St Louis Post-Dispatch (MO) articles from July 2003

St Louis Post-Dispatch (MO) archives from July 2003

St. Louis Airport's Businesses Brace for American's Cutbacks.
July 31, 2003... Byline: Ken Leiser Jul. 31--Companies that rely on the constant flow of passenger planes through Lambert Field are bracing for potentially significant losses when American Airlines slashes its flight schedule in half this fall. Many...

Town and Country, Mo., Chemical Firm Facing Cash Crunch amid PCB Suits.
July 31, 2003... Byline: Rachel Melcer Jul. 31--Solutia Inc. said Wednesday that it is considering "all available alternatives" to solve an impending cash crunch, exacerbated by languishing lawsuits over polychlorinated biphenyl, or PCB, contamination in...

Savvis Plans to Use Minneapolis-Based Wam!Net to Mine New Markets.
July 31, 2003... Byline: Rachel Melcer Jul. 31--Savvis Communications Corp., which started out as an Internet service provider for banks and traders, is pressing into the publishing and media market with an acquisition. It is buying the commercial...

National Steel Retirees Say Goodbye to Benefits.
July 31, 2003... Byline: Gregory Cancelada Jul. 31--When Jim Meyers retired two years ago after 39 years at Granite City Steel, losing his retiree health benefit wasn't what he expected for his golden years. "This wasn't on the horizon," said Meyers,...

E-Mails Used to Help Corruption Case against Charter Communications Executives.
July 30, 2003... Byline: Peter Shinkle Jul. 30--Unearthed e-mails, which have tripped up many a corporate titan in recent years, are at the center of federal corruption charges against former top executives at Charter Communications Inc. An...

Sauget, Ill., Firm Gets in Swim with Chlorine Dispenser.
July 29, 2003... Byline: Shera Dalin Jul. 29--A manufacturer in Sauget that has supplied products under other companies' labels for more than a decade is jumping into the deep end with its chlorine-delivery gadget for swimming pools. Stellar...

German Internet Server Provider Chooses St. Louis to Locate U.S. Operations.
July 29, 2003... Byline: Rachel Melcer Jul. 29--Thomas Strohe took a whirlwind tour of 60 U.S. cities earlier this year, searching for the best base for a new U.S. division of his German Web-hosting company, Intergenia AG. And he chose St. Louis. ...

German Web-Hosting Company Opens St. Louis Unit.
July 29, 2003... Byline: Rachel Melcer Jul. 29--Thomas Strohe took a whirlwind tour of 60 U.S. cities this year, searching for the best base for a new U.S. division of his German Web-hosting company, Intergenia AG. And he chose St. Louis. Power...

St. Louis-Based Cable Executive Pleads Guilty to Falsifying Financial Data.
July 26, 2003... Byline: Peter Shinkle Jul. 26--A former Charter Communications Inc. executive pleaded guilty Friday to corporate corruption charges, admitting he inflated customer counts to meet Wall Street expectations. David McCall, who was vice...

Today's Accounting Majors Figure on Solid Future in Business.
July 25, 2003... Byline: Allyce Bess Jul. 25--Accounting never was considered a glamorous profession, and it has lost talented young professionals over the years to the lure of higher wages and visibility in other fields. Now, accounting is making a...

DaimlerChrysler to Curb Employee Smoking at Fenton, Mo., Plants.
July 25, 2003... Byline: Kim Bell Jul. 25--A long-standing policy at DaimlerChrysler that gives smokers virtual free rein to light up in the automaker's open manufacturing areas may be coming to an end at the company's plants in Fenton. Details...

Developer Puts Hotel Complex on Flood Plain at Busy Missouri Intersection.
July 25, 2003... Byline: Eric Heisler Jul. 25--Drury Development Corp. is building two hotels and a retail-office complex on a plot of land off Interstate 44 that the developer lifted out of the Meramec River's flood plain. More than seven years in...

St. Louis Dentist Goes Out of Way to Make New Building Blend In Downtown.
July 25, 2003... Byline: Charlene Prost Jul. 25--A rarity in downtown St. Louis, the office building going up at the corner of 20th and Locust streets will be just one story tall. But for Dr. Karen J. Harris, a dentist who owns the $1.5 million...

Target Will Be Anchor at New St. Louis Shopping Center.
July 25, 2003... Byline: Eric Heisler Jul. 25--A Clayton-based developer is planning to tear down the former Lucent Technologies warehouse in Town and Country and build a Target-anchored shopping center in its place. The warehouse, which has been...

