Houston Business Journal articles from December 2000

Houston Business Journal archives from December 2000

Tech firm brings HQ back to city.(Iconixx acquires Enterprise Works)(Brief Article)
December 29, 2000... Enterprise Works returns as Iconixx, withdraws plan for public offering A fast-growing Houston company whose headquarters moved to Vienna, Va. when it was acquired this year is now moving its home office back to the Bayou City. ...

New year rings in new look for cosmetic crowd.(use of cosmetic surgery increases)(Brief Article)
December 29, 2000... When people return to work after the holidays' some folks around the office will be sporting new looks. They may even be hard to recognize because they've used their vacation time to undergo cosmetic surgery. Houston plastic surgeons...

Elements of risk.(new rule for reporting derivatives)(Brief Article)
December 29, 2000... New accounting rule big change for business A new accounting rule that will take effect Jan. 1 could have a far-reaching impact on the way American companies report their financial status, as well as on the way they operate their...

Texans sweeter on suites.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
December 29, 2000... Football team adds extra luxury boxes as demand increases The Houston Texans are planning to add 66 additional luxury suites in order to profit from an expected increased demand after the team's $400 million stadium opens in 2002. ...

Companies step up search for skilled risk managers.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
December 29, 2000... Ground zero for companies in the year 2001 will be risk management. And that doesn't mean making sure the company's business insurance is paid up. Risk management is a brand new corporate role that has developed in the last few years,...

Local player places bet on Russian lottery.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
December 29, 2000... A travel and gaming company with offices in Houston and Vancouver is hoping Lady Luck will smile on the firm's plans to acquire the official online lottery operation of the Russian Federation. LASV Enterprises Inc. (OTCBB: LSVE) has...

Romance writers gather for literary lovefest.(Brief Article)
December 29, 2000... There are book lovers. And there are lover books. Now the two will rendezvous. Romance Writers of America, an association founded and based in Houston, will host the sixth annual BookLovers for Literacy benefit in February. Just...

Energy sector gets new supercomputer.(Houston's Spectrum Energy and Information Technology)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
December 29, 2000... Houston's Spectrum Energy and Information Technology has built the 17th largest supercomputer in the word, according to www.Top500.org, an industry standard for supercomputer ratings. Spectrum, which has main offices in London and...

Local salons set up cyber-shop in e-style.(Brief Article)
December 29, 2000... Three local salons are going online in style. Gina Valentine's, Planet Sun Day Spa and The Place To Be Hair Studio have adopted Chicago-based Salon123's Web-based salon management tools. The trio includes the first salons in the...

News from the food and drink front.(Brief Article)
December 29, 2000... Alan Mallatt, operating partner of Cafe Noche, is saying good night to his popular Montrose eatery.. The 9-year-old Mexican restaurant at 2409 Montrose Blvd., well known for its potent margaritas, outdoor patio and unconventional Mexican...

Frederic Perrier.(Brief Article)
December 29, 2000... French transplant Frederic Perrier has opened a new nightclub behind his Highland Village bistro Cafe Perrier on Mid Lane near Westheimer. Frederic's provides a cozy setting for 100 patrons in a plush space designed by Perrier himself....

US Oncology puts PET to work in three cancer treatment centers.(positron emission tomography)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
December 29, 2000... Company will build six more units within six months US Oncology has opened three facilities in existing service centers this month that will give physicians greater ability to detect the presence and spread of cancer. The...

Seven Seas secures bank funding, signs Colombian pipeline contract.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
December 29, 2000... Energy firm will proceed without participation of national partner Seven Seas Petroleum, a Houston-based independent oil and gas exploration and production company, has secured a $10 million bank loan and signed a contract with a...

If at first you succeed in Dallas, try a second project in Houston.(RCA Holdings Ltd.)(Brief Article)
December 29, 2000... Houston-based RCA Holdings Ltd., hoping to build on the success of its first multifamily development in a Dallas suburb, is planning a first-quarter 2001 ground breaking on Royal Luxor Court, a 704-unit apartment complex in west Houston. ...

Dallas firms make double buy after tech company splits in two.(Telman Software and Telman Technology Partners Inc.)(UniFocus L.P.)(TIY Operations Group Inc.)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
December 29, 2000... A Houston-based technology management and software company specializing in the hospitality industry has been split in two and sold to two separate Dallas-based companies for an undisclosed amount. Telman Software, founded four years ago,...

