Business Courier Serving Cincinnati - Northern Kentucky articles from August 2000

Business Courier Serving Cincinnati - Northern Kentucky archives from August 2000

Nordstrom backer wants more.(Western-Southern vies w/ Nordstrom for Race St. parcels)
August 25, 2000... Western-Southern vies for Race Street parcels Nordstrom isn't enough for Western-Southern Life Insurance Co. A real estate subsidiary of the Cincinnati-based insurance giant, which in May secured a letter of intent to open a downtown...

Ky. center thinks small, wins big.(Northern Kentucky Convention and Visitors Bureau )(Brief Article)
August 25, 2000... IN DIRECT CONTRAST TO A CERTAIN other convention center, N. Ky.'s version has found a winning niche. Charles Wheeler Jr. stands three feet from a trash compactor behind the Northern Kentucky Convention Center and takes a deep breath,...

Huge resort community headed for Tri-State.(Double Diamond Resorts purchases 1,000 acres)(Brief Article)
August 25, 2000... Dallas developer ready to close on 1,000 acres A Dallas resort developer has signed a purchase contract for more than 1,000 acres in the Tri-State, property that could be targeted for an upscale community, including a golf course, hotel,...

All-you-can-eat seats hot seller at new ballpark.(Diebold's Walden O'Dell spending in excess of $200,000 annually for Cincinnati Reds' tickets)(Brief Article)
August 25, 2000... Row four, behind home plate, in the Diamond Seats. That's where you'll find Walden O'Dell when Great American Ball Park opens in 2003. The CEO of Diebold Corp., a Canton maker of ATM machines, recently plunked down $16,000 to reserve...

Fans' enthusiasm up for all major-league sports.(growing interest in sports)(Brief Article)
August 25, 2000... Tennis, golf, soccer drawing more interest Fan interest in sports has increased sharply over the last year, rebounding from a four-year skid that had troubled the industry. The ESPN Sports Poll for the first half of 2000 shows fan...

CORRECTION.
August 25, 2000... Rob Daly was incorrectly identified in an Aug. 18 story about Bluespring Software. He was formerly chief operating officer of U.S. Shoe Corp.

Economy back in high gear.(economic forecast for the Cincinnati, Ohio, area)(Brief Article)
August 25, 2000... Local results erasing fears of slowdown The breather is over. After an early-summer downshift, all signs point to go for the Cincinnati economy during the rest of 2000. "We're back to full steam ahead, like we were in 1999,"...

New nest for high-tech hatchlings opens in Over-the-Rhine facility.(Effort to recruit technology firms)
August 25, 2000... AFTER YEARS OF NURTURING MINORITY- AND WOMEN-owned start-ups, the Cincinnati Business Incubator has also begun to recruit budding technology firms. Despite its low rent, built-in office staff and entrepreneurial education, the Cincinnati...

'Same old' stepping aside at Forward Quest.(Business in Northern Kentucky)
August 25, 2000... Board members open door for up-and-coming leaders The Northern Kentucky business leaders who formed Forward Quest in 1996 heard the grumbling that the usual suspects -- the same people who always led the big business initiatives -- were...

UC Physicians buys land in West Chester.(UC Physicians took a big step toward building a medical campus in Butler County on Aug. 23 when it agreed to pay $4.9 million for 45 acres in West ChesterTownship)
August 25, 2000... UC Physicians took a big step toward building a medical campus in Butler County on Aug. 23 when it agreed to pay $4.9 million for 45 acres in West ChesterTownship. The land, known as McGinnis Park, is owned by the township and is located just...

Clear Channel closes local station sales.(as an acquisition of AMFM Inc. is planned)(Brief Article)
August 25, 2000... The sale of several local radio stations by Clear Channel Communications Inc. to make way for its $23.5 billion acquisition of AMFM Inc., has been finalized, said local industry sources. Infinity Broadcasting, operator of local stations...

Subway plans six new restaurants.(Cincinnati, Ohio)(Brief Article)
August 25, 2000... Six new Subway restaurants will open in Greater Cincinnati by January, said Cincinnati development agent and multi-franchise owner Eric Franke. That will add up to a 27 percent growth rate for the chain locally since 1996. The franchises also...

Upscale subdivision planned for Lebanon.
August 25, 2000... Countryside to boast variety of home styles Tom Humes knows all about Countryside YMCA, a popular spot among the Lebanon locals. The success of the Deerfield Road fitness facility is why Humes, president of Great Traditions Land &...

