St. Louis Post-Dispatch (St. Louis, MO) articles from September 2001

St. Louis Post-Dispatch (St. Louis, MO) archives from September 2001

CableAmerica Firm to Manage Cable-Modem Service in St. Louis Area.
September 7, 2001... Byline: Jerri Stroud Sep. 7--CableAmerica Corp. will manage its cable-modem service in Maryland Heights after High Speed Access Corp. stops managing the system at the end of September, CableAmerica said. In a letter sent to its...

St. Louis-Based Chemical Firm Reaches Tentative Agreement in Retiree Suit.
September 7, 2001... Byline: Virginia Baldwin Gilbert Sep. 7--Solutia Inc. and its retirees have reached a tentative agreement to settle a class-action case involving retiree medical benefits. The proposed settlement would assure retirees' rights to...

Retraining, Job Help Available to Former St. Louis Cookie Company Workers.
September 7, 2001... Byline: Repps Hudson Sep. 7--The U.S. Department of Labor has certified about 110 former workers at Mrs. Alison's Cookie Co. as eligible for retraining and other job assistance under provisions of the North American Free Trade Agreement....

St. Louis Human-Resources Company Gives Shareholders Tidy Dividend.
September 7, 2001... Byline: Jerri Stroud Sep. 7--Talx Corp. is giving shareholders a 10 percent stock dividend for the second consecutive year, Chief Executive William W. Canfield announced Thursday at a shareholders meeting in St. Louis. Talx also will...

Electrical Workers Picket Pro Golf Event in St. Louis Area.
September 7, 2001... Byline: Repps Hudson Sep. 7--Miffed because its members aren't working at the PGA American Express Championship Tournament, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local No. 1 has thrown up pickets at Bellerive Country Club...

Labor Group Pickets St. Louis Country Club over Wages on Eve of Tournament.
September 7, 2001... Byline: Repps Hudson Sep. 7--The electricians preparing for next week's World Golf Championships-American Express Championship at Bellerive Country Club are getting a total wages-and-benefits package that is about $6 an hour less than that...

Opening of New Nordstrom's at St. Louis-Area Mall May Affect Other Retailers.
September 7, 2001... Byline: Chern Yeh Kwok Sep. 7--The opening of a Nordstrom's department store at Westfield Shoppingtown West County is expected to have a slight effect on sales at other higher-end retailers. The store's entry into the region is seen as a...

Purina Mills Shareholders Approve Sale to Land O'Lakes.
September 7, 2001... Byline: Thomas Lee Sep. 7--Purina Mills Inc. shareholders approved on Wednesday the company's $360 million sale to Land O'Lakes of Minnesota, the country's largest farm cooperative. Founded by William H. Danforth in 1894, the...

Founder-Owner to Sell St. Louis' Dominant Home Realtor.
September 7, 2001... Byline: Jeremy Kohler Sep. 7--Gundaker Realtors, the independent home seller that dominates the real-estate market in St. Louis, is poised to be sold to a national real estate giant that operates locally as Coldwell Banker, founder-owner...

TWA Executive Plans to Retire Oct. 1.
September 7, 2001... Byline: Cynthia Wilson Sep. 7--William F. Compton, the Trans World Airlines executive who early this year struck a deal with American Airlines to save TWA, its St. Louis hub and most of its employees' jobs, said Thursday that he'll retire...

St. Louis Post-Dispatch David Nicklaus Column.
September 8, 2001... Byline: David Nicklaus Sep. 8--Compaq and Hewlett-Packard seem to have raised the white flag in the personal-computer wars. Their planned merger, announced this week, would create a new No. 1 player in the PC market, but Carly Fiorina,...

Golf Leader Helps Settle Dispute between Electrical Unions in Missouri.
September 8, 2001... Byline: Repps Hudson Sep. 8--Todd Rhinehart, who's running his first high-profile golf tournament here next week, wanted to end an increasingly attention-grabbing labor quarrel, so he called a meeting Thursday afternoon to settle a...

