Boston Business Journal articles from November 1992

Boston Business Journal archives from November 1992

Condo sales rise by 22.2 percent. (condominiums in Boston, Massachusetts)
November 2, 1992... After a two-year deep freeze, the Greater Boston condominium market is finally beginning to show signs of thawing out, several real estate agents said last week. "It's still a battle to some degree, . . . but we can honestly see improvement...

Economy drills machining shops. (Industry Overview)
November 2, 1992... A Malden jet-engine parts maker, a Newburyport metal driller, a pipe grinder in Malden and a Stoneham metal cutter all agree: The recession won't release its grip on Massachusetts for another 18 months to three years. They should know....

Investors wonder what's cooking at DAKA International.
November 2, 1992... Is stock in local food purveyor a blue-plate special? Daka International earned a sizable $1.24 per share in fiscal 1992, but its stock, which has garnered virtually no attention from Wall Street, trades for bargain-basement prices. The...

Hub property tax falling harder on business. (Boston, Massachusetts)
November 2, 1992... Boston's business community is paying a far larger share of the city's property tax levy than it did six years ago, officials at the Boston Municipal Research Bureau claimed last week. The ratio between the business and residential tax burden...

New license not coming easy for Foxboro Park.
November 2, 1992... Serious questions about the financial viability of Foxboro Harness Inc. and its parent, the Westwood Group, were raised at a public hearing held by the State Racing Commission last week to consider renewal of the harness track's racing license....

GenRad hopes to break 13-quarter streak of losses.
November 2, 1992... Is GenRad on the brink of turning a profit in the fourth quarter of 1992 despite losing money for 13 consecutive quarters? "We are cautiously optimistic that the company will be in the black in the fourth quarter," said Raymond McNulty,...

Cruise specialist sets sights on Boston market. (Cruise Holidays International Inc.; Boston, Massachusetts)
November 2, 1992... San Diego-based Cruise Holidays International (CHI) is bringing its message to Boston-area travelers still reluctant to plunge into seabound vacations. "I guess in some ways we're missionaries for cruising," said J. Michael London, president...

Ironside makes a splash in microbrewery market. (Olde Time Brewers Inc.'s Ironside Ale) (Company Profile)
November 2, 1992... Having run an electrical contracting firm for several years, Lynn native Rick Dugas knows full well the pitfalls of operating a small business, especially in a depressed economy. Despite that, and the fact that they were gambling with their...

Another weak year seen for Boston area hotels. (Boston, Massachusetts) (Industry Overview)
November 2, 1992... The recovery of the Boston hotel industry is outpacing many areas in the nation, but a major turnaround in low room rates is still nowhere in sight, according to a recent nationwide survey. And 1993 offers no more than a "glimmer at the end of...

Independents expand presence in power market. (independent power producers) (Industry Overview)
November 2, 1992... Independent power producers are poised to take a significant bite out of the profits of public utilities. Regulators already require utilities to solicit electricity from non-utility generators amounting to at least 5 percent of peak demand,...

Pair of professions seek regulation. (interior decorators and landscape architects) (Focus: Construction & Design) (Industry Overview)
November 2, 1992... Two local groups of professionals are fighting to increase government regulation over their practices. They claim that without regulation, public safety will be compromised and local jobs will be lost. The two groups--commercial interior...

Freelance architects on thin ice with IRS. (Focus: Construction & Design)
November 2, 1992... Architectural firms are being advised to make their freelancers an endangered species. "My advice to my clients," said Christopher Noble, a construction-law attorney at Hill & Barlow, "given what I know about the kinds of people that are hired...

Acorn finds a home in pre-cut construction. (Acorn Structures Inc.) (Focus: Construction & Design) (Company Profile)
November 2, 1992... Mention modular homes to many people and they think of half-houses being trundled down the highway on flatbed trucks marked with "wide load" signs. But Concord-based Acorn Structures has built its 45-year reputation by using modular construction...

Beth Israel architect has patients in mind. (Rothman Rothman Heineman Architects Pres Martha Rothman) (Focus: Construction & Design) (Company Profile)
November 2, 1992... This month Beth Israel Hospital will break ground on its 12-story, $96 million Clinical Center ambulatory care facility, the first part of a new master construction and renovation plan designed for the hospital by Rothman Rothman Heineman...