Shason Microwave Corp.(Tadiran Microwave Network's)(Mimix Broadband)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
December 29, 2000... Houston-based Shason Microwave Corp. has changed its name, adopted a new business strategy and acquired an Australian company that has expertise in its newly chosen niche. The 12-year-old company announced two weeks ago that it changed...

BMC Software Inc.(Brief Article)
December 29, 2000... BMC Software Inc. has shifted all of its Internet-based initiatives into a recently formed business unit called eForce. The unit is responsible for BMC's e-business software and services for distributed computer systems. The company's...

Dynegy wins bid to purchase pair of New York power plants.(Dynegy Power Corp.)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
December 29, 2000... Houston-based Dynegy Power Corp. plans to buy two power plants from the New York State Public Service Commission in a $903 million deal. The commission auctioned the properties to maximize rate payer benefits as the state makes the...

Apache Corp.(Phillips Petroleum Co.)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
December 29, 2000... Apache Corp. has agreed to acquire Canadian oil and gas properties with proved reserves of about 71.6 million barrels of oil equivalent from Canadian affiliates of Phillips Petroleum Co. The purchase price of $490 million includes both...

Core Laboratories.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
December 29, 2000... Core Laboratories of Houston, a provider of reservoir management services, has acquired all outstanding shares of Houston-based Core Petrophysics Inc., a technology company specializing in deepwater reservoirs. Both companies'...

INTEC.(International Underwriters Inc.)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
December 29, 2000... Houston-based INTEC, an engineering and project management company serving the international oil and gas industry, has been acquired by the Heerema Group of Geneva, Switzerland. INTEC designs and builds marine pipelines and terminals,...

High demand inspires Atlanta builder to add apartment units.(Gables Residential L.P.)(Brief Article)
December 29, 2000... While the need for in-fill apartment units continues to soar to tremendously high levels, an Atlanta-based developer is working to equalize market supply and demand. Gables Residential, a multifamily developer with more than 20 projects...

YMCA.(Katy, Texas)(Brief Article)
December 29, 2000... Ground breaking on a new YMCA in Katy has gotten under, way following completion of the first phase of a $15 million capital expansion campaign. Dubbed the Ken Lay YMCA, the new facility has been named in honor of Enron Corp.'s outgoing...

Allied Mortgage Capital Corp.(closes reverse mortgage loan)(Brief Article)
December 29, 2000... A branch of Houston-based Allied Mortgage Capital Corp. has closed one of the first reverse mortgage loans in Texas, nine months after the practice was approved by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. "We expect to close over...

Video players unite for pro bono documentary on abused children.(New Horizons Inc.)(Brief Article)
December 29, 2000... Video producer Michael Adrian has been working with actor Barry Corbin and a pro bono team on a new documentary project. Adrian and his team are putting together a 30-minute documentary about New Horizons Inc., a nonprofit residential...

Shop talk.(Maggi Jones Public Relations gets St. Regis Hotel contract)(Brief Article)
December 29, 2000... The St. Regis Hotel, Houston has chosen Maggi Jones Public Relations to provide public relations and marketing, for the luxury hotel and its recently remodeled dining facilities -- Remington Grill and Astor Court. Although there will be...

Panic won't help.(Brief Article)
December 29, 2000... Apply brakes cautiously. But don't hit them hard just yet. The drums are beating. Dot-coms become dot-bombs. Venture capitalists stop venturing into risky business. Recruiting woes turn into layoffs. Expansion plans...

Two parting shots.(Clinton administration vetoes bankruptcy reform and adds regulations)(Brief Article)
December 29, 2000... The Clinton Administration rang out the old year with some sad tidings for the business community. First, President Clinton disappointed the banking and retail credit industries by vetoing legislation that would have overhauled the...

It's therapy time in troubled Toontown.(psychological analysis of popular cartoon characters)(Brief Article)
December 29, 2000... Ah, academia. For every hard-working text-cruncher working on curing cancer, there must be a dozen soft-boiled eggheads writing about the symbolism of the white whale in "Moby Dick" contrasted against the metaphor, of Steve Guttenberg's...

