Houston Business Journal articles from March 2000

Houston Business Journal archives from March 2000

Rivals leap on broadband wagon.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 3, 2000... Enron, Williams race to establish bandwidth market Can fiber-optic bandwidth be traded on the open market -- no different than gold, soybeans and pork bellies? Definitely, say a growing group of players now climbing into the broadband...

Lending a hand to Palm.(Diverse Networks)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2000... Deal with 3Com furnishes boost to Diverse Networks A quartet of Silicon Valley transplants are cashing in on the exploding demand for computer network engineering and management services, landing a new contract with one of the nation's...

Heights, Downtown attract realty firm.(Greenwood King Properties)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 3, 2000... To Julie Greenwood and Linda King, closing on a home is a routine occurrence. Except when they are the ones signing on the dotted line. This week, the two principals of independent residential real estate firm Greenwood King Properties...

Banking stocks lag in market tech boom.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 3, 2000... Just three years ago, you could not have convinced Coastal Banc Chairman Manuel Mehos that bank stocks would suffer as they have in 2000, while technology names soar to unprecedented valuations. "I would have said that's bizarre and you're...

Donkeys and elephants now equal under the law.(campaign funding by Vinson and Elkins)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 3, 2000... Downtown law firm Vinson & Elkins appears to be turning more bipartisan - at least when it comes to doling out campaign cash. For years, the whiteshoe firm for years has made political contributions through its political action committee,...

Mulder and Scully, please call NASA.
March 3, 2000... The Johnson Space Center in Clear Lake is involved in a close encounter with an alien element from outer space. A fragment of a meteorite believed to be 4.5 billion years old has quietly been brought to the center for analysis by NASA...

Houston company wiring into Austin.(ClearWorks.net)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 3, 2000... Clear Works.net Inc. has extended its residential cyberwiring operations outside of the Houston area for the first time. The local company has landed a deal to deliver bundled digital services to Avery Ranch, a master-planned community near...

They can run, but they can't horsehide.(Houston Police Department Mounted Patrol receive two horses from the Louisiana State Prison)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 3, 2000... Two professionals from the Louisiana State Prison are transferring to Houston to help protect baseball fans who attend games at Enron Field. But the peacekeepers in this particular posse walk on four legs, sport hooves and wear saddles....

Now you can show up in pajamas at noon.(Blockbuster Video returns)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 3, 2000... People will go to any lengths to return their rented videos by the midnight deadline. A recent survey of Blockbuster Video store managers revealed customers show up late at night in outfits ranging from pajamas, curlers and bunny slippers...

SBA loan program has adverse effect.(Small Business Administration)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2000... An increasing number of businesses that borrow money through the Small Business Administration's flagship 7(a) loan program are paying off their debts early. This is not necessarily because these businesses are succeeding more quickly than...

News from the food and drink front.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2000... Churrascos Management Co. is experiencing quite a shakeup. The Houston-based restaurant company famous for its plaintain chips and chimichurri sauce saw its gringo president Bill Floyd leave the company this month to help run an Italian...

Avalon Diner.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2000... Avalon Diner, the 61-year-old dining spot on Westheimer near Kirby, has opened Avalon Diner 3 in Stafford in The Fountains shopping plaza at 12810 Southwest Freeway. This mark's Avalon's first suburban site since the original opened near...

Power play: Houston energy brokerage firms in major merger.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2000... Amerex expands market share with acquisition of BTU Brokers One of the largest over-the-counter energy brokerage firms just got bigger. Sugar Land-based Amerex Natural Gas Inc. and Amerex Power Inc. have jointly purchased Houston-based...

Data transmission firm acquires digital imager Cameras Etc.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2000... Affordable will target medical industries first In what should be a picture-perfect marriage of technology, a local wireless company is buying Houston-based Cameras Etc. Affordable Telecommunications Technology Corp. this week announced...

ERealty launches two D-FW offices.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2000... As part of a $10 million expansion plan, Houston-based eRealty.com will expand into two offices in the North Texas Metroplex -- one in Oak Lawn and the other in Fort Worth. ERealty, which provides comprehensive Multiple Listing Service...

Mission Critical Software merger takes local firm to Silicon Valley.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2000... Mission Critical Software Inc. is being acquired by NetIQ Corp. in a $1.4 billion transaction that will move the company's headquarters from Houston to Silicon Valley. And in a separate deal announced this week, Mission Critical is buying...

