Houston Business Journal articles from July 2000

Houston Business Journal archives from July 2000

High-tech plans for Fleming site.(Brief Article)
July 7, 2000... MetroNexus snags warehouse for 'carrier hotel' The Morgan Stanley subsidiary that planned to turn east downtown's old El Mercado del Sol complex into a carrier hotel has dropped that site in favor of a facility three times as large on the...

A swan song for sirens.(Brief Article)
July 7, 2000... Ambulance firm departs Houston Some of the area's largest hospital systems are scrambling to find new non-emergency ambulance providers as Scottsdale, Ariz-based Rural Metro Corp. works to pack up its flashing lights and exit the Houston...

Return from Silicon Valley.
July 7, 2000... Collection of headaches in high-tech haven sends dot-coms back to Houston A modern day version of the Gold Rush has lured many hard-core entrepreneurs to California's Silicon Valley -- where technology is a way of life and dot-com currency...

AmCare Health bucks local Medicare exodus.(Brief Article)
July 7, 2000... While a parade of local HMOs have announced plans in the past two weeks to pull out of the harried Houston Medicare market, one Houston HMO is gearing up to climb into that market. AmCare Health Plans is less than two weeks away from...

New pigskin promo: Pick a pal for PSL push.(Brief Article)
July 7, 2000... Going on the offensive, new local National. Football League franchise owner Bob McNair and his front-office troops are making a renewed push to peddle pricey personal seat licenses. Here's the catch: In an effort to run up the score on seat...

Good enough for rasslin' just not baseball, football.(Brief Article)
July 7, 2000... There's going to be a knock-down, drag-out in the Astrodome next year, thanks to Houston's selection as host city for WrestleMania XVII on April 1, 2001. About 70,000 people are expected to pack the Dome to witness the World Wrestling...

Three-year Rockets deal turns on The Tube.(Brief Article)
July 7, 2000... The Houston Rockets signed a three-year broadcast deal with Houston's Channel 55 The Tube that will allow the team to continue broadcasting all of its games on local television and remain one of the few National Basketball Association teams...

San Diego ballpark faces Moores grief over Neon.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 7, 2000... The already troubled San Diego Padres' downtown ballpark project may be facing a new and potentially shattering complication: fallout from a City Council member's trading of Houston-based Neon Systems stock, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported...

People from Mars raise bar with heavenly mix.(Brief Article)
July 7, 2000... Dreyer's Houston ice cream plant recently took on a sweet job. The Oakland, Calif.-based ice cream company tapped the Houston plant, one of six Dreyer's plants across the country, to be the primary manufacturer of its new line of M&M/Mars...

More news from the food and drink front.(Brief Article)
July 7, 2000... The original Caf[acute{e}] Express restaurant in River Oaks is shutting down -- but only temporarily. The popular eatery, located at 1422 W. Gray, will close for business July 10 to undergo a nip, tuck and makeover. When it re-opens on...

Krispy Kreme Doughnuts.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 7, 2000... Krispy Kreme Doughnuts is sweet on Houston. The company's Houston, franchisee, Kevin Gordon of Lone Star Donuts, has just leased 18,000 square feet of space that will serve as the Houston offices for Krispy Kreme and also as a distribution...

Phillips, Chevron venture grabs instant slice of chemical market.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 7, 2000... Houston-based project starts operations with $6 billion in assets Chevron Phillips Chemical Co., a joint venture of Phillips Petroleum Co. and Chevron Corp., launched in Houston last week and has brought onboard a Houston attorney as its...

Coastal execs take stock of windfalls as merger with El Paso Energy nears.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 7, 2000... As Coastal Corp. and El Paso Energy head toward closing their merger in the fourth quarter, Coastal executives are busy cashing in their company stock. On May 30, Coastal Chairman and CEO David Arledge, 54, exercised options to buy 227,696...

