The Business Journal (Serving Greater Tampa Bay) articles from April 1994

The Business Journal (Serving Greater Tampa Bay) archives from April 1994

Eckerd's Rx to fight the discount habit. (Eckerd Corp.)
April 29, 1994... Freestanding stores are at the heart of its strategy LARGO Eckerd Corp. is answering increasingly stiff competition from the Wal-Marts of the world by building more freestanding stores and expanding its merchandise mix to include more food...

$272-million development moves ahead. (Florida Corporate Center business park)
April 29, 1994... BRANDON Richard Mulholland, a high-profile personal injury attorney, is gearing up to develop his Florida Corporate Center, a proposed $272-million business park in Brandon. Mulholland is known for placing billboards around town advising...

From the public airwaves to the public markets. (Paxson Communications' acquisition of American Network Group Inc.)
April 29, 1994... CLEARWATER RADIO WAVES Paxson Communication's radio holdings. Call Market Purchase Acquisition Current Letters Price Date Format ...

Mortgage bankers upbeat despite pending shakeout. (Industry Overview)
April 29, 1994... The only way some mortgage companies are going to leave a hot residential market like Florida is on stretchers. That's what veteran Bay Area mortgage pros are saying about the industry's coming shakeout, which is expected to uproot lenders in...

Princeton Dental takes a bite of Florida. (Princeton Dental Management Corp.)
April 29, 1994... HOLIDAY Princeton Dental Management Corp., a small, publicly traded Holiday company, has acquired seven dental practices in South Florida and one in Pensacola. The purchases more than double Princeton's holdings. The company now owns and...

Best-laid plans frazzle somewhat for health alliances.
April 29, 1994... They may not be at full speed until late May or even June Here's the ideal: On Monday, May 2, any small-business owner in the Bay Area who's in the market for affordable health insurance will be able to get information on dozens of plans by...

Flexible costs, love of kids spur new rec centers. (recreation centers)
April 29, 1994... Friday Night Live gets ready to add two sites; franchisors envision up to eight in the area CLEARWATER Live, from Clearwater, it's Friday Night Live. No, it's not a new TV show. It's a new franchise, one that bills itself as a place...

Old Hyde Park to house Estee Lauder's green line. (Origins Natural Resources Inc.)
April 29, 1994... TAMPA A young cosmetics company with an environmentally sensitive bent is opening one of its first freestanding stores in Tampa's Old Hyde Park Village. Origins Natural Resources Inc., a division of New York-based Estee Lauder Cos., chose...

Old, new space starts to meld along Tarpon's Sponge Docks. (Tarpon Springs, Florida) (Real Estate Month)
April 29, 1994... TARPON SPRINGS When candle buffs Terry and Sandy Myers discovered the Sponge Exchange Shopping Village in the mid-1980s, they thanked the Greek gods of commerce for their luck. Just steps from the historic Tarpon Springs Sponge Docks on...

Experts ease the transition from move to home. (relocation specialists) (Real Estate Month)
April 29, 1994... Relocation specialists deal with a hot market and increased competition in their local field When Xerox opens its St. Petersburg operation this fall it could move up to 600 families to the Bay Area. That might sound like a logistical...

District development channels business retail's way. (Focus: Small Business)
April 29, 1994... TAMPA When Genie White looks out the window of her new Artists Unlimited gallery and sees a carload of "suits" cruising the Channel District, she knows exactly what they're up to. Speculation. The sight of real estate and development...

Money managers push Wall Street's technoid envelope. (LBS Capital Management Inc.) (Focus: Small Business)
April 29, 1994... CLEARWATER Locked in a tiny room at LBS Capital Management Inc. is a handful of stock pickers with a zillion times the quantitative juices of a research analyst -- minus the ego. Just don't expect these brains-on-a-chip to travel to Walt...

Software developer sets designs on cash infusion. (Design Data Inc.) (Focus: Small Business)
April 29, 1994... LARGO Like a lot of software companies, Design Data got its start in the founder's back bedroom. Unlike its competition, the company's products soon were in demand at the White House. Today, this Largo-based software maker is on the...

Two-man office gives Tampa appraiser room to breathe. (Focus: Small Business)
April 29, 1994... TAMPA If independent real estate appraiser Warren Weathers has his way, he'll be expanding soon. Weathers' small executive suite at Henderson Pointe in Tampa is getting a little crowded for him and his assistant, Simon Horsey. Business,...

Exporter carves trade niche in expertise, not products. (Hygeia Medical Management Services) (Focus: Small Business)
April 29, 1994... TAMPA If international trade was a smorgasbord, Alec Velasquez would be the waiter helping diners fill their plates. Velasquez and his Tampa-based company, Hygeia Medical Management Services, have taken the trade banquet and carved it into...

