Houston Business Journal articles from October 2000

Houston Business Journal archives from October 2000

Consolidators rolling up in merger.
October 6, 2000... Founders of Main Street, Sterling City unite to create new $30 million fund Two forces behind the consolidation craze in Houston have rolled their own local firms into one. Backed by a mix of Houston CEOs and executives, the deal-making...

Buy now, fly later.(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... Travel perk pioneer offers airline miles to cybershoppers The father of the frequent flyer mile has created a retail Internet site that lets consumers earn the passenger perk while shopping. Houston-based MileSpree Inc. is the...

First Lady of Tex-Mex sells out.(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... Skeeter's owner buys Garbett's Los Tios chain Three decades after his first meal at the original Los Tios restaurant, Houston entrepreneur Gary Adair is buying the whole enchilada from the founder Rosemary Garbett, one of Houston's most...

High - rise plans for historic structure.(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... Gulf Publishing site nears sale Simmons Vedder & Co., an Austin-based developer with a penchant for suburban office projects, is under contract to purchase the 84-year-old Gulf Publishing Co. building on Allen Parkway with plans for a...

All work, no play perks up old park.(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... The luxury apartment development firm of Gables Residential gave 300 employees a day off from work last week to go to the park -- not to play, but to work. Last Friday, employees ranging from top executives to leasing agents gathered at...

French tune in to bunny in the money.(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... A former Playboy playmate and her $450 million award from the estate of a billionaire Texas oilman who was old enough to be her great-grandfather. Such juicy items add up to good radio -- in Europe. "You cannot pass a story like that," says...

New ads, old sports adorn Yellow Pages.(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... The latest edition of the Yellow Pages is about to hit Houston doorsteps with a new -- and highly visible option for advertisers. Southwestern Bell has bedecked the books with "billboard" ads, which fill a two-inch by eight-inch banner...

Less is more for Houston techies.(Houston, Texas)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... Technology professionals working in Houston trail Silicon Valley and New York City when it comes to salaries, but local techies lead both markets when it comes to what their wages can buy. Houston finished in the top three cities...

Chicks hatch new online nest egg.(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... If you're feathering your nest with stocks, a new online resource has taken wing -- www.chickslay - ingnestegss.com. The Web site dispenses advice from Chicks Laying Nest Eggs, an organization started by 10 women who wanted to take control of...

Superfund sellout upsets small firms.(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... The National Federation of Independent Business is accusing the Environmental Protection Agency of "a total betrayal of small business" by opposing legislation to exempt companies with 100 or fewer employees from liability for garbage dumped at...

News from the food and drink front.(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... The java junkies at Brasil will really have something to perk up about when the eclectic coffee house and eatery expands its popular outdoor patio space and adds a new element to the quirky cafe. Dan Fergus and Magda Sayeg, owners of the...

Prego.(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... Prego has another reason this year to pop the cork. The Italian eatery's wine cellar scored a third straight "Award of Excellence" from the editors of Wine Spectator magazine. The pub's Sept. 30 issue highlights the Village restaurant as...

Co-branding deal with Fidelity leads to local lay-offs at Chase.(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... Chase Manhattan Corp. is laying off 105 employees in its Houston office over a five-month period beginning Dec. 1. The cutbacks are unrelated to a national merger announced last week between the banking giant and J.P. Morgan, one of the...

Parkside expands 'Mansions' project with two more planned communities.(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... Just a few months after introducing its latest New Urbanism residential community -- the Mansions Series -- Parkside Homes is planning two more of the distinctive developments. Earlier this year, the firm broke out of its typical mold of...

Pinnacle revives fixed income with deal for Fort Worth firm.(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... The Houston-based, parent company of regional investment bank Sanders Morris Harris has acquired a Fort Worth-based asset management firm. Pinnacle Global Group Inc. on Tuesday said it will, buy Cummer/Moyers, which oversees $280 million...

GSA probes prison agency in sale of surplus computers.(General Services Administration)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... The General Services Administration is conducting a criminal investigation of Federal Prison Industries, a government corporation established in 1934 to provide job training and employment for inmates. FPI's sales of surplus government...

Automotive dot-com cuts staff, awaits fresh round of funding.(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... Houston-based. BBCN.com has slashed its work force by 45 percent as a result of a change in business strategy and difficulty in securing financing. Thirty-one people lost their jobs on Sept. 15 in the second round of cuts at the firm since...

Mexico's Cemex pours it on, pays $2.8 billion in cash for Southdown.(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... After being on the block for months, cement maker Southdown Inc. has finally landed a concrete deal. Earlier this year, Houston-based Southdown emerged as rumored takeover bait for companies stretching from Great Britain to Portugal. (See...

