Houston Business Journal articles from March 1995

Houston Business Journal archives from March 1995

Albert Thomas finally arrives as club complex. (conversion of Albert Thomas Convention Center in Houston, Texas, to a night club and restaurant complex)
March 3, 1995... Cordish, city to unveil deal after long delay After years of controversial negotiations and delays, The Cordish Co. this week will finally unveil plans to transform the long vacant Albert Thomas Convention Center into a multivenue night club...

Oil well fire fighters battle more than flames in India. (Emergency Resources International) (Company Profile)
March 3, 1995... Red Adair's legendary oil well fire fighters are battling more than blazes these days. They're also fighting to regain the worldwide reputation they had when they fought lures for Red Adair. Veteran fire fighter Raymond Henry and a team from...

The inn thing: big hotels undergo major face-lifts. (Houston, Texas)
March 3, 1995... Houston hoteliers are spending millions of dollars to improve aging facilities. They are fixing up now in hopes of booking up later. Local inns currently undergoing major renovations are The Harvey Hotel-Houston, The Adams Mark and Days Inn....

Inventors ready to Rev-er-Up, but red tape stalls new product. (McCoy DeFalco ElectroChemics owners Charles McCoy and Frank DeFalco)
March 3, 1995... Frank DeFalco and Charles McCoy are learning the hard way that inventing a new product is easier than selling it to the government. The owners of Pearland-based McCoy DeFalco ElectroChemics claim they have a product that is not only a $39 cure...

Cigar store chain plans to light up Houston market for stogie smokers. (Tinder Box International Ltd. plans more ministores in Houston, Texas)
March 3, 1995... Non-smokers apparently aren't snuffing out the fun for Houston cigar lovers. Two separate ventures in Houston will allow cigar aficionados to puff to their heart's content in public - no butts about it. Tinder Box International says it plans...

HARC develops new technology to improve use of digitized data. (Houston Area Research Center)
March 3, 1995... New technology developed by the Houston Advanced Research Center could increase the speed limit on the information superhighway. It will also allow personal computer users to pack more software on their hard drives. On Thursday, The...

Niko magazine makes debut for Asian-American women.
March 3, 1995... Rick Nguyen, former publisher of the Pacific-Asian newsletter in Houston, is breaking into the hotly competitive fashion magazine business. Nguyen, who founded Modern Asian-Pacific News in Austin, says his new magazine, Niko, will focus on the...

Channel 13 executive makes short-lived leap to Channel 26. (television executive Bob Jackson)
March 3, 1995... Bob Jackson, former executive producer of promotions for Channel 13, KTRK-TV, has given new meaning to the phrase "quick turnover." Jackson, who worked for Channel 13 for more than 15 years, took a leap from that station this month to join...

New Metro News company will supply photographers to competing TV stations. (Metro News Service)
March 3, 1995... Houston media magnate David Saperstein is in the process of getting his new company, Metro News Service, off and running. The business will comprise about five photographers, who compile video of major events and offer the same footage to...

Russian shop pulls out of Embassy Plaza. (Tatyana's shop's operations in Houston, Texas)
March 3, 1995... The departure this month of Tatyana's Russian import shop from its Embassy Plaza location has opened up one of the most highly visible retail corners in the Galleria area. Tatyana's moved at the beginning of February from the 10-year-old...

Houston SPCA arose during humane movement to aid people and animals. (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals)
March 3, 1995... Seventy years ago, a group of Houstonians became concerned with the protection of women and children and the prevention of cruelty to animals. Their concern resulted in the creation of the Harris County Humane Society. It was not unusual in...

Cooling 'by heat of the earth.' (use of geothermal energy in Houston, TX)
March 10, 1995... Geothermal heat pumps gaining (a little) ground Houstonians preparing for the annual ordeal of air conditioning their homes might like to know that an alternative method is available - one that can drastically reduce summer cooling bills....

