Providence Business News articles from August 2000

Providence Business News archives from August 2000

New Bedford's turnaround complete.
August 28, 2000... Fishing fleet regains city's royal title Bawn and raised in New Bedford, the city's Fisheries Development Officer Martin S. Manley has an attitude and way of looking at life common to most lifelong fishermen. It's an inscrutable...

The action is back on Main Street.
August 28, 2000... For small business owner Kathy Klein, there is no place like Main Street. Four years ago, she opened her first business, Carousel - a children's clothing store on High Street in Westerly's historic downtown. Last month she opened her...

Telergy expanding in R.I., Bay State.
August 28, 2000... Telecommunications service provider Telergy is expanding its network to Rhode Island and Massachusetts. "This is an important link for Telergy," said Telergy Senior Advisor and former Rhode Island Governor J. Joseph Garrahy. Garrahy has...

Concern is that (applicants) get business friendly service.
August 28, 2000... PBN: In general, Rhode Island has been criticized for regulatory processes that are extraordinarily slow. What is the DBR doing to increase efficiency? McCONAGHY: From what I have seen, Rhode Island is much quicker in terms of its...

Power plant proposal stirs controversy.
August 28, 2000... With just over a week left to submit advisory testimony to the R.L Energy Facility Siting Board, the controversy surrounding a proposed North Smithfield power plant is heating up. Detractors of Indeck Energy Inc.'s hotly contested plan to...

Correction.
August 28, 2000... Because of a computer error, a story on page 16 of last week's paper omitted information that had been provided to Providence Business News by Jim Martin, spokesman for Attorney General Sheldon Whitehouse. According to Martin, the attorney...

Shopping for insurance not easy, but a good idea.
August 28, 2000... Are Americans spending more time shopping for the best buy on underwear than for the best price on an insurance policy? A recent survey suggests that they are. And even more importantly, the survey points out that insurance premiums for...

Street vendors complain city's rules hurt businesses.
August 28, 2000... After 30 years as a food vendor in Kennedy Plaza, Moe Parrillo, noted for his chilidogs and hamburgers, today has a beef of his own. "Our license says we're mobile," Parrillo said. "Haven Brothers is a mobile unit, grandfather clause or...

Mutual Funds' prospectuses telling their stories in plain English.
August 28, 2000... NEW YORK (Bloomberg) -- The results are in. We can score the Great Plain English Initiative of 1998 a bang-up success. Maybe you were preoccupied with other matters at the time, and didn't notice when the Securities and Exchange...

RI home sales strong, slowdown in Mass.
August 28, 2000... Sales of existing single-family homes in Rhode Island the second quarter of this year remained strong, while Massachusetts experienced a modest slowdown in sales, according to reports released by each state's Association of REALTORS. The...

Genesis program bearing fruit with teens.
August 28, 2000... The teenage graduates of the Genesis Center's YouthWERX program, concluded last week, can now enter the workforce with practical experience, a little cash...and their own business. The six-week session, for which the 10 participating...

Gillette sells stationery division.
August 28, 2000... EAST BOSTON. -- The Gillette Company has sold its stationery division to Newell Rubbermaid, Inc. Terms of the sale were not disclosed. A Gillette spokesperson told the Boston Globe that the fate of its 4,000 employees in the division was...

CMGI said to be Krafts' choice for stadium.
August 28, 2000... FOXBORO -- Quoting various unspecified Internet sources, the Boston Globe reported that CMGI Inc. had been chosen by the Kraft family, owners of the New England Patriots to buy the naming rights of the team's new stadium, now under...

Fleet divestitures continue in Connecticut.(Brief Article)
August 28, 2000... BOSTON -- FleetBoston Financia1 announced that it had completed divestiture of seven branches and related assets to American and Webster Banks in Connecticut. In the process three former BankBoston banks in Connecticut (Middlebury, Southbury...

New England Council to honor Blue Cross chief.(Brief Article)
August 28, 2000... BOSTON -- The New England Council will honor William C. Van Faasen, president and chief executive officer of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts as New Englander of the Year at its annual dinner next month. Also selected for the award...

Thermo TerraTech to sell Pennsylvania unit.(Brief Article)
August 28, 2000... WALTHAM -- Thermo TerraTech, Inc., which offers environmental clean-up services has agreed to sell its Lancaster (Pa.) Laboratories to Goldner Hawn Johnson & Morrison, Inc., a Minneapolis-based investment firm, for $72 million cash. The lab...

