Fairfield County Business Journal articles from January 1993

Fairfield County Business Journal archives from January 1993

FDIC takes Harbor House in 'friendly foreclosure.' (Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.; condominium complex)
January 4, 1993... STAMFORD -- In a "friendly foreclosure," federal banking regulators took over a 63-unit Stamford condominium complex that was burdened with a $25.5 million mortgage. The complex, called Harbor House on the Narrows, is located at 43 Harbor...

Leaguestar deal provides CUC with new market. (Leaguestar PLC; CUC International Inc.)
January 4, 1993... STAMFORD -- Making the link between buyers and sellers has become very profitable for CUC International Inc., a publicly traded membership-based consumer services company which ended 1992 on a buying note. CUC, based in Stamford, completed a...

Fairfield county office market: clawing its way back in 1993?
January 4, 1993... With no new commercial construction, the Fairfield County office market is beginning to show signs of stabilizing -- and the first stirrings of a tempered resurgence. The downtown Stamford market last year remained mired in a recession that...

Road contractor pleads guilty in conspiracy case. (Hudson Foundations Inc.)
January 4, 1993... The president of a Ridgefield, Conn., construction company has pleaded guilty to federal charges of conspiracy and filing false reports in connection with the installation of faulty piles on a $96 million federally funded highway interchange...

In court, Graphic Color's Keefe denies failing to pay employees. (Graphic Color Plate Inc.'s former owner Martin J. Keefe)
January 4, 1993... STAMFORD -- A former owner of Graphic Color Plate, the defunct Stamford printing company, pleaded not guilty to charges of failing to pay more than $600,000 in employee wages. Martin J. Keefe of Yonkers, N.Y., entered the plea at his Dec. 21...

Conroy Development, Saks pursue a massive retail project in Westchester. (conroy Development Co.; Saks and Co.)
January 4, 1993... GREENWICH -- Conroy Development of Greenwich and Saks Fifth Avenue will file plans with White Plains, N.Y., officials in January for a $200 million, one-million-square-foot retail project known as "Westchester Place." Several years ago, the...

Xerox wide-format copier passes rugged battlefield test. (Xerox Engineering Systems Ltd.)
January 4, 1993... A portable wide-format copier contained in a rugged commercial transit case that is customized to meet the field mapping needs of the military has been announced by Xerox Engineering Systems of Rochester. The Large-Scale Tactical Document...

Private banking services mine a rich niche in Fairfield County. (Focus)
January 4, 1993... Private banking is expanding into Fairfield County to meet the growing demands of successful entrepreneurs who are thriving despite rough economic times. And by moving its investment and fiduciary advisement services to Greenwich in April,...

Life insurers poised for shake-out as focus shifts to agent distribution. (Industry Overview)
January 4, 1993... NEW YORK -- In 1993, life insurance companies will consider radical changes in their previously sacrosanct field-agency distribution function, as companies recognize that past efforts to meet fundamental performance challenges are insufficient,...

Allstate moves to take Westcott Office Plaza. (Allstate Life Insurance Co.)
January 11, 1993... STAMFORD -- Add one more to the growing list of Stamford office building mortgages made in the 1980s that have been foreclosed by banks and insurers who let the cash roll in the good times. The lender in this case is seeking to foreclose on a...

County roots for national rebound. (Fairfield County, Connecticut)
January 11, 1993... You don't have to be Nostradamus to predict where the Fairfield County economy is headed in 1993. Economists and businessmen may vary in their views of when local recovery will kick in and on the strength of the rebound, but they all seem to...

Novel strategy helps developer exit bankruptcy. (Rosenshein Development of New Rochelle)
January 11, 1993... Thirteen retail properties in Westchester and Connecticut, including Cross County Square in Yonkers and Stratford Square in Fairfield County, are now publicly owned and traded on the New York Stock Exchange. The properties, formerly owned by...

First Fidelity enters market with Union Trust purchase. (Union Trust Bancorp, First Fidelity Bancorp)
January 11, 1993... One or two steps ahead of the FDIC executioner's axe, Union Trust found a buyer. The Fairfield County banking company, still reeling from the damage of soured commercial loans made in the 1980s and the general downturn in the state's economy,...

When shifting those IRA funds, beware of the '20 percent' rule. (Individual Retirement Account)
January 11, 1993... Each year you can tuck up to $2,000 into an Individual Retirement Account (IRA) as both a tax deduction and a safe harbor when your wage-earning days end. And each year, if invested wisely, the nest egg grows. But be aware that a new penalty for...

