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Show Business FRIDAY/June 13, 1997 The Salt Lake Tribune WORLDBRIEFS Page C-5 TT Sa TTR 883.48 $341.40 +13. “2. CG 7711.47 1,411.32 ; 121.55¢ +3.47 j TRIBUNE BLOOMBERGINDEX FOR UTAH unchanged +t43_] Utah Businesses Set Sights on China EY MITCHELL ‘THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE On the heels of Hong Kong's transfer to Chinese rule, Utah is sending a trade mission comprised ofstate officials and company executives to four Chinese Corel to Lower Value of Line cities July 5-13. Corel Corp. said it will take a $75.6 million c arge in the second quart er to reducethe value of the WordPerfect software line it acquired last year from NovellInc, for $181.5 million, Corelsaid it re-evaluated the carrying valueof the original technology after improving the software through research and development. The ttawa, Canada-based company expects to release earnings on June 23 for the three months ended May 31. Corel’s decision allowsit to lower depreciation and amortization costs, thereby improvingprofit, analysts said, Many U.S. software firms use the same accounting practice for research and developmentcosts. The company said it improved Orem-based Novell's WordPerfect software by adding Java-based technology, which allows the software to run on any operating system. knowledgethe timing is a gamble, given the debate on whether the United States will renew China's most-favored-nation (MIN) status for another year, Thestate is sending Gov. Mike Leavitt; Dan Mabey, director of the state's international business Developersto Pitch Plans for Marina BRIEFLY ... The National Park Service and the Navajo Nation will review proposals from six potential developersfor a new marina at Lake Powell’s Antelope Point next week. Potential developers include Winegar’s Supermarkets Ine. will break ground for a newstore today at 1080 W. 300 North in Clearfield, The 40,000-square-foot supermar- ket will replace the existing Winegar's, which has been in Sunset for 40 years. Oo ARAMARK Corp. of Philadel- phia; KOA Kampgrounds of America Inc. of Billings, Mont.; Ocean Properties Ltd. of Del Rey Beach, Fla.; Forever Resorts of Phoenix, Ariz.; International Conference Resorts of Scottsdale, Ariz.; and Delaware North of Buffalo, N.Y. The design phaseof the project is set to begin in early 1998, Construction thereafter. will proceed shortly Whenit is completed, the marina will employ about 250. It will include boat parking spaces, boat rentals,tours, lodging, camping, a boat-launch ramp, public day-use beaches, dining facilities, fuel/boat storage and a Navajo cultural center. Clearfield Plant To Get Major Boost Hunter Douglas Fabrication Intermountain Region, ucts and merchandising materials in the 1997 Product Innovation Awards Program, sponsored by the Window Covering Manufacturers Association of North America. o lomega Corp.of Royis introducingan internal notebook Zip drive that will be included as an optional feature of the 97X series of notebook computers made by Chicony Electronics Co. Ltd., of Taipei, Taiwan. TheZip drive is expected to be available to laptop com- puter makers by the second half of 1997. manufacturing operations for its seventh annual Paint-A-Thon next week in communities S.L. Airport Traffic ShowsSlight Rise Airline passengertraffic at Salt Lake International Airport showed a slight increase in April over the same month a year ago, according to the Airport Authority’s latest air traffic report. The 0.41 percent rise in busi- ness among the airport's scheduled carriers and charter companies brought the total number of departing and arriving passengers for the month to 1,627,778. Amongthe 10 major scheduled airlines at Salt Lake International, only two — Southwest and TWA — experienced declines in passenger traffic between April 1996 and April 1997. Both air- lines have reduced the numberof flights they operate from the airport. Delta Air Lines, the busiest carrier at Salt Lake International, sawits passenger-traffic numbers increase .5 percent between April 1996 and April 1997. Utah Cellular,a retail wirelesstelephone company, has beenac- quired by California-based Totally Wireless. That brings to 16 the numberofretail shops the company now operates on the Wasatch Front and in the Seattle and San Francisco Bay areas. As part of the acquisition, Totally