Owners of Unique St. Louis Shoe Store Hope Revitalization Boosts Business.
July 25, 2003... Byline: Ana Flor Jul. 25--Men looking for purple shoes or women wanting high-heels in size 14 might know about Marte Shoes. The shop, at 1326 Washington Avenue in downtown St. Louis, is one of the few places for women whose feet...

St. Louis Post-Dispatch Linda Tucci Column.
July 25, 2003... Byline: Linda Tucci Jul. 25--SAVVIS CHIEF SEEMS A QUICK STUDY: Without a formal financial education, Rob McCormick takes lessons from the tech wreck to find a service niche for his telecom. Savvis Communications Corp. was described...

Former TWA Pilots Suffer Setback in Bid to Gain Seniority Rights at American.
July 25, 2003... Byline: Jack Naudi Jul. 25--Pilots of former Trans World Airlines have been dealt a major setback in their bid to regain seniority lost when they were absorbed two years ago into American Airlines. A federal district court judge in...

Abbott Laboratories Agrees to Huge Fines.
July 24, 2003... Byline: Michael Shaw Jul. 24--Abbott Laboratories Inc. and a subsidiary agreed Wednesday to pay $600 million in fines and restitution to settle a criminal investigation and civil suit over the way it sold feeding devices for disabled...

CEO Tells Shareholders That Charter Communications Has "New Sense of Purpose".
July 24, 2003... Byline: Jerri Stroud Jul. 24--SEATTLE--Charter Communications Inc. has "a new sense of purpose and confidence in our business" after enduring "negativity and skepticism" from financial markets, analysts and others in the last year, Chief...

St. Louis Post-Dispatch Linda Tucci Column.
July 24, 2003... Byline: Linda Tucci Jul. 24--Don't look for a cease-fire in the war between the Maritzes. The latest salvo: a petition filed Tuesday in St. Louis County Circuit Court by brothers Peter and Philip, seeking a "judicial dissolution" of...

St. Louis to Set Up Downtown Wireless 'Hot Spot'.
July 24, 2003... Byline: Rachel Melcer Jul. 24--Do you know what "WiFi" is? How about an 802.11b platform? Are you looking for hot spots? Put simply, do you like to check your e-mail or surf the Web outdoors? Then, beginning this month, the downtown...

Michelob Ultra's Success Stirs Competition among Low-Carbohydrate Beers.
July 23, 2003... Byline: Thomas Lee Jul. 23--When Anheuser-Busch Cos. rolled out Michelob Ultra last September, some analysts doubted that a low-carbohydrate beer would connect with consumers. But now that Ultra has taken off, Miller Brewing Co., a...

Jury Investigates Former Officials at St. Louis-Based Charter Communications.
July 23, 2003... Byline: Peter Shinkle Jul. 23--A federal grand jury apparently is investigating the activities of two former executives whom Charter Communications Inc. fired in December amid an accounting investigation. Former chief financial...

St. Louis-Area Pharmaceutical Firm to Open New Jersey Clinical Office.
July 23, 2003... Byline: Rachel Melcer Jul. 23--Alan Dunton, president and chief executive of Metaphore Pharmaceuticals Inc., is committed to his St. Louis home. But he knows that in the drug business, there's no place like New Jersey. So Dunton's...

St Louis Judge Overrules Jury, Throws Out Enterprise Rent-A-Car Verdict.
July 23, 2003... Byline: Judith VandeWater Jul. 23--The trial judge has thrown out a jury verdict against Enterprise Rent-A-Car Co. and found that former company executive Thomas P. Dunn is ineligible for whistleblower protections. Senior Judge Jack...

Sandal Sales Increase, While Overall Footwear Sales Decrease.
July 21, 2003... Byline: Allyce Bess Jul. 21--As summer steams up, you see them in any financial district, from Wall Street to Washington Avenue: scantily-clad feet. Whether the shoe is sexy or sloppy, or the foot is perfectly pedicured or hairy, the...

Chesterfield, Mo., Research Campus of Pfizer Eyes Being Pharmaceutical Mecca.
July 20, 2003... Byline: Rachel Melcer Jul. 20--Dan Getman knows what he'd like the Chesterfield campus of pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc. to be: A haven for hard-working scientists who exchange ideas in hallways and develop lifesaving, profit-making...

