Boston Business Journal articles from September 1991

Boston Business Journal archives from September 1991

Emotional distress awards on the rise at MCAD. (Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination)
September 30, 1991... In the past year, the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination has ordered employers in six cases to pay between $20,000 and $100,000 to employees for "emotional distress" caused by the employer's discriminatory practices. The...

Tech consolidation key to success of BOB-Shawmut deal. (integrating bank computers; Bank of Boston; Shawmut National Corp.)
September 30, 1991... As soon as the ink dries on Bank of Boston Corp. and Shawmut National Corp.'s proposed merger, the daunting task of collapsing the two banks into one $55 billion institution begins. And it won't be easy. Bank of Boston and Shawmut have had...

Amtrak's HUB-NYC run sparks bids. (New Haven and Boston to New York railroad run)
September 30, 1991... Three groups, including one headed up by a Massachusetts-based electrical contractor, are competing for an Amtrak contract to electrify 330 miles of railroad tracks between Boston and New Haven, Conn., that is expected to be worth more than...

City property values to drop 20 percent.
September 30, 1991... Boston Assessing Commissioner Thaddeus Jankowski told the Boston Business Journal last week that assessed values for residential and commercial properties are expected to drop 15 percent to 20 percent for fiscal year 1992. But Jankowski...

Stockbroker indicted. (Mark Baldwin)
September 30, 1991... Former First Investors Corp. stockbroker Mark Baldwin was indicted for allegedly stealing $45,000 from a client. The indictment charges that Baldwin took $30,000 intended for a client and deposited it into an account listed for his roommate....

Standard & Poor's. (rating for New England Mutual Life Insurance Co.)
September 30, 1991... Standard & Poor's lowered its claims-paying ability and senior debt rating of New England Mutual Life Insurance Co. of Boston from AA to AA-, citing the lowered value of the company's real estate. The move comes three months after a similar...

Montilio's Pastry Shops. (bankruptcy reorganization)
September 30, 1991... Seven months after entering bankruptcy reorganization, Montilio's Pastry Shops closed three-fourths of its retail stores and will depend on expansion of its wholesale division to continue the family business. Owner George Montilio blamed the...

The Boston Globe. (fined for occupational hazards)
September 30, 1991... The Boston Globe may be fined $30,000 by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration for 15 alleged safety violations in the workplace. The proposed OSHA fine involves safety standards governing the use of machines and electrical...

Pension Reserve Investment Management Board. (reserves $66 million for assets writedown)
September 30, 1991... The state's Pension Reserve Investment Management Board put aside a $66 million reserve in anticipation of what would be the second writedown this year of the public employee pension fund's real estate assets.

Freeze at Coolidge. (Coolidge Bank's credit restrictions)
September 30, 1991... The Coolidge Bank of Boston has told customers it will approve no new loans until further notice. The loan moratorium was instituted in an attempt to save the failing institution.

Gaston & Snow. (hires legal consultant Francis Musselman)
September 30, 1991... Gaston & Snow hired legal consultant Francis Musselman in a last-ditch effort to save the indebted law firm. Partners are reported to be deserting the firm for healthier firms such as the Boston office of Hartford-based Day, Berry & Howard and...

Shannon Russell. (indicted for embezzling)
September 30, 1991... Shannon Russell, former CFO of the computer software firm Transition Systems, was indicted by a Suffolk County grand jury for allegedly embezzling $650,000 between July 1989 and December 1990. The charges include nine counts of larceny, six...

Offering successful. (Eilene's Basement chain stores public offering of stocks)
September 30, 1991... Filene's Basement raised $14 million in its second stock offering in five months, part of a plan to double its number of stores in three years. Company president Jim Anathan said he was pleased that 700,000 shares of stock sold for $22 a share,...

Digital Equipment Corp. (Casablanca, Morocco operations)
September 30, 1991... Digital Equipment Corp. of Maynard opened its first African subsidiary, Digital Maghreb, in Casablanca, Morocco.

International Business Machines Corp. (supercomputer development collaboration with Thinking Machines Corp.)
September 30, 1991... International Business Machines Corp. announced that it will collaborate with Cambridge-based Thinking Machines Corp. to develop massively parallel supercomputers. Some computer analysts believe parallelism is the next phase in the evolution of...

