Houston Business Journal articles from August 2000

Houston Business Journal archives from August 2000

Downtown complex slam-dunk deal.(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... Trammell Crow acquiring tract from Hakeem Olajuwon for garden-style apartment project Trammell Crow Residential has set its sights on a large tract of land on the northern edge of downtown for a multifamily project -- a deal that could...

BMC grows twice as big.(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... Houston software company expands in multiple markets BMC Software Inc. is constructing two new office buildings on its Westchase campus that will more than double the company's square footage in Houston. BMC would not disclose the cost...

Houston banks outshine larger outside rivals.(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... Two obvious signs trumpet the rising fortunes of hometown banks in Houston. First, publicly traded stocks of Houston-based banks this year have widely trounced the shares of their bigger competitors. The second, more conspicuous,...

NY group buys three car dealers.(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... At a time when consolidation in the auto industry has slowed down significantly, a publicly traded New York-based auto giant has wheeled into Houston and acquired three family-founded car dealerships. United Auto Group paid an undisclosed...

Houston shows signs of historical awakening.(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... Houston is beginning to waken from its amnesiac slumber when it comes to rediscovering the city's modest, yet meaningful, historic neighborhoods. The City of Houston Planning and Development Department is continuing this effort with new...

A bullish way to share wedded bliss.(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... Newlyweds, or those soon to be hitched, can now get a marriage certificate that enhances financial security. And for expectant couples, there's a new shower registry to ensure the arrival of more than one little dividend. With the summer...

Backlog already building for next year's visas.(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... Supporters of raising the cap on H-1B visas say new numbers from the Immigration and Naturalization Service show the need for prompt action to allow more foreign professionals to work in America. The INS, which hit this year's limit on H-1B...

The dog really ate my homework assignment.(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... Working at an Outback Steakhouse may not seem like a big deal for a high school student, but actually running the restaurant may provide some food for thought. Some students at Houston's new Westside High School will get the opportunity to...

More news from the food and drink front.(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... The stars were shining bright in Texas last mouth when a group of space cowboys rode into Houston's Texas Land & Cattle Steak House. The cast and crew of "Space Cow boys" landed at the restaurant on Beltway 8 and Interstate 45 South on...

Dynegy fulfills broadband goal with agreement to acquire Extant.(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... Dynegy Inc. made its long-anticipated entrance into the broadband market this week with an agreement to acquire a privately held Colorado-based communications company. When the acquisition of Extant Inc. is complete, Houston-based Dynegy...

Local e-tailers get fresh funding as dot-coms continue to struggle.(Internet/Web/Online Service Information)(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... As dot-com stocks continue to take a pounding on Wall Street, two Houston e-commerce companies have secured private cash infusions to help carry them until they attain profitability. Houston-based Ashford.com, which sells jewelry and...

New auto dealership in Katy could signal start of caravan.(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... It's not a bona fide auto row yet, but the purchase of 13 acres of land in Katy by Allen Samuels Dodge for a new car dealership could be the start of something big. The new 70,000-square-foot Dodge dealership, which will be located on...

ClearWorks plugging into long--distance market with acquisition of LDConnect.(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... ClearWorks.net will graduate from long-distance reseller to direct provider of long distance once the company completes a planned acquisition of LDConnect.com. Houston-based ClearWorks has signed of letter of intent to purchase LDConnect,...

Regrouping energy platforms shift strategy, lay off employees.(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... Energy e-commerce operations an starting to retrench. Two substantial players in the sale of energy products and services over the Internet revised their online strategies this week and cut loose some of their recently hired employees. ...

New Loudmouth PR agency hopes to make high-tech noise.(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... What's the result when a couple of loudmouths with the same name get together? Houston's newest high-tech public relations agency. Michelle Herskowitz and Michele DeGuerin Luke have teamed up to create the Loudmouth Group. And while...

Shop talk.(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... Global Productions is now part of the game plan for Houston's upcoming bowl game. The PR and marketing agency has been given the responsibility for securing sponsorships for the galleryfurniture.com Bowl, according to Thomas Hensey, president...

Clarifications.(Brief Article)(Correction Notice)
August 4, 2000... The July 14 column should have identified Angela DeWree of Angela & Co. as the agency representing Tootsie's. In addition, the June 30 column should have noted that even though Joel Cohen has launched AmericanAdAgencies.com, he has not given up...

