Dallas Business Journal articles from November 1996

Dallas Business Journal archives from November 1996

Dallas landmark being sold; New York Life Insurance Southland Center complex, home to city's first skyscraper.
November 1, 1996... DOWNTOWN - The Southland Center complex, home of Dallas' first skyscraper and the Harvey Hotel, is months from being sold after years of difficulty attracting tenants or a buyer. It was not immediately known who is purchasing the 1.5...

New pipelines promise profit for Cross Timbers; Fort Worth gas producer 'bought low, drilled high.' (Cross Timbers Oil Co.)
November 1, 1996... Fort Worth gas producer 'bought low, drilled high' FORT WORTH - It may not be the next gold rush, but some new pipelines may make drilling for Rocky Mountain natural gas at least a profitable venture for Cross Timbers Oil Co. Cross Timbers,...

Software pushes i2 revenues almost 200% over last year. (i2 Technologies Inc.)
November 1, 1996... IRVING - A 195% third-quarter revenue increase at i2 Technologies Inc. is the latest return to startle an already optimistic Wall Street. Analysts following software maker i2 repeatedly have had to update their growth models for the company...

Employers strain to fill jobs as labor pool shrinks.
November 1, 1996... WEST DALLAS - Local employers are being forced by a Metroplex labor shortage to raise starting wages, steal employees from one another and consider moving out of the area to expand. For the month of September, Dallas-area unemployment reached a...

A head start on rivals? Cyrix thinks chip will hit home with new NC industry. (network computing)
November 1, 1996... Cyrix thinks chip will hit home with new NC industry RICHARDSON - Cyrix Corp. may have a jump on the evolving network computing industry. Executives of the Richardson microprocessor designer have said the Gx86 chip they are developing is a...

PrimeCo prepared to roll out Metroplex commercial service. (PrimeCo Personal Communications L.P.)
November 1, 1996... IRVING - The Metroplex soon will have a new wireless service provider. PrimeCo Personal Communications L.P., the Westlake-based personal communications service provider, has been testing its Metroplex network for two months and Dan Sutherland,...

DSC claims secrets stolen. (DSC Communications Corp. sues Samsung Information Systems America over stolen trade secrets)
November 8, 1996... Telecom company alleges in suit that Samsung wrongly wooed workers, pilfered research PLANO - DSC Communications Corp. is suing Samsung Information Systems America Inc., alleging that Samsung has stolen trade secrets and employees....

The South is rising. (construction of new warehouse stores and shopping mall in De Soto, TX)
November 8, 1996... Warehouses go up as DeSoto shrugs off past DESOTO - Much of Dallas County's vaunted growth has been to the north of Dallas, but a pair of speculative warehouses and plans for a factory-outlet mall here have civic leaders boasting that the south...

Incubator planned for Fort Worth med firms.
November 8, 1996... Part of city's efforts to revitalize district FORT WORTH SOUTH - A business incubator for medical and technology startups is planned for the Southside Medical District. The incubator, expected to open by next fall, is part of broad...

'Ticket' sale prompts suit. (Cardinal Communications Partners L.P. sues SFX Broadcasting Inc. for breach of contract)
November 8, 1996... Cardinal said it is owed millions after KTCK sold DOWNTOWN - At least one radio station feels it wrongfully has been left standing in the musical chairs-like game of station buyouts. Dallas-based Cardinal Communication Partners L.P. is suing...

State's credit unions may be due new restrictions. (Texas)
November 8, 1996... POLYTECHNIC HEIGHTS - State-chartered credit unions breathed a sigh of relief when they were left out of a Washington, D.C., court decision that handcuffed the growth potential of federally chartered credit unions, but Texas bankers say they are...

Raceway could bear new name in time for '97 inaugural race. (Texas International Raceway)
November 8, 1996... FORT WORTH - First it was Texas Motor Speedway. Then it assumed its current title, Texas International Raceway. But don't get used to it. That name will change, too. Scandia Worldwide Inc., a sports marketing company headquartered in...

Cargo rates spiking suddenly as shippers' fuel costs rise. (air freight)(Industry Overview)
November 8, 1996... GRAPEVINE - When Tom Sampson recently sold and exported medical products to a customer in Australia, he discovered the rates on his air cargo bill had gone up 8%. Not surprisingly, Sampson, who owns export management company Leeward Inc. of...

