Boston Business Journal articles from April 2001

Boston Business Journal archives from April 2001

The new Gold Coast?(Brief Article)
April 6, 2001... Big Dig could be a gold mine for owners of abutting buildings From Spagnolo/Gisness & Associates' second-floor conference room windows, the rotunda of the Boston Harbor Hotel peaks out above the Southeast Expressway's auto-clogged Central...

Insurance giants gird for court face-off.(Brief Article)
April 6, 2001... Insurance, realm of the man in the gray flannel suit, is about to see what industry insiders believe could be a bare-knuckle courthouse brawl between two of its titans. Liberty Mutual Group Inc., the Boston-based financial services...

State loan kept Quincy Hospital open; would this remedy work for others?(Brief Article)
April 6, 2001... QUINCY--It would be no exaggeration to say that Quincy Hospital was on its deathbed two years ago. The municipal hospital had accumulated $60 million in debt, and its admissions had dropped from 8,300 in 1998 to less than 7,000 in 1999. ...

Networking startups stuck in IPO pipeline.(Brief Article)
April 6, 2001... The turmoil on Wall Street is thwarting another local company's plans to go public. Lowell-based Convergent Networks Inc. last week withdrew its registration for an initial public offering, claiming it has no interest in fighting through what's...

Using the 'net to cash in on the dot-com collapse.(Brief Article)
April 6, 2001... Call it a new economy fire sale. A failed dot-com has a new Cisco router on its hands, that, according to an ad, "has only been used for a few hours." Where would this seller look to find a buyer? How about eBay? Along with autographed Babe...

Catching fire or up in smoke?(health insurance premiums for nonsmokers)(Brief Article)
April 6, 2001... If you're a smoker, odds are you have been feeling increasingly marginalized over the years, to the point where it's all one can do to have a drag in public. Well, prepare to feel further left out: You may have to pay more for your health...

CORRECTIONS.(Brief Article)(Correction Notice)
April 6, 2001... * In the list of the Area's Largest Colleges and Universities (in the March 19-23 issue of the BBJ), the endowments of Boston University and Berklee College of Music were incorrect. The correct figures are: $930,208,495 for Boston University...

Neiman Marcus' 3Q profit to miss forecast.(Brief Article)
April 6, 2001... CHESTNUT HILL--Neiman Marcus Group Inc. said it expects fiscal third-quarter earnings to decline, missing expectations, because of falling sales. Profit will be 80 cents to 85 cents in the period, ending April 28, the upscale retailer said. ...

Moody's cuts Raytheon ratings on sale dispute.(Washington Group International Inc.)(Brief Article)
April 6, 2001... LEXINGTON--Raytheon Co. had ratings on about $13 billion in debt cut by Moody's Investors Service, which faulted the company's sluggish profits, high debt and a dispute over the sale of a unit. Moody's lowered the rating on Raytheon's bond...

Aura raises $11 million.(Brief Article)
April 6, 2001... WILMINGTON--Aura Communications, a semiconductor company providing services for wireless voice, data and audio communication, raised $11 million in its latest financing round. Investors include Duchossois TECnology Partners, Pilot House...

Lotus' exodus to boost vacancy rate.(Lotus Development Corp.)(Brief Article)
April 6, 2001... CAMBRIDGE--This city is already awash in a flood of space on the market. And another major chunk of space will be available this fall when Lotus Development Corp. leaves behind the vast majority of its longtime headquarters. Boston-based...

LYNDIA DOWNIE.(Pine Street Inn)
April 6, 2001... 'Someone who nets it' Pine Street Inn's director does a lot more than run a homeless shelter Row upon row of cots line the drab, colorless room. They're each stripped to the mattress, and each has its own yellow-painted number on the...

Menino favors back-to-school holiday from sales tax.(Brief Article)
April 6, 2001... Boston Mayor Thomas Menino is backing a proposal that would spare Massachusetts shoppers from paying state sales taxes on back-to-school purchases. Under proposed legislation filed by Rep. Eugene O'Flaherty, D-Chelsea, purchases made for...

