Boston Business Journal articles from August 1991

Boston Business Journal archives from August 1991

Market drying up for housing tax credits. (buying tax credits by housing financiers has become unattractive)
August 5, 1991... MARKET DRYING UP FOR HOUSING TAX CREDITS The market for affordable housing tax credits, an arcane business that was red hot in Boston during the harum-scarum '80s, has turned tepid, leaving some of the smaller sellers of those credits...

NHD has tools to keep competition at bay. (hardware chain NHD Stores stays in operation in spite of big competitors)
August 5, 1991... NHD has tools to keep competition at bay Sheldon Woolf, CEO and president of NHD Stores, doesn't think Hooksett, N.H., is a particularly memorable place except for one thing. That's where the Stoughton-based hardware chain had a showdown with...

Black businesses flee inner city for suburbs. (avoiding crime and competition minority-owned businesses prosper in new locations)
August 5, 1991... Black businesses flee inner city for suburbs When Willie Holloway moved his drywall contracting business to Charlestown from Mattapan three years ago, he watched his bank credit line triple to $250,000. With that, W.J. Holloway & Sons was...

Malone fires seven pension fund firms. (Massachusetts state treasurer Joe Malone fires 7 pension fund firms from participation in Masters Annuity pension fund trust) (Company Profile)
August 5, 1991... MALONE FIRES SEVEN PENSION FUND FIRMS In a measure expected to save $500,000 a year, state Treasurer Joseph Malone has restructured the system of outside domestic equity fund managers that oversee the investments of approximately $2 billion...

Cashing out. (Purity Supreme Stores acquired by Freeman Spogli & Co.)
August 5, 1991... Cashing out The Purity Supreme Stores, based in North Billerica, agreed to be purchased by Freeman Spogli & Co., a Los Angeles investors group that has participated in 14 leveraged buyouts since it was founded in 1983. The purchase will be...

Larry Latham Auctioneers. (will auction 185-unit foreclosed single-family homes)
August 5, 1991... A 185-unit auction of foreclosed, mostly single-family homes has been slated for the fall by Larry Latham Auctioneers. If the auction hits the expected gross sales figure of $18 million, it will be the largest ever in New England.

Data General. (acquires computer maintenance company HBO & Co.)
August 5, 1991... Data General announced that it will purchase an Atlanta-based computer maintenance company called HBO & Co. That 150-person business has about $25 million in annual sales.

Voluntary withdrawal (two computer companies accused of copyright infringements by Digital Equipment Inc.)
August 5, 1991... Voluntary withdrawal Two Massachusetts companies voluntarily agreed to phase out products that Digital Equipment in Maynard claims infringed on its patents. Avic Corp. and Winchester Systems promised to switch to new products by the end of...

Edsun Laboratories. (closed down)
August 5, 1991... Waltham-based Edsun Laboratories, which was hailed for its creation of the Continuous Edge Graphics display chip, called it quits. Acknowledging that one major product could not sustain a company, Edsun agreed to sell its key assets to...

New England Telephone. (breaks tie-ups with NYNEX Corp. for overcharging of services)
August 5, 1991... New England Telephone announced that it will no longer do business with most subsidiaries of its parent company, NYNEX Corp. Regulators and the Federal Communications Commission charged that NYNEX overcharged both the New England and New York...

Resolution Trust Corp. (turns over operation of Sentry Federal Bank of Hyannis to New Bedford Institution for Savings)
August 5, 1991... The Resolution Trust Corp. turned over the keys of Sentry Federal Bank of Hyannis to New Bedford Institution for Savings. The 14-branch bank, which has been under government control since it collapsed 10 months ago, was sold for a premium of...

Boston Safe Deposit & Trust Co. (sued for employment discrimination practices)
August 5, 1991... Boston Safe Deposit & Trust Co., already under fire from the city for the performance of its affirmative action programs, has had six discrimination complaints filed against it with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination since...

Harvard keeping in character with new hotel. (The Inn at Harvard, Harvard Square, Cambridge) (company profile)
August 5, 1991... Harvard keeping in character with new hotel To the casual observer, virtually the only evidence that Cambridge's venerable Harvard Square is about to add 113 new hotel rooms is the small blue-and-white sign identifying the construction...