EGL swoops in to acquire larger freight firm in international bid.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 7, 2000... Houston-based freight forwarder EGL Inc. Monday said it is paying about half a billion dollars for larger peer Circle International Group Inc., a century-old San Francisco company. Both companies are heavyweight freight forwarders. ...

Compaq steams over Salomon about-face as stock price skids.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 7, 2000... At the Compaq Computer Corp. annual shareholders meeting April 27, President and CEO Michael Capellas noted a strong wind of equity analyst upgrades had lifted its stock just hours earlier. One Wall Street firm that had hopped on the...

Hospital district slashes HMO to focus on Medicaid business.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 7, 2000... The size of the Harris County Hospital District's long-struggling HMO has just been cut in half. Community Health Choice, which had about 7,000 commercial members and 7,890 Medicaid members, discontinued its commercial business June 1 when...

WorldOil.com lends users a hand providing Palm-friendly interface.(Brief Article)
July 7, 2000... The Internet has revolutionized the way the energy industry does business, ushering in the concept of "e-commerce." But e-commerce itself is rapidly changing, and one of the drivers of that change is wireless technology. Houston-based...

Vesta Rea blows Houston away with simulated hurricane videos.(Brief Article)
July 7, 2000... Just in time for hurricane season, Vesta Rea & Associates is working on a pair of videos meant to be "the perfect" education and illustration of the devastation that Houston -- not just Galveston -- would suffer if a Category 4 or 5 hurricane...

Dallas country club owner adds pair of courses to local holdings.(Brief Article)
July 7, 2000... ClubCorp, a Dallas-based firm that owns and/or operates more than 220 golf courses, private business clubs, country clubs and resorts around the world, has acquired two Houston-area golf courses. Last week, ClubCorp purchased The Golf Club...

Pelec Development.(Brief Article)
July 7, 2000... Houston-based Pelec Development has acquired a 270,000-square-foot building along with 136 acres in the Sugarland Business Park. The building, formerly owned by Baker Hughes Inc., has been vacant for 10 years. Pelec is refurbishing the...

PM realty Group.(Brief Article)
July 7, 2000... * Houston-based PM Realty Group has expanded its local leasing portfolio by 1.275 million square feet in 19 buildings around the city. With the new assignment, the firm's Houston office now manages and leases more than 20 million square feet....

Conn's Appliances Inc.(Brief Article)
July 7, 2000... Conn's Appliances Inc. has leased 229,500 of industrial warehouse space at 8550 Market Street just south of Interstate 10, between Highway 59 and Loop 610. Matthew Minnis, Dan Moody III and Ed James of Moody Rambin Interests brokered the...

Bison Building Materials Ltd.(Brief Article)
July 7, 2000... Bison Building Materials Ltd. will create 50 new jobs and invest $8.5 million when it builds a 90,000-square-foot warehouse and office facility on 35 acres on FM 762 in Rosenberg in Fort Bend County. The Houston-based firm has been...

Instant power player.(Brief Article)
July 7, 2000... Central Region VP Diana Naylor has made a name for Calpine in Texas Diana Naylor remembers well begging people to come to work for Calpine Corp. That was four years ago, after the little-known independent power producer based in San...

B2B exchange boom leads SBA to urge a 'vigilant' federal eye.(Brief Article)
July 7, 2000... By 2004, $3 trillion in business-to-business transactions will be conducted through electronic marketplaces, AMR Research estimates. The rapid rise of these B2B exchanges is good news for companies of all sizes - buyers and sellers alike -...

Texas truth and low tax burdens.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 7, 2000... Since we have a Texan governor running for president this year, count on a summer filled with politically charged analysis of the Lone Star State, from economic to social, expansions to executions, infotech to immigration -- all intended to...

Details, details, details.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 7, 2000... To the chagrin of its chairmen, the Houston Sports Authority last week refused to sign off on an agreement negotiated between the city of Houston and the Houston Rockets on an arena deal to go before the voters in November - all because they...