Pharmacy management cuts costs for hospitals.(Brief Article)
April 6, 2001... Recent studies show the cost of prescription drugs is rising nationally at a rate of about 18 percent per year, and will soon outstrip the cost of hospitalizing patients. With that in mind, hospitals are expanding in-house pharmacy management...

Report: Women still lag behind in 401(k) savings.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 6, 2001... Women, despite their best efforts, have been unable to catch up with men in terms of saving for their retirement, according to a recent report by Fidelity Investments, believed by experts to be one of the most complete studies of retirement...

Business writers and editors honor Boston Business Journal at SABEW.(Brief Article)
April 6, 2001... The Boston Business Journal was named one of the country's top five business weeklies by the Society of American Business Editors and Writers Inc. (SABEW) in the organization's seventh annual Best in Business contest. The newspaper was...

Keyware helps bring biotech web sites down to earth.(Brief Article)
April 6, 2001... WALTHAM--To the layperson, biotechnology is no longer just a complicated substance bubbling away in a laboratory beaker. The field is increasingly becoming consumer-oriented, as doctors and patients sign on to participate in clinical...

Shareholders seek to change railroad co.'s course.(Providence and Worcester Railroad Co.)(Brief Article)
April 6, 2001... Two dissidents contend Providence and Worcester Railroad's share value was derailed by management's style WORCESTER--Dissatisfied with the company's performance over the past few years, two long-term shareholders of the Providence and...

Talk of bank-association merger again fills the air.(Brief Article)
April 6, 2001... Mass. Bankers Association and Community Bank League reportedly meeting Like the return of the Red Sox each spring, merger rumors concerning the Massachusetts Bankers Association and the Community Bank League of New England are dependably...

IPO market feels bite of the bear.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 6, 2001... Massachusetts was far from immune to the chill that all hut froze the market for initial public offerings in the first quareter, as not a single IPO went forward in the first three months of 2001. Moreover, only a single Bay State IPO is in'...

Knowledge Impact 1999 makeover wins investors.(Brief Article)
April 6, 2001... WAYLAND--Venture capitalists responded to Knowledge Impact's 1999 makeover with $24 million in funding, the Wayland company's largest round to date, announced this past week. When Boston Millennia Partners LP first got involved with...

Four more area high-tech outfits address downturn with job cuts.(Brief Article)
April 6, 2001... The technology sector's downturn continues to mean lost jobs at area companies. SimPlayer Ltd. said it would be shutting down it operations. Also, InfoLibria Inc., Digital Goods and Yankee Group have cut their staffs in recent days. ...

BU program seeks balance of cost vs. care at hospitals.(Brief Article)
April 6, 2001... Health care executives have reluctantly become used to talking about patient care and cost in the same sentence, but they still don't know how to control one without affecting the other. A new research program at Boston University School of...

Ozro raises $15M for 'middle path'.(Brief Article)
April 6, 2001... Ozro Inc. is looking to find a place for itself in the fast-evolving e-commerce sector. The Boston-based company, which until recently had been known as TradeAccess, announced it has raised $15 million in two rounds. Leading the...

Diners at new Ritz to take an Asian-flavored journey.(Brief Article)
April 6, 2001... The restaurant at the new Ritz-Carlton Boston Common will feature an open exhibition kitchen with a steam pot as its focal point. Jer-ne--phonetic for "journey"--will be a 116-seat restaurant whose menu showcasing both seafood and meat will...

Bill would mandate low-fat meals to be offered on children's menus.(Brief Article)
April 6, 2001... A Rehoboth legislator is looking for a healthier alternative amid the french fries, chicken nuggets and grilled cheese sandwiches that often pop up on the children's menus of restaurants. State Rep. Philip Travis, D-Rehoboth, has filed a...

Digital Learning plans to use $14M to expand sales.(Brief Article)
April 6, 2001... MEDFORD--With nearly $14 million in equity funding from institutional investors, e-textbook publisher Digital Learning Interactive hopes to widen its electronic reach in time for the fall semester. Former Harvard professor Robert Fisher,...