Medcross Inc. (proxy report excerpts) (Company Profile)
April 29, 1994... TRADED NASDAQ-MDCR 3227 Bennet St. N., St. Petersburg 33713 (813) 521-1793 Medcross owns and operates domestic radiological diagnostic imaging services. It also manages therapeutic medical equipment and exports diagnostic imaging equipment...

Wall Street's reception: not getting any warmer.
April 22, 1994... At least 14 Bay Area companies ranging from Lincare Holdings to Reptron Electronics Inc. have hit Wall Street since the spring of 1992. Together, they raised more than $507.8 million. Yet the market today seems to be developing a generation...

Health care team starts new HMO: an IPO already is in the works, despite the lack of a track record. (health maintenance organization; initial public offering)
April 22, 1994... An IPO already is in the works, despite the lack of a track record The team that sold Centurion Hospital of Carrollwood while it was in Chapter 11 bankruptcy last year has now entered the hot field of Medicaid managed care. And while...

Pasta chain to roll into the Bay Area. (Strings Inc.; Tampa Bay Area)
April 22, 1994... A California-based pasta restaurant franchisor, confident the Bay Area will be receptive to its concept, plans to open about two dozen locations here in one of its first expansions outside the Golden State. The first local move, however,...

Traffic soars at St. Pete-Clearwater Airport: it attracts discount airlines by offering a lower landing fee. (St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport)
April 22, 1994... It attracts discount airlines by offering a lower landing fee The St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport is setting all-time highs in its passenger traffic and is anticipating yet another year of record-breaking figures, thanks...

Latin America beckons old-line Tampa law firm: the siren song has Carlton Fields considering a full-time international trade department. (Carlton, Fields, Ward, Emmanuel, Smith and Cutler)
April 22, 1994... The siren song has Carlton Fields considering a full-time international trade department One of Tampa's oldest law firm is looking to expand its trade and investment services and plans to introduce a full-time Latin American trade...

Latest Grubb resignation continues office shakeup: the former manager of Tampa's office looks for new opportunities. (Grubb and Ellis; Jeff Thaxter)
April 22, 1994... The departure of Jeff Thaxter, head of Grubb & Ellis' Tampa office and one of the Bay Area's best known commercial brokers, represents just the latest shakeup for the San Francisco brokerage's local office. After five years with the...

Customers flock to outlet malls: but some ask how long the lure will last. (Focus: Retail)
April 22, 1994... But some ask how long the lure will last The air at Gulf Coast Factory Shops is filled with an array of foreign and domestic accents, children's laughter as they climb on a manatee sculpture, and the shrieks of a proud bargain hunter...

New Eckerd president brings reputation for vision. (Eckerd Corp. Pres. Frank Newman) (Focus: Retail)
April 22, 1994... By all accounts, Frank Newman is a quick study. It's a characteristic that should serve his shareholders well: The new president and COO of Largo-based Eckerd Corp. is begin called on to help shepherd the nation's third-largest pharmaceutical...

Group plays behind-the-scenes role in city promos. (Common Ground; St. Petersburg, Florida) (Focus: Retail)
April 22, 1994... St. Petersburg's Common Ground started more than two years ago as a loose organization with an ambiguous -- and ambitious -- goal: To market attractions and events in downtown St. Petersburg. Except for a modest list of achievements, not...

Beach shops see mixed bag as business ebbs and flows. (Focus: Retail)
April 22, 1994... As Pinellas County's 1994 tourist season begins its summer phase, life on the beach for some laidback mom-and-pop shops is heating up for the first time since the recession. "Sales are better this year than last year and the year...

Schlitz empire building 7,000-home development. (Jos. Schlitz Brewing Co.; Lakewood Ranch, Brandenton, Florida)
April 15, 1994... The founders of the Schlitz Brewing Co. are building a 7,000-home mixed-use development in northern Bradenton. As envisioned, Lakewood Ranch would encompass 5,500 acres east of Interstate 75. The project, likened in scope to Hillsborough...

Barnett launches pursuit of black market. (Barnett Banks Inc. marketing campaign aimed at black clients)
April 15, 1994... In a break with banking's mass appeal, Barnett Banks is daring to be different with a new marketing campaign aimed at blacks of all income levels. The Jacksonville-based banking company - which has about 100 branches in the Bay Area -...

Cigna executive quits, jumps ship to upstart. (Cigna HealthCare of Florida Inc.; Ed Dillabough joins CAC-Ramsay as executive director and regional VP)
April 15, 1994... Ed Dillabough, the Cigna HealthCare of Florida executive who oversaw much of the health plan's rapid growth in the Bay Area, has left to join to an upstart competitor. Dillabough became regional vice president and executive director...

