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

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

Publix and eateries join fish fight. (Publix Supermarket Inc. joins restaurants in efforts to protect swordfish)
May 29, 1998... The state's largest grocery chain and 39 restaurants have joined a nationwide campaign to stop offering North Atlantic swordfish to their customers. The once-abundant fish has become the center of an increasingly heated debate sparked...

City eyes private manager for center. (Tampa Convention Center)
May 29, 1998... Management of the city-owned Tampa Convention Center could soon be turned over to a private company. City staffers are looking for a consultant to help them decide whether a private firm could run the center more efficiently than city...

Silicon story. (Plasma-Therm planning to expand product line)
May 29, 1998... Plasma-Therm is looking to fully develop its niche - making machines that make computer chips The Tampa Bay area may be years away from realizing its dream to lure a computer chip factory. But one St. Petersburg concern has for more than...

Sarasota forms new alliance for high technology. (economic developers from Sarasota and Manatee counties forms Suncoast Technology Alliance)
May 29, 1998... Group digests study's findings in attempt to foster growth for field in neighboring counties Looking to address the needs of a growing technology segment of Sarasota and Manatee counties' economies, local economic developers have established...

Long-distance phone service reseller files for protection. (Telecommunications Service Center Inc.)
May 29, 1998... Telecommunications Service Center, a Tampa-based long distance telephone service reseller, has filed for protection from creditors in bankruptcy court. The Chapter 11 filing is aimed at giving TSC breathing room to repair shaken finances,...

Software maker weighs new HQ in Clearwater. (Information Management Resources; Clearwater, Florida)
May 29, 1998... The city of Clearwater is close to finalizing a deal with a hometown software maker to transform more than a dozen acres of vacant downtown property into that company's new international headquarters. Additionally, the deal could bring more...

Construction firm makes name for itself. (Ed Taylor Construction South Inc.)
May 29, 1998... In slow market, windfall projects were cultivated People still call Ed Taylor Construction South Inc. asking for Ed Taylor. They're mostly salesmen. Some say they met Ed recently at a party or a networking event. Others tell the receptionist...

Cass Casucci. (Bay Resources Inc. chairman)(CEO Profile)
May 29, 1998... PERSONAL INFORMATION Name: Cass Casucci. Title: Chairman, Bay Resources Inc. of St. Petersburg. Education: Bachelor's degree in business administration, University of Michigan. Residence: Tierra Verde. BUSINESS PHILOSOPHY...

MedPartners, PruCare align. (MedPartners Inc acquires Tampa Bay Health Care Group from Prudential Healthcare)
May 22, 1998... MedPartners Inc., a Birmingham, Ala., company that manages 115-doctor Diagnostic Clinic in Largo, has acquired 16-doctor Tampa Bay Health Care Group, which works for Prudential HealthCare of Tampa Bay in Hillsborough County. The regional...

Change in patient consent rule being considered. (Florida mulls new legislation regulatory change proposal that will allow doctors to use research drugs and devices on emergency patients without patient or family member consent)
May 22, 1998... Florida's 15-member Board of Medicine is backing a regulatory change that would permit doctors to use research drags and devices on emergency patients without patient or family member consent. The proposed rule change was published May 15 in...

PowerCerv sues ex-employees. (PowerCerv Technologies Corp)
May 22, 1998... Tampa software maker PowerCerv Technologies Corp. has sued three former executives. alleging that the trio pirated software and company secrets, stole customers and improperly lured away the entire staff of a software design division, among...

Ausec & Cheney to close shop. (Ausec & Cheney Group)
May 22, 1998... The dynamic duo of Tampa's advertising industry has split up. Andrea Cheney and Lance Ausec are closing their 12-year-old ad shop, Ausec & Cheney Group. Cheney is leaving the firm to head up the People's Princess Charitable Foundation...

Hospitals vie for Medicaid pilot program. (Florida)
May 22, 1998... Tampa General Hospital is pitted against St. Joseph's Hospital and several large Pinellas hospitals in bidding to treat Hillsborough County patients under a Medicaid pilot program now being established. TGH's parent, Florida Health Sciences...

Bank's new executives plan to stay independent. (Manufacturers Bank of Florida N.A.)
May 22, 1998... Manufacturers Bank of Florida has a new management structure in place and intends to concentrate more on serving small businesses and individuals. Velma-Jean Kato, who has been with Manufacturers Bank since its formation in February 1986,...