Bush must find ways to work with coalitions.(president-elect George W. Bush)(Brief Article)
December 29, 2000... Our state governor, George W. Bush, is now president-elect by the thinnest of margins. And for the first time in almost a half-century, he joins in a Republican sweep of the Senate (including the vice-president's tie-breaking vote) and the...

Well operations.(Harken Energy Corp.'s new Olivo No. 2 well)(Brief Article)
December 29, 2000... Harken Energy Corp. has begun drilling a new well, the Olivo No. 2, on its 250,000-acre Bolivar Association Contract block. The well has been designed to test the fracture pattern concentrations detected by the company's newly acquired...

Division up for sale.(Industrial Holdings Inc.'s Engineered Group for sale)(Brief Article)
December 29, 2000... Industrial Holdings Inc. plans to sell its Engineered Group. The division manufactures cold-formed fasteners and specialty metal components for sale primarily to original equipment manufacturers in the home furnishings, automotive and...

Marathon deal.(Marathon Oil to acquire Pennaco Energy)(Brief Article)
December 29, 2000... Marathon Oil Co. has agreed to acquire Denver, Colo.-based Pennaco Energy Inc. for $500 million, including net debt of $54 million. The deal calls for Marathon to pay cash for Pennaco outstanding common shares at $19 a share. Marathon expects...

Natural gas assets.(El Paso Field Services Co.)(PG and E Gas Transmission-Texas)(PG and E Gas Transmission Teco Inc.)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
December 29, 2000... El Paso Field Services Co., a business unit of El Paso Energy Corp., has completed its purchase of the natural gas and natural gas liquids businesses of PG&E Gas Transmission, Texas Corp and PG&E Gas Transmission Teco Inc. for $840 million,...

Elevator services.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
December 29, 2000... Stoneham, Mass.-based Thyssen Dover Elevator, a subsidiary of Thyssen Krupp AG, has acquired Elevator Service Professionals Inc., a Houston-based elevator services company that also operates in Dallas. ESP has, more than 40 employees and has...

Interest payment.(Pioneer Cos. Inc. said its subsidiary, Pioneer Corp. of America, would delay an interest payment that was due 12/29)(Brief Article)
December 29, 2000... Pioneer Cos. Inc. said its subsidiary, Pioneer Corp. of America, would delay an interest payment that was due Dec. 27 until it either received financing, or approval from its debt holders. Pioneer, a Houston-based chemical manufacturer, is...

Market expansion.(BMC Software opens international headquarters in Amsterdam)(Brief Article)
December 29, 2000... BMC Software Inc. opened its newly designed international headquarters in Amsterdam, Which includes a business school offering the very latest training courses for BMC Software's partners, customers and employees in Europe. The new,...

Cash-for-stock.(Brief Article)
December 29, 2000... Southern Mineral Corp. has inked a deal to merge into Tulsa, Okla.-based PetroCorp Inc. The transaction calls for Southern Mineral shareholders to, at their election, receive $4.71 in cash for each share of Southern Mineral stock, PetroCorp...

Insurance settlement.(Brief Article)
December 29, 2000... NL Industries Inc. said an insurance settlement will result in a net gain of $26 million, or 34 cents per diluted share in the fourth quarter. The Houston-based titanium dioxide pigment producer said it had agreed to settle claims with one of...

Settlement houses: Havens of help in early Houston.(Brief Article)
December 29, 2000... The first two decades of the 20th century were years of change in Houston as the city's population grew from 44,000 to 138,000. Many new residents came from foreign countries into a place experiencing rapid industrialization and...

Real estate is prime indicator for Houston's economy.
December 29, 2000... It's been a bumpy ride at the end of 2000. However, some of the drama may be settling down as the country finally has a president. Houston has a football team and oil and gas prices are continuing to rise in anticipation of a bitterly cold...

Mexico, China and the U.S. rev up for more free trade.(Brief Article)
December 29, 2000... In Houston, mention of a free trade agreement is likely to refer to the North America Free Trade Agreement and the affect of NAFTA on the city's economy. NAFTA, however, is but one of several free trade agreements that have become very...

WHAT'S AHEAD FOR 2000?(Statistical Data Included)
December 29, 2000... 'In the long-run, look for more gas from Canada and with 800 rigs now looking for gas at home, more domestic supplies as well.' Senior economist and vice president at the Houston branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. *...