Kmart sharing parking lots to raise revenue. (Kmart Corp. to lease store-adjacent parking lots)
November 8, 1996... WASHINGTON - Kmart Corp. will sell or lease pieces of its parking lots across the nation to restaurants and retailers in order to boost revenue. In Dallas, seven Kmart locations have property available, with sites ranging from 18,000 square...

Up-and-down Mizar to scout new business.(Company Profile)
November 8, 1996... CARROLLTON - Mizar Inc. may be a company that's been a little misunderstood. "Some people categorize us as defense electronics company," said Dave Irwin, Mizar's CEO. "We view defense as a part of the industries we serve. Our intention is to...

Restaurant owner finds success in small package. (Scott Sheu)
November 8, 1996... Entrepreneur traded big business for wealth of personal satisfaction ADDISON - Scott Sheu left Taiwan in his early 20s for graduate school at the University of California at Berkley. He earned a degree, but wandered into the restaurant...

DeSoto exploring outlet-mall options with 12 developers. (De Soto, TX)
November 8, 1996... DESOTO - City officials here are pushing the idea of a new factory-outlet mall at Interstate 35E and Wintergreen Road. DeSoto Economic Development Corp., a publicly funded business development firm, hired Kansas City, Mo.-based Factory Outlet...

New hotel concept called for a mentor. (Home & Hearth Inc.)(Company Profile)
November 8, 1996... FAR NORTH DALLAS - Life will never be the same for Tom Lykos, a former investment banker and government lawyer. After a 14-year career as part of one institution or another, he and majority partner Dale Bullough launched Home & Hearth Inc....

Developers hope to turn rust to gold. (conversion of old industrial buildings in Dallas, TX, into loft apartments)(Commercial Real Estate: A Special Quarterly Report)
November 8, 1996... DEEP ELLUM - The last cotton train rumbled past 3311 Elm St. sometime in the 1930s, and with its passing, Deep Ellum started a long and seemingly inevitable fall into disrepair and urban decay. Without cotton, the fabric that held the district...

New Nortel building. (Northern Telecom Ltd.; Dallas, Texas)
November 15, 1996... Telecommunication giant planning 250,000 square feet of offices RICHARDSON - Northern Telecom Ltd. is looking for a builder for its planned 250,000-square-foot office building here. Executives at Nortel, a telecommunications equipment maker,...

Can't leave well enough a loan. (Jayhawk Medical Acceptance Corp.)
November 15, 1996... Lender lets you pay tomorrow for yesterday's face and body NORTH DALLAS - The brass at used-car financier Jayhawk Acceptance Corp. were pondering new business avenues when the wife of Jayhawk cofounder, Carl Westcott, spoke up. Jimmy...

Presby going into East Plano. (Presbyterian Healthcare System; Texas)
November 15, 1996... Presbyterian teams with Collin County EAST PLANO - Presbyterian Healthcare System and Collin County health officials have formed a joint venture to address the health-services vacuum in East Plano. Presbyterian Healthcare is scheduled to...

Second flat quarter for venture-fund investments. (third quarter ended September 30, 1996; Dallas, Texas venture capital companies)
November 15, 1996... First quarter propping up flagging figures in Q2 and Q3 DALLAS - Venture capitalists may be cooling - at least temporarily - on local investments. High valuations scared a few venture firms away from inking investments during the traditionally...

Former Convex head, venture veterans open new capital fund. (former Convex Computer CEO Bob Paluck; CenterPoint Venture Partners)
November 15, 1996... NORTH DALLAS - Former Convex Computer Corp. chief Bob Paluck has joined with a pair of local venture capital executives to open a new venture fund with $40 million to invest in regional technology companies. Paluck has founded CenterPoint...

Ex-NorthPark bank execs Prime for new Dallas bank. (NorthPark National Bank; Prime Bank)
November 15, 1996... NORTH DALLAS - Four former North-Park National Bank executives plan to open a new bank in heavily banked North Dallas. George Jones, David Cargill, Vince Ackerson and Keith Cargill, all former NorthPark executives, plan to file with the federal...

Mavs liven game atmosphere to enhance marketing efforts. (Dallas Mavericks basketball team)
November 15, 1996... DOWNTOWN - In any business, when new ownership and management enter the picture, there will be additions, subtractions and changes. Last May, majority owner Ross Perot Jr. led a group of investors, including David McDavid and Frank Zaccanelli,...

TI begins layoffs of 175 employees in imaging group. (Texas Instruments Inc.)
November 15, 1996... NORTH DALLAS - Texas Instruments Inc. began laying off 175 people in its digital-imaging group Nov. 12. TI executives said half the group would be let go this week. The other half of the crew, mostly manufacturing employees, is scheduled to be...

