Houston Business Journal articles from May 1998

Houston Business Journal archives from May 1998

Office projects going up in Greenspoint: four commercial developers buy part of 600-acre Exxon business park. (Houston, Texas)
May 29, 1998... Four commercial developers buy part of 600-acre Exxon business park A handful of real estate developers have snapped up parcels of raw land near Interstate 45 and Beltway 8 for the construction of at least three new office buildings and a...

Fast-growing waste firm blocked by bankruptcy: one-time Houston 100 company blames collection problems on Army engineers. (Waste Control Services)
May 29, 1998... One-time Houston 100 company blames collection problems on Army engineers A year ago, Waste Control Services was one of the fastest-growing local small businesses. Today, however, the company finds itself in bankruptcy court. Waste...

Leisure Management loses contract to operate Nashville hockey arena.
May 29, 1998... Houston-based Leisure Management International has lost its agreement to manage the Nashville Arena to that city's professional hockey team. Before the Nashville Predators finish playing their first hockey season in the Nashville Arena next...

The baron of bankruptcy. (Sheinfeld, Maley and Kay law firm)(Company Profile)
May 29, 1998... When the big companies fail, they call Mickey Sheinfeld's firm Myron "Mickey" Sheinfeld's first big bankruptcy case was ultimately one of the largest reorganizations ever filed in Houston. Sheinfeld was hired by court-appointed trustee Gail...

Lessons of growth: Aarthun Training Group takes clients' employees beyond the bottom line.(Growth Strategies)
May 29, 1998... For Aarthun Training Group Ltd., growth has come so easily that the biggest problem is controlling it. "We could get really big," says Debi Aarthun, president of the training company. "But it's not something we really want." Since its...

Apache Corp. (proxy report excerpts)(Company Profile)
May 29, 1998... NYSE, Chicago APA One Post Oak Central, 2000 Post Oak Blvd., Suite 100, Houston 77056-4400 (713) 296-6000 Apache Corp. is an independent oil and gas exploration and production company. Total shares of common stock outstanding as of...

Legal protest stalls isle condo project. (Silverleaf Resorts to push through plans for a new condominium in Galveston, Texas)
May 22, 1998... Developer, homeowners feud over $55-million resort After nearly six months of legal sparring with a Galveston homeowners group, Dallas-based Silverleaf Resorts Inc. is preparing to move forward with plans to build a $55-million time-share...

Telescan considers merger 'contact.' (Telescan Inc.)
May 22, 1998... Financial firm hires investment banker Houston-based Telescan Inc. is poised for a possible acquisition that could bring the company out of the doldrums. Telescan chairman and CEO David Brown says the company has received "unsolicited...

Columbia expands in Fort Bend. (Columbia/HCA Healthcare Corp. to build new hospital in Sugar Land, Texas)
May 22, 1998... System adds 12 acres to new Sugar Land Medical Center Columbia/HCA Healthcare Corp. has acquired 12 acres of land to expand its presence in Sugar Land and has renamed the entire area Sugar Land Medical Center. The hospital spent $4 million...

PappaWendy's? Restaurant clan buying burger franchises. (Pappas Restaurants Inc. to acquire 5 Wendy's outlets in Houston, Texas)
May 22, 1998... Houston's first family of popular restaurants may soon be getting into the burger franchise business. Chris and Harris Pappas are negotiating to add five local Wendy's fast-food outlets to the family's bulging eatery empire, which includes...

Fiesta atmosphere: Conoco partners with grocery chain to build stations. (Fiesta Mart to operate Conoco gas stations in its stores)
May 22, 1998... In the ongoing race among supermarkets to provide one-stop shopping for customers, Houston-based Fiesta Mart Inc. plans to be the first out of the gate locally to open gas stations at its stores. The 31-store chain has reached a marketing...

Dallas firm continues buying spree in Houston. (R.M. Crowe acquires six more office buildings in the city)
May 22, 1998... R.M. Crowe acquires six more office properties, increases local portfolio to 13 buildings After acquiring a handful of Houston buildings earlier this year, Dallas-based R.M. Crowe is making even more of a commitment to the local market with...

The big business of small business. (Paul Sarvadi, CEO of Administaff Inc.)
May 22, 1998... Paul Sarvadi wants Administaff to be the entrepreneur's best friend When Administaff Inc. went public last year, it wasn't because the company needed to raise money, says CEO Paul Sarvadi. It was really a public relations move. As the...

