South Florida Business Journal articles from March 1997

South Florida Business Journal archives from March 1997

Travel tax for stadiums draws fire.
March 28, 1997... WASHINGTON - Trying to avoid fiscal collisions with their citizens, communities may have finally figured out a way to build public stadiums: Tax the travelers who visit the city. At least 19 local governments across the country - including...

Vinyl records just won't die; Dick Smith still makes 'em; Bob Ross recycle 'em. (president of Alpha Records; owner of Tunes Co.)
March 28, 1997... If you think vinyl records are merely dust-gathering Frisbees in the '90s, tell that to Dick Smith or Bob Ross. Smith is president of Alpha Records, a Plantation company that in 1996 manufactured more than 400,000 records for the most...

Florida bucks trend, punishes fewer doctors.
March 28, 1997... The number of U.S. doctors disciplined by state medical boards grew by 13 percent last year, but fell almost 18 percent in Florida, according to a medical board trade group. The Federation of State Medical Boards in Euless, Texas, said 3,821...

Hotel experts: good times won't last.
March 28, 1997... With occupancy and room rates at their healthiest levels in years, and hotel developers scrambling to buy up every last bit of usable land, America's hospitality industry is riding high in 1997. But hoteliers, analysts and lenders who...

Let the dollars flow: real estate lending is making a comeback.(Real Estate Monthly)
March 28, 1997... Gone are the days when real estate developers were considered pariahs at banks and other financial institutions. Today, lenders have begun making real estate loans with a vengeance, although, unlike the 1980s, the emphasis is on existing...

Prescription to save family pharmacies: franchise group aims to help small drug stores compete with the big boys. (American Family Pharmacy)
March 28, 1997... With independent pharmacies closing at a rate of 200 per month, it may not be long before they go the way of mom-and-pop video and hardware stores. Before that happens, American Family Pharmacy of Fort Lauderdale wants to take a crack at...

Kelner to leave Business Journal; Press is new publisher. (South Florida Business Journal; Judy Kelner; Gary Press)
March 28, 1997... South Florida Business Journal publisher Judy Kelner has been named president of a new division of American City Business Journals, the newspaper's parent company. Gary Press, publisher of the Palm Beach Jewish Times, will replace Kelner at...

After aborted takeoff, plant parts firm tries IPO again. (aircraft parts; initial public offering)
March 28, 1997... A Miramar-based airline parts company is taking another shot at raising public money. But it's only going to go for half of what it originally hoped to raise in an initial public offering filed last June. Avteam Inc. filed an initial public...

State ranks fifth in U.S. earnings, with service sector leading the way. (Florida)
March 28, 1997... When it comes to regional economies, the U.S. boasts a mixed bag, with some states dependent on manufacturing or construction, and others on the services, retail or other industries. Now a study commissioned by South Florida Business Journal...

Daytona Beach couple pledges personal assets to buy troubled Florida Home Finders. (Dave and Pam Bassete)
March 28, 1997... Deal to repay deposits to 3,500 renters and homeowners Several thousand renters and homeowners saw their security deposits evaporate in the legally contentious sale of a Port St. Lucie property management firm. But an unusual deal that...

Gurus go ad it; straight talk on brain darts, mechanical crutches and saying 'no' to the client.(Addy All-Stars)
March 28, 1997... What makes a great ad in 1997? Phyllis Green, president, Green Advertising, Boca Raton "A great ad 'demands' the reader's attention. It cannot be overlooked. It is provocative... interesting... different. An ad that stands out among all...

Lulu's big little project: after years of thinking big in her father's architectural firm, Laurie Swedroe tames a 1,100-square-foot condo. (North Miami Beach Development Corp. vice president)(Real Estate Monthly)
March 28, 1997... As an architect, Laurie Swedroe - everyone calls her Lulu - is an expert at making big statements in big spaces all over the world. She is currently working on projects in Istanbul and Rio, She is with the Well-known and world-renowned Miami...

'95 HMO profits plummet by two-thirds across state. (health maintenance organizations; Florida)
March 28, 1997... Florida's health maintenance organizations set new membership and revenue records in 1996 but profits plunged once again, coming in at just $75 million compared with last year's $212 million. Put another way, profit margins slipped from 5.3...

