Inside Business articles from March 2002

Inside Business archives from March 2002

Fix the schools? be flexible. (Editor's Column).(Editorial)
March 1, 2002... Steve Burigana, executive director of the state of Ohio's Office of School Options, which oversees charter schools, school vouchers and homeschooling, tells a story that is eerily familiar to many Northeast Ohioans. Burigana once did...

Business in the abstract: Painter Diane Latham works to unite art and business with her colorful creations. (Art).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Phloyd, a mostly white feline with misplaced specks of black paint across his back, sits on a leopard-print couch watching Diane Latham apply exaggerated brush strokes to complete her latest painting. Billie Holiday croons softly in the...

Hip Job Titles. (Front Lines).(Betty Bennett of Hired Gun Consulting)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... HIRED GUN Who: Betty Bennett, 42 Company: Hired Gun Consulting in Garfield Heights Has held title: Three years (officially, she is president) Education: Graduated from John Carroll University with a major in communications...

Cold Comforts. (Cabinetry).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Business at Casegoods Inc. has gone under - to the South Pole, that is. While the Norton-based maker of specialized cabinets and displays is used to having its products sent to all points on the compass, Mitchell Volk, the founder and...

In Sites. (Front Lines).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Larry G. Miner, 48. Occupation: Chief technology officer of InfoGrow Corp., a Cuyahoga Falls-based provider of multichannel sales and marketing solutions Has held position: Two months Email: 1miner@infogrowcorp.com Web site:...

Little-Box Retailing. (Five Questions).(Interview)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Jon Schallert looks at Cleveland neighborhoods and sees untapped retail potential, but only if business owners learn to work together. "Each neighborhood can develop its own marketing niche," says Schallert, a marketing and retail...

Coat check.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Community of Minds events scarcely experience a crowd like the one it drew Jan. 16. The throng came to hear Cleveland Mayor Jane Campbell speak and introduce her new director of economic development, Tim Mueller, who graced Inside Business'...

Mighty Morphin' consulting services.(Sogeti L.L.C.)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Cap Gemini, a heavyweight in information technology and management consulting, has formed a new arm to handle its IT consulting: Sogeti LLC. And while the company, which has an office in Hudson, might be new, its name is not. Cap Gemini is...

Dimming blue light.(Kmart Corp.)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Jack Kahl, founder and former CEO of Manco inc. and a retail insider, calls Kmart's recent bankruptcy filing "inevitable." Kahl also noted that Kmart is a viable acquisition for a couple of European retailers, France-based Carrefour and...

The Haves and Have-nots.(business promotion)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 1, 2002... Illinois dropped some serious coin - $925,000 - on a print-ad campaign designed to sell the state to CEOS, CFOs and CIOs as a cutting-edge business environment. The four-page color spread ran one time in eight publications - Business 2.0,...

Have you looked into how an SBA loan can help start or grow your business?(Small Business Administration)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 1, 2002... If you're looking to start or grow your business, contact the Cleveland Small Business Administration at (216) 522-4180 or Kim Gottfried, manager of Business Baking at FirstMerit Bank, at (216) 694-5692. FirstMerit is a Preferred SBA Lender...

Views split on office Internet use. (By the Numbers).(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 1, 2002... One of the paradoxes of the modern office involves personal use of company email and the Internet. Many employers believe that employees' personal use of online technology contributes to lost productivity, and thus lost dollars. But many...

2002 NEO Success Awards. (Working the Room).
March 1, 2002... Business leaders from throughout Northeast Ohio filled Executive Caterers at Landerhaven's ballroom in late January to honor companies receiving the 2002 NEO Success Awards. Keynote speaker Jeffrey Christian, chairman and CEO of...

Avoid the Gorge of Eternal Peril: Do tech investments pay off? Ask Wal-Mart ... or Emerson Electric ... or the Painesville Police Department. (eIndustry).
March 1, 2002... "I'm not dead," cries the grizzled old man. "I'm feeling much better," he repeats to no avail as he's whacked on the head and whisked onto a cart by workers crying, "Bring out your dead!" The IT sector took a nearly fatal hit last year...

A career in high gear: The kid who sketched Mustangs in math class becomes one of Ford's top designers. (Regional Focus: Akron).(Patrick Schiavone)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... As a child, Patrick Schiavone wasn't happy just assembling a plastic model according to directions -- he had to modify it with clay to his specifications. Later, the Akron native spent his years at Walsh Jesuit High School in the 1970s...

