Houston Business Journal articles from May 1999

Houston Business Journal archives from May 1999

City's law firm under fire.(includes related article comparing the City of Houston Legal Department with Dallas Legal Department)(Houston, Texas)
May 28, 1999... Critics question overall efficiency, courtroom conduct of Legal Department With 102 attorneys, the City Legal Department ranks as the seventh-largest law firm in Houston. But size is the only thing the public office has in common with...

Real estate guru Baca splits with Landata.(Fred Baca)
May 28, 1999... Fred Baca has been entrenched in real estate data collection for 28 years. But after a rift with partner Stewart Title, the number-cruncher is taking the Baca out of BacaLandata Inc. and going his own way. Since 1988. BacaLandata has been...

Devon deal to buy PennzEnergy falls short of Union Pacific offer.(Union Pacific Resources; Devon Energy)
May 28, 1999... PennzEnergy Co, the former exploration and production arm of Pennzoil Co., will be acquired by Devon Energy - essentially for a fraction of what shareholders could have received two years ago. The offer, worth about $15.21 a share for...

GRO turns to Telescan, GlobalNet to help market day trading system.(GlobalNet Financial.com Inc.)
May 28, 1999... A three-way deal has boosted the ties between Houston-based companies Telescan Inc. and GRO Corp. and GlobalNet Financial.com Inc., a California provider of online financial news and information services. Under agreements announced last...

Shareholder files suit in attempt to block Daniel acquisition.(Daniel Industries Inc.)
May 28, 1999... A shareholder of Daniel Industries Inc. has filed a class-action lawsuit seeking to block the acquisition of the Houston-based company by Emerson Electric Company of St. Louis, Mo. The suit, filed in Delaware Chancery Court, claims that...

UniCare surrenders local HMO market.(health maintenance organization)
May 21, 1999... UniCare - one of only five local HMOs to turn a profit last year - is pulling the plug on its Houston HMO as part of a strategy to exit the HMO business in Texas altogether. It's probably the first time a health plan has ceased...

Some enchanted evenings: vacation planner books his niche in flights of fantasy.(Gregory Patrick, founder of Tours of Enchantment)
May 21, 1999... Divers emerging from the sea bearing chilled bottles of champagne for the employees of a local computer company vacationing in Mexico? A marauding group of Vikings masquerading for Chancellor Media Group execs and their top advertisers in...

Packaged Ice hands energy cares to Enron in high-dollar contract.(Enron Energy Services)
May 21, 1999... Package Ice Inc., a Houston-based national consolidator of ice manufacturing plants, has signed a 10-year contract with Enron Energy Services that is estimated to be worth more than $100 million. The ice company is outsourcing all of its...

Men's Wearhouse plans merger with Atlanta-based clothing rival.(K&G Men's Center Inc. of Atlanta, GA)
May 21, 1999... The Men's Wearhouse Inc., the specialty retailer of tailored men's business attire, is once again busy expanding its reach around North America. On June 1, shares of Men's Wearhouse stock will be offered to shareholders of Atlanta-based...

Telephone deregulation bill riles competitors of Southwestern Bell.
May 21, 1999... The Texas Legislature will consider next week a sweeping telecommunications bill that could change the competitive climate among local telephone exchange companies. Companies competing with Southwestern Bell and GTE for local phone...

Bankruptcy and chocolate: globetrotting attorney Evelyn Biery forges international law agreements and concocts gourmet eclairs.(Profile)
May 21, 1999... Evelyn Biery has a passion for global bankruptcy law, a taste for fine dining and a sweet tooth for chocolate. The head of the bankruptcy section at Fulbright & Jaworski maintains two homes in Houston and San Antonio, dividing her time...

NBA attendance: bricks, slam-dunks abound in mini-season.(National Basketball Association)
May 21, 1999... Optimists were in short supply when the National Basketball Association opened its mini-season on Feb. 5. Most observers agreed that the NBA's three-month work stoppage and the retirement of Michael Jordan would trigger a dramatic decline...

