Boston Business Journal articles from May 1990

Boston Business Journal archives from May 1990

Murdoch tunes TV deal his way. (Rupert Murdoch selling WFXT-TV Channel 25 to Boston Celtics)
May 7, 1990... Murdoch tunes TV deal his way Media tycoon Rupert Murdoch may be selling WFXT-TV, Channel 25, to the Boston Celtics, but he's gaining the right to a more than 25 percent interest in the Celtics partnership that's buying the station. And all...

Mobile billboards called illegal signs of the times. (Boston)
May 7, 1990... Mobile billboards called illegal signs of the times Mobile outdoor advertising companies, driving around and around in trucks built to display billboards or other promotional signs or exhibits, are, above all things, visible, according to...

What now for Home Owners Savings? (Home Owners Savings Bank)
May 7, 1990... What now for Home Owners Savings? At 2:21 pm on April 30, the federal government ended Home Owners Savings Bank's long bout with capital anemia by taking over the 79-year-old Boston institution. One of the most innovative and aggressive...

Aetna goes to court. (Aetna Life and Casualty Co.)
May 7, 1990... Aetna goes to court Aetna Life and Casualty Co. is unhappy with the Bay State, and is now suing the state in an attempt to pull out of the strictly regulated and unprofitable auto insurance business. But under state law, Aetna must continue...

Sour milk for hood. (H.P. Hood Inc.)
May 7, 1990... Sour Milk for Hood H.P. Hood Inc. laid off close to one-third of its management at Charlestown headquarters last week. The company has been reeling from unstable milk prices lately, and decided it needed to lay off 50 of the company's 171...

Bank of Boston.
May 7, 1990... Bank of Boston Bank of Boston managed to turn a $44 million profit in the first quarter, but those earnings were off 50 percent from last year at the same time. The bank made significant gains in pension obligations and venture capital...

Shawmut National Corp.
May 7, 1990... Shawmut National Corp. Shawmut National Corp., too, reported a drop in earnings of nearly 40 percent over last year during the same period. The company earned $40.6 million, or 55 cents a share, in the first quarter of 1990.

Ames Department Stores. (files for bankruptcy)
May 7, 1990... Ames Department Stores filed After weeks of rumors, Ames Department Stores filed for bankruptcy under chapter 11 recently. The bankruptcy of the $5 billion chain, based in Rocky Hill, CT, represents the second-biggest retail bankruptcy ever,...

Digital cuts deal, staff. (Digital Equipment Corp.)
May 7, 1990... Digital cuts deal, staff Digital Equipment Corp. announced last week that it would like to reach an investment and technology agreement with California-based Ingres Corp., which makes software compatible with Digital systems and registered...

Pap tightens up Gino's. (Papa Gino's, pizza maker)
May 7, 1990... Papa tightens up Gino's Dedham-based pizza maker Papa Gino's has felt the economic pinch, and moved to shorten work days and freeze or cut salaries to prevent a lay off in its 217 restaurants. Entry-level salaries, as high as $8 an hour in...

Nynex Corp.
May 7, 1990... Nynex Corp. Nynex Corp. too has instituted such a program and expects 3700 managers to voluntarily retire early by the end of this month. The White Plains, NY, company is still profitable, but earnings have dropped this year to $808 million,...

Loan Depot Corp.
May 7, 1990... Loan Depot Corp.'s Loan Depot Corp.'s owner William Camuti found himself in trouble with state securities investigators last week in an alleged $1.7 million mortgage scam. Investigators from the securities division of the Attorney General's...

Computers to Moscow. (Innovation International Inc.)
May 7, 1990... Computers to Moscow Innovation International Boston-based Innovation International Inc. has shipped several laptop computers to Moscow upon receipt of the Soviets' first prepayment, in US dollars, toward a $6.5 million contract to supply...

Alabama fee hike riles toxic disposal firms.
May 7, 1990... Alabama fee hike riles toxic disposal firms Five toxic-waste disposal companies, including one Massachusetts firm, Clean Harbors of Braintree, have filed suit against Alabama to protest the recent fee increase for dumping waste in that state....