Beating gridlock.
August 5, 1991... Beating gridlock The newest weapons in Boston's war on gridlock are SmartRoute System's "By Pass Guides." They are guides covering routes 93, 95 and 128, as well as Logan Airport, providing alternate routes and hints for avoiding common...

ISCAN sees the future through your own eyes. (ISCAN Inc.'s new system to allow people to use their eyes to command computers)
August 5, 1991... ISCAN sees the future through your own eyes ISCAN Inc. is perfecting a technology that might someday let people use their eyes to command computers or star in their own 3-D movies with home simulator booths. For now, the Cambridge-based...

Auto dealers compete in the fast track at auctions. (Peabody Auto Auction in Peabody, Massachusetts)(Focus: Transportation) (company profile)
August 5, 1991... Auto dealers compete in the fast track at auctions The temperature was hovering in the mid-90s but the parking lot of the Peabody Auto Auction was filled almost to capacity one recent morning. The crowd of licensed dealers was there, as it is...

Oil tankers face crippled creek in Chelsea. (passage of oil tankers thru Chelsea Creek to Boston Harbor is difficult)
August 5, 1991... Oil tankers face crippled creek in Chelsea The movement of oil tankers up Boston Harbor's Chelsea Creek is difficult even when things are running smoothly. On that, there is almost universal agreement. There's also some agreement on the...

Shiva Corp. (High Technology)
August 5, 1991... Shiva Corp. of Cambridge appointed Rich Shapero chief operating officer. He was recently president of Sitka Corp. in California. Shiva Corp. is an internetworking company that designs and manufactures networking products.

Alcatel Vacuum Products. (Manufacturing/Retail)
August 5, 1991... Alcatel Vacuum Products appointed Yves Joublin president and CEO. Recently, he was president of Alcatel/Comptech in California. Hingham-based Alcatel manufactures vacuum pumps.

Life insurer posts a C- on report. (State Mutual Life Insurance Co. of America gets low rating in asset liquidity based on Weiss Research Inc.'s report)
August 12, 1991... LIFE INSURER POSTS A C - ON REPORT Worcester-based State Mutual Life Assurance Co. of America is among 12 insurers nationwide that are vulnerable to a run on their assets, according to a national insurance rating agency. The company, which...

Bankruptcy a la carte. (Don Levy tries to save the Blue Diner and Loading Zone restaurants which have gone bankrupt) (company profile)
August 12, 1991... Bankruptcy a la carte Don Levy, owner of the Blue Diner and the nearby Loading Zone, is cooking up a scheme to save his two Boston restaurants, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in early July. Levy, a native of New York,...

3i Corp. spins off start-up finance group. (3i Corp. forms Aspen Venture Partners)
August 12, 1991... 3i CORP. SPINS OFF START-UP FINANCE GROUP One of the country's largest venture capital firms, Boston-based 3i Corp., announced recently that it would be exiting the early-stage financing business and spinning off its existing start-up...

Publishers preyed by Fidelity Capital. (Fidelity Capital uses force to buy the Medford Transcript and the TAB Newspapers)
August 12, 1991... PUBLISHERS PREYED ON BY FIDELITY CAPITAL When Fidelity Investments, the nation's largest mutual-fund manager, backed a publishing group that began gobbling up struggling, independent weekly newspapers whose owners were looking for a way out...

Mullen Advertising. (Debriefing)
August 12, 1991... Mullen Advertising Mullen Advertising is the winner of the advertising account for Weebok, Stoughton-based Reebok's line of children's shoes. Mullen took the account from Chiat/Day/Mojo, a New York agency which handled that portion of...

L. William Seidman. (Debriefing)
August 12, 1991... L. William Seidman L. William Seidman, chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., will say goodbye to his job on Oct. 16 as he goes into retirement. President Bush has yet to name a successor.

Stock repurchase. (Polaroid Corp. to buy back preferred shares)(Debriefing)
August 12, 1991... Stock repurchase Polariod Corp. expressed interest in repurchasing its preferred shares as one use of the multimillion-dollar patent infringement settlement it won from Eastman Kodak. Corporate partners invested $300 million in Polaroid...

