Boston Business Journal articles from November 1991

Boston Business Journal archives from November 1991

Yomega's got the world on a string. (yoyo maker Yomega Corp.)(includes related article) (Company Profile)
November 25, 1991... Edward "Fast Eddy" McDonald was hanging around Yomega Corp. as usual last Monday, whizzing yo-yos past onlookers' faces. The two-time Guinness Book of World Records champ "walked the dog" with the Fireball--a yo-yo so fast it's outlawed at...

Water war. (Poland Spring Corp.'s case against Belmont Springs) (Brief Article)
November 25, 1991... Bottled water company Poland Spring Corp. of Maine has brought suit against rival Belmont Springs of Belmont in U.S. District Court in Boston for allegedly violating Poland Spring's name and trademark in newspaper and billboard advertisements....

Cosmopulos, Crowley & Daly. (merger with Chalfin Kostopoulos and Gilmore) (Brief Article)
November 25, 1991... Boston advertising agencies Cosmopulos, Crowley & Daly and Chalfin Kostopoulos & Gilmore have joined to create one firm with $25 million in annual billings. The firms will merge management and clients that include the Massachusetts Convention...

Yitzhak Shamir. (travel to Boston results in $13 million of Israel bonds sold to investors) (Brief Article)
November 25, 1991... Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir flew into Boston for a visit and left with $13 million from local investors who bought State of Israel bonds. The state offered to buy $3 million in bonds to add to the $15 million it already holds. Shamir...

Workers' compensation. (bill faces opposition) (Brief Article)
November 25, 1991... The bill written by the Legislature's Joint Committee on Commerce and Labor to reform workers' compensation is facing opposition from the legal community. The bill, which is backed by Gov. William Weld, would nearly eliminate the lump-sum...

Polaroid. (Don Pizzuti's case against Polaroid) (Brief Article)
November 25, 1991... Former Polaroid worker Don Pizzuti filed a class-action suit against the Cambridge company for $185 million, which he says Polaroid owes employees. The money would come from a $925 million settlement that Polaroid received from Kodak for...

The Money Store. (sued by Federal Trade Commission) (Brief Article)
November 25, 1991... The Money Store, which has an outlet in Framingham, is charged with misrepresenting its interest rates to customers by the Federal Trade Commission. Under a proposed consent agreement, the Union, N.J.-based company would have to repay $1.1...

Ocean Spray deal. (Pepsi-Cola's distribution contract) (Brief Article)
November 25, 1991... Under a new agreement, Pepsi-Cola will distribute single-serving containers of Ocean Spray juices. Pepsi will sell them in vending machines and convenience stores in California and Cleveland with an eye toward expansion.

ImmuLogic Pharmaceutical Corp. (Brief Article)
November 25, 1991... Cambridge biotechnology firm ImmuLogic Pharmaceutical Corp. plans to collaborate with pharmaceutical company Marion Merill Dow of Kansas City, Mo. to develop a line of allergy drugs called Allervax. Under the agreement, Marion Merill Dow would...

Lobstermen hurt. (damage caused by storm to New England lobstermen) (Brief Article)
November 25, 1991... Many New England lobstermen suffered thousands of dollars worth of damage to their lobster traps during recent storms. Although most of their boats were pulled from the water, the traps remained on the ocean floor, where they ended up in knots...

Star Market. (appeals U.S. District Court fine) (Brief Article)
November 25, 1991... Star Market is appealing a U.S. District Court ruling that imposes fines of $10,000 for each day it does not rehire former employee Neil Henderson. The court based its decision on an anti-corruption order between the U.S. Justice Department and...

Filene's Basement. (earnings) (Brief Article)
November 25, 1991... Wellesley-based Filene's Basement posted fourth-quarter earnings 9 percent higher than last year. The solid growth was attributed to the chain's 13-store expansion in the past year, which included stores in upstate New York and made up for...

Digital Equipment Corp. (desktop software development) (Brief Article)
November 25, 1991... Digital Equipment Corp. has developed desktop software that will connect its software to PC users of Microsoft Windows. Digital expects to offer similar software to create compatibility with Lotus Development's 1-2-3 spreadsheet and Ami Pro...

