Boston Business Journal articles from March 2001

Boston Business Journal archives from March 2001

The layoff rebound.
March 2, 2001... Despite downturn, techies often prevail in softer job market When a round of layoffs bounced Joe Lichtman out of Zefer Corp. a month ago, he figured the hunt for a new job would be difficult. Layoffs and dot-com failures have become too...

Fleet may flee home mortgages.(FleetBoston Financial Corp. )
March 2, 2001... Gifford's remarks about a sale worry lending advocates FleetBoston Financial Corp. may sell its home mortgage business, following the lead of large banks across the country that are turning their backs on the lower profit margins of...

Polaroid site in Waltham has a buyer, sources say.(Wellsford Commercial Properties Trust)(Brief Article)
March 2, 2001... WALTHAM--In what would be one of the largest property sales so far this year, Wellsford Commercial Properties Trust, a New Jersey-based real estate investment trust, is said to be buying the 56-acre Polaroid Corp. campus in Waltham for upwards...

Route 128 vacancies expected to reach 10% this year.
March 2, 2001... The Route 128 corridor, blazing hot last year, is experiencing a slight chill. Although the corridor is still considered a safe bet over the long term, vacancy rates may rise over 10 percent, says Christopher Everest, a principal at Thompson,...

House speaker throws a hardball at Red Sox plan.(Massachusetts House speaker Thomas Finneran)(Brief Article)
March 2, 2001... As spring training gets under way, baseball fans were reminded that the national pastime is a business, when Chicago White Sox star Frank Thomas said he'd sit out unless he was guaranteed the money in the last six years of his contract. In...

New Grammy category?(Harvard Business School professor Rosabeth Moss Kanter makes rap video to promote latest book)(Brief Article)
March 2, 2001... Sure, Lt. Gov. Jane Swift may be one road trip across the Canadian border from being the next governor of Massachusetts, and CEO Carl Yankowski's Palm Inc. may own 75 percent of its market, but do either one of them have their own rap video?...

Didn't they used to burn them?(Teradyne Inc. to unveil new advertising and marketing campaign)(Brief Article)
March 2, 2001... The folks at Boston-based Teradyne Inc. want the world to think of them as heretics. Well, sort of. Holland Mark Advertising, which is also headquartered in Boston, is creating a so-called "heretical" advertising and marketing campaign for...

Whose line is it anyway?(Massachusetts Nurses Association campaigns to disaffiliate itself from American Nurses Association)(Brief Article)
March 2, 2001... I guess we know where the state's professional trade group stands on staying connected to the American Nurses Association. Call the main number for Canton-based Massachusetts Nurses Association and you'll be immediately greeted with a recorded...

CORRECTION.
March 2, 2001... The Biomed column published in the Feb. 9-15 edition of the Boston Business Journal should have read Andover-based Smith & Nephew Inc. is a $300 million company.

AG's office pushes tipping regulations.(Massachusetts Attorney General)(Brief Article)
March 2, 2001... Move would disrupt operations, says restaurant trade group Proposed legislation regulating the pooling of restaurants tips is being pushed by the state Attorney General's office as a means to protect wait staff and other employees who...

After high finance, it's academic.(Helen Frame Peters returns to academia after Wall Street stint)
March 2, 2001... Peters brings real-world market experience to BC's Carroll School post Helen Frame Peters knew the academic world was her oyster when she earned a doctorate in finance from the Wharton School in 1979, but first she wanted to conquer Wall...

MCI challenge to Verizon ruling goes to high court.(Verizon Communications)(Brief Article)
March 2, 2001... MCI WorldCom Network Services Inc., a subsidiary of WorldCom Inc., believes a state ruling on Verizon Communications Inc. has created an uneven playing field, and the telecom giant is seeking relief in state court. MCI's appeal of a...

Gillette to close plant in Argentina to cut costs.(Gillette Co.)(Brief Article)
March 2, 2001... BOSTON--Gillette Co., the world's largest maker of razors, plans to shut down its Argentina factory as part of a global cost-cutting plan first announced in December, sources said. The plant, located just north of Buenos Aires, now employs...