Involuntary bankruptcy takes aim at a telecom provider in Beverly.(Brief Article)
April 6, 2001... BEVERLY--A subsidiary of Westwood, Kan.-based Sprint Corp. has recently taken the unusual step of trying to force a local telecommunications company into bankruptcy in order to collect on about $100,000 worth of unpaid bills. Working...

Ibis sees chip-maker slide as window of opportunity.(Brief Article)
April 6, 2001... DANVERS--While chip makers and companies with ties to the semiconductor industry face inventory backups, layoffs and missed earnings, a Danvers company that sells to semiconductor manufacturers has expanded its space and is meeting increased...

Investors do like Idiom's language, pony up $17M.(Brief Article)
April 6, 2001... WALTHAM--For its third round of funding, Idiom Technologies Inc. not only went back to venture capitalists who had already bought into the company, but also brought in corporate partners, including one current customer. Idiom, of Waltham,...

Shareholder.com's business grows through StockMaster purchase.(Brief Article)
April 6, 2001... MAYNARD--Shareholder.com has bought StockMaster.com, a unit of Red Herring Communications Inc. and one of the innovators of online stock charting. Maynard-based Shareholder is incorporating StockMaster and its 300 or so clients into its...

Sovereign's $38M ad blitz shows why they are here.(Brief Article)
April 6, 2001... Sovereign Bancorp, the $33 billion Pennsylvania bank holding company, has unleashed its first major media blitz since arriving in New England about one year ago. Bank officials said that, with the campaign slogan "That's why we're here,"...

Electricity consumers help fund cleanup of waste-to-energy plants.(Brief Article)
April 6, 2001... Higher electricity wholesale prices, are pushing up retail electricity rates, but some of the surcharges on electric bills are actually going to fund environmental upgrades at waste-to-energy plants in Massachusetts. Money collected...

Quick House action likely on pension reform bill.(Brief Article)
April 6, 2001... Legislation viewed as big priority for small business The chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee promises quick action on legislation to encourage small businesses to set up retirement plans for their employees. The committee,...

Stats: Ergonomics-related injuries begin to decline.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 6, 2001... A new report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows a decline in the number of work-related musculoskeletal disorders--the soft-tissue injuries targeted by the recently repealed ergonomics regulation. Employers reported 582,300...

Executives in Nutmeg State rank among the country's highest paid.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 6, 2001... New York City casts a broad shadow over the list of metropolitan areas where managers and administrators earn the most money And executives in Stamford-Norwalk, a suburban Connecticut metropolitan area near the Big Apple, took first prize. ...

The five solutions to the 'game' of business.(Brief Article)
April 6, 2001... Securing financing for your new business is similar to playing a video adventure game on your PC. To complete the game successfully, you must provide the correct answers to several puzzles encountered by the hero. To secure your financing,...

Gracious host.(Brief Article)
April 6, 2001... USDataCenters lands $17M in funding as web server operation continues growth MARLBOROUGH--Rick Zach, 48, describes himself as a "second-generation computer jock." His father was one of the first field engineers for IBM in the 1950s....

Legal advice for the small-business owner.(Brief Article)
April 6, 2001... The Boston College Small Business Development Center will have a workshop on "Practical Legal Advice for the Small-Business Owner" on Wednesday. April 11, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., at Boston College, 142 Beacon St, Chestnut Hill. The session...

Entrepreneurs wanted.(Brief Article)
April 6, 2001... The Boston Business Journal is always looking for interesting stories about entrepreneurs, if you know about a young company of interest, then contact the BBJ. Nearly all fields of business are considered, including high-tech,...

During volatile times, remember: Everyone is a customer.(Brief Article)
April 6, 2001... We are living in volatile times. Confusion reigns. It seems that everything that was true about business over the past several years is no longer true. In such precarious, conditions, we're sure that you--like every business owner,...