Skill-based pay gaining popularity. (Enron Corp.)
March 10, 1995... Employees at Enron Corp. are heading back to school, and it could mean big changes on payday. Starting soon, employees at many of Enron's natural gas and power facilities will be paid based on their abilities instead of their job titles - a...

Westchase businesses to seek taxing district. (Houston, TX)
March 10, 1995... After years of spiraling crime rates, Greenspoint businesses decided to strike back in 1991. They began taxing themselves to pay for increased security. Today, crime has dropped by about 40 percent. The tool used by the nearly 500 businesses...

Methodist dropping air transport. (Methodist Hospital of Houston outsources its air ambulance service to Hermann Hospital)
March 10, 1995... Will join Hermann's helicopter service in move to cut costs Hermann Hospital's Life Flight air ambulance service will begin coverage later this month for The Methodist Hospital, which is scrapping its 8-year-old aerial transport program....

TRC presents legislative package to sweeten oil and gas incentives. (Texas Railroad Commission)
March 10, 1995... Commissioners try to rescue marginal wells from 'deathbed' The Texas Railroad Commission filed a package of bills in the Legislature this week that would prolong the life of marginal wells, stimulate new oil and gas drilling and encourage...

California company enters Houston with acquisition of AHI Healthcare. (Wellpoint Health Networks Inc.)
March 10, 1995... AHI Healthcare Corp., a privately held Houston company which owns one of the city's largest preferred provider organizations, has been sold to a California-based managed care company. WellPoint Health Networks Inc., a subsidiary of Blue Cross...

Clark Data Systems acquiring Cadsys, planning further expansion this month.
March 10, 1995... Clark Data Systems is on its way to becoming a one-stop shop of sorts. In a move predicted to boost the Houston-based company's revenue to $30 million this year, Clark Data Systems has acquired local Cadsys Inc., a computer-assisted design...

Council approves rate settlement. (Houston City Council settles case against Houston Lighting and Power Co.)
March 10, 1995... Almost a year after the city signed a secret agreement not to join a rate case seeking lower electric rates, the Houston City Council voted unanimously last week to accept a multimillion-dollar settlement of the case against Houston Lighting &...

British 'protection brokers' targeting Houston executives. (Sterling Lines)
March 10, 1995... Hugh Brazier and Art Goetze are post-Cold War "protection brokers." What they sell is personal security, in the form of a bodyguard service, and they've handpicked Houston's high-profile corporate executives as a primary market. With the...

Hart Securities seeks bankruptcy protection after losing derivatives suit.
March 10, 1995... Weeks after losing a million-dollar lawsuit to a local credit union, Houston investment firm Hart Securities Inc. is now seeking bankruptcy protection. Last week the securities firm filed under Chapter 11, claiming its $500,000 in assets...

Two Houston lenders among top 25 for SBA-backed small business loans. (Bank of North Texas N.A.; Bank One, Texas N.A.)
March 10, 1995... New Jersey and California rate among the best places to obtain Small Business Administration-backed loans. But Texas financial institutions fared pretty well in a ranking released recently by the SBA. Among the 25 top SBA lenders in the...

Harris County lags the nation in car pooling, public transit.
March 10, 1995... Webster's defines gridlock as "a traffic jam in which a grid of intersecting streets is so completely congested that no vehicular movement is possible." Commuters in Houston sometimes have shorter (unprintable) definitions. Transportation...

Mammoth apartment project planned. (planned construction of a 836-unit complex to be known as Memorial Heights in Houston, Texas)
March 17, 1995... Memorial Heights biggest complex since the 1980s Long considered a prime location for retail use, the corner of Washington Avenue and Heights Boulevard will instead be developed this spring into a mammoth apartment complex for moderate-income...

Tennessee firm to build new Alzheimer's center. (Life Care Centers of America Inc.)
March 17, 1995... A Tennessee company will break ground March 31 on a new health care facility designed specifically for patients with Alzheimer's disease. The new Garden Terrace Alzheimer's Center of Excellence, to be located on a 5.2-acre tract at the...