Dun & Bradstreet Corp. (Debriefing)
August 12, 1991... Dun & Bradstreet Corp. According to a survey done by Dun & Bradstreet Corp., the construction and manufacturing industries show little sign of improvement following three months of slow growth.

The scoop at Brigham's. (Milt Namiot and Grotech Partners buy out Brigham's from Bennett LeBow)(Debriefing)
August 12, 1991... The scoop at Brigham's Brigham's president Milt Namiot and Grotech Partners, a Baltimore-based venture capital group, bought out the Arlington-based restaurant and ice cream chain from Bennett LeBow, its owner since 1986. The cost of the...

Morse Shoe. (Debriefing)
August 12, 1991... Morse Shoe Morse Shoe, the Canton company that operates 485 Fayva stores, put together a reorganization plan that turns over a majority of the company from its owners to its bondholders. Morse filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in...

JWP Businessland. (Debriefing)
August 12, 1991... JWP Businessland Canton will be the new home of the country's largest computer retailer, JWP Businessland. JWP, an engineering and consulting firm based in Purchase, N.Y., paid close to $43 million in a tender offer to acquire the stock of...

Shaw's Supermarkets. (Debriefing)
August 12, 1991... Shaw's Supermarkets Shaw's Supermarkets dropped Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts and switched to a health-insurance plan managed by Pilgrim Health Care of Norwell for its 5,000 employees. Blue Cross and Blue Shield has lost about...

Massachusetts General Hospital. (Debriefing)
August 12, 1991... Massachusetts General Hospital Massachusetts General Hospital was voted the number-one hospital in the Northeast and third overall in the country, based on a poll that ranked the institutions according to the number of specialties in which...

Suing American. (GTE Products Corp. sues American Software)(Debriefing)
August 12, 1991... Suing American Danvers-based GTE Products Corp. filed a $17.3 million lawsuit against American Software. GTE alleges that the Atlanta company fraudulently claimed its off-the-shelf software systems would meet its restructing and streamlining...

Sequioa Systems. (Debriefing)
August 12, 1991... Sequoia Systems Sequoia Systems of Marlborough unveiled a fault-tolerant computer that it claims is three times faster than its current lines. The company holds about 4 percent of the $1.6 billion fault-tolerant market.

Cliff Freeman and Partners. (Debriefing)
August 12, 1991... Cliff Freeman and Partners Meanwhile, New York-based Cliff Freeman and Partners became the agency of record for Avon-based Child World. That agency is the mastermind behind Wendy's ("Where's the beef?") and Little Caesar's Pizza commercials.

Pizzeria Uno Restaurants. (Debriefing)
August 12, 1991... Pizzeria Uno Restaurants Following a year of pickets and letters, activists in San Francisco succeeded in their bid to get Boston-based Pizzeria Uno Restaurants to stop carrying Folgers brand coffee. Neighbor to Neighbor, a peace...

Thirst for power is key to Weymouth gas plant. (Boston Edison's plan to build gas-fired power plant in North Weymouth, Massachusetts faces opposition)
August 12, 1991... Thirst for power is key to Weymouth gas plant Boston Edison has run into stiff opposition from environmental groups and state Attorney General Scott Harshbarger over its plan to build a $300 million, gas-fired power plant in North Weymouth....

Top execs axed. (top executives Joseph Hoffman, Samuel Nussbaum, Patricia Pilz, and John Ward leave Bay State Health Care)
August 12, 1991... Top execs axed Although a courtroom battle had appeared certain, litigation was avoided last week when a group of physicians fighting for control of Bay State Health Care reached a settlement with the board of directors of the health...

Trims management. (The Boston Globe newspaper offers early retirement plan to managers as cost-cutting measure)
August 12, 1991... Trims management The linchpin of the tough negotiating stance taken by management at The Boston Globe in its collective bargaining negotiations with the newspaper's unions (see BBJ, Dec. 24, 1990) is that it is facing declining advertising...