Woolf sports representatives adds motor sports.(Brief Article)
August 28, 2000... BOSTON -- Woolf Associates, a leading sports representative and marketing company has created a motor sports division, the company announced. The Boston Globe reported that Paul Lufkin, a motor sports industry veteran from Bozell Kamstra had...

Friendly's hires Hill Holliday.(Brief Article)
August 28, 2000... WILBRAHAM -- Friendly Ice Cream Corp. has hired GMO/Hill Holiday to be its advertising agency, and is considering an $18 million media budget, the Boston Globe reported. GMO/Hill Holliday is the West Coast version of Hill Holliday Connors...

Avant, Megan Health in licensing agreement.(Brief Article)
August 28, 2000... NEEDHAM -- Avant Immunotherapeutics, Inc. and Megan Health, Inc. announced a cross-licensing agreement that will permit Avant, based here, to further develop its Ty800, a single dose oral vaccine for typhoid fever. Megan Health of...

Rhode Island unemployment at 3.9 percent.(Brief Article)
August 28, 2000... Rhode Island unemployment held steady at 3.9. percent in July, the same as June, but 0.3 percent lower than a year ago July and 0.1 percent below the national unemployment. The number of jobs in Rhode Island rose by 7,000 between July 1999...

Brown prepares to welcome 1,420 freshmen.(Brief Article)
August 28, 2000... Brown University will welcome 1,420 members of the class of 2004. during the University's 237th opening convocation on Sept. 5 on The College Green. The ceremony begins at 11 a.m. with a procession of faculty, administrator and students...

Textron Fastening Systems acquires company.(Brief Article)
August 28, 2000... TROY, Mich. -- Textron Fastening Systems (TFS) announced of the acquisition of Rego Mold and Tool, a leading supplier of primary tooling and plastic injection molded components for the wireless telecommunications market and other industries....

URI researchers receive $6.1 million in grants.(University of Rhode Island)(Brief Article)
August 28, 2000... KINGSTON -- Two University of Rhode Island researchers have received grants from the National Oceanographic Partnership Program to fund research into the development of oceanographic data collection and monitoring systems. Peter Cornillion,...

Dare to Care program begins.(Brief Article)
August 28, 2000... PROVIDENCE -- The United Way's Dare to Care Campaign kicked off last Monday and will run though Sept. 29. Employees from more than 60 area companies will participate in what has become the largest volunteer corporate event in the state, with...

Citizen's rating upgraded by Moody's.(Brief Article)
August 28, 2000... PROVIDENCE -- Moody's Investors Service upgraded to Aa3 from A1 the long-term deposit rating of Citizens Bank of Rhode Island, the Rhode Island subsidiary of Citizens Financial Group. The rating was undertaken in connection with the February...

Navy awards $4 million to URI.(Brief Article)
August 28, 2000... KINGSTON -- The University of Rhode Island's College of Engineering has been awarded a $4 million contract by the United States Navy to fund the National Student Services Program, a program that URI has operated since its inception in 1984....

Almond seeks non-binding referendum.(Brief Article)
August 28, 2000... PROVIDENCE -- Gov. Lincoln Almond has submitted an advisory referendum to the Secretary of State's office to be placed on the November ballot dealing with the question of separation of powers in state government. The governor's action was in...

Surplus supply firm booming despite obscurity.(Brief Article)
August 28, 2000... "Our biggest problem is that people don't know we exist." That problem, according to William DiMaio Jr., co-owner of American Surplus Inc. in Rumford, ironically isn't slowing the growth of the $5.5 million business. Started in 1992...

Novare Engineers Inc. earns governor's award.(Brief Article)
August 28, 2000... Novare Engineers Inc., a design engineering firm specializing in mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP), will be honored by Gov. Lincoln Almond at the ISO Expo 2000 in September. The RI firm is being recognized by the governor and by the...

For S.E. Mass., TI has been a good job.(Brief Article)
August 28, 2000... There are the little things that make a big company so important to the small towns and cities that surround it. The annual contributions to local non-profit organizations -- the visits by professionals to elementary schools, so that students...

Phoenix-like, Fall River rises from its own ashes.(Brief Article)
August 28, 2000... Once the nation's textile capital -- an industry that moved south and overseas -- Fall River is finding new life in a diversified economy that has seen its unemployment drop from a high of 19 percent in 1991 to just 3.9 percent nearly a...

Company policy and practice start at the top.(Brief Article)
August 28, 2000... No one believes what they read or what they hear in any organization. People (employees and customers) only believe what they see. I once had a client who had signs on all the walls proclaiming the organization's values, and the fourth...