An anxious swim in the gene pool hype.(Brief Article)
July 7, 2000... When a collection of scientists from around the world announced last week at a press conference covered by all major networks that they had successfully mapped the human genome, one question probably came to mind: "How can I get free cable?"...

IN THE DARK OVER OIL AND GAS.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 7, 2000... Modern politicians are missing the boat when it comes to energy The latest 700,000-barrelsper-day production increase announced by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries has had exactly the expected effect on the price of oil -...

New market player.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 7, 2000... San Antonio-based SBC Communications Inc. won Federal Communications Commission approval June 30 to offer long distance service to 20 million customers in Texas. The measure brings the company closer to becoming a full-service provider, and is...

Trading under way.(Brief Article)
July 7, 2000... American Energy Services Inc. has begun trading on the Over-the-Counter Bulletin Board system The company is actively seeking qualified acquisition candidates, which can expand the company's base and present new capabilities. Founded in 1987,...

Power plant construction.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 7, 2000... ADAIR International Oil and Gas Inc. and San Jose, Calif.-based Calpine Corp. have teamed up to codevelop a 600-megawatt gas-fired electricity-generating facility on the Torres Martinez Indian Reservation in Southern California. The proposed...

Market delisting.(Brief Article)
July 7, 2000... The NASDAQ qualifications panel has decided to delist the common shares of American Eco Corp. from the Nasdaq Stock Market effective June 30, 2000. The company failed to comply with its net tangible assets qualification for the quarter ended...

Well operations.(Meridian Resource Corp.)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 7, 2000... The Meridian Resource Corp. has successfully completed a new well in the Thornwell field in Louisiana. Meridian has placed the Guidry 28-1 into production at a gross daily rate of 12.4 million cubic feet of gas per day and about 350 barrels of...

Methanol assets.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 7, 2000... Sterling Chemicals Holdings Inc. and BP Amoco Chemicals have agreed to a multiyear year contract for the purchase of their respective methanol requirements in Texas City and the Houston area from Methanex Corp. While Sterling will maintain...

Seismic survey.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 7, 2000... Petroleum Geo-Services ASA has closed a major multiclient 3D marine seismic survey agreement over the Western part of the Donna Terrace in deepwater mid-Norway. Petroleum Geo-Services has used one of its seismic vessels to begin the survey at...

Offshore expansion.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 7, 2000... Global Offshore International Ltd. has completed an expansion of the Alba gas field offshore Equatorial Guinea in April following the installation of two platforms and four pipelines for CMS Oil and Gas Co. The project represents Global's...

Management alliance.
July 7, 2000... Construction industry management consultants The Windsor Group Inc., which is based in Boston, Mass., and Houston-based Kraker & Company Inc. have formed an alliance to help companies produce greater results from their business strategies and...

Lucinda's: Colorful combo mixes Tex-Mex, Mex-Mex fare 'y mas'.(Brief Article)(Column)
July 7, 2000... By HBJ Gourmet In the spirit of "Duh!," I have called you together to inform you that Houston has lots and lots of Mexican -- or at least Tex-Mex -- restaurants. By definition, they all serve the same basic dishes: enchiladas, tacos,...

Telecommunications field broadbanding its horizons.
July 7, 2000... The days of listening to a screeching modem may be numbered in the workplace. New advances in telecommunications technology are not only forcing telecom providers to keep up with changes, but increasingly, it is demanded by companies that...

Hybrid approach is winner in telecom convergence race.(Brief Article)
July 7, 2000... Technological advances and high expectations have combined to make this an exciting time in the business world. In the area of technological advances, the telecommunications field is exploding. With the advent of Internet protocol,...

Web dominates, but folks still like IVR, call centers.(interactive voice response)(Brief Article)
July 7, 2000... Web and telephone technologies differ significantly in the types of self-service applications they can effectively provide for human resources, according to a new survey by Watson Wyatt Worldwide - "The Net Effect: eHR and the Internet." ...

