Business Courier Serving Cincinnati - Northern Kentucky articles from April 1998

Business Courier Serving Cincinnati - Northern Kentucky archives from April 1998

Cash might be cause of scrap over Skyline. (Meritage Hospitality Group makes third acquisition offer to Skyline Chili Inc.)
April 3, 1998... Meritage may make third run at buying chili chain An appetite for cash may be the driving force behind a twice-spurned Skyline Chili Inc. suitor's continued run at the Fairfield-based restaurant chain. Local financial experts, shocked by...

Murphy out as local Anthem chief. (James Murphy fired as CEO of Anthem Blue Cross & Blue Shield)
April 3, 1998... Shake-up prompted by disappointing '97 James Murphy, president and CEO of Anthem Blue Cross & Blue Shield, has been let go by the health insurance giant's parent company after a year of disappointing results. The March 27 management shake-up...

Multi-Color ending preferred-share dividends.
April 3, 1998... Payment cut caused by covenant violation Multi-Color Corp. has stopped paying dividends to preferred shareholders after violating a covenant in its bank-lending agreement. Beginning with the quarter that just ended along with its fiscal year...

Downtown tower for sale? (Cincinnati office tower 580 Building to be sold by Heitman Properties Ltd.)
April 3, 1998... 580 Building could bring in $34 million The 580 Building, one of downtown's largest office towers, is on the selling block, according to local real estate sources. The Chicago owner of the 526,000-square-foot building, a Heitman Properties...

LCA-Vision sets three-pronged path in search for profitability. (eye surgery firm closes eight unprofitable clinics)
April 3, 1998... Laser-surgery firm shutters eight centers after acquisition Trying to turn LCA-Vision Inc. into a profitable chain of retail laser eye-surgery centers is the toughest professional task Dr. Stephen Joffe has undertaken - tougher even than...

Albertson finds new Clermont Cty. home. (Albertson Network to move into its new facility in Clough Pike, OH)
April 3, 1998... $3.5 million project will almost double space The Albertson Network of Clermont County is almost doubling its space with a new $3.5 million facility, while acquiring a Springdale uniform company that could boost annual sales by more than $1...

AK Steel execs netted hefty bonuses in '97. (AK Steel Holding Corp.)
April 3, 1998... Stellar operating results produced rewards AK Steel Holding Corp.'s strong operating performance last year resulted in big bonuses and salary increases for its executives. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Richard Wardrop took home a...

Ohio Casualty touts low-cost auto coverage.
April 3, 1998... Plan being rolled out in upstate New York Ohio Casualty Corp. is motoring into upstate New York with a new auto insurance program and plans to take the effort westward later this year. The insurer has formed a new company, called Avomark, to...

A question of timing. (founder of Thomas E. Wood Inc. recounts his thoughts when he sold the insurance agency)
April 3, 1998... The head of Thomas E. Wood Inc. wrestled with when to sell his firm Tom Klinedinst Jr.'s corner office high up in the 312 Elm Building offers a bird's-eye view of Cincinnati's riverfront. It's a good place to contemplate the interplay of...

CPX Construction build its third-party business. (includes related article on interview with CPX Pres. Jim Mouhourtis)(Company Profile)
April 3, 1998... Corporex unit grows with 'outside' clients CPX Construction Inc., a high-flying subsidiary of Corporex Cos. Inc. of Walnut Hills, got its start the easy way. Corporex Chairman William Butler, a TriState developer and Northern Kentucky native...

Survey buoys Broadway backers.
April 10, 1998... OTR results refute gripes from Reds Broadway Commons supporters have one more gun for their growing arsenal. Business leaders in Over-the-Rhine say a new survey shows the neighborhood has a much more vibrant business climate than its critics...

Cincinnatians grabbing the good life. (robust economy in Cincinnati)
April 10, 1998... THANKS TO THE ROBUST economy and a soaring stock market, the wealthy among us are on quite a spending spree. He was there to bid on a charcoal drawing by impressionist master Pierre Auguste Renoir, but Tim, an east-side entrepreneur,...