Bank halts disputed accounting practice.(Provident Bank stops disputed accounting practice)
August 25, 2000... Provident will take near-term profit shortfall The frustration was apparent in the voice of Provident Financial Group Inc. CEO Robert Hoverson during his Aug 23 conference call with analysts. "We have fought the good fight," Hoverson...

Upscale golf courses splurge on clubhouses.
August 25, 2000... TPC, Shaker Run build luxurious '19th holes' Two of the Tri-State's top-shelf golf facilities -- one private and one public -- are adding swanky "19th holes." Developers of the TPC at River's Bend, which will open in late spring or...

Leprechaun Catchers set to lure dot-coms.(More and more lawyers, accountants and other traditional professionals are setting up shop next to the bars and coffeehouses in the Over-the-Rhine district)
August 25, 2000... More and more lawyers, accountants and other traditional professionals are setting up shop next to the bars and coffeehouses in the Over-the-Rhine district, hoping to get in on the explosion of young dot-com and software firms that have...

Former Giage Ltd. to target 'B2B' market.(Giage became Copernus Inc)
August 25, 2000... Newly named Copernus reconfigures product The founders of downtown software company Giage Ltd. know that in the universe of the Internet economy, the world doesn't revolve around the start-up -- the start-up spins around funding. ...

We're not working as hard as we think, bureau reports.
August 25, 2000... Work schedules haven't varied much since 1982 The U.S. Bureau of labor Statistics, which has tracked the work schedules of managers and professionals since 1982, said that despite the belief that they're working longer hours, time on the...

Web marketing agency wants to stay 'boutique'.(Brief Article)
August 25, 2000... Upright Communications co-founder Dino Pelle doesn't want his company to get big. He has been there, done that -- and doesn't like it one bit. After 15 years spent working for big advertising agencies and bloated companies, he envisions...

CADZone gets promising start in Net-based design.(Brief Article)
August 25, 2000... Brian Goldburg and Tim Caldwell are in the zone. The CADZone, that is. They left InfiNET just as that company was about to phase out its engineering department, and made their own firm out of its remnants. Now they are selling...

R&D association forms chapter, seeks members.(Product Development and Management Association forms Cincinnati chapter)(Brief Article)
August 25, 2000... A local chapter of the national Product Development and Management Association has formed and is looking for members. President Scott Allspaw, bead of new product development at Senco Products Inc., began stirring up interest earlier this...

Female, minority businesses get banks' attention.(Brief Article)
August 25, 2000... On the surface, it doesn't look too good -- one 504 CDC loan made to a minority business from January to June of this year at the Small Business Administration's Cincinnati office. And the program, to date, has guaranteed only about half as...

Jemison keynote speaker at CBS Tech dedication.(CBS Technologies L.L.C.)(Brief Article)
August 25, 2000... Mae Jemison, the first black woman to fly aboard the space shuttle, will be the keynote speaker at the dedication of CBS Technologies LLC's new headquarters on Aug. 31. CBS, spun off in May by Cincinnati Bell Inc., is the third-largest...

Small businesses key to welfare-to-work program.(Welfare-to-Work Partnership)(Brief Article)
August 25, 2000... The 22,000 companies that participate in the Welfare-to-Work Partnership have hired more than 1 million former welfare recipients -- at an average wage of $7.80 an hour -- in the four years since President Clinton signed welfare reform...

New rule not 'suite' for private mailbox owners.(Brief Article)
August 25, 2000... Home-based businesses that receive their mail at commercial operations such as Mail Boxes Etc. have until Aug. 1, 2001 to start using the acronym "PMB" (private mailbox) or "#" in their addresses instead of "suite." The U.S. Postal...

Bankruptcy filings drop, legislation in jeopardy.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
August 25, 2000... When Congress returns from its August recess, there will be little time left to hash out an agreement on legislation that would force more bankruptcy filers to pay off some of their debts. The legislation passed both the House and Senate...

Investors to buy Crown Vantage.(Brief Article)
August 25, 2000... Crown Vantage Inc., the paper company that relocated here from Oakland, Calif., last year before filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, announced it has signed a letter of intent with a group of investors who will pay more than $350 million for...

P&G seeks Clearasil buyer.(Procter & Gamble to sell acne-fighting cream brand)(Brief Article)
August 25, 2000... Procter & Gamble Co. is seeking a buyer for its acne-fighting Clearasil brand. While Clearasil is the No.1 such brand in major markets, its revenues represent less than 2 percent of P&G's $7 billion beauty care division.