Banks are banking on their clients' Y2K preparations. (millenium bug) (includes related article on effects of computer bug on small to medium-sized businesses)(Banking and Finance Quarterly)
May 22, 1998... The clock is ticking. In little more than 18 months, the Year 2000 will arrive. And while apocalyptic tales of business grinding to a halt and deep recessions hitting may be overblown, it's doubtful that the global economy will come through...

Weingarten Realty Investors. (Proxy Report Excerpts)(Company Profile)
May 22, 1998... NYSE WRI 2600 Citadel Plaza Drive, Suite 300, Houston 77008 (713) 866-6000 Total shares of common stock outstanding as of March 9, 1998 26,665,814 Stock price as of fiscal 1997 High: $45.63 Low:...

Another skyscraper in downtown's future? (TrizecHahn Office Properties' mulling over skyscraper development in Houston)
May 15, 1998... TrizecHahn mulls options to develop new office tower for growing tenants TrizecHahn Office Properties. one of the country's largest commercial real estate firms, is considering developing its own skyscraper in Houston's Central Business...

DuPont to spin off Conoco in mega-IPO. (E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co; Conoco Inc)
May 15, 1998... Offering will begin eventual divestiture Two years after investors and analysts speculated that DuPont Co. would spin off Conoco Inc., the long expected move was finally announced this week. Chemical giant DuPont plans to sell 20 percent...

Merger takes finance firm public. (merger between TEI Inc, Harris Webb and Garrison Inc, Pinnacle Management and Trust Co and Spires Financial)
May 15, 1998... Once Tanknology, TEl combining with investment bank When directors of TEI Inc. met with local investment bank Harris. Webb & Garrison to find a good merger partner, they didn't realize they had already found it. Houston-based TEI, formerly...

Local HMO losses likely to boost health care costs. (Houston health maintenance organizations)
May 15, 1998... Financial shortfalls at most of the city's health maintenance organizations are expected to drive up health care costs for local business this year. With only five of Houston's 19 HMOs turning a profit in 1997, the health plans are blaming...

Pennzoil meeting calm after storm.
May 15, 1998... After months of turmoil, the annual meeting of Pennzoil Co. shareholders turned out to be a quiet affair. The event held last week at the Wortham Theatre was tightly orchestrated and short on theatrics. The meeting lasted only 20 minutes...

Just what the doctors ordered. (Healthcare Solutions Inc owner Connie Breihan-McGinty)
May 15, 1998... When physicians face financial health problems, they call on Connie Breihan-McGinty to come up with a cure. Connie Breihan-McGinty is one of Houston's heaviest hitters when it comes to hammering out health care agreements. Hundreds of...

Form over function. (Sovereign Business Forms Inc)
May 15, 1998... Combining finance and industry experience, Sovereign is consolidating the business forms business When Don Patteson first started thinking about establishing Sovereign Business Forms Inc., he didn't really know that much about the industry....

Will Hogg: a rare combination of private enterprise, civic spirit. (Houston attorney, businessman and civic leader William Clifford Hogg)
May 15, 1998... William Clifford Hogg was an interesting blend of private businessman and public-minded citizen. As the oldest child of a Texas governor, James S. Hogg, he was exposed to a broad spectrum of the population and, in turn. developed a keen sense...

Labor shortage squeezes business. (Houston, Texas)
May 8, 1998... Tight job market creates paradise for workers, problems for employers Gensler, a national architecture firm, has been flying people in from Atlanta on a weekly basis to handle the work load in the Houston office. American Telco handed out...

A league of their own. (Nolan Ryan and Don Sanders' agreement to purchase the Jackson Generals of the Texas League)
May 8, 1998... Ryans, Sanders bid to move AA baseball team to Round Rock, build new stadium A couple of Houston-area businessmen with big-league experience will buy controlling interest in a minor league baseball team and plan to move it from Mississippi...

Ripe for takeover, Union Texas accepts ARCO's $2.47-billion offer. (Union Texas Petroleum Holdings Inc; Atlantic Richfield Co)
May 8, 1998... Houston-based Union Texas Petroleum Holdings Inc. will be acquired by Atlantic Richfield Co. of Los Angeles in an all cash deal worth $2.47 billion. ARCO confirms it will close Union Texas' Houston headquarters and expects some layoffs. But...