Wireless will expand in Utah beyond its current stores in Murray and Bountiful to new locations in Ogden, Layton and Sandy. ) n development department; David Winder,executive director of the Department of Community and Economie Development; Rick Mayfield, director of the Division of Business and Economic Development; and Vicki Varela, the governor's spokeswoman. Representatives of several Utah companies, who will pay their own way, also will partici- B3 a ilecnoeatit Miclile] Hong Kong was Utah's larg- pate, Those taking the trip — which includes a stop in Beijing — are banking on the probability that China's MEN status will be renewed and the trip will open doors for Utah exporters, “A lot of people have a waitand-see attitude about China,” Mabeysaid. “We want to be more proactive and aggressive than that,” he said, We wantthis trade mission to tell the Chinese we hope they will be successful in building an economy-driven market ,., and that we are interested in provid- ing them with the technologies they need,” If Congress does not approve Clinton's decision to grant China the most-favored-nation status, Utah's companies, along with ex- porters from across the country, will suffer, according to the Hong Kong Economicand Trade Office est export market in 1994 but nowIs ranked No, 12 500 450 @ 400 5350 5 300 © 250 2 200 z 150 100 50 Despite the uncertainty, Donald Brown, who managestheBeijing office of Salt Lake City-based Evans & Sutherland Computer Corp., believes the trip’s timing is good, Joining Brown will be E & § Chief Executive Officer James Oyler. “The governor's visit provides an excellent opportunity to highlight Utah's industrial capabili- ties," Brownsaid, Evans & Sutherland recently sold the visual portion ofa flight- 0 1993 1994 1995 1996 Source: U.S. Department of Commerce ‘ThoSalt Lake Tribune in New YorkCity. Congress annually reviews MENstatus, which affords countries cheap U.S, tariffs, Cuba and North Korea do not have MFN status, and China’s status contin- simulator system to Airbus China Aviation Services Corp., a civilian pilot-training facility in Beijing. The company also is finalizing a deal to provide a projection system to a science museum in Tianjin, one of four municipalities thet members of the Utah delegation will be visiting. Although some companies like Evans & Sutherland are having somesuccesses in China, overall, the marketis still a small one for Utah exporters. See CHINA, Page C-7 ues to be a controversial topic Utahns Send ‘Cable’ to TCI Bosses Zions Bank will hold its throughout Utah. More than 1,500 Zions Bank employee volunteers are scheduled to scrape, prep and paint 29 homes owned by low-income, elderly and disabled Utah homeowners. The homes are selected with the assistance of state housing agencies, community organizations and local churches. Locations extend from Logan to St. George and from Roosevelt to Blanding. a Blacktie Auto Recovery & Investigations, with offices in South Salt Lake, announcedits acceptance as a member of Time Finance Adjusters, Inc., a referral organization in the collateral recovery industry. TFA provides lendersa direc- tory of bonded and certified recovery agents in all 50 states. Qo Professional Heating, Pleasant Grove, was presented the Silver Medal of Excellence by Bryant Heating & Cooling Systems in recognition of business management, employee development and outstanding customer service. The dealership was oneof 15 silver medalists selected from Petition Drive Seeks The Return of WGN BY JAYBALTEZORE THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE Transplanted Chicagoan Phil Bivona hopes to see his favorite pro basketball team earn its fifth NBA Championship this decade. But the 32-year-old former steelworker has moreon his mind these days than the Bulls beating the Utah Jazz: He wants the Bulls’ flagship television station back on theair in his adoptedstate. Bivona’s life has not been the same since late December 1996, when Tele-Communications Inc, (TCI) bumped WGN-TV off Utah’s cable systems, without tell- ing subscribers. Bivona discovered the change oO while unsuccessfully cruising cable channels for a Chicago Bulls game. That was frustrating enough,hesays,but a bigger worry was the powerlessness felt by Phil Bivona hascollected approximately 1,200 signatures in a petition drive aimed at getting Chicago station WGN back on TCI cable systems. TCI axed the station in December 1996. thought the response would be like this,” says Bivona,as hesifts legal dispute with the NBA, although that was settled by the time TCI droppedthe station. Media writers and cable-industry analysts pointed out that TCI also had another motive: it held subscribers because of TCI’s near monopolyin Utah. With franchises in about 90 Utah communities, covering roughly 210,000 subscribers, the Englewood, Colo.