Blue Chip launches WDBZ.(Blue Chip Broadcasting)(Brief Article)
August 25, 2000... Cincinnati-based Blue Chip Broadcasting plans to place a new format and call letters on the recently acquired WUBE-AM, serving the Cincinnati market The station, at 1230 on the AM dial, will adapt a talk format and the WDBZ call letters and...

Ballpark project manager named.(John Palmer II named project manager for new Cincinnati Reds stadium)(Brief Article)
August 25, 2000... Parsons Brinckerhoff, the engineering company managing the construction of Great American Ball Park, has appointed John Palmer III as-project manager for the new Reds stadium. Palmer joins Parsons Brinckerhoff from the Seattle Mariners, where...

Comair to fly direct to Augusta, Ga.(Brief Article)
August 25, 2000... Erlanger-based Comair will begin flying two daily round trips to Augusta, Ga., on Dec. 1. The announcement of the service, which will use 50-seat Canadair regional jets, follows Comair's decision last week to begin flying to Sarasota, Fla.,...

MPS gets Nordstrom deal.(Midwest Payment Systems credit card processing contract)(Brief Article)
August 25, 2000... Fifth Third Bank's data processing subsidiary Midwest Payment Systems has nabbed a contract with Nordstrom Inc. to provide processing for Visa, Mastercard and Discover credit cards. Nordstrom also will use Fifth Third's back-office imaging...

Nichols to head Federated division.(David Nichols named president of Federated Department Stores' Rich's/Lazarus/Goldsmith division)(Brief Article)
August 25, 2000... Casting aside old rivalries, David Nichols, the former CEO of Mercantile Stores Inc., has been named president and COO of the Rich's/Lazarus/Goldsmith's division of Federated Department Stores Inc. After leaving Mercantile, the 58-year-old...

Voelker Controls hires Bunnel to build new facility in Franklin.(Bunnell Hill Construction)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
August 25, 2000... Voelker Controls, a manufacturer and distributor of fluid automation systems, recently hired Bunnell Hill Construction of Lebanon to build a new office/warehouse facility in Franklin's Heritage Business Park. The $1.25 million,...

Inflation, most prices hold the line in July, report says.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
August 25, 2000... Gasoline prices level off, but natural gas costlier The inflation report released by the federal government recently should calm fears kindled by last month's report. The Consumer Price Index edged up 0.2 percent in July, according to...

Speaking THE LANGUAGE.(Brief Article)
August 25, 2000... Some companies go to great lengths to understand what makes their customers tick. Sometimes, jargon isn't all that bad. That's what Jay Rammes, leader of the construction industry group at downtown accounting firm Barnes Dennig & Co....

Group Health opens Mason center, adds doctors.(Brief Article)
August 25, 2000... Multispecialty group expanded to Dayton Group Health Associates, one of the TriState's largest physician-owned medical practices, is bulking up by opening a new medical center and adding doctors. Group Health opened a new Mason...

You can't always blame the boss for job woes.(Brief Article)
August 25, 2000... Know when to agree, when to fight back What's more important: getting along with people or producing results? I was taking a walk with my husband last night, chaffing about my experience doing a three-city speaking tour with ibm.com....

Have a plan to handle a disaster at your business.
August 25, 2000... Most owners think 'It can't happen here' When the Air France Concorde crashed in late July, killing 113, airline officials were immediately on the phone, radio and television, explaining, consoling and commenting on the tragedy. They were...

Everything worth doing is worth measuring.(Business management)
August 25, 2000... Getting the numbers helps your team focus If you ask 10 people in your company how the business or a project is doing, and no measurement standards exist, you're likely to hear 10 different responses. They would likely rely on their...

Boredom has become the American experience.(Marketing methods)
August 25, 2000... Marketers must bring back an air of mystery From the respected Yankelovich Monitor, which provides a continuous study of consumer attitudes and values in America, comes news of a newfound phenomenon that the Monitor identifies as the...

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE.(New hires and promotions in advertising)
August 25, 2000... COMPUTERS/HIGH-TECH/INTERNET Liz Kiggen has joined Upright Communications as director of search engine marketing and Beth Kaiser has joined as partner responsible for interactive design. Libby Perszyk Kathman has promoted William...

Nottinghill moves to new level with exchange-traded funds.(Nottinghill Investment Advisers Ltd. has introduced a quirky investing strategy )
August 25, 2000... Nottinghill Investment Advisers Ltd. has introduced a quirky investing strategy that allows the firm to move beyond the large-cap value stocks that have been a mainstay since it was founded in 1996. In July, Nottinghill's managing...

