Austin American-Statesman (Austin, TX) articles from June 2001

Austin American-Statesman (Austin, TX) archives from June 2001

Electrical Grid Becomes Unified as Texans Start to Get Choice of Providers.
June 1, 2001... Byline: Elizabeth Goldman Jun. 1--After years of careful negotiation and planning, the pilot program for Texas' competitive retail electricity market starts today -- more or less. The state agencies responsible for ensuring the...

Office XP Enhances Web, Network Capabilities, Microsoft Says.
June 1, 2001... Byline: John Pletz Jun. 1--Microsoft Corp. unveiled its latest software product Thursday in a marketing blitz not seen since the company's debut of Windows 95 six years ago. As Office XP hit retail stores, Microsoft was demonstrating...

Economic Downturn Leads High-Tech Companies to Find Creative Ways to Cut Back.
June 4, 2001... Byline: Kirk Ladendorf Jun. 4--When Legerity Inc. Chief Executive Ron Van Dell recently told workers that there would be cost-cutting but no layoffs at the Austin chip-design company, workers burst into applause. They had good reason...

Austin, Texas-Based Firm's New Technology Protects against Software Piracy.
June 4, 2001... Byline: Elizabeth Goldman Jun. 4--Nearly every computer user has been guilty of enjoying a piece of pirated software -- a game taken from a networked site, a desktop publishing program borrowed from a friend. That will all end if...

After Tough Year, HMOs in Texas Show Signs of Rebounding.
June 5, 2001... Byline: Amy Schatz Jun. 5--Health maintenance organizations showed signs of a financial turnaround Monday, when almost half of those operating in Texas reported a profit for the first quarter. In Austin, nine of 14 HMOs reported profits....

Despite Closures, More Retailers in Line to Check Out Austin, Texas.
June 6, 2001... Byline: Shonda Novak Jun. 6--Although KidGenius Toys, Austin Java Co. and locally owned Mattress Country all have closed one or more stores in Austin, other new retailers are on the way, a commercial real estate broker said Tuesday. ...

Builder of Dell Server Business Makes Retirement Plans in Austin, Texas.
June 8, 2001... Byline: John Pletz Jun. 8--Another senior Dell Computer Corp. executive is stepping down. Senior Vice President Mike Lambert, who is credited with giving Dell a leading position in the much-coveted server business, will retire later...

Gas-Guzzling Vehicles Remain Popular in Central Texas.
June 8, 2001... Byline: Jaime Levy Jun. 8--With gas prices on the rise and the economy in a slump, national sales for sport-utility vehicles and pickups are rolling downhill. But in Central Texas -- where eight of the region's 10 top-selling vehicles get...

Natural Gas Company Seeks Rate Increase in Central Texas.
June 8, 2001... Byline: Amy Schatz Jun. 8--TXU Gas Distribution wants to raise prices for providing natural gas to customers in Central Texas by 11 percent this summer. The natural gas company has filed an application to increase the costprice of...

Austin, Texas-Based Software Firm Eases Burden of Security Issues for Clients.
June 11, 2001... Byline: Elizabeth Goldman Jun. 11--Steve Housewright could use more than nine people to manage a network of hundreds of machines and users at the Texas attorney general's office. But if he can't get more people, he would at least like to...

Austin, Texas, Startup Firms Base Business Growth Plans on Moving Data Faster.
June 11, 2001... Byline: Kirk Ladendorf Jun. 11--As a former chief executive of Jardine's Texas Foods of Buda, Newt Hamlin is no tech geek. But the 59-year-old businessman and self-described "serial entrepreneur" does know a promising opportunity when he...

IBM's Sales of Unix Servers Jump 28 Percent.
June 13, 2001... Byline: John Pletz Jun. 13--IBM Corp. made strong gains in the Unix server business during the first quarter, while rivals Sun Microsystems Inc. and Hewlett-Packard Co. struggled. IBM said data from research firm IDC showed its revenue...

Developer Plans Luxury Apartments in Austin, Texas.
June 14, 2001... Byline: Shonda Novak Jun. 14--A Waco developer plans to build a high-rise, 200-unit luxury apartment building on Town Lake just east of South Interstate 35. The Vintage on Town Lake would be built on about three acres on the north side...

Former Texas Governor Richards to Lead Consulting Firm's New York Expansion.
June 14, 2001... Byline: Jerry Mahoney Jun. 14--Public Strategies Inc., the Austin-based lobbying and business consulting firm, said Wednesday that it has hired former Gov. Ann Richards to open a New York City office and lead its expansion into the heart...