Banks claim foreclosure moratorium is overkill. (banks disapprove new law that grounds foreclosure on residential property)
August 12, 1991... Banks claim foreclosure moratorium is overkill A 120-day foreclosure moratorium to protect victims of second-mortgage scams is forcing banks and mortgage lenders to delay most of their foreclosings on properties. The new law has...

BPI fights its way into the plastic bag market. (BPI Environmental) (company profile)
August 12, 1991... BPI fights its way into the plastic bag market BPI Environmental knows what consumers want: plastics without the guilt. And that's what they plan to give them. But in the meantime, the modest-sized Taunton maker of environmentally...

Good News! (Advertising & Communications)
August 12, 1991... Good News! Good News!, a public relations firm, and The James Group, an advertising agency, joined forces to create Parker & James, a full-service public relations, marketing and advertising agency. The newly formed service was chosen to...

Exec-U-Net. (Advertising & Communications)
August 12, 1991... Exec-U-Net Exec-U-Net, a nationwide networking organization, opened a New England chapter in Wellesley. The network assists senior executives with a base salary of $75,000 in finding career opportunities.

Cabot Communications. (Advertising & Communications)
August 12, 1991... Cabot Communications and Kelley & Wallwork Boston advertising agencies Cabot Communications and Kelley & Wallwork merged last month to form the third-largest agency in New England. The newly created firm, with billings of $91 million, will...

New England Cable News-Channel. (Advertising & Communications)
August 12, 1991... New England Cable News-Channel The New England Cable News-Channel appointed Jackson & Co. as its public relations agency. The agency's program includes publicity, marketing, special events and consumer awareness for the channel which debuts...

Meditrust. (Dividends)
August 12, 1991... Meditrust Meditrust of Waltham declared a dividend for the quarter ending June 30 of 59.75 cents per share. Shareholders of record on July 31 will be paid the dividend on Aug. 15.

Sterling Bancshares Corp. (Dividends)
August 12, 1991... Sterling Bancshares Corp. Sterling Bancshares Corp. declared a dividend of 12 cents per share. Shareholders of record on July 24 will be paid the dividend on Aug. 2.

Remanco Systems. (High Tech)
August 12, 1991... Remanco Systems Danvers-based Remanco Systems has signed an agreement allowing the installation of Remanco's VISION restaurant management system in Ramada International Hotels & Resorts' new hotels in the United States. Remanco is a...

CLSI. (Computer Library Services Inc.)(High Tech)
August 12, 1991... CLSI CLSI of Newtonville signed two contracts valued at more than $400,000. One contract is for upgrades to Unix-based systems at the public library in New Canaan, Conn.; the other is for upgrades to the public library system in Albany, N.Y....

Prime Computer. (High Tech)
August 12, 1991... Prime Computer An Australian subsidiary of Prime Computer, headquartered in Natick, has been awarded a $6.4 million contract from the Queensland State Government to supply 33 Prime EXL 7000 systems. The systems are for use by the Department...

Dynatech Corp. (Manufacturing)
August 12, 1991... Dynatech Corp. Dynatech Corp. signed an agreement to operate and market the National Lightning Detection Network. The satellite-linked network will allow electric utilities and other industries affected by severe weather to track lightning...

Computer Merchant. (Services/Education)
August 12, 1991... Computer Merchant The Computer Merchant of Norwell has been awarded a contract with the city of Boston to provide software consulting and support services. The Computer Merchant will oversee the "request for pricing" process on a project to...

Timeslips Corp. (Services/Education)
August 12, 1991... Timeslips Corp. Timeslips Corp. of Essex has entered a marketing relationship with Safeguard Business Systems of Fort Washington, Pa., a manufacturer and distributor of office information systems. Timeslips Corp. manufactures and distributes...

Lawyers and AIM in duel over workers' comp. (Associated Industries of Massachusetts; workers' compensation)
August 19, 1991... Lawyers and AIM in duel over workers' comp An expected $100,000 will be spent over the next several months on lobbying by the two special-interest groups that would be most affected by reform of the state's troubled workers' compensation...