Two generations of power.(father and son team at Cobisa Corp.)
October 6, 2000... Thomas Knox and son Coby have made small Cobisa Corp. a big player in the construction of independent power plants It's a typical Friday, and the top executives of Cobisa Corp. are clad in their standard business attire - shorts and casual...

Hot subjects in Maine, Canada have familiar ring here at home.(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... A week-long vacation in Maine and new Brunswick, Canada, offered the opportunity to peruse local newspapers and talk to the locals. What's interesting are the hot issues in other places and how other communities are grappling with some of the...

Cool Films enters new 'Territory' with Art Guys documentary.(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... The old axiom says the clothes make the man, and now they also make the documentary. The Southwest Alternate Media Project (SWAMP) is celebrating its 25th anniversary of "The Territory' on KUHT-TV Channel 8 with the premiere of "Suits:...

Clive Watson Public Relations.(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... Clive Watson Public Relations has been busy organizing this year's Rainforest Gala. This is the second year Watson is handling event planning and public and media relations. The event, which benefits The Rainforest Foundation U.S., founded...

Quest Business Agency.(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... The Quest Business Agency was recently tapped by ASCO plc, based in Aberdeen, Scotland, to develop a new logo and related graphics. Rosario Laudicina served as designer: Richard Laurence Baron, creative director; and Nora Fulton and Luis...

Democrats refuse to say die, resurrect repeal of estate tax.(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... A group of House Democrats is trying to bring estate tax relief back from the dead. Republican leaders gave up on the issue after the House failed to override President Bill Clinton's veto of legislation that would phase out the estate...

Office firm breaks new ground with isle redevelopment project.(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... A local office developer is venturing into new territory with the acquisition of a historic building in Galveston that the firm plans to redevelop into a commercial and residential mixed-use project. Galveston Lofts Acquisition Ltd., a...

Betz Realty Investors.(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... Betz Realty Investors has acquired a 65,000-square-foot site sandwiched between the Sixth Ward and downtown's Theater District to build an eight-story, 80-unit condominium midrise. The Houston-based firm plans to pump $30 million into the...

Center for Performing Arts.(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... The major expansion and renovation project at the Center for Performing Arts at The Woodlands, home to the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, got under way this summer, and by the start of the 2001 season, the pavilion will be able to accommodate...

Hallmark Center for Health and Wellness.(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... A 68,000-square-foot assisted living facility and Alzheimer center is under construction in the Galleria area at 4718 Hallmark Drive. The Hallmark Center for Health and Wellness was designed by local firm Murphy Mears Architects and will...

Brunner suburban development now home to inner-city growth.(Anton Brunner)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... Anton Brunner is a little-known name to most Houstonians today. Yet the land that he owned and developed a century ago is now home to literally thousands of folks. The West End, which includes Brunner's subdivision, has become one of our city's...

Health care costs big business issue.(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... Topic A on the presidential campaign trail lately has been health care, but you can bet neither candidate will be mentioning the not-so-coincidental news that insurance premiums for managed care plans are going up this year by 10 percent to 30...

'Cluster effect' captures Kansas clinic.(Menninger Clinic moves to Houston, Texas)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... The coming of a world famous mental institute to Houston from Kansas is a classic case of the "cluster effect" at work. The cluster effect occurs when continued expansion of a particular industry reaches a point where it is fueled by its...

Collaboration key to understanding environment.
October 6, 2000... Nearly 200 years ago London was much like Houston is today. The industrial revolution stimulated commerce and created jobs on an unprecedented scale. As London continued to grow in importance as an international business and financial...

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... Ford under fire In his Sept. 8 Commentary, "Tort reform won't deflate rightful Firestone claims," Richard J. Trabulsi Jr. states that he and his wife both drive Ford Explorers with Firestone tires. These vehicles are: * Top heavy....

Energy exec.(Pamela Pierce, Southern Company Energy Marketing)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... Atlanta, Ga.-based Southern Energy Inc.'s Americas Group has named Pamela Pierce as president and CEO of its energy capital group, Southern Company Energy Marketing, based in Houston. The group provides financing to the oil and gas industry for...

Store opening.(Oshman's Sporting Goods Incorporated)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... Oshman's Sporting Goods Inc. will open its first SuperSports USA store in the New Orleans market in November. The 46,000-square foot store is expected to open during the Thanksgiving weekend, and follows close on the heels of the company's...