Millennium begins trials for cancer-fighting drug.(Millenium Pharmaceuticals Inc.)(Brief Article)
March 2, 2001... CAMBRIDGE--Millennium Pharmaceuticals Inc. is expected to announce that it is starting Phase II clinical trials of LDP-341, its anticancer drug, in patients with multiple myeloma, a bone marrow disease, sources said. The Cambridge-based...

Salesnet secures $6.1M in private equity funds.(Brief Article)
March 2, 2001... BOSTON--Salesnet, a provider of sales process assessment and automation that was formerly known as mynetsales.com, raised $6.1 million in an initial round of late-stage private equity funding. Previous investor Prism Venture Partners led...

Nurses want tougher laws on workplace violence.(Brief Article)
March 2, 2001... Nearly two years ago, nurse Jessica Berger was unlocking the smoking room for a patient when, suddenly, a green blanket came down over her eyes and she was thrown to the ground. She said she was "pounded for what seemed like a long time"...

Bay State's mutual funds show healthy cash inflows.(Massachusetts)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 2, 2001... But which funds will be diverse enough to prevail as tech stocks take a hit? Technology stocks have suffered mightily in recent weeks, but their pummeling hasn't hurt Bay State mutual fund companies. Massachusetts mutual funds took in...

Team of cable industry vets back up Navic Networks.(Navic Networks Inc.)(Brief Article)
March 2, 2001... NEWTON--William Schleyer, a former executive with MediaOne and Continental Cablevision, is the latest coup for start-up software company Navic Networks Inc. Schleyer, now a principal with Pilot House Ventures Group, joined Navic's board of...

'The time is really right' for the Cambridge Street area.(Brief Article)
March 2, 2001... It's not the kind of office building that dominates the landscape or recasts the look of an area. But the $4 million, 18,000-square-foot speculative office building going up at 326 Cambridge St. is a sign of things to come. Though it's not...

Billboard ad market loosens up--well, just a little.(Massachusetts)(Brief Article)
March 2, 2001... Industry insiders say the local bill-board market is softer this quarter than at any time last year, but a limited supply of local outdoor advertising sites is cushioning the fall. Media executives also note two other local factors in the...

Data management firm nabs $15 million in VC.(Spotfire Inc., venture capital)(Brief Article)
March 2, 2001... CAMBRIDGE--While trying to ignore the bad news in the technology sector, Spotfire Inc. is continuing its slow, deliberate building process. The Cambridge company, which was founded in 1996, recently closed a $15 million round of funding....

Three more dot-coms shut down.(Brief Article)
March 2, 2001... Three more local companies have joined the list of dot-com casualties. Brandpoint.com of Cambridge has decided to shut down its Internet shopping directory, and Boston-based Refer.com, an online job referral site, said it could not raise...

Tech lobbying group to open Hub branch office.(Brief Article)
March 2, 2001... Technology company chief executive officers, trying to beef up their political clout, have started a local branch of the national technology lobbying group TechNet. The Massachusetts Software and Internet Council Inc. of Boston partnered with...

E Ink gets additional funding boost.(Brief Article)
March 2, 2001... The maker of screen displays found in cellular telephones and personal digital assistants has invested $7.5 million in E Ink Corp. and opened the door for the Cambridge company to the handheld display market. E Ink Corp. has now raised...

Boston Properties buys site overlooking Rte. 128.(Brief Article)
March 2, 2001... WALTHAM--Boston Properties Inc. has purchased a prime site overlooking Route 128 where it says it plans to build a 197,000-square-foot office building. The 4.3-acre site at 77 Fourth Ave. in Waltham is already permitted for the office...

Marconi broadcasts call for telecom investments.(Brief Article)
March 2, 2001... WALTHAM--Marconi Ventures wants to send a strong signal: It's here to invest in local telecommunications companies. Marconi Ventures, a venture subsidiary formed by British telecom giant Marconi Corp. PLC, settled on Waltham for its U.S....