Box maker shutters 35-year-old facility.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2000... A corrugated box packaging plant that has operated in northwest Houston since 1965 is closing down because of oversupply of its product. Federal Way, Wash.-based Weyerhaeuser Co. will lay off 96 employees in the next month as it phases out...

Reliant overcomes protest, wins approval for Florida power plant.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2000... County commissioners grant noise variance after company adds bond Houston-based Reliant Energy has finally cleared a hurdle in the company's bid to build a power plant in Florida. For months, residents of Osceola County held up approval...

Rival firm recruits energy headhunters.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2000... Seven executive recruitment professionals have left the Houston firm of Ray & Berndtson to join the local office of Russell Reynolds Associates, a global executive recruiting firm. The group includes three senior recruiters who have signed...

Worries of an overextended SBA jeopardize agency's VC initiative.(Small Business Administration)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2000... The chairman of the Senate Small Business Committee says he has "serious reservations" about the SBA's ability to tackle new programs when offices supporting current programs are "underfunded and understaffed" despite past budget increases. ...

New shopping center takes delivery of bouncing baby chain.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2000... Houston appears to be fertile ground for Babies "R" Us. The retailer of cribs, strollers, high chairs, car seats, clothing and toys is opening a sixth Houston store in the new Price Plaza Shopping Center in Katy this summer. The...

Retail rumblings.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2000... Functional art is all the rage, and a Houston retailer is taking the idea a step further by selling 'Santa Monica, Calif based Icon Shoes here. The shoes, which are made for gawking, are emblazoned with limited edition work by notable...

CarMax.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2000... Used-car superstore CarMax has more- gas than its former rival AutoNation Inc. The Virginia-based company. is opening a fourth location in Houston,, just three months after Florida-based AutoNation peeled out of the city, closing its...

CompuBank gets $36 million boost from investment backers.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2000... Fueled by new institutional capital of $36 million, a Houston-based Internet bank has multiplied from 12 employees to a staff of 100 since Thanksgiving. CompuBank, the first nationally chartered Internet bank, in February announced the...

Republic National Bank.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2000... Republic National Bank, formed in 1998, is pursuing a private secondary offering of $7 million. In just 15 months, the closely held independent has built a four-branch local network with total assets of $115 million. "You've got to...

Bank United Corp.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2000... Bank United Corp. this month could launch a program to repurchase its battered shares, says an equity analyst who, covers the Houston-based holding company of Bank United of Texas. A stock buyback by the financial institution would...

Haynes picked to drive Auto Insurance Discounters' radio ad blitz.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2000... Haynes Media & Marketing recently landed a media and public relations campaign for Houston-based Auto Insurance Discounters, adding about $3.6 million in annual capitalized billings. The account will be mostly a radio-driven campaign, but...

HCC-TV.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2000... HCC-TV, the television station at Houston Community College, recently rolled out a new video production truck equivalent to those used by the commercial networks. The truck is a self-powered, fully equipped editing suite on wheels that can...

Thomas Public Relations.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2000... Nothing's free anymore, except maybe some help from Thomas Public Relations. Owner Damon Thomas recently launched a monthly electronic public relations newsletter targeting sales and marketing personnel in the local new-home business, including...

Allergy Free.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2000... Houston-based Allergy Free has chosen Design At Work to handle its first public relations campaign. The company markets and distributes products that improve indoor air quality, such as filters. Design At Work will create a...

Energized by real estate.
March 3, 2000... Liz Trocchio has answered many calls on the way to becoming head of Houston operations for Cushman & Wakefield The morning after an overnight trip to New Orleans for dinner with a new client, Liz Trocchio rises at 5 a.m. to go on a...

Surgical device maker takes direct route with public offering.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2000... Neosurg Technologies Inc. filed documents with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission this week to raise $15 million in a direct initial public offering. The local designer and manufacturer of minimally invasive surgical devices hopes...

Tomball Regional Hospital.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2000... Tomball Regional Hospital planned to break ground this week on the second phase of an $85 million expansion project. The non-profit hospital will begin construction of a seven-story patient tower, a senior services campus and a cancer...

Prime Medical Services Inc.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2000... Mann Berkeley Eye Center of Houston is selling a 60-percent stake in its Austin location for $3.8 million in cash. Prime Medical Services Inc. is acquiring majority ownership of Mann Berkeley Caplan Laser Center, a refractive vision...