St. Louis' Loop Development Is Thriving Success.
July 18, 2003... Byline: Charlene Prost Jul. 18--It's been 31 years since Joe and Linda Edwards scraped together $10,500 to open a funky pub called Blueberry Hill amid empty storefronts and dilapidated buildings in University City's Delmar Loop. The...

New St. Louis Outlet Mall Signs Hockey Team to 10-Year Lease.
July 18, 2003... Byline: Thomas Lee Jul. 18--The St. Louis Mills outlet mall under construction in Hazelwood also will be home to a new practice facility for the St. Louis Blues, a NASCAR SpeedPark and an ESPN X Games Skatepark, officials announced...

Granite City Steel Cuts 80 Workers at St. Louis-Area Plant.
July 18, 2003... Byline: Gregory Cancelada Jul. 18--Granite City Works laid off about 80 non-union employees this week as its parent, United States Steel Corp., restructures the local mill's work force to raise productivity. The steelmaker expects this...

St. Louis Airport Officials Argue American Cuts Won't Mean Loss of Hub Status.
July 17, 2003... Byline: Ken Leiser Jul. 17--More than half of the people who catch flights at Lambert Field aren't stopping by St. Louis to gaze at the Arch, eat toasted ravioli or pay homage to the Mississippi River. Instead, most airline...

St. Louis Travel Agents Troubled by American Airlines' Cuts.
July 17, 2003... Byline: Rachel Melcer Jul. 17--Travel agents don't yet know what to make of American Airlines' decision to more than halve its daily flights from Lambert Field. But there are a few things of which they are convinced: Fares will go...

American's Decision to Downsize Hub Should Make Ripple in St. Louis Economy.
July 17, 2003... Jul. 17--American Airlines' decision to downsize its hub at Lambert Field will cause great distress for laid-off employees, but it should make only a small ripple in the St. Louis economy. The situation could easily have been worse. ...

St. Louis-Area Businesses Brace for Impact of American Airlines Cuts.
July 17, 2003... Jul. 17--St. Louis-area businesses are preparing for more inconvenience, longer travel times and less flexibility with the reduction of American Airlines flights out of St. Louis "It's a sad day for St. Louis," said Pat Askew, senior...

St. Louis-Area Travelers Will Feel Impact of American Airlines' Cutback.
July 17, 2003... Byline: Tim O'Neil Jul. 17--How big is American Airlines' cutback in St. Louis? On Nov. 1, American will cut more than half of the flights it offers in and out of St. Louis. It is eliminating nonstop service to 27 cities. And because...

American Airlines Cuts 2,000 Jobs, Half of Flights in St. Louis.
July 17, 2003... Byline: Ken Leiser Jul. 17--Financially ailing American Airlines and its regional partner airlines will slash more than half of their flights at Lambert Field starting on Nov. 1 and will shutter a downtown reservation center in two...

St. Louis American Airlines Workers React to Cutbacks.
July 17, 2003... Jul. 17--Throughout Lambert Field on Wednesday, American Airlines employees felt compelled to talk about the latest hit on their livelihood. Some employees treated the news matter-of-factly. Some were shocked. Others, bitter. "I...

Employees of American Airlines' St. Louis Reservation Center Mourn Job Loss.
July 17, 2003... Byline: Christopher Carey Jul. 17--Judy Drake usually spends her workdays at the American Airlines reservations center in downtown St. Louis. But Wednesday afternoon, she and some colleagues adjourned to Panama Red's, a bar and grill...

American Outlines Plans for St. Louis Operations.
July 17, 2003... Byline: Cynthia Wilson Jul. 17--Jobs, flights and destinations will all take big hits later this year for one basic reason: American Airlines needs to become profitable again -- and it cannot do so with the service it now offers at...

Anheuser-Busch to Sponsor Formula One Racing Team.
July 17, 2003... Byline: Thomas Lee Jul. 17--Anheuser-Busch Cos. said Wednesday it will sponsor a top Formula One racing team, a deal that gives the St. Louis-based brewery a significant presence in one of the world's most popular sports. The company...

Power Failure Cuts Off BP-Amoco Gasoline to 160 Stations in St. Louis Region.
July 17, 2003... Byline: Repps Hudson Jul. 17--Failure of the major power line that serves the BP-Amoco fuel terminal in Wood River has caused shortages of gasoline at 160 area gasoline stations. The line grounded out Sunday, which meant the terminal...