Software firm hits jackpot with lottery pick program. (Entertainment On-Line's Complete Lottery Tracker & Wheeler)
August 19, 1991... Software firm hits jackpot with lottery pick program Robert Flint won $7,000 on a Florida Lotto ticket last year when he picked five winning numbers with a software program created by Entertainment On-Line of Westborough. "I though my...

Affirmative action violations on rise in gov construction. (local contractors violate requirements on government construction contracts)
August 19, 1991... AFFIRMATIVE ACTION VIOLATIONS ON RISE IN GOV CONSTRUCTION Four local contractors were stung by state and federal authorities this summer for violating affirmative action requirements on their government construction contracts. Each case,...

Arches golden at Faneuil. (siting of a McDonald's fast-food restaurant near Faneuil Hall)
August 19, 1991... Arches golden at Faneuil The Boston Landmark Commission unanimously approved the siting of a McDonald's fast-food restaurant in the historic Blackstone Block near Faneuil Hall, despite strong opposition from local residents, historians and...

Zortech. (to be acquired by Symantec Corp.)
August 19, 1991... Zortech Zortech, a Woburn software developer, will be acquired by the Cupertino, Calif.-based Symantec Corp., announced Symantec officials. The deal involves $10 million in stock and allows for some of Zortech's employees to transfer to...

U.S. Commerce Department.
August 19, 1991... U.S. Commerce Department Driven by stronger automobile purchases, retail sales in the country rose 0.5 percent during the month of July - the third month in a row for retail gains. According to the U.S. Commerce Department, total retail...

Boston Edison.
August 19, 1991... Boston Edison Boston Edison put the Boston Housing Authority on a delinquency repayment plan after the agency fell behind by about $2 million in its electric bills. The BHA is reimbursing the utility of $70,000 per week to pay off the debt.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts.
August 19, 1991... Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts could raise rates for non-group health insurance by as much as 31 percent for individual and two-person plans and 20 percent for group plans. The state...

Worcester Telegram & Gazette.
August 19, 1991... Worcester Telegram & Gazette The Worcester Telegram & Gazette laid off 60 staff members. The newspaper said the move was needed to offset a 29 percent decrease in advertising during the first seven months of 1991. As of April of this year,...

Bank Five for Savings.
August 19, 1991... Bank Five for Savings Bank Five for Savings announced that an undisclosed institution and the Massachusetts Mutual Savings Bank Central Fund have agreed to pump money into the troubled Arlington bank. The central fund came under fire...

Harold Brown.
August 19, 1991... Harold Brown Real estate mogul Harold Brown reached an agreement with the Bank of Boston to restructure more than $33 million in debt. Brown, who filed for Chapter 11 in March, claims he expects to be out of bankruptcy within six months. His...

Central Artery.
August 19, 1991... Central Artery Construction of a third harbor tunnel, part of the $5 billion Central Artery transportation project, was given the go-ahead by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Actual construction is slated for the end of this year and is...

American Automobile Association.
August 19, 1991... American Automobile Association This may not come as a shock to most Massachusetts motorists, but the American Automobile Association reported that New England is the most expensive region in the country when it comes to maintaining a car....

Boilermakers Local 29.
August 19, 1991... Boilermakers The Boilermakers Local 29, based in Quincy, expressed outrage at the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority for sending a contract to South Carolina instead of putting unemployed Bay Staters to work. The union had hoped that...

Adweek's Marketing Week.
August 19, 1991... Ad-week's Marketing Week According to a poll conducted by Ad-week's Marketing Week and Warwick Baker & Fiore, a New York ad agency, only 29 percent of 1,004 persons surveyed believe the recession will really be over in 1991. Some 28 percent...

Department of Insurance.
August 19, 1991... Department of Insurance The state Department of Insurance announced that Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts could raise rates for non-group health insurance by as much as 31 percent for individual and two-person plans and 20 percent...

Health center aids those sick over hospital costs. (Mariner Health Care)
August 19, 1991... Health center aids those sick over hospital costs In yet another effort to rein in skyrocketing health care costs, a Connecticut company has launched a new rehabilitation center in Boston's Mission Hill aimed at bridging the gap between a...