Programs offer 'like new' equipment, extended services.(Brief Article)
July 7, 2000... Williams Communications Solutions, which provides integrated enterprise network solutions to businesses, is now offering its customers remanufactured telecommunications equipment through a program termed ValueLine. The remanufactured...

Administaff and AT&T team up for wireless services.(Brief Article)
July 7, 2000... Administaff recently announced that it will utilize AT&T's Corporate Digital Advantage, a program that will provide Administaff work-site employees with access to a set of AT&T wireless services tailored for the company's needs, using bizzport,...

Telecommunications tackles earthquakes, tidal waves.(Brief Article)
July 7, 2000... MEISSA Telecommunications is providing service to a consortium of governmental agencies and educational institutions consisting of the United States Geologic Survey, the United Nations agency UNAVCO and Massachusetts Institute of Technology....

UK speech recognition firm forms alliances in Houston.(Brief Article)
July 7, 2000... Vocalis Inc., a United Kingdom-based interactive call-processing and Internet telephony services provider, has opened its United States headquarters in Houston and is forming strategic alliances to partner its speech recognition technology with...

Company keeping it simple in both English and Spanish.(Simple Communications)(Brief Article)
July 7, 2000... In an effort to make its Web site a resource in the wireless communications market, Simple Communications LLC (www.simple-com.com), a Houston-based prepaid wireless service provider, offers most product information and customer service in...

Wireless phone etiquette: Don't leave home without it.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 7, 2000... 'A busy executive may assume that other business professionals will understand if he takes a call during a meeting. But, he should think about the message he could be sending.' It's easy to find someone using a wireless phone. People talk...

Trading places.(Company Profile)(Statistical Data Included)
July 7, 2000... For Sportan United Industries, success wasn't in the cards. So it changed directions. James G. Otteson read the writing on the wail loud and clear -- either resist change and get left behind or make a change and survive. Otteson chose to...

Verbal skills rated as the most essential to small business owners.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 7, 2000... Verbal and interpersonal skills rated higher than computer and Internet expertise in a small business owners survey conducted by American Express. Nearly 800 small business owners were asked to name the skills very important to their...

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE.
July 7, 2000... ACCOUNTING White Petrov McHone has added Brigette McCarty to the firm. Arthur R. "Randy" Read has been named a senior manager in the profit enhancement group for Mann Frankfort Stein & Lipp PC. ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN House Reh...

FKP Architects Inc.
July 7, 2000... FKP Architects Inc. has been honred with a Golden Trowel award from the Associated Masonry Contractors of Houston with a Recognition in Brick award in the brick and glass block category. The award was received for FKP's work for Christus St....

Aon Consulting.
July 7, 2000... Aon Consulting, the human resources consulting arm of Aon Corp., with an office in Houston, has received the International Gold Quill Award of Merit, sponsored by the International Association of Business. This award recognizes excellence in...

The Houston region of Kelly Services Inc.
July 7, 2000... The Houston region of Kelly Services Inc., a staffing firm, has been awarded the Texas Award for Performance Excellence for 2000 by the Texas Quality Foundation. Based on the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award criteria and process, the...

The Carnegie Corporation.
July 7, 2000... The Carnegie Corporation of New York has awarded $250,000 to The Houston Annenberg Challenge so the Annenberg Challenge and the Houston Independent School District can plan how to expand the nonprofit's ongoing Reforming High School Initiative...

SpawGlass Construction Corp.(Brief Article)
July 7, 2000... SpawGlass Construction Corp. of Houston has received two 2000 Design Awards from the Society for Marketing Professionals, Houston Chapter. The company won first place in the Newsletter category for the General Contractor's quarterly Teamworks...

Turner & Bair Architects LLP.(Brief Article)
July 7, 2000... Turner & Bair Architects LLP of Houston is working in conjunction with Willey Brothers, a New Hampshire-based financial facility planning firm, on a new 3,500-square-foot branch office facility for Southwest Bank of Texas, located in the lobby...