St. Louis Post-Dispatch Linda Tucci Column.
July 17, 2003... Byline: Linda Tucci Jul. 17--The Solae Co. has gotten the attention of development officials on both sides of the river since announcing last month that it would not move its headquarters to Fort Wayne, Ind., after all, but concentrate...

St. Louis-Based Riverboat Casino Draws Surprising Buyer Interest.
July 16, 2003... Byline: Christopher Carey Jul. 16--The President Casino on the Admiral has attracted a surprising number of potential buyers, says an investment banker marketing the property. "The interest has been stronger than we anticipated,"...

Illinois Businesses Struggle With Taxes, High Costs, Chamber Official Says.
July 16, 2003... Byline: Shera Dalin Jul. 16--Illinois businesses grapple with higher workers' compensation insurance costs than their neighbors and an increasing tax burden that lawmakers need to deal with in the next legislative session, the state's...

St. Louis Medical Center to Bolster Pediatric Specialty Services.
July 16, 2003... Byline: Judith Vandewater Jul. 16--St. Anthony's Medical Center, the health-care linchpin in South County, said Tuesday that it will bolster its pediatric specialty services in a three-pronged arrangement with SSM Cardinal Glennon...

Big Three, UAW Open Contract Talks; Missouri Ford Plant's Fate in Balance.
July 16, 2003... Byline: Gregory Cancelada Jul. 16--The Big Three automakers and the United Auto Workers start talks today on renewing labor contracts that expire on Sept. 14. The results will affect the pocketbooks of about 10,000 UAW members at St....

Deal with United Airlines Will Boost St. Louis Carrier's National Presence.
July 15, 2003... Byline: Cynthia Wilson Jul. 15--Trans States Airlines is preparing to fly as many as 25 regional jets for United Airlines out of Dulles International Airport in Washington and O'Hare International Airport in Chicago. A spokesman for...

St. Louis Post-Dispatch Linda Tucci Column.
July 15, 2003... Byline: Linda Tucci Jul. 15--Sales have been up and down at Brown Shoe Co., but the St. Louis footwear company rules in one important category. For the third consecutive month, five of the top 10 best-selling women's shoes at U.S....

Weather Raises a Near-Record Wheat Harvest in Missouri, Illinois.
July 15, 2003... Byline: Repps Hudson Jul. 15--A cool, wet spring that smoothly became a dry early summer made for a nearly perfect -- and record -- wheat crop in Missouri and Illinois. With the yield per acre nearly 30 percent higher than the year...

St. Louis Post-Dispatch David Nicklaus Column.
July 13, 2003... Byline: David Nicklaus Jul. 13--A generous stock-options grant and a rising stock price can turn the average worker into a happy, loyal superemployee. But when the stock goes down, the same employee starts to look like Wally, the lazy,...

Charter Communications Starts Tender Offer for $1.4 Billion.
July 12, 2003... Byline: Jerri Stroud Jul. 12--Charter Communications Inc. took two steps Friday that could help it to handle the $19 billion in debt accumulated over the last decade as the company bought and upgraded cable systems serving more than 6...

Washington University Doctors Group Settles Price-Fixing Charges.
July 12, 2003... Byline: Christopher Carey Jul. 12--The Federal Trade Commission said Friday that the Washington University Physician Network settled charges that the group fixed prices on behalf of the 1,500 doctors in its system. The FTC contended...

CEO of Chesterfield, Mo., Infrastructure Technology Firm Acknowledges Mistakes.
July 12, 2003... Byline: Jack Naudi Jul. 12--On Thursday, Tony Hooper hurriedly arranged a conference call to investors and analysts to explain why his company -- once a darling of both with seemingly unlimited potential and a surging stock price -- has...

St. Louis Post-Dispatch Business Briefs Column.
July 11, 2003... Jul. 11--MITEK INDUSTRIES ACQUIRES ENGLAND'S TBS ENGINEERING: MiTek Industries Inc. of Chesterfield has acquired machinery maker TBS Engineering Ltd. of Cheltenham, England. The terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. TBS produces...

St. Louis Post-Dispatch Business People Column.
July 11, 2003... Byline: Jo Krummrich Jul. 11--MICHAEL SILVER joined Husch & Eppenberger as a member in the tax and estate-planning practice group. WENDI ALPER-PRESSMAN, RUBEN CHUQUIMIA and BRADFORD CYTRON were named partners at the Gallop, Johnson &...

