Houston Business Journal articles from December 1996

Houston Business Journal archives from December 1996

City in legal showdown with apartment owner; lawsuit challenges controversial CURB ordinance. (Houston's Community Urban Rehabilitation and Building Minimum Standards ordinance)
December 6, 1996... A simmering dispute between the City of Houston and a Spring Branch apartment owner over building renovation permits may soon become the first constitutional challenge of the city's CURB ordinance. Dr. Jack Yetiv, owner of three Spring Branch...

DOE grad forms new energy firm. (Bill White of Frontera Resources Inc.)
December 6, 1996... After serving a two-year stint as Deputy U.S. Secretary of Energy, Houstonian Bill White has "privatized" himself and formed a new energy development company, Frontera Resources Inc. White just finished assembling a management team whose roster...

Waste rivals compete in new market. (Group Maintenance America Corp.)
December 6, 1996... Some former competitors in the Houston waste market are now going head to head with plans to consolidate the air-conditioning, heating and plumbing industry. After the successful public offering of Houston-based American Residential Services...

Equestrian estates: veteran developer horses around with new kind of large-lot concept. (Don McGregor, developer of Simonton Farms)
December 6, 1996... Longtime Houston developer Don McGregor and a Beaumont investor have purchased 223 acres in Fort Bend County for an equestrian-oriented subdivision that will offer sprawling lots of five acres and up. McGregor and Ted Moor, chairman of Ranchers...

Small firm advances as major oil company cuts back in Russia. (energy equipment supplier Dexim USA; Amoco Corp.)
December 6, 1996... A small Houston-based energy equipment supplier is picking up speed in Russia as a major oil company prepares to scale down operations in the former Soviet Union. Last month, Dexim USA formed a new Russian-based company with one of the big...

Toyota dealers expand, relocate to meet competition.
December 6, 1996... The city's Toyota automobile dealerships are gearing up to spend a combined $15 million on expansions and relocations in an attempt to drive away a new type of competition in the coming year. The emergence of used-car superstores into the...

Breaking with the past: Scott MacDonald of CenterAmerica Property Trust is focusing on the future as he reinvents the former retail empire of Jerry J. Moore.
December 6, 1996... Scott MacDonald wants people to focus on the new company he's creating, not the old company that created him. But the recently appointed president of CenterAmerica Property Trust still tends to get retrospective as he settles in as head of the...

Car dealer groups revving up to make a run at Wall Street.
December 6, 1996... Automobile retailing looks like the latest industry to finance a consolidation wave with Wall Street capital. Initial public offerings have recently been completed by a pair of car dealership chains, and industry insiders say at least two local...

'Carter's Folly' paved the way for Houston's modern skyline. (historic building)
December 6, 1996... Houstonians were amazed when Samuel Fain Carter erected a 16-story building on Main Street in 1911 (shown below). They were also apprehensive about the safety of such a structure. Never had a building this tall been attempted in the city. During...

150 years of law: oldest law firm in Texas is still making history. (Mills, Shirley, Eckel and Bassett LLP)(Focus on Law)
December 6, 1996... The oldest continuously practicing law firm in Texas - Galveston-based Mills, Shirley, Eckel & Bassett LLP - has 'weathered both dramatic gales and balmy days on the island. And, through 150 years of changes in both principals and the practice of...

Litigation insurance helps protect patents. (Legal Risk Management Inc.)(Focus on Law)
December 6, 1996... A local company is providing insurance to help David take on Goliath in the courtroom. Legal Risk Management Inc. has designed an insurance program, backed by Lloyd's of London, that will provide small businesses up to $1 million to sue...

South Texas law school prepares for high-tech era. (South Texas College of Law)(Focus on Law)
December 6, 1996... A new $12.5 million library planned at South Texas College of Law is expected to be among the top law libraries in the country in terms of technology. "Only two or three other law schools will be as technologically well-equipped," predicts Tom...

Outsourcing firms ready to take a load off overworked attorneys.(Focus on Law)
December 6, 1996... Many Houston law firms find it profitable to hand over their administrative work to a trustworthy outsourcing service rather than hire someone full-time or struggle with it themselves. But for many attorneys, who have been trained to value...

Greetings for inspiration: specialty cards based on 'great prayers of great people.' (Claudia Enterprises Inc.)(Growth Strategies)
December 6, 1996... Henry New is learning that starting over is hard to do. New sold his multimillion-dollar dental HMO business - DentiCare Inc. - last year but scoffed at the idea of retirement. Instead, he opted to start a whole new business from scratch....

Mayor scoring Kingwood coup. (Houston Mayor Bob Lanier)(Editorial)
December 6, 1996... As a skilled negotiator, Mayor Bob Lanier has few peers. Consider the proposed Kingwood annexation. When that raging inferno finally simmers down, it seems likely that Lanier will have won almost 100 percent of his objectives without any of...

Tattoo trend turns out to be skin game.
December 6, 1996... Years ago, while serving in the U.S. Army, I wound up in a tattoo parlor on Okinawa with a gang of fellow GIs after a night of revelry. Several of the guys decided to adorn their anatomy, and encouraged the rest of us to join in the fun....

