The Business Journal (Serving Greater Tampa Bay) articles from March 1999

The Business Journal (Serving Greater Tampa Bay) archives from March 1999

Multitech seeks smaller firms for roll-up merger, stock sale.(aspiring finance technology supplier Multitech Brokerage Solutions)
March 26, 1999... Multitech Brokerage Solutions Inc. of St. Petersburg is looking to become the next big finance technology supplier, and it plans to use smaller firms as building blocks. The 5-year-old company is seeking to buy small financial services...

Bradenton health provider signs deal with Food Lion.(Healthcare America)
March 26, 1999... Healthcare America, a multispecialty group practice in a new Bradenton "medical mall," has contracted to provide health care services directly to some 1,000 Food Lion employees, including Kash n' Karry employees, plus 22 dependents. The...

Bills filed to fix transportation funding shortfall.
March 26, 1999... TALLAHASSEE - Florida developers may soon have new alternatives to state growth management regulations, thanks to bills being filed in response to recommendations by the Transportation and Land Use Study Committee. While some of the...

Cruise industry positioned to grow in Bay area.(Tampa Bay Area, Florida)
March 26, 1999... If the rate of growth in the cruise industry is any indication, the Tampa Bay area can expect growth as well. That's just what Port Manatee and Port of Tampa marketing officials are banking on. The cruise industry grew by 7 percent...

Ratings help Moffitt get OK to sell tax free bonds.(University of South Florida's H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute)
March 26, 1999... Prompted by solid scores from the two leading bond rating agencies, the City of Tampa recently approved issuance of $42 million in tax-exempt bonds to support H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute. Tampa City Council members...

AHCA names first-ever chief medical officer.(Florida's Agency for Health Care Administration, Dr. J. Darrell Shea)
March 26, 1999... Earlier this month, an Orlando orthopedic surgeon with four decades of experience was named chief medical officer for Florida's Agency for Health Care Administration. Dr. J. Darrell Shea is the first person ever to hold the post. Shea...

Changing with the times.(new people and new strategies mark Florida's top law firms, former Gov. Bob Martinez and law firm Carlton Fields)
March 26, 1999... Hottest disciplines bring new strategies and new people to the area's top law firms On the surface, the deal that paired former Gov. Bob Martinez with the Tampa law firm of Carlton Fields was the type of partnership that could easily be...

Adoption practice lures partner from large firm. (attorney Jeanne Tate strikes out on her own by setting up adoption practice)_.
March 26, 1999... If you think a child who is over the age of 5, part of a group of siblings, non-white. terminally ill or disabled to the point of having half a brain can't be placed with an adoptive family, you're wrong. Meet Jeanne Tate. Formerly a...

Construction firm holds on to basic values.(Mathews Construction)
March 26, 1999... It's fair to call Mathews Construction a 5-year-old firm with a 37-year-old heritage. The company traces its corporate lineage back to 1962, when builder Pete Mathews set up shop in two adjoining apartments on Manhattan Avenue in Tampa....

Pasco site picked up for $2.95 mil.(Pasco County, Florida is the new site of residential development of Schickedanz Brothers)
March 26, 1999... Schickedanz Brothers planning project similar to Pulte's Lexington Oaks Schickedanz Brothers plans to break ground next year on a new residential development in Pasco County. The company, founded in 1951 in Toronto and a player in...

Ybor landmark could be yours for $4 mil.(Ybor Square office and retail center)(Company Business and Marketing)
March 19, 1999... Ybor Square's office space is full; new retail tenants in the works One of Tampa's oldest landmarks is up for sale. Ybor square, a 94,818-square-foot office and retail center in Ybor City, quietly went on the market in December. The...

Crescent adds to Bay area holdings.(Crescent Resources Inc.)(Company Business and Marketing)
March 19, 1999... Crescent Resources Inc. can now boast of a real estate portfolio that spans the entire Interstate 75 corridor in Tampa. The company, a subsidiary of Charlotte-based Duke Energy Corp., recently bought more than 150 acres at Oak Creek. the...

Houghton to chair new bank.(Beth A. Houghton appointed chairman of Signature Bank of St. Petersburg, Florida)(Company Operations)
March 19, 1999... Beth A. Houghton has been elected chairwoman of the new Signature Bank of St. Petersburg, becoming the first woman to serve in that capacity in the Tampa Bay area. Houghton is the only woman among seven organizing members of Signature...

Statewide law firms see Tampa as growth market.(Broad and Cassel)(Company Operations)
March 19, 1999... The Orlando law firm of Broad and Cassel is fortifying its presence in the Tampa Bay area by hiring two more local attorneys, including governmental affairs and land-use specialist Russell S. Thomas. Broad and Cassel's moves are part of a...

Fahlgren parlays antics into advertising success.(Company Business and Marketing)
March 19, 1999... An old black-and-white photo shows a seemingly faceless crowd waiting to board a ship. But a touch of color stands out: a red life preserver on one man. The copy touts the value of being prepared. Behind looms the ship: the Titanic. The...

Timothy A. McGuire.(CEO of Bay Cities Bank)(Company Operations)(Interview)
March 19, 1999... PERSONAL INFORMATION Name: Timothy A. McGuire. Title: President and chief executive officer, Bay Cities Bank, a newly organized bank slated to open in Tampa in May. Education: Bachelor of arts, business economics, Purdue...

Seven years of service, strategy.(Air Cargo Systems Inc.)(Company Business and Marketing)(Company Profile)
March 19, 1999... Cartage business grows in response to service needs Larry and Elsie Mustaller knew how to hit their competition where it hurt. The husband-and-wife team at Air Cargo Systems Inc. first dispatched a small cartage fleet to Tampa Bay...

