South Florida Business Journal articles from May 1997

South Florida Business Journal archives from May 1997

From zero to no. 1: already the top radiologist group, Navix is still growing fast. (Navix Radiology Systems Inc.)
May 2, 1997... CORAL GABLES - Trained as a molecular biologist, Miles Gilman has made a successful transition from white lab coat to business attire. And this week the chief executive of Navix Radiology Systems Inc. crowned his success with the grand opening...

Beverage superstore plans four openings. (Beverages, & more!)
May 2, 1997... A California chain of wine, liquor and gourmet superstores will pop champagne corks in South Florida this year with four openings between June and the all-important holiday season. Beverages, & more!, a three-year-old company with 13 stores in...

Paxson sorts through suitors for TV time. (Paxson Communications Corp.)
May 2, 1997... At WCTD-TV in Miami, the steady stream of infomercials occasionally is interrupted by Florida State University football and basketball games. Paxson Communications Corp. officials say the small-time deal at that obscure station could be the...

Emissions inspection laws appear stalled. (Florida)
May 2, 1997... TALLAHASSEE - With the end of the 1997 legislative session imminent, bills that would change Florida's motor vehicle emissions inspection laws appear to be stalled for another year. The Legislature is expected to adjourn May 2 without taking up...

Bank lobbyists make sure their clients aren't forgotten.
May 2, 1997... TALLAHASSEE - Marsha Cantrell smiles an apology for the interruption as she pauses during a recent interview to fish her incessantly ringing portable telephone out of her overstuffed leather attache case. Cantrell, sole lobbyist for Barnett,...

Pension plan future may not be so bright. (Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp.)
May 2, 1997... WASHINGTON - The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp says the pension plan for more than 36 million workers is safer than ever, but industry experts see some troubling signs for the 22-year-old government-sponsored agency. President Bill Clinton...

Florida foot docs sue HHS over medicare repayments. (Dept. of Health and Human Services)
May 2, 1997... Florida podiatrists are suing the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, saying the federal agency has "illegally" demanded that foot doctors repay up to $5.5 million they got from Medicare for cutting and scraping corns and calluses....

Getting their cut: after some needling, the North Broward Hospital District has set a successful program to attract minority and women vendors.(Small Business Strategies)
May 2, 1997... [INCOMPLETE TEXT FROM ORIGINAL PUBLICATION] or three years Hamish Reed tried to get a foot in the door at the North Broward Hospital District. But the co-founder of Branches Medical Inc. of Lauderhill said he was lucky to get $1,000 of the...

Selling the AutoNation way.
May 9, 1997... High energy, low pressure and not a 'house mouse' in sight It is the first day of school, and like any new student, Don Ganobcik is a little nervous. He scans the nearly 50 other students here for the four-week job training course that is...

Dental center opens wide. (Dental Specialties Center)
May 9, 1997... TownCare Dental offers one-stop shopping for teeth KENDALL - Step out of the elevator on the top floor of the 10-story Baptist Medical Arts Building and you step onto gleaming hardwood floors. On the walls are original oil paintings, Romanesque...

HMO execs well paid for their troubles: latest reports show salaries on the rise, even as some profits shrink.
May 16, 1997... Their companies' profit margins may be shrinking, but the salaries of Florida's HMO executives continued to be quite healthy last year, even in cases where losses were posted. According to just-released state records, many of the executives who...

Homestead Village set to open three hotels, plans four more.
May 16, 1997... Homestead Village, the Atlanta-based hotel chain that's giving Extended Stay America a run for its money, will open three South Florida properties this year and plans four more before 1999. Scheduled to open this summer are a 149-room Miami...

NationsBank tries new tactic - paying customers for deposits.
May 16, 1997... As banks pile on the fees they charge customers, NationsBank is taking a different tack. The superregional is giving Broward County customers 50 cents every time they make a deposit at an ATM. Through July 31, the Charlotte, N.C., bank is...

