Providence Business News articles from November 1999

Providence Business News archives from November 1999

Internet fraud flourishing.(Brief Article)
November 29, 1999... Every year Americans lose between $40 and $60 million in telemarketing scams, according to the Better Business Bureau. Last spring, an elderly North Kingstown resident sent a $28,000 cashier's check to a Canadian company that told her she...

Nailmaker thrives on 19th C. skills.
November 29, 1999... It takes dexterity to do what Roy Nixon does for a living. Amid the abrasive clap of the machinery that whirls all around him, Nixon, a feeder, for Tremont Nail Co. in Wareham, Mass., clutches a wooden pole by its end. At its other end is...

Old law causing woes for cabbies.(Brief Article)
November 29, 1999... Antonio Alexandre can continue to drive a taxi in Rhode Island - for now. Alexandre and about a dozen other Massachusetts residents are caught in a tangled web of Rhode Island law that appears to make it impossible for a Bay State...

Manufacturing lacks strong state support.
November 29, 1999... Name: Ronald Auger Age: 57 Background: Founded American Industrial Casting in 1983 and has been in the casting industry since 1962. Auger is chairman of the board for the Rhode Island Manufacturing Extension Services. RIMES is an...

Women, minorities hailed for small business leadership.(Brief Article)
November 29, 1999... When U.S. Small Business Administration Administrator Aida Alvarez visited Providence Nov. 18 and 19, she came bearing news that was welcome to many: Federal cuts to the administration's budget will be less than expected. Last month, the...

Former managers convicted for kickbacks at toy company.(Brief Article)
November 29, 1999... SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (AP) -- A jury convicted two former Milton Bradley Co. managers for their role in an $800,000 kickback scheme. George Serafino, 56, formerly of Longmeadow, and former vice president Arthur Peckham, 57, formerly of...

After--market auto parts spark insurance debate.(Brief Article)
November 29, 1999... The nation's Big Three automobile makers -- Chrysler, Ford and General Motors -- have recalled 14 million cars this decade. It is a point that Gerald L. Zimmerman, associate counsel for the National Association of Independent Insurers,...

RI housing market ahead of 1998 pace.(Brief Article)
November 29, 1999... Sales of existing single-family homes in Rhode Island increased during October, according to the Rhode Island Association of REALTORS. Projected annual single-family home sales, which remain 15 percent ahead of 1998's record year-end pace of...

U.S. funds benefit RI agencies, wildlife, seniors' health.(Brief Article)
November 29, 1999... Two Rhode Island agencies have been awarded a total of more than $2 million in federal grants from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The Northern Rhode Island Community Mental Health Center will receive $891,600 to...

United Way raises record $21,002,828.(Brief Article)
November 29, 1999... The United Way of Southeastern New England's 74th annual campaign raised a record-breaking $21,002,828, campaign Chairman Joseph Walsh announced at a campaign ending celebration last week. "Sometimes we felt like lion tamers, sometimes...

Removing the mystery from prescription drugs.(Brief Article)
November 29, 1999... What's the most important component of your health coverage? That's easy, right, as inpatient hospital costs could bankrupt many families for a serious admission, were it not for insurance coverage. However, in any given year, only 5 percent...

Name says it all and Total Mfg does it all.(Brief Article)
November 29, 1999... Company: Total Manufacturing Owner: Carl Reed Employees: 40 Type of business: manufacturer Location: Cumberland Year founded: 1997 Annual revenues: $3.5 million The name says it all: Total Manufacturing. ...

Businesses grow, favorable job forecast.(Brief Article)
November 29, 1999... Manisses acquires Just the Facts Manisses Communication Group, Inc. has announced the acquisition of Just the Facts, a periodic newsletter on child psychopharmacology from the Child Psychopharmacology Information Service at the University...

Children in poverty a problem for all.(Statistical Data Included)
November 29, 1999... Numbers continue to rise Children most at risk of not achieving their full potential are children who live in poverty. Children who grow up in poor families are more likely to go without necessary food and clothing, live in substandard...

