Business Courier Serving Cincinnati - Northern Kentucky articles from December 2000

Business Courier Serving Cincinnati - Northern Kentucky archives from December 2000

Dugan & Meyers leaves its mark on riverfront.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2000... Construction firm to manage museum job If you want to know what Dugan & Meyers Construction Co. has been up to lately, just take a stroll along Cincinnati's riverfront. Not only did the Blue Ash-based construction company pour much of...

Kroll O'Gara results off 1999 pace.(loss of $7 million on revenue of $88 million)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2000... Fairfield-based Kroll O'Gara Co., which will soon split into two companies, reported a third-quarter loss of $7 million on revenue of $88 million. That figure included various expenses and charges taken to cover the pending de-merger, a...

Intrenet gets delisting notice.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2000... Milford-based Intrenet, Inc. received a notice stating that the company failed to comply with filing requirements and is subject to delisting from the Nasdaq SmallCap Market. The company will request a hearing before the Nasdaq Listing...

CATCHING STARS.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2000... Cognis does whatever it takes to keep its stable of world-class scientists and engineers intact. PROBLEM Research discoveries are a key component of growth at Cognis Corp. That makes retention of its scientists crucial to the company's...

Luken blasts Western-Southern.
December 1, 2000... Says insurer promised to walk away from block Cincinnati Mayor Charles Luken criticized Western-Southern Life Insurance Co. for reneging on a promise to relinquish its Fifth and Race development rights. Luken said executives of the...

Portune promises fiscal frugality.(Todd Portune)
December 1, 2000... HAMILTON COUNTY'S NEWEST Commissioner says he wants to reduce the size of its budget. They may not be calling him "Liberal Portune" much longer. Westwood Democrat Todd Portune, to be sworn in as a Hamilton County Commissioner Jan. 2,...

Lindner's AFG to issue 6 million new shares.(American Financial Group Inc.)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
December 1, 2000... Sale could raise $ 120M for insurance company American Financial Group Inc., the flag- ship of Carl Lindner's local empire, is raising more than $120 million to plow into its operations. "This shows management's commitment to our...

Ideas abound for crater at Fifth and Race.(no consensus on what should be done with the downtown site)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2000... And in other Fifth and Race news... The ideas for alternatives to a downtown Nordstrom are about as varied as the chunks of rubble that now fill the hole at the corner of Fifth and Race streets. The Courier interviewed retail, real...

"The Gore-inch that almost stole the election.".(Brief Article)
December 1, 2000... Al Gore's never-ending quest to be president could line the pockets of local charities, according to the owners of a pair of local print shops that have been selling "Sore Loserman" bumper stickers. Maybe you've seen the stickers. ...

Grayson to retire after 30-plus years in banking.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2000... Huntington names Prescott regional head Cincinnati's banking scene will say goodbye in June to one of its most enduring faces. That's when Merwin Grayson Jr., a mainstay of the region's banking scene for more than three decades, will...

CORRECTION.(Brief Article)(Correction Notice)
December 1, 2000... In the Nov. 10 Pinnacle Awards Supplement, Qualified Disability Specialists Inc.'s bank should have been listed as Firstar.

Regionalism fund launched.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2000... Fund partners from public, private sectors Captains of Tri-State industry and their nonprofit counterparts have collaborated to create the $1 million Regional Initiatives Fund, a direct outcome of the Gallis Report, a recent study on...

Looking for the North Pole? Try here.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2000... WHAT GEORGE AND ROSE STEINFORD began during the Great Depression has become a foundation of giving for thousands of needy children. Roy Bitter's smile is more streetwise than jolly when he describes himself as a "salty old Santa." As a...

New joint treatment to be available in Tri-State.(joint venture research partnership uses patient's own cells)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2000... Area orthopedists will train physicians throughout U.S. Wellington Orthopaedic & Sports Medicine Inc. is partnering with a German biotech firm to bring medicine's cutting edge to Cincinnati. Pending Food and Drug Administration...