Hub draws up budget without a CFO.(Brief Article)
March 2, 2001... As the Boston City Council prepares to hold its budget hearings, Mayor Thomas Menino has no plans to replace Edward Collins, the city's chief financial officer who suffered a stroke in November. Carol Brennan, a Menino spokeswoman, said the...

N.J. company buys Woburn computer ed school.(Brief Article)
March 2, 2001... WOBURN--A New Jersey-based information technology training company is edging its way into the New England market with the purchase of Woburn-based Computer-Ed Business Institute Inc. Lincoln Education Services Inc., which is headquartered...

New York bank is selected for Harvard funds.(Brief Article)
March 2, 2001... CAMBRIDGE--Harvard Management Co. Inc., manager of the university's endowment, recently tapped the Bank of New York to replace New York-based Citibank NA as its global custodian for about $1.75 million of assets. The school's total...

Global protein-study consortium has strong local ties.(Brief Article)
March 2, 2001... As the age of the proteome dawns, a newly formed group of professors and researchers from around the world is hoping to generate as much commercial interest for proteomics as genomics, which recently produced a map of the human genome. ...

Two Best Western hotels are taken off block; renovations scheduled.(Brief Article)
March 2, 2001... The owner of two Best Western hotels in Waltham and Marlborough has pulled both of the properties off the market. Anthony LaCava instead plans to renovate the Best Western TLC Hotel in Waltham and the Best Western Royal Plaza Hotel & Trade...

Bush picks Hispanic business owner to head the SBA.(Brief Article)
March 2, 2001... Seven months before President George W. Bush selected him to head the U.S. Small Business Administration, Bush's campaign picked Hector Barreto to represent small business in a prime-time speech at the Republican National Convention. ...

Bankruptcy filings decline for second year in a row.(Brief Article)
March 2, 2001... As Congress prepared to pass legislation reforming the nation's bankruptcy laws, the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts reported that the total number of bankruptcy filings dropped 5 percent last year. This marks the second in a year...

Blackouts hit 20 percent of California's small firms.(Polling Data)(Statistical Data Included)(Brief Article)
March 2, 2001... A survey of 523 small-business owners in California found that 44 percent believe that electricity deregulation was a bad idea that never should have been tried. Another 33 percent say electricity deregulation was a good idea that was...

Bay State banks providing investors shelter from storm.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 2, 2001... What's an investor to do? It's really anybody's guess what the stock market will do from day to day. We are now living in what I like to call the "Age of Motion Sickness," as the stock market soars one day and plummets the next... and,...

Home sweet home.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 2, 2001... Forget the Mr. Blandings of the world and all those dream houses for just one minute. Another beneficiary of lower interest rates is mortgage companies. A survey by the Mortgage Bankers Association of America, a Washington, D.C., trade...

On the installment plan.(ronald G Johnston charged with embezzlement at two banks)(Brief Article)
March 2, 2001... Finally, a word to the wise: Crime doesn't pay... forever, that is. The U.S. Justice Department has ended what it claims is a more than 30-year embezzlement scheme by Wilmington resident Ronald G. Johnston. According to the Feds,...

Newton's Bennett Footwear tries on men's shoe market.(Bennett Footwear Group LLC sets up Franco Sarto Men's Division)(Brief Article)
March 2, 2001... A Newton-based footwear company has started a new men's division. Bennett Footwear Group LLC--which has a wholesale division that includes the Franco Sarto, Danelle, Maine Woods and Zodiac brands, as well as the Bennett Importing private label...

Moving on--slowly.(Slow Food's Boston chapter selects new leader, Matthew Rubiner)(Brief Article)
March 2, 2001... The Greater Boston chapter of an international food movement that eschews the effect of fast food on society has new leadership. Cheese expert Matthew Rubiner has handed his leadership duties for Slow Food over to Boston food and travel...

Hotel to serve Logan travelers.(Fine Hotels Corp. to open unit near Logan International Airport)(Brief Article)
March 2, 2001... Fine Hotels Corp. was scheduled to open its newest hotel serving Logan International Airport on Thursday. The Wellesley-based company's Boston/Logan Hampton Inn & Suites, located north of the airport on Route 1A in Revere, has 202 rooms...