Doctors leaving Aetna plan. (Aetna US Healthcare)
April 10, 1998... Ob-Gyns oppose some stipulations of insurer Some of the Tri-State's most prominent obstetricians and gynecologists have resigned - or say they plan to resign - from Aetna U.S. Healthcare's local plans because they are angered by the insurer's...

Black/white disparity among local jobless near region's highest.
April 10, 1998... A soon-to-be released study from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee shows Cincinnati has 3.44 black people out of work for every unemployed white. Cincinnati's employment gap between white and black workers is one of the largest in the...

Cinergy closes California office after one year.
April 10, 1998... Slow deregulation meant few customers switched utilities Cinergy Corp. is switching off its electricity commodities office in California because fewer customers there were willing to change electricity providers than the company anticipated....

California bank looks for Tri-State niche. (Silicon Valley Bank)
April 10, 1998... Silicon Valley targets tech, life-science firms A California niche bank is expanding in the Midwest and the already competitive Cincinnati market is high on its list. Santa Clara-based Silicon Valley Bank, a $2.7 billion institution...

Narrow focus nets green. (Cincinnati Color Inc)(Company Profile)
April 10, 1998... Cincinnati Color competes by catering to contractors You don't have to hit the mother lode to be a successful miner. Cincinnati Color Inc. has survived for decades on a tiny vein of ore within the nation's paint industry. While massive...

Infusion of real estate adds to Stough's growth. (Stough Enterprises Inc)
April 10, 1998... Plasma company adds properties to holdings Most companies take months to complete a site search. But when Stough Enterprises Inc. entered the Cincinnati market in 1968, the search lasted only a few minutes. That was just long enough for the...

Star catching up after flurry of acquisition activity. (Star Banc Corp)
April 10, 1998... Bank ventures into new market Star Banc Corp.'s priorities for the rest of 1998 are simple: integrate acquisitions and expand current initiatives in the delivery and product arenas. The recently completed $641 million' acquisition of...

Merger creates no. 2 ad agency. (ImageMatrix Inc. and Westerkamp Giles and Partners creates the Tri-State's second-largest advertising agency)
April 17, 1998... Westerkamp teams with ImageMatrix ImageMatrix Inc. and Westerkamp Giles & Partners have merged to create the TriState's second-largest advertising and marketing communications agency. Some believe the deal may signal the beginning of a new...

Banking's mega-deals could hit home. (bank mergers)
April 17, 1998... Analysts say the mergers may cause other banks to rethink their options; locals say they won't change strategies. The effects of the huge mergers, that have swept through the banking world in recent weeks could filter down to Cincinnati's three...

Founding trio leaves Big Sky bread chain. (Big Sky Bread Co.; Roger and Barry Elkus and Harold Tieger)(Company Profile)
April 17, 1998... Major expansion plans placed on hold for now The founders of Big Sky Bread Co. have relinquished operating control of the 8-year-old bakery chain, and the new managers have put the company's aggressive expansion plans on hold. Brothers Roger...

Midland Enterprises' head leaves for parent firm. (Pres. Fred Raskin)
April 17, 1998... Raskin will oversee Eastern's operations Fred Raskin, president of Cincinnati-based barge operator Midland Enterprises Inc., is heading back east to take the No. 2 spot at Midland's parent company, publicly traded Eastern Enterprises....

Power-transmitting venture gets friction. (Cinergy Corp.'s plan to form an electric-transmission group called Midwest Independent System Operator)
April 17, 1998... Regulators question Cinergy's Midwest plan Cinergy Corp. is encountering some opposition from regulators and competitors in its plan to form a Midwest electric-transmission group with nine other utility companies. If formed, the group will...

Urban weekly paper draws flock of buyers. (Call and Post newspaper)
April 17, 1998... Local group vied for bankrupt Call and Post At least four contenders are vying to purchase the bankrupt Call and Post, which has covered Ohio's black community since 1919. The move could result in a new bidding war for the Columbus-based...