Making business connections: Broadnax's Insync has become an ISP of choice for Houston companies.(Growth Strategies)(Geary Broadnax, owner of Insync Internet Services Inc.)
May 21, 1999... For Geary Broadnax, Insync Internet Services Inc. was something of an afterthought. The company, now one of the city's largest Internet service providers, began in 1995 as a subsidiary of AllSource Inc., a company that Broadnax once...

Savvy broker paves way for companies on the move.(Focus: Corporate Leasing: Offices, Apartments, Cars & Staff)(Dan Bellow, president of Staubach's office in Houston, TX)
May 21, 1999... Houston today is basically a seller's market for office and industrial leasing, with 88 percent of Houston's 170 million square footage occupied at this time. As tenants fill available spaces and the 5 million square feet that are currently...

Tuboscope Inc.(Proxy Report Excerpts)(Company Profile)
May 21, 1999... NYSE TBI 2835 Holmes Road, Houston 77051 (713) 799-5100 Tuboscope Inc. provides cutting-edge technology and services to customers in the upstream oil and gas industry. Total shares of common stock outstanding as of March 25,...

City runs fast break on basketball arena.(Houston to vote on basketball arena)(Brief Article)
May 14, 1999... The Harris County-Houston Sports Authority is launching a full-court press to get a new downtown basketball arena on the November ballot, and officials may have already picked out some prime sites for the facility. Now that plans to...

Ex-Oiler goes from auto promoter to owner.(Ray Childress acquires Lawrence Marshall Auto Dealerships)(Brief Article)
May 14, 1999... After 12 years of pitching, Ray Childress buys out Lawrence Marshall Former Houston Oilers star Ray Childress isn't just the pitchman for Lawrence Marshall Auto Dealerships - he's how the CEO. The retired defensive lineman is...

Deregulation worries smaller import firms.(Brief Article)
May 14, 1999... Like many small importers, Marvin Krasner is playing a waiting game. The president of Shtofman Co., a shoe importing business, still isn't sure how a major deregulation of the shipping industry will affect small and medium-sized...

Most local HMOs still post losses.
May 14, 1999... Only five of Houston's 19 HMOs made money during 1998. That's the same fraction of local HMOs that turned a profit during 1997, though the money-makers last year were not the same as the previous year. The only repeat profitable...

Only in Texas: The ugliest Web site.
May 14, 1999... "Austin, we have a problem." That's the verdict delivered by a panel of judges who voted the State of Texas Web site as the ugliest Web site sponsored by a government organization on the Internet. The dubious NetStudio Mud Brick...

How about a bowl of Astroats?
May 14, 1999... It ain't exactly a Wheaties box, but it's a start. Houston Astros Jeff Bagwell, Craig Biggio and Ken Caminiti have agreed to appear on a cereal box commemorating the highlights of their careers. The actual cereal, to be developed by...

Boots and Coots still smokin'.
May 14, 1999... Famed energy fire fighters Boots and Coots were as colorful as ever at the Offshore Technology Conference held in Houston this month. Asger "Boots" Hansen and Edward "Coots" Matthews, who battled oil and gas well flames for 40-plus years,...

Canine cuisine for picky chow hounds.
May 14, 1999... An aspiring franchisee has brought a bone-a-fide dog bakery to River Oaks. Debbie Immel opened Three Dog Bakery for business last Saturday in the River Oaks Shopping Center on West Gray, but this fido fare is not for mangy mongrels. No,...

Hospital 'Bunnies' star in book show.
May 14, 1999... The center of attention at BookExpo America '99 was a children's book published in Houston. "Bunnies in My Head" stole the show at the Los Angeles conference billed as the biggest shindig in the publishing world. The book, written...

News from the food and drink front.
May 14, 1999... All those flashy River Oaks residents and calorie-conscious social climbers who flocked to Armando's for years will have to go somewhere else for their dose of upscale Mexican food. After relocating from a small Shepherd bungalow to a...