Managing at the Speed of Change: How Resilient Managers Succeed and Prosper Where Others Fail.(Brief Article)
December 29, 2000... "Managing at the Speed of Change" is a guide for midlevel managers through top-level executives who need to implement business decisions on time and within budget. Daryl R. Conner's system focuses on how to change rather than what to change....

Taking off on the revenue runway.(Statistical Data Included)
December 29, 2000... PROS helps airlines fly high by filling seats at the right price At PROS Revenue Management, CEO Bert Winemiller sits in an office cubicle along with everyone else and goes by the slogan "Leave your ego in the parking lot." "Everyone...

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE.(Brief Article)
December 29, 2000... ACCOUNTING Arthur Andersen has appointed David C. Meyer to partner in the tax practice. Burr Wolff announced that Charles "Chuck" Biebighauser has joined as chief operating officer, property tax division. AWARDS & GRANTS ...

Kanaly Trust Co.(Brief Article)
December 29, 2000... Kanaly Trust Co. of Houston, a fee-only financial advisory, investment and trust service firm, has received the 2000 Texas Family Business of the Year Well-Managed Company Award from the Institute of Family Business, Hankamer School of...

Houston Human Resource Management Association.(Brief Article)
December 29, 2000... The Houston Human Resource Management Association has received a 2000 Pinnacle Award, sponsored by the Society for Human Resource Management and Olsten Staffing Services, for excellence in chapter, professional and membership activities.

Parsons Construction Services Inc.(Brief Article)
December 29, 2000... Parsons Construction Services Inc. of Houston has received the Eagle Award for Excellence in Construction by the National Associated Builders and Contractors for their-work on ExxonMobil Chemicals Syngas project. The award was won in the Mega...

Southwest Glass of Houston Inc.(Brief Article)
December 29, 2000... Southwest Glass of Houston Inc. is relocating their North Houston corporate headquarters to The Houston Intercontinental Oil Center, located at Richey and the Hardy Toll Road. The company provides window and store front glass fabrication and...

TOP AREA GUARD SERVICES FIRMS.(Brief Article)
December 29, 2000... [TABLE HAS BEEN CLIPPED]

Lawyer stuffs CAC stocking with $2.65 million gift.(John O'Quinn; Children's Assessment Center)(Brief Article)
December 22, 2000... Prominent Houston trial attorney John O'Quinn, best known for collecting millions in his pursuits of tobacco companies and breast implant manufacturers, has given little back to his hometown this Christmas season. Adorned in a red Santa...

Energy industry regains steam.(Natural gas)(Brief Article)
December 22, 2000... Natural gas prices turn hotter in wake of cold winter weather Natural gas prices have. soared above $9 per thousand cubic feet, a stratospheric level never approached until recently. So at $9 earlier this week, exactly how high is natural...

Oil indicators: Expectations great for 2001.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
December 22, 2000... It didn't take electing a former Texas oilman as president, but Houston's oil industry is once again on the upswing. With oil prices hovering at around $30 a barrel, a number of industry indicators show oil companies - exploration and...

Mexican energy moves raise some hopes for private participation.(Mexican President Vicente Fox makes two new appointments)(Brief Article)
December 22, 2000... Houston energy players are closely watching the new government of Mexican President Vicente Fox and, in particular, his new appointees to the country's top two energy posts - Energy Minister and director of Pemex, the national oil company....

Resale retailers reap returns from recycling.(Tiffany and Walter Turner launch Once Upon a Child store)(Brief Article)
December 22, 2000... Sugar Land entrepreneurs Tiffany and Walter Turner knew they wanted to own their own business, and in search of easy startup and low overhead, the couple first considered opening a fast food franchise. But on a trip to Kentucky, Tiffany...

Astros dig deep to bag the big one.(Houston Astros sign Jeff Bagwell through 2006)(Brief Article)
December 22, 2000... Houston Astros owner Drayton McLane is celebrating the holiday season by reaching deep into his pockets and making sure that slugger Jeff Bagwell will remain with the baseball team until at least 2006. The Astros signed Bagwell to a...

Planting the seeds of true Christmas spirit.(company offers trees as gifts to corporate clients)(Brief Article)
December 22, 2000... Instead of giving the traditional cheese logs and chocolates to clients for the holiday season, Houston-based Kirksey planted 300 trees in lieu of standard gifts to corporate clients this year. This marks the 14th year the firm has...