A patient Biogen profits from prize patents. (biotech firm)
May 7, 1990... A patient Biogen profits from prize patents With two new licensing agreements signed in the past four weeks, Biogen, the 12-year-old Cambridge-based biotech firm, is reaping royalties from a series of hepatitis B-related patents it waited a...

Oh Yes! hopes to take rivals to the cleaners. (Boston dry cleaning franchise)
May 7, 1990... Oh Yes! hopes to take rivals to the cleaners When the father-and-son team of Irving and Michael Rosenblatt opened their Framingham dry-cleaning plant and several franchise dry-cleaning stores in the Boston area, they expected success. What...

Franchise or not, yogurt is hot. (frozen yogurt stores)
May 7, 1990... Franchise or not, yogurt is hot By most accounts, Boston will soon be a city brimming over with frozen-yogurt outlets and franchise stores. But just because the companies that want to serve us all up a low-fat treat have the same goal...

Kevin Dolan: continuing a tradition. (president Little, Brown and Co. Inc.) (Profile) (company profile)
May 7, 1990... Kevon Dolan Continuing a tradition Kevin Dolan, president and CEO of Little, Brown & Co. Publishing, reads two or three books a week for both enjoyment and relaxation. It seems to work: Dolan looks relaxed sitting in his book-lined Beacon...

Raytheon Co. (Proxy Report Excerpts ) (company profile)
May 7, 1990... Raytheon Co. * Raytheon, based in Lexington, is a conglomerate that builds products predominantly for the US Defense Department. The majority of its products are based on electronics components, the mainstay of the company's business. Acquired...

Bank of Boston tries something new in Canton. (The Modern Office)
May 7, 1990... Bank of Boston tries something new in Canton The wastebaskets are made of wire. The desks have no drawers. Stacks of cubbyholes are located here and there. Electrical cabling for computer hookups runs along the ceiling, disguised by a bright...

Lasermate taps into unusual aftermarket. (recycles disposable laser printer toner cartridges)
May 7, 1990... Lasermate taps into unusual aftermarket Newton-based Lasermate has capitalized on an unusual aftermarket. The company recharges and recycles disposable toner cartridges for use in laser printers. New cartridges can cost anywhere from $80...

System in place to streamline RCM work flow. (local area network; Rapp Collins Marcoa/Boston)
May 7, 1990... System in place to streamline RCM work flow In step with an industry-wide advertising agency rush to streamline operations, Rapp Collins Marcoa/Boston (RCM) has invested in a local area network (LAN) system that will enable the agency to be...

Waltham Corporation. (Dividends)
May 7, 1990... The Waltham Corporation The board of directors of The Waltham Corporation announced a dividend of 12 cents per share on its common stock. The dividend will be payable on May 2 to stockholders of record as of April 25. The Waltham Corporation...

Selecterm Inc. (Dividends)
May 7, 1990... Selecterm Inc. Selecterm Inc. declared a dividend of 7.5 cents per share of stock payable on May 11 to holders of record as of April 26. Selecterm Inc. of Danvers provides computer maintenance services and computer products throughout the...

Andover Bancorp Inc. (Dividends)
May 7, 1990... Andover Bancorp Inc. Andover Bancorp Inc. declared a regular quarterly dividend of 20 cents per share of stock. It is payable June 8 to holders of record at the close of business on May 11. Andover Bancorp is the holding company of Andover...

The Gillette Company. (Dividends)
May 7, 1990... The Gillette Company The board of directors of The Gillette Company announced a quarterly dividend of 27 cents per share of common stock. The dividend is payable on June 5 to stockholders of record on May 1. In addition, the board declared a...

Abington Bancorp. (Earnings)
May 7, 1990... Abington Bancorp* Abington Qtr. ended 3-31-90 1990 1989 Change % Sales 5.57 5.89 -5.4 Net Income -0.12 0.40 ...

Advanced Magnetics. (Earnings)
May 7, 1990... Advanced Magnetics Cambridge Qtr. ended 3-31-90 1990 1989 Change % Sales 2.36 2.02 16.7 Net Income 0.05 0.30 ...