Economist Smith points out some clouds in city silver lining.
May 14, 1999... While the rough-and-tumble ups and downs of the energy markets have taken their toll, the city is not facing a downturn in the same vein of the mid-1980s, University of Houston economist Barton Smith told a record crowd at what could be his...

Pair of IPOs in pipelines, concrete begun with consolidations in mind.
May 14, 1999... A warming market for initial public offerings is luring two Houston companies to Wall Street. Kinder Morgan Inc., a Houston-based pipeline company, plans to raise more than $166 million through an IPO of 7.25 million shares of stock. ...

Houston baseball agents talk deal for SFX Entertainment acquisition.
May 14, 1999... High-powered Houston sports agents Randy and Alan Hendricks are close to selling their business, Hendricks Sports Management, to sports and entertainment conglomerate SFX Entertainment Inc. The Hendricks brothers established Hendricks...

Enron ends negotiations to sell stake in oil and gas firm to unnamed suitor.
May 14, 1999... Enron Corp. is no longer negotiating to sell its stake in Enron Oil & Gas to an undisclosed company. The Houston-based energy services firm late last year received an unsolicited offer for its 53.5 percent stake in the oil and gas...

CARMan creator sells company to auto dealership software firm.(Automated Data Processing Inc acquires Dealer Solutions Inc)
May 14, 1999... Dealer Solutions Inc., a Houston-based developer of automobile dealership management software, has been acquired by one of the big three players in the industry, New Jersey-based Automated Data Processing Inc. Two years ago, company...

Bank United tests eye-tech ATMs in Texas markets.
May 14, 1999... Bank United this week introduced the first iris recognition Automated Teller Machines to be used by banking customers in the United States. The ATMs identify customers by looking at the colored portion of the eye. In a pilot program to...

ATM popularity highest among ethinic minorities, finds Pulse study.
May 14, 1999... As the number of automated transaction machines (ATMs) has mushroomed across the country, a nationwide study originating in Houston has found that ethnic minorities are the leading users of ATM cards among U.S. consumers. Pulse EFT...

Community banks find buyers in pair of purchase deals.
May 14, 1999... Two more small community banks in Houston and its environs agreed last week to merge with or be acquired by larger banks, continuing the bank consolidation process that is being driven at this level primarily by technology concerns. In...

LazerRage takes an opening shot at high tech amusement in Spring.
May 14, 1999... Old Town Spring is about to get a newfangled neighbor. The quiet, gentle shopping mecca known for its cluster of homey stores selling antiques, old-fashioned artsy-craftsy items and other frilly fare, is now home to high-tech outfit...

Retail rumblings.(Six Flags Theme Parks will acquire the Splashtown water park)
May 14, 1999... Six Flags Theme Parks, owner of Houston's AstroWorid and WaterWorld parks, is riding the wave of success by purchasing the Splashtown water park in north Houston. The park, north of downtown Houston on Interstate 45 in Spring, has been...

Out of the driver's seat.(TransEnergy Management Inc)
May 14, 1999... Energy software firm and ex-CEO Bill Rollwitz take different roads A month ago, Bill Rollwitz appeared to be on the fast track at TransEnergy Management Inc. The race car-driving president of the energy trading software firm was...

Coleman & Coleman snapped up by Atlanta direct marketing firm.
May 14, 1999... Houston-based marketing communications firm Coleman & Coleman has been acquired by Atlanta direct marketing firm Grizzard. Coleman & Coleman president and CEO Brandon Coleman says Grizzard will provide financial backing to take his firm's...

DeBeers.(a commercial for the diamond company)
May 14, 1999... A huge New Year's Eve party was staged in downtown Houston last week. The simulated Y2K celebration wasn't a trial run for end-of-the-year festivities, it was the backdrop for a commercial shot for the diamond company DeBeers. The...