Consumer Price Index. (Brief Article)
November 25, 1991... The Consumer Price Index in the Northeast reached 143.7 in October, a 0.1 percent rise for the month. For the year inflation is now running at 3.1 percent. The rise in October was led by a 4.9 percent increase in the price of services. Apparel...

Durham Trust Co. (acquired by Granite Bank) (Brief Article)
November 25, 1991... Durham Trust Co. of Durham, N.H., was closed, then taken over by New Hampshire's Granite Bank. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is advancing Granite $35.3 million and will retain assets worth $36.6 million. Granite paid out $1.71 million for...

Plymouth Rock plan puts premium on safe cars. (new type of insurance policy)
November 25, 1991... Boston's Plymouth Rock Co. thinks auto insurance consumers will go for a new type of policy that allows drivers to save on premiums by purchasing safer cars and learning to drive more defensively. The small insurer plans to take its case to New...

Waterhouse axed. (Waterhouse Bill) (Brief Article)
November 25, 1991... In a blow to the state's labor unions and the Boston City Council, but a victory of sorts for Mayor Raymond Flynn, a federal judge has struck down an ordinance that made it tougher for companies to hire replacement workers during a strike. The...

Passes House. (Recycle bill) (Brief Article)
November 25, 1991... The packaging wars continued last week on Beacon Hill as the House of Representatives approved its version of the controversial measure that would impose packaging reduction mandates and recycled materials content standards on businesses...

AT&T's software patent is a stretch, says MIT. (American Telephone and Telegraph Co.)
November 25, 1991... MIT's Richard Stallman and his band of merry hackers are at it again. Stallman, who received the MacArthur Foundation "genius award" last year, led about 50 software programmers at MIT's Tech Square in a quiet sign-waving protest last week...

City helps jittery banks to provide business loans. (Boston's Economic Development and Industrial Corp.)
November 25, 1991... When tiny Core-M Corp. of Allston decided to expand its three-year-old operation recently, partners Craig Marin and Natan Parsons expected no trouble getting the $150,000 loan needed to develop a new line of electronic gauges. After all, the...

Swissair increases its stake in the Lafayette. (Swissair Associated Cos.; Lafayette Hotel)
November 25, 1991... It could be the flat, industrial brown facade that rises uninspiringly skyward. Or maybe it's the convoluted entrance that demands all of one's faculties to find the third-floor lobby. And then there's the location in the midtown district, an...

Compromise is at core of new child-care law. (Focus: Human Resources)
November 25, 1991... Some of the state's private employers are now required to help their workers pay for child-care services. But the terms of the new law, passed last year, reflect the altered nature of the debate in Massachusetts, where a depressed economy is...

Voice systems ease benefits managers' headaches. (Wyatt Co.'s voice response system) (Focus: Human Resources)
November 25, 1991... The corporate benefits administrators at Prime Computer in Natick found themselves caught in a nightmare during their annual benefits enrollment period in April 1990. This was the time employees could elect to make changes in their health...

Sterling Bancshares Corp. (Proxy Report Excerpts) (Company Profile)
November 25, 1991... THE BUSINESS Headquarters: Waltham Stock Symbol: STLG Market: NASDAQ Annual Revenue: $12,016,000 Net Income: $1,719,000 Employees: ...

James Cleveland. (selection/appointment) (Health/Science) (Brief Article)
November 25, 1991... James Cleveland was appointed president of Stone & Webster Environmental Services, a division of Stone & Webster Engineering Corp. He joined the firm in 1972 and has served as executive vice president, vice president, and marketing manager of...

Analysts wary of Bay State's fiscal woes. (Bay State Health Care Insurance Co.)
November 18, 1991... Chairman says HMO can return to profitability Bay State Health Care, the second largest health maintenance organization (HMO) in Massachusetts, may have difficulty convincing employers that the health plan is "sound and stable" in the wake...

Hub syndicate buoys Cup bid. (America "America cubed" Foundation; America's Cup)
November 18, 1991... Former Boston businessman William Koch is betting $40 million that Massachusetts technology, brains and cash can overcome the experience and home-port advantage of defending America's Cup champion Dennis Conner when yachting's greatest...