Armatron. (Armatron International Inc.) (Earnings)
May 7, 1990... Armatron Melrose Qtr. ended 3-31-90 1990 1989 Change % Sales 8.74 10.14 -13.8 Net Income 0.11 0.13 -13.0...

Benthos. (Earnings)
May 7, 1990... Benthos North Falmouth Qtr. ended 4-1-90 1990 1989 Change % Sales 2.04 2.24 -8.9 Net Income 0.07 0.13 ...

Bird. (Earnings)
May 7, 1990... Bird Westwood Qtr. ended 3-31-90 1990 1989 Change % Sales 25.80 27.58 -6.4 Net Income 0.88 0.24 274.9...

BTU. (BTU International Inc.) (Earnings)
May 7, 1990... BTU Billerica Qtr. ended 4-1-90 1990 1989 Change % Sales 19.70 23.41 -15.8 Net income 0.27 2.01 -86.8...

Bytex. (Earnings)
May 7, 1990... Bytex Southborough Qtr. ended 3-31-90 1990 1989 change % Sales 9.81 8.56 14.6 Net Income 0.92 0.50 ...

Candela Laser. (Earnings)
May 7, 1990... Candela Laser Wayland Qtr. ended 3-31-90 1990 1989 change % Sales 8.68 5.59 55.1 Net Income 1.09 -0.68 ...

Colonial Gas. (Earnings)
May 7, 1990... Colonial Group Boston Qtr. ended 3-31-90 1990 1989 change % Sales 18.49 18.62 -0.7 Net Income 0.54 0.42 ...

Colonial Group. (Earnings)
May 7, 1990... Colonial Gas Lowell Qtr. ended 3-31-90 1990 1989 change % Sales 55.97 55.04 1.7 Net Income 8.19 8.78 ...

Corporate Software. (Earnings)
May 7, 1990... Corporate Software Canton Qtr. ended 3-31-90 1990 1989 change % Sales 47.71 31.29 52.5 Net Income 1.24 ...

Courier. (Earnings)
May 7, 1990... Courier Lowell Qtr. ended 3-31-90 1990 1989 change % Sales 26.95 21.90 23.1 Net Income -1.92 1.14 ...

Dennison Manufacturing. (Earnings)
May 7, 1990... Dennison Manufacturing Framingham Qtr. ended 3-31-90 1990 1989 change % Sales 178.81 180.30 -0.8 Net Income 2.03...

Garden looks to grow financing for new arena: money issue latest twist in long-running development thriller. (New Boston Garden Corp.'s plans to build a new sports arena)
May 14, 1990... GARDEN LOOKS TO GROW FINANCING FOR NEW ARENA Money issue latest twist in long-running development thriller The $142 million sports arena that the New Boston Garden Corp. plans to build and open by 1993 is beginning to draw interest...

Trucking cos. face bumpy road in Mass.
May 14, 1990... TRUCKING COS. FACE BUMPY ROAD IN MASS. The gasoline-tax hike proposed by the House Ways and Means Committee last week comes as another blow to trucking companies already suffering from the state's soft retail, manufacturing and construction...

HCHP will absorb Ocean State HMO. (Harvard Community Health Plan to combine with Rhode Island Group Health Association, a health maintenance organization)
May 14, 1990... HCHP will absorb Ocean State HMO Harvard Community Health Plan (HCHP) announced an agreement in principle last week to combine with the struggling Rhode Island Group Health Association (RIGHA). The move reflects a national trend toward...

A light at the end of the tunnel? (decline in local thrifts' stock price)
May 14, 1990... A light at the end of the tunnel? A slowdown in the declining price of local thrifts' stocks is buoying guarded optimism that the state's economic freefall is nearly over. The state's savings-and-loan institution stocks performed far...

To redemption centers, it's a penny earned. (Boston-area bottle redemption centers want a 1 cent raise in the handling fee )
May 14, 1990... To redemption centers, it's a penny earned Local bottle redemption centers, whose only business is redeeming deposits on cans and bottles, may be on their way out--unless they get a one-cent raise per container for the handling fee they...