'98 is family's last Indy 500 as Chicagoan buys assets. (Chitwood Motorsports Inc's decision to sell out to Greg Barnhart)
May 22, 1998... Chitwood Motorsports Inc., the Tampa Bay region's strongest tie to Sunday's Indianapolis 500, is selling out to a Chicago entrepreneur in a deal worth about $1 million. While team founder Joie Chitwood Jr. plans to remain with the team until...

Sarasota works to ensure its growth is managed. (Sarasota County, Florida)
May 22, 1998... Group urges urban service area expansion Steps are being taken in Sarasota County to improve its effectiveness as a job creator by overcoming an anti-growth attitude that for years had weakened its ability to compete on a level playing field...

Port Manatee develops its cargo, passenger business. (Florida)
May 22, 1998... In just three decades, Port Manatee has one from an idea for expanding Manatee County's economic base to Florida's fifth-largest seaport, with more growth planned into the next century. A total of 4.2 million tons of cargo moves through the...

Universal Health Services heads east for new venture.
May 22, 1998... John Clarke has a nice, round-figure estimate for the eventual value of Lakewood Ranch Medical Center. "I've always thought of it as a $250 million project," said Clarke. Clarke is president and CEO of Schroeder-Manatee Ranch Inc., 28,000...

Leaving Barnett: local bankers changing jobs following megamerger. (Barnett Bank)
May 15, 1998... Tony D. Parker felt a little like a college sports star being recruited by the pros a few months ago. The former Barnett Bank senior vice president received no less than five standing job offers, including one from Barnett's new owner,...

Hotel project delayed. (planned 800-room hotel within Bush Gardens)
May 15, 1998... Financing delays have put construction on hold of a planned 800-room hotel within Busch Gardens, the biggest of its kind along Florida's west coast. However, Thom Stork, vice president of Busch Gardens marketing, said plans for the four-star...

Pedestrian friendly: Echelon to develop 'town square' project.
May 15, 1998... Echelon, the St. Petersburg development powerhouse, has given its Carillon office park handsome buildings, an A-list tenant roster and a reputation as one of the region's top properties. Now it wants to give Carillon a soul. Echelon has...

Mergers on horizon, experts say. (bank mergers)
May 15, 1998... "Who's Next?" is more than the name of a classic rock album by The Who and the slogan for a recent Florida Lottery marketing campaign. It's also the big question being raised among Tampa Bay area bankers as to which financial institution will...

Watson to join Phycor. (Watson Clinic)
May 15, 1998... Physician-partners at Watson Clinic, a 1,000-employee multispecialty group based in Lakeland, in early May voted to align with publicly traded PhyCor Inc., a national physician practice manager. The strong vote - 108 to 16 - came after nearly...

Real estate powerhouse enters area. (Carter & Associates; Tampa Bay Area)
May 15, 1998... One of the Southeast's biggest real estate concerns is diving head-first into the Tampa Bay area development pool. Carter & Associates, an Atlanta-based real estate and development firm, made its fast big splash last month when it announced...

Family cooks up recipe for success: Mr. G's products impress local, national clients. (Mr. G's Foods Inc.)(Small Business Enterprise)(Company Profile)
May 15, 1998... Michael Gabriele saw an opportunity about three years ago during a family outing at "Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party" in Walt Disney World. It wasn't as if the owner of Mr. G's Foods Inc. intended to meet Michael D. Eisner, chairman of...

Lawyers mull bill changes. (Tampa, Florida)
May 8, 1998... The clock. Lawyers increasingly feel chained to it. Clients worry theirs is getting cleaned. For a growing number of attorneys, pressure to snag fresh clients and bring in more money has made balancing obligations to clients and boosting...

Swordfish may be off hook at area restaurants. (Tampa Bay, Florida)
May 8, 1998... The swordfish commands attention in the waters off both coasts of Florida by wielding its spear-like snout as a weapon. Now, two environmental groups are hoping to use the fish as a weapon themselves. They're holding up the easily...

Anti-aging war gains new wrinkle. (botulinum toxin)
May 8, 1998... Celine Dion's injecting, say gossip scribes. So are Madonna, Tom Cruise and Kirstie Alley. Some Tampa Bay area TV anchors do it. A handful of local lawyers and businessmen do it, too. Most customers, though, are well-heeled women aged...

Growth plans ride on trolley. (efforts to revitalize downtown Tampa, Florida)
May 8, 1998... Efforts to revitalize downtown Tampa, the Channel District and Ybor City are starting to hinge on a steel-wheeled streetcar and as many as six smaller trolleys that roll on rubber. Streetcars are becoming as integral to public transportation...