After 10 years, Hambrecht & Quist emerges as a player. (Company Profile)
November 18, 1991... Last Tuesday, nearly two dozen new companies and scores of investors gathered at Rowes Wharf to sort out the difference between a Marcam and a Xyplex. The occasion was Hambrecht & Quist's first-ever East Coast underwriting conference. The...

Fleet pinks Baybanks in credit duel. (Fleet/Norstar Financial Group Inc.)
November 18, 1991... BayBanks and Fleet/Norstar Financial Group are battling it out on their home turf for more credit-card business. In back-to-back, full-page newspaper ads, the two regional banks are waging a rate war. Fleet/Norstar, which moved into the...

Pulling out. (Liberty Mutual Insurance Co. to stop writing workers' compensation insurance in Rhode Island) (Brief Article)
November 18, 1991... Liberty Mutual Insurance Co. said it will stop writing workers' compensation insurance in Rhode Island as of Dec. 31. The company said the decision is due to the gap between state-set rates and the cost of claims. Liberty Mutual has nearly 30...

Coastal Oil New England. (Brief Article)
November 18, 1991... Revere-based Coastal Oil New England has begun to sign up independent oil businesses to sell fuel under the Coastal name. Company representatives believe Coastal can become the region's new, competitive supplier with a quality image. Coastal...

Digital Equipment Corp. (Brief Article)
November 18, 1991... Microsoft Corp. has joined forces with Digital Equipment Corp. of Maynard in a move that will give Digital a competitive edge over IBM. The alliance will be a collaboration between Microsoft's superior software capabilities and Digital's...

Banyan Systems. (Brief Article)
November 18, 1991... Banyan Systems of Westborough and Microsoft Corp. announced that they will be offering joint technical support to make it more convenient for their customers to solve technical problems with multivendor networks.

New drug approved. (Cambridge NeuroScience Research Inc. to develop and market pramiracetam) (Brief Article)
November 18, 1991... Cambridge NeuroScience won approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to develop and market a drug it acquired from Warner-Lambert Co. The drug, called pramiracetam, is said to reduce side effects from electroconvulsive therapy,...

Fibronics International. (Brief Article)
November 18, 1991... Wal-Mart Stores signed a $1 million contract for computer networking equipment from Fibronics International of Hyannis. The new equipment will facilitate inventory and distribution between Wal-Mart's 18 national warehouses and its headquarters...

Chipcom Corp. (Brief Article)
November 18, 1991... Chipcom Corp. of Southborough filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to make a public offering of 881,000 common shares. The stock sale of the computer network producer and distributor will be underwritten by Montgomery...

Vertex Pharmaceuticals. (Brief Article)
November 18, 1991... Also, Vertex Pharmaceuticals of Cambridge announced its intention to file with the SEC for an offering of 2 million common shares. A total of 1.6 million shares will be offered in the United States.

Cambex Corp. (Brief Article)
November 18, 1991... Waltham-based Cambex Corp. announced a two-for-one stock split of its outstanding common stock. The distribution will be on Feb. 14 to those shareholders recorded as of Jan. 31.

Covenant Investment Management. (Brief Article)
November 18, 1991... The investment advisory firm Covenant Investment Management released a study of what it deems to be the 200 most responsible large corporations in the nation. Affiliated Publications, Analog Devices, Digital Equipment Corp., Polaroid Corp.,...

Profits drop. (TJX Companies Inc.) (Brief Article)
November 18, 1991... TJX Cos. of Framingham had an 8 percent drop in net income for the third quarter, despite record earnings at its T.J. Maxx and Chadwick's stores. The company has seen a decrease in sales of women's career clothing sold at its Hit or Miss...

Alfred Dunhill of London. (Brief Article)
November 18, 1991... Newbury Street welcomed its third new men's clothing store this year. Alfred Dunhill of London now occupies 69 Newbury St., just yards from the new Giorgio Armani and Joseph Abboud stores, which also cater to men with expensive taste in...

New England Electric sets its own clean air goals. (New England Electric System)
November 18, 1991... New England Electric System recently unveiled a new environmental program that calls for what it claims to be a 45 percent reduction in harmful smokestack emissions by the year 2000. The Westborough-based utility holding company also outlined...