More Construction May Be Needed for New Technology Center in O'Fallon, Mo.
September 8, 2001... Sep. 8--The landscaping has yet to be completed on its new global technology center in O'Fallon, Mo., and MasterCard International already is talking about more construction. "If we continue to grow the way we've grown, we'll more than...

American Airlines to Bring More TWA Airplanes into Network.
September 11, 2001... Byline: Cynthia Wilson Sep. 11--American Airlines announced Monday a new winter schedule that incorporates more of TWA Airlines LLC's fleet into the larger network. The changes will mean a return to seasonal service from Lambert Field...

Missouri Casinos Rake in August Revenue.
September 11, 2001... Byline: Virginia Young Sep. 11--Some of the tax-cut checks that Uncle Sam sent out last month might have wound up in the slot machines. Figures released Monday show that August was the second-biggest month in history for Missouri...

St. Louis-Area Chip Manufacturer Signs Deal with NEC.
September 11, 2001... Byline: Peter Shinkle Sep. 11--Erlang Technology Inc., a company launched by a researcher at Washington University, said Monday that it has entered a partnership with NEC Corp. to make and to sell semiconductor chips. NEC, an...

Missouri Congressman Leads Support for Bill to give Bush Broader Trade Power.
September 11, 2001... Byline: Deirdre Shesgreen Sep. 11--WASHINGTON--Some of Washington's most powerful business lobbyists ducked into an elegant conference room on the first floor of the Capitol on Thursday to huddle with aides to Rep. Roy Blunt of Missouri...

Defense Industry Likely to Make Gains after Attacks.
September 13, 2001... Byline: Cynthia Wilson Sep. 13--The airline industry probably will take a big financial hit as a result of the terrorism on Tuesday that led federal officials to ban commercial flights for more than 24 hours. But the defense industry is...

Creve Coeur, Mo., Bankruptcy Firm Works to Find Employees in New York Attack.
September 13, 2001... Byline: Peter Shinkle Sep. 13--The terrorist attack in New York has transformed the normally routine work of human resources into a grim and troubling task for employees of Bridge Information Systems Inc. in Creve Coeur. The...

Leaders Say Stock Exchanges May Reopen by End of Week.
September 13, 2001... Sep. 13--Major stock exchanges in the United States may reopen as early as Friday and no later than Monday, leaders of the exchanges said Wednesday. Trading in U.S. Treasury bonds was set to resume today. Richard Grasso, chairman of the New...

Air Travel Slowdown Bodes Ill for Sleepy St. Louis-Area Airport.
September 14, 2001... Byline: Bill Lambrecht Sep. 14--Efforts to lure new business to MidAmerica Airport probably will grind to a halt in the coming weeks, with airlines expected to delay expansion plans in the immediate aftermath of this week's terrorist...

New York Information Company Employees Safe; Pending Sale to Reuters Intact.
September 14, 2001... Byline: Peter Shinkle Sep. 14--In a sparkle of good news amid the gritty wreckage, Bridge Information Systems Inc. says that all of its employees in New York survived the terrorist attack on Tuesday, including about 225 people who worked...

Entrepreneurs Meet Potential Investors at St. Louis Gathering.
September 14, 2001... Byline: David Nicklaus Sep. 14--Only a dozen or so potential angel investors attended St. Louis' first Gathering of Angels on Wednesday night, but Steven Reick, for one, was glad to see them. "I got people who would listen to me," said...

St. Louis Advertising Agency Lands $8 Million Southern-Comfort Account.
September 14, 2001... Byline: Thomas Lee Sep. 14--A St. Louis advertising agency will create a new campaign for Southern Comfort, a popular New Orleans-bred liquor used in mixed drinks. Arnold Worldwide St. Louis, whose best-known work includes ads for...

Developer Hopes to Build Business Park at Former Quarry in Valmeyer, Mo.
September 15, 2001... Byline: Shera Dalin Sep. 15--The dark, rocky recesses of an old quarry chiseled out of the Mississippi River bluffs may soon be on the verge of becoming the area's largest underground business park. Valmeyer and Columbia, Ill.,...

