The Business Journal (Serving Greater Tampa Bay) articles from June 1998

The Business Journal (Serving Greater Tampa Bay) archives from June 1998

Jurassic journey: land owner begins work converting Gator Jungle into dinosaur attraction. (Dinosaur World Inc. president Christer Svensson)
June 26, 1998... A theme park developer has been converting the old Gator Jungle near Plant City into a dinosaur attraction without proper municipal approvals, Hillsborough County staffers say. In February, the Hillsborough County Commission awarded Christer...

Lawyers foresee bonanza. (increase in Year 2000 computing crisis-related lawsuits in Tampa Bay Area, Florida)
June 26, 1998... When the new millennium dawns, Tampa Bay area companies may have plenty more to worry about than crashed computers. They could wind up in court. That's because if Year 2000 computer glitches aren't fixed, companies could find themselves the...

TECO, Progress to monitor consortium. (Tampa Electric Co.; Tampa Bay Nitrogen Management Consortium)
June 26, 1998... Two of the Tampa Bay area's three largest electrical utilities have decided not to participate in a voluntary public-private partnership to reduce nitrogen oxide in Tampa Bay and its 2,200-square-mile watershed. Officials at Tampa Electric...

Group seeks for more NIH budget. (Research America; National Institutes of Health)
June 26, 1998... A national non-profit alliance has targeted three Tampa Bay area Congressmen and their constituents as keys to reaching its goal: doubling National Institutes of Health research funding by 2003. Research America, backed by pharmaceutical...

Growth could take off from Vandenberg. (Vandenberg Airport, Tampa, Florida)
June 26, 1998... Capital improvements planned at a small Hillsborough County airport could ignite a wave of growth, shifting the center of the region's economic development eastward to the crossroads of Interstates 4 and 75. Even in the early design stages,...

Banker to take up new helm. (interview with SouthTrust Bank of West Florida CEO L. Eugene Oliver)(Interview)
June 26, 1998... L. Eugene Oliver is about to go sailing. The CEO of SouthTrust Bank West Florida is set to retire July 1, ending a banking career that has spanned more than a quarter-century in St. Petersburg. Oliver, 56. joined SouthTrust when it purchased...

Growth by the book: Pineapple Press exploits its niche.
June 26, 1998... When David Cussen moved his family to Englewood from London more than a decade ago, he'd pretty much written off book publishing. A dozen-plus years in the publishing business had given Cussen and his wife, June, a tidy nest egg. Their son,...

World changing for CPAs. (certified public accountants)
June 26, 1998... Certified public accountants need to move away from strict adherence to rules and more toward becoming full-range financial service providers, the chief of their trade organization said during a recent visit to the Tampa Bay area. Barry...

Demand for Bay area phosphate to remain strong. (Tampa Bay Area, Florida)
June 26, 1998... The demand for phosphate should get stronger heading into the 21 st century, and that bodes well for Florida's Bone Valley region, which produces 25 percent of the world's supply. A total of 32.8 million metric tons of phosphate rock was...

Beef's aims to expand. (Tampa Beef 'O' Brady's family sports pub chain)
June 19, 1998... It's around noon, and business folks stream into the downtown Tampa Beef 'O' Brady's, settling in for sandwiches, salads and television sports. From the way waitresses whisk out meals, patrons would never know the kitchen staff is missing...

First Industrial raising three buildings near TIA. (First Industrial Realty Trust Inc.; Tampa International Airport)
June 19, 1998... The development ann of First Industrial Realty Trust Inc. has started construction on three new industrial buildings in one of the region's tightest industrial markets: The Tampa International Airport area. Two of the buildings are taking...

MetLife brings in new boss. (Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. hires Jon F. Danski as senior VP and corporate controller)
June 19, 1998... Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. has hired a new boss for its corporate financial business center in Tampa, signaling a serious move toward an initial public offering b? the 130-year-old company. Jon F. Danski will serve as MetLife's senior...

Ritz-Carlton considers Sarasota site. (planned construction of luxury hotel and 130 attached condominiums in Sarasota, Florida)
June 19, 1998... A Tampa-based condominium developer and a Kansas City architect will know soon whether they have a deal to build and open a Ritz-Carlton hotel and 130 attached condominiums in Sarasota.' "An announcement is expected in 60 days, but there's no...

What Andrew taught Florida's insurance industry: new funds established to ensure any future huge hurricane creates few financial catastrophes.
June 19, 1998... Hurricane Andrew, which caused more than $16 billion in insured losses in 1992, redefined insurance for the entire state of Florida. After 20 years without a major hurricane in the state, numerous insurance companies had grown complacent to...

CPAs add life insurance to client services menu: legislature paves way for new units at accounting firms.
June 19, 1998... Legislature paves way for new units at accounting firms Certified public accountants in Florida have long been able to offer additional services ranging from financial and estate planning to management advice and business evaluations. Now,...

Bank's personal service attracts deposits. (People's Bank in Pinellas County, Florida)(Small Business Enterprise)
June 19, 1998... Independent Pinellas institution caters to busy small businesses Peoples Bank in Palm Harbor is becoming Florida's model for how a new community bank is supposed to run. Considering the stiff competition it has in Pinellas County, one would...