R. Trevino & Associates.(opens Houston branch office)(Brief Article)
May 14, 1999... * Monterrey, Mexico-based advertising agency R. Trevino & Associates has established its first U.S. branch office in Houston. Trevino is the first Mexican ad agency to open an office here. Agency chief Ruben Trevino says the Houston...

WindRose community added to Friendswood management portfolio.
May 14, 1999... Friendswood Development Co. is taking over the daily operations and future development of another Houston-area master-planned community. Friendswood struck an agreement with Pinelakes Limited Partnership to add the 1,110-acre WindRose...

Vantage adding more Class A warehouse space.
May 14, 1999... Vantage Cos. is under way with more construction in the Northwest Point Business Park that would bring the firm's new space to more than 600,000 square feet. Vantage recently broke ground on a 216,000-square-foot distribution/warehouse...

Post Oak Partners.
May 14, 1999... One of Jesse Jones' landmark skyscrapers is getting a face lift to restore the facade back to its original splendor. It will take until mid-July for owners Post Oak Partners and architect David Hornbeek to revamp the Bankers Mortgage...

Telescan creates interpretive text function for Wall Street City site.
May 14, 1999... Telescan Inc. will soon unveil a new technology that will allow stock market investors to easily access sophisticated financial data. Telescan will launch the interpretive text feature on the company's comprehensive financial Web site,...

Compaq Computer Corp.
May 14, 1999... Three top executives at Compaq Computer Corp. have left the Houston-based company within the last three weeks.

Michael Heil.
May 14, 1999... Michael Heil, formerly the senior vice president and general manager of worldwide sales and marketing, left April 29, and his position at the company has been eliminated. He accepted a job at a small telecommunications company in Connecticut.

John Rando.
May 14, 1999... John Rando, who is the senior vice president and group general manager for Compaq services, has resigned effective July 1. He left to pursue personal interests, according to a Compaq spokesman.

Kenny Kurtzman.(leaves Compaq.com)(Brief Article)
May 14, 1999... And Kenny Kurtzman, previously the vice president and general manager of the Compaq.com division, left the company last week. Kurtzman has accepted the position of CEO at Houston-based Ashford.com, a large online watch retailer.

Eckhard Pfeiffer.(resigns from Compaq Computer Corp.)(Brief Article)
May 14, 1999... This is just the latest round of executive exits from Compaq. Ex-CEO Eckhard Pfeiffer was pressured into resigning on April 19. And Earl Mason, the former chief financial officer and a senior vice president, departed at the same time to take...

2-Infinity.com.(Lakota Energy acquisition)(Brief Article)
May 14, 1999... * Houston-based 2-Infinity.com has signed a letter of intent to be acquired by an Atlanta company. Lakota Energy Inc. will buy the local provider of high-speed Internet access products aimed at the multitenant and hospitality markets....

University of Houston-Downtown.(supercomputer)(Brief Article)
May 14, 1999... * The University of Houston-Downtown has received a multimillion-dollar "Deep Blue" computer as part of an IBM Shared University Research grant. The IBM RS/6000 SP supercomputer is best known for beating the grand master chess champion,...

National Institute of Technology.(branch opening)(Brief Article)
May 14, 1999... * The National Institute of Technology in San Antonio opened a local branch in Houston last month. NIT, Houston offers programs in medical assisting and electronics and computer technology. The 20,OOO-square-foot campus at 4150 Westheimer has...

Longtime autodealer Marshall turns attention to classic cars, golf course.(Lawrence Marshall)
May 14, 1999... Hempstead car dealer Lawrence Marshall has a strange way of retiring. With a career spanning 58 years in the automobile industry, Marshall has ended his long career selling new and used cars at the Hempstead dealership he built, selling...

Cancel the mayor's programming on Municipal Channel.
May 14, 1999... A controversial decision to put the Municipal Channel under the mayor's communications department earlier this year is now proving to be bad news for Houston. This month, the Municipal Channel decided not to air the tape of a public...