Hotel underway. (Hyatt Harborside Conference Center and Hotel at Logan Airport)
August 19, 1991... Hotel underway Macomber Development and Massport broke ground last week on the $40 million Hyatt Harborside Conference Center and Hotel at Logan Airport. Last fall Crocker Snow, a former director of the state aeronautics board,...

Execs resign. (Bay State Health Care's three top executives resign)
August 19, 1991... Execs resign In what has been a month of unexpected developments at Bay State Health Care, three top executives of the state's second largest health maintenance organization (HMO) suddenly resigned Aug. 9. Leaving their posts effective...

Dumping charge is no picnic for plastics firm. (Hussey Plastics is being sued for disposal of hazardous wastes)
August 19, 1991... Dumping charge is no picnic for plastics firm Hazardoos waste can come in many forms, but few would suspect the family's plastic picnic cooler to be one of them. Yet it is, according to state and federal agencies that are suing, among...

Elevator gridlock foreseen. (Massachusetts' policy of elevator inspection create controversy)
August 19, 1991... Elevator gridlock foreseen Commercial landlords are worried that a new state policy requiring daytime inspections of elevators will end up with high-rise office workers getting the shaft. "Basically, you'll be stranding people while [the...

David Cohen: Beacon Hill's Ralph Nader. (State Representative)
August 19, 1991... David Cohen Beacon Hill's Ralph Nader State Rep. David Cohen (D-Newton), the Ralph Nader of Beacon Hill, is on a roll. Cohen, House chairman of the Joint Committee on Banks and Banking, has built a reputation as a champion of liberal causes -...

Superstores deal in bits and PCs. (rise of superstores in computer retailing)(Focus: The Workplace and Office Technology)
August 19, 1991... Superstores deal in bits and PCs Computer retailers have discovered what Stop & Shop and Staples have known for quite some time: Super sells. Large national traffickers in the stuff of bits and bytes are breathlessly marshaling their...

Breaking out of the portable pack. (Northgate Computer Systems's new portable computer)(Focus: The Workplace and Office Technology)
August 19, 1991... Breaking out of the portable pack There's a load of portable computers on the market right now, and it's getting tougher than bowling underwater for laptop makers to separate themselves from the pack. Northgate Computer Systems, of Eden...

HP's palmtop makes the most of your hand. (Hewlett-Packard's computer)(Focus: The Workplace and Office Technology)
August 19, 1991... HP's palmtop makes the most of your hand Not quite 20 years ago, Hewlett-Packard came out with the first calculator. It amazed us all and changed the lives of everyone from schoolchildren to nuclear physicists. HP's newest technological...

State Street Bank and Trust Co. (Banking/Finance)
August 19, 1991... State Street Bank and Trust Co. State Street Bank and Trust Co. has named Marshall Carter president, CEO and director. For the past 15 years, Carter was with Chase Manhattan Bank. When Carter was head of Chase's global securities services,...

John Hancock Mutual Funds. (Banking/Finance)
August 19, 1991... John Hancock Mutual Funds John Hancock Mutual Funds has promoted Robert Freedman to chief investment officer of John Hancock Advisers and David King to president and CEO of John Hancock Fund Services.

Domain. (Manufacturing/Retail)
August 19, 1991... Domain Domain, a retail furniture chain, appointed Edmond Thomas president and chief operating officer.

Brian Cornell. (Services/Education)
August 19, 1991... Brian Cornell Brian Cornell was named Northeast Region tax partner at Price Waterhouse. Christopher Barry and Albert Lilienfeld were named litigation and reorganization services group partners. Richard Clark was named national office...

Thornton & Early. (Services/Education)
August 19, 1991... Thornton & Early Thornton & Early appointed David McMorris as partner of the firm. McMorris has been with the firm for seven years, working on cases in civil litigation and worker's compensation. He is also a member of the Association of...

Psychemedics Corp. (Health/Science)
August 19, 1991... Psychemedics Corp. Psychemedics Corp. of Boston named Raymond Kubacki president and CEO, also electing him to the board of directors. Psychemedics uses testing procedures involving the analysis of hair to detect drugs such as cocaine and...