Chelmsford hotel takes prize.(Hawthorn Suites Co. honors Chelmsford, Massachusetts, unit)(Brief Article)
March 2, 2001... Atlanta-based Hawthorn Suites has designated a Massachusetts property as its Hotel of the Year. The chain selected Hawthorn Suites LTD in Chelmsford for the honor. It cited the hotel's 5 percent employee turnover among its accomplishments....

Mattapan business center lends a hand.(Mattapan Family Service Center Inc.'s Mattapan Business Assistance Center aids small businesses)(Brief Article)
March 2, 2001... When the creators of the Mattapan Business Assistance Center recently decided to compile a directory of local merchants, researchers identified 1,200 businesses on record in the area. But when the center's employees set about to confirm...

Sales boost.(Bay State Beverages Inc. and its Energy Bomb nutritional drink)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 2, 2001... Founders of Bay State Beverages Inc. have high expectations for high-energy drink WOBURN--Best friends Jeff Ford and Dave Morganti were on the front lines when the energy drink craze hit Boston a couple of years ago. While holding down...

You don't really need to be big to have a big business.(Brief Article)
March 2, 2001... Over the past months, we've been describing the implications of the very changed environment brought about by the shift in the balance of power from business to consumers. As part of that discussion, we've briefly described several small,...

Financial Fusion banks on global partnerships, sales.(Brief Article)
March 2, 2001... Watertown-based software company Financial Fusion Inc. is boasting about its numbers as it hits its first anniversary. The company saw revenue grow 287 percent and its customer base mushroom from 14 to 80 customers in its first year, company...

Essential.com founder starts another high-tech company.(Akhil Garland, Flying Networks Inc.)(Brief Article)
March 2, 2001... Akhil Garland, who started Essential.com in 1995 and raised over $100 million to get the online energy and telecommunications marketplace up and running, has started another company. This time, Garland is launching a company to develop...

Web branding advertising.(Brief Article)
March 2, 2001... The Massachusetts Interactive Media Council (MIMC) and the Advertising Club of Greater Boston got together and will be sponsoring a series of events in the next year exploring "The Future of Branding and Advertising on the Web." The two groups...

TechOnLine lands $7.5M in VC.(Brief Article)
March 2, 2001... TechOnLine Inc., which provides online resources, courses and technology for education, just landed a venture capital infusion of $7.5 million. TechOnLine, based in Boston, brought in the bulk of the money from previous investor SCP Private...

Home health care issues stay behind closed doors.(Brief Article)
March 2, 2001... Everyone knows most hospitals are struggling financially, but it seems like the problem has gotten much worse in the last year. Why? Well, it could be that the media has stepped up its coverage of the issue. And where there are cameras, there...

For some, WPJ is the cure.(Worcester Polytechnic Institute)(Brief Article)
March 2, 2001... Speaking of the health care labor shortage, many former health care workers are looking for better-paying jobs with "normal" work hours, and are going back to school in order to find them. Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) reports that...

Area's Largest Meeting Facilities.(convention centres by size, listing)(Brief Article)
March 2, 2001... Area's Largest Meeting Facilities (ranked by square feet of meeting space) Meeting space Rank Company ...

Area's Largest Accounting Firms.(Boston, Massachusetts)(Directory)
March 2, 2001... Area's Largest Accounting Firms (ranked by CPAs in Mass.) Total CPAs in Mass....

Has Hannibal Lecter become a market indicator?(securities industry)(Brief Article)
March 2, 2001... It has become abundantly clear to me that Hannibal Lecter is again on the loose, even though I have not seen the current movie or its much-touted predecessor. (That, by the way, is not an oversight on my part.) It's also fairly clear that...

Chase Corp.(company information)(Brief Article)(Company Profile)
March 2, 2001... THE BUSINESS Chase Corp. is a multidivisional manufacturing company providing industrial products to a variety of industries. Seventy percent of the company's sales come from company-made tapes and protective coatings used by the...