BUSINESS / notes.(Brief Article)
August 28, 2000... ADVERTISING Diane Czapiga has joined America House in Newport as production manager. She will be responsible for compiling estimates, interacting with printing vendors, billing and general production duties. She previously served as...

Bufftree Building Co. breaks ground for fire station expansion.(Brief Article)
August 28, 2000... Dignitaries of Fairhaven, Mass. joined principals of Bufftree Building Company for a groundbreaking ceremony to kick off the expansion of Fairhaven's Washington Street fire station. The project includes building a new office addition and...

DeWolfe appoints three branch managers.(Brief Article)
August 28, 2000... Deborah Masse has been named branch manager at DeWolfe's Post Road, Warwick location. A graduate of the Realtor Institute, she earned her Certified Residential Broker certification from the National Association of REALTORS. Masse is a member...

March of Dimes announces new appointments.(Brief Article)
August 28, 2000... Nancy Rowett, APR has been appointed communications consultant for the March of Dimes Folic Acid Campaign. Her responsibilities will include the management of the first Rhode Island Folic Acid Symposium to be held October 17 at Women and...

Roger Williams Medical Center names VP of public relations.(Brief Article)
August 28, 2000... Dennis W. Moore has been appointed vice president of public relations and development for Roger Williams Medical Center in Providence. He will serve as a member of the executive management team. Prior to joining Roger Williams, Moore was...

EDITORIALS.(Brief Article)(Editorial)
August 28, 2000... Providence Place turns one It has now been a year since Providence Place opened its doors -- and mall officials are trumpeting the mall as a rousing success. To be sure, there is much to celebrate, not the least of which is the fact...

It's still growing, but success seems assured for Providence Place.(Brief Article)
August 28, 2000... Did you know that in its first year, Providence Place mall replaced 500 light bulbs? Imagine that! It took a complete year to burn out 500 light bulbs. That was among the statistics reported by the mall as it announced what it said was a...

Disorientation inevitable in voluntary change.(Brief Article)
August 28, 2000... I recently had dinner with an old friend who spent 30 years working in print journalism. Nine months ago he resigned his top position to go it alone. He set out to establish an Internet magazine. Ever since college he had wanted to do...

The uninsured, who seem always to be with us.(Brief Article)
August 28, 2000... Everybody has an Uncle Albert - an embarrassingly gauche relative no longer invited to family gatherings, but who shows up nonetheless, because he is after all family - in fact, once upon a time he garnered a measure of respect. So he comes,...

Electronics brighten medical records.(Brief Article)
August 28, 2000... Do you know when you got your last tetanus shot, what your doctor scribbled during your last physical, or what kind of information he's giving your insurance company about you? Then you don't yet realize the advantages to keeping one's...

Looking for computer lemons.(Brief Article)
August 28, 2000... Computers. Each day, they take us places that would be difficult -- if not impossible -- to reach without them. The number of people who have contact with them is ever-growing, as our country's dependence on them increases. It is...

WWW access gained for blind.(Brief Article)
August 28, 2000... A lawsuit filed against one of the nation's leading Internet providers, America Online by the National Federation for the Blind, has resulted in new programming that will make the World Wide Web more accessible for blind users. The...

The story is in software--constantly updated.
August 28, 2000... Computer Associates determined to prevent obsolescence Company: Computer Associates, Inc. Location: Thurber Boulevard, Smithfield Owners: James McCooey, Kent Tunnicliffe and John Winters Employees: 50 Established: 1978...

BX.com expands services.(Brief Article)
August 28, 2000... Providence-based BX.com launched [ISM.sup.sm], service-driven Web-Site hosting, designed to maximize. Internet sales and communication To meet the growing demand for high-performance hosting services, BX.com has hired additional ISM managers...

Follow the money to and through the metrics.
August 28, 2000... Money follows metrics. What we measure influences the allocation of funds, and what we don't measure tends to get overlooked. This axiom covers many variables. Measuring anything generates new information, which may confirm or even...

Gilbane's Web site gets mixed reviews.(Brief Article)
August 28, 2000... Site: www.gilbaneco.com Company: Gilbane Reviewers: Ed Weisberg, president of BX.com, inc. Jerry Meyer, president of the East Greenwich Chamber of Commerce After being ranked the top private company last week in the Providence...

Music file-sharing sparks 'fair use' debate.(Brief Article)
August 28, 2000... The controversy surrounding music file-sharing site Napster may be the latest fight in the Internet ring, but the issue of "fair use" is nothing new -- and this current round may just be the beginning, experts say. The Napster server and...

