Houston Business Journal articles from July 1997

Houston Business Journal archives from July 1997

Retail complex planned for Baybrook. (Houston, TX)
July 11, 1997... New 170-acre integrated project to focus on 'entertainment' trend On a 170-acre tract of pasture land in Baybrook, developers soon will begin construction on the first part of what they plan to be more than one million square feet of retail,...

NorAm links with Sprint for novel venture. (NorAm Energy Corp; Sprint Corp)
July 11, 1997... NorAm Energy Corp. has launched a unique venture that will expand it's offerings to customers beyond just natural gas and electricity. The local gas company's marketing affiliate has linked up with Kansas-based Sprint Corp. in a deal that will...

Brew U. opens after legal delay. (University Brewing Co)
July 11, 1997... You don't have to be a lawyer to brew your own beer - but sometimes it helps. Ed Lee shelved his consumer and small business law practice to open Houston-based University Brewing Co. and has learned it takes more than a knowledge of hops and...

Employment gusher: temps expanding into oil patch. (growth of temporary employment in the oil and gas industry)
July 11, 1997... Robust rebound creates personnel shortages in oil and gas Temporary employment has expanded beyond the office into the oil patch. Last week, Houston-based Producers Assistance Corp. landed a two-year contract from Conoco Inc. to staff and...

Building a trust. (Kanaly Trust founder Earl Deane Kanaly)
July 11, 1997... Earl Deane Kanaly fashioned a completely new financial entity more than two decades ago. Now he's trying to preserve it. Earl Deane Kanaly knew 25 years ago the direction many in the financial services industry were headed, but he's never...

Making a hard turn. (Gulf States Asphalt CEO Luis Pena)
July 11, 1997... After facing financial woes, asphalt firm is back on course Luis Pena believes most employee concerns can be resolved through communication, even when the employer is in the midst of introducing sweeping change to a company. Pena should...

Houston company is a leader in PC/TV convergence race. (Bits Technical Corp)(Focus On: Business Communications)
July 11, 1997... Few today look upon computers as number crunchers. Still fewer think of them as fancy typewriters. More business professionals have come to rely on them as literate and creative machines that help us process words, create graphics and communicate...

Business communication - in any language. (MasterWord Services' translating and interpretation services)
July 11, 1997... Increasing global business means work for translators and interpreters - both mom-and-pop companies ready to help with communications in the more common languages and larger organizations that can provide multilingual experts in the most exotic...

Kaiser Aluminum Corp. (Proxy Report Excerpts)(Company Profile)
July 11, 1997... NYSE KLU 5847 San Felipe, Suite 2600, Houston 77257-2887 (713) 267-3777 Kaiser Aluminum Corp. is one of the world's leading producers and marketers of alumina and aluminum. Total shares of common stock outstanding as of March 25, 1997...

Big Board firm moving to Houston; Wilkinson tapped to revive floundering conglomerate. (Tyler Corp.; Bruce W. Wilkinson)
July 18, 1997... Wilkinson tapped to revive foundering conglomerate A troubled Dallas industrial conglomerate that once ranked among the country's Fortune 500 will move its corporate headquarters to Houston this fall with local executive Brace W. Wilkinson in...

Once great Tyler now troubled by declining sales. (Tyler Corp.)(Big Board Firm Moving to Houston)
July 18, 1997... Ten years ago, Tyler Corp. figured among the top Dallas-based companies with sales topping $1.1 billion. The huge conglomerate owned a range of industrial businesses from explosives, to electronics distribution, coatings, a pipe foundry and...

McLawyers: top partner departs Baker & Botts for 'franchise' law firm. (John P. Cogan; Baker and McKenzie)
July 18, 1997... A few months ago, John P. Cogan figured life as a lawyer couldn't get much better. Cogan made senior partner at the prestigious Houston law firm Baker & Botts two years ago. Highly respected in the international law arena, Cogan had been with...