Watts Industries. (Proxy Report Excerpts) (Company Profile)
November 2, 1992... THE BUSINESS Headquarters: North Andover Stock symbol: WATTA Market: NASDAQ Annual revenue: $423,808,000 Net income: $36,625,000 Employees: ...

Market for ed software adding up. (educational software)
November 9, 1992... For the same reason they don't need flint to start a fire, schoolchildren don't need paper and pencil to find out, say, how fast a rock is moving after falling for two seconds. A computer should give students the answer (43.874 miles per hour),...

Sheraton shopping for space. (ITT Sheraton Corp.)
November 9, 1992... ITT Sheraton Corp. has joined the growing list of Boston companies shopping for a new home, officials for the international hotel giant confirmed last week. "As part of our long-term planning for lease exploration, we are involved in...

Health care IPOs in the pink with Wall Street. (initial public offering)
November 9, 1992... Conservative pricing helps newer stocks to outperform the old New issues in health care stocks that hit the market this summer are posting impressive gains despite the general slump in the industry on Wall Street. Analysts said health care...

John Hamill: Shawmut's loss is Fleet's gain. (Shawmut Bank of Boston; Fleet Bank of Massachusetts N.A.)
November 9, 1992... In little more than a year, Fleet Bank of Massachusetts has digested one of the country's largest bank failures in the Bank of New England and has faced a firestorm of criticism for its role in the so-called second-mortgage scam. Overnight, it...

Polaroid slowly sheds image as a polluter. (Polaroid Corp.)
November 9, 1992... Polaroid Corp., long shunned by socially responsible investment funds because of its release of pollutants into the environment, is now under consideration for inclusion in many of those funds because of measures the company has taken to reduce...

Bank of Boston seeks wider market for factoring.
November 9, 1992... When most people hear the word "factoring," they think of a high-school algebra class. But Bank of Boston would like them to associate the word with peace of mind, not the panic of a math test. For instance, when a New York City apparel...

Bay State companies seek routes to China. (Massachusetts)
November 9, 1992... Massachusetts companies, long battered by the economy, have discovered an unlikely boom market: China. "Now is a superb time for doing business with China. China is having an explosion of foreign trade opportunities," said veteran China trade...

Beacon offers credit line at its downtown garages.
November 9, 1992... The Beacon Cos. has introduced a credit card to pay for parking at any of its four garages in downtown Boston in an effort to build business at the sites. Timed to coincide with the Nov. 1 closing of the Boston Common parking garage, the...

Kenneth Leibler. (president and COO of Liberty Financial Cos.) (Personnel File)
November 9, 1992... Looking past futures The frenetic pace of Wall Street has always appealed to Kenneth Leibler. His career has spanned two decades, from financial whiz kid in the early 1970s at Lehman Brothers to president of the American Stock Exchange and now...

Low interest rates spell trouble for some policies. (Focus: Insurance)
November 9, 1992... Consumers who have had a universal life insurance policy or a traditional whole life insurance policy for more than a year may be in for some surprises. Falling interest rates are affecting some life insurance policies as steadily as they...

Variable annuity market shows signs of life. (Focus: Insurance)
November 9, 1992... Insurance companies say they are happily nurturing a recent surge in sales of variable annuity contracts, fueled in part by low interest rates and by an aging generation of baby boomers planning for retirement. They say the future looks rosy too,...

Kay Doughty earns kudos for accessibility. (insurance commissioner of Massachusetts) (Focus: Insurance)
November 9, 1992... Praise for Kay Doughty's performance in her first year as Massachusetts insurance commissioner is echoed throughout the industry. Consumer groups and legislators, too, laud her capability and openness, though they aren't always as delighted...

Risk retention groups are cushions in a hard market. (Focus: Insurance)
November 9, 1992... Gordon Allen, director of the Granite State Association of Nonprofits in Concord, N.H., never thought of the community-based nonprofit field as particularly risky. That is, until The St. Paul, once the biggest carrier of insurance for nonprofits...

Candela Laser Corp. (Proxy Report Excerpts) (Company Profile)
November 9, 1992... THE BUSINESS Headquarters: Wayland Stock symbol: CLZR Market: NASDAQ Annual revenue: $35,410,000 Net income: $3,729,000...