U.S. convenes grand jury in Stew Leonard tax probe. (Stew Leonard's supermarket in Norwalk, Connecticut)
January 18, 1993... BRIDGEPORT -- Federal prosecutors investigating allegations of tax evasion at Stew Leonard's supermarket in Norwalk have subpoenaed a number of witnesses to appear before a grand jury. The panel was expected to hear testimony last week in the...

Sacred Heart breaks ground on $6.5 million dorm project. (Sacred Heart University)
January 18, 1993... FAIRFIELD -- Sacred Heart University broke ground Jan. 5 on a $6.5 million dormitory building, setting in motion one of the most ambitious developments in Fairfield County. The project will create 100 to 150 construction jobs, according to...

Hi-Ho Center set to become college campus. (projected economic returns of Housatonic Community College's relocation to Broad Street, Bridgeport, Connecticut)
January 18, 1993... BRIDGEPORT -- Negotiations involving local officials, Housatonic Community College, the D'Addario family, and Gov. Lowell Weicker have cleared the way for Bridgeport's first step in the planned revitalization of its aging downtown with the...

If a company doesn't understand it's own sales pitch, it's a strikeout. (Stromberg-Conners Communications's training services for sales personnel)
January 18, 1993... RYE BROOK, N.Y. -- When Hank Stromberg tells you he's president of a company that does integrated marketing communications, he puts an emphasis on "integrated" that is rife with implication. You immediately begin to wonder if his definition of...

Worried buyers, wary lenders hunting out ugly environmental surprises. (liability for environmental damages of businesses and banks) (Focus: Real Estate/Environment)
January 18, 1993... Environmental audits and site inspections have become important components of real estate acquisition, financing and development. Hazardous waste dumping, soil and water contamination now receive equal consideration with the more conventional...

Hunter Environmental reeling after Texas panel denies disposal permit. (Hunter Environmental Services Inc.; Texas Water Commission) (Focus: Real Estate/Environment)
January 18, 1993... SOUTHPORT -- Hunter Environmental Services Inc. announced that the Texas Water Commission had voted unanimously to deny permits to its Hunter Industrial Facilities Inc. subsidiary to dispose of solidified hazardous waste in underground salt dome...

Hunter circles wagons for Texas showdown. (plan of Hunter Environmental Services Inc. to file case against Texas Water Commission for refusal to grant permit to build waste disposal facility)
January 25, 1993... SOUTHPORT -- A gravely wounded Hunter Environmental Services is preparing for a showdown with the Texas Water Commission after the panel rejected the company's controversial bid to build the world's first salt dome hazardous waste disposal...

Judge rules against Oxford Health in software dispute. (case filed by Super Solutions Corp. against Oxford Health Plans Inc. for breach of contract to develop computer software)
January 25, 1993... DARIEN -- Oxford Health Plans Inc., a Darien-based health maintenance organization, has been stopped from using or completing a computer software system intended for the company's accounting, enrollment and other related systems. A preliminary...

Xerox to exit financial services, focus on document processing. (Xerox Corp.)
January 25, 1993... STAMFORD -- Xerox Corp. said it will focus on its core document processing business and withdraw from the insurance and financial services sector. Among the divisions affected are Crum and Forster, a property and casualty insurance unit;...

Let your clients get to know you through the newsletter approach. (Newsletters Plus' services)
January 25, 1993... WESTPORT -- Can a newsletter be a good thing for your business? "It probably would be, depending..." according to Caroline Owens, president of Newsletters Plus in Westport. Owens has learned that the best way to start a newsletter is to make...

U.S. economic numbers are up, but new jobs won't necessarily follow.
January 25, 1993... WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. -- The nation's economy continues to gain strength, buoyed by rising retail sales and consumer confidence, but employment figures are not encouraging and job creation will be slow to follow, according to National Westminster...

Day care and the workplace: an important issue for parents and corporations alike. (services of day care centers in New York State) (Focus: Health for Parents/Daycare for Kids) (Industry Overview)
January 25, 1993... Once considered a luxury, day care has become a necessity for two-career families -- and the companies that employ them. The U.S. Census Bureau reports that 60 percent of all married women with children under 6 years of age had jobs in 1990...

Changing lifestyle a good way to shed those unwanted pounds. (exercise physiologist Mickey Harpaz's services to fight obesity) (Focus: Health for Parents/Daycare for Kids)
January 25, 1993... BROOKFIELD -- About 80 million people, or a third of the U.S. population, are overweight. Yet, Hollywood and the media have imbedded "thin is in" so deeply in society's mind that many overweight Americans have given up hope of winning the battle...