Your health records should include these essentials.(Brief Article)
August 28, 2000... One's health information -- or medical records -- not only provides the base for planning care and treatment but is a legal document that verifies care and services and treatment covered by insurance and is an effective way to communicate...

Sonus announces pact with Japanese firms.(Brief Article)
August 28, 2000... WESTFORD -- Sonus Networks, based here, announced it had signed a development agreement with two big Japanese telecommunications companies, Nisho Electronics Corp. and NTT Communicationware Corp. The agreement calls for joint development of...

EMC, Exodus agree on product resale.(Brief Article)
August 28, 2000... HOPKINTON -- EMC Corp., leading maker of corporate data-storage systems and Exodus Communications, Inc., based in Santa Clara, Calif. announced an agreement which would permit Exodus to resell EMC's computers and software. Terms of the...

Log On America takes legal action regarding stock.(Brief Article)
August 28, 2000... PROVIDENCE -- Log On America has commenced legal proceedings in the United States District Court, Southern District of New York, against the four institutional investors and certain of their affiliates which hold the company's Series A...

NestorCommerce offers new detection model.(Brief Article)
August 28, 2000... PROVIDENCE -- NestorCommerce, a division of Nestor, Inc., in conjunction with its alliance partner, Total System Services, Inc. (TSYS), announces the availability of new fraud detection models for TSYS's card issuing clients in the U.S. and...

Report finds APC share in large enterprises up.(American Power Conversion)(Brief Article)
August 28, 2000... WEST KINGSTON -- As part of Frost & Sullivan's latest global uninterruptible power supply (UPS) report, American Power Conversion has received two Frost & Sullivan 2000 Marketing Engineering Awards. According to the research firm, the...

Online pay growing for management.(Brief Article)
August 28, 2000... WESTPORT, Conn. -- PricewaterhouseCoopers' Unifi Network "Internet Compensation Survey 2000" finds that as Internet companies mature, so do the pay practices of the online industry. The survey found that online companies are rewarding top...

Cabletron Systems to buy Indus River.(Brief Article)
August 28, 2000... ROCHESTER, N.H. (BLOOMBERG) -- Cabletron Systems Inc., a maker of computer networking equipment, said its largest unit agreed to buy closely held Indus River Networks for $170 million in stock to gain Indus's remote-networking products. ...

Look to the Internet to find right employees.(Brief Article)
August 28, 2000... With a national unemployment rate hovering around four percent, small business may be looking for creative ways to find qualified employees in today's tight labor market. Some smart small businesses have found that a cost-effective,...

APC reaches agreement, global sales force grows.(Brief Article)
August 28, 2000... American Power Conversion has entered into the power protection industry's first end-to-end worldwide sales agreement with EDS. Through this agreement, the EDS global sales force will sell APC's comprehensive product and services offering,...

RISS announces addition of three new tech-executives.(Brief Article)
August 28, 2000... Brian Kretchman has joined R.I. Soft Systems Mediaweave division as Webmaster. His responsibilities will include maintaining the company's corporate Web sites on a daily basis and contributing technical expertise to the development and...

Bristol County, Massachusetts employers.
August 28, 2000... [TABLE HAS BEEN CLIPPED]

Region's Internet service providers.
August 28, 2000... [TABLE HAS BEEN CLIPPED]

RHODE ISLAND / stock watch.
August 28, 2000... [TABLE HAS BEEN CLIPPED]

Some hospital mergers fail.
August 21, 2000... If Lifespan and Care New England do fail to merge their hospital networks it could be viewed as par for the course in an industry finding that when it comes to mergers, the Emperor has no clothes. But don't be too quick to judge, said...

Are taxi fares fair?
August 21, 2000... Taxi drivers excluded from picking up passengers at T.F. Green Airport want the opportunity to scoop up overflow business there. Doing so, they say, will prevent disembarked passengers from having to wait for a ride. But representatives...

Tiffany & Co. warehouse to open in February.
August 21, 2000... Tiffany & Co., one of the nation's most prestigious jewelry manufacturers and retailers, is breathing new life into Rhode Island's ailing jewelry industry with the construction of a $10 million, 400 plus employee plant in Cumberland. ...

The Capital Grille celebrates ten years.
August 21, 2000... Name: John M. Martin Age: 39 Position: Regional Director of Operations for The Capital Grille (oversees The Capital Grilles of Providence, Boston, Chestnut Hill and Washington, D.C.) Background: Started with company in 1986 as a...