-based company pretty much decides who sees whaton cabletelevision. So in February, Bivona hatched No oneis arguing that the Jazz remain the overwhelming favor- ite here to win the NBA Championship. Still, plenty of Utahnsretain a warm heart for the old movies, kids’ shows and almost an ownershipinterest in the par- a plan for a WGN petition drive daily sporting events coming from ent companies of the Cartoon Channel and AnimalPlanet. In protest, some subscribers dropped TCIandsigned up with oneof the small-dishsatellite pro- with a three-paragraphletter to The Salt Lake Tribune’s Public Forum pagethat included a mail- ing address for people to reach him at 3353 S, Main St., Box 325, Salt Lake City, UT 84115. Kearns Tribune Corp, which publishes The Salt Lake Tribune, is being acquired by TCI. This week, before sending out 40 more blank petitions, Bivona had counted roughly 1,200 signatures from TCI subscribers in Utah — covering a territory from Delta to Ogden. One woman alone walked the through stacks of petitions and angry letters from TCI subscribers, the Chicago superstation. “The prospect of spending a summer without the Cubs [140 games] and the White Sox [60 games] is dismal indeed for those ofus seniors with limited incomes and transportation,” an Ogden womanwrotein a letter to Bivona. “Wepaid our dues and we are not interested in more cartoons or furry little animal shows.” TCI's decision to drop WGN while adding such selections as the Cartoon Channel and Animal Planet almost overnight cost WGN roughly 4.5 million viewers neighborhoods of Helper, collect- nationally. signatures, A group of apartment increase in fees to carry WGN’s sporting events, syndicated and network programs, and movies. Earlier last fall, WGN also faced the loss of Bulls’ gamesin a ing three pagesof petitions full of tenants in Ogden told Bivona they would cancel TCI service over the loss of WGN. “Tt was just a quirk. I never The cable giant's rationale: an viders, such as Primestar — part- ly owned by TCI — EchoStar and DirecTV,all of which now carry iN “The no-choice part of this is driving people away, and it will have an impact,” says Bivona, “Do people unplug cable because of the cost or because they don't like what they are getting? They should ask their subscribers what they want.” Salt Lake-area viewers who wrote nasty missives to local TCI representatives received a note from Bill Rappleye, a Utah customer service manager, telling them the unannounced channel changes were beyondhis control. That policy appears to have changed, Recently, TCI’s new president, Leo Hindery, has emphasized the nearly 1,000 Bryant Premier Dealers nationwide. Oo The Pace Group, a Sandybased business-development group, has been appointed by Resource Associates Corp, of Reading, Pa,, as one of its newestcertified affiliates within its international network of Senior-level Business and Executive Development Asso- Totally Wireless Buys Utah Company State officials, who also are planning a stop in Hong Kong, ac- I Food for thoughtin China Murray, a full-line fabricator of Hunter Douglas window coverings, won four of six top awards in an industry-wide competition for its new prod- A Clearfield plant will benefit from Niles, Mich.-based National Standard Co.'s plan to consolidate Woven Filter Fiber Division and close a Knoxville, Tenn., plant. Production of wire cloth for the air-bag industry, which the division makes,will be consolidated in Clearfield and a plantin Corbin, Ky. The companysaid the move is intendedto increasethe division's profitability in light of declining prices for the wire cloth. The Knoxville facility, which has 57 full-time and 46 temporary employees, will close Aug. 1 In addition to the Corbin and Clearfield sites, National makes air-bag filtration products in Mishawaka,Ind.; Mesa,Ariz.; and Moses Lake, Wash. Page C-4 ciates. The Pace Group program is designed to help enhance