Dallas Business Journal articles from March 2001

Dallas Business Journal archives from March 2001

Banks war over loan policy.
March 2, 2001... Locals decry potential for 'unfair' advantage by mortgage lender Washington Mutual GREATER METROPLEX -- A battle is brewing between local financial institutions and holding company Washington Mutual Inc. over the company's effort to pick...

Mapping the future.
March 2, 2001... As it celebrates its 50th anniversary, fast-growing Mapsco is moving into new offices -- and new approaches to the map business ADDISON -- Mapsco Inc., the Dallas-based mapping company, will move from Mapsco grid 34T to 14B when it...

Ariba alliances with EDS, i2 shifting course.
March 2, 2001... FARMERS BRANCH -- Two separate technology alliances formed by i2 Technologies and Electronic Data Systems to capitalize on the popularity of online marketplaces have run into trouble, due largely to a shift of market sentiment away from such...

Study: recent law grads still in catbird seat.
March 2, 2001... GREATER METROFLEX -- A new study shows that Metroplex law firms are still recruiting high-dollar recent graduates, despite having to pony up huge starting salaries with potentially adverse impacts on their bottom lines. According to the...

Grocer leases distribution space.
March 2, 2001... Save-A-Lot takes over former AmeriServe center to accommodate growth FORT WORTH -- Save-A-Lot, a St. Louis-based grocery store chain that expects to grow to 2,000 stores from 900 during the next five years, has leased the former AmeriServe...

Moving to Miller.
March 2, 2001... NORTH DALLAS -- Two of the four founding fathers of what now is Swearingen Realty Group L.L. C. have left the company to join Henry S. Miller Commercial. Dan Arnold has been named executive vice president of corporate services. David Arnold has...

What will it be called?
March 2, 2001... NORTH DALLAS -- Look for some "significant" news from JP Systems come March 12. The Dallas-based software maker will unveil a new name, corporate strategy and at least one product, according to a spokesperson representing the company. The...

Joining forces.
March 2, 2001... GRAPEVINE -- Richard Myers and Stephen A. Scott have formed a corporation to provide equity capital to real estate developers and users for new projects. Myers, president of Realty Capital Corp. in Grapevine, and Scott, formerly the...

Money woes.
March 2, 2001... UPTOWN -- Precept Business Services Inc. of Dallas and its subsidiaries have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization. The Feb. 22 filing shows company assets of about $78 million and debts of about $66.6 million. The company is...

More nurses, stat!
March 2, 2001... MEDICAL CENTER--The registered nursing vacancy rate at Parkland Health & Hospital System has reached 17.8% for medical surgical positions and is 13.9% overall. That's compared to recent Dallas-Fort Worth Hospital Council's statistics that...

Corrections.
March 2, 2001... A Feb. 9-45 story on the dismissal of 37% of the workforce at Irving-based BroadbandNow Inc. ("Nortel-backed BroadbandNow lays off 71 workers") incorrectly stated that all the company's employees were let go Jan. 15. Actually, some of the...

Atlanta Bread set for a slice of the market.
March 2, 2001... Founder calls area 'one of the biggest eating-out cities in the U.S.' GREATER METROPLEX -- When quick-and-casual restaurant chain Atlanta Bread Co.'s first franchise operation opened in the Metroplex, it was so successful three more...

Park Central tenants evaluate their options.
March 2, 2001... NORTH DALLAS -- The Staubach Co. has been tapped to help three Park Central area tenants look for new office space. Argo Data currently has 60,000 square feet in Banner Place on Coit Road. Diversified Corporate Resources and Snelling &...

Cooling market spurs layoffs at Aavid.
March 2, 2001... FARMERS BRANCH -- A slowdown in the worldwide electronics industry is forcing a unit of a New Hampshire company to close its manufacturing operations at a Dallas plant, a move that will leave 171 people without jobs. Aavid Thermalloy of...

Truck-seat manufacturer plans move to Forest Hill.
March 2, 2001... FORT WORTH -- D&R Products Inc., a manufacturer of seats for light-duty trucks, is expanding and planned to move its operation to Forest Hill on March 1. The company signed a lease for more than 30,000 square feet at 5703 Crawford Lane in...

New holistic chamber fills a void.
March 2, 2001... Richardson-based group plans membership drive RICHARDSON -- Hopes of increasing awareness of holistic business and promoting its growth in the Metroplex have led to the formation of The DFW Holistic Chamber of Commerce by a group of more...

