Daily Oklahoman (Oklahoma City, OK) articles from May 2000

Daily Oklahoman (Oklahoma City, OK) archives from May 2000

Battle over HUD Funding Could Cost Oklahoma $20.4 Million.
May 31, 2000... May 31--Oklahoma could "lose" $20.4 million in proposed increases for the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development. An increase of $6.5 billion is proposed nationwide, which a subcommittee would cut by $2.5 billion, and HUD isn't...

FAA Chief Backs New Technology to Reduce Threat of Overcrowded Skies.
May 26, 2000... Byline: Jon Denton May 26--The Federal Aviation Administration will turn to technology to resolve threats posed by crowded skies, runway incursions and foul weather, FAA administrator Jane Garvey said Thursday in Oklahoma City. ...

Top Executive Resigns at Oklahoma City's Advantage Marketing.
May 26, 2000... Byline: Brian Brus May 26--Oklahoma City-based Advantage Marketing Systems Inc. on Thursday announced the resignation of company President Roger P. Baresel. Baresel, who has been president since July 1, 1995, said he was "returning...

Two More Airlines Join Delta Comair in Using Regional Jets at Oklahoma City.
May 26, 2000... Byline: Jon Denton May 26--Insurance man Jon King is able to hop aboard a new regional jet from Oklahoma City to Cincinnati these days and quietly study his property casualty cases. There are no noisy propellers, no crowded aisles or...

Small Business Advised to Go after Big Contracts at Oklahoma City Conference.
May 25, 2000... Byline: Brian Brus May 25--Owners of small businesses must learn to overcome some large obstacles to win government contracts, panelists said Wednesday at the Small Business Conference and Trade Show in Oklahoma City. "I don't see...

Electric Deregulation's Benefits to Oklahoma Consumers Debated.
May 25, 2000... Byline: Gregory Potts May 25--Most Oklahoma customers probably don't know whether to be excited or afraid about the possibility that their electric utility will be deregulated. Deregulation's goal is to provide lower prices by...

Title Firm is First Tenant in New Oklahoma City Office Complex.
May 25, 2000... Byline: Richard Mize May 25--Capitol Abstract & Title Co. has become the first tenant of the Gaillardia office complex, which eventually will have 300,000 square feet of "Class A" office space at the 600-acre planned community in...

Dwindling Demand for Sports Apparel Forces Oklahoma City Sports Shop to Close.
May 25, 2000... Byline: Mike Strain May 25--The building still has a Jumbo Sports sign on it, but the only thing in the parking lot is weeds. That's because Jumbo Sports is out of business, the victim of a hyper-competitive market for sporting goods and...

Warehouse Built in Oklahoma City Turned Out Worth the Risk.
May 25, 2000... Byline: Richard Mize May 25--Speculative warehouse space is still a spectacle in Oklahoma City. It's not the location that makes Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co.'s 210,000-square-foot Airport Distribution Center impressive to...

Oklahoma City Trade Conference to Focus on Small Companies.
May 23, 2000... May 23--FAA Administrator Jane Garvey and Steven Zaidman, FAA acquisition executive, speak at a trade conference starting Wednesday at the Westin Hotel. About 400 business and city, state and federal government representatives are...

Oklahoma Executives Say Fed's Interest Rate Hike May Slow Down Growing Economy.
May 23, 2000... Byline: Mike Strain May 23--The Federal Reserve's interest rate increases may be having the desired effect of slowing down the nation's rapidly growing economy. According to a newly released Federal Reserve report, businesses and...

Electricity-Deregulation Bill Still Awaits Oklahoma Senate's Vote.
May 23, 2000... Byline: Gregory Potts May 23--Fans and foes of a bill to deregulate the electric industry in Oklahoma are eagerly awaiting a Senate vote on the issue. The bill, caught in a traffic jam of bills during the last week of the Legislature's...

Oklahoma Farmers May Wrap Wheat Harvest Up Early.
May 23, 2000... Byline: Bryan Painter May 23--Without rain, the wheat harvest could be finished by Memorial Day for Mike Cassidy of Cassidy Grain at Frederick in southwestern Oklahoma. A year ago, rain prolonged the start of harvest and most cutting...