Safety Vision LLC.(Brief Article)
July 7, 2000... Safety Vision LLC of Houston has announced the launch of its new Security Products Division. The company will initially offer a range of full-featured video surveillance cameras to distributors, systems integrators and dealers throughout North...

Association Management Inc.(Brief Article)
July 7, 2000... Association Management Inc. has been selected to provide community association management services to the White Oak Estates Property Owners Association with effect from July 1.

The Securities and Exchange Commission.(Brief Article)
July 7, 2000... The Securities and Exchange Commission requires insiders (officers, directors, persons with policy-making roles, and those owning 10 percent or more of any equity security of a publicly-traded company) to report, within ten days after the month...

Mainframing the debate: Is your office big enough for its own server?(Brief Article)
July 7, 2000... You know your company is growing when you need to install a "real" computer file server instead of having a spare desktop computer serve as the repository for your company's files and applications. Instead of having your staff access the...

First things first: Self-assessment must be done prior to creating resume.(Brief Article)
July 7, 2000... Lost your job? Better get a resume fast. Thinking of changing jobs or careers? Better update your resume. Can you read the handwriting on the wall? Better find your old resume. Going on a series of "informational interviews?" Be sure to take...

TOP 25 HOUSTON-AREA UNITED WAY ALLOCATIONS.
July 7, 2000... [TABLE HAS BEEN CLIPPED]

Camden plans midrise in Midtown.(Camden Property Trust plan new apartment complex)(Brief Article)
July 14, 2000... REIT blocking up land for second multi-family complex in hot inner-city market The success of Camden Property Trust's first apartment complex in Midtown has the Houston-based developer pushing forward with plans for a second residential...

Insiders sell as stock slides.(BMC Software Inc.)(Brief Article)
July 14, 2000... BMC Software Inc. shares fell to a new three year low Tuesday, as investors reacted to the company's recent warning of disappointing quarterly earnings. Midway through the quarter that ended June 30, BMC's chairman joined a handful of insiders...

Hospital systems slash marketing departments.(Brief Article)
July 14, 2000... A rash of layoffs have hit the marketing and communications departments at some of the area's largest health care systems. Restructuring and cutbacks at local hospitals and medical organizations have decimated those departments in recent...

Enron set to trade nuke fuel for power.(enters marketing deal with USEC Inc.)(Brief Article)
July 14, 2000... Ever-innovative Enron Corp. has come up with another new and highly unusual deal. The Houston-based energy giant plans to arrange swaps of nuclear fuel for electricity. Enron has signed a marketing agreement with USEC Inc., a Bethesda, Md....

Fen-phen fallout leads to fat jury verdict.(law firm Fleming & Assoc. wins case against American Home Products, another case pending)(Brief Article)
July 14, 2000... Houston attorney George Fleming, who last week won a $29 million verdict in a case against the manufacturer of the diet drug known as "fen-phen," will be replaying the battle in a Houston courtroom this month on behalf of three Houston...

Mitchells set sail with gallery sale.(founders of the Admiralty Marine Model Gallery sell interest to partners)(Brief Article)
July 14, 2000... George and Cynthia Mitchell have cashed out of a nautical-themed Galveston art gallery that they helped to launch nearly seven years ago. The Mitchells on June 30 sold full ownership of Admiralty Marine Model Gallery to their partners,...

Re-cycled streets put brakes on traffic.(Houston, TX)(Brief Article)
July 14, 2000... Are Houston streets getting narrower, or are SUVs just getting bigger? They're getting narrower, but it has nothing to do with the cars. Over the past few months, the Houston Public Works Department and the Texas Department of...

News from the food and drink front.(Denny's Diner opens in Houston, TX)(Brief Article)
July 14, 2000... Restaurateur Alan Bergeron is hoping that "happy days" will make their way to the Third Ward. Bergeron opened one of Houston's first Denny's Diner, the l950s concept being incorporated into all Denny's restaurants, on June 22 in his Third...