New England Aquarium: move on hold. (plan to move from Central Wharf to the Charleston Navy Yard)
November 18, 1991... After watching the city's real estate market collapse around it, the New England Aquarium has finally relented and suspended plans to move the popular tourist attraction from Central Wharf to the Charlestown Navy Yard. The decision was made...

MWRA: cleanup firm is disciplined. (Massachusetts Water Resources Authority; Peter Kiewit & Sons' Inc.)
November 18, 1991... A minority-owned subcontractor with the Boston Harbor cleanup project has accused prime contractor Peter Kiewit & Sons of forcing it off a job and taking over the work. The Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) blocked the Omaha,...

Recontek: plant under fire. (hazardous-waste recycling facilities)
November 18, 1991... State environmental regulators say they may reconsider their initial decision to allow a California firm to build a hazardous-waste recycling plant here after learning of troubles at a similar facility in Illinois (see BBJ, July 23, 1990)....

Developers make the shift into managing. (Real estate developers turns into property management) (Industry Overview)
November 18, 1991... One of the more daunting legacies of the current real estate glut is its effect on the industry's professions. With a supply of commercial and residential properties that will take years to absorb, future job prospects look dismal for a range...

Digital workers seek answers from credit union. (Digital Equipment Corp.; Digital Employees' Federal Credit Union)
November 18, 1991... More than 1,300 members of the state's largest credit union crowded into the Sheraton Tara Hotel in Framingham last week to call for new elections to the credit union's board of directors. The Digital Employees' Federal Credit Union, with...

Weld plans to unveil unemployment insurance plan. (Massachusetts Governor William Weld)
November 18, 1991... Legislative and administration sources have confirmed that Gov. William Weld is revamping legislation he filed last spring to replenish the state's bankrupt unemployment trust fund and has told the Legislature to expect a new bill "within the...

One-man Lawrence firm challenges Windex. (Clear -Vue) (Company Profile)
November 18, 1991... Clear Vue, a one-man, Lawrence-based company, is about to take a swipe at Windex with a glass-cleaning product that has been bottled and sold locally for 40 years. Thanks to the efforts of Brooks O'Kane, Clear Vue, a spinoff of the Lawrence...

Cone does well by doing good. (Cone Communications)
November 18, 1991... When Cone Communications agreed to handle the launch last month of a catalog of products featuring characters from the comic strip "Doonesbury," it knew that the account was not going to be a big moneymaker; most of the planned profits are to...

Bad times deliver more mail fraud. (includes related article)
November 18, 1991... Brewster businesswoman Carol Appleton filled out a routine-looking address correction form last fall for what she thought was the NYNEX Yellow Pages. She didn't read the fine print. The New England Yellow Pages, with its yellow walking...

Kenneth J. Novack: back in the saddle. (second-time president and managing partner of Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky & Popeo)(Personnel File)
November 18, 1991... Position: President, Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky & Popeo Education: B.A., Dartmouth College, 1963; LL.B, Harvard Law School, 1966 Age: 50 It's deja vu time for Kenneth J. Novack, who this summer took the helm as president and...

Interest in disability insurance grows. (Focus: Insurance) (Industry Overview)
November 18, 1991... Some insurance agents claim that sales of disability insurance--which provides income for professionals or employees who become disabled--are rising in the bad economy. Others say that sales of disability insurance, commonly referred to as...

Insurers not worried over lowering of their ratings. (Focus: Insurance) (Industry Overview)
November 18, 1991... Despite the slight downgrading in financial ratings of three major Massachusetts-based insurers this summer, their assets remain secure against the kinds of problems that led to the failure of savings-and-loan institutions, said the companies...

Hancock writes prescription to control drug costs. (John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Co.)(Focus: Insurance)
November 18, 1991... Businesses that provide employees with health benefits through John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Co. will soon be offered a program designed to control the rising costs of prescription drugs while making reimbursements for prescriptions easier...

Hard questions asked about GIC investments. (Guaranteed Investment Contract)(Focus: Insurance)
November 18, 1991... Employee retirement fund managers, both locally and nationwide, were shocked by the failure of two major insurance companies this year. In April 1991, Executive Life Insurance Co. was seized by the California insurance commissioner, and in...