Firstar managers predict good news for tech stocks but stay wary of IPOs.(Brief Article)
August 25, 2000... The folks managing Firstar's Stellar Science & Technology Fund can look back at a successful first year. By picking the likes of high-flying Juniper Networks and SDL, co-managers Don Keller and Randy Hare guided the fund to a 103.7 percent...

Benacci ups earnings estimates for Cincinnati Financial, Midland Co.(Brief Article)
August 25, 2000... McDonald & Co. insurance analyst Nancy Benacci has increased her earnings per share estimates for both Cincinnati Financial Corp. and Midland Co. Both insurers had strong first-half performances, leading Benacci to up her projections. She...

Lack of summer rally chance to build stakes.(Brief Article)
August 25, 2000... As we approach the end of August, it appears that the anticipated "summer rally" in the stock market may have eluded us in the year 2000. And while it may be a while before broad and sustainable demand for stock returns, we maintain a policy...

Zaring set to be acquired by competitor Drees Co.(Brief Article)
August 25, 2000... Terms of deal to be finalized by Sept. 30 If everything goes smoothly, one of the best-known names in the Greater Cincinnati housing industry may come under new ownership in a few weeks -- by another wellknown local competitor. In...

Y2K preparation left its legacy in financial sector.(Brief Article)
August 25, 2000... When the year 2000 arrived with almost none of the expected disruption in computer services, the business world finally exhaled after months of frantic preparation. Now, with hat collective sigh of relief out of the way, those who paid the...

BANKS WORK TO MAINTAIN FUNDING.(Brief Article)
August 25, 2000... Local banks are looking for balance in a market of shrinking deposits Local banks call it a balancing act -- maintaining enough money as a deposit base to draw from for loans. In today's healthy economy, with a booming stock market,...

Retiring investors should look at asset allocation.
August 25, 2000... Historical performance can be a good reference The recent presidential campaign has exposed us to words such as "conservative," "moderate" and "aggressive." In a political sense, these words bear importance with regard to the track...

Private banking aims for affluent clientele.
August 25, 2000... Banks see big potential in high-worth customers You don't have to be a winner on "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?" to qualify for private banking services these days. Instead, some banks are stepping up their efforts to reel in...

Investor relations: PR on 'financial steroids'.
August 25, 2000... Job dispels rumors, explains operations When shareholders -- or potential shareholders -- want to get information about a company's financial position, ask about its strategies for growth or even check out a rumor circulating on the...

Caps, collars, swaps help fight cost of borrowing.(Brief Article)
August 25, 2000... Small businesses have tools to limit loan costs In a time of climbing interest rates, there's good news for small businesses: You now have access to the same tools that Fortune 500 companies have used for the past 15 years to minimize the...

Columbus' One Group launches new sector funds.(One Group Mutual Funds)(Brief Article)
August 25, 2000... Mutual fund family offers tech and securities funds Venturing into sector funds, Ohio's largest mutual fund family has launched a technology fund and a mortgage-backed securities fund. More industry sector funds may be on the way at...

Online banking looks to next phase of use.(Brief Article)
August 25, 2000... Option is becoming more widely accepted For five years, online banking has been regarded by most customers and banks alike as largely a curiosity -- a niche product not even offered by many banks. But online banking, while still in...

Sources: Great American hires Hach for call center.(Wayne Hach)(Brief Article)
August 25, 2000... One of the tastier tidbits churning through the rumor mill of the downtown Cincinnati commercial real estate office market has a division of Great American Insurance Co. poking about for an estimated 100,000 square feet of office space, to be...

Mil-Val develops Cas-Ker facility in Colerain Twp.(Brief Article)
August 25, 2000... Miller-Valentine Group of Dayton recently broke ground for a new 21,000-square-foot headquarters and distribution center for Cas-Ker Co. of Cincinnati, which is leaving a West End facility on Spring Grove Avenue for a Colerain Township site...

Staubach expands, heads to Court Street Center.(Staubach Company Midwest Inc.)(Brief Article)
August 25, 2000... The Staubach Co.-Midwest Inc. will open a new and bigger office in downtown Cincinnati Sept. 1 at Court Street Center, where the commercial real estate brokerage will expand by 50 percent. Jerry Momper, president of the local company...

In other news:.(Peter Warrick of the Cincinnati Bengals)(Brief Article)
August 25, 2000... * Wide receiver Peter Warrick, first-round pick of the Cincinnati Bengals and one of the team's key players on offense, bought a home the day before the team played its first game at Paul Brown Stadium. Warrick bought a Riverfront East condo...