Losses force OxyChem cuts, space reduction.
March 2, 2001... NORTH DALLAS -- Occidental Chemical Corp. is trying to rid itself of about 58,000 square feet of space at its North Dallas tower in an effort to compensate for losses in the fourth quarter and recent job cuts. The Dallas-based...

Clearwire signs deal to service Jamaica's lottery.
March 2, 2001... ARLINGTON -- Clearwire Technologies, which supplies wireless broadband Internet access, has inked a $3 million deal with the company that runs Jamaica's lottery. The deal calls for Arlington-based Clearwire to build a wireless network that...

Widening Loop 820 could hurt businesses.
March 2, 2001... Project to expand congested freeway to five lanes from two along a 5.5-mile stretch NORTH RICHLAND HILLS -- The state has begun acquiring right of way for the widening of Loop 820, a move expected to adversely affect several businesses...

Arlington agency takes Addy Award.
March 2, 2001... ARLINGTON -- Blanchard Schaefer Advertising won the "Broadcast Best of Show" award at the Fort Worth Advertising Club's annual Addy Awards banquet. Blanchard Schaefer, based in Arlington, created a television campaign for Snelling...

Legacy Doubletree aims for meetings niche.
March 2, 2001... PLANO -- Executives at Hilton Hotels Corp. are confident their latest Metroplex hotel will become a hot venue for business meetings and have named it to reflect that thrust. The 404-room hotel is called the Doubletree Hotel & Executive Meeting...

Northlake apartments test wide-open spaces.
March 2, 2001... NORTHLAKE -- More than three years after buying land near Texas Motor Speedway, Neal Small says it's time to stretch beyond his career of developing retail and office space and break ground on his first apartment complex. The 228-unit...

VarTec merger opens new revenue avenues.
March 2, 2001... NORTH DALLAS -- With its recent merger with a Kentucky company, Dallas-based VarTec Telecom Inc. is quietly pushing to steal a bigger piece of the telecommunications pie. The deal with Lightyear Communications gives the combined company --...

The Learning Channel films in Baylor's ER.
March 2, 2001... DOWNTOWN DALLAS -- It was lights, camera, trauma for Baylor University Medical Center. For the past month, the trauma center's emergency department was the focus of television cameras from The Learning Channel's top-rated "Trauma: Life in...

Plan aims to give women more contracts.
March 2, 2001... Legislators ordered SBA 'set-aside' program WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Women own nearly 40% of America's businesses, but they received only 2.5% of the federal government's contract dollars in fiscal 1999 -- only half of the 5% goal for women...

FACE TIME.
March 2, 2001... A look at movers and shakers of the Metroplex -- and what makes them tick. Ray Boothe Boothe, 54, is a partner and executive vice president of Daedalus Development Co., a Fort Worth-based company specializing in the redevelopment and...

Changes afoot at SMU-area Ramada hotel.
March 2, 2001... Local real estate developer Ray Tolson is cooking up a new future for the Ramada Inn Limited on Hillcrest Road just across from Southern Methodist University. Tolson has the 29,000-square-foot hotel under contract and is exploring a...

Drawn to the north.
March 2, 2001... For years, real estate brokers tried to tempt Bob Sambol with possible sites for his second restaurant. But Sambol, owner of Bob's Steak & Chop House, couldn't be persuaded. Until now. "I'd shied away from opening a restaurant to the...

Daniel Brannan.
March 2, 2001... Daniel Brannan has joined Dallas-based Texas Land & Cattle as vice president-finance. He previously held that position for Fishbowl.com, a provider of e-mail marketing projects for restaurants.

Hyatt Regency DFW.
March 2, 2001... Hyatt Regency DFW has marked its partnership with Starbucks Coffee by donating proceeds from coffee served Feb. 23 to a trust fund for Andrew Hawkins, son of slain police officer. Aubrey Hawkins. Hyatt properties, including Hyatt Regency and...

Clay Smith.
March 2, 2001... Clay Smith and Mark Newman have joined the Staubach Co. Smith is vice president and Newman senior associate in the company's Staubach Retail Services. They were previously at Cornerstone Commercial Real Estate.

Carole Keeton Rylander.
March 2, 2001... Texas comptroller Carole Keeton Rylander is proposing an expansion of the state's sales tax holiday. She would like to see it grow to five days and include additional tax-exempt items including safety equipment,, school supplies and materials...