Clopay, 200 jobs leave downtown.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2000... Griffon Corp. President Robert Balemian announced the company's plans to combine the headquarters of Clopay Corp. with its technical development center at a new, two-building, 126,000-square-foot facility on Mason-Montgomery Road in Deerfield...

Joffe exits CEO post at LCA-Vision.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2000... Dr. Stephen Joffe will step down Jan. 1 as CEO of LCA-Vision Inc., the Kenwood-based laser vision correction business he took public in 1996. Joffe, who also is the largest holder of LCA-Vision stock, will continue to serve as company chairman....

Bridge acquires Cleveland agency.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2000... Bridge Agency acquired Playground Advertising, a Cleveland-based ad firm that specializes in marketing and developing products for children. Bridge CEO Peter Schwartz said the eight-person Playground agency will add to Bridge's creative...

AFG withdraws bank application.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2000... American Financial Group Inc. withdrew its application to start a savings bank. The insurance holding company had flied to set up Great American Savings Bank in the summer of 1999, but recently withdrew because of various operating and...

UC conference center overcame slow start.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2000... High-tech amenities selling point for facility After a slow start, the University of Cincinnati's Kingsgate Conference Center is starting to deliver promising results. The $31 million complex, which includes, 20,000 square feet of...

Group Health names Ducro to CEO post.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2000... Malinowski to be medical director for Paragon Group Health Associates, one of the TriState's largest physician-owned medical practices, is changing the way it runs its business. Rather than have two vice presidents -- one medical and...

China, Japan, Canada drive United States trade deficit.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
December 1, 2000... U.S. imbalance this year more than $331 billion China, Japan and Canada accounted for nearly half of America's trade deficit in goods during the first three quarters of 2000, according to new figures from the U.S. Bureau of Economic...

Ohio workers' comp Web site upgraded.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2000... Employers can report premiums, see ratings The second wave of the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation's new e-business system will make its splash Dec. 18. Employers and injured workers will see significant upgrades on the bureau's...

UC establishes department of biomedical engineering.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2000... Five biomed companies to be spun off by 2006 The University of Cincinnati's newest academic department -- biomedical engineering -- will spin off five new biomedical companies by 2006, under a plan approved by UC trustees this week. ...

P&G vacates downtown Hartford Building.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2000... Move putting 85,000 square feet on market Procter & Gamble Co. vacated a building it formerly leased on Main Street downtown, resulting in a landmark facility coming available for the first time in decades. The 85,000-square-foot...

Information sector revenue tops $600B.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
December 1, 2000... Q. What is the value of information? A. $623 billion. That, at least, is the answer that emerges from a new U.S. Census Bureau report on the information sector. The bureau identified 114,475 businesses whose chief product is...

KT Workstyle taking on partners, raising funds.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2000... Electronics carrying-case designer Kim Thomas wants every mobile phone to be wrapped in red snake, purple ostrich or orange crocodile. The founder and CEO of KT WorkStyle is supplying the brightly colored menagerie of telephone cases being...

'Heat-and-eat' meals take Wornick into retail outlets.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2000... The Wornick Co. is used to feeding a whole army. But these days, it is selling its shelf-stable entrees to one consumer at a time. The Blue Ash-based firm is receiving industry accolades for the Cafe Express heat-and-eat dishes that it...

Cincinnati Bell opts for self-insured health plan.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2000... Faced with double-digit rate increases from health insurance carriers, executives at Cincinnati Bell decided they can do better on their own. The 3,500-employee telecommunications company, after spending three years insured by Anthem Blue...

New federal health rules may be costly.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2000... Business groups say the Clinton administration addressed some of their concerns in the final version of new regulations that require employer-based health plans to offer an internal appeals process for people who want to challenge coverage...

Study: Bundled contracts excluding small business.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2000... A new study released by the Small Business Administration's Office of Advocacy found that federal agencies are bundling federal contracts into increasingly large packages at the expense of small contractors. The average bundled contract...