Idaho firm will pay $35 million for majority interest in MediQuik.(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... Houston-based MediQuik will receive a $2 million cash infusion from an Idaho company that is paying about $35 million to acquire a majority interest in the local firm. MediQuik, a chronic disease management company that works with managed...

SurgiCare Inc.(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... Houston-based SurgiCare Inc. will pay an undisclosed sum to acquire the assets of a Memorial-area ambulatory surgery center. With the acquisition, SurgiCare will effectively double in size. SurgiCare has signed a letter of intent to acquire...

EdenCare Senior Living Services.(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... * An Atlanta-based assisted living operator is making big moves into the Houston market with the planned opening of three senior centers this summer and fall. EdenCare Senior Living Services is nearing completion of EdenBrook of Champions,...

Adventure capitalist.(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... After being thrown for a loss in the real estate bust, Dennis Murphree is back in the saddle on the funding frontier The walls of his downtown office are lined with pictures of cattle and ranches and maps of the Lone Star State. A copy of...

PentaSafe beefing up security with acquisition of BrainTree.
August 4, 2000... PentaSafe Security Technologies Inc. acquired a Boston-area software development company two weeks ago that allows the local firm to jump feet first into a targeted product area. PentaSafe purchased BrainTree Security Software for an...

ebaseOne Corp.
August 4, 2000... Houston-based ebaseOne Corp. shut its doors July 28, leaving nearly 90 employees Out of work and without their final paychecks. The company's board of directors decided to cease operations of the publicly-traded application service provider...

BMC Software Inc.
August 4, 2000... * A class-action lawsuit filed against BMC Software Inc. last year was dismissed this week in a Houston federal court. A judge in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas dismissed the case that named BMC and certain...

SCI stock price hits new low as death rate keeps declining.
August 4, 2000... The stock of huge funeral services provider Service Corporation International last week deteriorated to $2.50 per share, its lowest close in more than a decade. A Houston retiree laments he has gotten killed on the shares after "the huge...

Fort Bend County emerging hub of corporate HQ activity.
August 4, 2000... Over the past year, activity, in Fort Bend has been booming with a significant number of businesses announcing plans to relocate or build headquarters in the county. Healix Ltd. is planning to relocate its corporate headquarters to Sugar...

Nevada Space.Net.
August 4, 2000... Real estate and technology seem to go hand in hand these days. With a new service being implemented by Las Vegas-based Nevada Space.Net, tenants in the West Loop Park Towers office buildings will have built-in access to wireless Internet...

RPD Katalyst.
August 4, 2000... * RPD Katalyst of Los Angeles has purchased the downtown Binz Office Building, located at 1001 Texas Avenue at Main Street. Also included in the sale was an adjacent eight-level, 457-space parking garage. The purchase price was not...

GSL Constructors Ltd.
August 4, 2000... * GSL Constructors Ltd. has purchased 15 Houston-area industrial buildings totaling more than 300,000 square feet from TCP/Praedium Industrial Portfolio LP. According to Jim Foreman of Cushman & Wakefield of Texas, who negotiated the sale...

Team--building program catches waves on Clear Lake.
August 4, 2000... Some Houston businesses aren't just thinking outside the box when it comes to team building. They're thinking outside the office and onboard a row boat. Using a small fleet of wooden row boats, Clear Lake-based Seagoing Classrooms has...

Word power: Translators give training materials global view.
August 4, 2000... A training manual for an American energy company reads, "If there is an oil spill, who should you call?" As a joke, one of the multiple choice answers is "Gilligan." While this is humorous in the United States, the joke wouldn't make sense...

Performance improvement training views 'big picture'.
August 4, 2000... Remember the game called "telephone" from childhood: One person tells another something and it gets passed around the circle. The end result is always a far cry from the original statement. That's a good description of corporate training of...

Hybrid learning programs blend diverse training tools.
August 4, 2000... Continuous education is vital to a business's future and an employee's professional development due to the rapid changes in technology and an increasingly competitive global marketplace. But not everyone learns in the same way. Some people...

Bottom line figures quantify safety training initiatives.
August 4, 2000... Webster defines "safe" as "freed from harm or risk; secure from threat of danger, harm, or loss." Webster also defines "safe" as, "successful in reaching base in baseball without being put out." A training manager may wonder which definition...