Patent Lawsuit Brings Windfall for Austin, Texas-Based Data Storage Firm.
June 14, 2001... Byline: Robert Elder Jr. Jun. 14--The settlement of a patent-infringement lawsuit will add $15 million to Crossroads Systems Inc.'s bottom line, an unanticipated boost in revenue that is expected to make the data-storage company profitable...

Oklahoma Man Sues Austin, Texas, Orthopedics Company over Knee Implant.
June 14, 2001... Byline: Mary Ann Roser Jun. 14--A Tulsa, Okla., man who claims he received a faulty Sulzer Orthopedics knee implant sued the Austin company in March -- two months before Sulzer announced the implant might have the same defect as a hip part...

Dell Computer to Open Call Center in India; Operation to Support U.S. Buyers.
June 15, 2001... Byline: John Pletz Jun. 15--Dell Computer Corp. said Thursday it will open a call center in India to support its U.S. home and small-business customers. Dell joins a growing list of major U.S. corporations doing business in India,...

Head of Texas Economic-Development Agency Travels to Ethiopia.
June 15, 2001... Byline: Claudia Grisales Jun. 15--A few days after his agency survived a tough legislative session, Jeff Moseley left for his first overseas trip as head of the Texas Department of Economic Development. Moseley attended an...

Job Growth in Austin, Texas, Area Is at Lowest Level in Decade.
June 15, 2001... Byline: Elizabeth Goldman Jun. 15--The bloom is definitely off the boom. The Austin-San Marcos area's unemployment rate shot up more than half a percentage point to 3.3 percent for May, its highest level in nearly four years. And...

Actress Sues Developer over West Lake Hills, Texas, Land Investment.
June 16, 2001... Byline: Amy Schatz Jun. 16--Actress Sandra Bullock has filed a lawsuit against the builder of her Lake Austin house, alleging that he reneged on a deal to develop a subdivision in West Lake Hills. The suit, filed Friday in Travis...

Austin, Texas, Cadillac Dealership Changes Hands.
June 17, 2001... Byline: Jerry Mahoney Jun. 17--The Maund Automotive Group sold its Cadillac dealership to the Covert family Friday, giving the Coverts that luxury line for the first time in more than 90 years of selling General Motors Corp. cars. For...

Texas Health Plans for Workers May Be at Risk.
June 17, 2001... Byline: Michele Kay Jun. 17--Don't be surprised if you start hearing business owners warn that the days of employer-subsidized health insurance may be coming to an end. As few as 60 percent of small employers now provide workers coverage....

IBM Banks on Austin, Texas, Center to Build Customer Base for Linux System.
June 18, 2001... Byline: Elizabeth Goldman Jun. 18--During most of its 10 years, Linux has been developed by a loose network of programmers around the world, working for free to create a faster, cheaper, more stable operating system whose code would be...

Venture Capitalists in Austin, Texas, Area Say They're in the Money Again.
June 18, 2001... Byline: Lori Hawkins Jun. 18--How's this for good news: CenterPoint Ventures has raised $300 million and is ready to start writing checks to Austin startups. The venture capital firm, which is based in Austin and Dallas, plans to...

Austin, Texas, Lobbying Firm Nabs Two More Big Names.
June 19, 2001... Byline: Jerry Mahoney Jun. 19--Former Dallas Morning News Publisher Burl Osborne and the former chairman of mortgage giant Fannie Mae will join Ann Richards as advisers to Public Strategies Inc., the Austin lobbying and...

Texas Governor's Veto of Medical-Claims Bill Angers Doctors Groups.
June 19, 2001... Byline: Amy Schatz Jun. 19--Two weeks ago, the Texas Hospital Association endorsed Gov. Rick Perry for governor in 2002. But on Sunday, Perry vetoed one of the association's top priorities for the legislative session -- a bill that would...

For Some Bank of America Customers, Checks Are Not in the Mail.
June 20, 2001... Byline: Jaime Levy Jun. 20--Almost two weeks after Tropical Storm Allison flooded Bank of America's building in downtown Houston, the bank's customers are feeling the effects. About 150,000 people so far have been told they will not...

Dell Stock Buyback Plan May Prove Costly for Texas-Based PC Maker.
June 20, 2001... Byline: John Pletz Jun. 20--In addition to an uncertain market for its products, Dell Computer Corp. could find itself on the losing end of a bet on its stock. For the past five years, Dell has been buying back stock in an effort to...