Edison looking to buy building. (Boston Edison Co.)
November 16, 1992... After launching a search for new office space to lease this summer, Boston Edison Co. has begun seeking buildings to purchase outright, the Boston Business Journal has learned. Officials at the electric company confirmed last week that they...

The Golf Club prepares to tee off on Lansdowne. (Lansdowne St., Boston, Massachusetts)
November 16, 1992... At the other end of Lansdowne Street from the Kenmore Bowladrome, beneath a pool hall, alongside the commuter rail tracks and between a night club and a piano bar, the city's newest 18-hole golf course is crammed into just 14,000 square feet of...

Candela Laser sues founder on patent. (Dr. Horace W. Furumoto)
November 16, 1992... Candela Laser has sued its founder, Dr. Horace W. Furumoto, and his start-up laser company for allegedly violating its patent on a laser that removes "port wine" birthmarks without scarring. Candela's complaint, filed Nov. 3 at U.S. District...

City falls short of goals for minority set-asides. (Boston, Massachusetts)
November 16, 1992... Half of Boston's 52 city departments awarded no contracts to minority-owned businesses in fiscal 1991 for goods and services, according to a report obtained by the Boston Business Journal last week. That record puts Mayor Raymond L. Flynn in...

Paving contractor leaves trail of unfinished jobs. (John Mahoney Construction Co.)
November 16, 1992... A Milton paving contractor sued after walking away from two multimillion-dollar jobs in Florida has also encountered problems in Boston, city officials said last week. The John Mahoney Construction Co.--once a thriving business in eastern...

Candidates aid coffers of Boston TV stations. (revenues of Boston, Massachusetts television stations from advertisements of political candidates)
November 16, 1992... Boston area television stations raked in more than $6 million in revenue from candidates running for public office this election season--and that doesn't include millions of dollars spent on advertisements for and against the various ballot...

New pipeline swells natural gas capacity in NE. (New England)
November 16, 1992... With the new Iroquois natural gas pipeline reaching full utilization just two weeks ago, the area gas industry says demand is picking up and plans are already underway to expand its capacity. However, the increased supply does not mean that...

Mr. Bulb reaps profits from energy efficiency.
November 16, 1992... Question: How many people does it take to change a light bulb? Answer: If the bulb is energy-efficient and the staff of Mr. Bulb is on the job, 44. That's the total number of people employed here and in Canada by the Worcester-based company...

No foes for narrow packaging law.
November 16, 1992... After the defeat two weeks ago of Question 3 at the polls, the Legislature is poised to pass another packaging measure--and industry is hardly batting an eyelash. This far less notorious packaging legislation, currently pending before the...

Law firm pleads sickness to get out of lease. (Mahoney Hawkes and Goldings)
November 16, 1992... After two years of constant complaints about health problems in their space, attorneys at a Rowes Wharf law firm have reportedly stopped paying rent and are looking at other buildings in Boston as relocation prospects. But the Beacon Cos.,...

Building interest seen for construction trade show. (Build Boston design and construction trade show)
November 16, 1992... Although local architects continue to suffer from the prolonged slump in the real estate industry, organizers of this week's Build Boston design and construction show say interest in the three-day program appears to be on the upswing....

Alain J. Hanover. (CEO of Viewlogic Systems Inc.)
November 16, 1992... Surfing the curve So far this fall, Alain Hanover has squeezed in trips to six European countries and a dozen California cities--plus New York, Philadelphia and Baltimore. Later this month, he's jetting to Tokyo. That's no big deal for this...

High tech gets a hearing from large law firms. (Focus: Office Technology)
November 16, 1992... High tech is helping some Boston attorneys win legal cases, especially at large law firms, but most attorneys in the Bay State are slow to pick up on new technology, according to the head of the Massachusetts Bar Association's technology...

High hopes pinned on multimedia products. (Focus: Office Technology) (Industry Overview)
November 16, 1992... If "plastics" constituted pithy investment advice for the 1960s, pundits today might stutter "digitization." Combinations of sound, photos, graphics, movies and videos, converted from analog to digital formats, promise to produce a whole new...

