Austin American-Statesman (Austin, TX) articles from December 2002

Austin American-Statesman (Austin, TX) archives from December 2002

Austin American-Statesman, Texas, Travel Notes Column.
December 2, 2002... Dec. 2--HILL COUNTRY'S BRIGHT IDEAS FOR THE HOLIDAY SEASON: When Norma Honeycutt moved from San Antonio to the Hill Country, she wanted a project. After seeing photographs of the courthouse in Marshall magnificently lighted for the holidays,...

Follow the Lone Star to Find Christmas Celebrations That Are Truly Texas.
December 2, 2002... Byline: Janet Wilson Dec. 2--When it comes to celebrating the holidays, we Texans, true to stereotype, like to do it up big. Millions of lights adorn our courthouses, businesses and homes, colorful floats and marching bands parade...

Austin, Texas-Based Chip Maker Intrinsity Inc. Tests New Design.
December 3, 2002... Byline: Kirk Ladendorf Dec. 3--While some Austin chip companies are slowing operations for the holidays, little Intrinsity Inc. is working overtime, testing its first prototypes. The 80-employee chip-design company said it has working...

Farmers Insurance Group Deal in Texas Draws Critics, Scrutiny.
December 3, 2002... Dec. 3--With many details still being worked out over the $100 million settlement between Farmers Insurance Group and the State of Texas, the deal drew criticism from consumer advocates and scrutiny from lawmakers who said it underscores the...

Time Warner Cable's Austin, Texas, Customers to See Fee Increase.
December 3, 2002

HMO Profits More Elusive in Austin Area than Elsewhere in Texas.
December 4, 2002... Byline: Amy Schatz Dec. 4--Higher premiums and lower costs led two-thirds of Texas HMOs to profitability for the third straight quarter, the state said Tuesday. But the news was less rosy in Austin, where two-thirds of local HMOs operated...

Texas Defends Its Settlement with Farmers Insurance.
December 4, 2002... Byline: Shonda Novak Dec. 4--With their settlement being skewered, state officials went on the offensive Tuesday, saying the deal with Farmers Insurance Group will get money to customers sooner rather than risk getting nothing in a...

Austin, Texas, Computer Hardware Firm Newisys Lands New Infusion of Money.
December 5, 2002... Byline: Kirk Ladendorf Dec. 5--With a fresh $25 million in financing, 2-year-old computer hardware company Newisys Inc. now has two things startups crave: a hefty bankroll and an overflow of customers wanting to try out its products. ...

3M Plans to Cut More than 100 Jobs in Austin, Texas.
December 5, 2002

University of Texas Nanotech Researchers Take Step Forward.
December 5, 2002

'Green, Clean and Profitable' Wins Texas Business-Plan Competition.
December 6, 2002... Byline: Cara Anna Dec. 6--A young "clean" energy company has won $100,000 and a free year at the Austin Technology Incubator after winning the University of Texas's annual business-plan competition. Organic Energy Systems was one of...

Business-Information Giant D&B to Buy Austin, Texas-Based Hoover's.
December 6, 2002... Byline: Shonda Novak Dec. 6--Business-information giant D&B Corp. said Thursday it would pay $117 million to acquire Hoover's Inc., the Austin-based online business information provider that went public during the Internet boom, only to...

Drug Company Might Be Looking at Sites near Austin, Texas, Airport.
December 6, 2002

Despite Industry Slowdown, Dell Sets Goal to Double Sales in Next Five Years.
December 9, 2002... Byline: John Pletz Dec. 9--Dell Computer Corp. is once again the No. 1 seller of personal computers and racking up double-digit sales growth in an industry that's barely treading water. Next target for the famously competitive company?...

Drug Maker Puts Search for Austin, Texas, Site on Indefinite Hold.
December 11, 2002... Byline: Laura Heinauer and Cara Anna Dec. 11--Project Atlantis, the code name for a major pharmaceutical company's plans to invest $150 million and create about 150 new jobs in the Austin area, is in dry dock. Economic development...

Shareholder in Hoover's Business-Information Service Resists D&B Buyout.
December 11, 2002... Byline: Shonda Novak Dec. 11--The celebrations of Hoover's sale to D&B Corp. may be premature. Marathon Partners Inc., the third-largest shareholder in Hoover's Inc., said the price is far too low and is vowing a fight. The New York...

Australian Ruling on Lawsuit against U.S. Online Content Raises Alarms.
December 11, 2002... Byline: David Pasztor Dec. 11--Seven judges in Australia sent unsettling tremors through legal and publishing circles Tuesday, ruling that a U.S. publishing company can be sued for defamation in Australia over an article that appeared on...

Two of Austin, Texas' Largest Construction Companies Decide to Merge.
December 11, 2002

Economist Predicts Modest Recovery Next Year in Central Texas.
December 12, 2002... Byline: Claudia Grisales Dec. 12--The boom years aren't coming back, but the battered Central Texas economy will experience a modest recovery next year, an economist said Wednesday. Ray Perryman said employment will be the last...

Farmers Insurance Policyholders Object in Court to Texas Settlement Plan.
December 12, 2002... Byline: Shonda Novak Dec. 12--The proposed settlement between Farmers Insurance Group and the State of Texas, already lambasted by consumer advocates, is being attacked by lawyers representing Farmers' policyholders who say it's too broad...

Tablet PC Deal Adds to Momentum at Austin, Texas-Based Motion Computing.
December 12, 2002... Byline: John Pletz Dec. 12--Less than a month after launching its first product, Austin-based Motion Computing Inc. has signed a deal with one of biggest names in personal computers. Legend Group, the No. 1 computer seller in China,...