St. Louis Residential Real-Estate Leader Merges with Coldwell Banker.
September 15, 2001... Byline: Chern Yeh Kwok Sep. 15--Gundaker Realtors, the largest residential real-estate company in the St. Louis area, has merged with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, the companies said Friday. The merger price wasn't disclosed,...

Experts Uncertain about Economic Impact of Terrorist Attacks.
September 15, 2001... Sep. 15--On Tuesday morning, economist Chris Varvares was in a hotel room nestled between the twin towers of the World Trade Center. With crowds of New Yorkers, he fled through the streets just before the towers fell. He was amazed by the...

St. Louis Area Golf Championship to Refund 75 Percent to Corporate Patrons.
September 15, 2001... Byline: Thomas Lee Sep. 15--Companies that bought corporate tents at the World Golf Championships-American Express Championship will get a 75 percent refund, a top organizer said Friday. Todd Rhinehart, manager of the tournament, said...

St. Louis Post-Dispatch David Nicklaus Column.
September 15, 2001... Byline: David Nicklaus Sep. 15--Without a stock ticker to look at, stock-market pros have spent the past four days studying the past. They've examined trading after events from Pearl Harbor to the Oklahoma City bombing for clues to what...

Organizers Cancel St. Louis High-Tech Awards Dinner.
September 15, 2001... Sep. 15--Next Thursday's Fast 50 awards dinner, an event to honor fast-growing technology companies in this area, has been canceled. The awards are sponsored by the St. Louis Regional Chamber and Growth Association and Deloitte & Touche....

U.S. Officials Hunt for Location of Terrorist's Assets.
September 15, 2001... Byline: Peter Shinkle Sep. 15--Osama bin Laden, considered the top suspect in the terrorist attacks that hit the United States on Tuesday, is believed to have a fortune of up to $300 million fueling his drive to kill Americans. Yet...

U.S. Experiences Weekend without Sporting Events Due to Tragedy.
September 15, 2001... Byline: Dan Caesar Sep. 15--Never before in American history has there been a weekend like this one. The tragedies last week in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania have had spinoff effects that have touched many aspects of American...

St. Louis Post-Dispatch At-Work Column.
September 15, 2001... Byline: Elizabeth Freeman Sep. 15--NAME: Edward Strode. AGE: 32. JOB: Strode is a technology consultant for AMD Technology Solutions, 705 Olive Street, 314-655-5555, and has been with the company three years. The company's Web...

St. Louis-Area Cab Drivers Play Checkers, Waiting for Travelers to Airport.
September 18, 2001... Byline: Thomas Lee and Ken Leiser Sep. 18--Yalew Berhan has plenty of free time. As a driver for the Air Charter cab company, he normally picks up one passenger every two to three hours under the airport rules that require cab drivers...

Rate Cuts Fail to Prevent Market Sell-Offs.
September 18, 2001... Byline: Jim Gallagher Sep. 18--Riding to the rescue of a besieged economy, the Federal Reserve chopped a half percentage point from short-term interest rates Monday, and signaled that it will probably cut more. European and Canadian...

Olivette, Mo.-Based Military-Equipment Firm Sees Stock Jump.
September 18, 2001... Byline: Christopher Carey Sep. 18--On one of the worst days in Wall Street history, Engineered Support Systems Inc.'s shares jumped 34.3 percent. Defense stocks shot up Monday, on expectations that last week's terrorist attacks on the...

Retail Sales Continue to Lag after Terrorist Attacks.
September 18, 2001... Byline: Chern Yeh Kwok Sep. 18--As a retailer of comfort shoes and special-sized footwear, Mark Waldman figures consumers will still spend at his stores in coming months. It's like bread and those kinds of things, said Waldman, who...

New York Stock Exchange See Heavy Trading on First Day Back.
September 18, 2001... Byline: David Nicklaus Sep. 18--Traders on the normally hectic floor of the New York Stock Exchange stood silently for two minutes, then applauded loudly as a New York firefighter helped ring Monday's opening bell. Then the selling...