Lotus finds the perfect metaphor in Organizer. (Lotus Development Corp.; personal information management system)
November 16, 1992... Between the idea and the act falls the personal information manager. The idea behind personal information managers, or PIMs, has always been a good one. Work lives are cluttered with chits and jots of information that is impossible to keep...

Graphic artists peek at CD developments. (photograph compact discs) (Focus: Office Technology) (Industry Overview)
November 16, 1992... With technology in their industry rapidly changing, local graphic artists recently met at the Westin Hotel to "unmask the mystery" behind new printing devices becoming available for commercial use. Tim Piazza of Thomas Monroe, a Cambridge...

Stratus Computer. (Proxy Report Excerpts) (Company Profile)
November 16, 1992... THE BUSINESS Headquarters: Marlborough Stock symbol: SRA Market: NYSE Annual revenue: $448,000,000 Net income: ...

On track for trouble. (dispute between Providence and Worcester Railroad Co. and National Railroad Passenger Corp. regarding bridge clearance)
November 23, 1992... P&W spat may derail Amtrak high-speed plans A dispute between a Worcester-based railroad and Amtrak could delay a $347 million electrification project to establish high-speed rail between Boston and New York, and could add millions of dollars...

Morrison named as Pizzeria Uno suitor. (Morrison Restaurants; chain restaurants)
November 23, 1992... Morrison Restaurants, a $1 billion food service and specialty restaurant chain based in Mobile, Ala., is rumored to be the unnamed suitor for West Roxbury-based Uno Restaurant Corp., which operates the Pizzeria Uno chain of restaurants. Joseph...

A year later, Fleet still in crisis mode. (Fleet Financial Group)
November 23, 1992... Fleet Financial Group was introduced to the nation last week--and the picture wasn't pretty. Fleet, New England's largest bank holding company after its purchase of the failed Bank of New England last year, has been unable to shake charges...

Customers help Dydee get to bottom of problem. (Dydee Diaper Service)
November 23, 1992... Steven Landry, the president of Dorchester-based Dydee Diaper Service, has taken a dirty business and made it a little cleaner. Thanks to an overwhelming response from loyal customers, the nation's second oldest diaper laundry, founded in 1933,...

Smaller hospitals form separate lobbying group. (Massachusetts Council of Community Hospitals)
November 23, 1992... Leaders of several community hospitals are banding together in a new coalition that proponents hope will give their institutions a clearer, more unified voice in areas such as public policy debate and the future delivery of health care. But...

AIDS ruling raises concerns about self-insurance.
November 23, 1992... Several health policy experts said last week they don't see much impact from the U.S. Supreme Court's refusal to review a case allowing self-insured companies to reduce health coverage for workers with AIDS. Nonetheless, the decision appears to...

Tortilla maker symbolizes small-business challenges. (Maria and Ricardo Tortilla Factory)
November 23, 1992... In a sense, the Maria & Ricardo Tortilla Factory in Jamaica Plain has all the right ingredients. It is the only tortilla factory in Massachusetts. It uses only the best flour and corn and no preservatives. It is a minority-woman-owned business...

Retailers ask for a busy Christmas.
November 23, 1992... A Deloitte & Touche study released last week on the outlook for New England retail business found that more than two-thirds of the companies that responded anticipate higher comparable-store sales this Christmas. More than 50 percent believe...

Networking pays off for Wellfleet. (Wellfleet Communications Inc.) (Company Profile)
November 23, 1992... Wellfleet Communications, a local maker of internetworking products, has clearly made the right connections on Wall Street. The issue, which was down 30 percent in the first six months of this year when growth stocks were taking a beating, has...

Daka International. (Proxy Report Excerpts) (Company Profile)
November 23, 1992... THE BUSINESS Headquarters: Danvers Stock symbol: DKAI Market: NASDAQ Annual revenue: $167,217,000 Net income: $4,239,000 Employees: 3,200...

Present tense: corporate gift buyers must play Santa all year. (Executive & Corporate Gift Guide)
November 23, 1992... When carols waft through the air in mid-autumn, some people complain that the holiday shopping season is beginning too early. But for Amy Perry, Christmas begins in August. Perry is the director of Ross and Company Corporate Gifts, a division...