Baca bids bye-bye in CoStar, Comps.com combo.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2000... The Baca Group and all its various incarnations are no more. CoStar Group's regional director for Texas, Monte Tate, confirms that Fred Baca's Houston office of Comps.com has been effectively dissolved now that the San Diego-based company...

Lynxs Houston CargoPort Development LLC.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2000... Lynxs Houston CargoPort Development LLC has inked a 40-year ground lease deal with the City of Houston for about nine acres of George Bush Intercontinental Airport land. Lynxs Houston is a wholly-owned aftiliate of Lynxs Holdings LLC based...

Esperson Buildings.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2000... The Esperson Buildings are getting a slew of new tenants, with close to 67,000 square feet of office leases signed by 18 companies. Tenants include Bennett & Secrest, the Attorney General's Office, Elvia's Latin American Grill, Venture...

Hodges Family Holdings Ltd.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2000... Hodges Family Holdings Ltd. recently closed on One Corporate Plaza in Clear Lake. The Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association sold the 115,000-square-foot building at 2525 Bay Area Blvd. Major tenants include the Clear Lake Area...

Equity Office Properties Trust.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2000... Equity Office Properties Trust out of Chicago is acquiring Cornerstone Properties Inc. for $2.7 billion in cash and stock, adding to what is already the nation's largest publicly-held office building owner and manager. Once the merger is...

Charting self-sufficiency, Amtrak goes high-speed, expands routes.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2000... Ross Capon gives good reviews to Amtrak's first step toward providing high-speed rail service. "It actually arrived early," Capon says of his Acela Regional train, which whisked him from Boston to New York City in under four hours,...

OSHA formalizes policy against home inspections.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2000... It's official: The Occupational Safety and Health Administration will not inspect home offices and doesn't expect employers to inspect them either, according to a directive sent Feb. 25 to all OSHA offices. The directive also explicitly...

Small business 'strike' urged over tax change.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2000... National Small Business United is calling for every small business owner in America to pledge they won't Sell their businesses until Congress repeals a law that makes seller financing more difficult. A tax law change that went into effect...

Corporate travel agents oppose employer ID plan.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2000... The airline industry wants corporate travel agents to identify the employer of every customer that buys a ticket through them. This information would then be available to airlines under a proposal being reviewed by the U.S. Department of...

Clearinghouse to track tech education projects.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2000... The American Electronics Association hopes to raise $1 million over the next two years to establish a national clearinghouse for data on educational projects sponsored by high-tech companies. The main purpose of the clearinghouse will be to...

As McCain campaigns, his committee meets.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2000... The work of the Senate Commerce Committee continues, even as Chairman John McCain stays on the campaign trail. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, says McCain encouraged subcommittee chairs to hold hearings in his absence and "keep the...

Houston Economic Outlook -- 2000.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2000... The economic outlook for Houston in 2000 is excellent. There are, of course, qualifications that go along with this blanket statement: oil and natural gas prices stay robust, the national economic expansion continues, and the exchange rate for...

Improved Economy Aiding Real Estate Markets.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2000... As always, the key to area real estate markets is both supply and demand. Two years ago, Houston was headed for excess real estate supplies at the same time that the economy was headed for a major slowdown. The culprit for both problems...

Industrial Forecast Continues to Defy the Odds.
March 3, 2000... At the risk of perhaps sounding a little overconfident, the Houston Industrial market continues to defy the odds. It isn't difficult to remember the recession of the mid 80's in Houston, and the effect that it had on the real estate industry as...

Revitalization Leads Retail Real Estate Activity.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2000... For the past several years, Houston has been touted as one of "the most active retail markets in the entire country". With the addition of over 4 million square feet of new retail space added each year from 1994 through 1997, Houston's...

Land Market Trends in the New Millennium.(Houston, Texas: real estate)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2000... Most experts agree that Houston real estate market experienced average performance in 1999 -- that is, compared to the record years in 1997 and 1998. Thus, the restructuring and consolidations in the energy sector, in addition to the emergence...

Energy Affects the Houston Office Market.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2000... Energy! That's what it is all about. Nothing happens good unless you put a lot of energy into it. In the Houston Office Market, it takes energy, as in oil at $28.00 per barrel, to sustain high rental rates, low unemployment and steady job...