William E. Haggett. (resigned chairman of Bath Iron Works)
September 30, 1991... William E. Haggett resigned as chairman of Bath Iron Works in Maine, nine days after stepping down as chief executive officer. Haggett said he was leaving the Navy contractor after 28 years to protect the shipyard's future in the wake of his...

Insurance raters face increasing scrutiny. (private insurance rating agencies)
September 30, 1991... Massachusetts' top insurance regulator says she would support a proposed move by a national group of state regulators to set standards for insurance rating agencies. Massachusetts Commissioner of Insurance Kay Doughty said the issue of...

Top biotech officials sell off stock shares. (Biogen's James L. Vincent; Henri A. Termeer of Genzyme Corp.)
September 30, 1991... Top officials of at least two prominent local biotechnology companies took advantage of a late-summer rally in their company's stock price and sold off sizable blocks of options. According to recent filings with the Securities and Exchange...

Retirement complexes hit chilly economy in NE. (unfavorable financing for planned retirement communities in New England)
September 30, 1991... Although the effort has been slowed by a brutal real estate market and trouble with obtaining financing, a Waltham developer is forging ahead with plans to build a $25 million continuing care retirement community (CCRC) in Natick. Edward...

Utilities lose money while saving energy. (electric utilities offer for free energy efficient machinery and lighting fixtures to customers meant losses)
September 30, 1991... Local utilities are cutting back on their energy conservation programs in light of the fact that the programs--many of which involve giving away machinery or fixtures--often cost more to implement than they save. Take the case of New England...

Builders play it safe in the Western Belt. (real estate developers find Western Boston, Massachusetts favorable)(Special Edition: Commercial Real Estate)
September 30, 1991... The west of Boston commercial/industrial real estate market, including the area between Route 93 and Route 90 stretching out to Route 495, is seeing development activity related more to price than proximity. And in this "play it safe"...

CRInc. plans recycling plant for the long haul.
September 30, 1991... New England CRInc. and 20 Metro West towns that have banded together to form the Millis Consortium are nearing final agreement on a 20-year recycling contract. The Billerica company won a bid in July to build a Materials Recycling Facility...

Another hospital headache: showdown looms over bad-debt pool. (legislation to limit business contributions to bad debt free-care pool thru health insurance premiums paid by employers may hurt hospital industry)
September 30, 1991... There is a legislative storm brewing with multimillion dollar implications for Bay State employers. The dispute is over an amendment to the pending hospital finance legislation that would cap business contributions to the bad debt free-care...

Richard Bertman: built on trust. (Personnel File)
September 30, 1991... Position: President, Boston Society of Architects Education: B.A., 1956, Harvard University; B.Arch., 1960, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; M.Arch., 1965, University of California at Berkeley Age: 57 As evidenced by...

Customers are at home in North Andover bank. (Northmark Bank in North Andover)(Focus: Banking and Finance) (Company Profile)
September 30, 1991... The entryway of Northmark Bank in North Andover could lead you to think you've entered the wrong door. You expect a vestibule with neon lights, an automated teller machine and a floor littered with ATM receipts. Instead, there's a porch with a...

TMC manages to blossom without branches. (The Massachusetts Co.)(Focus Banking and Finance) (company profile)
September 30, 1991... The Massachusetts Co. (TMC) doesn't have branches or the word "bank" in its name. And bank analysts, let alone the average person on the streets of Boston, do not always recognize the name. Even so, the bank with $1.65 billion in assets was...

Fleet calms the waters after takeover of BNE. (Fleet/Norstar Financial Group; Bank of New England)(Focus: Banking and Finance)
September 30, 1991... One of the last outward remnants of the old Bank of New England faded from the landscape in early September as Fleet/Norstar Financial Group removed the failed lender's nameplate from the sides of its recently acquired banks. In its place the...

Commonwealth Energy Systems. (Proxy Report Excerpts) (company profile)
September 30, 1991... THE BUSINESS COMEnergy Headquarters: Cambridge Stock Symbol: CES Market: NYSE Annual Revenue: $812,805,000 Net Income: ...

