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7/9/2010
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$1.50/JULY 12 - 18, 2010
Vol. 31, No. 27
LeBron’s tattered image needs mending As free agency wore on, the star’s brand took on more water. Can he regain control post-‘Decision’? By JOEL HAMMOND jmhammond@crain.com
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eventy-two days ago, LeBron James was the King of the world: Awarded his second straight NBA Most Valuable Player award, Mr. James’ Cavaliers — whom he’d led to the league’s best record for the second straight year — led the Boston Celtics 1-0 in the Eastern Conference semifinals and showed no signs of slowing down. He also was on the verge of entering sports’ most anticipated free agency INSIDE: A sample of the increasingly period ever. And wherever he signed, negative opinions written by memhe’d add a sum approaching $100 bers of national media. Page 8 million to his already vast financial storehouse, secured through a long and almost universally applauded “global icon” marketing effort. To be sure, he’s still a rich man after announcing last Thursday night his plan to sign with the Miami Heat, a decision met with scorn locally. But after a humiliating exit from those playoffs and a free agency dance that took a turn to the remarkably absurd — culminating in Thursday’s hour-long announcement on ESPN — Mr. James may have work to do on his carefully crafted brand. See LEBRON Page 8
Area manufacturers dubious of double dip If economy’s headed back down, they can’t tell By DAN SHINGLER dshingler@crain.com
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Ask local manufacturers whether they think we’ll have a double-dip recession and the answer might depend on whether they’ve been watching the news or talking to their customers. Though they hear pundits talk of a possible resumption of the downturn, their own sources of information say the recovery, though ridden with angst, is plugging along. “If it weren’t for the doom and gloom in the headlines, I’d say things are going pretty well,” said
Bob Patterson, chief financial officer of PolyOne Corp., the polymer producer in Avon Lake that last week reported its cash was piling up because its bottom line is rebounding. Mr. Patterson sums up the thoughts of several area manufacturers who spoke to Crain’s. They worry that mounting government debt here and worldwide, coupled with sustained unemployment and a still-depressed housing market in the United States, indicate the economy is not out of the woods yet. But when they talk to their customers and look at their order
KRISTEN WILSON ILLUSTRATION
INSIDE More docs pushed to electronic records The federal government is using stimulus money to urge more small, private practice doctors to embrace electronic medical records by giving those doctors higher Medicare and Medicaid payments. The plan is to incentivize doctors to make the move, as Medicaid and Medicare cuts will come in 2015 for those who haven’t. Read Chuck Soder’s story on Page 3.
See DOUBLE Page 22
Construction work up, but contractors wary of future Next year could offer lift if big projects proceed By STAN BULLARD sbullard@crain.com
Jeff Gliebe, CEO of Krill Co. in Cleveland, considers the nearly 80-year-old general contractor a small fish among Northeast Ohio’s commercial construction companies. But for this small fish, 2010 has been a pretty good year so far, though Mr. Gliebe worries about what work will fill Krill’s plate in 2011. Mr. Gliebe’s view reflects the outlook of the bulk of the region’s construction industry. Business has picked up from the desperate climate of 2009 as clients finally started projects they had put off,
but prospects for more work remain thin amid scarce financing for real estate development and a lackluster economy. At Krill, projects the contractor expected to start last year finally got under way this year. A big one consists of two components — an office building and a home for homeless veterans — that are part of the $370 million in investments under way at the Louis Stokes Cleveland Veterans Administration Medical Center in Cleveland. The only game-changer on the horizon for the construction field will be if some long-awaited big proSee CONSTRUCTION Page 6
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