SBA opens its first bilingual center.(Brief Article)
November 29, 1999... LAWRENCE -- The U.S. Small Business Administration has opened its first bilingual information center in this city. The Small Business Resource Center will be staffed by two full-time Spanish-speaking business advisers to serve this city of...

SatCon Technology acquires new unit.(Brief Article)
November 29, 1999... CAMBRIDGE -- SatCon Technology Corp. has acquired Northrop Grumman Corp.'s power electronics business unit. The acquisition involves 570,000 of SatCon's common shares as well as warrants to purchase an additional 200,000 shares. The NG unit...

Raytheon reports subpoena by Customs.(Brief Article)
November 29, 1999... LEXINGTON -- Raytheon Co. reported that it had been subpoenaed by the U.S. Customs Service regarding the proposed sale to Pakistan by Raytheon's Canadian subsidiary of electronic equipment used to bounce signals off the earth's atmosphere. In...

Bayer buys Cambridge diagnostic business.(Brief Article)
November 29, 1999... CAMBRIDGE -- Oncogene Science Diagnostics of this city has been sold to Bayer Corp. by OSI Pharmaceuticals Inc. for $11 million, OSI reported. Under terms of the sale, Bayer will retain all of Oncogene's employees and continue its...

Starwood Hotels wins race for convention hotel.(Brief Article)
November 29, 1999... BOSTON -- The Massachusetts Convention Center Authority board has awarded the rights to develop, build and operate a major hotel at the planned South Boston convention center to the Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. Starwood's bid was...

Boston Medical Center, nurses reach agreement.(Brief Article)
November 29, 1999... BOSTON -- Boston Medical Center and the Service Employees International Union local representing 650 nurses have reached agreement on a two-year contract that will mean an 11 percent wage increase for the nurses. The nurses had threatened to...

Concord firm buys PalmPilot operation.(Brief Article)
November 29, 1999... CONCORD -- Manufacturing Services Ltd., whose specialty is building products for electronics companies, announced that it has agreed to buy 3Com Corp.'s PalmPilot manufacturing operations in Salt Lake City, Utah. Terms of the sale were not...

Manufacturing up, wages higher in Boston.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
November 29, 1999... BOSTON -- An industry coalition has reported that manufacturing jobs in Boston have increase by 2.1 percent from 1994 to 1998. Meanwhile, the report by the Greater Boston Manufacturing partnership stated, manufacturing wages grew 25.3 percent...

Telecommunications training center opens.(Brief Article)
November 29, 1999... LINCOLN -- Underwritten by a Bell Atlantic grant and supported by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, a Career Training Center has opened at Davies Vocational High School to prepare students for work in the rapidly growing...

Liston to retire as CCRI president.(Brief Article)
November 29, 1999... PROVIDENCE -- Ed Liston, president of CCRI for more than 21 years, has announced that he will retire next June. Sally Dowling, chair of the Board of Governors for Higher Education, in announcing that the board is committed to a national...

Heritage Harbor announces plans.(Brief Article)
November 29, 1999... PROVIDENCE -- With the deed to the former Narragansett Electric plant at South and Eddy Streets in hand, officials of the Heritage Harbor Corporation announced plans for development of the property. Narragansett Electric officials turned over...

Chamber president honored by peers.(Brief Article)
November 29, 1999... PROVIDENCE -- James G. Hagan, president of the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce, has been named outstanding Chamber executive of the year for 1999 by the New England Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives. The award was presented...

Heritage Corridor named for Chafee.(Brief Article)
November 29, 1999... WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Embedded in the Congressional Budget Agreement reached a weekend ago is a provision honoring the late Sen. John H. Chafee. His name has been attached to the Heritage Corridor development he so forcefully advocated and...