Organogenesis. (Proxy Report Excerpts) (Company Profile)
November 18, 1991... THE BUSINESS Headquarters: Cambridge Stock Symbol: ORG Market: ASE Annual Revenue: $3,596,295 Net Income: ($6,124,288)...

Thomas A. Shields. (Health/Science) (Brief Article)
November 18, 1991... Thomas A. Shields was named president of the management offices division of Harvard Community Health Plan. He will be responsible for all major administrative functions of the 500,000-member HMO. Shields is the former president and CEO of the...

PennWell Publishing Co. (High Technology) (Brief Article)
November 18, 1991... Westford's PennWell Publishing Co. named Dr. Morris R. Levitt senior vice president and chief operating officer of its Advanced Technology Group. He was previously the editor and publisher of Laser Focus World magazine. Levitt will now be...

GUIdance Technologies. (Advertising/Communications) (Brief Article)
November 18, 1991... GUIdance Technologies of Pittsburgh has retained Boston's Bridgeman Communications to manage its public relations activities. The agency works exclusively with high-technology, industrial and professional services companies. GUIdance develops...

BBK Advertising/Public Relations. (Advertising/Communications) (Brief Article)
November 18, 1991... BBK Advertising/Public Relations of Chestnut Hill was named agency of record by Westwood/Pembroke Corp., a Canton-based provider of psychiatric and chemical dependency treatment programs. BBK will work with Pembroke's two major treatment...

Chase Access Services Corp. (Banking/Finance) (Brief Article)
November 18, 1991... Lexington's Chase Access Services Corp. announced the availability of TX/WirePlus, a multi-currency wire transfer system that provides end-to-end instructions between a bank's customer and its own money transfer processing system. The company,...

Lotus Development Corp. (High Technology) (Brief Article)
November 18, 1991... Lotus Development Corp. of Cambridge announced that it has installed Lotus Write (a new entry-level word processor) and a special version of its 1-2-3 for Windows spreadsheet in the new line of Packard Bell 486 computers. The software will be...

Quadtech. (High Technology) (Brief Article)
November 18, 1991... Bolton-based QuadTech, a new company formed this year from GenRad's Precision Product Line, recently introduced its first product under its new name. The product, QuadTech Model 1865, is a fully programmable resistance tester to be used in...

Acentech. (High Technology) (Brief Article)
November 18, 1991... Senior management of Acentech purchased a majority interest in the firm from Bolt Beranek and Newman. Acentech is a consulting firm that specializes in architectural acoustics and sound and video systems. The company has offices in Boston and...

Progress Software Corp. (High Technology) (Brief Article)
November 18, 1991... Progress Software Corp. of Bedford and Micro Decisionware of Boulder, Colo., announced an agreement to develop and market a link from the PROGRESS fourth-generation language and relational database management systems to IBM host environments....

Intermetrics. (High Technology) (Brief Article)
November 18, 1991... Intermetrics, a Cambridge-based engineering and software services company, was awarded a $3 million delivery order by the Volpe National Transportation Systems Center, a research and analysis firm that provides technical assistance to the U.S....

Collaborative Research. (Health/Science) (Brief Article)
November 18, 1991... Bedford's Collaborative Research announced a new product that detects the 10 most common mutations for cystic fibrosis. The test is offered through its diagnostic services division. Collaborative Research, founded in 1961, develops...

Widett, Slater, & Goldman. (Services/Education) (Brief Article)
November 18, 1991... The Boston law firm of Widett, Slater, & Goldman recently affiliated with the Kuwait City law firm of Al Othman & Khalaf for the legal representation of companies doing business in Kuwait.

Moxon Dolphin Kerby. (Advertising/Communications) (Brief Article)
November 18, 1991... Boston's Moxon Dolphin Kerby (MDK Advertising) produced a product brochure for Waltham-based Strategic Cost Systems to market ProfitManager, a software package that provides profitability analysis for manufacturing and service organizations....

Wellmark Healthcare Services. (Health/Science) (Brief Article)
November 18, 1991... Wellmark Healthcare Services of Westwood, a provider of physician-directed, hospital-level rehabilitation in the homes of patients, joined The Provider Council of the Massachusetts Head Injury Association, an affiliate of the National Head...

