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Chamber questions Council candidates
In today’s print edition, I wrote an article (subscription required) that discusses how the fresh blood (six, possibly seven new members out of 17) coming to Philadelphia City Council in January could affect the local business community. The Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce’s political action committee, GPCC PennPAC, conducted a thorough review of candidates running in last week’s primary elections. It sent a two-page questionnaire to challengers to obtain their views on business issues and graded incumbent members on their votes on bills affecting the business…
Bloomberg wants network in Comcast’s news-channel groups
Bloomberg LP has told Comcast Corp. it will file a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission unless Comcast agrees to include its Bloomberg Television channel in the news-channel groups on its cable-television systems. The New York-based business-news behemoth sent the Philadelphia-based cable, Internet, phone, media and entertainment giant a letter Thursday saying Comcast has failed to comply with the news-neighborhooding condition in the FCC order allowing it to take control of NBC Universal…
Philadelphia Gas Works reducing rate 2%
The Philadelphia Gas Works said Friday it will lower the rates it charges its customers for gas on June 1. Residential customers will see their gas rate drop to $1.56 per 100 cubic feet from $1.59 per 100 cubic feet, a decrease of about 1.9 percent. The city-owned utility couldn’t specify decreases for its commercial, industrial and municipal customers because their rates vary. PGW said it’s lowering the rates because forecasts indicate that the price it pays its suppliers for gas will…
Wolters Kluwer Health buys Lexi-Comp
Wolters Kluwer Health completed its acquisition of Lexi-Comp Inc., a provider of drug information and clinical data for pharmacists, clinicians and hospitals internationally. Terms of the deal, announced last month, were not disclosed. Philadelphia-based Wolters Kluwer Health, a medical publisher and information provider, said the acquisition is its latest in a series of purchases it has made to expand the clinical decision support services segment of its business. Wolters Kluwer Health’s products include textbooks, drug information software and reference…
The Fine Print: Progress in King of Prussia, Central Del. River plans
Any one driving along North Gulph Road in King of Prussia will see lots of activity happening on three projects all within a mile of each other. Most notable is Dennis Maloomian’s mixed-use development where a golf course had been. A new tree line entrance creates a sense of place, as directly across from that is the realignment of the Schuylkill Expressway entrance. The Wegman’s on the site has also begun to go vertical. Across the street from there is the former Sheraton Park Ridge, which is in the beginning of getting gutted, taken down to steel and totally redeveloped into a new hotel with 185…
Timken buys Philadelphia Gear Corp. for $200M
Timken Co. of Canton, Ohio, has paid $200 million to buy Philadelphia Gear Corp. from the Balls family, which has owned the manufacturer since 1920 and operated the company under the American Manufacturing Corp. umbrella. Founded in 1892 to make gears for large vessels and other machinery, the company closed its King of Prussia, Pa., manufacturing plant in 2000 after a restructuring. That 27-acre site on South Gulph Road, which could be seen by motorists on the Schuylkill Expressway, is now a Home…
Good Works: TruMark’s game promotes financial literacy
Good Works is a regular feature highlighting the philanthropic efforts of local businesses and nonprofits. Financial jeopardy TruMark Financial Credit Union of Trevose hosted its 4th annual Financial Jeopardy Game last month to provide local high school seniors with scholarships and to give them the financial literacy to keep out of financial jeopardy in the future. Financial Jeopardy, which was held at The Buck Hotel in Feasterville, is a spin-off of the nightly quiz show on 6ABC in…
Stryker begins tender offer for Orthovita
Stryker Corp. commenced its $3.85 per share tender offer for Orthovita Friday. Orthovita (NASDAQ:VITA), based in Malvern, Pa., is a biomaterials company that specializes in bone augmentation and substitute products and technologies. Earlier this month, Stryker (NYSE:SYK) reached an agreement to buy Orthovita for about $316 million. The Kalamazoo, Mich., company is one of the world’s largest medical technology businesses. The deal calls for Orthovita to remain based in Chester County and operate as a division of…
International tourism up 7% in Philadelphia, 11% nationwide
Philadelphia had 633,000 international visitors last year, a 7 percent gain, according to federal numbers released Thursday. Philadelphia, which had 594,000 visitors a year earlier, ranked No. 13 among U.S. cities, according to the U.S. Office of Travel and Tourism Industries. The Top 10 cities were New York City, with 8.5 million international visitors; Los Angeles, 3.3 million; Miami, 3.1 million; Orlando, Fla., 2.8 million; San Francisco, 2.6 million; Las Vegas, 2.4 million; Washington…
Wills Eye, Jefferson creating Vision Research Center
Long-time Center City Philadelphia affiliates Wills Eye Institute and Thomas Jefferson University are linking together once more to create a vision research center. The Wills Vision Research Center at Jefferson is being established in the city to bring together clinicians and researchers who will collaborate on ways to better diagnose, treat and prevent visual diseases. The research center will have experts in more than 15 scientific disciplines including ophthalmology, oncology, pathology, neurology and…