Jury tells Big Six firm to pay $3.5 million in tax case. (KPMG Peat Marwick)
March 17, 1995... A Houston jury has told a Big Six accounting firm and one of its former partners to pay at least $3.5 million to a former client whose tax case "fell through the cracks." The panel returned the verdict last week after attorneys for local...

New bills will decide future of electricity deregulation.
March 17, 1995... Bills filed last week in the Texas Legislature will determine how much competition is allowed in the state's electric industry and will influence electricity prices for years to come. "The legislation we pass regarding these issues will...

Western National joins banks to co-market annuity products. (Western National Life Insurance Co.)
March 17, 1995... Houston's Western National Life Insurance Co.'s philosophy appears to be: If you can't beat the banks in selling annuities - develop joint ventures with them. The subsidiary of Houston-based Western National Corp. is jumping ahead of others in...

Joey's does Tony's: Vallone family expands restaurant roots into Dallas. (Dallas, Texas)
March 17, 1995... The Vallone family, one of Houston's best-known restaurant groups, is branching out of Houston for the first time to open a new Dallas eatery. Joey Vallone, the son of Tony Vallone, will open Joey's in Dallas this fall. The new...

O.J. Simpson trial putting Houston chair company in the driver's seat. (Houston, Texas; Relax the Back)
March 17, 1995... A Houston chair company is sitting pretty, thanks to the O.J. Simpson trial. Simpson's attorney, Robert Shapiro, set off a chain reaction when he had a chair delivered from an Austin-based company called Relax the Back to his space at the...

Local design and printing firms praise benefits of specialization. (Printing & Graphics)
March 17, 1995... Some of Houston's specialty design and printing firms say that although pinpointing a niche market may close a small window of opportunity, it can open a world of possibilities. Specializing in design and printing work for a certain ethnic or...

Bond traders struggle to rebuild image.
March 24, 1995... Firms facing derivatives trouble Steven Stubbs scans the bustling bond trading floor at The Westcap Corp. "He's new.... He's new.... He just came from another firm in town," Stubbs says, pointing each time to a fresh face in the local...

Hot market lures new houseware chains to city. (Houston, Texas)
March 24, 1995... Some say it's because Me yuppies are "cocooning." Others say it's just another phase of the baby boom. Some point to an increase in home buying and the recent low interest rates. Whatever the cause, sales of housewares and home accessories are...

Cigna unveils new HMO with Methodist as anchor hospital. (CIGNA Healthcare)
March 24, 1995... Cigna HealthCare of Texas will roll out a new health maintenance organization in May that includes The Methodist Hospital as its flagship provider. The HMO, called Cigna Select, also counts Texas Children's Hospital, Hermann Hospital and The...

Local firm out in cold as Russia cancels deal to clean up oil spill. (Emergency Resources Inc.)
March 24, 1995... Early last week, experts from Houston-based Emergency Resources Inc. were sure that they had a share of the $200 million contract to clean up a massive oil pipeline spill in Russia. As ERI professionals packed their bags and prepared to board a...

Trading with Japan emotional but necessary.
March 24, 1995... Public attention and private conversations about trade with Japan usually evoke strong emotional responses on the issues of high-tech competitiveness and trade imbalances. Emotions will run particularly high this coming year as both sides of the...

The Alexander Group: recruiting firm puts executives in their place. (Company Profile)
March 24, 1995... Company: The Alexander Group. Business: Executive recruiting. Founded: 1983. Employees: 23. Sales: $2.5 million. Background: Jane Howze and John Lamar cringe at the word "headhunter." Their company, The Alexander Group, is an executive search...