Liens, slow pay, top health care bills sent to Chiles. (Florida Governor Lawton Chiles)
May 8, 1998... Doctors, hospitals, health insurers and patients each won and lost big battles in the recently concluded session of the Florida Legislature. Indeed, the business of health care was one of the top war zones in Tallahassee this spring. For...

Developer sees gold in old, neglected properties. (Bob Swain)
May 8, 1998... Swain turns unused tennis club land into townhomes and has plans for Sunken Gardens Some people turn to fortune cookies for a glimpse at the future. Others study the motions of the stars and the planets. Businessman Bob Swain sees the...

Westshore awash in leasing, construction activity.
May 8, 1998... Lack of Class A space prompts flurry of new building projects New office space and expiring leases are expected to trigger a number of company moves in Tampa's Westshore business district, experts say. Saturated the past two years,...

Steady growth, building bolster local hotel field. (Tampa Bay, Florida)
May 8, 1998... Buoyed by three years of steady growth and a recent building boom, leading industry analysts agree, the Tampa Bay area's hotel industry is finally coming of age. "The investment community looks at the Tampa Bay market these days and says,...

Employees ignite the growth charges. (Southern Power & Controls)
May 8, 1998... Electric company manages growth with recruiting Southern Power & Controls is changing from a new kid on the block to a more dependable provider in the Tampa Bay area's electrical contracting industry. In the four years since Bill Barry and...

Doctor group to vote on union ties. (Florida Medical Association)
May 1, 1998... Later this month, the 17,000-doctor Florida Medical Association will decide if it wants to sew on the union label. If physician-leaders vote "yes" May 16, the FMA would become the first statewide doctor group to endorse an AFL-CIO affiliated...

Many jobs, few seekers: firms scramble to fill openings. (Tampa Bay Area firms)
May 1, 1998... Gulf Marine Repair Corp. has a problem like many other Tampa Bay area employers that require skilled workers. "We're in need of all skilled trades - welders, pipefitters, machinists, heavy equipment operators," said Barbara Hendry, a...

Disney park fails to gnaw at rivals' attendance. (Animal Kingdom fails to affect attendance at other Tampa Bay parks)
May 1, 1998... There had been much nail-biting over what the opening of Animal Kingdom would mean to Tampa Bay area tourism. What would families with animal-crazed kids do when Walt Disney World rounded out its repertoire with the largest animal park of its...

Ribs restaurant chain eyes expansion: Lionshare Group merges, plans to add 3 locations and buy meat distributor. (Ragin' Ribs restaurants; Lionshare Group Inc.)
May 1, 1998... The parent company of Ragin' Ribs restaurant is trying to get its hooks into a major meat distributor and several small restaurant chains in a move to expand the chain, the company founder confirmed. Ragin' Ribs, which has three restaurants,...

Maverick shuns mergers. (Pinellas County, FL-based Dr. Akshay Desai's American Family and Geriatric Care physician group)
May 1, 1998... Tampa Bay area physician practices have merged in unprecedented numbers in the past 30 months. Many, perhaps most, of the region's doctors say they believe in teaming up to gain strength - forming economic gangs to help them survive modern...

JumboSports gains analysts' favor. (sporting goods chain JumboSports Inc.)
May 1, 1998... Despite its weak stock price, JumboSports Inc, of Tampa is making the right moves to bounce back, analysts said. As a result, investors may see this as a good time to buy stock in the sporting goods chain, if they are able to withstand risk,...

Projects in Ybor advance. (Ybor City, FL)
May 1, 1998... The vision of Ybor City that Tampa Mayor Dick Greco has been preaching around town for years is one step closer to reality. Earlier this week, the mayor selected Camden Property Trust Inc., a Houston-based company, to develop a 450-unit...

Dozen years, new name precede park projects. (real estate development in Tampa, FL)
May 1, 1998... It has been more than 12 years since Robert E. Woolley, a Dallas-based developer, bought about 1,000 acres in rural Riverview with plans for a vast industrial park along Interstate 75 called Parkway Center. It looks like Woolley's patience...

One computer language spells success: tech operation fills the needs of utility companies. (Tasnet)(Small Business Enterprise)
May 1, 1998... A handful of years ago, Tasnet was one of the companies it now supposedly trumps. That was before the Pinellas Park outfit made the leap from making and selling traditional electronic gear for electric utilities to designing software that...