New Federal Rules Try to Make Technology Accessible to Disabled People.
June 21, 2001... Byline: Elizabeth Goldman Jun. 21--With the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act a decade ago, the federal government sought to ensure disabled people have access to government buildings. Now, it's trying to do the same for...

Central Texas Home Sales Fall in May as Prices, Listings Rise.
June 22, 2001... Byline: Shonda Novak Jun. 22--In a refrain that has become familiar in recent months, home sales in Central Texas declined in May, but prices -- and the number of homes on the market -- continued to climb. Sales of existing...

Texas Getting Healthy Bonus from Oil, Gas Taxes.
June 22, 2001... Byline: Claudia Grisales Jun. 22--We've been here before: soaring energy prices, record profits for oil and gas companies. But this time around, Texas tax coffers are getting a smaller spurt from the recent rise in prices. Once, taxes...

Circuit-Board Maker Solectron Lays Off 600 Employees in Austin, Texas.
June 23, 2001... Byline: John Pletz Jun. 23--Circuit-board maker Solectron Corp., already battered by slowing demand for computer products, is laying off another 600 workers at its Austin facility. The California-based company announced another round...

Used-Car Buyers in Texas Warned to Watch for Flood Damage.
June 23, 2001... Byline: Mildred M. Yuan Jun. 23--The effects of Tropical Storm Allison just don't seem to go away. Two weeks after the season's first tropical storm flooded Houston and surrounding areas, state officials warned that flood-damaged cars...

Transmission Grid Could Pose Problems for Texas' Electric-Deregulation Program.
June 24, 2001... Byline: Elizabeth Goldman Jun. 24--Texas' upcoming experiment with a competitive electric market will avoid the chaos that has left millions of Californians in the dark during the spring, advocates say, largely for one reason: While...

Slaying Spawned a Fraud-Fighting Software Company in Austin, Texas.
June 25, 2001... Byline: Elizabeth Goldman Jun. 25--Twenty years ago, Roger Wheeler unwittingly fell in with the wrong crowd. Looking for some good investments, the Oklahoma businessman bought some jai alai clubs on the East Coast, seeing the potential...

IBM Chalks Up Unix Server Gains; Big Blue Takes Business from Sun, Hewlett.
June 25, 2001... Byline: John Pletz Jun. 25--Late last year, Doris Beaulieu did something that might have seemed unthinkable just a few years ago. Beaulieu, who oversees the computer systems for Ultramar Diamond Shamrock Corp., told Sun Microsystems...

Texas Insurance Officials Brace for Big Crowd at Austin Hearing on Mold.
June 25, 2001... Byline: Kevin Carmody Jun. 25--So many Texas homeowners seem concerned about losing insurance coverage for mold damage to their houses that the Texas Department of Insurance has moved a public hearing on the issue to a 1,000-seat...

In Texas, Pollution Knows No City Limits.
June 25, 2001... Byline: Kevin Carmody Jun. 25--Stand on the steps of the Texas Capitol on one of these smoggy summer days and take a deep breath. A significant share of the lung-damaging ozone pollution you just inhaled probably blew in from Houston or...

Construction Set to Begin on Luxury Lofts in Downtown Austin, Texas.
June 26, 2001... Byline: Shonda Novak Jun. 26--The developer of 82 luxury lofts in downtown Austin plans to start construction in late July -- despite an economic slowdown that has delayed at least two other upscale condominium projects. Bobby Nail,...

Bank One Unit to Lay Off 500 Employees with Austin, Texas, Call Center Closure.
June 27, 2001... Byline: Claudia Grisales Jun. 27--A Bank One Corp. subsidiary will shut down its call center in North Austin later this year and lay off more than 500 employees. The move signals a reversal for what had been a growing sector in the local...

Texas-Based Recruiting Services Firm Attracts $19 Million More from Investors.
June 27, 2001... Byline: Elizabeth Goldman Jun. 27--In one of the bigger money-raising successes of the year, Austin's Hire.com Inc. closed on $19 million in backing Tuesday. Austin Ventures and The Hearst Corp. led the round, which brings to $48.8...

Texas Governor Puts Stamp on State's Public Utility Commission.
June 28, 2001... Byline: Claudia Grisales Jun. 28--Gov. Rick Perry swore in two new members of the Public Utility Commission Wednesday, putting his stamp on the agency that regulates the companies that provide Texans with electricty and telephone service....