Society of Petroleum Engineers offers courses, new Web site.(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... The Society of Petroleum Engineers -- Gulf Coast Section (www.spegcs.org) is offering a variety of new programs to help Houston-area petroleum engineers rise through the corporate ranks. With more than 10,000 members, SPE-GCS is the largest...

School districts use software developed in Houston.
August 4, 2000... More than 130 school districts in Texas are now using software suites developed by Cimarron in 1997 and 1998 to assist administrators with state-mandated planning. Among them is Brazosport Independent School District, 50 miles south of...

Medical professionals assist in educational program.(Health Education Role-development Opportunity program)(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... Medical professionals at 29 Houston-area hospitals and clinics have contributed to the Health Education Role-development Opportunity program sponsored by the Volunteer Center of the Texas Gulf Coast. The HERO program provides young people an...

UH introduces certificate in e-business management.(University of Houston, College of Business Administration)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
August 4, 2000... The UH College of Business Administration is introducing an innovative certificate program in electronic business management. The e-business program is designed to provide participants, who must be enrolled in a UH graduate program or be...

Texas Restaurant Association opens Restaurantville.com.(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... The Texas Restaurant Association has established Restaurantville.com, an educational resource for restaurateurs, food service professionals, educators and other businesses in the food service industry. Those registered at the Web site are...

Women's empowerment event is planned in Galveston.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
August 4, 2000... Several Houston-area companies will be among the sponsors and participants at a women's empowerment conference, International Women's Symposium 2000, set Nov. 3-5 at Moody Gardens Luxury Hotel in Galveston. Speakers will include former...

Stress ear, not eye in making conference calls.(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... Conference calls are a timely and cost-efficient medium for reaching a target audience; however, the dynamics are very different than presenting at an in-person meeting, says Mark Eberhart, managing consultant of Premier Conferencing, Lenexa,...

Sale's professionals gain edge by hiring their own coaches.(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... Some sales professionals looking for ways to give themselves the winning edge are hiring their own sales coaches. These sales professionals know they are only as good as their last sale, and it takes mores than just tenacity and...

Rice Alliance helping turn ideas into start-up ventures.(Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship)(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... Education is joining with business to foster development of innovative ideas for start-up ventures through the Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship (www.alliance.rice.edu). The Alliance, launched in 1999, is already making an...

E-learning vs. face-to-face training: And the winner is.(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... Can e-learning compete with face-to-face training? Picture an all-too-familiar training classroom scenario. An employee walks into a training room and is greeted by a trainer. He sits back, relaxes and appears to listen to the trainer...

Customer Centered Selling: Eight Steps to Success from the World's Best Sales Force.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
August 4, 2000... By Robert L. Jolles The book -- put to use by Xerox Corp.'s sales staff -- provides a step-by-step technique that teaches salespeople to reverse the conventional selling process. Author Robert Jolles urges his clients to tailor their sales...

Humanizing high technology.(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... Synhrgy takes holistic approach with customized products designed to increase efficiency in human resources Synhrgy HR Technologies Inc. is taking a technological approach to human resources with a name change and a new direction. The...

Your marketing conscience: A top 10 test of right, wrong.(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... It's time again for our quarterly business ethics brush-up. Time to do a little soul searching and kneeling at the business confessional. As always we're not concerned with the easy business choices e.g., envy, greed, sloth, coveting thy...

Rainforest Cafe: Equatorial energy eclipses uneven food.
August 4, 2000... Everybody seems to want to create a theme restaurant these days. I can see why, when the Rainforest Cafes are so successful. From its headquarters in a town in Minnesota, the fast-growing chain has branches all over America as well as in...

Third Ward: Silk-stocking seat of county government.(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... (Third in a six-part series) When Houston's wards were created in 1840, the area east of Main Street and south of Congress Avenue was designated as the Third Ward. Since the area contained Courthouse Square within its boundaries (as seen...

Old immigration laws outdated in new millennium.(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... Immigration laws are in drastic need of an overhaul, for the sake of Texas and the entire nation. As an item from our Washington bureau in this week's City Beat section points out, the 115,000 visas made available under the H-lB program...

The trials of building a better mousetrap.(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... August is Inventors Month, that time of the year when we all pay tribute to the tinkerers who came up with all of the gadgets and gizmos that make modem life so convenient. More than six million patents have been granted in the past two...