and develop management and business potential within an organization. a AirTouch Cellular has launched a Prepaid Cellular Service, a pay-as-you-go option designed for customers who have been denied cellular-telephoneservice becauseof credit difficulties, As part of the Municipalities May Sell Delta Power Plant BY STEVEN OBERBECK ‘THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE ‘TheIntermountain Power Agency(IPA), a consortium of 23 Utah municipalities that owns the lation, their customers could eventually go elsewhere for lower-cost powerwhile they would still be stuck with paying for it, Hewlett says. By owning theplant, the cities may be able to better control their own power production costs. giant Intermountain Power Project (IPP) near Delta, is negotiating tosell the plant to a handful Forinstance,the plantis operating with highpriced coal contracts written in the mid-1980s as part of the debt-financing plan for the plant. If paying offor refinancing the debt ends up as part of the purchaseplan,the new owners maybe able to get out from underthose coal contracts. Phyllis Currie, chief financial officer for the of Californiacities. The potential purchasing groupis being led by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power and also includes the cities of Anaheim, Riverside, Pasadena, Glendale and Burbank Thosecities already purchase almost all of the electricity generated by the plant. “Negotiations right now arein the preliminary Stages,” says Jim Hewlett, assistant general manager for IPA Hewlett says should the plant besold, it would Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, says that could be one option. “But weare really too early in the whole negotiating process to say what, if anything, may happen,” she says. be at a price to take care of the approximately $4.5 billion debton theplantthat is the responsibility of the 23 Utahcities that own the project. Currie, however, points out the California cities are actually the ones paying for the IPP plant through the rates they are charging powerusers. She says mostof the power-purchase contracts run through the year 2027 ‘The possiblesale is driven by the power industry's move toward deregulation. “Right now we are like renters and since we are paying for it, it would be nice if we wound up plan, customers pay a one-time ‘The Californiacities are all locked into expen: $40 fee, then purchase a $30 AirTouch Prepaid Cellular calling card sive and long-term power purchase contracts with IPA. And they are fearful that with deregu: with ownership of the plant," she says. The plant, which came online in 1986, employs 650. company will decentralize its program decisionmaking. “We're pushing everything down asfast as we can to thefield level,” Hindery on Monday tol the San Jose Mercury News. “I don’t think Denver [corporate headquarters] can know what's appropriate in Peoria.” TCI’s decision-makers concede WGN waspopular amongviewers and they don’t rule outits return to the lineup. ChristopherJeffers, a regionaldirector of marketing, says WGNcouldreplace an existing channel orit could be part of the company’s soon-to-be un- veiled digital cable selections that will offer customers up to 100 or so cable channels. “If the audience is big enough, we have to respondto it,” says Jeffers. If any doubts remain, Bivona says he will nudge TCI a bit by handing overhis letters and petitions, which he predicts will grow to 2,000 signatures by the end of June, “You are talking abouta state thatis 1,300 miles from Chicago,” he says. “If you have so many people in Utah saying they want a Chicago television channei, that should tell them something.” Utah Lenders Sign Deal With HUD ‘THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE A dozen mortgage lenders with operations in Utah pledged Thursday to help greater numbers of low-income families and minorities become homeowners. The lenders signed agreements with the U.S. De it ol Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in which they agreed to better educate the two categories of homebuyers, provide extra assistance during the application process and conduct reviews of those who are denied financing. “Whatthey're doing is agreeing to go the extra mile,” said John Milchick, HUD coordinator for tah. “They are agreeing to take 4 hard look at how they do busiSee LENDERS, Page C-7 ¥v ' |