A briefing brush with Henry Kissinger.(Editorial)
May 14, 1999... Henry Kissinger popped up on a couple of TV stations while I was channel surfing the other night. The former Secretary of State was making the talk show rounds promoting his new book "Years of Renewal," the third and final volume of his...

Computer, beer branding blunders sank CEOs.(Advertising)
May 14, 1999... Recently dismissed CEOs Eckhard Pfeiffer of Compaq Computer Corp. and John MacDonough of Miller Brewing Co. have a lot in common. Ailing company performance. Disappointing sales and market share growth. Questionable return on huge...

TV stations target schools in 'sweeps' competition.(Brief Article)
May 14, 1999... Houston television stations are in fierce competition for viewers. Millions of dollars in revenue are at stake for the television stations during what they call "sweeps" periods. During these "sweeps" -- in February, May and November,...

Purchasing increase.(National Association of Purchasing Management)(Brief Article)
May 14, 1999... The National Association of Purchasing Management-Houston reported an increase in its index for the second consecutive month in April after 15 months of a downward spiral. The Purchasing Managers Index for April was 52.5, a 4 percent...

Power project.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 14, 1999... Enron International completed the financing for the second phase of the controversial $1.87 billion Dabhol Power project located in the state of Maharashtra, India. Local Indian politicians had objected to the high price of the electricity...

Seismic survey.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 14, 1999... Seitel Inc. and Schlumberger formed a joint venture to conduct a non-exclusive seismic survey in the Gulf of Mexico over the next three years. Seitel selected 444 offshore blocks in the Gulf. Schlumberger's seismic acquisition and services...

Energy management.(Brief Article)
May 14, 1999... Coral Energy LP acquired Modular Process Control of St. Louis, an energy management company for industrial facilities. The acquisition will be consolidated into Coral Site Advantage LP. Coral Site will expand Coral's Energy Alliance services...

Cooper in France.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 14, 1999... Cooper Industries Inc. acquired Capri-Codec S.A., a French manufacturer of electrical construction materials. Capri-Codec has about 200 employees and annual revenue of about $25 million. Capri's products are sold to the European construction...

Gas contract.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 14, 1999... Reliant Energy Services Inc. entered into a long term contract with Quicksilver Resources Inc. to purchase natural gas. Quicksilver will supply 91 billion cubic feet of gas over a 10-year period with a guaranteed minimum payment of $225...

Pipeline purchase.(Kinder Morgan Energy to acquire Plantation Pipe Line)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 14, 1999... Houston-based Kinder Morgan Energy Partners LP will buy Plantation Pipe Line Co. from. Chevron Corp. for $124 million. Plantation transports petroleum products from refineries in the Gulf Coast to markets in the Southeastern states. Chevron...

Wage law violations.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 14, 1999... U.S. Department of Labor has investigated the Houston area roofing trades industry for child labor, minimum wage and overtime federal law violations. An investigation completed in March determined that out of 91 roofing contractors in...

High-tech purchase.(Brief Article)
May 14, 1999... PC and Internet Help.com Inc. acquired Home PC Help, a Houston-based computer services company that provides in-home computer setup, training, technical support and consultation. PC and Internet will expand these services to include in-office...

Equity offering.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 14, 1999... Anadarko Petroleum Corp. completed its equity offering of 6.25 million shares priced at $38.50. Anadarko received about $240.6 million before expenses in proceeds for the offering. The company will use the proceeds for oil and gas development...

TNRCC HELP.(Brief Article)
May 14, 1999... Would you like to spend less time worrying about environmental regulations so you can focus on the rest of your business? Then the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission's Small Business and Environmental Assistance Division has a...

Accounting for change.
May 14, 1999... Fitts Roberts' new consulting group is giving physicians a financial check-up Fitts, Roberts & Co. is finding out that when the right opportunity presents itself, it's never too late to change. After 36 years, the locally-owned...

How do you see medical management and other niche health care businesses evolving?
May 14, 1999... Randall Butler Chief operating officer, IntegraNet Medical Management Specialists 'Over the last couple of years, medical management's focus has shifted from cost management to outcome management, which attempts to utilize quality...