Nasdaq drops Positron. (Nasdaq Stock Exchange; Positron Corp.)
July 18, 1997... Delisting follows CEO's departure A few months after the resignation of Positron Corp.'s president and chief executive, the Nasdaq Stock Market has delisted the Houston-based health care technology company because its stock no longer complies...

Maintenance industry consolidator makes purchase with IPO in mind. (Century Maintenance Supply Inc.'s acquisition of Nationwide Supply Inc.; initial public offering)
July 18, 1997... Century Maintenance Supply Inc. has made an acquisition that company officials say makes it the largest distributor of maintenance supplies to apartments in the country. The announcement comes two weeks after Century completed a company-wide...

Expect the unexpected: finally, new office construction. (Houston, TX)(The 1997 Commercial Real Estate Market Guide)(Panel Discussion)
July 18, 1997... Investors throughout the country are taking notice of Houston's increasingly strong office market. For the first time in years, there's even talk about potential for new construction in the commercial real estate segment. Office Forum...

Energy trading giant selects downtown headquarters site. (PG&E Energy Trading)
July 18, 1997... PG&E Corp., the huge San Francisco-based utility, is establishing its energy trading headquarters in downtown Houston. The utility's newly created subsidiary, PG&E Energy Trading, expects to occupy 13 stories - including two trading floors - in...

HCC flies back into aviation with major insurance merger. (HCC Insurance Holdings Inc.)
July 18, 1997... Houston firm rapidly expands with string of acquisitions The latest acquisition in an ongoing expansion binge by HCC Insurance Holdings Inc. places the Houston-based firm among the largest underwriters of general aviation insurance in the...

Nurse climbs corporate ladder while company sees expansion. (Jessica Nantz, area manager for HealthSouth Corp.)(Health Care Quarterly)
July 18, 1997... HealthSouth merger will make firm industry leader A nurse who has broken through the "glass ceiling" to become one of HealthSouth Corp.'s top managers in Houston has seen her career develop, along with the expansion of one of the nation's...

75th Legislature overview: session yields HMO laws. (Texas Legislature; health maintenance organization)(Health Care Quarterly)
July 18, 1997... Despite a preoccupation with the Governor's mandate for property tax relief this session, the 75th Legislature yielded some substantive health care legislation, most focused on regulating the state's burgeoning managed care industry. As the...

Industrial market may see too much activity too soon. (Houston, TX)(The 1997 Commercial Real Estate Market Guide)(Panel Discussion)
July 18, 1997... Industrial Forum participants are upbeat about the strong activity in their market segment - but concerned that developers may overbuild in some areas. They offer insights on the changing demands and desires of tenants and share their...

A sportsman for all seasons: Leslie Alexander rides the Rockets to play a lot of games. (president and owner of Houston Rockets)(Profile)
July 18, 1997... Leslie Alexander fides the Rockets to play a lot of games The office of the Houston Rockets is buzzing. It's the day after the first home game of the WNBA Houston Comets. The NBA draft is that evening. One employee rushes in to update owner...

The Class As, Bs and Cs of the multifamily market. (Houston, TX)(The 1997 Commercial Real Estate Market Guide)(Panel Discussion)
July 18, 1997... For the first time in several years, Houston multifamily developers are busy, but they're only building upper-end products, say Multifamily Forum participants Jenard Gross of Gross Investments and David Oelfke of Southwest Residential Partners....

Concepts, tenants compete in city's lively retail market. (Houston, TX)(The 1997 Commercial Real Estate Market Guide)(Panel Discussion)
July 18, 1997... The Retail market sector, on the fast track for the past couple of years, is still a lively arena, say Retail Forum participants. Changing retail concepts create challenges and opportunities in commercial real estate. Prospective tenants...

Burlington Resources Inc. (Proxy Report Excerpts)(Company Profile)
July 18, 1997... NYSE BR 5051 Westheimer, Suite 1400, Houston 77056 (713) 624-9500 Burlington Resources Inc. is a holding Company engaged through its principal subsidiary Burlington Resources Oil & Gas Co., and its affiliated companies in the exploration,...