Bush names Y2K 'czar,' will set agenda.(Florida Gov Jeb Bush appoints Scott McPherson as state Y2K coordinator)
March 12, 1999... Florida initiative will help small businesses get funds for Year 2000 corporate compliance Florida's small businesses would gain from a pending gubernatorial initiative to coordinate the resolution of the state's remaining Year 2000...

Morton Plant PHO loss: $5.6 M.(Morton Plant Mease Physician Hospital Organization)
March 12, 1999... Morton Plant Mease Physician Hospital Organization lost $5.6 million last year and is suffering an exodus of key physician members, according to documents obtained by the Business Journal. The three-year-old, for-profit corporation is...

Kimmins has eye on $40 million contract.(Kimmins Recycling Corp.)
March 12, 1999... Waste Management Inc. is negotiating to sell a $40 million, multi-year waste collection contract that Hillsborough County awarded about a year ago to the company's recently acquired subsidiary, Kimmins Recycling Inc. The largest waste...

Education heads state legislative agenda.(Florida)
March 12, 1999... TALLAHASSEE - What does business want out of this year's legislative session? Tax breaks, tort reform, less red tape? Actually the biggest subject facing business this year isn't about business at all, but education, according to...

Proposed megamall's impact could be in millions.(Mills Corp. plans megamall in Tampa, Florida)
March 12, 1999... Sawgrass Mills is the only mall Terry Westervelt hasn't been able to walk and shop in a single day. The Tampa Bay area businessman has been to the South Florida "megamall" about half a dozen times, so he knows its draw. "It is something...

No sale in store yet, Republic Bank officials say.(Republic Bancshares Inc. denies acquisition rumors)
March 12, 1999... Republic Bancshares Inc., the Tampa Bay area's largest bank holding company, is denying rumors of an upcoming acquisition as it seeks to retool itself. The St. Petersburg institution, which recently closed the books on a rough 1998, is...

Bank buys foothold in South Tampa.(Manufacturers Bank of Florida acquires Partners Bank)
March 12, 1999... Manufacturers Bank of Florida says it found a less-expensive way to move into the highly coveted South Tampa area by purchasing troubled Partners Bank in a $2.4 million deal. The single Partners branch on South Dale Mabry Highway will add...

Industrial East Tampa magnet for office projects.(Real Estate Monthly)
March 12, 1999... East Tampa is a submarket with an identity crisis. The area has long been known as one of the top areas for industrial development, especially for warehouse and distribution facilities. Now it's also becoming a magnet for office users...

Independents remain strong amidst buy-outs.(Real Estate Monthly)(residential real estate brokers in Tampa Bay Area, Florida)
March 12, 1999... The last two years have seen some of the biggest names in residential real estate snapped up like streets on a Monopoly board. In one six-month spree from July 1997 to January 1998, Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate bought the...

Selling more than mortgages: Clearwater firm aims to help homebuyers down the right path.(Small Business Enterprise)(Diversified Mortgage)
March 12, 1999... Didier Malagies doesn't want just to help people get the best rates on a home loan. He wants to find the best way to put them in a house. "The most important thing is getting them into a home," said the president of Diversified Mortgage,...

Paving the way: APAC Florida heats up asphalt competition with high-volume plant at Port of Tampa.
March 5, 1999... Competition for hot asphalt in the Tampa Bay area is about to get a lot hotter. The Sarasota division of APAC Florida Inc., an operating subsidiary of APAC Inc., the largest paving company in the country, is planning to build a $2...

Port still negotiating hotel deal despite slowdown.(Port of Tampa's deal with developer Carl Clayton)
March 5, 1999... A second hotel near the Port of Tampa is still being pursued, but a prospective developer contends financing to build a hotel is not available. "People" have expressed interest in a hotel project, and a letter of intent or a feasibility...

Bill would aid small firms, minorities.(legislation proposed by Rep. Beryl Roberts-Burke)
March 5, 1999... "Uphill battle" seen in state Legislature Minority businesses, largely shut out of the government bidding process as affirmative action plans were legally or politically swept aside the past few years, have new hope in proposed...

Sarasota doc's group blinks first in Internet battle.(Sarasota Memorial Hospital Physician-Hospital Organization to terminate contract with United HealthCare of Florida)
March 5, 1999... The 400-doctor Sarasota Memorial Hospital Physician-Hospital Organization has waved a white flag in its cyber-war with United HealthCare of Florida. The PHO recently posted its complaints with United on Sarasota Memorial's Internet site...

Michael Sparkman.(president of Sparky Oil Co.)
March 5, 1999... PERSONAL INFORMATION Name: Michael S. Sparkman. Title: President, Sparky's Oil Co., convenience store chain, and Employer's Alliance, a professional employers organization. Education: Plant City High School, 1962. Residence:...

Staff Leasing moves outward, despite investor uncertainty.(employee leasing services firm)
March 5, 1999... The nation's largest professional employer organization. Staff Leasing Inc., believes it still has plenty of ground to gain among smaller employers. The Bradenton company estimates that only 2 percent of companies with five to 100...

Company fights industrywide performance trend.(Staff Leasing Inc.'s stock performance)
March 5, 1999... Nearly two years after its initial public offering Staff Leasing Inc. stock is lumbering as the other markets seem to have taken off. Executives with the Bradenton-based company say they're disappointed with the recent performance of...

Manatee motelier sees no competition.(Silver Surf Motel Inc. and Silver Sands Motel Inc. owner and manager Barbara Rodocker)
March 5, 1999... Businesswoman says her motels are unique Faith and doing what she likes led Barbara Rodocker to wear many different business hats. The mother of four children has been a general contractor, Michigan's first federal housing appraiser...