Rat study.(Zonagen Incorporated)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... Zonagen Inc. has elected to start a mechanistic study of phentolamine mesylate induced brown fat proliferation in rats. The company had been notified by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that a shorter mechanistic study of brown fat...

Gene research.(Lexicon Genetics Incorporated, Merck Genome Research Institute)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... Lexicon Genetics Inc. has concluded its agreement with the Merck Genome Research Institute, located in West Point, Pa. Under the agreement, MGRI provided funding for the development of Lexicon's proprietary gene trapping process for the...

Military contract.(Stewart and Stevenson Tactical Vehicles Systems L.P.)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... Sealy-based Stewart & Stevenson Tactical Vehicles Systems LP, a division of Stew. art & Stevenson Services Inc., based in Houston, has received contract awards for about $25 million by the U.S. Army's Tank-automotive and Armament Command. The...

Proposal withdrawn.(Medtronic Incorporated)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... Medtronic Inc., a Minneapolis, Minn.-based medical technology company, has withdrawn a proposal to acquire Cyberonics Inc. for $26 per share in Medtronic stock. Medtronic withdrew its proposal following Cyberonics' refusal to bite on the offer....

Houston bound.(Menninger Clinic for the mentally ill)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... The Menninger clinic, a world renowned center for the mentally, ill which has been financially struggling, is moving to Texas despite a multimillion-dollar package designed to keep it in Kansas. The clinic will become a partner with the Baylor...

Braking systems.(National Oilwell Incorporated, Baylor Company)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... National Oilwell Inc. has acquired Baylor Co. and subsidiaries from Boots & Coots International Well Control Inc. for $29 million cash. In 1999, the acquired business had revenues of approximately $35 million. Baylor designs and manufactures...

Tackling 'teleconfusion'.(Telegistics.com Incorporated)
October 6, 2000... Teligistics aims to ring up customer savings by dialing into billings Dave Roberts likes to think of himself as sheriff of phone systems. Indeed, after working several years for a telecom giant and gawking at the huge amounts of money...

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE.(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... ACCOUNTING Mann Frankfort Stein & Lipp Advisors Inc. has named Cathleen Crowhurst as manager, entrepreneurial services, Theresa Mickiewicz as a semi-senior and John Lehman as manager. John T. Moynihan has joined Wallingford, McDonald,...

SpawGlass Construction Corp.(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... SpawGlass Construction Corp. has received two Awards for Project Excellence from the Associated General Contractors - Houston Chapter. The awards were for the Houston Heights World War II Memorial Plaza and for the Compaq Commons, a dining,...

National Association of Broadcasters.
October 6, 2000... The National Association of Broadcasters has awarded Houston Spanish radio station KLAT 1010 AM the Marconi Award for Spanish Radio. Station of the Year. This award is presented to stations that excel in radio programming and community service....

Harris County Houston Sports Authority.
October 6, 2000... The Harris County Houston Sports Authority has received the APEX IV 2000 Master Builder Award from the Houston chapter of the Associated General Contractors. This award is presented to organizations that have been responsible for the initiation...

Technology and energy: Where two worlds collide.(Industry Overview)(Statistical Data Included)
October 6, 2000... Think Houston and energy immediately comes to mind Energy is rooted firmly in the rich Texas soil. Some of the world's major corporations have blossomed from its coastal prairie. Houston and energy are synonymous. Mention Exxon, Entex, Reliant,...

Recruiters face challenges sparked by convergence.(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... Convergence is perhaps one of the most commonly heard words in Houston business circles these days. In the latter part of the nineties, the term often meant bringing together gas and electricity as one commodity -- an event masterminded by a...

Home builders nail progress by making the Web a tool.(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... As the pace of the Internet revolution escalates, home builders with an eye to the future have rushed to embrace Web technology and e-commerce applications. The innovative use of these applications is resulting in a transformation of what has...

'Best' incubator profits both entrepreneur and the investor.(Industry Overview)
October 6, 2000... Incubators for nurturing and building successful market-leading businesses, especially high-tech companies, are a hot topic with the business community and venture capitalists. Incubators have exploded onto the technology scene. According...

Students' concept evolves into Tex-Mex call center.(Hispanic Teleservices Corp.)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... An entrepreneurial idea conceived by two MBA students last year at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., is seeing realization in Houston and Monterrey, Mexico. The concept was for a company to provide outsourced customer care for...

Clearinghouse model fills need for B2B integration.(business to business)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... Almost three-quarters (72 percent) of firms see integration as critical to e-business, according to a report by Forrester Research. But less than one-quarter (24 percent) of the firms surveyed for the report have purchased software to enable...