GenRad. (Health/Science)
September 30, 1991... Concord-based GenRad selected Robert Aldworth to serve as vice president/finance and chief financial officer. He recently worked in the same capacity for New Hampshire-based MPB Corp., a supplier of precision bearings to the aerospace/avionics...

David Benson. (Health/Science)
September 30, 1991... David Benson was elected president of Waltham's Meditrust and a member of its board of trustees. Benson is a certified public accountant and has served as Meditrust's treasurer since 1985. In addition, Michael Bushee was named vice president of...

Boston Technology. (High Technology)
September 30, 1991... Boston Technology named David Gergacz as president and chief operating officer. He recently held a similar position at US Sprint's Network Systems Division, where he was responsible for joint ventures. Boston Technology, based in Wakefield,...

CSP Inc. (High Technology)
September 30, 1991... Billerica-based CSP Inc. named David Botten president and chief operating officer as well as a member of the board of directors. He was recently the director of advanced bioinstrumentation for the Instruments Group of EG&G. CSP deals in signal...

Discipline dampens building in Boston. (Special Edition: Commercial Real Estate)
September 30, 1991... Look at the Boston skyline and see the construction crunch. Gone are the steel frames and towering cranes that prevailed a few years ago. The free market is imposing discipline on the real estate development game, at least for the time being....

Cambridge is better off than neighbors. (Cambridge, Massachusetts' real estate business is favorable)(Special Edition: Commercial Real Estate)
September 30, 1991... By the depressed standards of today's commercial real estate game, Cambridge is one of the healthiest office markets around. That doesn't mean the development business is on the rebound in Cambridge. On the contrary. It just goes to show that...

Home fix-up stores select North Shore. (North Shore, Massachusetts is the site of home improvement retailers)(Special Edition: Commercial Real Estate)
September 30, 1991... Development of new commercial office space along the North Shore, the area east of Route 93 and extending out to Route 495, is virtually nonexistent in 1991, but there is some construction activity in the retail sector. Rehabilitation projects,...

South deals with stalled market. (South Shore Area, Massachusetts' commercial and office buildings glut)(Special Edition: Commercial Real Estate)
September 30, 1991... As a result of the state's high unemployment rate, a depressed retail market, corporate consolidations and the increased trend toward lender ownership, real estate analysts for the South Shore area, stretching from Route 90 southward and out to...

Neighborhood finds Allston Landing plan palatable. (residents approve Boston Redevelopment Authority's plan to persuade Genzyme Corp. to build its manufacturing plant in Allston Landing)
September 23, 1991... The Welcome Wagon is out for possible Genzyme deal A mile or so west of Fenway Park, where the Red Sox are unexpectedly battling for a division title, Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) director Stephen Coyle is pursuing an impossible dream...

Quant firm plays it by the numbers. (Numeric Investors uses quantitative method for picking stocks) (company profile)
September 23, 1991... John C. Bogle Jr. and Langdon B. Wheeler are glad that the stock market isn't always perfectly efficient. Their firm, Numeric Investors in Cambridge, depends on it. At Numeric, Bogle and Wheeler, along with partner James Sloman, have been on...

Heartbreak hotels: foreclosure checks in. (Bank of Boston and Fleet/Norstar Financial Group foreclose hotels and motels)
September 23, 1991... New England banks, realizing that owners of troubled hotels and motels can't overcome their problems, will foreclose on dozens of properties by the end of the year to protect their investments. Facing the grim reality that the hotel industry...

Lawyers pound pavement. (number of unemployed lawyers increases)
September 23, 1991... About 40 percent of the 400 graduates from the 1991 class at Boston University Law School still don't have jobs. "There's a significant increase in the amount of people unemployed at graduation," said Michael Leshin, director of the school's...

Westin Hotel. (and Marriott Copley Place face competition against John B. Hynes Veterans Memorial Convention Center as a holiday hot spot)
September 23, 1991... Hotel managers at the Westin Hotel and the Marriott Copley Place are irked that the state-run John B. Hynes Veterans Memorial Convention Center is pitching itself as a holiday hot spot for company Christmas parties. The hospitality industry is...