Allegany in search of new president. (resignation of Allegheny Health Systems Pres. and CEO Michael Bice)
April 15, 1994... Michael Bice has resigned as president and CEO of Tampa-based Allegany Health Systems, leaving open the top spot in a company that owns three hospitals and a nursing home in the Bay Area. Allegany announced Bice's resignation April 5 but...

Hixon work takes toll on museum. (demolition of Curtis Hixon Convention Center, Tampa, Florida, affects parking and attendance at Tampa Museum of Art)
April 15, 1994... Demolition of the Curtis Hixon Convention Center in downtown Tampa is more than an eyesore for the Tampa Museum of Art. It's hampering museum parking and is being blamed for a 30% drop in attendance compared with last year's levels and a 41%...

Aquarium melds model of diversity in hiring mix. (ethnic diversity in Florida Aquarium management)(includes article on management personnel)
April 15, 1994... The Florida Aquarium's management team is finally in place, and it's attracting attention - not only for its diversity, but also for the way it was assembled. Of the aquarium's five vice presidents, two are white women, one is a black...

Integrated circuit distributor plugged into profits. (America II Electronics) (Small Business Enterprise) (Company Profile)
April 15, 1994... Using Uncle Sam as a marketing tool probably has done more for America II Electronics than it has for the U.S. government. The St. Petersburg company's revenue soared from $5.6 million in 1990 to $81 million in fiscal 1993. And America II...

Tampa construction project subject of federal suit. (roadway, water and sewer line construction by Calusa Trace Development Corp.; Resolution Trust Corp. sues Broad and Cassel for improper escrow fund disbursements)
April 15, 1994... The Resolution Trust Corp. is suing the Orlando office of Broad & Cassel in a federal court dispute over construction fund disbursements on a $20-million Tampa medical project. The suite alleges the law firm breached its contract and its...

Climbing prices create headaches for area builders. (construction materials; Tampa Bay Area) (Focus: Construction)
April 15, 1994... The real estate recession may be over, but the industry's woes certainly are not, thanks to the skyrocketing costs of construction materials. It is a trend that has made bidding on a job more than a little difficult for contractors - and...

Local suppliers a key link in building food chain. (small construction material suppliers) (Focus: Construction)
April 15, 1994... The Dick Beards and Arthur Rutenbergs of the Bay Area may take all the credit for new commercial and residential projects, but without subcontractors and vendors, their skyscrapers and subdivisions never would have been built. It's small...

Recession-weary contractors share tips for survival. (successful construction firms in Tampa Bay Area) (Focus: Construction)
April 15, 1994... Two common sense rules explain how the Bay Area's most successful construction firms survived the late 1980s and early '90s: * Stick to what you know. * See No. 1. Tom Empric, president of Walbridge Contracting Inc. in Tampa,...

Poe & Brown Inc. (Poe and Brown Inc.)(Proxy Report Excerpts) (Company Profile)
April 15, 1994... Pope & Brown Inc. is a general insurance agency comprised of retail, national program and brokerage operations and third-party administration. The company was formed by an April 1993 merger of Poe & Associates in Tampa and Brown & Brown in...

Service sector improves area job picture. (Tampa Bay Area)
April 8, 1994... Business services, the insurance field and air transportation provided the bright spots in the Bay Area's employment picture the past year, despite the region's lower-than-average jobs-creation performance. Total non-farm employment in the...

Vinoy creditors explore resort's sale. (Stouffer Vinoy Resort in St. Petersburg, Florida)
April 8, 1994... Appraised at $44M; refurbished at $93M ST. PETERSBURG The Stouffer Vinoy Resort's creditors are apparently preparing to put the historic St. Petersburg hotel on the sales block. Hotel officials either declined to comment or said they...

Big bank stocks, on balance, remain cheap on fundamentals. (Florida's banking industry)
April 8, 1994... Despite a lackluster first quarter, Florida's big-name bank stocks are expected to outgun the market during the rest of 1994. As a whole, the 10 Southeastern bank stocks tracked by Kemper Securities Inc. fell about 2.7% the first three months...

Pepsi plans new center in Pinellas. (Pepsi-Cola General Bottlers Inc. Pepsi-Cola Bottling Co.; Pinellas Park, Florida)
April 8, 1994... It won't confirm it, but sources call it a 'done deal' PINELLAS PARK A division of PepsiCo plans to build a 50,000-square-foot distribution center in the Gateway Centre industrial complex in Pinellas Park, real estate sources said. One...

Tampa's downtown partnership widens jurisdiction. (Tampa Downtown Partnership)
April 8, 1994... It now begins to market the area to out-of-state businesses TAMPA The private Tampa Downtown Partnership is expanding its economic development efforts to help promote nationally what it knows best: Downtown Tampa and its burgeoning...

