Dallas Business Journal articles from September 1997

Dallas Business Journal archives from September 1997

BankAmerica changes plans; San Jacinto Tower lease deal goes south, sources say.
September 19, 1997... DOWNTOWN - BankAmerica Corp. is close to signing a lease at Lincoln Plaza for its Texas headquarters after the bank's pending deal with San Jacinto Tower fell through, real estate sources say. The deal reportedly fell through when at least...

Group blazing new X-ray trails. (International Radiology Group L.L.C.)
September 19, 1997... TURTLE CREEK - If International Radiology Group L.L.C. has its way, patients will no longer spend days waiting for results from a mammogram or other diagnostic test. The company is fashioning a new niche market for itself, interpreting...

Tighter personal bankruptcy rules proposed. (includes related article on Texas bankruptcy proceedings)
September 19, 1997... WASHINGTON, D.C. - Banks and credit lending institutions scored a major lobbying victory this week when a bill to curb bankruptcy abuses was introduced in Congress. Reps. Bill McCollum, R-Fla., and Rick Boucher, D-Va, introduced the...

Machinist shortage plagues local manufacturers. (Texas)
September 19, 1997... HARRY HINES BLVD. - Metroplex manufacturers and their suppliers are facing a critical shortage of skilled labor, with no relief in sight for years to come. Among the most severe shortages is a lack of machinists: those skilled at die making,...

Former franchise wins suit against Computer Currents. (Powers Media Group Inc.; Computer Currents Licensing Corp.)
September 19, 1997... RICHARDSON - With a court ruling in hand and his magazine on the press, Roger Powers is making a play for Texas' high-tech media market. His company, Powers Media Group Inc., just published its second issue of Current Technology, a free...

Monitronics' rapid growth is 'alarming.' (Monitronics International Inc.)
September 19, 1997... FAR NORTH DALLAS - Why didn't I think of that? That's the question that comes to mind when Jim Hull describes his company, Monitronics International Inc. Monitronics has found a lucrative formula for success in the profitable but...

Westar becomes powerhouse in nation's security industry. (Westar Security)
September 19, 1997... IRVING - After nosing around in their customers' bushes for years, several of the country's biggest utility companies are getting into the security industry. That trend has enabled Irving-based Westar Security, a subsidiary of Kansas...

Beal Bank owner starting rocket firm in Frisco. (Beal Bank of Dallas; Andrew Beal; Beal Aerospace)
September 19, 1997... FRISCO - Longtime Metroplex businessman Andrew Beal, well-known for out-of-this-world profits at Beal Bank of Dallas, is starting a new multimillion dollar research and development facility to search for business opportunities in outer space....

Rushing to target seniors, Parkland eyes new facility. (Parkland Memorial Health & Hospital System)
September 19, 1997... MEDICAL CENTER - Parkland Memorial Health & Hospital System is making a push to attract senior citizens to its primary health care care clinics. The county hospital is among many area health providers chasing after the ever-increasing...

Lawyers preparing for 'Year 2000' computer work.
September 19, 1997... GREATER DALLAS AREA - The problem of the century may turn out to be a bonanza for Metroplex lawyers. Called the Year 2000 Problem or the Millennium Bug, the glitch that promises to shake up or possibly shut down computers come Jan. 1, 2000 -...

Hicks dominates local acquisition offers. (Hicks Muse Tate & Furst Inc.)
September 19, 1997... [TABULAR DATA OMITTED] DOWNTOWN - Five deals involving Dallas investment firm Hicks Muse Tate & Furst Inc. dominate a list of the largest acquisition offers made in the Metroplex during July and August, a new report shows. The report by...

NETTouch up for sale as parent company stumbles. (NETTouch Communications Inc.)
September 19, 1997... GREATER DALLAS AREA - NETTouch Communications Inc., which marketed bundled telecommunications services under the name N'Touch, has ceased operations and is up for sale in the wake of a series of financial troubles sweeping over its parent...

Local bankruptcy filings surge 30 percent over 1996. (Dallas, TX)
September 19, 1997... DOWNTOWN - Bankruptcy filings in Dallas courts surged by more than 30% for the 12 months ending in June, according to federal records. Compared to the same period last year, filings grew from 8,640 to 11,240, representing little more than...

Documenting a new venture: Kenneth Cox's new printing business, Xpert Image, has been a roller-coaster ride.(Growth Strategies)
September 19, 1997... Kenneth Cox's new printing business, Xpert Image, has been a roller-coaster ride COLLEYVILLE - Kenneth Cox is a man with a deadline. If his business - Xpert Image Inc. - is not meeting a minimum standard by the end of 1997, he's going to...

