Boston Business Journal articles from December 2000, page 3

Boston Business Journal archives from December 2000

Auto insurance dereg bill faces a tough ride ahead.
December 15, 2000... Massachusetts could end its holdout status as the only state that sets automobile insurance rates, while joining a dozen other states in electing its insurance commissioner. State Rep. Christopher Hodgkins, a Lee Democrat, has filed a...

Health insurers to offer web quotes.
December 15, 2000... It is no secret that the insurance industry, like health care, is e-challenged. Right now, most brokers fax proposals to insurance companies, which in return fax them back an estimated price. It can take a matter of days to agree on a...

Citing growth, Donovan Group picks Watertown.
December 15, 2000... NORTHBOROUGH--Early next year, the Donovan Group will call Watertown home, making a move that company president Michael Donovan hopes will catapult his advertising agency into the big leagues. "We haven't been high-profile because we...

Family-owned grocery chain throws in the towel.
December 15, 2000... MANSFIELD--Succumbing to pressures of an increasingly competitive grocery industry, a family-owned chain of 11 supermarkets last week transferred its assets to one of the nation's largest food retailers. Ro-Jacks Food Stores Inc., a...

Coalition seeks overall tax reform, not just tax cuts.
December 15, 2000... Advocates issue call for sweeping legislation to replace current system What Mae West said about sex also goes for tax cuts, says Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform. "All tax cuts are good tax cuts," he says, even...

Mentoring programs guide entrepreneurs.
December 15, 2000... Two new mentoring programs are now available in the Greater Boston area, designed around the premise that entrepreneurs learn best from one another. The programs from the Cambridge Business Development Center and the Boston-based...

Playing it by ear.
December 15, 2000... Improv Asylum makes it up as it goes along as area s 'Best Comedy Club' When partners Norm Laviolette and Chet Harding opened the doors to the long-abandoned theater they purchased in fall 1997, they were greeted to a scene hallmarked by...

For small companies, holiday absences can be a big problem.
December 15, 2000... Employee absenteeism is something companies struggle with all year long, especially smaller companies. The absence of even a handful of people can seemingly alter the productivity of an entire department, or sometimes the business as a whole...

Office furniture landmark upgrades at warp speed.
December 15, 2000... Peabody Office Furniture Corp. is pulling the covers off its 234 Congress St. headquarters as part of a $1.5 million makeover of the company's image. The company, which was founded in 1899, is looking to tap into the burgeoning demand...

PRI to lease in Billerica.
December 15, 2000... PRI Automation Inc. has agreed to lease a 57,000-square-foot, single-story property at 17 Progress Road in Bilerica. The Billerica-based company, which supplies automation systems and software for the semiconductor industry, has also...

Progress Software renews lease.
December 15, 2000... Bedford-based Progress Software Corp. has renewed its lease of 165,000 square feet at 14 Oak Park Drive in Bedford with New Boston Fund. Boston-based NAI Hunneman Commercial Co. brokered the deal for Progress Software, which has occupied the...

M&G gets financing.
December 15, 2000... Meredith & Grew Inc. of Boston has secured $25.65 million in construction/permanent financing for Boston-based developer A.W. Perry, which will use the money to build the Ares Serono building, a first-class development on Commerce Road in...

GBREB shifts donation policy.
December 15, 2000... The Greater Boston Real Estate Board (GBREB) has shifted its donation strategy this year. Instead of giving relatively small amounts of money to various organizations, this year the group is helping establish the Trailblazers program for the...

New Delta terminal deal.
December 15, 2000... Beacon-Beers, a joint venture of Bostonbased Beacon Skanska Construction Co. and Atlanta-based Beers Inc., has won a $386 million contract to build a new Terminal A for Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines Inc. at Logan International Airport....

Design firm honored.
December 15, 2000... Sasaki Associates Inc., a Watertownbased design firm, has won three awards in the 2000 American Society of Landscape Architects National Professional Awards Program. Sasaki was recognized for its involvement in the design of the Dallas...

SBA raises the standards for health care providers.
December 15, 2000... An estimated 5,000 health care providers can qualify as "small" for government programs and services after the U.S. Small Business Administration increased its size thresholds. Previously, health care businesses with annual revenues of $5...

SBA gets $674M in bids in its third sale of loans.
December 15, 2000... The Small Business Administrations's third sale of loans from its small-business and disaster loan portfolio brought in winning bids totaling $674 million, bringing the total revenue raised by these loan sales to $1.4 billion. The U.S....