Hats Off.(Dawn Hamrick, Life Skills Center)
March 1, 2002... It's a gray, frigid Wednesday morning, but Dawn Hamrick sits cheerily behind her desk. Clad in her staff polo shirt and khaki slacks, she faces the young man slouching in the chair across from her. Wearing baggy pants, a baseball cap, a...

LTV Beyond: Northeast Ohio leaders see a bright future, if the region can discard timeworn political and economic agendas and focus on emerging strengths.(company management strategy and review)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... When LTV Corp. extinguished the blue-and-orange flame that symbolized Cleveland's steel industry, speculation began about what's next for Northeast Ohio's economy. The mill's failure to emerge from bankruptcy was compounded by a national...

Green Light for Growth: Valley View-based GELcore shows the same knack for innovation that has powered its corporate parents: GE Lighting and Emcore Corp.(Interview)
March 1, 2002... Michael Petras Jr. talks at the speed of light. In practically a single breath, the president and CEO of Valley View-based GELcore LLC explains the science behind his company's products - LEDs (light-emitting diodes) - and how GELcore is...

Sale away: Getting the most for your company takes careful planning and preparation. (Mergers & Acquisitions).(includes related article on mergers and the economy)
March 1, 2002... C.S. Chen had thought about selling his business, Quatech Inc., almost from the time he and C.F. Chen formed the Akron-based manufacturer and supplier of data-communications products in 1983. The partners -- both University of Akron...

Resource directory: Your guide to area financial-services support. (Mergers & Acquisitions).(local business and company information)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... ACCOUNTING FIRM Ernst & Young LLP (216) 861-5000 Contact: Christine Moran christine.moran@ey.com Ernst & Young, a global leader in professional services, understands the business issues important to senior executives....

Flying right: Making the most of your corporate-travel budget. (Corporate Travel).(airline charters)
March 1, 2002... Like most frequent fliers, Umberto Fedeli realizes the drawbacks of traveling for business on commercial airlines: The exorbitant cost of tickets purchased fewer than seven days in advance. The added expenses for a trip that doesn't include a...

Traveler's check: What to know before you go. (Corporate Travel).(travel agent interview)
March 1, 2002... Q: What is the role of the travel agent, and how is it changing? A: "It hasn't changed drastically," says Rob Turk, executive vice president of Professional Travel. "But with the advent of the Internet, people are being somewhat force-fed...

Powering up: Northeast Ohio enters the competition to produce fuel-cell technology. (Energy).(fuel cell development and usage details)
March 1, 2002... Think fuel cells are the power source of the distant future? The low-pollution, energy-efficient power systems already drive spacecraft. Some energy experts even expect fuel cells to become a dominant power source within the next two decades....

Resource directory: Your guide to area energy services. (Guide to Energy).(Brief Article)(Directory)
March 1, 2002... ENERGY SERVICE PROVIDERS The Brewer-Garrett Co. (440) 243-3535 www.brewer-garrett.com Contact: Kelly Tisdale tisdale@brewer-garrett.com Ohio's award-winning, independent, full-service mechanical/electrical...

Meet and retreat: Novel approaches to meeting and retreat planning can get employees' creative juices flowing. (Meeting & Event Planning).
March 1, 2002... Your company's next retreat or corporate meeting can be much more than a group of employees huddled in a windowless room for two to three days uttering mind-numbing words such as "strategic planning." A well-planned, off-site event can...

Annual Guide to Meeting & Event Sites.(Directory)
March 1, 2002... Annual Guide To Meeting & Event Sites Hotels DOWNTOWN # of rooms/ Name/address/phone/contact suites Best Hotels and Suites 181/32 3614 Euclid Ave., Cleveland...

Resource directory: Your guide to meeting and event resources. (Meeting & Event Planning).(Brief Article)(Directory)
March 1, 2002... AUDIO-VISUAL SERVICES Colortone Staging & Rentals (216) 741-9600 Contact: Bob Leon bob@colortone.com Colortone, Cleveland's full-service, premium, audio-visual supplier, has an inventory that can fill Gund Arena with...

Players.(personnel changes)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... ENERGY SYSTEMS Akron-based Universal Electric Power Corp., which specializes in hydropower development, has selected Ingrid G. De Decker as international trade manager. De Decker, a native of Germany, previously served as director of the...