Area's Largest Graduate Schools.(Statistical Data Included)
April 6, 2001... Area's Largest Graduate Schools (ranked by fall 2000 enrollment) Percentage:...

Pure Imaging Inc. presents its own antiques web show.(Brief Article)
April 6, 2001... A Watertown company is mixing the very old and the very new- antiques and Internet technology. Pure Imaging Inc. has developed the Catalogue of Antiques & Fine Art, a venture that publishes an antiques-related catalog and recently went live...

News items about funding and new product sales.(Brief Article)
April 6, 2001... A number of Massachusetts companies have recently closed funding and sales deals. Boston-based Aberdeen Group, a technology market research and consulting firm, landed $6 million in new funding. Investing were: TL Ventures, which has...

Tenor Networks opens an office in Scotland.(Brief Article)
April 6, 2001... Tenor Networks is gaining a foothold overseas. The Acton-based startup, which makes an optical network switch, has opened what it calls its European development center in Edinburgh, Scotland. The company said it will use the office as a way...

Program at Simmons aims to start 'em off young.(Brief Article)
April 6, 2001... Getting girls interested in tech careers is the theme of an event this Saturday at Simmons College. The session, organized by. Girls Get Connected Collaborative, will bring together about 200 girls from middle schools in hopes of...

Interest-bearing business accounts bill moves ahead.(Brief Article)
April 6, 2001... The Depression-era ban on banks offering interest on business checking accounts could soon be history. Legislation to repeal the prohibition cleared the House Financial Services Committee March 28 and was expected to be passed by the full...

Ads to target key senators.(Brief Article)
April 6, 2001... Senators will hear a lot about the estate tax when they go home for spring break. The Family Business Estate Tax Coalition, a group of 100 business organizations, will run $200,000 worth of ads in family-owned newspapers this month urging...

'Blacklisting' repeal backed.(Brief Article)
April 6, 2001... The Bush administration began the process to repeal regulations issued by the Clinton administration that require federal procurement officers to consider a company's record of compliance with labor, environmental and consumer laws before...

Group seeks H-1B cuts.(Brief Article)
April 6, 2001... An anti-immigration group called for a reduction in the number of H-1B visas granted to foreign workers now that demand for high-tech professionals has slackened. The Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) wants the limits on...

Area's Largest Hospitals.(Statistical Data Included)
April 6, 2001... Area's Largest Hospitals (ranked by 2000 net patient service revenue) [*] Total...

Chamber views Big Dig as a $14B driveway to Somerville.(Brief Article)
April 6, 2001... Whether Somerville will ever attract the Boston Red Sox to its "Gateway Park" concept for a new baseball stadium remains to be seen, but the thinking among a number of real estate professionals is that the city has made significant improvements...

Real estate in the Fourth Estate.(Brief Article)
April 6, 2001... Those Spaulding & Slye Colliers International ads renting 32,000 square feet of space at 254 Second Ave. in Needham that started running in papers last week fueled some speculation among current and former Community Newspaper Co. employees. ...

Nice weather we're having.(Brief Article)
April 6, 2001... Last week's torrential weather postponed the topping-off ceremony at the World Trade Center West. The weather was so nasty the ceremony was moved across the street underneath the arches at the World Trade Center. But even that was too...

SafeScience Inc. makes it through an identity crisis.(Brief Article)
April 6, 2001... Ever wish you could wake up one morning and change everything? Well, if you own a company, it's kind of tough to switch gears that fast. That was, in effect, what happened with Boston-based SafeScience Inc. Six months ago, the company was...

Collgard gets results.(Brief Article)
April 6, 2001... Speaking of angiogenesis, Collgard Biopharmaceuticals Inc. in Newton reports seeing promising results from its lead compound Halofuginone, which is derived from a natural plant alkaloid. According to the company, the compound caused a tumor...

Althexis names new CEO.(Brief Article)
April 6, 2001... Waltham-based Althexis Co. Inc. has recruited a big name in biotech. The company announced that Mark Skaletsky, former president and CEO of GelTex Pharmaceuticals Inc., which was recently sold to Cambridge-based Genzyme Corp., has taken the top...