GTECH extends pact with Washington.(Brief Article)
November 29, 1999... WEST GREENWICH -- GTECH Corp. announced it has signed a three-year contract extension with the Washington State Lottery to provide online products and services through June 30, 2004. The company will install 1,500 Express Point self-service...

Textron appoints chief officer of group.(Brief Article)
November 29, 1999... PROVIDENCE -- Textron, Inc. announced that Jack W. Sights is now the chairman, president and chief executive officer of the Textron Fastening Systems group. He replaces Randy P. Smith who is leaving for personal reasons. Sights will also...

Directors' fees for area public companies.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
November 29, 1999... Directors' fees for area public companies 1999 1998 rank Rank Company name Annual retainer 1 1 Textron $55,000 2 2 Texas Instruments $40,000 3 3 FleetBoston...

Credit card record use seen.(Brief Article)
November 29, 1999... American consumers will spend a record $126.5 billion using credit cards and bank debit cards this holiday season, according to CardWeb.com of Frederick, Md. The research group projects major credit cards will account for $92.6 billion...

Tax the Internet?(Brief Article)
November 29, 1999... Congress to consider e-commerce Congress next year will likely consider what many believe is one of the nation's most pressings business issues: Should Internet commerce be taxed? And if the answer is 'yes,' another question emerges...

The future via the Internet.(Brief Article)
November 29, 1999... Ask Peter Howard, a vice president at the highly successful Ross-Simons what his company's retail stores are likely to look like in the future, and he'll tell you a showroom, where customers make their actual purchases on-line. ...

Meals online the latest in cyberspace food service.(Brief Article)
November 29, 1999... The Internet is changing the way Rhode Islanders work, communicate and shop. Could it change the way we eat too? Local cyber entrepreneurs think so. Restaurants here typically use the Internet to advertise their fare, but a pair of...

Heartlab's imaging system paying off.(Brief Article)
November 29, 1999... Westerly firm product succeeds medically and financially Company: Heartlab Inc. Employees: 34 Location: Westerly Year Founded: 1994 Annual Revenues: $7 million On the wall of the Westerly conference room, a poster...

High-tech training grants available.(Brief Article)
November 29, 1999... The state is offering technology training grants of up to $5,000 for companies of less that 200 employees. The Rhode Island Technology Council is holding a briefing on the grants on Dec. 7. Sponsored by the technology council and the...

Mesa Systems lands contract with Lockheed.(Brief Article)
November 29, 1999... Mesa Systems Guild or Warwick recently signed a six-year agreement with an arm of Lockheed Martin Corp. to provide the aerospace giant with its Internet-based project management tools. The company didn't disclose the terms of the...

UUNET chooses Inso's DynaBase.(Brief Article)
November 29, 1999... eBusiness Technologies, a division of Inso Corp. (NASDAQ:INSO), which provides solutions and services for e-business applications, announced that UUNET, an MCI WorldCom company and a leader in Internet communications solutions, will implement...

Sane Solutions among Oracle's top 50.(Brief Article)
November 29, 1999... NORTH KINGSTOWN -- Sane Solutions has been named to the Top 50 E-Business Solution Developers on Oracle, a list of fastest growing solution developers on the Oracle Internet Platform. Companies were measured on their revenue growth from 1997...

Court rejects counter-claim against ASI.(Brief Article)
November 29, 1999... NORTH KINGSTOWN -- A U.S. District Court judge last week rejected claims by two companies that an Access Solutions International, Inc. (ASI) patent violated several provisions of the US patent laws. The companies filed their complaint in...

Teachers web site open to discussion.(Brief Article)
November 29, 1999... The Rhode Island Teachers and Technology Initiative (RITTI) is opening a discussion forum on-line for members of the teaching community and general public. RITTI said the web site: http://www.riedx.uri.edu will become a meeting place where...

Corporate concerns addressed as public privacy whithers.
November 29, 1999... WASHINGTON--The Internet, long touted as self-governing and free of central control, is one of the hottest topics on Capitol Hill. Ignoring the Clinton administration's pro-growth vow to keep hands off, members of Congress have introduced...