Massachusetts Water Resources Authority. (spurs public protest after releasing statements that it may reduce the level of treatment for waste water)
September 23, 1991... A small armada of private boats attempted to close Massachusetts Bay last week to protest a $400 million sewage outfall pipe that they claim will send Boston pollution south to Cape Cod. State officials were surprised by the outpouring of...

Aetna Life & Casualty. (and Carmen W. Elio are under investigation for possible conflict of interest violations)
September 23, 1991... A consulting arrangement between Aetna Life & Casualty of Connecticut and Carmen W. Elio--an adviser to 20 city, town and county pension boards--that gave Aetna a $125 million leg up in the Massachusetts market has come under scrutiny for...

Government Accounting Office. (reports that insider loans in Bank of New England could cost the U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. $185 million)
September 23, 1991... The Government Accounting Office reported that insider loans to directors and executives of the defunct Bank of New England could cost the FDIC, which insures bank deposits, as much as $185 million. The report, released by the U.S. Senate's...

NYNEX Corp. (plans to lay off managers by the end of the first quarter)
September 23, 1991... NYNEX Corp. announced it may lay off as many as 1,900 managers by the end of the first quarter. In New England, between 325 and 425 managerial jobs will be cut. The move came shortly after the company and its unions said they had worked out a...

Fleet/Norstar Financial Group. (plans to acquire banks put out to bid by the U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.)
September 23, 1991... Five New Hampshire banks were put out to bid last week by the FDIC and among those shopping the Granite State for bargains was Fleet/Norstar Financial Group. Neither Bank of Boston nor the Harvard Management Group participated in the bidding....

Uzi Katz. (and his wife Ruth Katz were arrested for committing fraud)
September 23, 1991... Boston real estate investor Uzi Katz, his wife Ruth Katz and Dolphinvest Ltd., a company Katz directs, executed more than 20 real estate "flips" in the Back Bay and Brighton. Ruth Katz was arrested last week as she signed papers in an allegedly...

Gaston & Snow. (8 more lawyers resign from the law firm)
September 23, 1991... Eight more lawyers resigned at the troubled Boston law firm of Gaston & Snow. Meanwhile, the firm has entered discussions with Francis Musselman, a New York-based legal troubleshooter.

Incinerator debates hinge on garbage data. (Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection turns down Browning-Ferris Industries' environmental impact report)
September 23, 1991... Browning-Ferris Industries warned state regulators last week that if new incinerators are not built in Massachusetts, the state will have almost 1 million tons of excess garbage on its hands by the year 2000. Fresh from the Sept. 13 rejection...

Fidelity presses roll. (Bay State Newspaper Company, controlled by Fidelity Capital, will publish Medford Citizen newspaper)
September 23, 1991... Medford Transcript Bay State Newspaper Company, which is controlled by an investor group that includes Fidelity Capital, an arm of the mutual-fund giant, will make good on its threat to the Medford Transcript that it would begin a competing...

Council has say. (Boston City Council will participate in lawsuit filed by the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce against the city)
September 23, 1991... Waterhouse bill The Boston City Council will have its say in a lawsuit filed by the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce to overturn an ordinance passed last summer that restricts an employer's ability to hire replacement workers during a...

Shredders pay up. (Prolerized New England Company and Patriot Metals Company pay $125,000 for improper handling of hazardous wastes)
September 23, 1991... Environment Two of the largest automobile shredders in New England have agreed to pay a $125,000 civil penalty in a suit filed by the state attorney general alleging that they improperly handled hazardous waste and illegally transferred it...

Vertex hitches ride on the space shuttle. (Vertex Pharmaceuticals develops protein crystals in space)
September 23, 1991... Vertex Pharmaceuticals sent up kits to grow protein crystals on the five-day space shuttle flight last week to help develop an anti-rejection drug for organ transplant patients. The Cambridge-based biotech company will use the crystals to...

Hancock wants Patriot Group. (John Hancock Mutual Funds signs letter of intent to acquire the Patriot Group)
September 23, 1991... John Hancock Mutual Funds announced last week that it had signed a letter of intent to acquire Boston-based mutual fund firm the Patriot Group and its three closed-end mutual funds for an undisclosed amount. The sale is expected to resolve a...