Diamond in the rough with a flair for the arts. (Houston, Texas jeweler Irving W. Marks)
March 24, 1995... Houston jewel merchant I.W. Marks is part unpolished gem, part eccentric philanthropist On the one hand, Houston jeweler Irving W. Marks is just what you might expect in a self-made man from a working-class Chicago neighborhood. He's big (6...

Shades of a changing River Oaks. (Houston, Texas) (Focus On: Residential Real Estate)
March 24, 1995... The residential revitalization sweeping through many of Houston's older neighborhoods has made its way into River Oaks, giving a fresh look to many of the stately homes lining the tree-shaded streets. From the latest mansions rising on River...

Associations face competition as realtors presented with 'choice.' (North NASA Area Association of Realtors Inc.; Gulf Coast Association of Realtors) (Focus On: Residential Real Estate)
March 24, 1995... Two Realtor associations are planning to merge as a reaction to a new policy by the National Association of Realtors which will change the way all its member associations do business. The merger between 1,100-member North NASA Area Association...

Real estate players predict more affordable housing development. (Houston, Texas) (Focus On: Residential Real Estate)
March 24, 1995... Houston's real estate community is predicting the city's stock of affordable single-family housing will steadily grow in the coming years. From the entrance of the baby busters into the marketplace to the untapped inner-city ethnic markets to...

Work on key skill areas to increase your sales effectiveness.
March 24, 1995... I often tell salespeople that school is never out for the real sales professional. Each of us must make a commitment to excel in our profession. The following guide is offered as a way of helping you improve your sales effectiveness and...

Cancer suit against HL&P rocks utilities; EMF case attracts industry attention. (Houston Lighting and Power Co.; electromagnetic fields)
March 31, 1995... The eyes of the utility industry are on Houston as opposing camps of legal titans prepare to square off in a courtroom battle over a controversial force called EMF or electromagnetic fields. Joe Jamail has filed a lawsuit in Harris County court...

Skin cream creator clicks in cosmetics. (ImmuDyne Inc.'s Byron Donzis)
March 31, 1995... In the billion-dollar cosmetics industry, where designer names and satin-skinned models drive sales of lotions and potions, Byron Donzis seems out of place. The balding, copper-tanned Texan, sporting a white beard at age 63, seems a most...

Top hospital systems start new network. (Memorial Healthcare System; Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word Health Care System; Memorial/Sisters of Charity Health Network)
March 31, 1995... The two largest not-for-profit hospital chains in Southeast Texas will begin operation of a joint health care network on April 1 with the transfer of 312 employees into the new system. Announced last fall as a 50-50 joint venture between...

Pohlad bids to buy First Bank after Post Oak deal collapses. (Minnesota banker Carl Pohlad)
March 31, 1995... The collapse of a merger deal between Post Oak Bank and First Bank has created another acquisition opportunity for Minnesota banker Carl Pohlad. The chairman of a group of bank holding companies in Minneapolis and owner of the Minnesota Twins,...

Cash crunch: SBA briefly runs out of money, dips into future funding. (Small Business Administration)
March 31, 1995... The Small Business Administration briefly ran out of money early last week. The federal agency made no formal announcement that funds were depleted for the second fiscal quarter ending March 31, but Milton Wilson Jr., director of the SBA...

Gambler, developer and urban preservationist; Randall Davis is blazing new trails with lofty plans to lure apartment dwellers into downtown Houston. (Randall Davis Co. president)
March 31, 1995... Randall Davis has been an idea man and a gambling man all his life. Although the combination once cost him a fortune, he's confident he's hit the mother lode with his current scheme - downtown loft apartments. Part preservationist and part...

Big voice in local radio. (Texas Coast Broadcasting Inc. president David H. Morris)(includes related articles) (Small Business)
March 31, 1995... Dave Morris has been called a legend and a stabilizing force in the radio industry. But the hard-working owner of KQUE-FM and KNUZ-AM just calls himself lucky. Well over six feet and solidly built, David H. "Dave" Morris is an imposing...