Inside Business articles from April 2006

Inside Business archives from April 2006

Corrections.(Correction notice)
April 1, 2006... In the Meetings & Events Guide in the Marhc issue, the listing for the House of Blues Cleveland should read as follows: Total # meeting rooms: 7; Largest meeting room sw. ft.: 20,000; Theater caacity: 450; Reception Capacity: 3,000: Max #...

How many teeth hath a horse? How the Aristotelian method renewed our enthusiasm for the road ahead.(ABSOLUTELY)
April 1, 2006... There is good reason this magazine's Birthday Club has become one of our most popular features. Personal birthdays may be important, but business birthdays, to our readers, are more important. Business owners seem to remember every twist and...

Spring splash.(ATTRACTIONS)(Kalahari Resort)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... "After we go over the year-end numbers, let's hit the wave pool," might be overheard at a conference hosted at Kalahari Resort's expanding Sandusky indoor/outdoor waterpark and convention center. Waterparks and convention facilities may...

Brother, can you spare a dime?(YOUNG PROFESSIONALS)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... Twenty- and 30-something Americans are often depicted by the media as being irresponsible and lazy--living at home off of their parents for as long as they can, while sinking fast into credit card debt with their frivolous spending habits. ...

New Dean on the block.(HIGHER EDUCATION)
April 1, 2006... Eager to steer the already excellent Boler School of Business to higher levels of excellence is Luis Maria R. Calingo, Ph.D., its newly appointed dean. Calingo, who officially begins on Aug. 1, views John Carroll University's (JCU) John M....

Boomer business.(FRANCHISING)
April 1, 2006... This year, the first baby boomers turn 60 years old. A lot of them will be at or near retirement with two incomes, have no dependent children and a lot of discretionary dollars. That's music to Joel Libava's ears. He sees an enormous...

Broadband broadcasters.(WORLD WIDE WEB)
April 1, 2006... Bowlers and bowler wannabes across the globe are just one click away from stepping up their game with former U.S. Olympic bowling coach Fred Borden. With www.mybowlingcoach.com, which went live in March, rollers can learn everything they...

A modest proposal.(PUBLIC SCHOOLS)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... Education experts have numerous theories on how to fix the discipline problems in our public schools: smaller classes, more teachers, more security. Sam Thomas, a senior lecturer in banking and finance at Case Western Reserve University's...

Holding all the cards.(LEADERSHIP)
April 1, 2006... Coming off a year where it doubled its profits, Avon Lake polymer compounder PolyOne Corp. appointed Stephen D. Newlin in late February as its new CEO, president and chairman. "The board obviously felt that Steve was more than qualified to...

Manufacturing excellence.(The Web)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... Register at www.inside-business.com/mannys Inside Business magazine, in partnership with MAGNET (Manufacturing Advocacy and Growth Network of Northeast Ohio), is pleased to celebrate manufacturing and distribution excellence in Northeast...

NorTech Annual Meeting.(WORKING THE ROOM)
April 1, 2006... The NorTech Annual Member and Board Meeting was held on Feb. 14, at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Independence. The focus of the meeting was the launch of the Regional Technology Strategy, comprised after an in-depth analysis of the region's...

Deal Maker Awards.(WORKING THE ROOM)
April 1, 2006... On Jan. 26, ACG (Association for Corporate Growth) Cleveland sponsored the 10th-annual Deal Maker Awards. Held at the Cleveland Marriott at Key Center, the awards program recognized corporate and individual deal makers in Northeast Ohio who...

Community Impact Awards.(WORKING THE ROOM)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... In February, Dominion East Ohio and Inside Business magazine once again honored Ohio nonprofits with the Community Impact Awards. Officials from Dominion presented the 10 winning nonprofits with their award at the Club at Key in downtown...

SME luncheon.(WORKING THE ROOM)
April 1, 2006... The Sales and Marketing Executives of Cleveland (SME) held its February networking luncheon at Windows on the River. Inside Business Publisher Lute Harmon Sr. was the keynote speaker. He entertained the crowd with his talk on how he got rich in...

Big brother in the office: all companies, no matter how small should have a written and well-publicized computer-use policy.
April 1, 2006... When I hear "1984," I often ink of the Van Halen rock classic instead of George Orwell's dark book about Big Brother. Though almost 60 years old, Orwell's depressing vision of a totalitarian future is still relevant. I cannot help but...