Two Oklahoma City Firms Join Youth Training Program.
May 20, 2000... Byline: Jon Denton May 20--America's Youth Apprenticeship Enterprises is adding two companies to the job training program, founder Jemal Abdul Aziz said Friday. A Touch of Elegance beauty salon and the Seafood Palace, a restaurant, are...

Oklahoma Wheat Harvest Begins.
May 20, 2000... Byline: Bryan Painter May 20--Combines churned through fields and trucks rolled to grain elevators, marking the start of the 2000 Oklahoma wheat harvest. Mike Cassidy of Cassidy Grain Co. at Frederick in southwestern Oklahoma...

Reports on Company Employment Numbers Highlight Tulsa, Okla., Businesses.
May 19, 2000... Byline: Gregory Potts May 19--A Quality Jobs report Monday highlighted a Tulsa company that recently was in the news for layoffs. The report from the state Commerce Department, however, said that Tulsa-based BuyItNow.com is planning to...

Natural Gas Price Surge Raises Chesapeake Energy's Stock Value.
May 18, 2000... Byline: Gregory Potts May 18--A surge in the price of natural gas Wednesday pushed up the value of Chesapeake Energy's stock, making it the day's biggest percent gainer on the New York Stock Exchange. The Oklahoma City company set a...

Oklahoma Oil, Gas Output Continue to Decline.
May 18, 2000... Byline: Gregory Potts May 18--Oklahoma's downward trend in oil production continued in February, the Oklahoma Corporation Commission reported Wednesday. The commission's monthly report indicates an 8 percent drop in oil production in...

Real Estate Prices Rise in Oklahoma City's Bricktown Area.
May 18, 2000... Byline: Richard Mize May 18--Bricktown's fine dining and entertainment are the icing on the cake, the attraction for everyday people. Here's the cake, or what's most important to Oklahoma City business: The going rate for old...

Biotechnology Firm to Move headquarters from Minneapolis to Oklahoma City.
May 17, 2000... Byline: Brian Brus May 17--A new biotech company plans to announce today it is moving its headquarters and 20 employees to Oklahoma City from Minneapolis. RespiNet spokesman Clarence Garrett said Chief Executive Paul Self will...

Oklahoma City Executives Say Another Rate Hike Could Chill Economy.
May 17, 2000... Byline: Mike Strain May 17--The Federal Reserve raised interest rates a half-point Tuesday and warned that more increases could be imminent as the central bank continues to fight inflation in a booming economy. The central bank...

Oklahoma Resolution Urges Zebco Not to Move Fishing Reel Unit to China.
May 17, 2000... Byline: John Greiner May 17--State senators passed a resolution Tuesday urging Zebco Corp. to reconsider its decision to move its Tulsa fishing reel operation to China. Earlier this year Zebco informed 231 permanent employees at its...

Oklahoma Board of Embalmers Says Pair Mishandled Pre-Need Funeral Funds.
May 17, 2000... Byline: Gregory Potts May 17--The Oklahoma State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors has revoked the licenses of Wayne Woodard and James Sherman and fined each $10,000 for allegedly mishandling the pre-need funeral funds of the...

Oklahoma Gas Pumps Show Effects of Rising Crude Oil Prices.
May 17, 2000... Byline: Gregory Potts May 17--As 34.4 million Americans prepare to travel for the Memorial Day weekend, oil prices are creeping back up. Oil prices settled from their $34-a-barrel peak in March to $26 after the announcement that OPEC...

Educators Request Foundation of Entrepreneurial Center in Tulsa, Okla.
May 16, 2000... Byline: Brian Brus May 16--The state commerce secretary and the president of Langston University on Monday urged the Legislature to approve funding for the creation of an entrepreneurial center in Tulsa. The Center of Entrepreneurial...

Interest Rate boost by Feds Expected to Slow Down Long-Term Construction.
May 16, 2000... Byline: Mike Strain May 16--The architect's designs are done, and Ron Mercer is ready to proceed with his renovations. There's just one problem: Alan Greenspan and the Federal Reserve Board. They have Mercer and most of the business...