SBA, South Korea sign trade partnership deal.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2000... The Small Business Administration and its South Korean counterpart agreed to work together to encourage more American and Korean firms to do business with each other. This trade partnership agreement follows similar deals with Mexico,...

A.F. Kelly launches second round of venture funding.
December 1, 2000... Covington-based A.F. Kelly & Associates, an information technology and online learning firm, is raising its second round of venture funding CEO Tony Kelly said he is meeting with potential investors nationwide, in hopes of securing between $5...

Give your employees the resources to succeed.
December 1, 2000... They need the tools to do their best work Are you setting up your team to fail?. Don't think you're immune to this issue. This is perhaps the worst problem I see in corporations. There are too many people doing too many jobs who simply...

Seven steps to change your workplace culture.
December 1, 2000... Perform, measure and communicate goals "I deserve to be paid more." "We spend too much time in meetings." "Same stuff; different day." "We have no focus." "Saturday is just another day of the workweek." "We never do...

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE.
December 1, 2000... ADVERTISING/MARKETING Caudill and Associates has hired Jeannette Milosevich as graphic arts director and Michael Williams was hired as a graphic designer. Bridge Integrated Communications has promoted the following to account...

Cintas downgrade result of stock price runup, not bad news.
December 1, 2000... Don't let the Nov.27 downgrade by Morgan Stanley Dean Witter fool you: Cintas Corp. is on a roll. The Mason-based uniform supplier has thrived this year, dispelling doubts about the success of its 1999 integration of Kansas City's Unitog...

Phillips makes move from Gradison to new office at Fifth Third Center.
December 1, 2000... Yes, you read it right in the previous item. Phillips, previously first vice president at Gradison-McDonald Asset Management, has moved across Walnut Street and now carries a Fifth Third business card. Phillips, a seven-year veteran of...

2001's promising stocks might be found far from the dot-com hype.
December 1, 2000... Where should you look for promising stocks as 2000 draws to a close? Where you've found them most of the year, said Michael Schroer, president of Renaissance Investment Management in Walnut Hills. Those would be the companies no investor...

Boomers must keep saving for retirement.
December 1, 2000... Inheritances will not be greater than in past The economic outlook in the United States may be rosier, but the retirement prospects of baby boomers continue to rest on shaky foundations. Under current projections, Social Security and...

Vulcan out of shoe lasts, but not shoe industry.
December 1, 2000... Firm looks to increase real estate holdings After 91 years, Vulcan International Corp. has exited the "shoe-last" business, with the sale of an Arkansas plant in August. A shoe last is a form over which nonrubber shoes are...

'Crimes' send e-shoppers away empty-handed.
December 1, 2000... Far too many years ago, I worked for a company that invented the basic laser-scanning technology that is now used around the world in supermarket checkout lanes. We worked to develop the standard UPC bar codes, did studies to help make the...

WHAT SPEED DO YOU NEED?
December 1, 2000... Businesses increasing productivity with high-speed Internet access Every employee of the Web design firm Cincy Biznet is a telecommuter, working from a home office. The company had no office expenses, so it decided to invest in a unique...

Web entrepreneur is master of his domain.
December 1, 2000... Smallbusiness.com offers 'marketplace of ideas' Call it a stroke of luck or mystical forethought, but entrepreneur Rex Hammock knew he was onto something in 1995 when he plunked down $75 and registered smallbusiness.com as a Web address....

Executives looking close at dot-com jobs.
December 1, 2000... Managers moving to more stable positions With Internet startups expiring almost daily, executive recruiters report that managers have become much more particular about where they work within the dot-com world. The trend points to...

DaytonGolf.com creating official LPGA tourney site.
December 1, 2000... Web site should be up by the end of the year The rebirth of the Firstar LPGA golf tournament as Champions Classic not only keeps the popular women's professional golf tournament in the Dayton area, but will keep the founders of...