New Warehouse, Brewhouse on Tap for Denver-Area Anheuser-Busch Plant.
September 20, 2001... Sep. 20--Anheuser-Busch Cos. is expanding its facilities in Fort Collins, Colo., north of Denver. The St. Louis-based brewery, the largest beer maker in the world, said Wednesday that the project would be completed in 2004. The expansion...

St. Louis-Area Companies to Benefit from $7.5 Million Bioenergy Grant.
September 20, 2001... Byline: Virginia Baldwin Gilbert Sep. 20--A consortium -- including two companies in the St. Louis area -- has won a $7.5 million Department of Energy grant to develop ways of improving sorghum to make products that now come from petroleum,...

Boeing's Military Unit in St. Louis Escapes Jet Industry's Downsizing.
September 20, 2001... Byline: Christopher Carey Sep. 20--Boeing Co.'s military aircraft unit in St. Louis will be spared the deep job cuts that have hit the aerospace industry since last week's terrorist attacks, its top executive said Wednesday. But the...

Attack Alters Sales Forecasts at Chesterfield, Mo.-Based Oil Pipe Company.
September 20, 2001... Sep. 20--Maverick Tube Corp. said Wednesday that its third-quarter earnings would be below forecasts, after the company, based in Chesterfield, had slower sales in the week after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Third-quarter earnings per...

Help Continues to Come from St. Louis-Area Business.
September 21, 2001... Byline: Virginia Baldwin Gilbert Sep. 21--Regional businesses continue to donate to groups helping victims of last week's terrorism. --The SBC Foundation will donate $1 million to The New York Times 9/11 Neediest Fund, which aids...

St. Louis-Area Commerce Association Postpones Visit to Boston.
September 21, 2001... Byline: David Nicklaus Sep. 21--The St. Louis Regional Chamber & Growth Association has postponed a trip to Boston by 100 area business and civic leaders. The group was to have flown to Boston on Sept. 30 and returned Oct. 2. The trip...

Conference-Call Volume Skyrockets for St. Louis-Area Telecommunications Firms.
September 21, 2001... Byline: Jerri Stroud Sep. 21--The volume of conference calls has skyrocketed since the terrorist attacks last week, with companies using telephone, video and Internet conferences to deal with crises and cut travel. Demand for...

Customers of St. Louis-Based Cable Operator to Benefit from MSN Deal.
September 21, 2001... Byline: Jerri Stroud Sep. 21--Charter Communications Inc.'s high-speed Internet customers will get a customized version of the Explorer browser and other new features as the result of a deal between Charter and the MSN network of Internet...

Reuters Helps New York-Based Information Firm Recover from Attacks.
September 21, 2001... Byline: Peter Shinkle Sep. 21--Reuters Group PLC, the British news conglomerate that is acquiring Bridge Information Systems Inc., is helping Bridge recover from last week's terror attacks on the World Trade Center. Reuters, too,...

Missouri Public Service Agency Disappoints St. Louis-Area Natural-Gas Utility.
September 21, 2001... Byline: Repps Hudson Sep. 21--In a sharp rebuff to the region's largest natural-gas utility, the Missouri Public Service Commission voted Thursday to let Laclede Gas Co.'s gas-supply incentive program die next month. The reason: The...

AFL-CIO Criticizes Netherlands-Based Aviation-Security Company'd Transactions.
September 22, 2001... Byline: Peter Shinkle Sep. 22--Huntleigh USA Corp.'s parent company, ICTS International N.V., has put millions of dollars in deals linked to two major ICTS shareholders, taking the company far afield from its core business: aviation...

St. Louis-Area Small Business Owners Barter Their Way to Big Tax Savings.
September 22, 2001... Byline: Repps Hudson Sep. 22--When Shawn Jacobs needed mirrors for the bar in his remodeled restaurant in the University City Loop, he quite naturally turned to a 21st-century version of barter, the oldest type of trade known to human...

Investors Succumb to Fear.
September 22, 2001... Sep. 22--There's only one word to describe what happened in the stock market this week: fear. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 14.3 percent in the market's worst week since 1933, the year Franklin D. Roosevelt told us we had nothing...