The pros and cons of tax abatement agreements.
December 6, 1996... Economic dislocations and changing technology have left many communities in Texas and across the country with unemployed or underemployed workers. In the face of these structural changes in the economy, the public expects local officials to...

Women-owned businesses in line for financial advice.(Small Business Monthly)
December 6, 1996... We've seen a lot of change in the workplace place in the past 50 years. In 1950, most women worked in the home. Men went to jobs they held for 10, 20, 30 years or more. The 1980s brought downsizing and economic upheaval. Many workers, both...

New strategies help businesses adapt to Knowledge Era.(Small Business Monthly)
December 6, 1996... In today's world, knowledge is king. We are moving towards an economy where products and services will be composed of more intellect and less labor, material and capital. In order to remain competitive, businesses will have to create...

Holiday opulence: creative fantasies of Russell Gautreaux and Terry Bartley help both home owners and businesses share the spirit of the season.(Small Business Monthly)
December 6, 1996... Step into the tiny retail space in the Chelsea Street Market that houses Russell Gautreaux and Terry Bartley's interior design shop. The senses are sent reeling by a kaleidoscope of details: * The hand-painted tortoise shell floor. *...

Candles glowing, demand growing all year 'round.(Small Business Monthly)
December 6, 1996... Candies aren't just for holidays anymore. These glowing wax figures are not only firing up the holiday season but also giving year-round warmth, and not just from the wick, say local candle shop owners. Estimated candle sales for 1996 are...

Developer seeks tax zone on Memorial. (Security Capital Pacific Trust; Memorial Drive Houston, Texas)
December 13, 1996... $100 million project proposed at former site of American Rice silos A national real estate investment trust has filed a plan to develop a $100 million mixed-use project on the Memorial Drive site formerly occupied by the American Rice silos....

AT&T breaking barrier to local phone competition.
December 13, 1996... By next summer, businesses and consumers anywhere in Houston and throughout Texas will be able to choose the company that makes their telephones ring. After 100 years of monopoly by Southwestern Bell, local telephone service will be open to...

Calaway brothers to offer shares of Edge Petroleum. (Edge Petroleum owners John and James Calaway)
December 13, 1996... Houston oilman John Calaway and his twin brother James are planning to go public with their oil and gas exploration company. Edge Petroleum Corp. filed Dec. 4 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission outlining plans for an initial...

Longtime rug dealer throws in the towel. (Parvizian Oriental Rugs)
December 13, 1996... The owner of Parvizian Oriental Rugs of Houston is shutting his doors after 17 years in business. Ghassem "Gus" Parvizian, who has 30 years of experience in selling rugs, says he is retiring at age 50 because he wants to spend more time with...

Armani, other fashion names open new stores in Galleria. (Giorgio Armani Fashion Corp.; Houston, Texas shopping mall)
December 13, 1996... European designer Giorgio Armani will take over the retail space left vacant last year by a Houston institution, Leopold Price & Rolle. Meanwhile, after a year-long absence, Leopold Price and Rolle has made a quiet comeback in another part of...

Developer unveils $40 million 'town center' plan in Kingwood. (Field Properties; Texas)
December 13, 1996... The last remaining large tract of land in Friendswood Development Co.'s commercial portfolio has been purchased by a Houston developer who plans to convert it into a multi-use complex worth at least $40 million. Houston-based Field Properties...

Commercial realty firms merge to make Houston's 2nd largest. (Lewis Partners Inc.; Marnitz, Farris and Co.; Texas)
December 13, 1996... Lewis Partners and Marnitz, Farris combine to form 22-broker company Two local commercial real estate companies are merging their operations in a move that will form the city's second-largest independent firm. Lewis Partners Inc. and...

Former 'merchant prince' building non-retail businesses. (Hazak Pres. and CEO Robert Sakowitz)(Company Profile)
December 13, 1996... Robert Sakowitz has lost a lot of things in his life. His fashionable clothing chain ran out of money under his leadership. His family fortune has shriveled. And the once free-spending word traveler and arbiter of Houston fashion is living a...

Early German settlers forged city's business and social clime. (Houston, Texas)
December 13, 1996... A Frenchman who passed through Houston in the 1840s commented that "Houston is a wretched little town composed of about 20 shops, a hundred huts, dispersed here and there, among trunks of fallen trees." This visitor probably did not tarry long....

Performing arts executives keeping books balanced. (Houston, Texas)(Focus on the Arts & Recreation)
December 13, 1996... The management of nonprofit performing arts organizations has never been more challenging - or more highly professional - than it is today, say the administrators of Houston's major performing arts institutions. Like Houston's for-profit...

Ouisie's table. (Houston, Texas restaurant)
December 13, 1996... Startup no easier the second time around Elouise Cooper thought replicating her first restaurant would be a piece of cake. But 15 years of experience didn't prepare her for the challenges she faced when she reprised Ouisie's Table last year....