Dallas one of five best for office investment.
March 2, 2001... Dallas has been the Rodney Danger-field of investment property markets for a number of years. But now, thanks to a report from Torto Wheaton Research Inc., the city is finally getting a little respect. The Boston-based research firm ranked...

Custer coup.
March 2, 2001... Another tenant has signed on for space in Custer Court, the 14-acre project CarrAmerica is developing with Rosewood Property Co. at the southeast corner of State Highway 190 and Custer Road in Richardson. Advanced Fibre Communications Inc....

Dose of realty.
March 2, 2001... Ted Jones, senior vice president and chief economist of Stewart Title Guaranty Co. of Houston, will be the featured speaker at Dallas Real Estate Research Forum's First Quarter meeting. Jones will speak on "Energy Prices, Interest Rates, Real...

Up the ladder.
March 2, 2001... * Craig Jones, former vice president and principal of Macfarlan Real Estate Services, has joined Partners National as vice president and member of the executive committee. During his seven-year tenure with Macfarlan, Jones also served as...

Western Integrated Networks.
March 2, 2001... * Western Integrated Networks has leased 54,000 square feet at 1409 S. Lamar in Dallas. Pete Coughlin with Southside on Lamar represented the landlord, Southside Plaza Ltd. L.P. Western Integrated Networks also leased 50,000 square feet of...

Think tank offering deals for new sponsors.
March 2, 2001... The Center for Applied Information Technology is the most interesting research-and-education think tank you've never heard of. Currently housed on the campus of the University of Dallas, the center -- which goes by the acronym CAIT for...

Texas ranks third in number of U.S. PPOs.
March 2, 2001... With 34 to its credit, Texas ranks third behind California and Pennsylvania in the number of PPOs in the state, according to the just-released National Directory of Managed Care Organizations. California has 49 PPOs and Pennsylvania has 47,...

Building a foundation.
March 2, 2001... Texas Cancer Care in Fort Worth has established The Cancer Education and Research Foundation, a nonprofit created to increase local participation in cancer-research programs. Most research into new cancer-drug therapies is conducted at...

More transactions.
March 2, 2001... Fiscal 2000 results won't be released until March 20, but Dallas based Claimsnet.com Inc. is reporting it processed 5.28 million transactions last year. The record performance was an 88% increase over the 2.8 million transactions processed in...

Community Council of Greater Dallas.
March 2, 2001... Community Council of Greater Dallas has received a $543,800 grant to expand its outreach efforts to enroll uninsured children in Children's Health Insurance Program. The program provides lower-cost health insurance to children of low-income...

Easter Seals of Greater Dallas.
March 2, 2001... Easter Seals of Greater Dallas has received a $65,000 grant from Dallas-based Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation's Dallas County Affiliate. The funds will allow Reflections, a post-mastectomy program, to continue and expand.

Southwest Surgery Center.
March 2, 2001... Southwest Surgery Center in Hurst has received a three-year accreditation by the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care Inc.

Aetna U.S. Healthcare of North Texas.
March 2, 2001... The National Committee for Quality Assurance has given Aetna U.S. Healthcare of North Texas an excellent accreditation rating for its HMO and point-of-service plans. The distinction has been earned by only 30% of commercial health plans that...

John Oates.
March 2, 2001... Aetna has named John Oates regional government relations manager for its West Central region. He serves as a liaison to state legislators and regulatory officials in Texas, Colorado, Oklahoma, Missouri and Kansas.

Debbie Akins.
March 2, 2001... Debbie Akins, an occupational therapist for the Fort Worth School District, has been appointed sports technical officer for boccia for the United States Cerebral Palsy Athletic Association. Her appointment is through 2004.

Independent banks to receive helping hand.
March 2, 2001... The Independent BankersBank is offering investment advisory services to independent community financial institutions. The new service, called TIB Advisory Group, will be provided through a newly created department within TIB Securities --...

Jon Pettee.
March 2, 2001... Jon Pettee is returning to Amresco Inc. as its executive vice president and chief financial officer, effective March 1. Since April, Pettee served as CFO of the company until his resignation on Dec. 31. Amresco has experienced management...

Samco Capital Markets.
March 2, 2001... * According to a report issued by Samco Capital Markets, a division of Service Asset Management Co. of Dallas, fourth-quarter mergers and acquisitions activity among Texas banks and thrifts was unchanged from the comparable period in 1999, and...