Small business perks up, but December looks cloudy.
December 15, 2000... Small-business owners were a wee bit more optimistic in November than they were a month earlier, according to a survey conducted by the NFIB Education Foundation. The two-tenths of a point increase in the Small Business Optimism Index,...

Many small corporations fail to use AMT exemption.
December 15, 2000... A new study finds that many small businesses could qualify for an exemption from the alternative minimum tax, but instead are overpaying their taxes by an average of $11,638. The study by the Treasury Department's inspector general for...

Area's Largest Restaurants.
December 15, 2000... Area's Largest Restaurants (ranked by seating capacity) Rank Restaurant Seating capacity Employees 1 Hilltop Steak House 1,700 ...

DotClick hopes to hear the sweet song of success.
December 15, 2000... The millions of users hitting Napster and similar online music sites proves more than just how easy it is to scare the dollar signs out of the recording industry. The stunning popularity of these sites shows how well-suited the Internet and...

Westborough is earmarked for North American HQ.
December 15, 2000... Germany's Healy Hudson is preparing to establish its North American headquarters in Westborough. The company, which develops technology for use in corporate procurement management, does much of its business in Europe. The...

Now it's 'Salesnet'.
December 15, 2000... Boston-based MyNetSales.com has shuffled the words in its name, hoping to more precisely identify its offering. The company is now known as Salesnet. The 3-year-old company, which offers web-based sales management tools, says the new...

PLC Systems bets on lasers to give jolt to its stock price.
December 15, 2000... If only I had a dime for every time a biotech executive told me his or her company was underappreciated or stuck in small-cap limbo, but was worthy of more. Can you really blame it all on the whims of a finicky stock market? Yes, it...

InfoMedics picks UD $ 10M.
December 15, 2000... One sign that investors like you is when they give you money And they really like you if they give you money more than once. Woburn-based InfoMedics Inc. just collected $10 million from Merrill Lynch Ventures of New York City, as well as from...

Does the crystal ball see a replay of 1990-1991?
December 15, 2000... It's time to ask just what might be in store for the capital markets. Time to replace our retirement bets, re-mortgage our homes, or re-align our investment portfolios, all according to our vision of interest rates over the next 12 months....

Brooks Automation Inc.
December 15, 2000... THE BUSINESS Brooks Automation is a maker of software and systems used to manufacture semiconductors, data storage devices and flat-panel displays. Its products include semiconductor wafer handling systems, vacuum transfer robots,...

MASSACHUSETTS STOCK INDEX.
December 15, 2000... MASSACHUSETTS STOCK INDEX Ticker Close Pct. 52-week Company Symbol Price Chg. High Low P/E A. D. Technologies Inc. ADTC...

Teaching assistants at Brandeis mull over unionizing.
December 15, 2000... WALTHAM--Brandeis University graduate students are rallying around last month's National Labor Relations Board ruling that allows graduate teaching assistants at private universities to form unions. Dave Wedaman, a Ph.D. candidate in the...

Lifting the shadows.
December 15, 2000... BU survey finds people with mental illnessess can have productive careers In 1986, Bill Lichtenstein was at the height of his career--an award-winning investigative producer for ABC News for seven-and-a-half years--when he was diagnosed...

Mental health: Should it be a workplace issue?
December 15, 2000... Is the mental health of your colleagues and staff the concern of management? You may quickly respond, "It's not my business, as long as everyone shows up each day, ready to work." Better think again. The bottom line of the...

Despite skepticism, more doctors turning to the Internet.
December 15, 2000... Even with so many dot-coms on shaky ground, most businesses see value in the Internet. E-mail rivals the phone, and the World Wide Web serves as a modern research library. Almost everyone, it seems, is online. But there are some holdouts,...

Turf fight: MDs, ODs compete for patients.
December 15, 2000... Eye doctors spurred to expand service offerings Optometrists (ODs) and ophthalmologists (MDs)--the two major types of eye doctors--have been involved in a turf battle, although most patients know little about this family feud, of sorts....

Nonprofit-to-for-profit hospital conversions drawing interest.
December 15, 2000... Hospital for-profit conversions have been the root of much public controversy. Nationally, the attorneys general of 26 states have been empowered to investigate jointly, together with a state health care licensure or regulatory agency...