Some Advertising Shifts to Serious Mode after Trade Center, Pentagon Attacks.
September 24, 2001... Byline: Thomas Lee Sep. 24--Advertising agencies, like politicians, make it their business to know what the country is feeling at any given time. Ad executives are quick to spot the newest fad, the hottest trend, the next big thing. ...

St. Louis Firm Scrutinized for Its Lax Security at Nation's Airports.
September 24, 2001... Byline: Peter Shinkle Sep. 24--Huntleigh USA Corp. of St. Louis, one of the nation's biggest airline security companies, is coming under scrutiny as federal investigators probe how hijackers launched the devastating attacks of Sept. 11....

St. Louis Post-Dispatch Your Money Column.
September 24, 2001... Byline: Jim Gallagher Sep. 24--Let's take a quick look at how the terrorist crisis might affect your investments, savings, home, insurance rates, loans and job security. QUESTION: Will the stock market keep sinking? ANSWER:...

St. Louis-Area Employees Can Expect Higher Health-Care Costs.
September 24, 2001... Byline: Judith VandeWater Sep. 24--Employees throughout the area are about to feel the pinch of rising health insurance premiums and higher out-of-pocket co-pays for health care benefits. For a family of four with a typical plan, the...

Military Reservists Have Access to Legal Protection on Employment-Leave Issues.
September 24, 2001... Byline: Repps Hudson Sep. 24--Military reservists called up for duty during this country's war on terrorism will find that the law is on their side more than ever. During the Persian Gulf War and operations Desert Shield and Desert...

CEO of St. Louis-Based Cable-TV Giant Steps Down; Stock Tumbles.
September 25, 2001... Sep. 25--Jerald L. Kent quit Monday as chief executive of Charter Communications Inc., apparently after management disputes with Microsoft Corp. co-founder Paul Allen, who controls Charter. Charter's stock tumbled 20 percent as investors...

Coldwell Banker Merger Takes Employees by Surprise.
September 25, 2001... Byline: Virginia Baldwin Gilbert Sep. 25--Coldwell Banker Gundaker, the newly merged real estate brokerage here, will close its former Coldwell Banker headquarters offices in Maryville Center and may lay off some employees who work there....

Purina Mills Inc. Shares Surge 22 Percent.
September 25, 2001... Byline: Thomas Lee Sep. 25--Shares of Purina Mills Inc. jumped almost 22 percent Monday as a resurgent stock market seemed to restore investors' confidence in Land O' Lakes' proposed $360 million acquisition of the St. Louis-based...

Chesterfield, Mo.-Based Telecommunications Firm's Offering Raises $87 Million.
September 25, 2001... Byline: Jerri Stroud Sep. 25--NuVox Communications Inc. raised $87 million in new equity investment, which the company will use to continue building its telecommunications network in 30 markets in the Midwest and the Southeast. NuVox,...

Future of Landmark TWA Terminal at New York's Kennedy Airport Questioned.
September 26, 2001... Byline: Robert W. Duffy Sep. 26--The future of TWA's landmark terminal at Kennedy Airport in New York is in more of a fog than ever because of American Airlines' decision to speed up consolidation and to eliminate all TWA Airlines LLC...

Chief of St. Louis-Based Telecommunications May Leave Company with $42 Million.
September 27, 2001... Byline: Jerri Stroud Sep. 27--Jerald Kent could walk away from Charter Communications Inc. with $42 million, documents filed by the cable company show. Kent resigned Monday as Charter's chief executive. The money would come from the...

Missouri Public Service Chief Renews Plea for Congress to Help with Gas Bills.
September 27, 2001... Byline: Repps Hudson Sep. 27--Kelvin Simmons, chairman of the Missouri Public Service Commission, renewed his plea Wednesday for Congress to act quickly to help thousands of Missourians pay their overdue gas bills before winter hits. ...

American Airlines Restores Layoff Benefits.
September 28, 2001... Byline: Cynthia Wilson Sep. 28--American Airlines will give special-pay, medical and other benefits to employees laid off because of the terrorist attacks Sept. 11 in New York and Washington. When the airline announced plans last week...