U.S. Small Business Administration.
March 2, 2001... * The U.S. Small Business Administration has increased the maximum size of the surety bonds it can guarantee for small businesses. Recent statutory changes to the SBA's Surety Bond Guarantee Program now allow guarantees on bonds up to a...

Prism Processing Services.
March 2, 2001... * Prism Processing Services, the sales and service unit of Dallas-based Paymentech, has two new point-of-sale offerings for community bankers and its merchant customers. The first, Telecheck's Eclipse terminal, provides support for electronic...

Founders National Bank.
March 2, 2001... * Founders National Bank and U.S. Trust Company of Texas have been recognized by the Texas Equal Access to Justice Foundation for helping support legal services for low-income Texans. The banks achieved "gold level" status from the foundation...

EDS gets new contracts.
March 2, 2001... EDS has signed-more than $700 million in new contracts with public and private clients in the United States and Canada. Among the contracts listed by the Plano-based information services firm area $475 million deal with health insurer Blue...

Silverleaf scales back, warns of downsizing.
March 2, 2001... Silverleaf Resorts warned negotiations with its lenders have not produced the desired extension and expansion of its credit facilities. The Dallas-based resort chain said it has cut back on marketing and sales to conserve cash. Silverleaf,...

Luminant delays call on earnings.
March 2, 2001... Luminant Worldwide Corp. postponed a conference call on the company's fourth-quarter and year-end performance -- a move executives say will buy the company more time to give investors an accurate picture of early 2001. Jim Corey, Luminant...

Airtech, W&B ink deal.
March 2, 2001... Airtech International Group and W&B Service Co., a provider of temperature control equipment to transportation and mechanical contractors, have signed a multiyear marketing agreement. Financial terms were not disclosed. Under the agreement,...

UT Southwestern names plaza for Prothro.
March 2, 2001... The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas named a new campus plaza for C. Vincent Prothro, late chairman and CEO of Dallas Semiconductor Corp. Prothro, who died in November at 58, personally raised $15 million in venture...

Carreker signs U.K. deal.
March 2, 2001... National Australia Bank's subsidiaries in the United Kingdom will begin using Carreker Corps' fraud-detection product, FraudLink On-us. Financial terms were not disclosed. The software is a mainframe-based fraud-detection platform designed to...

TI earnings estimates plunge.
March 2, 2001... Texas Instruments said its first-quarter revenue will plunge 20%, compared to the fourth quarter, rather than the previously estimated 10%. The chip maker blames the economic slowdown that began in the fourth quarter on current customer...

Casino expanding to Illinois barge.
March 2, 2001... Hollywood Casino Corp. said it will begin a $75 million renovation of its two Aurora, Ill., riverboat casinos. Plans call for the company to replace the 29,500 square feet of gaming space now offered aboard the riverboats with a...

Alcatel to sell Richardson plant.
March 2, 2001... Alcatel is searching for a potential partner to acquire and operate its Richardson plant. The plant, which em ploys 500, makes mechanical subassemblies and printed-circut boards Alcatel said it hopes to develop an out sourcing agreement with a...

U.S. Lime declares dividend.
March 2, 2001... U.S. Lime & Minerals Inc. announced its regular quarterly cash dividend of 2.5 cents per share Feb. 23, payable March 26 to shareholders of record at the close of business March 1. U.S. Lime supplies lime and lime stone products to industries...

Panja announces management change.
March 2, 2001... Panja Inc. named its founder and former chairman, Scott Miller, president and CEO effective Feb. 22. Miller, who previously held the positions, replaces Joe Hardt, who has been named chairman of the Richardson-based broadband communications...

Denton annexes 1,200 acres.
March 2, 2001... The Denton City Council voted to annex 1,200 acres into southwestern Denton in two recent annexation votes. The first annexation, which includes 672 acres, is on land near Ryan and Country Club roads. The second annexation consists of 534 acres...

Terra Land adds to subdivision.
March 2, 2001... Terra Land Development of Southlake bought 90 acres to add to its Crown Ridge residential subdivision, which started as a 67-acre enclave of custom homes. Crown Ridge is in the Denton County portion of Southlake, hear where Sabre Holdings Corp....

TCU creates futuristic lab.
March 2, 2001... Texas Christian University's M.J. Neeley School of Business has partnered with RadioShack, Microsoft and Compaq to create a futuristic computer lab for e-business students. The facility is named The RadioShack E-Business Laboratory after the...