Intermedia inks new deals, looks for new home. (Intermedia Communications of Florida Inc.)
April 8, 1994... TAMPA Intermedia Communications Inc. has signed some $5 million in contracts in recent months in a spate of deals with the state Department of Insurance and several large local companies. The new business comes amid plans by the...

Manufacturer offers shares to the public. (Vision Marketing Group Inc.'s initial public offering)
April 8, 1994... Vision Marketing Group hopes to raise $4.2 mil CLEARWATER Vision Marketing Group Inc. of Clearwater has set its sights on the public markets, hoping to raise $4.2 million in an initial offering designed to help it enter the automotive...

Gourmet coffee importers have stars, bucks in sight. (coffee marketing and distribution firm La Mision USA Inc. of Tampa, Florida)
April 8, 1994... TAMPA While sniffing around for trade opportunities in Central America, two Tampa businessmen found a lead right under their noses. Now, as a result of their efforts, gourmet coffee beans are being imported from El Salvador to Tampa....

Accounting firms go high-tech to boost productivity.
April 8, 1994... The nation's top accounting firms -- all of which have a major presence in the Bay Area -- are following their own advice by using technology and a tighter customer focus to boost productivity. Take Coopers & Lybrand. Together, the firm's...

Local businesses slow to embrace wellness craze. (Tampa Bay Area) (Health Care Month)
April 8, 1994... When Craig Bryan turned 8 years old, he began grunting out 1,500 deep-knee bends every day in his parents' Muncie, Ind., home. Bryan was born with dialateral cerebral palsy, which affected his left leg and forced him to wear a leg brace during...

Health concerns pump up business at walk-ins. (Tampa Bay Area's walk-in clinics) (Health Care Month)
April 8, 1994... Walk-in clinics may finally have found their niche, thanks to increased emphasis on low cost and efficiency in health care. Walk-in clinics started popping up in the Bay Area in the mid-1980s as an alternative to more expensive emergency-room...

Homes see switch in their residential makeup. (Tampa Bay Area nursing homes) (Health Care Month)
April 8, 1994... The names stay the same, but changes in health care affect the people nursing homes serve The names on the Business Journal's list of nursing homes may remain the same from year to year, but the Bay Area nursing home industry still is...

Barnett Banks Inc. (Proxy Report Excerpts) (Company Profile)
April 8, 1994... 50 N. Laura St., Jacksonville 32202 (904) 791-7720 Barnett Banks Inc. operates 621 banking offices in Florida and Georgia. It is the state's largest financial institution and the 21st largest in the United States. Annual Meeting: To be...

Blacks win fewer Hillsborough contracts. (black business enterprises; Hillsborough County, Florida)
April 1, 1994... More women-owned companies than ever are winning construction contracts from Hillsborough County, but the percentage of business won by black-owned firms in 1993 was less than half of that awarded in 1992. Women-owned business attained *%...

Tourism co-op is formed. (Tampa Outdoor Adventures)
April 1, 1994... Divided they may fall, but united they will fly, canoe, sail, fish and soar in a hot-air balloon. That could be the motto of a newly formed co-operative of five small tourism companies called Tampa Outdoor Adventures. In the competitive...

Port deepens pursuit of land deals. (Tampa, Florida Port Authority)
April 1, 1994... The Tampa Port Authority, vying to become a bigger player in the real estate market, has created a new economic development position to lead the way. Robert McDonaugh, a former broker for CB Commercial Real Estate in Tampa, was hired by...

Kress owner plans an Ybor City first: a B&B. (Kress building owner Jack Shiver; Ybor City, Florida; bread and breakfast hotels)
April 1, 1994... The new owner of the old Kress building in Ybor City plans to transform part of the historic structure into a luxury bed-and-breakfast. "This will be the first of its kind in Ybor, but it won't be the last," predicted owner Jack Shiver....

Opthalmology firm keeps eye on profits. (Rhein Medical) (Small Business Enterprises)
April 1, 1994... When it comes to the ophthalmology business, Rhein Medical President John Bee has shown 20/20 vision. His 6-year-old company manufactures and distributes precision instruments for cataract and related surgery. By anticipating the medical...

Spring fever: a homerun for retail. (baseball helps earn money for Florida's local economy)
April 1, 1994... Millions of dollars are pumped into the local economy thanks to baseball It's game day in Dunedin, and Tamara Helms is once again out in front of the Iris Family Restaurant on Douglas Avenue. She does this every game day, four hours...

Small or large, managing a hotel is no vacation.
April 1, 1994... A look at three local properties and the people who run them It's a chilly morning in early March, and several guests at the TradeWinds Resort on St. Petersburg Beach are muttering about the weather. Meanwhile, a resort employee is...