PERSONNEL FILE.
December 15, 2000... ADVERTISING/COMMUNICATIONS Bostonbased custom publisher Pohly & Partners named the following: Drusilla Pratt-Otto, chief financial officer; Madalena Gomes, senior accountant; Todd Conly, account manager; and Denise McQuaid, production...

Grand Circle Corp.
December 15, 2000... Boston-based travel company Grand Circle Corp. won in the corporate category for National Philanthropy Day, in an event sponsored by the National Society of Fundraising Executives Massachusetts Chapter.

Humbolt Storage and Moving Co.
December 15, 2000... Humbolt Storage and Moving Co. of Canton received the South Shore Success Award for the ninth consecutive year. The award competition, which was sponsored by the South Shore Chamber of Commerce, is given to companies that show significant...

ADD Inc.
December 15, 2000... ADD Inc of Boston was presented with two top design awards from the Boston Society of Architects/American Institute of Architects during the Build Boston Conference. The firm's design of Cambridge Incubator's space in Cambridge's Kendall...

Taunton Municipal Lighting Plant.
December 15, 2000... Taunton Municipal Lighting Plant was recognized by the American Public Power Association with the Award of Excellence for its recent annual report.

Stewart Monderer Design Inc.
December 15, 2000... Stewart Monderer Design Inc. of Boston was honored with two design awards for their work on the 1999 Aspen Technology Annual Report: an Award of Excellence in the Zanders USA Corporate Communications Design Contest and a Gilbert Graphic...

Journal of the Massachusetts Dental Society.
December 15, 2000... The Journal of the Massachusetts Dental Society, a quarterly magazine produced by the Natick-based Dental Society, received two awards from the International College of Dentists: the Platinum Pencil Honorable Mention Award and a "Special...

IBasis buys PriceInteractive for $125.8M in cash, stock.
December 15, 2000... Burlington-based IBasis Inc., a provider of Internet telephone services, agreed to buy closely held PriceInteractive for about $125.8 million in cash and stock to add to sales-of its wireless Internet services. IBasis will pay about 10.1...

Health Gate reduces work force and other expenses.
December 15, 2000... Burlington-based Health Gate Data Corp., a provider of hosted web services and content for the health care industry, is reducing its work force by 25 percent. The reduction, and elimination of related expenses, is expected to result in...

ProAct Technologies buys Interlynx for $60 million.
December 15, 2000... ProAct Technologies Corp., a supplier of human resources and employee benefits management over the Internet, agreed to acquire Boston-based Interlynx Technology for $60 million to gain Interlynx's human resources software. New Yorkbased...

BioTransplant to acquire Eligix for $55.3M in stock.
December 15, 2000... Charlestown-based BioTranspiant Inc., a developer of organ transplant drugs and products, said it agreed to buy closely held Eligiz Inc. of Medford for about $55.3 million in stock to add new medical devices. BioTransplant will issue 6.6...

J.W. Childs in talks to buy Hartz Mountain Industries.
December 15, 2000... Boston-based J.W Childs Associates LP, a buyout group that owns NutraSweetbrand sweetener, is in talks to buy Hartz Mountain Industries Inc., a marketer of pet supplies, according to federal filings. The company was put on the block in July...

Manny Ramirez signs $160M, eight-year pact with Red Sox.
December 15, 2000... The Boston Red Sox signed free agent Manny Ramirez to an eight-year, $160 million contract, making the All-Star outfielder the second-highest-paid player in Major League Baseball history. Ramirez's annual salary of $20 million trails only the...

Boston Scientific infringed on Cordis patent, jury says.
December 15, 2000... Boston Scientific Corp., which makes medical devices, infringed on a patent held by rival Johnson & Johnson's Cordis Corp. for stents used to repair clogged blood vessels, a jury ruled. Miami Lakes, Fla.-based Cordis, bought by Johnson &...

IBM fund may be ready to sell Financial District tower.
December 15, 2000... An adviser to an International Business Machines Corp. pension fund has hired property brokerage Trammell Crow Co. to explore a sale of its 1 Federal Street office tower in Boston's Financial District, newsletter Real Estate Alert reported....

TC Pipelines CEO steps down.
December 15, 2000... TC Pipelines GP Inc., which runs TransCanada Pipelines Ltd.'s U.S. partnership, said chief executive Garry Mihaichuk has stepped down to pursue other options. The company declined further comment. Ronald Turner, 47, TransCanada's vice...

The goose that lays the golden egg.
December 15, 2000... It is a slightly seamy academic secret that a significant amount, of the hands-on teaching in Boston's thriving higher education community is performed by poorly paid adjunct professors and teaching assistants. It is an ingrained, national...