Nurture e-loyalty when moving traditional business online.(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... The new economy is changing how business is done across the spectrum, and addressing e-loyalty is essential in building a successful online business. Nurturing customer loyalty in the electronic age is especially important in businesses that,...

Human challenges surpass technical in going global.(companies entering e-commerce market)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... A company that is moving actively into the e-commerce arena is announcing its readiness to do business in an entirely new milieu, one that has no stabilizing historic traditions and that is evolving at a pace that makes breakneck speed seem...

Providing training is key to retaining IT employees.(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... "Don't focus on how much you'll earn. Grow your skills first... the money will come." Now more than ever, this familiar advice applies to information technology professionals. In turn, their employers should emphasize training in the latest...

Companies find creative ways to utilize Web sites.
October 6, 2000... With 2.1 billion Web pages up already and 7 million new pages being uploaded every day, it is not surprising society offers some interesting or unusual uses for the World Wide Web. The Web initially offered a new way to get things, tangible...

Space technology is used in device to aid diabetics.(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... Thanks to technology developed for the U.S. space program, Ed Krause, Ph.D., a researcher working with the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, has developed a miniaturized device to help diabetics heal their ulcers and reduce the...

Rice plans program to teach business online.(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... Rice University's Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Management and Quisic, a Los Angeles-based online learning company, are launching an interactive course in business fundamentals and near real-time computerized simulation. The school's...

Cimarron to provide services to space, education programs.(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... Cimarron, a Houston-based information technology company, recently won a contract from The Boeing Space and Communications Group to provide software and avionics, systems engineering and information systems service to the International Space...

Texas Children's spearheads Web assessment program.(generates data on children entering child protective system)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... A Web-based assessment process to generate data on children entering the child protective system has been developed by the ChildTrauma Academy at Texas Children's Hospital in partnership with Baylor College of Medicine, the Texas Department of...

Management consulting firm launches program for start-ups.(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... Grant Thornton LLP, a New York-based accounting and management consulting firm with offices in Houston, has launched a new service aimed at early-stage technology companies. BLAST!, which stands for Business Launch and Acceleration Services...

Early adopters have edge in the new wireless world.(future of digital wireless networks)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... An infinite horizon lies ahead for wireless Internet services. Early adopters will have an edge to improve day-to-day business and take advantage of tomorrow's possibilities. As wireless Internet matures and the race to bring more advanced...

It's too late for 'wait and see' approach in e-commerce arena.(participation in Internet crucial for businesses)(Brief Article)(Column)
October 6, 2000... If a company wants to be competitive in the marketplace and considered a long-term contender, it has to jump -on the Internet protocol wagon. Putting a domain name to it, the company becomes MyCompany-BleedsIP.com or even GoInternet-OrDie A...

Don't let electronic whirlwind blow away marketing balance.(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... As the frenzy to remain competitive in today's electronic world overtakes many mid-sized and small corporations, the rush to develop a Web presence often leaves balanced marketing plans and sound public relations strategies in the dust. ...

'New economy' treatens the tax man, mom and pop.(Brief Article)
October 6, 2000... The internet and its battle cry, "Get Wired or Die," have created an upheaval that is steamrolling traditional business and policy structures. The raw power exhibited by the Net is forcing business and policymakers worldwide to take a new look...

LARGEST AREA MINORITY-OWNED BUSINESS.
October 6, 2000... [TABLE HAS BEEN CLIPPED]

LARGEST AREA COMPUTER NETWORK AND SYSTEM INTEGRATORS.
October 6, 2000... [TABLE HAS BEEN CLIPPED]

Astros bragging rights.(Houston Astros attendance statistics)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
October 6, 2000... While the Houston Astros' 2000 record hasn't exactly wowed the fans as much as the team's new downtown digs, the home-town hardballers marked a milestone last week that bears note. At the Saturday, Sept. 30, game at. Enron Field, the local...

Six Sigma: The Break-through Management Strategy Revolutionizing the World's Top Corporations.
October 6, 2000... By Mikel Harry, Ph.D and Richard Schroeder Six Sigma is a business process that allows companies to improve their bottom line by designing and monitoring everyday business activities in ways that minimize waste while increasing customer...

Ritzy complex converts to condos.(American Invesco buys property)(Brief Article)
October 13, 2000... Dormant concept makes a comeback in apartments on edge of River Oaks The Gables River Oaks, an upscale apartment complex near the swanky neighborhood of the same name, has changed hands for the, second time in seven years. And the project...