IntellAgent predicts new product will spur growth. (IntellAgent Control Corp.)
November 15, 1996... LBJ CORRIDOR - IntellAgent Control Corp. is counting on a new product to propel it to double-digit growth in 1997. But some industry analysts are less optimistic for the Dallas-based software maker. IntellAgent president Howard Getson, who...

Electronics ended Home Health paper chase. (Home Health Services)
November 15, 1996... UPTOWN - Home Health Services nurses deliver service with a personal touch, one to one in a patient's home. But back at the office. everything from billing and reimbursement to payroll and reporting is handled electronically. The company's...

Staffing industry increasingly employing Internet. (Dallas, Texas employment agencies)(Information Technology)
November 15, 1996... Placement firms using Web to match jobs, job seekers NORTH DALLAS - There was a time when employment agencies and temporary job services relied on two methods - the telephone and the mail - for recruiting. Today, with help from cyberspace,...

Continental for sale. (Myers Bancshares Inc. to sell Continental State Bank and Woodhaven National Bank)
November 22, 1996... Dallas developer Myers selling Fort Worth, Wise County banks FORT WORTH - Dallas real estate developer Mike Myers is selling Woodhaven National Bank, based here, and Continental State Bank in Boyd. Meyers and his company, Myers Bancshares...

Towers stabbing skyward: Bell pilots, others see danger; telecom firms see growing revenues. (telecommunications tower poses hazard to airspace of Bell Helicopter Textron Inc.)
November 22, 1996... FORT WORTH - When developers built a telecommunications tower in the backyard of Bell Helicopter Textron Inc., the company's executives were shocked. The tower was punching a hole smack-dab in the middle of Bell's limited and valuable...

Haas Wheat buys SmartCarte. (Haas Wheat and Partners)
November 22, 1996... Dallas investors roll luggage-cart maker away for $113 million UPTOWN - Dallas investment firm Haas Wheat & Partners has bought its way into the baggage-handling business, buying a majority interest in St. Paul, Minn.-based Smart-Carte Inc. in...

Metroplex doctors prescribing own profitable future; doctors debate value of Columbia's plan to issue stock in local division. (Columbia/HCA Healthcare Corp.)
November 22, 1996... PLANO - Columbia/HCA Healthcare Corp. has offered some doctors practicing in its North Texas Division a piece of the action. Columbia executives are proposing to sell shares of the health care giant's North Texas Division to a select group of...

Southwest Physicians traded unit for money to grow, office management.(Metroplex Doctors Prescribing Own Profitable Future)
November 22, 1996... OAK LAWN - To retain control of their practice of medicine, doctors in one of Dallas' largest physician groups have gladly relinquished control of their business operations to PhyCor Inc., a national leader in the rapidly growing...

Snelling finds bargain in sites at Wal-Mart stores. (Snelling Personnel Services)
November 22, 1996... NORTH DALLAS - Kevin Jones remembers the exact moment he was struck with the unconventional idea of opening Snelling Personnel Services locations within Wal-Mart super centers. "I was sitting at lunch with our chairman of the board, Bob...

Headhunters after more than resumes. (executive recruiters)(Special Report: Professional Development)
November 22, 1996... DOWNTOWN - You've got a resume rich in job history and career achievements. You're a final candidate for an executive position with a large company. But in the end, you don't make the cut. What gives? In many cases, it boils down to how well...

DBJ 275. (stock index)(Illustration)
November 22, 1996... [TABULAR DATA OMITTED] [TABULAR DATA OMITTED] [TABULAR DATA OMITTED] [TABULAR DATA OMITTED] [TABULAR DATA OMITTED] [TABULAR DATA OMITTED] [TABULAR DATA OMITTED] INDEXES CLOSE ...

Comedian financed business on credit cards. (Phil Larsson, owner of Ad-Libs Improvisational Comedy troupe)
November 22, 1996... DOWNTOWN - Phil Larsson can laugh now about the effects of using credit cards to start a business. "Here I am, debt free. I make a nice living, I work more and earn more; there's a million things in the works," said Larsson, referring to the...

Newspaper war focuses media spotlight on Arlington. (Texas)
November 29, 1996... ARLINGTON - What started as two newspapers battling for the dream demographics of Arlington has evolved into something much bigger. When The Dallas Morning News last March expanded its one-man Arlington bureau into the Arlington Morning News, a...