Leather shows up in some surprising forms. (leather goods) (Executive & Corporate Gift Guide) (Industry Overview)
November 23, 1992... The London Harness Co., Hermes and other leading names in leather offer a range of stores in Boston to suit any business taste in an executive gift--from a view toward the long haul to a hint of hubris or chutzpah. The range is due in large...

Holiday cards demand creativity - to a point. (Printworks Inc.) (Executive & Corporate Gift Guide) (Company Profile)
November 23, 1992... With more than 2.3 billion cards delivered over the holiday season, it takes creativity to stand out. Some local companies opt for customized cards rather than the standard catalog fare. The extra time and expense it takes to design a...

First-to-die insurance market shows signs of life. (Industry Overview)
November 30, 1992... Hancock and The New England eye field as policy sales explode Sales of first-to-die life insurance policies to small businesses doubled last year, and annualized premiums quadrupled as insurers scrambled to meet new demand for a 30-year-old...

Mortgage bill on Weld's desk. (Massachusetts Gov. William Weld)
November 30, 1992... Legislation designed to avoid foreclosures by making it easier for banks to renegotiate the terms of mortgages is expected to hit Gov. William Weld's desk now that a dispute over the size of the fee banks can charge for the service is resolved....

Learningsmith hammers out plans for expansion.
November 30, 1992... Learningsmith, an innovative retailer affiliated with public television, expanded into the Washington, D.C., area last week, bringing the Belmont company's number of stores to four. Founder Marshall Smith said the year-old business is also...

Theaters push Teleticket for holiday movie rush. (motion picture ticket reservation by phone)
November 30, 1992... Want to go see "Malcolm X," but fear that after hiring a babysitter and hustling down to the theater, the movie will be sold out? Want to take the kids to "Aladdin," but think the Saturday matinee will be mobbed--and you don't want to show up...

Grove Hall project gets OKs from zoning board. (commercial and retail center project in Grove Hall, Boston, Massachusetts approved)
November 30, 1992... Construction of a $6.4 million commercial and retail center in Boston's Grove Hall neighborhood came one step closer to reality last week when the city's zoning board OK'd several variances for the 46,000-square-foot project. The plan is seen as...

Blue Cross contracts try hospitals' patience. (inability of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts to close deals)
November 30, 1992... Most acute-care hospitals still have not signed a contract with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts, despite predictions by the insurer last March that the negotiation process would be wrapped up by the end of the spring, according to a...

Taxicabs are hit hard by proposed insurance hikes.
November 30, 1992... The state Division of Insurance has approved an agreement between the insurance industry and the rate-setting bureau that will result in a 13.8 percent increase in commercial auto insurance premiums. The auto insurance premium increases vary...

Pizza place tries to get a slice of kids' market. (entertainment for children in Bonkers Funhouse Pizza)
November 30, 1992... Felix Paige may soon be laughing all the way to the bank. The owner of the Nick's Comedy Stop chain is opening Bonkers Funhouse Pizza this week--a Chuck E. Cheese takeoff with a mini ferris wheel, merry-go-round, go-carts, moonwalk, electronic...

Showrooms are floored by workers' comp ruling. (classification of furniture showroom as furniture stores increase workers' compensation)
November 30, 1992... Tenants in the Boston Design Center and owners of furniture showrooms across the state are concerned their workers' compensation premiums will soar if a ruling classifying their businesses as furniture stores is upheld. The dispute centers on...

Alan Morse brings accountability to banking. (Massachusetts Commissioner of Banks Alan R. Morse Jr.) (Focus: Banking) (Interview)
November 30, 1992... Alan R. Morse Jr. was named commissioner of banks by Gov. William Weld in August. Before that, he served as chairman of the United States Trust Co. for seven years, where he had worked since 1965. He is a former chairman of the Massachusetts...

MHIC is paving a way for affordable housing. (Massachusetts Housing Investment Corp.) (Focus: Banking)
November 30, 1992... Two years ago, when the banking industry began meeting with community groups to develop ways to meet their investment needs, a common complaint was heard. "Community members were very frustrated with the banks not understanding their projects,"...

Media Logic. (Proxy Report Excerpts) (Company Profile)
November 30, 1992... THE BUSINESS Headquarters: Plainville Stock symbol: TST Market: ASE Annual revenue: $8,572,425 Net income: $949,324 Employees: ...