Green industry shows fertility. (survey shows that the environmental services industry is one of the fastest growing industries in Massachusetts)
September 23, 1991... The state's $13 billion environmental industry, which is growing at a rate of 15 percent a year, will be one of the fastest growing industry segments in Massachusetts in the 1990s, according to a report scheduled to be released this week by the...

Biotech is stunted by a shortage of laboratory space. (difficulty in getting loans prevents Ariad Pharmaceuticals from building a laboratory in Massachusetts)
September 23, 1991... Ariad Pharmaceuticals, one of the hottest biotech start-ups in the country, now leans toward locating in Rhode Island, New York or North Carolina because the region's credit crunch has made financing for building a site difficult in...

Drug agent delivers MacroChem from obscurity. (MacroChem signs deal giving Upjohn Co. licensing rights to SEPA)
September 23, 1991... A tiny Bay State biotech company has injected some life into its bottom line with a drug-delivery agent that helps minoxidil, the hair-growth drug, soak deeper into balding scalps. Billerica-based MacroChem signed a multimillion dollar deal...

Kathleen McDermott: living in the past. (a principal in the Winthrop Group, writes corporate histories)
September 23, 1991... Position: Principal, The Winthrop Group Education: B.A., Alfred University, 1978; J.D., School of Law and Jurisprudence, State University of New York at Buffalo, 1981; LL.M., Harvard Law School, 1982 Age: 35 Kathleen McDermott,...

A burning question on cleaning up toxics. (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency finds new methods to clean up contaminated hazardous waste disposal sites)(Focus: The Environment)
September 23, 1991... Burning environmentally damaging waste to clean up toxic dump sites in Massachusetts is generating a new kind of fire: Activists contend the method creates new dangers. Some environmentalists are calling for new cleanup technology that...

New trust fund covers gas tank spills. (the Underground Storage Tank Trust Fund Statute provides cleanup funds in case of environmental contamination)(Focus: The Environment)
September 23, 1991... Massachusetts gas station owners are breathing a sigh of relief over new legislation that provides cleanup funds in the event of environmental contamination by their underground storage tanks. But they, along with other industry observers,...

Banks at risk from liability laws. (hazardous substances damages)(Focus: The Environment)
September 23, 1991... The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. Congress and the Massachusetts Legislature are tangling with the same problem: how to define banks' liability for hazardous wastes when they act to protect their interest in a property that...

SofTech. (Proxy Report Excerpts) (company profile)
September 23, 1991... THE BUSINESS SofTech Headquarters: Waltham Symbol: SOFT Market: NASDAQ Annual Revenue: ...

Richard Borel. (Advertising/Communications)
September 23, 1991... Richard Borel was appointed executive vice president/chief operating officer of Boston-based Target Productions. He has previously served the audio/video production company as its vice president of sales/marketing and chief administrative...

Cambridge NeuroScience. (Health/Science)
September 23, 1991... Cambridge NeuroScience appointed Philip Holberton to chief financial officer and vice president of finance and administration. He recently worked for General Cinema Theatres, where he served as vice president of finance and treasurer. Cambridge...

GenRad. (High Technology)
September 23, 1991... Concord-based GenRad selected Robert Aldworth to serve as the company's vice president-finance and chief financial officer. He recently worked for New Hampshire-based MPB Corp., where he held a similar position. Aldworth is a certified public...

Boston Technology. (High Technology)
September 23, 1991... Boston Technology named David Gergacz as president and chief operating officer. He has worked for US Sprint's network systems division. Boston Technology develops and manufactures enhanced voice-processing platforms for Regional Bell Operating...

Cohasset Savings Bank. (Earnings)
September 23, 1991... TABULAR DATA OMITTED

Collaborative Research. (Earnings)
September 23, 1991... TABULAR DATA OMITTED

Omni Management Corp. (Incorporations)
September 23, 1991... OMNI MANAGEMENT CORP., 121 High St., Boston 02110. Investment advising. Pres. and treas: Michael Delduchetto, same as bus.

