NEW BUSINESS

The Soda Jerk opened at 3995 Chippewa Drive in Boulder. The Soda Jerk features 120 types of micro-brewed sodas from around the world and offers a soda-of-the-month club where customers can sample special brews for $15.95 a month. Call (888) 494-4948.

Mita Sunke Equine Learning Center opened at the Andersen Farms indoor arena at 1000 E. 160th Ave. in Broomfield. Mita Sunke is a Lakota language term that translates as “my horse.” This is a non-profit organization that offers therapeutic horseback riding to a variety of disabled clients from ages three to adult. Future efforts will focus on research regarding Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, particularly within the American Indian community, and the effects of therapeutic riding on FAS. Call Ben or Sandy at 451-7172.

SPONSORED CONTENT

How Platte River Power Authority is accelerating its energy transition

Platte River Power Authority, the community-owned wholesale electricity provider for Northern Colorado, has a history of bold initiatives.

Adventures in Creativity, formerly of New Smyrna Beach, Fla., opened an office at 1708 Hillside Road in Boulder. John G. Young, MD, board certified psychiatrist and president of the company, is a professional speaker in the areas of creativity, innovation and change. Young also sees private clients at the Boulder Wellness Center. Call 444-8843 for Adventures in Creativity and 938-9189 for the Boulder Wellness Center.

Lisa Turner opened Print Management & Consulting at 2503 Walnut St., Suite 300, in Boulder. The company helps clients find the best resources to meet their needs, including: output work, printing and binding, strategic planning, graphic design and copywriting. Call 545-2290.

The Boulder County Division of the American Cancer Society, with offices in Boulder, formed a Community Advisory Council to provide expertise, strengthen community awareness, and to participate in, and assist with, income and volunteer development. For information on services and volunteer opportunities available, call 443-7563 or (800) 227-2345.

Valvoline Instant Oil Change opened its first Colorado service center 1061 S. Hover Road in Longmont. It contains three service bays and provides complete automotive fluid maintenance services, including oil changes, in 20 minutes or less. The center will also accept up to five gallons of used motor oil from do-it-yourselfers, which it will properly dispose of at no charge. Valvoline Instant Oil Change is open Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Tina Heilman, Kathryn Keller, Larry MacArthur, Art Rolander, Muriel Sharp and Susan Weeks, formerly of Colorado Landmark, Realtors in Boulder, are now affiliated with Re/Max of Boulder Inc., 2425 Canyon Blvd., Suite 200, in Boulder. Call 449-7000.

Karen Frame and Richard Frame Ph .D. formed Frame Law Offices LLC at 4450 Arapahoe Ave., Suite 100, in Boulder. They focus their practice on real estate and business law, helping real estate professionals, buyers and sellers, and small businesses. They offer a free consultation, and flat fees are available. Call 499-5281.

Fort Collins-based Applied Computer Technology Inc. opened an office at 3 Bethesda Metro Center, Suite 700, in Bethesda, Md. The company was awarded part of a $1.75 billion National Institutes of Health federal procurement contract over the next five years. Rod Taylor, director of federal sales, is overseeing opening and development of the new office. Call (301) 664-8444.

Price Waterhouse LLP and Information Engineering Inc., a software development firm, formed Information Engineering LLP, based in Denver, to help insurance companies plan, develop and implement global technology solutions based on an object-oriented design using a client/server architecture. Call 584-9912.

BUSINESS BRIEFS

Downtown Boulder Inc. is working with the Whittier Neighborhood in Boulder to increase the reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for the death of Susannah Chase. Anyone interested in making a contribution to this fund can make checks payable to Downtown Boulder Inc. and mail them to, or drop them off at, 1401 Walnut St., Suite 303, Boulder, CO 80302. Call 449-3774 and DBI will pick up your check.

Boulder’s BioStar Inc. was granted four new patents by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for its Optical ImmunoAssay technology. The company also started clinical trials at several United States locations of a new rapid test for the detection of influenza.

Spyder Active Sports Inc. of Boulder received two patents for aerodynamic drag reduction and heat dissipation in its Speedwyre athletic apparel technology.

Boulder’s Breece Hill Technologies tied for first place in market share for automated DLT tape drives utilizing 40 or less cartridges, according to a report from Freeman Associates in Santa Barbara, Calif.

A.G. Edwards & Sons Inc., with offices in Boulder, was named one of the “100 Best Companies to Work for in America” by Fortune magazine.

Broomfield-based Univera Pharmaceuticals Inc. was awarded two key U.S. patents on new drug applications for aloe vera.

Denver’s PacifiCare of Colorado was named the 10th most recommended health plan in the nation and the most recommended plan in the Rocky Mountain Region in a member satisfaction survey by Ultralink LLC.

NAME CHANGES

Colorado Hospital Association of Denver became Colorado Health and Hospital Association.

BUSINESS MOVES

PC Obedience moved to 2020 Bluebell Ave. in Boulder. Call 441-2900.

MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS

StaffMark, a diversified staffing company with offices in Boulder, acquired ClinForce LLC, headquartered in Morristown, N.J.

Ned and Kay Swaeby sold Boulder Map Gallery in Boulder to Patrik de Cicco., an employee of the business for over two years.

Hanifen, Imhoff Holdings Inc. of Denver and Fiserv Inc. merged in December. Hanifen, Imhoff will continue to provide investment banking services.

GRANTS

The Boulder Bach Festival received these grants: $3,000 from Colorado Council on the Arts; $7,500 from the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District; and $5,000 from the Denver Foundation.