TEAM, AIM are unlikely allies in tax battle. (Tax Equity Alliance of Massachusetts and Associated Industries of Massachusetts oppose income tax increase)
May 14, 1990... TEAM, AIM are unlikely allies in tax battle Business groups that favor increasing the sales tax rather than the income tax to solve the state's fiscal crisis will have the support of the Tax Equity Alliance of Massachusetts (TEAM). TEAM, a...

Shareholders turning up the heat on banks. (proxy battles)
May 14, 1990... Shareholders turning up the heat on banks The recently concluded proxy battle for Regional Bancorp Inc., holding company of the 122-year-old Medford Savings Bank, is the latest in a series of such actions being waged by stockholders who are...

The Orphan Drug Act: gains but also quarrels.
May 14, 1990... The Orphan Drug Act: gains but also quarrels Familial spasticity, a medical condition that attacks motor coordination, is a rare disorder--so rare that Cambridge-based Interneuron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (IPI) had a hard time finding enough...

The right price for Lexington Savings. (bought by Waltham Corp.)
May 14, 1990... The right price for Lexington Savings The price was finally right when the Waltham Corp. snatched up the Lexington Savings Bank to expand further into Boston's suburbs. Waltham Corp, holding company for the Waltham Savings Bank, agreed...

Few women hold top ad positions. (advertising and public relations industries)
May 14, 1990... Few women hold top ad positions Boston's advertising and public-relations industries employ more women than men, yet the names on the agency doors remain predominately male. Nevertheless, the consensus among local female ad and PR execs...

Boston's WCRB-FM is a sound tradition. (company profile)
May 14, 1990... Boston's WCRB-FM is a sound tradition WCRB-FM is well-known as Boston's classical, or "concert music," station. Beyond the Bach, Brahms and Beethoven, however, is a savvy business operation based in Waltham that is as likely to be playing...

Mary Nee: a capital planner. (director of Boston's Office of Capital Planning)
May 14, 1990... MARY NEE A capital planner Last month, when the last workers cleared out of the Pauline A. Shaw Elementary School, Dorchester neighbors were sure the school had been converted into condos. The new windows had a bright blue trim, the yard...

Ruling sustains bank suits; Bank of Boston loses round one. (includes articles on Somerset Bankshares Inc. and Central Cooperative Bank and on mortgage-backed securities)
May 14, 1990... Ruling sustains bank suits Bank of Boston loses round one A recent state Appeals Court ruling has made it more difficult for Massachusetts banks to have lender-liability suits against them dismissed before trial. The March...

Leading Edge recovers: Daewoo steps in with $50 million. (Leading Edge Products Inc. helped by Daewoo Telecom of Korea)
May 14, 1990... Leading Edge recovers Daewoo steps in with $50 million Officials at Westboro's Leading Edge Products Inc. are confident that the company's bad times are over. Daewoo Telecom of Korea began infusing $50 million into the company in...

Thermo Electron Corp. (Corporate Album) (company profile)
May 14, 1990... Thermo Electron Corp. * Thermo Electron Corp. is based in Waltham. The company and its subsidiaries develop and manufacture advanced technological, medical and environmental products and systems for a variety of markets. *...

Alliant Computer redux: taking some RISCs to turn a profit. (Reduced Instruction Set Computing processors)(includes information on Norton Co. and XTRA Corp.)
May 14, 1990... Alliant Computer redux Taking some RISCs to turn a profit In January 1989, Alliant Computer Co. of Littleton read the writing on the wall, and it was not good. In the computer industry, to the victors go the software spoils, and...

Health club cuisine not necessarily lean. (health club restaurants)(Focus: the Business of Sports)
May 14, 1990... Health club cuisine not necessarily lean Keeping a business financially fit means keeping customers satisfied. For restaurants at area health clubs, that means offering a wide range of fare. Red meat, french fries, caffeinated beverages, rich...