Nurses at Creve Coeur, Mo., Hospital Vote on Contract.
September 28, 2001... Byline: Judith VandeWater Sep. 28--Registered nurses at St. John's Medical Center were voting Thursday whether to accept a contract offer that lacks union support or to reject it, which would start a strike that would last from 6 a.m....

Charter Communications' Departing CEO Says He Has Job Offers.
September 28, 2001... Byline: Jerri Stroud Sep. 28--Charter Communications Inc.'s departing chief executive, Jerald L. Kent, says he's overwhelmed at the response to his resignation Monday. "Honestly, I've been shocked at the number of job offers that I've...

Travel Agents Seek Taxpayer Handouts and Conditions on Airline Bailout.
September 28, 2001... Byline: Cynthia Wilson Sep. 28--Travel agencies have survived many economic threats in recent years, including commission cuts by airlines, competition from online bookings and implementation of service fees. But like the airlines,...

American Issues Pink Slips at Three Airlines.
September 29, 2001... Byline: Cynthia Wilson Sep. 29--AMR Corp.'s American Airlines on Friday began issuing pink slips, including about 3,000 at TWA Airlines LLC, to employees tagged for layoffs at AMR's three airlines. AMR is the parent of American, TWA and...

Anheuser-Busch Reorganizes Beer-Making Operations.
September 29, 2001... Byline: Thomas Lee Sep. 29--Anheuser-Busch Cos. said Friday that three groups attached to its beer-making operations are being merged into a new division. The St. Louis-based company's brewing, operations and engineering operations are...

St. Louis-Based Cable TV Firm's Proposed Rate Increases Draws Mixed Response.
September 29, 2001... Byline: Jerri Stroud Sep. 29--Charter Communications Inc.'s proposed rate increases for the metro area are drawing opposition in some communities and shrugs in others. A St. Louis aldermen is holding up the long-delayed approval of a...

St. Louis Post-Dispatch David Nicklaus Column.
September 29, 2001... Byline: David Nicklaus Sep. 29--Carolyn Richardson of St. Louis really believes in her employer, American Healthways Corp. She not only owns stock in the company, but she entered it last March in our Investment Challenge. Her faith was...

Nurses Strike at St. Louis-Area Hospital.
September 29, 2001... Byline: Deborah L. Shelton Sep. 29--About 200 registered nurses set up picket lines Friday around St. John's Mercy Medical Center in Creve Coeur as they settled in for a 72-hour strike. The strike began at 6 a.m., just hours after...

Economists Reach Virtual Consensus on U.S. Economic Conditions.
September 29, 2001... Byline: Jim Gallagher Sep. 29--America is sinking into a recession. The recession is likely to be mild and to end early next year. That's the consensus among economists in surveys since the terror attacks this month. Based on that...

Experts Recommend Putting Emotions Aside for Stock Market Investment.
September 29, 2001... Byline: David Nicklaus Sep. 29--Add patriotism to the list of emotions to put aside when you're investing in the stock market. Many people, financial pros and average Americans alike, talked about buying stocks out of patriotism after...

St. Louis Hospital Hires 150 Temporary Nurses During Strike.
September 29, 2001... Byline: Virginia Baldwin Gilbert Sep. 29--St. John's Mercy Medical Center has hired 150 registered nurses from a temporary agency based in Denver to replace nurses on strike this weekend. Katie Thorman, executive director of nursing...

Maryland Heights, Mo.-Based Videoconferencing Firm Sees Big Rise in Business.
September 29, 2001... Byline: Peter Shinkle Sep. 29--James Leahy was expected at a conference in Baltimore to discuss ways to improve manufacturing quality for Becton Dickinson Accu-Glass. But in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the company's...

St. Louis Post-Dispatch At-Work Column.
September 29, 2001... Byline: Elizabeth Freeman Sep. 29--NAME: Rodney Lucas. AGE: 40. JOB: President and owner of Rod's Service Inc., a business that repairs and sells construction equipment, supplies and industrial gases. The company's headquarters is...