MASSACHUSETTS STOCK INDEX.(securities information)(Statistical Data Included)
March 2, 2001... MASSACHUSETTS STOCK INDEX Ticker Close Pct. 52-week Company Symbol Price Chg. High Low P/E A. D. Technologies Inc. ADTC ...

Running out of room.(Boston real estate industry)(Brief Article)
March 2, 2001... Lack of large, contiguous chunks of office space means landlords stay in charge--for now Things may be looking up for office tenants hunting for space in downtown Boston or Cambridge. The news is not so good, however, for the Goliaths...

In commercial deals, web won't take place of face-to-face.(industry trends)(Brief Article)
March 2, 2001... The now-trite expression of "doing business on the Internet" didn't strike the commercial real estate industry with lightning speed, some insiders say. And for good reason: Commercial real estate is a different animal. Residential...

Millennium project to add vitality to long-ignored area.(Brief Article)
March 2, 2001... With addition of high-end hotel, the neighborhood stands poised for rebirth As construction on Millennium Place nears completion, Boston residents can clearly see the impact the $500 million-plus project has on the Boston skyline. The two...

Saltonstall development taking shape near Beacon Hill.(Brief Article)
March 2, 2001... The transformation of 100 Cambridge St.--and a whole neighborhood--is expected to begin on schedule in just a few months, according to project officials. MassDevelopment expects to break ground June 16 on its renovation of the Saltonstall...

Restructurings are prime time to reconfigure real estate.(Brief Article)
March 2, 2001... Lately, corporate downsizing appears to have once again hit the reality zone for workers across the country. Although it's a difficult time for those laid off, the experience can be a drain on those left behind as well, according to...

Whither the warehouse?(outlook for industrial real estate)(Brief Article)
March 2, 2001... Dot-com dissolution leaves behind no shortage of demand for industrial space, experts say The hallmark of the dot-com revolution--at least in the business-to-consumer sector--was its shortened distribution channel. Bypassing store shelves,...

Boston's Charlestown neighborhood gets a second look.(popular with first time buyers)(Brief Article)
March 2, 2001... First-time homebuyers heat up real estate market She doesn't know why, exactly, but lately, Sherry Grancey has been getting calls from all over the country from people wanting to live in Charlestown. "I don't know if it's because of...

Review operating expense escalation bills with a careful eye.(Brief Article)
March 2, 2001... At some point during the year, commercial real estate landlords prepare, and commercial real estate tenants receive, operating expense escalation bills. Unfortunately, many times--due to calculation error, misinterpretation of lease...

Hitting the books: Brokers-to-be study property issues.(commercial real estate program)(Brief Article)
March 2, 2001... If people knew what Alan Ziobrowski knows about commercial real estate, more might be diving through the doors to get into the profession. People in dead-end careers might abandon them so fast, they'd Leave skid marks and a puff of smoke. ...

Landlords face new financial gains, risks with dot-com firms.(commercial office space needs of high tech sector)(Brief Article)
March 2, 2001... Over the past year, we have seen and talked about the dot-com explosion and subsequent slowdown. There is an infinite amount of virtual real estate in cyberspace for well-to-do dot-com companies that are still looking to set up shop. ...

Tenants, protect your interests: Treat your lease like insurance.(Brief Article)
March 2, 2001... A tenant should think of its lease as an insurance policy. A lease protects the tenant against uncertainty. When a tenant enters into a lease, it agrees to pay the landlord a fixed fee to use and occupy the landlord's space. Beyond...

The accelerating sublease market: A sublandlord's perspective.(commercial real estate)(Brief Article)
March 2, 2001... Boston's commercial real estate market, as is the case with many urban markets, is in a state of transition. Most real estate leasing professionals will remember 2000 as a watershed year with office vacancy rates in many submarkets below 1...

Switching to commercial real estate? The real estate? a lot to learn.(residential agents move into more lucrative sector)(Brief Article)
March 2, 2001... If surveyed, a majority of the public probably would agree that a significant difference exists between residential and commercial real estate. To the casual observer, the sale of a house certainly differs from the sale of an office...