ABC-Texas elects president.
March 2, 2001... Joseph C. Smith, vice president of Sedalco Inc. has been elected president of the Associated Builders and Contractors of Texas Inc. The organization represents local chapters in state legislation and other governmental affairs. Fort Worth-based...

Quicksilver reports record year.
March 2, 2001... Fort Worth-based Quicksilver Resources Inc. reported record financial results for the quarter and year ended Dec. 31 due to higher production and prices. For the fourth quarter, the company reported net income of $7.8 million, a 225% increase...

Knowledge is power.
March 2, 2001... Despite widely publicized layoffs, people with high-tech qualifications can look forward to a bright future DOWNTOWN DALLAS -- Everywhere, it seems, are signs that working in technology isn't what it used to be. Nokia lays off 1,500...

New contender for telecom market share.
March 2, 2001... ... but traditional service providers fight back with cost-effective solutions PLANO -- When the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing, you can be sure there's trouble ahead. For companies with multiple branches,...

Internet economy still strong, says report.
March 2, 2001... Dot-coms' influence relatively minor, claims University of Texas study NORTH DALLAS -- When dot-coms started going under, the perception that the Internet economy was invincible began to erode. Rumors of its impending demise, however, look...

LARGEST METROPLEX LOCAL TELEPHONE COMPANIES.
March 2, 2001... LARGEST METROPLEX LOCAL TELEPHONE COMPANIES RANKED BY NUMBER OF LOCAL EMPLOYEES Number ...

LARGEST METROPLEX LONG-DISTANCE TELEPHONE COMPANIES.
March 2, 2001... LARGEST METROPLEX LONG-DISTANCE TELEPHONE COMPANIES RANKED BY NUMBER OF LOCAL EMPLOYEES Local/ Rank/ ...

All set for victory in the evolution revolution.
March 2, 2001... The Metroplex is gearing up to be a major player as biotechnology hits the growth headlines GREATER MEFROPLEX -- The dot-com revolution is in the Darwinian shakeout. The telecom revolution is in the fusion stage. The power-com revolution...

Stake your claim to a cyberspace domain.
March 2, 2001... ... . and take the opportunity to make your Web brand stand out from the crowd GREATER METROPLEX -- It's a jungle out there in cyberspace. Vying for customers' attention are an estimated 20 million Web sites presenting a mind-numbing array...

Streaming media poised for rapid growth.
March 2, 2001... GREATER METROPLEX -- Streaming media is still in its infancy, but believers maintain a streaming media-enabled Internet will become the next global mass medium. In the next five to 10 years, "virtually everyone will be using it. I believe...

LARGEST METROPLEX COMPUTER SOFTWARE DEVELOPERS.
March 2, 2001... LARGEST METROPLEX COMPUTER SOFTWARE DEVELOPERS RANKED BY NUMBER OF LOCAL EMPLOYEES Rank/ last Local/ year's...

Pace of mergers and acquisitions sluggish.
March 2, 2001... In spite of the dot-com debacle, Metroplex companies are not rushing to take over the victims NORTH DALLAS -- Consolidation seems to be the byword of the day among those who track the dot-com industry. But the languid pace of mergers and...

Shrewd operators buy into the high-tech approach.
March 2, 2001... The technology revolution need not be all bad for salespeople GREATER METROPLEX -- While technology will undoubtedly lead to fewer salespeople, those with enough savvy can use the Internet to become even more successful. There are...

Clicked, signed, sealed and delivered.
March 2, 2001... Could online-signature technology bring about the demise of the dotted line? GREATER METROPLEX -- Handwritten signatures have long been the sole standard for authentication of written documents. But that is changing. The newly enacted...

Better security gives boost to online health care.
March 2, 2001... Security improvements encourage medical use of the Internet NORTH DALLAS -- Enticed by the evolution of Internet technology -- most importantly, the growing sophistication of firewalls -- a growing number of doctors and insurance companies...

Office disruption can be virtually reduced.
March 2, 2001... Virtual business developments aim to improve efficiency and cut costs GREATER METROPLEX -- Picture this: You've had a demonstration of a great new software product without having your entire day disrupted. You purchased a much-needed,...

People on the move.
March 2, 2001... ACCOUNTING Chapman, Hext & Co. P.C. named Nancy Schulze shareholder and hired Tonja Treats-Noor as in-charge accountant. Turner & Vedrenne CPAs and Thomas L. Turner CPA became Turner, Vedrenne & Howard P.C. to reflect the partnership...