What is CCIM?(Certified Commercial Investment Member )(Brief Article)
March 3, 2000... For more than 30 years, the Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM) designation has been recognized for its preeminence within commercial real estate. CCIMs are backed by the industry's most challenging education curriculum and supported...

Houston Apartment Market 1999 -- 2000.(new jobs in 1998 and 1999 add to the population of Houston, Texas)
March 3, 2000... In 1998, over 75,000 jobs were added to the overall Houston economy. In 1999, a significantly lower count was forecast,. in some instances with a no-net growth to nominal growth of 10,000 jobs overall. Depending on the survey, as high as 25,000...

Before we go.(KTRK Channel 13 in Houston, Texas, caught in a dispute between Disney/ABC and Time Warner Communications)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2000... It's too soon to tell whether the ongoing spat between Time Warner Communications and Disney/ABC is a serious conflict or simple posturing. What's for sure, however, is that KTRK Channel 13 could wind up catching the most static. Time...

Here comes high technology, ready or not.(Humor)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2000... Scientists come ever-closer to creating new forms of life as they tinker with cells in laboratories. Fiber optics will soon put everybody in the fast lane on the Information Superhighway. Advanced computers promise to change the virtual world...

Paying the price for Y2K: Was it wisdom or waste?(Brief Article)
March 3, 2000... Leave it to the pessimists of this world. On Jan. 1, 2000, we passed with flying colors the most daunting test (to date) of our global computer systems. If you were one of the millions of Americans watching CNN with some degree of fear and...

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2000... Flexible fees I read with interest the Feb. 18 article, "Lawyers swap services for equity." I was surprised, however, by the seeming novelty of this approach to corporate practice by local attorneys. My partners and I count ourselves...

Supply services.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2000... Metals USA Inc., a metals processing and distribution company, has formed a new business unit designed to expand its ordering, procurement and tracking system developed for integrated supply services. The unit, iSolutions based in Yardley, Pa.,...

Foodservice facility.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2000... Portsmouth, Va.-based Sysco Corp. subsidiary, Doughtie's Sysco Food Services Inc., has selected a site in Bridgeway Commerce Park in Suffolk, Va. for the construction of a 300,000 square-foot foodservice distribution center. Completion of the...

Diabetes management.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2000... MediQuik Services Inc., a local chronic disease management company, has inked a provider deal with Las Vegas-based Mediversal, which represents employers with more than 20,000 covered lives. The deal provides MediQuik status as a preferred...

Drillship deployment.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2000... Trans-ocean Sedco Forex Inc.'s operating subsidiary has agreed to deploy its ultra-deepwater drillship Discoverer 534 to perform drilling operations for BP Amoco. The contract covers two firm wells and one optional well. Work is expected to...

Joint venture.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2000... El Paso Energy International, a business unit of El Paso Energy Corp., has formed a 50/50 joint venture with a subsidiary of Hawaiian Electric Industries to own and operate five electric power generating facilities owned by East Asia Power...

S&P addition.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2000... Standard & Poor's has changed its Small Cap 600 Index to include Southwest Bancorporation of Texas Inc. The bank has been added to the S&P's Banks Industry Group. The addition was effective close of trading February 29. Founded in 1990,...

Pipeline acquisition.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2000... Enterprise Products Partners LP has wrapped up its acquisition of the Lou-Tex propylene pipeline from Concha Chemical Pipeline Co., an affiliate of Shell Oil Co. The pipeline -- which will have a capacity of 50,000 barrels per day -- is a...

Multiyear contract.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2000... Weatherford International Inc. has been awarded a multiyear contract to supply artificial lift equipment for the Petrozuata development in Venezuela. Petrozuata is a joint venture company between Petroleos de Venezuela and Conoco Inc....

Westheimer at Post Oak evolved from rural outlands to retail hub.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2000... The intersection of Westheimer Road and Post Oak Boulevard is one of the busiest spots in all of Houston. Today it is difficult to realize that it was once such a remote location that any kind of development on it seemed unlikely. And its...

Capriccio: Creativity clashes in Italian menu with Mexican spin.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2000... Timing is everything in comedy, and the same can be said of restaurant-hopping. When Pignetti's opened on West Gray near Taft, I wanted to give it time to settle in, to ripen, to get its bearings and hit its stride. I waited too long....