When consulting is a money-losing proposition.
December 15, 2000... Only a year ago, the Internet consultant was king. With dot-coms springing up left and right and old-line industries shaking in their boots, the Internet consultant could charge big bucks and interview prospective clients to see if they were...

Value-based giving can be a family tradition.
December 15, 2000... It's not always easier to give than to receive, and that truth is never more apparent than during the holiday season. For many people, gift-giving extends beyond exchanges between family and friends, to gifts to worthy organizations and...

America's labor force lousy with so-called 'experts'.
December 15, 2000... I'm all for full employment, but there are entirely too many experts in the labor force. Of course, I'm for proper use of the language, too, and it just might be that there is too careless a use of the word "expert." Especially on...

Information giant set to take on European competitors.
December 15, 2000... Growth in demand for private retirement products stokes company's expansion plans At a glance, it seems as though there is no corner of the financial information industry not controlled by Thomson Financial from its offices along South...

100 Largest Private Companies.
December 15, 2000... 100 Largest Private Companies (ranked by revenue) [*] Rank Company Revenue Employees 1 Fidelity Investments $8,800,000,000 14,080 ...

Study: Women making gradual gains in corporate climb.
December 15, 2000... Boston Club tries to increase the presence of women on local corporate boards NEWTON--During a recent meeting of her board, Gazelle Systems Inc. chairwoman Charlotte Bogardus listened as officials warned of challenges facing the...

New economy folks given an old economy message.
December 15, 2000... Forum participants urge online companies to adhere to tried-and-true business practices New economy entrepreneurs looking to get into bed with venture capitalists had better take safe business lessons from the old economy. That was...

National Amusements finds value in marquee name.
December 15, 2000... Dedham cinema outfit set to open theater in London by the end of the year, owners say DEDHAM--Shari Redstone employs an oft-used cliche when describing an industry that has seen three of its top players file for bankruptcy protection in...

The more things change: modern recruiting tactics.
December 15, 2000... A lot's changed in this talent-started job climate--or has it? As the Internet has become an integral component of many businesses, it has had a direct impact on the talent economy. Almost every facet of business has embraced the...

Bose finds there's no place like home for product testing.
December 15, 2000... Veterans of MIT put emphasis on the search for premium sound FRAMINGHAM--Bose Corp. puts a lot of stock in the down-home approach to market research. For starters, engineers test the company's products in a smartly appointed living room...

Stock ownership could be key for succession planning.
December 15, 2000... Ownership plans can help smaller companies bolster their rainy-day reserves Employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) may be the most misunderstood and underutilized financial tool in corporate America. For owners of private companies...

Planning for retirement? Put a Picasso in your portfolio.
December 15, 2000... A by-the-numbers approach to exploring the art world to help with your estate With the slowdown of the U.S. stock market following an eight-year bull run, investors find themselves in the ebb tide of one of the more remarkable periods of...

HR managers still challenged by Generation X issues.
December 15, 2000... Demographic sector has no qualms about benefits demands Though the exact age range of Generation X is debated, observers know one thing for sure: It's unlike any previous generation of Americans when it comes to work style and employment...

How to run your private company as if it were public.
December 15, 2000... Investors want assurance that your company knows how to handle its finances The road from startup to successful initial public offering for software companies used to be almost formulaic: With a sound business plan, some initial capital...

Tips for putting digital media to work in your business.
December 15, 2000... Today's consumers expect to be entertained at every turn We've all experienced the impact of digital technology in movies, television and computer games. But the technology is not just for the entertainment business anymore--digital media...

New venture investments slowed by rocky Nasdaq.
December 15, 2000... Investors cautious about placing money in sectors that may have shown past success In the venture capital world, promising tech deals can attract capital like flies to honey. But with this year's turbulence of the tech-heavy Nasdaq and...

Minority startups striving to tap into VC firms' coffers.
December 15, 2000... Private equity firms with minority focus are few national trade association states Stanley Tucker doesn't mince words when he explains why minority-owned businesses find it difficult to get venture capital funding. "Venture capital...

Orphans in a storm: Firms go private to seek shelter.
December 15, 2000... What to do when the public market is just to much to handle The situation is a common one: A small but plucky public company in a low-tech industry produces solid profits but gets ignored by Wall Street. The directors of such...