This Year's Law School Graduates Face Tight Job Market.
July 11, 2003... Byline: Chern Yeh Kwok Jul. 11--Chris Javillonar landed an internship at a Chicago area law firm last summer, after his second year at Washington University's law school. Most times, that would have pretty much guaranteed him a job upon...

St. Louis Post-Dispatch David Nicklaus Column.
July 11, 2003... Byline: David Nicklaus Jul. 11--HIGH PRODUCTIVITY CREATES THE PHENOMENON OF A JOBLESS RECOVERY: For months, economic forecasters have been saying that prosperity would return in the second half of the year. Well, the second half is...

St. Louis Post-Dispatch Linda Tucci Column.
July 11, 2003... Byline: Linda Tucci Jul. 11--David Kemper sees St. Louis as a great place for business, and he hopes the region can look to the future by emphasizing quality of life, low cost of living and good housing. Civic Progress, the...

Harrah's Raises Stakes in Loyalty Program for Repeat Gamblers.
July 10, 2003... Byline: Christopher Carey Jul. 10--In the battle for repeat gamblers, free meals and other small rewards are losing their allure. So Harrah's Entertainment Inc. and some of its rivals have started thinking big, expanding their...

St. Louis Officials, Developer Working Out Opera House Renovation Plans.
July 10, 2003... Byline: Charlene Prost Jul. 10--Developer Donald Breckenridge and city officials are at work on plans to put garages on both sides of the Kiel Opera House, along with an office building and a performing arts-related educational facility....

Drug, Alcohol Testing Policy Reduces St. Louis Construction Industry Deaths.
July 9, 2003... Byline: Jack Naudi Jul. 9--The facts about drug and alcohol use are sobering to those in the construction industry. Someone under the influence faces twice the risk of on-the-job injury as a clear-headed worker; construction workers...

St. Louis Post-Dispatch David Nicklaus Column.
July 9, 2003... Byline: David Nicklaus Jul. 9--A 15-year anniversary isn't a big deal for most businesses, but it is an important milestone for the St. Louis Equity Fund. It was created by Civic Progress Inc. in 1988 to help companies take...

National Steel Will File to End Retiree Health Insurance Benefits.
July 9, 2003... Byline: Gregory Cancelada Jul. 9--National Steel Corp. plans to file a motion this week seeking bankruptcy court permission to terminate retiree health benefits, National Vice President of Administration Tammy Freeman said Tuesday. ...

St. Louis Post-Dispatch Repps Hudson Column.
July 7, 2003... Byline: Repps Hudson Jul. 7--In a recent survey of what working mothers want, 16 percent said they'd sometimes like to work from home. Who wouldn't? When you see the time that people seem to waste hanging out around their desks,...

Dividend-Tax Cuts Mean Investors Keep More Capital Gains.
July 6, 2003... Byline: Cynthia Wilson Jul. 6--So the tax cut on corporate dividends has your mind reeling with questions about what to do with your investment portfolio. Surely, you think, there has to be a way to cash in on the 15 percent tax cap...

Behavioral Economists Argue Individual Investors Are Irrational.
July 6, 2003... Byline: Chern Yeh Kwok Jul. 6--The bulls are back? Investors are growing optimistic, and the markets are up again. The economy will be rosier in the latter half of this year, they say, and the signs are there. With low...

St. Louis Post-Dispatch David Nicklaus Column.
July 6, 2003... Byline: David Nicklaus Jul. 6--Tax-deferred savings plans like the individual retirement account used to be a no-brainer. They're not quite so simple anymore. This year's tax cuts change the rules dramatically. By reducing the...

St. Louis-Based Machine Company Feels Manufacturing Industry Slump.
July 4, 2003... Byline: Gregory Cancelada Jul. 4--For months, economists have talked about an upcoming economic recovery, but the signs have yet to show up at the door of St. Louis-based Bachman Machine Co. "This is worse than 1982," company...

St. Louis Post-Dispatch David Nicklaus Column.
July 4, 2003... Byline: David Nicklaus Jul. 4--American Airlines may yet decide to keep a hub here, but it sounds like St. Louis needs to start planning for the worst. That includes finding a way to pay for Lambert Field's runway expansion, with or...

Financier Eyes St. Louis Life-Science Industry, Endorsing Venture Funds.
July 4, 2003... Byline: Rachel Melcer Jul. 4--International financier Peter Brooke, known for his eye for opportunity, is turning his gaze -- and that of other investors -- on St. Louis' life-science industry. He is endorsing local efforts to create...