Legislator seeks to have state, not bar, discipline Fla. lawyers.
March 28, 1997... TALLAHASSEE - Rep. Jerry Melvin, R-Fort Walton Beach, hopes the third time will be a charm in what is beginning to look like an annual attempt to have attorneys governed by the Legislature instead of the Florida Bar and state Supreme Court....

Pushing profits, not pencils. (outsourcing small business' human relations tasks)(Small Business Strategies)
March 28, 1997... Small businesses get better deals and less red tape by handing over their human resources chores to outside firms The 50 employees at Cosmo International in Fort Lauderdale recently started getting their paychecks from someone besides their...

How cultural, language differences affect business.(Small Business Strategies)
March 28, 1997... Sometimes it's not the big issues that derail U.S. - Latin American business ventures. It's the little things. The nuances. The shades of meaning that shift during translations from English to Spanish or Portuguese. A number of subtle but...

Hotel rehabs: everything old is old again; experts say it takes more than a pretty face to keep a property competitive.
March 28, 1997... If there was one thing that everyone agreed on at this week's Cornell hospitality conference, it was this: When it comes to the hotel industry, new is always better than old. At a seminar on the repositioning of older properties, speakers...

State may owe docs $270M in back pay. (Florida)
March 21, 1997... The state will pay doctors as much as $270 million unless legislators intervene or a court overturns rulings that Florida owes reimbursements for Medicare/Medicaid eligible patients. The rulings followed lawsuits filed in state and federal...

Bally's deal bulks up Continucare. (Continucare Corp. to operate physical rehabilitation facilities in Bally Total Fitness clubs)
March 21, 1997... MIAMI - Charles M. Fernandez has spent most of his professional career in radio, so when the 35-year-old decided to get into the health care business, he turned a few heads. Last year, the former executive vice president of Las Vegas-based...

New tenants have The Falls' fortunes rising. (shopping mall in Miami, Florida)
March 21, 1997... MIAMI - On the heels of welcoming Dade County's first Crate & Barrel store, The Falls shopping center at U.S. 1 and Southwest 136th Street has signed a host of new tenants that promise to continue its upscale momentum. Kipling, an Australian...

Contaminated 'brownfields' posing development problems.
March 21, 1997... Trash blows tumbleweed-style across a two-acre moonscape in northeast Miami's Wynwood neighborhood. The rubble-strewn site is littered with spent tires and a frayed couch, and its neighbors are graffiti-decorated buildings and tall barbed-wire...

Bracing for success: entrepreneur plans orthodontic IPO. (initial public offering for Orthodontix)
March 21, 1997... With one successful publicly traded physician management company under his belt, Dr. Stephen Dresnick is gearing up to take his second one public. The president and chief executive of Sterling Healthcare Group in Coral Gables is recruiting...

A profit in pants. (TKO Apparel)
March 21, 1997... Brothers make the unlikely move from real estate into casual wear In late 1995, Ken Tate told brother James Tate that the entrepreneurs should diversify their North Miami real-estate firm into an unlikely industry: apparel manufacturing....

We're not alone - building booming across U.S. (real estate in South Florida)
March 21, 1997... From luxury condos and urban redevelopment to warehouses and offices, South Florida contractors and developers are racing to break ground on new projects. The construction cranes and bulldozers dotting South Florida's landscape mirror a...

Environmental self-audits making a scaled-down comeback.
March 21, 1997... TALLAHASSEE - Proponents call it the "find it, fix it" legislation, compared to the "don't ask, don't tell" policy the state has now. Opponents call it the "Corporate Dirty Secrets Act." After two years of wrangling, both sides of the...

Pulte calls higher density key to Kendall project. (residential development at Kendall by Pulte Home Corp.)
March 21, 1997... After a weeklong planning session, Pulte Home Corp. officials say they're optimistic that they can turn a profit on a planned neo-traditional development in Kendall. But there's a catch: For the project to work, Pulte says, it must double...