Biz links: Northeast Ohio's business resource guide.(Directory)
April 1, 2006... Biz Links Northeast Ohio's business resource guide AUTOMOTIVE Mercedes-Benz of (877) 206-7787 www.ohiomb.com North Olmsted BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT & ASSISTANCE JumpStart Inc. (216) 363-3400...

The worst kind of turnover: by developing superior work environments with all the trimmings, companies can combat the labor shortage and retain their best employees.(HUMAN RESOURCES)
April 1, 2006... The tight labor pool has organizations refocused on a lost art--finding and retaining top-performing employees. From compensation to flexible work schedules to allowing pets in the workplace, organizations are trying just about everything to...

April fools: Cleveland sports fans have had too much to drink if they believe our beloved terms are here forever. sports, after all, is a business.(AT LARGE)
April 1, 2006... T.S. Eliot never drank at Cleats in Garfield Heights, but the crowd there agrees with him that April can be cruel. It may be an awful month in what might be an ugly year for Lawrence J. Dolan, owner of the Cleveland Indians. Fans predict...

The end of residency laws? Get the lowdown on the repercussions of Senate Bill 82.(MY SAY)
April 1, 2006... Ohio has long debated the issue of residency requirements and whether or not they should be imposed on government employees. On Jan. 27, Governor Bob Taft signed into law Senate Bill 82 (SB 82), which will essentially overturn the many...

The scoop on Handel's: a quality product and controlled growth have been the keys to Youngstown-based Handel's Ice Cream's sweet success.(Leonard Fisher)(Company overview)
April 1, 2006... When Bill Cosby came to Youngstown for a show a few years back, his limo driver told him he had to try some Handel's Ice Cream while in town. So during his first performance, Cosby asked the crowd if Handel's was any good. The cheers and...

'Changing gears: with a lucrative defense contract in hand, Painesville-based IMAX Industries Inc.'s future is looking very, very promising.(OHIO ENTREPRENEUR)
April 1, 2006... Mike Miller remembers standing in the parking lot and thinking, "What am I going to do next?" after being let go from Cleveland-based Interior Steel Equipment Co. when it was relocated to Mississippi in 1991. But today, Miller, president of...

Road map.(OHIO ENTREPRENEUR)(Directory)
April 1, 2006... Ohio Entrepreneur is a partnership of companies, universities and economic development organizations dedicated to providing access to the information and services entrepreneurs need to start, locate and expand their businesses in Ohio. We...

The next decade: inside business explores 10 ideas, innovations and industries that will drive the next 10 years.(10TH ANNIVERSARY)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... Ten years ago was a time of great excitement in Northeast Ohio. We had just come off a year where the long-awaited Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame and Museum opened, the Cleveland Indians had won its first American League pennant since 1954, and the...

Out with the old: manufacturing in Northeast Ohio is gearing up for unique, higher-value products in nanotechnology, control systems and polymers.(MANUFACTURING)
April 1, 2006... In 1980, more than 43 percent of Lorain County's workforce was employed by the manufacturing industry. By 1990, that number shrunk to 31 percent, and by 2000, 22 percent. This year, in the former home of two Ford Motor Co. plants, the...

Baby steps: though regional governments may be more than 10 years away, Northeast Ohio is already benefiting from shared resources.(REGIONALISM)
April 1, 2006... Regionalism has been the buzzword among business, government and economic development circles at least since the early 1980s, when Cleveland Tomorrow was formed for the express purpose of helping create major, government-funded regional...

Brave new world: with several venture funds and economic development groups making a concerted effort to bring international tech companies to Northeast Ohio, the globalization of the region will be taken to a new level.(TECHNOLOGY)
April 1, 2006... There's a revolution going on in Northeast Ohio and Cathy Panzica is one of its leaders. Founder of the Red Room Revolution, an organization whose mission is to accelerate economic growth in Northeast Ohio through information technology, and a...

In the next 10 years.(BLOGS)
April 1, 2006... In July 2002, when I started BrewedFreshDaily.com (BFD) as a personal weblog, there were only a handful of blogs in Northeast Ohio. Since then, several hundred bloggers that list themselves as residents of the region have launched their own...

All bets are off: the future of downtown Cleveland lies in a convention center, casinos and a medical mart, says Dennis Roche.(FATE OF DOWNTOWN)
April 1, 2006... When it comes to the future of downtown Cleveland, Dennis Roche has his money on the number three. The president of the Convention & Visitors Bureau of Greater Cleveland is hopeful for a trifecta of major development projects that he says will...