DEAL OF THE WEEK.(Brief Article)
August 25, 2000... DEAL OF THE WEEK examines a recent noteworthy lease or sale of local commercial property and/or a residential sale; the transaction must exceed $1 million THIS WEEK'S DEAL: First Industrial sells package for $11.5M to GE Capital Real...

Boyd Clarke.(Brief Article)
August 25, 2000... Boyd Clarke, CEO of Tom Peters Co., has received the distinguished alumnus award from the Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University for his leadership and personal contributions to the business world, community and...

Shad Sletto.(Brief Article)
August 25, 2000... Shad Sletto, responsible for business development for EGG Construction, has been admitted to the Institute of Residential Marketing of the National Association of Home Builders, a designation based on professional education and experience in...

Wayne Carlisle.(Brief Article)
August 25, 2000... The Kentucky Industrial Development Council has selected Wayne Carlisle, president and CEO of Carlisle Construction Co., as their volunteer of the year for 2000.

Laine & Lane.(Brief Article)
August 25, 2000... Laine & Lane received two awards of excellence and two awards of merit in the 2000 International Association of Business Communicators Bronze Quill competition as well as one first-place award for promotional writing and two second-place...

Donna Jennings.(Brief Article)
August 25, 2000... Donna Jennings of Sibcy Cline's Campbell County office, has been awarded the Accredited Buyer Representation designation by the Real Estate Buyer's Council of the National Association of Realtors.

Business Network International.
August 25, 2000... Business Network International, a networking organization specializing in business referrals among members, is opening a new chapter in Springdale.

Sharkbytes Inc.(Brief Article)
August 25, 2000... Sharkbytes Inc., a provider of Internet and e-business solutions, has been chosen to create a new Web site for Cincinnati Sign Supplies.

John Deatrick.(Brief Article)
August 25, 2000... There may be a new freeway interchange in Cincinnati's future. John Deatrick, director of the city's transportation and engineering department, wants to explore a Martin Luther King exit off Interstate 71. He said the new interchange...

Shunji Yanai.(Brief Article)
August 25, 2000... It seems you don't get to be Japan's ambassador to the United States without knowing how to work a crowd. In a speech Thursday at the Omni Netherland Hotel downtown, Ambassador Shunji Yanai started off cracking wise about Cincinnati chili...

ASK THE CEO.(Brief Article)
August 25, 2000... ASK THE CEO is a continuing series in which we ask important-to-the-region questions of corporate leaders. THIS WEEK'S QUESTION: Did you watch the two major political parties.' conventions? Ed Rigaud National Underground Railroad...

Hiking ticket prices in midseason Reds' worst idea.(Brief Article)
August 25, 2000... In contrast to one of the best sports-marketing ideas of the year, the San Francisco Giants' Web-based ticket exchange program, ifs now time to shame the Cincinnati Reds for one of the year's worst ideas. The mere fact that the...

Regional effort will measure local indicators.(Brief Article)
August 25, 2000... Greater Cincinnatians have now reached consensus on this: We compete as a region in a global economy, and we all want to enhance the quality of our lives. We agree less about the meaning of quality of life, how to achieve it and how our...

Gore, Bush: stick to issues.(Brief Article)
August 25, 2000... You may have already seen the TV ads launched by the campaigns for George W. Bush and Al Gore. They are prime examples of the dollar-driven speed with which candidates can produce commercials -- to the point that they can raise and rebut...

Cincinnati: not hot, not cool, but OK.(Brief Article)
August 25, 2000... Saw something last week I never thought I'd see. A "God Bless Norwood" bumper slicker. Fittingly, the sticker was badly faded and attached to the back of a rusted Ford Escort God bless Norwood? Hey, both my parents were born in Norwood,...

NATIONAL SPEAKERS.
August 25, 2000... Can We Talk? [TM] Third National Issues Forum has invited highly esteemed, nationally renowned speakers with outstanding diversity credentials, including: Valerie Batts, Ph.D., Executive Director and Co-Founder of VISIONS, Inc. Dr. Batts...

Appreciating Diversity an Individual Plan of Action.(Brief Article)
August 25, 2000... "If you and I were exactly the same, one of us would be unnecessary." This plan has been developed to assist an individual in developing a personal plan for valuing diversity while strengthening awareness and appreciation of differences....

COURIER RATE BAROMETER.
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INSIDER TRADING RECAP.
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MONEY MARKETS.
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INSIDER TRADING.
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STOCK STATS.
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MORNINGSTAR MUTUAL FUNDS.
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VITAL STATISTICS.
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Largest (26-50) Tri-State Private Companies.
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