Firms get more done faster when they're lean and mean.
December 15, 2000... Production is initiated by customer demand, not sales forecasts In a nutshell, lean manufacturing is production initiated by customer demand, rather than sales forecasts. There's little stockpiling of raw materials, no special-order...

Competing for talent doesn't mean breaking the bank.
December 15, 2000... When it comes to luring likely employees, money is not everything Gigantic salaries and signing bonuses! Glamorous spa retreats for new employees! A brand-new BMW if you join us and stay for over one (That's right. Just one) year! The war...

BDCs provide the ABCs for small firms seeking cash.
December 15, 2000... Created by federal law, development companies can give a leg-up to private companies The fountain of venture capital and angel funding has been a boon to cash-starved startups, but the funding well goes much deeper. The key to tapping...

Old-timers, dot-coms strive to reach an understanding.
December 15, 2000... Internet offspring of old economy companies often deal with culture shock BlueLight.com, Kmart's Internet baby, had an epiphany last May: Why not sell BlueLight-brand computers in Kmart stores? Easier said than done. Little did...

Chasing angels: Startups seek 'divine' intervention.
December 15, 2000... A few simple steps can greatly improve the odds of winning over private investors Business adviser and venture capitalist Mike Meyer may see 50 proposals a month from local technology companies searching for money. His file drawers...

Research firm predicts big jump in bankruptcies.(personal bankruptcy filings )(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
December 8, 2000... Unless federal bankruptcy laws are changed, personal bankruptcy filings will increase by 10 percent to 20 percent next year, predicts SMR Research Corp. This increase would break 1998's record of 1.38 million personal bankruptcies. Since...

Small-business groups join ergonomics lawsuit.(challenging an Occupational Safety and Health Administration regulation )(Brief Article)
December 8, 2000... Two small-business groups have joined the National Coalition on Ergonomics' lawsuit challenging an Occupational Safety and Health Administration regulation that requires businesses to establish programs aimed at reducing repetitive motion...

Boston makes biotech pitch.(Biosquare development specifically designed for biotechnology labs)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
December 8, 2000... BU's Biosquare offers Cambridge alternative What does a Cambridge ZIP code mean to you? Well, if you own a biotech company, it means you'll pay top dollar for it to be on your letterhead, so investors know you are in the backyard of...

Convention center name up for sale?(selling naming rights of Boston Convention and Exhibition Center)(Statistical Data Included)
December 8, 2000... We've got CMGI Field, the Tweeter Center for the Performing Arts and the FleetCenter in Massachusetts. Elsewhere in the country, naming rights have been sold for airports, IMAX theaters, even shopping malls. Boston's new Fenway Park...

Small, profitable (and a dot-com!).(Midnight Pass Inc., Healthcommunities.com Inc., OneSource Information Services Inc.)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
December 8, 2000... Some Internet firms follow the traditional, incremental route to build their businesses In this season of dot-com decimation, there are a few hardy startups that chose to build businesses without big marketing budgets and piles of...

Local layoffs add to list of Internet staff casualties.(Boston area dot-com companies face losses, lay off workers)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
December 8, 2000... A bankruptcy court filing and several rounds of layoffs highlighted another week of turbulence for area dot-com companies. Salem's DiscJockey.com Inc. filed papers Monday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for Chapter 11 protection. The company,...

Member of famous family won't use any frizzy math.(Jonathan Bush, chairman and chief executive officer of Athenahealth.com)(Brief Article)
December 8, 2000... There's at least one member of the Bush family who sees the wisdom of Al Gore's almost-made-it presidential campaign--focusing on states with many electoral votes and skipping much of the geographic middle of the country. Jonathan Bush,...

And still counting.(National Association of Insurance Commissioners elects new president)(Brief Article)
December 8, 2000... There's been much ado about the length of time it took officials in some Florida counties to recount disputed ballots cast in the Nov. 7 presidential election. Well, here's a model for electoral swiftness our government may learn from....

And speaking of the election.(Genuity Inc.'s advertising on cable television)(Brief Article)
December 8, 2000... Maybe the folks at Genuity Inc. knew something when they started their television advertising campaign and bought time only on cable stations. The cable buy was made because advertising on cable is less expensive than network television, and...

CORRECTIONS.
December 8, 2000... * In the Dec. 1-7, 2000, edition of the Boston Business Journal, the article "EMC opens three new offices in Indian market" incorrectly stated the company's income and revenue for the second quarters of 1999 and 2000. For the second quarter...