A city within a city: University Circle Inc. has set aggressive goals to create an urban district like no other in Northeast Ohio.(UNIVERSITY CIRCLE)
April 1, 2006... A weekend getaway to Cleveland's University Circle will be at the top of many travelers' lists in the next 10 years, Chris Ronayne predicts. Picture this: a Friday night concert with The Cleveland Orchestra, a Saturday stroll through The...

Gray matters: an aging population will require Northeast Ohio's renowned health care providers to expand research and care.(HEALTH CARE)
April 1, 2006... Thomas Zenty has one billion reasons why health is the future of Northeast Ohio. In January, the president and of University Hospitals Health System (UHHS) announced his Vision 2010, which calls for investments of more than $1 billion over...

A healthy return: by cultivating the right companies, Northeast Ohio will become the country's fastest-growing bioscience hub in the next decade.(BIOSCIENCE)
April 1, 2006... At first, it sounds impressive that Northeast Ohio was attracting more than $30 million a year in venture capital investment to grow its bioscience companies. That is until you hear that regions like Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minn., and...

Back to school: urban public universities will face increasing financial challenges and pressures to prepare a skilled workforce for an emerging knowledge economy.(HIGHER EDUCATION)
April 1, 2006... American education underwent dramatic reform when the industrial revolution forced an increase from a sixth-grade to a 12th-grade primary education. A similar transformation is happening today and will continue in the next decade. "The...

Empowering the region: Ronn Richard of The Cleveland Foundation envisions alternative industries leading the economy in Northeast Ohio's future.(ALTERNATIVE ENERGIES)
April 1, 2006... When discussing the development of the Lake Erie shoreline, Ronn Richard envisions 100 350-foot-tall windmills lining the waterfront. One of the region's visionaries, Richard, president and CEO of The Cleveland Foundation, suggests the...

The son also rises: Cleveland Indians president Paul Dolan is entering his most important baseball season yet with a hot team, big ticket sales and a new television network. Now all the team has to do is win.(PRO SPORTS)
April 1, 2006... It's a rare sunny day in mid-February, but it can't be more than 25 degrees outside on the corner of Eagle Avenue and Ontario Street, the entrance to the Cleveland Indians' executive offices in Jacobs Field. Inside, Paul J. Dolan,...

Nothing ventured, nothing gained: what can bring together the likes of regional powerbrokers Al Ratner, Bill Summers and Joe Gorman? Glengary LLC--a new model in venture capital.(VENTURED CATALYSTS)(Company overview)
April 1, 2006... Glengary LLC shares little with Glengarry Glen Ross--David Mamet's stage and screen classic about corporate corruption and greed--except for a similar name and an all-star cast. Named after Glengary Road in Shaker Heights, the street on which...

Recipe for longevity: commitment and passion have preserved Schwebel Baking Co. for 100 years and four generations.(IB's BIRTHDAY CLUB)(Recipe)
April 1, 2006... The old adage about family businesses is the first generation makes it, the second keeps it and the third loses it. But Alyson Winick, whose grandparents opened Schwebel Baking Co. 100 years ago, cannot imagine her family without the business....

Limited engagement: Ohio employers can save big time during open MCO enrollment.(OHIO GUIDE TO WORKERS' COMPENSATION 2006)
April 1, 2006... For Ohio employers, the phrase "workers' compensation insurance" is something you pencil in at the end of your "to do" list. Add insider terms such as "the BWC open enrollment period for MCOs under the HPP," and the reaction may understandably...

From scandal to reform: employers await return of rebates.(OHIO GUIDE TO WORKERS' COMPENSATION 2006)
April 1, 2006... Over the past decade, Ohio employers often enjoyed an annual discount on their workers' compensation insurance--more than $10 billion in total savings. The Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation (BWC) invests insurance premiums paid by private...

Private-sector managed care organizations: most MCOS provide statewide services and may have satellite offices Southwest throughout Ohio. Listed below are the primary contacts to get you started.(OHIO GUIDE TO WORKERS' COMPENSATION 2006)(Directory)
April 1, 2006... SOUTHWEST 10027 SummitComp 550 Summit Ave. #101 Troy, OH 45373 www.summitcompmco.com Sharon Rector 888-800-4556x2307 Fax: 937-339-6902 srector@summitins.com 10002 Sheakley UNICOMP 100 Merchant St....