Howell undergoes a changing of the guard.(Howell Corp. CEO Richard Herbert)(Brief Article)
December 22, 2000... A new CEO is taking the helm at Howell Corp. President Richard Hebert will add CEO duties Jan. 1, Howell said Monday. He succeeds Donald Clayton, who remains chairman of the independent exploration, and production company. Hebert, in...

Firm to appeal delisting decision.(Cheniere Energy delisted by Nasdaq)(Brief Article)
December 22, 2000... Cheniere Energy, a Houston-based independent oil and gas company, has been delisted by the Nasdaq SmaliCap Market. Nasdaq's Listings Qualifications Panel believes Cheniere violated the exchange's shareholder, approval requirement when the...

News from the food and drink front.(Vietopia)(Brief Article)
December 22, 2000... One of Houston's leading upscale Asian cuisine restaurants, Vietopia, is celebrating its one-year anniversary. Restaurateur Nghiem Nguyen opened Vietopia last year in the Plaza in the Park shopping center on Buffalo Speedway at West-park...

Energy investment veteran on the move.(Charles Prioleau joins BMO Nesbitt Burns)(Brief Article)
December 22, 2000... Charles "Charlie" Prioleau, formerly: managing director of PaineWebber's Houston investment banking office and its Integrated. Energy & Power Group, has joined BMO Nesbitt Burns, an energy investment group of. the Bank of Montreal. ...

Wulfe breaks Gulfgate ground for H-E-B. Lowe's anchor sites.(Wulfe and Co. signs two anchor stores)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
December 22, 2000... The Gulfgate Center redevelopment project spearheaded by local development firm Wulfe & Co. is making headway with the groundbreaking of two of the retail center's newest tenants. The San Antonio-based. grocery chain H-E-B and Wilkesboro,...

Labor officials saddle Gerland with fines over young workers.(U.S. Department of Labor fines Gerland Food Fair Inc.)(Brief Article)
December 22, 2000... The U.S. Department of Labor hit 35-year-old Houston supermarket chain Gerland Food Fair Inc. with fines for alleged violations of child labor laws. Houston's Gerland was fined $41,400 by the Labor department for allowing 92 minors...

Ten months after Memorial Sisters acquisition, Humana sheds 47 jobs.(Memorial Sisters of Charity Health Network)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
December 22, 2000... Humana Inc. will lay off 47 Memorial Sisters of Charity Health Network employees by Feb. 3 as part of consolidation efforts nearly a year after its acquisition of the health care network. The work force reductions will affect the finance,...

Atlanta-based Cox acguires six Westward weeklies near Austin.(Cox Newspapers Inc. buys Austin Community Newspapers)(Brief Article)
December 22, 2000... The Woodlands-based Westward Communications Inc. has finalized the sale of a group of its newspapers outside Houston. The Austin Community Newspapers have been acquired by Cox Newspapers Inc. of Atlanta. The acquisition gives Cox...

Shop talk.(Dancie Perugini Ware Public Relations hired for CowParade Houston 2001)(Brief Article)
December 22, 2000... Dancie Perugini Ware Public Relations has added a couple of unique and locally high-profile clients. The shop apparently had all its cows in a row. CowParade Houston 2001, a citywide public art exhibit, has tapped the firm to handle media...

Continuing slump in tech sector drags down Compaq stock price.(Compaq Computer Corp.)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
December 22, 2000... Shares of Compaq Computer Corp. Friday skidded to their lowest point since April of 1997. In a nervous encore Monday, the Houston-based computer maker fell another 5 percent to below $16.50 on heavy volume. Compaq has been chopped in...

Odd lots.(ATP Oil & Gas has priced its initial public offering)(Brief Article)
December 22, 2000... ATP Oil & Gas has priced its initial public offering in a deal that would come up shy of the maximum proceeds listed in the company's original IPO filing. The Houston-based oil and gas production and development company last week priced...

'Green' competitor joins crowd to provide retail electric service.(Green Mountain Energy Co.)(Brief Article)
December 22, 2000... Green Mountain Energy Co., an Austin-based provider of clean and renewable electricity, is the 10th company so far that has filed an application with the Public Utility Commission of Texas to become a retail electric service provider. ...