Immigrants face barriers to higher education.(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... It has been said that the challenge of a prosperous society is to care for the needy and never remove the hope of the poor. This is how we, as a state and a nation, more prosperous than ever in history, shall be judged. I was reminded of...

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.
August 4, 2000... Only ozone The July 27 Profile on George Mitchell ("Unfinished business") contains an inconspicuous, but serious, error. It states that Houston the most polluted metropolitan area in the United States. This is not true. The...

Equity offering.
August 4, 2000... Independent oil and gas operation Apache Corp. of Houston says its recent equity offering raised net proceeds of $433.9 million to fund acquisitions during 2000. The company issued a total of 9.2 million shares of common stock at a price of $49...

Non-stop growth.(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... Continental Express, the regional airline subsidiary of Houston-based Continental Airlines, has begun daily non-stop service from its hub at Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport to Hermosillo, capital of the northwestern Mexico state...

Going, going.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
August 4, 2000... Houston-based NetworkOil Inc., an Internet marketplace for petroleum equipment and services, has acquired San Antonio-based Premier Auctioneers International Inc., an oilfield auctioneer. Premier has more than a 65 percent share of the North...

Keep on rigging.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
August 4, 2000... Transocean Sedco Forex Inc. says BP Amoco Plc has extended its contract for the semisubmersible drilling rig Transocean Leader for one year. Transocean says the extension, expected to begin in March 2001, will generate revenues of about $45.6...

Operational divide.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
August 4, 2000... Houstonbased Reliant Energy plans to separate its operations into two publicly-traded companies, dividing its regulated and unregulated businesses. The plan, which will be filed with the Texas Public Utility Commission, is an attempt to satisfy...

Fire up.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
August 4, 2000... Dynegy Inc. of Houston has started full-scale operations at the Rockingham Power Plant, a simple-cycle generating facility in Rockingham County, N.C. The 800-megawatt power plant is the largest facility developed by Dynegy under its planned...

High-energy deal.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
August 4, 2000... The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has given Houston-based El Paso Energy and Coastal Corp. the green light for their $17.6 billion merger, which will create one of the country's largest producers of natural gas. The deal is expected to...

Energy management.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
August 4, 2000... Enron Energy Services, a subsidiary of Houston-based Enron Corp. has entered into an 11-year electricity and natural gas commodity management agreement with Rich Products Corp. The agreement, valued at more than $130 million, covers Rich's 18...

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE.
August 4, 2000... ACCOUNTING Jefferson Wells International Inc. has promoted Karl Schulte to director of financial services and has added Kevin Celestine as business development manager and Cheryl Robinson, Stacy Chez, Allan Levine, Michael Sanders, Kevin...

The Texas Alternative Fuels Council.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
August 4, 2000... The Texas Alternative Fuels Council has awarded the Houston Advanced Research Center a $200,000 grant to manage a demonstration project at the Port of Houston intended to test electrochemical fuel cell technology on marina vessels. The project...

Turner & Bair Architects LLP.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
August 4, 2000... Turner & Bair Architects LLP of Houston has announced the firm's selection as the architect for the new 30,000-square-foot Westbridge Shopping Center, located at the corner of Beltway 8 and West Road. The owner of the center is WPW Management...

Mesa Southwest Construction.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
August 4, 2000... Mesa Southwest Construction has been awarded a contract by Action Box Inc. to be the general contractor of a new 178,000-square-foot office building and manufacturing warehouse. Construction is scheduled to be completed in March 2001 and Milton...

Pegasus International Inc.(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... Houston based Pegasus International Inc., a multidiscipline engineering frim, has been awarded a contract from Florida Gas Transmission Co. for the survey, mapping and design engineering responsibilities for 110 miles of the FGT Phase V...

Burlington Resources Inc.(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... Burlington Resources Inc. has declared a quarterly dividend of 3.75 cents per share on its common stock payable on Oct. 2 to stockholders of record on Sept. 8.

EOTT Energy Partners L.P.(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... EOTT Energy Partners L.P. has declared a distribution of 47.5 cents per common unit for the second quarter of 2000, payable on Aug. 14 to unitholders of record on July 31.

Package, mailing services make on-time deliveries 'lick'-ety split.(Brief Article)
August 4, 2000... When sending physical documents from my office, my delivery choices have always been simple and straight-forward: I could run the mail through my postage meter, or, if time was precious, call a courier for speedy, on-time delivery. We...