UNICOM moving to Woonsocket.(Brief Article)
November 29, 1999... UNICOM, founded as a camera store in Providence more than 60 years ago, and now among Rhode Island's most prominent technology companies, is moving from its current location on Elmwood Avenue in Providence to Woonsocket's Highland Corporate...

Patent rights protection at issue in priceline suit.(Brief Article)
November 29, 1999... Online travel company Priceline.com filed a lawsuit against Microsoft last month alleging patent infringement and unfair trade practices. The outcome of this dispute could have significant precedential value, given the tremendous growth of...

Creating havoc for business--11 ways via the Internet.(Brief Article)
November 29, 1999... Referring to Wal-Mart's upcoming remake of its Web site, one analyst said it will give retailing a "jolt" and another said it will "change Internet retailing." Evie Black Dykem of Forrester Research, Inc. said it "will be the shot heard round...

Convention Bureau site a simple pleasure to use.(Brief Article)
November 29, 1999... COMPANY: Providence Warwick Convention & Visitors Bureau WHERE TO FIND IT: www.providencecvb.com CRITIQUE: Although relatively simple, Providence Warwick Convention & Visitors Bureau presents an informative web site to lure visitors to...

New software to stymie hackers.(Brief Article)
November 29, 1999... The Internet has been instrumental in providing small business owners with added communication and information outlets. But that increase could actually cost them. With the proliferation of the Internet as a business tool, a recent...

With information excess a personal filter helps.(Brief Article)
November 29, 1999... Information is now commonly considered a business organization's most important resource. Managed well, it can be processed into knowledge; ills life-giving. But in excess it overcomes the recipient, as in the story of the Sorcerer's...

GAMESPY TO LAUNCH LARGEST INTERNET TUNER.(Brief Article)
November 29, 1999... GameSpy Industries, the Costa Mesa, Calif.-based entertainment portal with investment backing from Hollywood heavyweights Richard Wolpert and Michael Ovitz, will launch a sweeping online radio site that promises to be the world's largest...

IWIN.COM FEEDS ON GAME-SHOW MANIA.(Brief Article)
November 29, 1999... If contestants on TV game shows can win cash and prizes, why not offer the same incentive to game show players on the Web? That's the idea behind IWin.com, a new Internet game show site. Founded by software developer Fred Krueger and former...

Area's fastest growinghigh technology companies.(Brief Article)
November 29, 1999... Area's fastest growing high technology companies (ranked by percentage growth) Owner, or principal Rank Company contact e-mail 1...

Microsoft faces barrage of litigation.(Brief Article)
November 29, 1999... NEW YORK (AP) -- A growing wave of private lawsuits against Microsoft Corp. suddenly has the company fighting on several legal fronts at once, raising the stakes in its antitrust battle in Washington and intensifying pressure on Microsoft to...

VIRTUAL MEDIA TECHNOLOGIES ADDS TO SECURITY TEAM.(Brief Article)
November 29, 1999... Richard Chew, Erik Dumke, Angela Loomis and Jason Tetlow have joined Virtual Media Technologies. Chew has joined the sales and marketing group as an account executive. The other three have been added to the technical lineup as...

PEP NAMES WHYTE SALES MANAGER.(Brief Article)
November 29, 1999... Pentair Electronic Packaging has appointed Stephen J. Whyte as West Coast regional sales manager. He will be responsible for sales of the Warwick company's premier Schroff brand enclosure lines, outdoor aluminum enclosures and metal stamping...

Train--airport link on target for 2001.(Brief Article)
November 29, 1999... The train station planned for Warwick should begin receiving passengers heading to T.F. Green Airport in late 2001. Airport and city officials are betting that many of those passengers will be coming from Massachusetts thanks to the...