How bad is the Year 2000 problem?(Technology Quarterly: A Special Report)
September 19, 1997... FORT WORTH - For a man with a possibly big problem, Michael Di Paolo is pretty calm. Di Paolo is information systems and services director for the city of Fort Worth, and the man responsible for making sure the city's computers operate on...

Industrial properties changing hands; San Francisco REIT to trade stock for warehouse facilities in $358 million deal. (Real estate investment trusts)
September 5, 1997... San Francisco REIT to trade stock for warehouse facilities in $358 million deal GREATER DALLAS - Nine Metroplex industrial properties will be changing hands as a San Francisco-based REIT is set to close on two property-for-stock deals valued...

Banks, credit unions head for high court; eight-year argument over 'common bond' entering final phase. (Valwood Federal Credit Union)
September 5, 1997... Eight-year argument over 'common bond' entering final phase CARROLLTON - Valwood Federal Credit Union recently denied membership to about 100 employees of Carrollton's newest middle school. It also refused a local antique store with four...

Giving football the old college try: the metroplex's college teams face an uphill battle for fan support and national respect.
September 5, 1997... The Metroplex's college teams face an uphill battle for fan support and national respect. UNIVERSITY PARK - Eric Dickerson is nowhere to be found. Bob Lilly and "Mean" Joe Greene long since have left town. The Metroplex used to be home to...

City goes after limousine 'bandits.' (Wynne Transportation Co.)
September 5, 1997... NORTHWEST HIGHWAY - With limousine services in strong demand in the Metroplex, Joan Wynne of Wynne Transportation Co. of Dallas has seen her limo company buy up two others and gross nearly $300,000 its first year of business. Wynne predicts...

Venture capital funds buy into new FoodStar Group. (FoodStar Restaurant Group)
September 5, 1997... UPTOWN - FoodStar Restaurant Group, a new company founded by three successful Dallas restaurateurs, intends to open as many as 40 fine dining and casual dining restaurants nationwide during the next few years. Supported by...

FirstPlus snaps up two firms to boost funding, loan output. (FirstPlus Financial Group Inc. acquired Citizens Thrift and Loan Association and Freedom Mortgage Corp.)
September 5, 1997... STEMMONS CORRIDOR - FirstPlus Financial Group Inc. has purchased a California thrift and a Utah mortgage company - acquisitions the Dallas consumer-finance firm says will soon add tens of millions of dollars to its monthly loan output. The...

PCS providers push features and service as well as price. (personal communications services)(includes related article on Dallas hosting PCS show)
September 5, 1997... DOWNTOWN - Call it the next skirmish in the PCS wars. For the past few months, providers of personal communications services in the Metroplex have been cutting each others' throats on price. But analysts say the pricing schemes are...

New intranet system slashes costs at Baylor Health Care.
September 5, 1997... EAST DALLAS - Baylor Health Care System has found a way to slice time and thousands of dollars from its purchasing process. Last fall, Baylor officials began using a new intranet system to review pharmacy contracts. The pilot project has...

TNP's star rises as PUC considers its 'dereg' plan. (Texas-New Mexico Power Co. and Texas Public Utilities Commission)
September 5, 1997... FORT WORTH - With apologies to the children's story, Texas-New Mexico Power Co. is acquiring the reputation of the "little utility that could." Fort Worth-based Texas-New Mexico (NYSE: TNP) is one of the smallest investor-owned utilities in...

Goss: life style's closing won't affect his other pubs. (Randall Goss, President of Empower Media Group)
September 5, 1997... DOWNTOWN- Empower Media Group President Randall Goss, who pulled the plug on Dallas/Fort Worth Life Style magazine Aug. 27, vows that its demise won't affect the group's two other publications, The Met and Texas Business. Goss had tried to...

Remote metering systems cut need for meter readers. (meter-reader-free homes)
September 5, 1997... MCKINNEY - For countless dog owners, rose cultivators and those who just want to preserve their privacy, electric meter readers are a hassle. Hassles, of course, are opportunities. Especially to homebuilders in Dallas' crowded new-home...

States eye new regulations on check-cashing outfits. (Consumer Federation of America)
September 5, 1997... WASHINGTON- State and local governments may soon impose fee restrictions on the $45 billion check-cashing industry that has mushroomed across the nation. Following a report by the Washington, D.C.-based Consumer Federation of America, a...

RRI's Don Crosbie: shaking up the status quo. (Don Crosbie, CEO of Rheumatology Research International)(Growth Strategies)
September 5, 1997... MEDICAL CENTER - In the four years since it was founded here, Rheumatology Research International has plugged away, quietly building a network of clinical research sites. Now, however, the company's physician-executives are banking on a...