LARGEST AREA COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES.
August 4, 2000... [TABLE HAS BEEN CLIPPED]

Earnings.
August 4, 2000... [TABLE HAS BEEN CLIPPED]

Liquefied natural gas gets solid second look.(Statistical Data Included)
August 11, 2000... Local energy firms aim to benefit from upswing After two decades of near-dormancy, interest in liquefied natural gas is gaining steam -- and several Houston-based energy companies are in the thick of it. Now that a onetime U.S....

Making moves at Wal-Mart.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
August 11, 2000... Agreement may shift site of proposed I-10 superstore A recent land acquisition near the intersection of Interstate 10 and Wirt Road has a national retail giant, a group of area residents and a local church in heated negotiations over...

Doctors' group warns creditors of cash shortfall.(North American Medical Management)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
August 11, 2000... Houston-based North American Medical Management, once one of the largest and most successful doctors' groups in the city, spent this week preparing its creditors for the worst. NAMM, owned by Nashville, Tenn.-based PhyCor Inc., is telling...

Zonagen slashes staff over delays.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
August 11, 2000... Woodlands drug maker may seek out acquirer After years of ups and downs, The Woodlands-based infertility drug company Zonagen Inc. is facing more trouble. The biotechnology company announced late last month it would immediately lay off...

Bid to sell landmark sax hits sour note.(Billy Blues Bar & Grill's 63-foot saxophone sculpture)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
August 11, 2000... One local business may be singing the blues after an attempt to auction off a Houston landmark on eBay, failed to find any takers. Billy Blues Bar & Grill was trying to sell the 63-foot saxophone sculpture that towers outside of the...

Take her out to the ball game.(baseball, the favorite professional sport of women)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
August 11, 2000... Houston was one of six cities that pitched in on a recent Major League Baseball study showing that baseball is the favorite professional sport of women. The study is part of "The Commissioner's Initiative on Women and Baseball," the...

Now pitching for Enron, the Polaroid PopShot.(Enron Energy Services Inc.;)(Polaroid Corp.)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
August 11, 2000... From the towering signs the building to the cheering fans in the stands, Enron Corp. went all out in its attempt to throw a picture-perfect event at the ballpark Aug. 8 when the Houston Astros took on the New York Mets. As part of one of...

News from the food and drink front.(fire at the Sierra Grill)(Brief Article)
August 11, 2000... Sierra Grill has always been a hot ticket, but last week the restaurant was on fire -- literally. As the result of an early-morning Aug. 4 blaze, the chic eatery at 4704 Montrose, will be closed for business indefinitely, according to...

Cafe Red Onion.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
August 11, 2000... After three years in business, restaurateur Rafael Galindo is expanding his Cafe Red Onion -- twice. Galindo is preparing to open the second location of Cafe Red Onion later this month in 4,000 square feet at 3910 Kirby near Highway 59....

Chain-O-Lakes Resort and Conference Center.(Hilltop Herb Farm Restaurant;)(Jim Condra)(Brief Article)
August 11, 2000... After stints at restaurants in France and New Orleans, it may seem surprising that chef Jim Condra would accept a position at a restaurant in the small Texas town of Cleveland. But Condra has made just such a move in taking on a new...

Conroe High School.(former high school friends open Farrago restaurant)(Brief Article)
August 11, 2000... Two high school friends have come together to open an eclectic Midtown restaurant catering to the hip Inner-Loop crowd. Former Solero restaurant partner Chuck Russell, who sold his stake in Solero last July, has partnered with high school...

Former BusyBody exec takes the Stage as new president of struggling chain.(Jim Scarborough named CEO of Stage Stores)(Brief Article)
August 11, 2000... Former fitness company executive Jim Scarborough has been given the task of whipping the ailing Stage Stores Inc. back into shape. Scarborough has been hired to serve as the new president and CEO of Stage following a search that began last...

Power player finds niche in small turbines.(Kinder Morgan Power Co.'s gas-turbine system)(Brief Article)
August 11, 2000... Kinder Morgan Power Co., a subsidiary of Houston-based Kinder Morgan, is carving out a niche in the hotly competitive independent power producer arena. Acquired from KN Energy in 1998, Kinder Morgan Power had built three gas-fired electric...