Pigeon Cove Land Corp. (Incorporations)
September 23, 1991... PIGEON COVE LAND CORP., c/o Broude & Hochberg, 75 Federal St., Boston 02110. Real estate. Pres: Alvin Hochberg, 51 Prospect Ave., Newtonville 02160. Treas: Daniel Bakinowski, 19 Balcarres Rd., West Newton 02165.

Today's Child. (Incorporations)
September 23, 1991... TODAY'S CHILD, 2 Carolina Pl., Boston 02130. Wholesaler. Pres. and treas: Jeffrey Shaffer, 57 Strawberry Hill Ave., Norwalk, Conn. 06855.

Cambridge Management Systems. (Incorporations)
September 23, 1991... CAMBRIDGE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS, 101 Main St., 17th Fl., Cambridge 02142. Software and hardware. Pres: Massimo Grimaldi, same as bus. Treas: William Bordiuk, same as bus.

Jero Construction Corp. (Incorporations)
September 23, 1991... JERO CONSTRUCTION CORP., 44 Mattakeeset St., Mattapan 02126. Contractors and subcontractors. Pres: Jerome Golafaie, same as bus. Treas: Debra Roy, P.O. Box 1095, Derry, N.H. 03038.

Melia Travel Service. (Incorporations)
September 23, 1991... MELIA TRAVEL SERVICE, 860 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge 02139. Travel consulting services. Pres: Gerardo Fernandez, 934 Watertown St., Newton 02165. Treas: Alba Avarez, 934 Watertown St., Newton 02165.

Metro Alliance. (Incorporations)
September 23, 1991... METRO ALLIANCE, 220 Boylston St., Suite 1218, Boston 02116. General commodities, sales and trading. Pres. and treas: Ashiya Dudhia, Four Seasons Place, 220 Boylston St., Boston 02116.

Rub Tracks Recording Services. (Incorporations)
September 23, 1991... RUB TRACKS RECORDING SERVICES, 314 C St., South Boston 02127. Recording studios. Pres. and treas: Jimi Randolph, same as bus.

Clarendon Construction Company. (Incorporations)
September 23, 1991... CLARENDON CONSTRUCTION COMPANY, c/o Vena, Truelove, Lahey & Domestico, 253 Summer St., Boston 02210. Contracting and engineering. Pres. and treas: Edward Vena, P.O. Box 31 S.H.S., Duxbury 02332.

CPR Franchising Company. (Incorporations)
September 23, 1991... CPR FRANCHISING COMPANY, 280 Lincoln St., Boston 02134. Personal wireless communication devices. Pres. and treas: Philip Webster, 47 Miller Hill Rd., Dover 02030.

Peter Griglik. (Incorporations)
September 23, 1991... PETER GRIGLIK, 40 St. Botolph St., Unit #28, Boston 02116. Interior design. Pres. and treas: Peter Griglik, same as bus.

T & S Auto Body & Storage Co. (Incorporations)
September 23, 1991... T & S AUTO BODY & STORAGE CO., 38/40 Norfolk Ave., Roxbury 02119. Auto body and repair. Pres. and treas: Domingos Pereira, same as bus.

Alltruck and Equipment Co. (Incorporations)
September 23, 1991... ALLTRUCK AND EQUIPMENT CO., 525 LaGrange St., West Roxbury 02132. Automobile and truck repair. Pres: John Blay, 152 High Range Rd., Londonderry, N.H. 03053. Treas: Paul Kaminga, same as bus.

Danvers Saturn. (Incorporations)
September 23, 1991... DANVERS SATURN, 1575 V.F.W. Parkway, Boston 02132. Motor vehicle dealers. Pres. and treas: James Clair, same as bus.

Lake Street Corp. (Incorporations)
September 23, 1991... LAKE STREET CORP., 10 School St., Boston 02108. Real estate. Pres: Christopher Dunn, same as bus. Treas: Karen Hammond, same as bus.

Org Products Corp. (Incorporations)
September 23, 1991... ORG PRODUCTS CORP., 125 Summer St., Boston 02110-1624. Health food and nutrition products. Pres. and treas: Anna Organesov, 83-10 35th Ave., Apt. 20, Jackson Heights, N.Y. 11372.