Third party administrators: the key to group ratings and lower insurance premiums.(OHIO GUIDE TO WORKERS' COMPENSATION 2006)
April 1, 2006... In Ohio's world of workers' compensation insurance, the medical management of on-the-job injury claims is the province of managed care organizations. The Ohio Bureau of Workers Compensation (BWC) requires employers to enroll with an MCO, whose...

Third-party administrators: like MCOs, many TPAs provide services statewide. Primary contacts are listed here.(OHIO GUIDE TO WORKERS' COMPENSATION 2006)(Directory)
April 1, 2006... OUTSIDE OHIO CNF Service Company PO Box 4670 Portland, OR 97208 Jon Lure lum.jon@cnf.com (503) 450-2070 Crockett Adjustment 1500 Riverfront Drive, Suite 120 Little Rock, AR 72203 Rudy Bischof ...

Ask the experts.(OHIO GUIDE TO WORKERS' COMPENSATION 2006)
April 1, 2006... Q. WHAT IS TRANSITIONAL WORK, AND WHY IS IT IMPORTANT FOR EMPLOYERS? Richard H. Curry Gates McDonald HealthPlus A: Transitional work is an approach that focuses on an employees ability to return to work by providing specific job...

Northern exposure: Northeast Ohio's Canadian neighbors make good business partners.(Special Section: Guide to: International Business)
April 1, 2006... Though separated by the largest body of fresh water in the world, Northeast Ohio and Canada continue to find ways over and around the Great Lakes to do a high volume of business. "It's the most important trade relationship that we have,"...

Ask the experts: global gurus: your questions on international business answered.
April 1, 2006... Q. HOW CAN SMALL- AND MEDIUM-SIZE COMPANIES EXPAND THEIR INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES? Ronald DeBarr NEOTEC A: "Companies should take the time to become familiar with the resources that exist to assist with international...

Mergers done right: preparation and patience are the keys to a successful merger and acquisition.(Guide to: Mergers & Acquisitions)
April 1, 2006... Experts agree the marketplace for mergers and acquisitions is a seller's paradise. That means investment bankers, private equity firms, strategic buyers, and even some hedge funds are looking to buy companies. "There are more buyers than...

Resource directory.(Guide to: Mergers & Acquisitions)(Directory)
April 1, 2006... BENESCH, FRIEDLANDER, COPLAN & ARONOFF LLP CATEGORY: LAW FIRM (216) 363-4500 WWW.BFCA.COM CONTACT: JIM HILL JHILL@BFCA.COM Benesch is dedicated to building a deep understanding of its clients, their businesses and...

On the move: deciding to move your business may be one of the most important decisions you make.(Guide to: Corporate Relocation)
April 1, 2006... Congratulations! Your business is growing. You're winning more clients, hiring new employees and buying new equipment. You've done everything you can think of to maximize your office or plant. The only problem is that you cannot possibly...

Resource directory.(Guide to: Corporate Relocation)(Directory)
April 1, 2006... CITY OF MENTOR CATEGORY: GOVERNMENT (440) 974-5739 WWW.CITYOFMENTOR.COM CONTACT: THOMAS W. THIELMAN THIELMAN@CITYOFMENTOR.COM The Mentor Economic Development Team can confidentially help you obtain the facts needed...

Keeping diabetes at bay: diet, exercise can keep the potentially deadly disease in its place.(Guide to: Health Watch)
April 1, 2006... When John Fuller went to the doctor for a colonoscopy in 1995, his diagnosis wasn't quite what he expected to hear. Fuller, 60, a public relations consultant, had diabetes. "l had the colonoscopy and when they did the blood work, they...

Health tips: our experts give a dose of good advice.(Ask the experts)
April 1, 2006... Q. WHAT'S THE BEST WAY TO GET IN SHAPE IF YOU'VE BEEN LACKING IN THE PAST! A: "The best way to get back into shape, regardless of how long it's been since you exercised regularly, is also the best single exercise you can do," says Thomas...

Fearless fellow.(Sonja Thomas, Cleveland Executive Fellowship)(Interview)
April 1, 2006... BORN A LEADER? I would not say that.... If you stand for something and you know where you're going and you're driven, I think that people will naturally follow. REALITY SHOW YOU'RE DYING TO BE A CONTESTANT ON ? I feel like I'm on one right...