Joanne Miner: Minuteman Press pulls full-steam ahead.
May 16, 1997... In 1987, Joanne Miner, then an executive at Burdines, couldn't shake the feeling that her professional world - the hard-won career she had sacrificed years to build - was about to crash in. "I was petrified at the thought of losing my...

Mike Sneiderman: Sign-A-Rama makes a lasting impression.
May 16, 1997... Mike Sneiderman, owner of a Sign-A-Rama, USA franchise in Delray Beach, says he's never been a quitter, but after working nearly a year in an office he described as "a veritable hornet's nest," he opted to split and start his own business....

Creditors attack Rose Auto; three vendors demand Ch. 11 reorganization. (Rose Auto Stores)
May 23, 1997... Rose Auto Stores, struggling to keep pace with larger competitors and holding off impatient bill collectors, may be forced by creditors into a reorganization. Three vendors filed petitions demanding that the 65-store chain reorganize under...

Whole lotta cruisin' goin' on; more ships + more people = more money. (cruise industry)(Industry Overview)
May 23, 1997... At the start of every year, the cruise industry enjoys a week-long period - dubbed "wave week" - when ticket booking reaches its peak. The week traditionally occurs in January, after customers have recovered from holiday merriment and are...

Luminaire plans W. Dade headquarters.
May 23, 1997... Luminaire, the high-end European furniture store chain with showrooms in Coral Gables and Chicago, will build a new headquarters in West Dade this year after outgrowing its space in South Miami. Designed by the Coral Gables architecture firm...

A niche in recycled knickknacks: earth-friendly ad specialties find a growing market with government buyers. (Jay R Advertising)
May 23, 1997... NORTH MIAMI BEACH - Pens and pencils, mugs and mouse pads, mirrors and magnets. If a name or logo can be put on it, Jay R Advertising in North Miami Beach will do it. Now the company has found what it hopes will be profitable niche for...

This non-Bud's for us: Anheuser-Busch uncorks Miami-only beer. (Anheuser-Busch Cos.' specialty beer Rio Cristal)
May 23, 1997... South Florida is the latest target for Anheuser-Busch Cos.' specialty beers. Last month the giant brewery unveiled its latest import, Rio Cristal, part of the Antarctica brewery in Rio de Janeiro. Anheuser-Busch struck a marketing arrangement...

Chapter 11 on tap for Independence Brewery.
May 23, 1997... Fort Lauderdale brewpub has failed once before Less than a year after their takeover of a failed Fort Lauderdale brewery, owners of the Independence Brewery and Restaurant have filed for Chapter 11 protection in U.S. Bankruptcy Court. Paul...

State: business ID numbers won't trade big bother for big brother.
May 23, 1997... TALLAHASSEE - Feel like a number? That popular refrain may soon have new meaning, courtesy of a bill signed into law by Gov. Lawton Chiles. HB 399, the Florida Business Coordination Act, was sponsored by Rep. Mark G. Flanagan, R-Bradenton....

Florida's handicapped accessibility laws to become a little less stringent.
May 23, 1997... A bill that promises to lower construction costs for Florida builders - but make it a little more difficult for the handicapped to gain access - has become law, after Gov. Lawton Chiles declined to veto or sign the legislation within his two-week...

Patent bill hurt in House - small business now looks to Senate.
May 23, 1997... WASHINGTON - After substantially watering down the House version of a far-reaching patent bill, inventors and small businesses are now gunning to quash the Senate version of the bill. For the third time in this decade, U.S. lawmakers are trying...

Building on the SBA: businesses find SBA-backed loans help them land good deals when buying commercial real estate.(Small Business Strategies)
May 23, 1997... When Maria Nunez's acquaintances suggested she look into a Small Business Administration loan for her company's new plant, she was reluctant. After all, she had heard plenty of horror stories about the bureaucracy that accompanies SBA financing....

It's time to take a look at your firm's motto.(Small Business Strategies)(Column)
May 23, 1997... Some family businesses that have grown from humble beginnings aren't very comfortable with fancy management concepts and the fancy words that describe them. They won't bother to learn Total Quality Management, but they sure understand working...