Energy notes.(Dynegy Inc. site does $1.5 billion)(Brief Article)
December 22, 2000... Dynegy reports that its new online energy trading platform, Dynegydirect, which was launched Nov. 1, has exceeded $1.5 billion in transactions in its first month of operations. And more than $1 billion of those transactions were generated by...

Leasing agent Moody Rambin slates Westchase building redo.(Briar Forest Crossing office building being restored)(Brief Article)
December 22, 2000... Briar Forest Crossing, a 21-year-old, 90,000-square-foot office building in the Westchase District, is getting a $4 million facelift. Construction began last month on a completely new exterior and lobby renovation of the aging west...

Real estate roundup.(Sam's Club has purchased a 17-acre site)(Brief Article)
December 22, 2000... Wal-Mart Stores Inc. subsidiary Sam's Club has purchased a 17-acre site in Sugar Land's First Crossing commercial development for a new members-only warehouse store. The 128,000-square-foot warehouse store joins a Wal-Mart Supercenter in...

Small-business owners cheer as Congress nixes tax law change.(Willard Machine and Welding Inc.)(Brief Article)
December 22, 2000... A year ago, Congress turned George and Margaret Willard's dream of selling their Nova, Ohio-based business and retiring to Florida into a nightmare. The Wiliards had sold their home and bought a new home in Williston, Fla, where they...

DEALS ON HOLD.(Brief Article)
December 22, 2000... The tax law change killed or stalled thousands of business sales around the country over the past year and was "a consideration in every deal," says Dan Woodley, a business broker and commercial leasing agent with A. J. Dwoskin & Associates...

Installment Tax Correction Act.(installment method)(Brief Article)
December 22, 2000... What: Legislation repeals 1999 law that prohibited business owners who use the accrual method of accounting from using the installment method when they sell their businesses. Impact: Restores ability of business sellers who provide...

Contractor 'blacklisting' rule arrives before Bush.(Brief Article)
December 22, 2000... The Clinton administration is playing beat the clock with a new regulation that' empowers federal contracting officers to block contracts to companies which, in their judgment, do not have a "satisfactory" record of compliance with federal...

Workplace injuries drop for seventh year in a row.(Bureau of Labor Statistics)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
December 22, 2000... Job-related injuries and illnesses fell in 1999 for the seventh consecutive year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. There were 5.7 million nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses last year, a 4 percent drop from the previous...

Merger review threshold goes from $15M to $50M.(Brief Article)
December 22, 2000... As part of its final budget deal, Congress reduced the regulatory burdens for small mergers, and acquisitions by increasing the threshold for antitrust reviews from $15 million to $50 million. This means that parties involved in...

Budget gives FTC funds to probe retail 'slotting'.('slotting' fees in the grocery business)(Brief Article)
December 22, 2000... The final budget deal approved by Congress also includes $900,000 for the Federal Trade Commission to complete an investigation of "slotting' fees in the grocery business -- deals supermarkets make with manufacturers and other suppliers to...

Estancia Grill: Latin cuisine sparkles at latest Webb site.(Greggory Webb, Adrian Rodrigues start restaurant)(Brief Article)
December 22, 2000... HBJ Gourmet Gregory Webb majored in economics and international relations in college and began learning his way around a kitchen by working in one to pay for the book-learning. Moving to Houston after stints in New York and New...

'Tis the season for bipartisan spirit.(Brief Article)
December 22, 2000... We have a president! Happy holidays, everyone. No more vote-counters, staring bug-eyed at punch-card ballots. No more judges issuing contradictory decisions. No more "chads," except for the unfortunate males who carry it as a first name. It...

Letter enlightens a Dear Valued Customer.(Reliant Energy Inc.)(Brief Article)
December 22, 2000... Memo (for your eyes only) To: Thomas Standish, president of Reliant Energy Hl&P/Entex. From: A Dear Valued Customer Subject: Rates. Dear Tom, I received your thoughtful letter addressed to "Dear Valued Customer" along...

Metro officials respond with facts on light rail.(Business Community Against Rail)(Brief Article)
December 22, 2000... A Dec. 1 letter ("Rail concerns") written by David Hutzelman, director of a political action committee called Business Community Against Rail (Buscar), listed some concerns about Metro's light rail transit project. Mr. Hutzelman is...