Bay State delighted to find the shoe fits. (athletic shoe industry in Massachusetts)(Focus: the Business of Sports)
May 14, 1990... Bay State delighted to find the shoe fits It may not be the foundation of the next Massachusetts Miracle, but the athletic footwear industry is one of the strongest sectors of the state's economy. "Most of the athletic shoe industry in...

Sales exemptions under scrutiny. (Massachusetts sales tax)
May 21, 1990... Sales exemptions under scrutiny As debate on the $1.2 billion tax package moves to the state Senate, business groups are mobilizing to convince the leadership that broadening the sales tax would bring in as much revenue as the House's...

Firm bookish on Boston. (Palmer and Dodge law firm to enter the literary agency business)
May 21, 1990... Firm bookish on Boston Boston's small band of independent literary agents is welcoming the news that Palmer & Dodge, a powerful 145-attorney law firm, has opened its own in-house literary agency. Local agents view Palmer & Dodge's decision...

Feds set up real estate market for a tumble. (Resolution Trust Corp. to cut prices on foreclosed real estate)
May 21, 1990... FEDS SET UP REAL ESTATE MARKET FOR A TUMBLE The federal agency charged with cleaning up the mess from the nation's savings and loan crisis has decided to cut prices on the foreclosed real estate it controls by as much as 20 percent--a...

Croson decision puts programs in jeopardy. (U.S. Supreme Court's affirmative action decision)
May 21, 1990... Croson decision puts programs in jeopardy State government and independent authorities such as the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) are considering major changes to their affirmative-action programs as a result of last year's...

Somber meeting. (First American Bancorp's earnings)
May 21, 1990... First American Bancorp Somber meeting First American Bancorp's annual meeting was a somber affair. David A. Tapley, chief executive officer and chairman of the deeply troubled savings bank, began his remarks by saying his first year...

Clears hurdle. (Clean Harbors Inc.'s proposed toxic waste incinerator)
May 21, 1990... Clean Harbors Clears hurdle Clean Harbors Inc. of Braintree cleared one technical hurdle in its proposed siting of a toxic waste incinerator, but the company is still a long way from full approval for the project (see BBJ, May 7). ...

Report released. (Central Artery/Third Harbor Tunnel project in Boston)
May 21, 1990... Central Artery Report released The Central Artery/Third Harbor Tunnel project released a supplementary environmental impact statement May 11 that indicates that the project will eliminate 22 percent of the carbon monoxide emissions...

During HMO talks, RI was the silent partner. (Harvard Community Health Plan's integration with Rhode Island Group Health Association)
May 21, 1990... During HMO talks, RI was the silent partner Four days before the Harvard Community Health Plan announced an agreement to integrate the Rhode Island Group Health Association as an affiliate, negotiations were in such a precarious state that...

Banks tune ads for maximum reassurance.
May 21, 1990... Banks tune ads for maximum reassurance New England banks have already had their share of free publicity. In the last year, many have had their names, along with gloomy announcements and figures, regularly splashed across the business pages....

Crafting a new image for retail. (retail store advertising)
May 21, 1990... Crafting a new image for retail "There is too much of everything," said Michael Fortuna, senior vice president and creative director at Boston ad agency Emerson Lane Fortuna. He was speaking, in this case, of retail stores. And as many...

Area banks target lucrative over-50 market.
May 21, 1990... Area banks target lucrative over-50 market Bank of Boston's ubiquitous Portfolio 50 advertising campaign is the most visible sign of the banking industry's latest rage: its ardent courtship of the lucrative over-50 market. Clubs for...

Biotech explores "condo" plants. (Applied BioTechnology hopes to share facilities with competitors)
May 21, 1990... Biotech explores "condo" plants Applied BioTechnology (ABT) is testing an AIDS vaccine on chimpanzees at Harvard and plans to take it into human testing as early as next year. But the Cambridge-based company said it could perfect an AIDS...

Export '90s program draws mixed reviews. (Michael Dukakis's economic program)
May 21, 1990... Export '90s program draws mixed reviews In his final year in office, Gov. Michael Dukakis has made his Export '90s program a top priority, but although exports are growing in the manufacturing sector, critics still question the program's...