Mellie Esperson Building.(Elvia's restaurant opens)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 14, 2000... Downtown Houston has been getting its fair share of restaurants lately, including many expansions of existing concepts that have proven popular in other areas of town. The latest addition to the downtown dining lineup is Elvia's, a takeoff...

Restructuring at Altra Energy cuts workforce, reassigns exec.(Brief Article)
July 14, 2000... Altra Energy Technologies, the Houston-based operator of a leading online trading exchange for energy commodities, has restructured its business, reassigning a top executive and shedding about 20 percent of the workforce. The...

Low resigns as chief of UT med school.(M. David Low resigns as president of the University of Texas-Houston Health Science Center)(Brief Article)
July 14, 2000... After 11 years at the sometimes-rocky helm, M. David Low is stepping down from his position as president of the University of Texas-Houston Health Science Center. Citing health concerns and a desire to spend more time with his family, Low...

Local Compaq call center axed as operations move to Colorado.(Brief Article)
July 14, 2000... Compaq Computer Corp. plans to shutter its 100-person off-campus call center and merge the operation with the computer maker's Colorado Springs, Colo., facility. Known to employees as the Creekridge call center, the building is located at...

Pelican purchase by Landry's Seafood turns sour.(aftermath of Rusty Pelican Restaurants purchase leads to lawsuit)(Brief Article)
July 14, 2000... A 1998 deal in which Houston-based Landry's Seafood Restaurants Inc. purchased five restaurants from Rusty Pelican Restaurant Inc. has hit some rough waters. Landry's has filed a lawsuit against San Clemente, Calif.-based Rusty Pelican --...

Potential of A&M's power cell fuels interest of Reliant Energy.(licenses Texas A&M design)(Brief Article)
July 14, 2000... Reliant Energy is looking ahead to a time when there may be a fuel cell in every garage -- and in every home. The Houston energy services company has reached a licensing agreement with Texas A&M University for exclusive rights to...

Pitt-Des Moines mulls options as Wall Street exposure wanes.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 14, 2000... A year after its share price soared 92 percent in one day, Pitt-Des Moines Inc. is considering selling itself off. The heavy construction and steel distribution company based in The Wood lands has hired investment bankers to consider ways...

Odd lots.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 14, 2000... For the past nine years, money manager Bill Miller has accomplished something nobody else has done. His Legg Mason Value Trust is the only mutual fund to beat the benchmark Standard & Poor's 500 stock index each of those nine years. The...

Grey Wolf Inc.(stock rating)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 14, 2000... Dain Rauscher Wessels recently initiated coverage on Houston-based Grey Wolf Inc., awarding the domestic land driller a buy rating. Equity analysts James Wicklund and Lackland Bloom III recommended the small drilling company's stock at...

Developers pick up their game as Enron Field buoys east side.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 14, 2000... The Houston Astros may not be hitting most of the home runs since moving into their new downtown digs at Enron Field earlier this year, but local real estate firms are scoring big in the neighborhood surrounding the new ballpark. Halfway...

Coral Energy.(expands office lease)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 14, 2000... Coral Energy has expanded its lease in Two Houston Center at 909 Fannin by 129,249 square feet for a total of 164,445 square feet of office space. Nancy Sarnoff, Houston Business Journal real estate reporter

Shell Oil Co.(affiliate Coral Energy - information on corporate operations)(Brief Article)
July 14, 2000... An affiliate of Shell Oil Co., Houston-based Coral Energy is a natural gas and power provider with offices throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico. Nancy Sarnoff, Houston Business Journal real estate reporter

Crescent Real Estate Equities.(Brief Article)
July 14, 2000... Debbie Wilson represented building owner Crescent Real Estate Equities in the transaction, while Tom McKenzie of McKenzie Realty Co. represented Coral Energy. Nancy Sarnoff, Houston Business Journal real estate reporter