If you think about it, the market's a confidence game.(Brief Article)
April 6, 2001... Remember those games they used to have at traveling carnivals? (They probably still do, but I don't go anymore. Don't need to. I'm in the stock market.) The guy in the booth would swing the pendulum or throw the ball or whatever and knock...

CORPORATE ALBUM.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
April 6, 2001... Netegrity Inc. THE BUSINESS Netegrity provides security software that is used to securely manage and personalize business-to-business, business-to-consumer and internet portals. The company's SiteMinder platform is part of a software...

MASSACHUSETTS STOCK INDEX.(Statistical Data Included)
April 6, 2001... MASSACHUSETTS STOCK INDEX MARKET SCORECARD WEEKLY DIARY Advances 75 Declines 251 Unchanged 21 New Highs 15 New Lows 75 ...

Star proposals.(Brief Article)
April 6, 2001... Shopping your business plan around? Investors reveal the do's and don'ts If you want to see venture capital dollars in your future, it's time to go back to the past. Back to Business Plans 101. "E-com euphoria, when investments were...

Raising money in this market: 'VC giveth, and taketh away'.(Brief Article)
April 6, 2001... The first three months of 2001 may go down as the most difficult fundraising quarter in the last decade. And it's not likely to get any easier. To be among the few companies that successfully raise venture capital this year will require...

Female entrepreneurs learn to play the venture game.(Brief Article)
April 6, 2001... When Janet Kraus and her business partner, Kathy Sherbrooke, created Circles.com Inc. in 1997, the two women sensed that their web- and phone-based employee amenity service was a great idea for time-starved professionals in Greater Boston. ...

Business-school graduates face lull in VC job prospects.(Brief Article)
April 6, 2001... Hiring experts, career counselors attribute decline to less interest, economic downturn Spring business-school grads face a much different employment market than their counterparts of just a year ago. And for the entrepreneurially...

VCs want companies to put their best foot forward.(venture capital companies)(Brief Article)
April 6, 2001... Peter Moriarty is candid about how difficult it was to secure a first round of venture capital for his business, IphysicianNet. "It nearly fell apart the, night before we closed," says Moriarty, chief executive of the Scottsdale, Ariz.,...

TA invests in long run, stays 'bullish' on tech prospects.(Brief Article)
April 6, 2001... HarbourVest Partners LLC made its first investment with TA Associates LLC in 1978. With total assets under management at about $11 billion, HarbourVest has developed a strong relationship with TA Associates over the past 23 years. But, as...

Rueppel, TA's new principal, to tackle web infrastructure issues.(Phil Rueppel)(Brief Article)
April 6, 2001... As the markets waver indecisively and analysts oscillate between economic and pessimism, TA Associates new principal, Phil Rueppel, maintains a decisive outlook on his new position. The times of uncertainty create opportunities for people...

Village Ventures enters Tucson with Solstice partnership.(Solstice Capital)(Brief Article)
April 6, 2001... Matt Harris, president of Village Ventures Inc. of Williamstown, says the problem with venture capitalists is that they are too concentrated in the major entrepreneurial and population centers of Boston, San Francisco and New York City. ...

In 'Darwinian struggle' of startups, the strongest will survive.(Brief Article)
April 6, 2001... It was the winter of dot-com discontent. One hundred and six dot-coms folded in the first two months of 2001, according to some industry sources. In March, earnings warnings by Yahoo! brought the once high-flying company's stock to its...

Bayview aims to go where other venture firms don't.(Bayview Capital Partners funds old economy companies)(Brief Article)(Company Profile)
April 6, 2001... Investors target non-tech firms, or the 'not-coms' When most people launch new venture capital firms, they target some segment of the technology industry. But when Gary Musech founded Bayview Capital Partners in 1998, he and partner...