Insurers give legislature tepid review.
August 21, 2000... More smoke than fire. That's the assessment of Gerald L. Zimmerman, with regards to Rhode Island's 2000 legislative session. Zimmerman is counsel for the National Association of Independent Insurers, a Chicago-based trade organization...

RI dot-com assists Mass. political campaign.
August 21, 2000... Providence's Bungo.com has been selected to provide messaging, organization and collaboration tools for the volunteers working to elect Massachusetts Republican nominee Martin D. Travis as representative for the fourth Congressional District....

Nestor selected for new red light technology.
August 21, 2000... Providence-based Nestor Traffic Systems, Inc., an affiliate of Nestor, Inc., has announced that the City Council of Fresno, California has awarded the company a contract for the CrossingGuard video-based automated red light enforcement...

The Gantry Group launches repair practice.
August 21, 2000... The Gantry Group, a Concord, Mass.-based team of Internet business architects that helps clients create successful, sustainable Internet businesses across a wide range of industries, recently launched its Dot-com Repair Practice, designed to...

Fraunhofer CRCG and QSC enter partnership.
August 21, 2000... Providence's Fraunhofer Center for Research in Computer Graphics has announced that they have entered into a technology partnership agreement with QS Communications AG, Germany's first public. Internet access provider using SDSL technology....

Students seeking real life experiences.
August 21, 2000... Remember when the word "summer" was synonymous with staying Out, sleeping in, and maybe working a part-time job just to earn a little extra cash? Many of today's students are instead opting for a more productive summer break, one that...

Raytheon wins $1.4 billion subcontract.
August 21, 2000... LEXINGTION--Raytheon Co. announced that it had won a $1.4 billion subcontract from Lockheed Martin Corp. of Bethesda, Md., to design and build radar equipment. The subcontract falls within Lockheed Martin's contract with the Army to produce a...

Informix to leave California for Westboro.
August 21, 2000... WESTBORO -- One day after announcing that it would limit its operations to an expanded presence in Massachusetts, including the recently developed office of its president here in Westboro, while retaining its headquarters in Menlo Park,...

Sapient agrees to buy Human Code.
August 21, 2000... CAMBRIDGE -- Sapient Corp. has agreed to buy Human Code, Inc., a developer of broadband applications in Texas for $104 million. The purchase is intended to improve Sapient's ability to add streaming videos and other Web site features that...

Boston Scientific eyes stent maker.
August 21, 2000... NATICK -- Boston Scientific, Corp., has reportedly begun talks with Medino Ltd., its largest supplier -- to acquire that Israel-based company. Medinol is a five-year-old privately held company based in Tel Aviv that supplies Boston Scientific...

Cambridge Sound Works expanding.
August 21, 2000... CAMBRIDGE -- Cambridge SoundWorks told the Boston Globe that it planned to step up its pace of expansion beginning with the next 12 months when it expects to open up to eight more stores. Next year the company plans to expand beyond its...

Ezenia to sell systems to Telco.
August 21, 2000... BURLINGTON -- Ezeria, based here, announced that it had sold its network access card division to Telco Systems for $4 million in order to focus on Internet protocol and Web-based videoconferencing services expected to be released this year.

Australians to buy DSL routers from Interspeed.
August 21, 2000... NORTH ANDOVER -- Interspeed, Inc. of this community has won a $100 million contract to provide digital subscriber line access routers to the Intelligent Public Network based in Melbourne, Australia, the company announced. IPN had previously...

South Station development presses forward.
August 21, 2000... BOSTON -- Gov. Paul Cellucci has signed into law a transportation bond bill -- giving boost to a $600 million commercial complex planned over South Station. The $3.2 billion bond authorization contained a provision exempting the proposed...

FleetBoston official wins interest-free loan.
August 21, 2000... BOSTON -- A report by Reuters news service says that the relocation of Henrique de Campos Meirelles, the bank's head of global banking to New York City came with an interest-free housing loan for up to $4.5 million, according to the bank's...

Bacou buys another glove company.
August 21, 2000... SMITHFIELD -- Bacou USA, which had itself been the object of speculation about a potential buyer, announced that it had purchased another glove company to add to its growing stable of such companies. Bacou announced that it had purchased...

Verrecchia moves up at Hasbro.
August 21, 2000... PAWTUCKET -- Hasbro, Inc., chose Alfred J. Verrecchia to replace Herb Baum as the company's president and chief operating officer. Verrecchia, a URI graduate joined Hasbro 35 years ago. Most recently he had been executive vice president and...