As IT business booms, Metamor seeks to sell its staffing division. (Metamor Worldwide Inc)
May 8, 1998... Metamor Worldwide Inc. is putting its staffing services business up for sale. Houston-based Metamor, formerly known as CoreStaff Inc., is exiting the business where it got its start five years ago to concentrate on the information technology...

Nuevo blames low oil prices, El Nino for its first quarter losses. (Nuevo Energy Co)
May 8, 1998... Although most exploration and production companies are reporting lower earnings the first quarter because of depressed oil prices, few have reported downright losses like Nuevo Energy Co. did this week. Nuevo reported a net loss of $6.6...

With Delhi purchase complete, Koch consolidating in Houston. (Koch Industries Inc)
May 8, 1998... Wichita-based Koch Industries Inc. is transferring dozens of employees - though it's not sure how many - from Dallas to the company's already cramped downtown Houston offices in Chase Tower. The transfer of workers follows last year's merger...

Flower power. (Garden Ridge Corp)
May 8, 1998... Garden Ridge grows through disciplined organization and an eye for entertainment Strolling around the cavernous Garden Ridge store in Webster, Armand Shapiro can't help but smile. It's early morning, and the 150,000-square-foot crafts and...

Rolling stone. (Jeffrey Stone Ltd)
May 8, 1998... Hot cigar market lights up business for tobacco retailer About 10 years ago, Jeffrey Stone got hit with a double whammy. A cigar and tobacco retailer, Stone saw some of his best customers pack up and leave town during the oil bust. To make...

Adams Resources & Energy Inc. (proxy report excerpts)(Company Profile)
May 8, 1998... AMEX AE 5 Post Oak Park, Suite 2700, Houston 77027 (713) 881-3600 Adams Resources & Energy Inc, is engaged in the business of crude oil and petroleum products marketing, tank truck transportation of liquid chemicals, and oil and gas...

Positron auditor resigns after officers exit. (resignation of Positron Inc officers)
May 1, 1998... The auditors of Positron Corp. are following a number of executives out the door at the local biotech company. Citing Positron's troubled financial condition, Coopers & Lybrand has resigned as auditor and joined a string of officers who have...

New business generates 19,000 jobs. (corporate relocation in Houston, Texas)
May 1, 1998... Manufacturing firms outpace call centers on annual survey Manufacturing companies have edged out call centers as the primary source of corporate relocations and expansion projects in the Houston area. In the past 12 months, 35 firms have...

Lawsuits flying over railroad ties. (lawsuit against landowner Thelma Waitkus and Southern Pacific Transportation Corp)
May 1, 1998... County takes dumping battle to court An illegal dump site containing 11,000 railroad ties is at the center of a legal battle between Harris County, a Crosby landowner, a major rail line and a private contracting firm. The railroad ties are...

Despite oil price dip, new player plans drill pipe plant. (Drill Tube International)
May 1, 1998... The timing might be off, but John Gandy of Conroe is going forward with plans to build a new drill pipe manufacturing plant in Midland. The facility will be the second new drill pipe manufacturing plant to be built in the United States after...

Mischer, St. Luke's join forces to develop assisted living centers. (Walt Mischer Jr.; St. Luke's Episcopal Health System)
May 1, 1998... Long-time Houston real estate developer Walt Mischer Jr. is teaming up with St. Luke's Episcopal Health System to develop unique assisted living facilities in Houston. Belmont Corp., founded a year ago by Mischer and Patricia Will, is...

Joint venture boosts local cargo carriers's South American business. (Associated Transport Line; Panamanian Carrier Corp)
May 1, 1998... Associated Transport Line has reached an agreement with Panamanian Carriers Corp. that gives the Houston-based cargo carrier new access to ports on the east coast of South America, Through a joint service agreement, ATL is preparing to offer...

Making a Newmark. (Newmark Home Pres and CEO Lonnie Fedrick)
May 1, 1998... Lonnie Fedrick prefers building on his own Growing up in his rough northeast Houston neighborhood, Lonnie Fedrick always assumed he'd join the Houston police force - or wind up behind bars. "Everybody in our high school ended up either in...

A Flagship's voyage. (Flagship Properties Corp)
May 1, 1998... Apartment acquisition has fueled developer's growth Flagship Properties Corp. grew so much during its first six years in operation the company moved or expanded its offices an average of more than once a year. And even though the shuffling...