Doublecheck Inc. (High Technology) (Brief Article)
November 18, 1991... Doublecheck Inc. of Newton introduced The Data Safe, a pocket-size computer disk wallet that provides protection against possible X-ray and magnetic damage to data on diskettes. The transporting case has a removable lead-vinyl lining.

Partnership raids land March Co. in court. (unpaid huge borrowings from its real estate limited partnerships)
November 11, 1991... IN JEOPARDY Limited partnerships from which the March Co. borrowed $150,000 or more. Amounts are current as of Aug. 5, 1991. Amount Partnership borrowed Essex March Credits...

The British are coming, the British are coming. (Jones Lang Wootton forms alliance with Weil Realty Advisors)
November 11, 1991... Real estate giant Jones Lang Wootton to pitch camp in Hub Packing a $50 million to $100 million plateful of capital to feed the region's cash-starved real estate community, industry giant Jones Lang Wootton has arrived in Boston. The...

Venture leasing blooms as biotech booms. (trend towards equipment leasing among biotechnology firms) (Industry Overview)
November 11, 1991... Biotechnology start-up BioTransplant expects to squeeze up to a year of extra life from its venture capital funding with an equipment leasing scheme that is catching on among local biotech concerns. The Charlestown-based company decided to...

Wal-Mart coming. (Wal-Mart Stores to open two stores in Massachusetts) (Brief Article)
November 11, 1991... Wal-Mart Stores, the nation's largest retail chain, will open its first two stores in Massachusetts, in Bellingham and Fairhaven, early next year. The company will also open a Sam's Club wholesale outlet in Westborough. Both Wal-Mart stores...

Stardent Computer. (to close shop) (Brief Article)
November 11, 1991... Two years after its inception, Stardent Computer of Concord will close shop due to its rivals' ability to duplicate its sophisticated graphics capability and heavy-duty hardware at a fraction of the cost. According to Stardent chairman William...

Lotus Development Corp. (offers discounts to competitors' clients) (Brief Article)
November 11, 1991... Lotus Development Corp. is trying to win back customers by offering discounts to competitors' clients and requiring them to sign an agreement pledging to destroy all copies of other spreadsheets. Cambridge-based Lotus is playing tough to win...

Commonwealth Mortgage Co. (its layoff insurance plan blocked by the Division of Insurance) (Brief Article)
November 11, 1991... Commonwealth Mortgage Co.'s plan to offer layoff insurance to homeowners was halted by the state Division of Insurance, which said the product would need its approval. Morgard Inc., the Pennsylvania firm that wants to sell the insurance to...

Pittsburgh Brewing Co. (to be sold to Michael Carlow) (Brief Article)
November 11, 1991... Pittsburgh Brewing Co., the nation's largest local brewery, will be sold to Pittsburgh financier Michael Carlow by the end of the year. Pittsburgh Brewing produces Sam Adams beer for local brewer Jim Koch, as well as its own Iron City beer....

Dynamics Research Corp. (accused of fraudulent billing) (Brief Article)
November 11, 1991... The U.S. Justice Department accused Dynamics Research Corp. of overbilling the Air Force on a software contract by charging the list price for goods it received at a 30 percent discount. The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Boston, seeks...

Gaston & Snow. (about-to-close law firm promises to grant severance pay) (Brief Article)
November 11, 1991... The Boston law firm Gaston & Snow plans to close on Nov. 30 and said some employees will receive severance pay dramatically smaller than expected, according to the Boston Herald. Some employees were originally promised one week's severance for...

ImmunoGen. (files for common stock offering) (Brief Article)
November 11, 1991... Cambridge biotechnology company ImmunoGen has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission to sell 2 million shares of common stock here and abroad. PaineWebber, Hambrecht & Quist and Montgomery Securities are underwriting the deal....

Genzyme growing. (acquires diagnostic enzyme products from Genecor International) (Brief Article)
November 11, 1991... Genzyme Corp. reported it has acquired diagnostic enzyme products from Genecor International of California. Genzyme plans to add the 20 U.S. and foreign patents to its diagnostic division in Cambridge.