The U.S. vs. Europe: Who's got the better VC biz model?(venture capital)(Brief Article)
April 6, 2001... Entrepreneurs rise from different roots, but face similar funding challenges Late last year, well into the recent economic downturn, an Opinion Research Council survey found that more than half of 18-to 24-year-olds were highly interested...

When courting investors, practice some back-to-basics rituals.(Brief Article)
April 6, 2001... For however long it lasts, the current economic downturn will present a challenging environment for companies seeking funding. But there is money out there, and firms can improve their chances for securing it by focusing on products or services...

Boston on the Record.(recent appointments)
April 6, 2001... PERSONNEL FILE ADVERTISING/COMMUNICATIONS Greenberg Seronick O'Leary and Partners of Boston named Peter Alemian senior vice president and director of retail operations and Marjorie Crandell vice president/integrated marketing. ...

Lightbridge Inc.(honored for technical communication)(Brief Article)
April 6, 2001... Lightbridge Inc. of Burlington received four awards from the Boston and Northern New England chapters of the Society for Technical Communication. The company's products received the following awards: "Best of Show," "Award of Distinction,"...

FleetBoston Financial Corp.(top corporation in American Cancer Society daffodil sales)(Brief Article)
April 6, 2001... FleetBoston Financial Corp. was honored at the American Cancer Society's Daffodil Days Luncheon, with an award for Top Daffodil Sales for Corporation in 2000. The award is linked to American Cancer Society's Daffodil Days charitable campaign.

500 Boylston and 222 Berkeley.(office buildings win environmental award)(Brief Article)
April 6, 2001... Two Boston office buildings were recognized by the Environmental Protection Agency for outstanding energy conservation with the 2001 Energy Star Awards. The buildings, 500 Boylston and 222 Berkeley, are both owned by Hines of Boston.

Percussion Software.(product named recommended by PC Magazine)(Brief Article)
April 6, 2001... Stoneham-based Percussion Software's Rhythmyx Content Manager received the "Editor's Choice" honor from PC Magazine, in recognition of the product's user interface, workflow engine and scalability.

Wainwright Bank & Trust Co.(wins Bank Enterprise Award)(Brief Article)
April 6, 2001... Wainwright Bank & Trust Co. of Boston received a Bank Enterprise Award of $275,000 from the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund of the U.S. Treasury, in recognition of the bank's community development lending efforts. The fund's...

State Street Corp.(tops in foreign exchange ranking by Global Investor)(Brief Article)
April 6, 2001... State Street Corp. of Boston was ranked the best overall foreign-exchange service provider in the annual survey of leading investment managers around the world conducted by Global Investor magazine.

Hawthorn Suites-North Chelmsford.(Hawthorn hotel of the year)(Brief Article)
April 6, 2001... U.S. Franchise Systems Inc. of Atlanta honored Hawthorn Suites-North Chelmsford with the Hawthorn Hotel of the Year Award. The hotel, which offers 60 one-bedroom suites and 45 studio sites, is owned and operated by Princeton Properties...

Rebuild Boston Energy Initiative.(Brief Article)
April 6, 2001... Princeton Properties Management Inc. Rebuild America, a community energy-saving program launched by the U.S. Department of Energy, honored local member organizations Rebuild Boston Energy Initiative and the Boston Housing Authority with...

Morrissey and Co.(Brief Article)
April 6, 2001... Boston-based Morrissey and Co. added Acton-based Equipe Communications Corp. to its list of clients. As agency of record, Morrissey and Co. will provide services, including media and analyst relations and executive-level counsel. Morrissey and...

Trinity Communications.(Brief Article)
April 6, 2001... Trinity Communications of Boston was retained by Target Software Inc. of Cambridge to develop a brand strategy, identity and positioning campaign for Target Software's Team Approach fundraising software package for large nonprofit...

Gray & Rice Public Relations Inc.(Brief Article)
April 6, 2001... Gray & Rice Public Relations Inc. of Boston recently added the following to its client roster: Exergen Corp.-Industrial Products Division, Watertown; Instron, Canton; and United Technical Products-A Fidelity Investments Company, Norwood.