Business Information Provider Hoover's Faces Shareholder Opposition to Sale.
December 13, 2002... Byline: Shonda Novak Dec. 13--A second major shareholder of Hoover's Inc. is vowing to fight the proposed sale of the Austin-based online business information provider to business information giant D&B Corp. Disciplined Growth...

Austin, Texas, Insurer Financial Industries Corp. Gets Unsolicited Bid.
December 13, 2002... Byline: Amy Schatz Dec. 13--An Austin insurance company that has been through turmoil this year now has a new concern. A local investment firm made an unsolicited offer to buy some or all of Financial Industries Corp. for up to $172...

Austin American-Statesman, Texas, Austin Inc. Column.
December 13, 2002

Austin, Texas-Based Whole Foods Market Says Headquarters Project Is On Course.
December 17, 2002... Byline: R. Michelle Breyer Dec. 17--Whole Foods Market Inc. is moving forward with plans for its new downtown Austin headquarters and store, even as controversy swirls around city incentives for the developer, and the federal government...

Austin, Texas-Based Semiconductor Equipment Firm NLine Slashes Jobs.
December 18, 2002

Mortgage Refinancing Spurred Economic Recovery in Central Texas, Study Says.
December 19, 2002... Byline: R. Michelle Breyer Dec. 19--In tough economic times, the mortgage refinancing boom has been a boost to the Central Texas economy, pumping in $800 million since the beginning of 2001, according to a study released Wednesday. ...

SBC Shrinks Size of Yellow Pages Business Directory by One-Third.
December 19, 2002... Byline: Kirk Ladendorf Dec. 19--At least this downsizing isn't about jobs. About one in 10 people will find their Yellow Pages business directory a lot smaller. SBC Communications Inc. is distributing new telephone books in the Austin...

State Farm Raising Auto, Home Insurance Rates in Texas.
December 19, 2002... Byline: Claudia Grisales Dec. 19--Beginning Jan. 15, it will cost more to keep insurance with a good neighbor. State Farm Insurance Co., the state's largest insurer, said Wednesday that it will be raising rates for its automobile and...

Austin American-Statesman, Texas, Austin Inc. Column.
December 20, 2002... Dec. 20--A LOVE LETTER TO HOOVER'S FROM N.Y. SHAREHOLDERS: A New York investment firm that is fighting the proposed sale of Hoover's Inc., the Austin online business information company, is leaving no stone unturned. Thursday, a billboard...

Austin, Texas, Chamber's New Leader Has Reputation for Success.
December 20, 2002... Byline: Kirk Ladendorf Dec. 20--The new chief executive of the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce, Michael Rollins, has a reputation as a turnaround artist. He's landed in the right place. Rollins takes over a chamber with...

Texas Appeals Court Slashes Mold Verdict against Farmers Insurance.
December 20, 2002... Byline: Claudia Grisales Dec. 20--A state appeals court handed Farmers Insurance Group a major victory Thursday in a nationally prominent lawsuit that accused the company of committing fraud and bad faith in its handling of a Dripping...

Austin, Texas, Software Maker PerformanceRetail Cuts One-Third of Its Staff.
December 20, 2002... Byline: Cara Anna Dec. 20--PerformanceRetail Inc. moved to Austin for its workers. Now it's letting them go. The software maker cut a third of its employees last week, or about 25 people, including its new chief financial officer,...

Austin, Texas, Life-Insurance Holding Company Rejects Buyout Bid.
December 21, 2002... Byline: Kirk Ladendorf Dec. 21--Financial Industries Corp., an Austin-based life insurance holding company, rejected a proposal by an outside investor group to buy the company's stock for as much as $172 million. The rejection Friday...

3M's Electronic Whiteboard Makes Multimedia Presentations Interactive.
December 23, 2002... Byline: Kirk Ladendorf Dec. 23--When the coaches of the Minnesota Wild hockey team go over game video, they turn to a futuristic-looking white screen developed by 3M Co. in Austin. The coaches can pause the video image and begin...

Central Texas Home Sales Decline in November; Agents Observing Rebound.
December 24, 2002... Byline: Shonda Novak Dec. 24--Sales of existing homes in Central Texas declined in November, but some local real estate agents say activity is starting to pick up after seasonal lull. "One thing I've noticed this month is that our...

Proxy Indicates Hoover's Pushed Suitor D&B to Raise Buyout Offer.
December 24, 2002... Byline: John Pletz Dec. 24--It took more than a year of soul-searching and negotiating for Hoover's Inc. to agree on a sale to D&B Corp., although the company is taking steps to close the final deal quickly, with a shareholder vote...

Central Texas Foreclosures for January Surge 68 Percent.
December 25, 2002... Byline: R. Michelle Breyer Dec. 25--With many Central Texans still out of work, postings for the January foreclosure sale surged 68 percent compared with January of this year. There are 278 Travis County properties posted for the Jan....

Univision May Stop Airing on Time Warner Cable in Austin, Texas.
December 25, 2002... Byline: Lori Hawkins Dec. 25--Unless an agreement is reached, Time Warner Cable won't be carrying Univision's Spanish-language programming after Dec. 31. "Negotiations are at a standstill, and if we don't solve this, there won't be a...

Chip Industry Begins to See Sales Surge.
December 31, 2002... Byline: Kirk Ladendorf Dec. 31--The global semiconductor industry appears to be emerging from a two-year slump -- welcome news for Austin, where chip makers and industry suppliers have been among the biggest victims of the tech bust. ...