Merger makes PULSE beat stronger.(PULSE EFT Association to merge with Money Station)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
October 13, 2000... PULSE EFT Association, the nation's fourth-largest automated teller machine and electronic funds transfer network, has agreed to an acquisition that will double its U.S. market area. Houston-based PULSE will merge with Money Station of...

Mattress Mac pulls plug on horse race.(Jim McIngvale cancels sponsorship of Sam Houston Race Park races, disagreement about jockeys unresolved)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
October 13, 2000... Colorful retailer cancels sponsorship in flap over exclusive use of female jockeys Jim "Mattress Mac" McIngvale has put the annual Gallery Furniture Texan Juvenile Stakes at Sam Houston Race Park out to pasture. After backing the...

Pages turn for energy trade pubs.(Chemical Week Associates acquires Hart Publications, other publications rumored to be up for sale)(Brief Article)
October 13, 2000... Publishers of energy trade periodicals in Houston are shuffling the deck and coming up with new owners, or are actively looking for buyers. Hart Publications, publisher of Hart's Oil & Gas Investor and other well-known energy publications,...

Growing law firm lures four attorneys.(King and Spalding)(Brief Article)
October 13, 2000... Four attorneys, including two partners, have moved from the Houston office of law firm Gardere Wynn Sewell & Riggs to King & Spalding's local office, which has doubled in size in the last year to a total of 48 lawyers. All four attorneys will,...

Blessed are those who invest in the word.
October 13, 2000... A new investment book aims at producing heavenly gains. "Solomon's Riches: A Biblical Guide to Your Investments and Wealth" was written by Wall Street stockbroker Ron Peterson. He's living in the world: The new book is available on the...

Rockets tip-off early with ticket promo.(Houston Rockets)(Brief Article)
October 13, 2000... The Houston Rockets gave season ticket holders and other fans a chance this year to score individual game tickets before they went on sale to the general public. Through a special online promotion, believed to be a first for the Rockets,...

TV sports guide joins publishing lineup.(Print Marketing Concepts Inc. introduces Sports TV)(Brief Article)
October 13, 2000... Football season has kicked off and the cold weather is kicking in, so it must be time for the start-up of another local sports-related publication. Sure enough, Print Marketing Concepts Inc. has launched Sports TV, a listing of TV broadcast...

Haute dog! Here comes convenience cuisine.(Shell service stations testing expanded food service)(Brief Article)
October 13, 2000... Convenience store food usually conjures up images of ancient hotdogs rotating behind Plexiglas and gargantuan cups of soft drinks. But Shell wants to change all that, at least at one of the company's gas station/convenience stores in...

Compaq contacts aside, Enron deal goes to Dell.(Enron Corp. to supply Dell Computers to employees)(Brief Article)
October 13, 2000... Houston-based Enron' Corp. probably made a lot of employees happy last week when it announced it would give close to 15,000 workers worldwide a high-speed computer and Internet connection for their homes. As part of the ClickAtllome...

News from the food and drink front.(Dessert Gallery Bakery and Cafe can put picture on cookies)(Brief Article)
October 13, 2000... You've seen them on t-shirts, buttons and even coffee mugs. But on cookies? Houstonians with an affinity for the sweet and the sentimental can have both with Dessert Gallery's new "edible images," the local bakery's latest cookie concept...

George W. Bush.(declares October Texas Restaurant Month)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
October 13, 2000... * Governor George W. Bush has proclaimed the month of October as Texas Restaurant Month to raise awareness of the contributions that the restaurant industry provides to the state economy as major tax revenue source, and as an employer. The...

Reliant's Letbetter will go with spin-off, McClanahan named regulated firm CEO.(Reliant Energy Inc. appoints Steve Letbetter, David McClanahan)(Brief Article)
October 13, 2000... Reliant Energy has selected top executives for the two separate, publicly traded companies the local utility conglomerate plans to create early next year. Legislation deregulating the electricity industry in Texas beginning in 2002...

Litigation, soft overseas markets drive Drypers to file Chapter 11.(Drypers Corp., lawsuit from Proctor and Gamble Co.)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
October 13, 2000... Two weeks after announcing it would miss Wall Street's third-quarter earnings targets, Drypers Corp. has filed for bankruptcy protection. The Houston-based diaper maker is seeking to reorganize under Chapter II of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, and...

Crates come, crepes go in retail revolution at Highland Village.(Crate and Barrel replaces La Madeleine Bakery and Cafe at Highland Village shopping center)(Brief Article)
October 13, 2000... Highland Village, one of Houston's most upscale shopping and dining destinations, is trading crepes for crates. The sprawling shopping center on Westheimer, just east of the Galleria, is saying au revoir to longtime tenant La Madeline...