Flynn Sabatino set for national ad business: Cincinnati entry in 1996 one step on the way. (Flynn Sabatino and Day Inc.'s acquisition plans)
April 17, 1998... In an effort to follow up on its successful expansion into Cincinnati, Dayton advertising agency Flynn Sabatino & Day Inc. wants to make a lot of noise on the national level. The 15-year-old agency has adopted an aggressive acquisition plan...

First Watch setting its sights on expansion: chain's founders create recipe for growth. (restaurant chain)(Company Profile)
April 17, 1998... Restaurant work has long been a big part of First Watch co-founder John Sullivan's life. Sure, he worked on ski patrols and as a pilot after graduating from Arizona State University, but it didn't take long before he gravitated to restaurants....

Building blitz hits the 'burbs; Duke leads the pack by breaking ground with or without tenants. (Duke Realty Investments Inc.)(includes related article on Duke's contracts for 1998)(Focus on Real estate)(Industry Overview)
April 17, 1998... Like Michael Jordan at crunch time, several commercial real estate developers in the Tri-State are stepping up when opportunity knocks. The opportunity, in this case, involves Greater Cincinnati's suburban office market, which is experiencing...

Wage growth skyrockets locally. (Cincinnati, Ohio)
April 24, 1998... Retail, industrial jobs see largest hike The Tri-State's two largest employment sectors have seen wage growth double since last fall, according to the latest wage figures, one of the strongest signs yet that the tight labor market is having a...

Bricklayer's last hurrah: Vontz Center. (architectural design and construction of university building)
April 24, 1998... The far-out design of a U.C. building by a well-known architect was only possible with this craftsman's skills. Now that the Vontz Center for Molecular Sciences is rising on the University of Cincinnati campus, U.C.'s plan to make a provocative...

Life insurer's search for buyer nearly over. (United Liberty Life Insurance Co.)
April 24, 1998... United Liberty selling to Ky. company; HQ to move United Liberty Life Insurance Co. may finally have a buyer, ending its three-year search for an acquirer of the debt-ridden company. Louisville, Ky.-based Citizens Security Life Insurance Co....

N. Ky. eyes labor solutions. (Northern Kentucky)
April 24, 1998... Better training, more recruiting are options The Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce is stepping up its efforts to help fight the area's increasing labor shortage. Among the ideas the chamber might address: non-traditional recruiting...

Interactive airport business center to open here. (Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport)
April 24, 1998... Seattle firm starts concept in Cincinnati, then nationally A privately held Seattle firm has selected the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport to open the first of many interactive business centers planned for airports all over...

Bell plans to 'bundle' telecom services bills. (Cincinnati Bell Inc.)
April 24, 1998... Single bill convenient, but hard to implement Cincinnati Bell Inc. plans to offer local customers a single bill for up to five telecommunications services beginning next month. Cincinnati Bell will become the first Tri-State...

Staffing for success. (temporary employment services offered by NationStaff Inc.)
April 24, 1998... NationStaff Inc. was launched with more titan $2.4 million in capital Before Tim Michael launched his health care temporary-employment firm, NationStaff Inc., he spent eight months researching every conceivable aspect of the temporary-staffing...

Accounting firm shifting toward consulting work. (Clark, Schaefer, Hackett & Co.)
April 24, 1998... Clark Schaefer grows by focusing on niches During its 60-year existence, Clark, Schaefer, Hackett & Co. has seen a lot of change in the way its clients do their business - and as a result, the way the firm itself does business. Whereas its...

Patient care bill would target RN staff levels. (registered nurses)
April 24, 1998... Nurses who have been complaining about hospital staffing levels and patient care are seeing their concerns addressed in the Ohio Senate. Senate Bill 240, the Ohio Patient Safety Bill, was introduced in early April by Sen. Grace Drake, R-Solon....

Medicare probe hits home. (Northern Kentucky and Cincinnati, Ohio)
April 24, 1998... With the feds still hot on the trail, local hospitals are writing compliance plans The federal government is collecting millions of dollars from hospitals, thanks to a far-reaching crackdown on Medicare billing practices. Dayton-area...