Vision and goals keys to creating and preserving a business legacy.
May 14, 1999... If a small-business owner has any interest is passing on what he has spent years creating, he must answer a number of important questions: * Have you defined your personal goals and vision for the transfer of ownership and management?...

Sunbelt, Texas cities lead U.S. in growth of overall population.
May 14, 1999... Texas cities are no doubt growing, but a new study by American City Business Journals finds the state's four largest metropolitan areas are among the 15 fastest growing cities in the country. During the period from 1990 to 1998, the...

There's no place like (a) home for a law firm with character.
May 14, 1999... Behind the facades of some grand Houston mansions, there are lawyers at work. They are among Houston attorneys who have veered away from the traditional downtown high-rise quarters of large law firms, instead choosing historical mansions...

E-filing: new route opens to courtrooms near and far.
May 14, 1999... In most cases, jurors say high-tech approaches not only help them understand the evidence presented, it also prevents the nuisances of unnecessary trial delays. Now, the judicial system has taken trial technologies to still another...

LARGEST LAW FIRMS IN HOUSTON.
May 14, 1999... LARGEST LAW FIRMS IN HOUSTON (Ranked by Number of Local Lawyers) No. of No. of Last Firm ...

Despite all the jokes, 'legal ethics' is not an oxymoron.
May 14, 1999... How can you tell when lawyers are lying?... When their lips move. Unfortunately, in this country today, we read about many instances when a lack of ethics and morals seems to dominate our daily lives. The President of the United States...

Companies can take steps to minimize litigation costs.
May 14, 1999... Death. Taxes. Y2K. In today's business, litigation also makes the list of the inevitable. However, companies can take steps to minimize its expense and impact. Beware of company kept. Because frequency of contact breeds opportunity for...

Intellectual property law confronts issues in cyberspace.
May 14, 1999... When the Internet was created for the sharing of scientific and technical information, little did the pioneers realize that profiteers, sex and intensifying legal issues would flood cyberspace. But what some companies have been slow to...

Texas softening attempts to tax Internet commerce.
May 14, 1999... Texas is one of the states that potentially benefit from the grandfathering provision of the Internet Tax Freedom Act (part of the omnibus spending bill for fiscal 1999) that imposes a three-year moratorium on new taxes on Internet access...

Architect Albert Finn had a hand in many of city's early buildings.
May 14, 1999... Historic buildings have been much in the news recently. Many have undergone renovations or restorations, while others have disappeared from the scene altogether. One name that is mentioned frequently in connection with these occurrences is...

Advance or retreat: New rules put Medicare HMOs at service crossroads.
May 14, 1999... Medicare HMOs face the challenge of providing cost-effective, high-quality service while complying with ever-increasing regulations. Reductions in reimbursements have made some health plans question whether they should withdraw from the...

Overcapacity characterizes property/casualty market.(Marsh study)
May 14, 1999... A downward slide in premium growth and concern about catastrophe losses, the Year 2000 problem and low interest rates are not expected to have a major affect on the property/casualty insurance market, according to the 1999 Insurance Market...

Insurance preparation is part of getting ready for hurricane.
May 14, 1999... The Texas Gulf Coast is overdue for a major hurricane and "if our luck runs out" could have its first major hurricane in 16 years this year, says Insurance Commissioner Jose Montemayor. Hurricane season officially begins June 1 and...

Auto insurance is a priority for Mexico driving.(Brief Article)
May 14, 1999... Mexico is a natural business and pleasure destination for Texans, but those who travel by car need to understand that an auto accident in Mexico is serious business. The Texas Department of Insurance offers consumers a brochure, "Driving...

Public companies, nonprofits take a look at D&O policies.
May 14, 1999... Possibility of lawsuits may increase if Y2K brings conflicts with shareholders One of the most alarming predictions stemming from the inability of computers to distinguish between 2000 and 1900 is that the Year 2000 problem, or Y2K, will...