Come to terms with the lingo of New Economy.
December 1, 2000... Talking the talk important in tech-conscious world Did you ever notice how hard it is to keep up with the latest on the New Economy? In a world that is changing so quickly, there's an always growing body of knowledge on innovative...

Dayton incubator's investment tops $2M.
December 1, 2000... IT Wings now home to two new dot-com firms Dayton's largest private technology incubator is growing. IT Wings LLC has doled out funds to four companies during the first six months since it was founded by Raj Soin and MTC International...

Telecommunications firm files Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
December 1, 2000... Lawsuits, management problems plagued ICG Management changes, financial problems and shareholder lawsuits have thrown a national telecommunications provider with a Dayton office into bankruptcy. ICG Communications Inc. of Englewood,...

'Girl geeks' growing technology market.
December 1, 2000... Teen females are critical to wireless device sales If the tight labor market is challenging your business, and if you want your high-tech company to capture its share of the profits from the gold rush to wireless communications -- "think...

E-tailers promising better holiday service.
December 1, 2000... Holiday e-shopping expected to top $20 billion The gifts e-tailers are giving their online shoppers this holiday season are faster sites, better customer service and the convenience of returning merchandise bought online to the company's...

Customer relationship tools becoming essential.
December 1, 2000... CRM packages help companies compete The customer calls, and it's a done deal. But wait -- your salesperson is a state away and the customer needs revised information in a half-hour -- or that done deal is toast. Unfortunately, your...

Hauck drops $4.2M to triple Shoppes of Kenwood.(Hauck Holdings)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2000... Almost two years after purchasing The Shoppes of Kenwood, Hauck Holdings of Evendale is dropping some major coin to almost triple the size of the neighborhood retail center. Owned by the Hauck family of Cincinnati, the third-generation...

Turton takes over, tackles rebirth at Bunnell Hill.(Fred "Fritz" Turton)(Bunnell Hill Development Co.)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2000... Fred "Fritz" Turton is getting back into the game at Bunnell Hill Development Co. in Lebanon. A vice president since he joined the firm in 1984, Turton also has been working as president of a sister company, Bunnell Hill Construction,...

DEAL OF THE WEEK.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2000... DEAL OF THE WEEK examines a recent noteworthy lease or sale of local commercial properly and/or a residential sale; the transaction must exceed $1 million. THIS WEEK'S DEAL: Schuck from Everest closes $1.6M sale in Springdale to Regis;...

Ohio Staffing Services Association.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2000... Ohio Staffing Services Association has received the Superior Merit Award from the American Staffing Association.

Durk Rorie.(United Air Specialists)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2000... Greater Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce has honored Durk Rorie of United Air Specialists and Bill Moran, Fifth Third Bank, with its 2000 Outstanding Community Service Award.

Shauna Lieberman.(Cincinnati Financial Corp.)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2000... Shauna Lieberman of Cincinnati Financial Corp. has been named first-place winner in the Ohio Communicate With Confidence Speakoff contest held at the Ohio State Meeting for Ohio Council of National Association of Insurance Women.

Howard Richshafer.(Kepley, Gilligan & Eyrich)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2000... Howard Richshafer, a partner at the law firm of Kepley, Gilligan & Eyrich, was selected to be included in the 2001-2002 edition of the Best Lawyers in America.

Marilyn Braun.(winner in the "Women at Their Best Awards)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2000... Marilyn Braun has been named regional winner in the "Women at Their Best Awards" sponsored by the Saturn car company and Glamour magazine. American Correctional Association has awarded the Talbert House Community Correctional Center its...

SS&G Financial Services.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2000... SS&G Financial Services has been named one of America's 100 Largest Accounting Firms. With over 40,000 firms in United State, SS&G has announced that it ranked 84th.

Duane Dewey.(Provident Bank)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2000... The following associates of Provident Bank have achieved the Certified Financial Planner (CFP). designation: Duane Dewey, Lisa Mell, Matt Powell, Sarah Reddington, Wayne Scott and Shawn Simmons.

