attract seasoned talents.(Republic Security Bank's appointment of R. Michael Strickland as chief banking officer)
February 19, 1999... Consider it a sign that Republic Security Bank's rapid growth is not over: The bank has snared R. Michael Strickland, NationsBank's former top executive in Palm Beach County, and created the new position of chief banking officer for him. ...

Coral Gables HMO looks to balance enrollment.(Beacon Health Plans; health maintenance organization)
February 19, 1999... Beacon Health wants equal number of private, government enrollees Beacon Health Plans expects to receive up to $5 million from institutional investors so it can enroll more Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, giving it a more equal...

Hospital district settles case with doctors.(South Broward Hospital District, FL)
February 19, 1999... The South Broward Hospital District this week agreed to settle breach-of-contract claims by a Hollywood physicians group, ending a lawsuit that illustrated the challenges of running a medical office profitably. An attorney for the South...

Macy's, CityPlace deal near.(negotiations on Macy's retail space at the CityPlace project in South Florida)
February 12, 1999... Department store would lead the parade of retailers to open next year Macy's has a tentative deal for a store in the first phase of the CityPlace project, according to sources familiar with the negotiations. The agreement...

Ex-Sunbeam execs smell the coffee.(purchase of Brothers Gourmet Coffees by BGC Acquisition Corp. headed by Lee Griffith and Kevin McBride)
February 12, 1999... Two former Sunbeam executives are heading up an investment group that's set to buy Brothers Gourmet Coffees, the nationally known Boca Raton-based coffee distributor that filed for bankruptcy last summer. According to a purchase...

Burger franchisee grilled by own suit.(decision on the countersuit filed against Robert Loehr by Taco Bell)
February 12, 1999... A Broward County judge recently made the rare decision that a franchisee owes a franchiser $1.1 million in attorney's fees for a lawsuit he filed against the company four years ago. Last month, a jury determined that Richard Loehr owed...

One-branch bank to grow on the Internet.(online service plans of First Telebanc Corp. for its acquired First National Bank)
February 12, 1999... The new owners of tiny Boca Raton First National Bank have some big plans in the fast-growing field of Internet and telephone banking. First Telebanc Corp., a holding company headed by several veteran South Florida bankers, acquired the...

Codina to take over NCCI headquarters.(Codina Development Corp.'s negotiation to build the headquarters of the National Council on Compensation Insurance in Florida)
February 12, 1999... CarrAmerica couldn't lock in an interest rate quick enough to do deal Same site. Different developer. In a surprise twist, Codina Development Corp., whose earlier bid to build the National Council on Compensation Insurance's new...

Local floral company attracts large chunk of venture capital.(Gerald Stevens Inc.)
February 12, 1999... [TABULAR DATA OMITTED] While venture capital investment in Sunshine State companies fell slightly in 1998 to just more than $300 million, South Florida got the lion's share of it, according to a nationwide survey by...

New management models give physicians autonomy.(group medical practice established by Jeffrey Rosen called PrimeCare Medical Associates)
February 12, 1999... Coral Gables family physician Dr. Jeffrey Rosen never bought the line that doctors make lousy businessmen. And he wasn't about to let the rise of health maintenance organizations change his mind. So five years ago, when worries about...

Valentine's wishes just a mouse-click away.(online floral delivery service of Flowerfarm.com)
February 12, 1999... South Florida retailers focus on Internet selling Cupid's arrow is traveling over the Internet this Valentine's Day with help from online retailers in South Florida. For example, Boca Raton-based Flowerfarm.com, has no public outlet,...

Sheraton opens new VIP floor.(Sheraton West Palm Beach hotel in Florida)
February 12, 1999... West Palm hotel faces increased competition for business travelers The Sheraton West Palm Beach hotel has transformed its top floor into fancier guest rooms and a private lounge where guests get complimentary breakfast, snacks, and fax...

Seeking opportunities: JWCharles merger positions new firm to lead S. Florida IPOs.(underwriting services of JWCharles Financial Corp. for initial public offerings)(Company Profile)
February 12, 1999... Come spring, JWGenesis Financial Corp. hopes to announce a new series of underwritings of initial public offerings for South Florida companies. Marshall Leeds, chairman and CEO of the Boca Raton-based brokerage firm, said those deals...

Floridian to lead ABA into the next millennium.(interview with Hjalma E. Johnson, president of the American Bankers Association)(Interview)
February 12, 1999... Says consolidation will continue, keep banks competitive Hjalma E. Johnson will become president of the American Bankers Association at its national convention in October, becoming only the second Floridian in the 120-year history of the ABA...

Sam Walton's daughter moves in; shakeup in commercial mortgage business provides opportunity.(Alice Walton; Llama Capital Mortgage Co.)
February 5, 1999... Alice Walton, daughter of WalMart's founder, is moving a company that makes commercial mortgage loans to West Palm Beach. That is enabling Llama Capital Mortgage Co. to tap the expertise of several former top executives of West Palm...

Hospitals droppping doctors.(Baptist Health Systems of South Florida; South Broward Hospital District)
February 5, 1999... Two South Florida hospital systems are cutting their losses in the once competitive arena of employing and managing office-based physicians. Baptist Health Systems of South Florida said that on April i it will dissolve its 17-doctor...

A diplomat and a gentleman.(real estate developer Tom Driscoll's plans for the $500 million Diplomat Resort and Country Club)
February 5, 1999... Developer Tom Driscoll wins support of union, government, business leaders in his quest to change the face of Hollywood Tom Driscoll would seem an unlikely candidate to undertake the largest real estate development in Hollywood this...

City Hall dismissal raises continuity questions.(resignation of Greg Stuart, West Palm Beach, FL's planning, zoning and building chief)
February 5, 1999... Less than two months before West Palm Beach Mayor Nancy Graham leaves City Hall, another key contact for developers has been asked to step down, fueling fear that too much change might not be good for the city. In a move that has...

Charging profits: e-commerce revolution fuels South Florida's high tech fire.(Technology Showcase)
February 5, 1999... It seems lately all you need to do is simply mention the magic word "e-commerce and your company could end up being worth a lot more. Take, for instance, Sunglass Hut International (Nasdaq: RAYS). Two weeks ago, the flailing Coral...

'Canes to storm vendors selling counterfeit products.(University of Miami's crackdown on unlicensed products at Hurricanes football games)
February 5, 1999... The University of Miami will blitz vendors selling unlicensed T-shirts and other team paraphernalia at Hurricanes football games this fall. The crackdown on counterfeit paraphernalia will be the first in the school's history. It's part...