Regionalism invites RI, Mass. cooperation.(Brief Article)
November 29, 1999... Economic theories come in all shapes and sizes. They are subjective, by nature -- each having its share of believers and disbelievers. In Rhode Island, the theory or concept of a "regional economy," in which Rhode Is land is part of a...

Boston travelers going Green, TF that is.(Brief Article)
November 29, 1999... Since T.F. Green Airport in Warwick opened its new terminal in 1996 it has more than doubled the number of passengers it serves, going from almost 2.5 million to a projected 5 million passengers in 1999. According to some Boston travel...

Jobless rate up to 3.2%, but so are Bay State jobs.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
November 29, 1999... BOSTON -- The unemployment rate in Massachusetts reached 3.2 percent last month, compared with 2.9 percent in September, the Massachusetts Division of Employment and Training reported. However, the state agency reported, that 3,500 more...

Banks, brokers, insurers enter competitive market.(Brief Article)
November 29, 1999... (AP) Walk into your local bank sometime in the near future and try to see the difference. Tellers will still be there counting cash. Account executives will welcome new clients to sit at their desks. You will still fill out deposit slips...

RHODE ISLAND STOCK WATCH.(Statistical Data Included)
November 29, 1999... RHODE ISLAND stock watch Stock Div./ P/E 52 week 52 week Last Company name symbol share ratio high low week...

PERSONAL INVESTING.(Brief Article)
November 29, 1999... Q. I would appreciate your comments on the long-term success of Humana Inc. stock.-- B.B., Louisville. A. You're among many investors feeling the pain. With its stock price down more than 60 percent this year, this provider of...

Raytheon.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
November 29, 1999... Raytheon Co., which operates a facility in Portsmouth, Rhode island, is a global technology company that provides products and services in defense and commercial electronics, engineering and construction, and business and special mission...

Citizens Bank, Mass. joins SUM network; no ATM fees.(Brief Article)
November 29, 1999... BOSTON (AP) -- No more $1 surcharges for every noncustomer who uses Citizens Bank automatic teller machines in Massachusetts. Citizens Bank announced it will join the SUM network of ATMs owned by banks that don't place surcharges on one...

BUSINESS NOTES.(Brief Article)
November 29, 1999... ADVERTISING Tori Kronhaus has joined RDW Group as an account executive. A recent honors student graduate of Brown, Kronhaus was an intern at RDW last year. While at Brown she was also news director at WBRU-FM. Kronhaus is a native of...

Piccerelli, Gilstein & Co. adds two new supervisors.(Brief Article)
November 29, 1999... Donna M. Slater, CPA and Laura Tingley, CPA have both promoted to supervisors at Piccerelli, Gilstein & Company, LLP. Slater is a magna cum laude graduate of University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth. She has been with the firm for five...

Partridge Snow & Hahn welcomes three.(Brief Article)
November 29, 1999... Providence law firm Partridge Snow & Hahn, LLP has hired Audrey Benson, Elizabeth Hansen and Tracy C. Baran as associates of the firm. Benson has become a member of the firm's health practice areas, Hansen a member of the litigation practice...

List of Used Computer Prices.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
November 29, 1999... List of Used Computer Prices November 22, 1999 Machine Buyers' Sellers' Close Change avg. bid avg. ask IBM ThinkPad 755C ...

Threats to small business.(Part 2)(Brief Article)
November 29, 1999... The threat to even a moderate continuation of our economic recovery is not so much inflation or interest rates, as it is the frailty of our health care insurance system, and government regulations, such as new OSHA standards, that mandate...

Health Care.(Brief Article)
November 29, 1999... Some suggest that health care insurance costs will rise by as much as 50 percent, creating hardship, certainly, for employer and employee alike, both of whom are bound to share in the added costs. And those costs are fueled even more by...

OSHA regulations.(Part 1)(Brief Article)
November 29, 1999... We-now face some comprehensive and far reaching ergonomic standards, proposed by OSHA, that are still wending their way through Congress, getting closer to imposition, although a Congressionally sponsored study of ergonomic issues has not yet...