Boston on the Record.(recent appointments)
March 2, 2001... ADVERTISING/COMMUNICATIONS Julie Rosso was named vice president/management supervisor at Clarke Goward of Boston. Karen Kaplan was promoted to executive vice president, managing director for the Boston office of Hill, Holliday,...

Bozell Kamstra Advertising and Public Relations.(wins Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnership account)(Brief Article)
March 2, 2001... Bozell Kamstra Advertising and Public Relations won the account for the Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnership, a regional consortium of energy service providers. In conjunction with Waltham-based energy and environmental services consulting...

Arnold Worldwide.(Brief Article)
March 2, 2001... Arnold Worldwide of Boston was enlisted as the new advertising and marketing partner of Citizens Financial Group, with local offices in Boston. Arnold will unveil an initial ad campaign for the bank in late spring of this year. Meanwhile,...

Agnew Carter/MS&L.(Brief Article)
March 2, 2001... Boston-based Agnew Carter/MS&L was selected to provide publicity and promotion for the 25th anniversary celebration of Boston landmark Faneuil Hall Marketplace, scheduled to take place August 24 to 26.

Miller Consulting Group.(Brief Article)
March 2, 2001... Miller Consulting Group of Boston signed new high-tech clients FireSpout Inc. of Belmont and Bullhorn Inc. of Boston.

Marcom Outsource Inc.(Brief Article)
March 2, 2001... Marcom Outsource Inc., a Westford-based firm targeting emerging technologies, won the accounts for Burlington-based iWant.com and Marlborough-based Adlex.

Pro Media.(Brief Article)
March 2, 2001... Pro Media of Natick launched its "B2B Tech Practice," a newly-created division designed to serve the marketing needs of clients in the business-to-business, e-commerce and high technology space. Isabelle Kane, a senior vice president who joined...

Carol R. Johnson Associates Inc.(Brief Article)
March 2, 2001... Carol R. Johnson Associates Inc. of Boston was selected as landscape architect for the Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering's new campus in Needham, which is currently under construction on a 70-acre site adjacent to Babson College.

Tishman Construction Corp.(Brief Article)
March 2, 2001... Tishman Construction Corp. of Mass., based in Boston, was retained by Citizen's Bank to provide consulting services for the new 10,700-seat Manchester Civic Center located in dowtown Manchester, N.H.

Construction Corp.(Brief Article)
March 2, 2001... Winchester-based Wise Construction Corp. undertook renovations of 1430 Massachusetts Avenue in Cambridge, a long-standing Harvard Square landmark known as College House. The project included tenant improvements, as well as major structural...

Sasaki Associates Inc.(Brief Article)
March 2, 2001... Sasaki Associates Inc. of Watertown launched its new Experiential Design and Architectural Communications Group, dedicated to expressing branding and messaging through graphics and multi-media in architecture/interior design.

Salesnet.(Brief Article)
March 2, 2001... Salesnet, a Boston-based provider of wireless and 100% web-based sales management services, was awarded the 2001 Willy Award for having the "Best Subscription SFA solution." SellMoreNow.com, an independent source of critical analysis for the...

Tweeter Home Entertainment Group.(Brief Article)
March 2, 2001... Tweeter Home Entertainment Group of Canton was named 2000 Retailer of the Year by AudioVideo International.

Deloitte & Touche LLP.(Brief Article)
March 2, 2001... Boston-based Deloitte & Touche LLP unveiled plans to expand its New England early-stage technology practice to the Bay Colony Corporate Center in Waltham and will seek to attract other specialists to the site. In building a Technology Venture...

Beacon Power Corp.(Brief Article)
March 2, 2001... Beacon Power Corp. of Wilmington installed two Beacon Power model 20C1000 flywheel energy storage systems to provide standby power for one of San Diego Gas & Electric's telecommunications customers, Cox Communications.

Talbot & Okun Associates.(Brief Article)
March 2, 2001... O'Reilly, Talbot & Okun Associates, a Springfield-based environmental, safety, health and geotechnical engineering firm, opened a new office, located at 19 West Main Street, Suite 205, in Westborough.