Women-owned businesses represent huge new market.
December 13, 1996... By the year 2000, 40 percent of all U.S. businesses will be owned or operated by women, according to a market analysis put together by IBM Corp: Other interesting information gathered by Big Blue includes these facts: * 1,400 women-owned...

http://www.buzzwordsof1996column.com. (business jargon)
December 13, 1996... As the year draws to a close, it's prime time to review some of the buzzwords that have joined the everyday jargon. Like previous years, 1996 yielded a bumper crop of obfuscating euphemisms, hybrid expressions and future cliches. As usual,...

City financially sound, controller tells critics. (Houston, Texas controller Lloyd Kelley)
December 13, 1996... As the newly elected controller, I have just produced my first annual financial report for the city. The entire report is on the Internet (www.houstoncontroller.com) to allow the public access to information discussed in this article. Based on my...

Mitchell Energy & Development Corp. (Proxy Report Excerpts)(Company Profile)
December 13, 1996... NYSE, Pacific MND 2001 TIMBERLOCH PLACE, THE WOODLANDS 77387-4000 (713) 377-5500 Mitchell Energy & Development Corp. is one of the nation's largest independent oil and gas companies. Total shares of common stock outstanding as of May 8,...

Houston office building drought over: four new office towers going up in Memorial, Sugar Land.
December 20, 1996... Four new skyscrapers will soon come off the drawing boards around Houston, bringing up to 1.3 million square feet of new space to an office market that has not seen significant construction since the early 1980s. Houston-based MetroNational...

Hospital chief 'just taking care of the kids.' (Texas Children's Hospital Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer Mark Wallace)(includes related article on Wallace's personal data)
December 20, 1996... The people who benefit the most from Mark Wallace's work don't care that he's a high-powered business executive. To them, he's just a nice man who talks to them in the hall and wears funny ties with golf clubs or horses on them. But it's the...

Lighting up: manufacturer's fast-paced growth fueled by existing customers. (Light Process Co.'s electric lamps)(Growth Strategies)
December 20, 1996... Some of the high points of John Howell's 11 years as a small-business owner involve banks. And so do some of the low points. When Howell started Light Process Co. with his father, Ron, in late 1985, little did he know that his financial...

Kirby Corp. (proxy report excerpts) (Company Profile)
December 20, 1996... AMEX KEX 1775 ST. JAMES PLACE, SUITE 300, HOUSTON 77056-3453 (713) 629-9370 Kirby Corp. is a domestic marine transportation company and the leading U.S. transporter of bulk liquid products. Total shares of common stock outstanding as of...

CARMan 97 ready for test. (CARMan 97 dealership management computer system)
December 27, 1996... New Windows-based auto dealer management system to take on the mainframe giants Dealer Solutions LLC is gearing up to take on Houston-based Universal Computer Systems and the other giants in the business of auto dealership computer systems....

Oil companies increase capital budgets for 1997.
December 27, 1996... Robert Dye loves to answer phone these days. As director of investor relations at Apache Corp., an independent exploration and production company, he doesn't hesitate to return calls to tell Apache's story. Production is up. Cash flow is up....

Texas needs water plan to ensure its economic future.
December 27, 1996... We in Texas have much to give thanks for in this holiday season. A special blessing came this year in the form of August rain, breaking the severe drought we experienced in the summer. But those rains do not mean that Texas can continue to...

Custom home appraisals create long-lasting niche. (Yates-Lagrasta Inc.)(Growth Strategies)(Company Profile)
December 27, 1996... James A. Yates has been on time for nearly 30 years, and now he's teaching his daughter and son-in-law the value of the clock. As the founder of 29-year-old Yates-Lagrasta Inc., a full-service property appraisal firm, Yates prides himself on...

Gas/electric alliances, oil exploration to take central stage in 1997.(Focus On: Houston Economic Development)
December 27, 1996... The Texas energy Scene in 1997 will focus initially on the battle shaping up between the electric utility industry and natural gas providers. The drama will be played out in the Texas Legislature, where Houston Industries Inc. and Enron will go...

More changes are ahead in fast-evolving, competitive industry.(Focus On: Houston Economic Development)
December 27, 1996... Names and players in Houston's health care industry changed at such a dizzying clip in 1996 that even health care insiders had trouble keeping up. And there are no signs that trend will slow down in 1997, analysts agree. "The potential is even...

New construction, higher occupancy in cards for '97. (commercial real estate in Houston, TX)(Focus On: Houston Economic Development)
December 27, 1996... Houston's active job market will continue to positively impact the commercial real estate market next year, with industry analysts predicting extensive construction of new multifamily dwellings and increased occupancy in existing office,...

Enron Oil & Gas Co. (Proxy Report Excerpts)(Company Profile)
December 27, 1996... NYSE EOG 1400 SMITH STREET, HOUSTON 77002-7369 (713) 853-6161 Enron Oil & Gas Co. is one of the largest independent oil and gas companies in the United States. Total shares of common stock outstanding as of March 11, 1996 159,976,840...