When problems arise at work, beware of office shrinks.(Brief Article)
November 29, 1999... In baseball, a clubhouse lawyer is a player who's always stirring the pot and sowing dissension. The equivalent in an office is the self-appointed, unlicensed shrink. This problem is on my mind for a reason. Last spring I flew to London and...

Census Bureau seeks partners in business.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
November 29, 1999... By now you should have seen the advertisements for the U.S. Census Bureau to apprise us of the forthcoming census on April I, 2000. And there will be plenty more since the Bureau has budgeted $167 million on this push for public awareness,...

Letters, we get letters -- on hotel rates and leadership.(Brief Article)
November 29, 1999... Our views on hotel room prices challenged To the editor: As a member of the hotel community in Rhode Island, I felt compelled to respond to your recent editorial, "Hotel Rates." I challenge the idea that Rhode Island,...

Cracker Barrel opens first Rhode Island store.
November 22, 1999... COVENTRY -- The Cracker Barrel Old Country Store will debut in Coventry today (Nov. 22). Located at 825 Centre of New England Boulevard, the store -- complete with a working cobblestone fireplace -- will serve breakfast, lunch and dinner and...

Telephone monopolies a roadblock.
November 22, 1999... WASHINGTON, DC -- A study by the "Small Business Survival Committee" on the effects of local telephone competition and the Telecommunications Act of 1996 on America's small business community cites delays in basic and enhanced service, a...

Wal-Mart declares dividend.
November 22, 1999... BENTONVILLE, ARK -- The Board of Directors of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., declared a quarterly cash dividend on the common stock of five cents ($.05) per share, payable January, 10, 2000, to shareholders of record on December 17, 1999. The retail...

Fidelity Investments expands to mall.
November 22, 1999... PROVIDENCE, RI -- Fidelity Investments on Nov. 16 officially opened its Investor Center, at Providence Place. The 4,500-square-foot branch will be open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 a.m. until noon....

Ear clip maker sues, in sales of 'Knockoffs'.
November 22, 1999... Aro-Sac Inc., the North Providence producer of ear clips used to make earrings, has sued a Providence company for allegedly selling imported copies of one of Aro-Sac's patented products. The company is suing Merchants Overseas Inc.,...

Coincidental settlement of suit raises eyebrows.
November 22, 1999... Late last month New England Electric System agreed to settle a multimillion dollar lawsuit it had brought against Northeast Utilities System of Berlin, Coan. Two days after New England Electric agreed to settle the lawsuit, Northeast...

A peek into RI's future.
November 22, 1999... As economists and businessmen and women look to the future growth of Rhode Island's economy they universally agree that the potential for continued expansion is linked to the state's ability to support and help grow knowledge-based businesses...

Lam supports funding to close education gap.(Brief Article)
November 22, 1999... Name: Diana Lam Occupation: Superintendent of the providence School Department Background: Born and raised in Lima, Peru. Before coming to Providence she was most recently superintendent of schools in San Antonio, Texas, after having...

OSHA to enforce forklift training rules.(Brief Article)
November 22, 1999... Compliance set for Dec. 1 Manufacturers and distributors have until next Wednesday, Dec. 1, 1999 to comply with a new OSHA regulation, 29CFR 1910.178 Powered Industrial Truck Operator Training. After years of talking about it; the...

Cianci's vision for city progressing slowly.(Brief Article)
November 22, 1999... "Undoubtedly, this will take many years to accomplish. But we have no time to waste. In the eyes of New England, in the eyes of America, the reputation of Providence has never been higher. Now is the time to act..." Providence Mayor...

As giving season arrives volunteers, keep on doing.(Brief Article)
November 22, 1999... But indigent needy year-round It seems that the holiday spirit is catching. While many people and corporations focus on volunteerism and giving during the holiday season, the spirit, according to local agencies and national surveys...