Dentists brace for competition. (marketing techniques by Florida dentists)
March 21, 1997... With 50 percent more dentists, they're putting some real teeth into their marketing Walk into Dr. Gordon Sokoloff's office and you are greeted by a friendly staff offering a glass of white zinfandel or a cup of gourmet coffee. In the waiting...

South Florida's high-tech hub: IBM's arrival - and cutbacks - have made Boca Raton a permanent player in the computer industry.
March 21, 1997... Back in 1967, when International Business Machines announced it had chosen Boca Raton as the site for the first of many divisions to be opened in or relocated to South Florida, then-chairman Tom Watson Jr. gave a simple reason: "The quality of...

West Palm Beach redevelopment moving ahead - finally.
March 21, 1997... For six years, the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts has been an isolated oasis in a desert of mostly vacant land west of downtown West Palm Beach. But the long-dormant Uptown/Downtown redevelopment project could spring to life next...

Crate & Barrel adding two more stores after opening at The Falls.
March 21, 1997... Gordon Segal, CEO of Chicago-based Crate & Barrel, took a tour of Broward County last week after the opening of his first Dade County store at The Falls. His goal: Adding two stores between The Falls and Crate & Barrel's Boca Raton store....

Lawmakers file a flurry of business bills; legislative session starts with proposals ranging from tort reform to a surcharge on lead batteries.
March 7, 1997... TALLAHASSEE - State officials may have placed education at the top of their agenda for the 1997 legislative session, but that didn't stop lawmakers from filing a flurry of business-related bills among the hundreds that await action. While...

It's a temporary thing; staffing industry goes on buying spree.
March 7, 1997... Like most of the major players in the temporary-staffing industry, OutSource International has been aggressively trolling for acquisitions. The Deerfield Beach company this week capped a string of deals that will boost its revenue by about...

L.A. Fitness plans six clubs now, eight in '98. (L.A. Fitness Sports Clubs)
March 7, 1997... A West Coast chain of full-service health clubs wants to muscle its way into body-conscious South Florida. L.A. Fitness Sports Clubs, a 13-year-old chain headquartered in Newport Beach, Calif., plans to start construction on a half-dozen...

With new medical center, Benjamin Leon is back in business. (Leon Medical Centers)
March 7, 1997... In Miami's Hispanic community, the name Leon has been synonymous with managed care. In 1964, Benjamin Leon Sr. started South Florida's first Cuban Clinica. In 1973, he received the state's first HMO license, launching Clinica Asociacion...

BankUnited isn't slowing after fast-paced '96.
March 7, 1997... Stockholders, investors say thrift is becoming more attractive Long considered an industry laggard by analysts, BankUnited is parlaying a growth spurt and a lack of homegrown thrifts into newfound interest from investors. BankUnited's...

Calling in a coach: the growing trend is to hire a personal trainer for your career.
March 7, 1997... First there was the personal trainer who would motivate and push you through your workouts. Now there are professional coaches who are hired to give you advice on how to succeed at work. As a child, Eric Goldstein, a psychologist in South...

HIP: if they don't know you, they won't buy you. (HIP Health Plan of Florida)
March 7, 1997... HOLLYWOOD - If there's one thing executives at HIP Health Plan of Florida have learned, it's the importance of name recognition. The insurance company has been selling policies in South Florida since 1985, but few people, except those...

Law would keep Realtors on one side of the deal.
March 7, 1997... Legislation kills 'disclosed dual agents,' maintains 'transaction brokers' and clarifies who works for who TALLAHASSEE - Say you put your house on the market for a specific price, but tell your real estate broker you're willing to sell for...

Anything for the dream: ebrejey founders design products, mail catalogs and even make deliveries. (also known as World Treads Inc.)(Small Business Strategies)(Company Profile)
March 7, 1997... When Mariela Rovito was interviewing Ali Salaverria for a job with Young & Rubicam in downtown Miami, she asked her prospective associate a predictable question: What are your career goals? The answer was anything but predictable....

Hospices and hospitals: partnerships between hospitals and hospices provide two-way benefits.(Health Care Monthly)
March 7, 1997... While many hospitals retool themselves to face the challenges of empty beds, at least one part of the health care business continues to see growth - the hospice industry. Over the past five years, annual growth in the number of hospice...