Copyright 2000 Phoenix Newspapers, Inc.
THE ARIZONA
REPUBLIC
February 7, 2000 Monday, Final Chaser
SECTION: BUSINESS & MONEY; Pg. D1
LENGTH: 594 words
HEADLINE:
BUSINESS BUZZ
BODY:
No new taxes
Some might call it tacky, but state Sen. Barry Wong called it
opportunity.
Phoenix city staff hosted a meeting of the
Arizona Internet Professionals
Association last Monday night, providing a
meeting room and laying out coffee
and cookies.
Wong strolled the City Hall lobby after attending
another function and
spotted the group of nearly 200 Net professionals. Wong
and the city are
diametrically opposed on the issue of Internet
sales taxes, but that didn't
stop the lawmaker from crashing the
event and making a pitch for his bill
advocating a five-year tax moratorium.
Almost everyone jotted down Wong's detailed tips on
launching an e-mail
lobbying campaign with the governor and Legislature. And
they gave Wong a
couple of ovations for his stand against levies on Net
purchases.
You're a what?
Public relations types
are infamous for assaults on the English language. Most
firms mandate that
every product, service or idea be dubbed "unique," though
none meet
Webster's definition. Then, a few years back, the spin industry
decided that
no one should make products or market services. Now everyone is
"providing
solutions," whatever that means.
Apparently this
mealy-mouthed, mumblespeak isn't enough. San Diego-based
Lewis P.R. Inc.
sent out a press release last week announcing several new
executives at
Tempe-based Cablesoft. One new hire had the title of "solutions
evangelist."
When pressed, the PR agency offered a translation into
English. Turns out
that the new guy is a product specialist.
Shelter breaks ground
The race to fill space in downtown
Phoenix already has a winner - the
Sojourner Center.
The downtown non-profit organization that shelters and
counsels victims of
domestic violence received a check for $85,000 Friday at
the groundbreaking
ceremony for the new Phelps Dodge Tower.
Ryan Companies US Inc., which is developing the project,
pledged to donate
to the center 10 cents for every square foot of space
leased. It also said it
would encourage tenants to match the commitment.
SmithGroup, architects for
the project, pledged another 2.5 cents per square
foot leased. And major
tenant Phelps Dodge Corp. kicked in a total of
$60,000.
Phelps Dodge will occupy almost half of the
20-story building's 407,000
square feet.
THE WEEK
AHEAD
Here's a look at major business and
economic events scheduled for this
week:
Monday:
President Clinton is expected to release his fiscal 2001 budget.
Barnesandnoble.com Inc. and Cisco Systems Corp. report earnings.
Tuesday: Travel Industry Association of America releases
study on
travelers' use of the Internet; productivity and costs for the
fourth quarter.
Wednesday: Pepsico Inc. and Tricon Global
Restaurants Inc. report earnings.
Thursday: Dell Computer
Corp. and MCI WorldCom Inc. report earnings; Labor
Department reports weekly
jobless claims.
IPO watch: Here are the major initial
public stock offerings planned for
this week:
Beasley
Broadcast Group Inc. - Naples, Fla., 6.85 million shares, priced
$15-18,
managed by Credit Suisse First Boston.
Buy.com Inc. -
Aliso Viejo, Calif., 14 million shares, priced $10-12,
managed by Merrill
Lynch.
Cypress Communications Inc. - Atlanta, 10 million
shares, priced $14-16,
managed by Bear Stearns.
Flag
Telecom Holdings Ltd. - Hamilton, Bermuda, 26.4 million shares, priced
$20-22, managed by Salomon Smith Barney.
LOAD-DATE: March 9, 2000 