Boston Harbor dredging: a study in muddle.
May 21, 1990... Boston Harbor dredging: A study in muddle Projects don't get much slower than the dredging and deepening of the Boston Harbor ship channels, first proposed by the federal government in 1968. After 22 years of wrangling, federal and local...

Alan Radlo: the $700 million man. (to head Fidelity Investment's OTC fund)
May 21, 1990... ALAN RADLO The $700 million man At the end of this month, Alan Radlo will step into some big shoes at Fidelity Investment. Caught up in the vacuum of Peter Lynch's departure from Fidelity's wildly successful Magellan fund, Radlo is taking...

Sibling savvy: third-generation wheeler-dealers, the brothers Cohen maintain a low profile, but control a vast real estate empire. (Richard and Jeffrey Cohen) (company profile)
May 21, 1990... Sibling Savvy Third-generation wheeler-dealers, the brothers Cohen maintain a low profile, but control a vast real estate empire Meet Richard and Jeffrey Cohen: brothers, third-generation wheeler-dealers in Boston real estate and, as of...

Brighton's Oak Square make a comeback. (Boston neighborhood)
May 21, 1990... Brighton's Oak Square makes a comeback It's late on a recent May afternoon, and Brighton's Hardiman Playground is filled to capacity. Parents lounge on benches, watching their children bounce on animal rides or crawl about the jungle gym....

Legal thicket surrounds landlords and drugs. (evictions)
May 21, 1990... Legal thicket surrounds landlords and drugs Under a 1985 amendment to state law, landlords are required to evict any tenant or occupant of a building for the "keeping, sale or manufacture" of illegal drugs. Yet as simple as that sounds, the...

Just what a dollar can do: work begins on a "stepping stone." (plans to convert a building into a lodging house for the homeless in Boston)
May 21, 1990... Just what a dollar can do Work begins on a "stepping stone" The project has been treading the dicey waters of government bureaucracy for months, but construction is finally underway on 1 Wise St. in Jamaica Plain, a triple-decker...

Medford forges link with city developers. (Medford, Massachusetts)
May 21, 1990... Medford forges link with city developers To counteract declining revenues due to the state's fiscal crisis, the city of Medford has enacted an ordinance requiring developers to pay a price for the privilege of building in the community. ...

Overdefending Harvard Sq.: most change has been for the better. (column)
May 21, 1990... Overdefending Harvard Sq. Most change has been for the better Change and growth are the natural laws of urban evolution. And yet there are always those who refuse to believe it. So once again, a group of people--I call them "Harvard...

Bank of Boston Corp. (proxy reports excerpts) (company profile)
May 21, 1990... Bank of Boston Corp. THE BUSINESS * Bank of Boston Corp. is a bank holding company whose banks and subsidiaries operate in the New England area. Its services include domestic corporate and investment banking, leasing, ...

Another go around for AI: this time, a more practical approach. (artificial intelligence stocks)
May 21, 1990... Another go around for AI This time, a more practical approach Artificial intelligence was once expected to provide the once-booming Massachusetts high-tech industry with a second wind. It hasn't. The office buildings that dominate...

Sterling Hager Inc.
May 21, 1990... Gail Smart was recently promoted from account supervisor to group account manager at Sterling Hager Inc. In her new role she will be responsible for overseeing all aspects of each client's public relations plan as well as directly managing the...

Marketing Strategies Inc.
May 21, 1990... Marketing Strategies Inc. announced the appointment of Keith F. Westerman as director of public relations. In his new role, Westerman will manage the public relations programs for the firm's clients as well as develop new business. Prior to...

TJ Clark Advertising/PR.
May 21, 1990... TJ Clark Advertising/PR announced that Stephen M. DeCollibus joined the firm as account supervisor. DeCollibus comes to TJ Clark from Spencer Bennett Nowak, where he served as senior vice president. Based in Hingham, TJ Clark Advertising/PR is...

Boston Financial Group Inc.
May 21, 1990... The Boston Financial Group Inc. recently announced two executive-level promotions. Christopher B. Brown and Graham C. Stalley were both appointed to the position of vice president of management information systems. Brown joined the firm in 1989...