CONTRACTS

Boulder’s DraCo Systems Inc. signed The Enright Co. of Tustin, Calif. to represent its Casablanca non-linear video editing system in Southern California.

Decision Planning Associates LLC of Boulder was retained by Ball Aerospace and Technologies Corp., with operations in Boulder, to represent its commercial steering mirror product line.

Boulder’s Convergent Arts Communications Co. completed projects for the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder and is doing work for Structural Reliability Technology of Boulder, Kiernan Consulting Services, Aspen Resources and SophSys Inc.

Boulder-based Colorado MEDtech Inc. received an order from Vencor Inc. for 15 Fresh Air oxygen generating systems.

Boulder’s Carl Thompson Associates completed design of a World Wide Web site for the Art Directors Club of Denver. The firm was retained by Crown Resources Corp. of Denver to design its 1997 annual report.

Vexcel Corp. of Boulder completed installation of its 3D SAR Processing System for RADARSAT at the Australian Centre for Remote Sensing facility in Canberra, Australia.

Boulder-based SportHorse Advertising was retained by Dressage in the Rockies, the only world-class dressage show in the Rocky Mountain region.

Boulder’s Walker & Lee Advertising was selected to develop an outreach program for InterACT, a group addressing the concerns of families with special needs children from birth through age 5. The bilingual campaign is called “Trust Your Instincts.”

Chameleon Creative Inc. of Boulder completed a new logo package for the 100th anniversary of the Chautauqua Association.

Communication Concepts Public Relations of Longmont was retained by the law firm of Bernard, Lyons & Gaddis for several projects.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Rocky Flats Field Office signed a new memoranda of agreements with the Boulder County Sheriff’s Department and the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department for joint training and for required security emergency operations.

Amazon Promotions of Boulder was retained by First Colorado Mortgage Corp. for self-promotion sales training.

Amazon Promotions has retained Alford & Associates of Boulder, specializing in systematic business development, to help grow the business into a national sales training company.

MatchLogic of Louisville was retained by Wolverine Web Productions of Michigan to be its exclusive on-line advertising management services firm.

Sheldahl Inc., headquartered in Northfield, Minn. with operations in Longmont and Molex Inc. of Lisle, Ill. agreed to form a joint venture called Vector Modular Interconnection Systems LLC to design, market and assemble modular interconnect systems products for the automotive industry.

Sheldahl Inc. received an initial production order from Vitesse Semiconductor Inc. of Camarillo, Calif. for a ViaThin integrated circuit substrate based on a tape ball grid array design.

Barker, Rinker, Seacat & Partners Architects PC of Denver won an Indefinite Quantities Contract with the National Park Service for architectural services throughout the United States and its territories and possessions.

Denver-based Archetype Inc. was retained by The Colorado College to create a new graphic identity and campaign print materials.

U S West Communications Inc. of Denver made an agreement with Williams Communications of Tulsa, Okla. to be its anchor tenant in purchasing dedicated bandwidth over Williams’ nationwide, next-generation, fiber-optic backbone network.

Schenkein/Sherman Public Relations of Denver was retained by Pace Micro Technology plc of Shipley, West Yorkshire, England, to represent the company in North America.

NEW PRODUCTS & SERVICES

Universal Food Co. Inc. of Boulder introduced The Health-RunR, a diet, nutrition and exercise support tool for weight loss, maintenance or gain. It can also help manage medical conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, and food allergies. Download a free evaluation copy from Universal’s World Wide Web site at www.health-runr.com or call 554-7747.

Dick Cochran, founder of COMStar, a Louisville-based consulting and training company, is offering a six week program through Front Range, Arapahoe Community College that leads to an Effective People Skills Certificate. For information, call 797-5722.

Boulder Media Group of Boulder is the first film and video post-production house in Colorado to offer Flame, Flint and Smoke, the visual effects systems from Discreet Logic. Discreet Logic’s workstations have been used to create special effects for feature films including Titanic, 5th Element, Independence Day and Forrest Gump. Call 938-8990.

Asia Transpacific Journeys of Boulder presents Wild Indonesia, a travel program that offers clients the choice of joining for one of two two-week options, or spending three weeks exploring the cultures, wildlife and natural history of Indonesia. Call 443-6789 or (800) 642-2742.

Scientific Information Resources of Lafayette and Canyon Sage Information of Golden created a newsletter called CyberElert for health professionals. CyberElert is a bi-monthly newsletter that reviews and critiques medical information available from current Internet sites. Call 604-1252.

Amazon Promotions of Boulder now offers the workbook “Amazing Marketing, the Complete, Abridged Guide to “Shameless” Self-Promotion.” Copies are available at Speedy Bee Printing in Boulder. Call 443-5092.

RWD Enterprises of Denver released a financial self-help book called “Keep Every Last Dime: How to Avoid 201 Common Estate Planning Traps and Tax Disasters,” by Dick Duff, an expert in inheritance planning. The book is understandable to laymen and experts alike and uses examples from famous people.

Vestor Partners of Santa Fe, N.M. announced the debut of its private equity fund. It has committed capital of $42 million and continues to accept new partners. Vestor is primarily interested in companies located in the Intermountain and SouthWest regions that fit a particular profile. Call (505) 988-9100.

Fidelity Investments introduced Rollover Express, a new service that simplifies the process of rolling over assets from an employer-sponsored plan into a Fidelity Rollover IRA. Call (800) 544-5650.

Deadline to submit items for Business Digest is the 15th of each month. Mail to Editor, Boulder County Business Report, 4865 Sterling Drive, Suite 200, Boulder, CO 80301-2349; fax to 440-8954; or e-mail to jwlewis@bcbr.com (title any e-mail Digest).