American Modern Insurance Group.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2000... American Modern Insurance Group, a wholly owned specialty insurance subsidiary of the Midland Co, has finalized its agreement with GuideOne Insurance of West Des Moines, Iowa, to reinsure and service GuideOne's motorsports products, with plans...

ASK THE CEO.(multiple companies)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2000... ASK THE CEO is a continuing series in which we ask important-to-the-region questions of corporate leaders. THIS WEEK'S QUESTION: Were you surprised by the shakeout of dot-com companies this year? Clifford Bailey TechSoft Systems Inc....

Development should not ignore homeless.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2000... Editor: I was sorry to read another attack on advocates for the homeless in our city in your "letters" section in the Nov. 17 issue ("City must get grip on urban housing issues"). The writer SUGGESTS that the city should "stop caving in to...

Archaic voting system needs major overhaul.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2000... Why, Americans are asking, in our technology-driven culture, are we using archaic voting machines to elect our nation's next president? And how did we end up with this Byzantine patchwork of election processes and laws that vary from state to...

No gravy train at ballpark job.(Great American Ball Park)(Cincinnati Reds)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2000... There is no gravy train loading up at the Great American Ball Park. Instead, as reported by Lucy May and Dan Monk in the Nov. 24 Courier, there are contractors chafing at low bid estimates, a tight work schedule and rules that burden them with...

'Bash downtown' trend unjustified.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2000... The "bash downtown" syndrome continues. At business meetings and social functions there are invariably those who ask: "Why can't downtown Cincinnati be like Covington and Newport?" "Why is Cincinnati so far behind?" "Why is downtown going...

B2B, or Note to Be?(business to business)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2000... TERESA R. LAIDACKER [*] The FTC Expresses Interest in B2B Electronic Marketplace A B2B exchange allows companies to buy and sell supplies and products over the Internet using a common, industry-wide computer system. The objective of...

Recently Enacted Ohio Estate Tax Changes.
December 1, 2000... The most important revisions to the Ohio estate tax since the unlimited marital deduction were signed into law by Governor Taft on June 29, 2000. For estates of decedents dying in the year 2001, the Ohio estate tax credit will be increased...

National Labor Relations Board Extends Weingarten Protections to Non-Union Employees.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2000... A non-union employee now has the right under the NLRA to have a co-worker present at an investigatory interview which the employee reasonably believes could result in disciplinary action. In NLRB v. J. Weingarten, the United States Supreme...

Are Mandatory Arbitration Clauses in Employment Contracts Enforceable?(Brief Article)
December 1, 2000... Congress revealed its affinity for arbitration as an effective avenue to a speedy resolution of disputes by enacting the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) in 1925. The current version of the FAA provides as follows: A written provision in...a...

Dinsmore & Shohl Partners Named To "Best Lawyers" List.
December 1, 2000... Dinsmore & Shohl is proud to announce that 22 of its attorneys have been named to the 2000-2001 edition of Best Lawyers in America. Lawyers are chosen for The Best Lawyers in America by their peers. Past members nominate the most...

Dinsmore & Shohl And Yopp & Sweeney Merge.
December 1, 2000... Dinsmore & Shohl LLP is proud to announce the opening of its Nashville office. Dinsmore & Shohl LLP and Yopp & Sweeney PLC merged their practices on September 1, 2000. Our Nashville office is located downtown at 414 Union Street in the Bank of...

COURIER RATE BAROMETER.
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MONEY MARKETS.
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GREATER CINCINNATI HIGH SCHOOL STOCK MARKET GAME.
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STOCK STATS.
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S&L STOCKS.
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EARNINGS.
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DIVIDENDS.
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INSIDER TRADING.
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INSIDER TRADING RECAP.
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Most Expensive Hamilton County Home Sales.
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MORNINGSTAR MUTUAL FUND.
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