March Home Sales Up Nationally, in Oklahoma City Despite Rising Interest Rates.
May 16, 2000... Byline: Richard Mize May 16--The cost of financing a home is rising, but the slope upward isn't as sure as the one on top of most houses. It sags here and there. Homes selling in the Oklahoma City area in April were financed with an...

Oklahoma City Follows Regional Trend as Home Construction Declines.
May 10, 2000... Byline: Richard Mize May 10--Oklahoma City isn't the only place seeing a big decline in home construction. Single-family building permits issued in the first third of the year are off in Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth and other cities where...

Five Southern States File Lawsuit against Accused Insurance Embezzler.
May 10, 2000... Byline: Gregory Potts May 10--Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner Carroll Fisher, together with commissioners in four other states, filed a lawsuit Tuesday against Martin Frankel, who has been accused of insurance embezzlement. ...

Woodward, Okla., Building Left Unfinished to Allow Customization by Tenant.
May 10, 2000... Byline: J.B. Blosser Bittner May 10--WOODWARD, Okla.--LaVern Phillips jokes that Woodward's cavernous new shell building would be great for winter golf or secret high school football practices. But when it comes to listing the...

Oklahoma City-Based Theme Park Company Predicts Strong Year Financially.
May 10, 2000... May 10--Premier Parks Inc.'s revenues and profits were down sharply in the first quarter, ended March 31, but the company blamed the declines on fewer operating days, according to an earnings report released Tuesday. The Oklahoma...

Employees of Dallas-Based Airline Maintain Productivity through Happiness.
May 9, 2000... Byline: Don Stewart May 9--Southwest Airlines employees are required to work hard and have fun, and having fun is as much a part of the corporate culture as the 87 million packages of peanuts its flight attendants handed out last year....

Dallas-Based Airline Wins Customers Satisfaction Race in First Quarter of 2000.
May 9, 2000... Byline: Don Stewart May 9--Southwest Airlines, which recently was listed in a federal report as the domestic airline with the fewest customer complaints, has won that rating in part through its ability to service planes quickly and get...

Executive of Oklahoma City-Based Construction Equipment Firm Resigns.
May 9, 2000... Byline: Jon Denton May 9--Citing personal reasons, president and chief executive Tom Engelsman has resigned at CMI Corp., chairman Bill Swisher said Monday. The exit followed a lengthy board meeting Friday at the Oklahoma City- based...

Oklahoma City Housing Boom Slows into Steadier, Moderate Growth.
May 9, 2000... Byline: Richard Mize May 9--Not all booms end in busts. Oklahoma City's housing boom, pressured by rising interest rates and a good inventory of new unsold homes, is deflating, not popping, said Mike Gilles, president of the Central...

Oklahoma Investors Assured of Safety of Pre-Paid Funeral Funds.
May 9, 2000... May 9--Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner Carroll Fisher says the holders of pre-paid funeral plans won't be affected by an indictment of a man accused of embezzlement. Tom Elijah Dunlap, 55, of Oklahoma City was indicted last week by a...

Recommendation of Oklahoma City Official Would Alter Life Insurance Policies.
May 9, 2000... Byline: Mike Strain May 9--Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner Carroll Fisher has filed a lien that would keep a group of Mid-Continent Life Insurance policyholders from receiving money from a lawsuit they've filed. Mid-Continent was...

Shareholders' Meeting of Bartlesville, Okla.-Based Oil Firm Reviews Big Year.
May 9, 2000... Byline: Gregory Potts May 9--BARTLESVILLE, Okla.--It's only May, but Phillips Petroleum Company has made several major announcements this year, and Chief Executive Officer J.J. Mulva recounted the highlights for an audience of hundreds...

Successful Trailer Manufacturer Opens New Plant Near Chickasha, Okla.
May 9, 2000... Byline: Jon Denton May 9--Cimarron Trailer Manufacturing Inc. has opened as an all-aluminum trailer plant near Chickasha, co-owner Michael Terry said Monday. Assisted by the Economic Development Council of Grady County, the start-up...

Wholesale Food Retailer to Move Headquarters from Oklahoma City to Texas.
May 9, 2000... Byline: Jon Denton May 9--By next month, Fleming Cos. Inc., the big wholesale food and merchandise seller that has been based in Oklahoma City since the early 1980s, will move its core executives to Texas. The company will cease to...