Development plan prompts battle. (Old Florida Plantation Ltd.'s battle with Central Florida Regional Planning Council)
June 12, 1998... There is little doubt something went wrong as regional planners studied a development application to build 4,797 homes along the shores of Lake Hancock near Bartow. The developer, Old Florida Plantation Ltd., wants to build on 3,500 acres of...

Creditors move on tech firm. (lawsuit filed against Systems Communications Inc.)
June 12, 1998... A little more than a year after Systems Communications Inc. pledged to mend its faltering finances, the Clearwater software concern is being sued by former executives seeking to force the company into bankruptcy court and is being investigated...

More community banks to open doors. (plans by Hillsborough Bank of Plant City, First Citrus Bank and Platinum Bank to open branches in Tampa Bay Area, Florida)
June 12, 1998... People who have talked for years about starting their own banks are apparently putting their money where their mouths are. Interest in establishing community banks is getting stronger in the Tampa Bay area as consolidations and buyouts...

Clinic to split with doctors. (Matthews Clinic)
June 12, 1998... Three remaining locations to close Orlando-based Matthews Clinic, a large, mostly orthopedic practice formed in 1954, last year pursued an aggressive strategy for Florida-wide expansion that included opening offices around Tampa Bay. But...

Stacey's cuts back to survive. (Stacey's Buffet)
June 12, 1998... Ethel Cunningham pondered a serious question recently as she perused Stacey's Buffet in Clearwater with friends from her quilting group. Should she snatch that particularly crispy-looking piece of chicken for a second helping, or would a trip...

Sizing up new urbanism. (real estate developments in Tampa Bay, Florida)(Special Report: Real Estate)
June 12, 1998... Neotraditional homes incur higher costs to build, but for some developers they are just what's desired New urbanism - the movement that's pushing the old-school rules of city planning upon new developments - has an appeal these days to civil...

Industrial-use real estate market makes its move. (Tampa Bay Area, Florida)(Special Report: Real Estate)
June 12, 1998... Rents rise, availability lessens, but often it's because land use is converted for office buildings For those who earn a living selling or leasing industrial space in the Tampa Bay area, things couldn't be better. Leading commercial brokers...

Crafts, furniture stores charm customers. (Southern Hospitality Corp.)
June 12, 1998... Eclectic mix of goods provides a draw for buyers What happens to a company with managers who don't advertise, don't woo customers with special promotions and don't set goals for the business? In the case of one Plant City retailer, that...

Local businesses bank on PACs. (political action committees in Tampa Bay, Florida)
June 5, 1998... Six of the Tampa Bay area's largest companies have set up political action committees - many offering payroll deductions for contributions - to influence lawmakers. And one of those companies, Outback Steakhouse, has one of the most active...

PhyMatric sues docs for millions. (lawsuit filed by PhyMatrix Management Co. against Tampa Bay Area physicians)
June 5, 1998... PhyMatrix Management Co., a publicly traded physician manager, is suing 15 Tampa doctors and their former managers, seeking $3.6 million in damages, plus lawyers' fees and expenses. The suit alleges Access Medical Care Inc. doctors breached...

Big deals going in industrial real estate: trust adds space in Gateway. (First Industrial Realty Trust's building construction project at the Gateway district of Pinellas County, Tampa Bay Area, Florida)
June 5, 1998... First Industrial Really Trust Inc. has started construction on a new building in one of the Tampa Bay area's tightest industrial markets: the Gateway district of Pinellas County. The company broke ground recently on an 82,469-square-foot...

Atlanta firm gains big tenants. (Weeks Corp.)(Big Deals Going in Industrial Real Estate)
June 5, 1998... Talk about a grand entrance. Weeks Corp., the Atlanta-based development firm that expanded into Tampa last year, will open its first two buildings at Fairfield Distribution Center this month with 214,000 square feet of leases already in the...

Fashion statement. (management practices of Frayne Sportswear Manufacturers Inc. president Thomas Jefferson Frayne)
June 5, 1998... Frayne stays home to make apparel The founder of the Frayne Fashions chain can't help but be patriotic this Fourth of July. His parents dubbed him Thomas Jefferson Frayne as a tribute to American independence on his July 4 birth. As a...

Daewoo to hit St. Pete in fall, targeting college kids. (Daewoo Motor America)(Product Announcement)
June 5, 1998... Daewoo Motor America will proceed with this fall's introduction of its Korean-made cars into the U.S. market, starting with a showroom in St. Petersburg and a campaign to appeal to college students. St. Petersburg has been selected as the...

Tour operator sees rainforest for trees. (establishment of Amazon Expeditions by Paul Beaver)
June 5, 1998... Company secures niche deep in the Amazon jungle Some folks chase their dreams. Paul Beaver found his while running away. When a tenured teaching post at the University of Washington failed to pan out nearly two decades ago, the former...

CEO profile: Patrick Neal (Neal Communities Inc. chief executive officer)
June 5, 1998... PERSONAL INFORMATION Name: Patrick Neal. Title: President, Neal Communities Inc., Bradenton. Education: Bachelor's in economics, University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School of Finance and Commerce. Residence: Bradenton. BUSINESS...