Organize Your Home Office! Simple Routines For Setting Up An Office Ai Home.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2000... By Ronni Eisenberg with Kate Kelly Today than a third of all working Americans -- about 40 million people -- have an office at home. But setting up a home office and keeping it running smoothly can be a job in itself. Organize Your Home...

Building on the past.
March 3, 2000... Craig Ward has reconstructed a Linbeck subsidiary into an entrepreneurial undertaking The recruiting call that lured Craig E. Ward from his contracting firm in Dallas eventually led to a company in Houston that now bears his name CE...

Nucifora in Rome: Marketing globally, with some Italian elan.(Brief Article)(Column)
March 3, 2000... I write this column on a flight returning from Rome and a much-needed break. While everything is still fresh in my mind, I offer some marketing mind candy, a collection of random impressions, combined with a travelogue and opinions of a...

Dental insurance a must-have benefit for competitive companies.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2000... Paper cuts and toothaches both hurt a lot more than they should. But while the pain of a paper cut will diminish on its own, a toothache can take hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars before the pain goes away. Enter dental insurance....

Ford Excursion: Supersized SUV may make you King of The Road.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2000... Two on the Road Lu: Surprise, surprise. Ford Excursion is big, very big. So we can skip images like behemoth, colossus, Goliath, et al. You get the picture. Tom: You know how you can go to a McDonalds or Burger King and get your meal...

Last- minute considerations may bring a few deductions.(Statistical Data Included)
March 3, 2000... April 15th is just around the corner. A. few tax tips that may help to make tax return filing a little more tolerable are suggested by Jerry Guillott, a shareholder at Mann Frankfort Stein & Lipp P.C.: * Capital gains break. The gain on the...

Act now to save on taxes that will be due next year.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2000... "The bottom line is that there are not many things that can be done now to reduce 1999 tax liability - although there are a few. But there is much more that can be done now to better prepare for 2000 - for those tax returns we'll be filling out...

The only constant is change in Big Five accounting firms.
March 3, 2000... About two years ago, the accounting industry began a whirlwind of activity and mergers, the likes of which hadn't been seen in years. But as quickly as they began eying marriage, the honeymoon is over. The big players are viewing separation as...

Letter from Social Security prompts evaluation of status.(Statistical Data Included)
March 3, 2000... "We are providing you with the Personal Earnings and Benefit Estimate statement to help you better understand the Social Security program," writes Kenneth S. Apfel, Social Security Administration commissioner, in his letter accompanying the...

LARGEST STOCKBROKERAGE FIRMS IN HOUSTON.(Statistical Data Included)
March 3, 2000... LARGEST STOCKBROKERAGE FIRMS IN HOUSTON (Ranked by Number of Local Stock brokers) No. of No. of Last Firm ...

Attaching too many strings to will may tie up benefits.
March 3, 2000... Those active in the business world may succeed in accumulating a sizable estate by exerting personal control over their finances. But, when it comes time to make plans for bequeathing the fruits of their labors to the next generation, they may...

LARGEST HOUSTON-AREA MONEY MANAGEMENT FIRMS.(Statistical Data Included)
March 3, 2000... LARGEST HOUSTON-AREA MONEY MANAGEMENT FIRMS (Ranked by Assets Under Local Management) Assets Last Name of Firm ...

Under attack: Gifts that aid the giver more than charity.
March 3, 2000... President Clinton's fiscal year 2001 budget includes proposals to limit the use of planned giving techniques. These estate-planning techniques have grown, along with the stock market, drawing the attention of Treasury officials who wish to stop...

Instant info is transforming money management scene.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2000... The instant delivery of information endemic to the world today has had a vast impact on the world of financial planning, Robert Scharar, president of FCA Corp, which provides financial planning and, money management, international advisory,...

CPAs set ethical standards to preserve stool's three legs.
March 3, 2000... CPA/auditor independence is under attack again. Auditors are being called to task for performing services for clients that some believe will affect auditor independence. In a very recent development, one of the largest audit firms just...

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2000... ACCOUNTING Jerry Witte has joined Hein + Associates LLP as a principal and national director of real estate advisory services group. Pannell Kerr Forster of Texas PC has added Karen Love as director of business development. ...

Trendmaker Development Co.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2000... Trendmaker Development Co.'s master-planned community of Grand Lakes in west Houston has won a gold award for Best Large Community at the 16th annual Best in American Living Award ceremony, sponsored by Professional Builder magazine and the...