Austin Business Journal articles from May 2001

Austin Business Journal archives from May 2001

Motorola to give up space.(Brief Article)
May 4, 2001... Austin's second-largest corporate employer seeking tenants for 200,000 s.f. on Parmer Motorola Inc. is joining the ranks of companies in Austin marketing large blocks of offices for sublease. The city's second-largest corporate...

Spec projects in check.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 4, 2001... Higher vacancy rates, amount of sublease space contribute to slowdown in speculative offices Hill Partners Inc. has changed its plans for the first office building in San Clemente at Davenport. Until last month, the Austin developer...

Hays land auction halted.(Brief Article)
May 4, 2001... The scheduled auction of more than 1,300 acres immediately south of Austin along I-35 wasn't held May 1 as the parties tried to untangle their financial disagreement. The land set to go to the highest bidder on the Travis County Courthouse...

Central Texas still tops VC.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 4, 2001... They might not be the record-setting numbers of a year ago, but Travis County still topped Texas for the largest amount of venture capital -- $247.8 million -- invested in this year's first quarter. That's according to a new study by...

AeA.(Brief Article)
May 4, 2001... ... It's all relative. On the surface it may look like technology is struggling here, but one tech organization sees so much growth in the sector, it's hiring an executive director to manage that growth. The AeA, formerly known as the...

Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum.(Brief Article)
May 4, 2001... ... Bullock museum brings bucks. During the first week the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum was open to the public, 18,787 visitors passed through its doors. At that rate, the museum will surpass first year attendance goals and hit...

Go east, young company.(New Economy technology businesses )(Brief Article)
May 4, 2001... ... Go east, young company. New Economy technology businesses struggling in the New World might give a glance in another direction -- the Old World. Representatives from Belgium-based ExpertEyes, a venture "catalyst," made such a...

Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission.(Brief Article)
May 4, 2001... ... Environmental excellence. Three Austin projects are among a total of 12 recognized by the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission on May 1 for environmental excellence. The Lower Colorado River Authority, 4empowerment.com and...

Reason Public Policy Institute.(Brief Article)
May 4, 2001... ... Poor public service? Austin ranked No. 33 in a study of 44 of America's largest cities ranking how efficiently public services are delivered. The study was conducted by the Reason Public Policy Institute. The institute's competitive...

CORRECTION.
May 4, 2001... In a letter to the editor in the April 27-May 3 issue of the Austin Business Journal, Tanisys Technology Inc. was spelled incorrectly in the headline and Richard R. Giandana's name was spelled incorrectly.

Officials resurrect Spillar bill.(Brief Article)
May 4, 2001... Watson, Powers, Green redraft legislation to organize taxing district for Bradley development Dattling officials in Travis and Hays counties have put down their political swords for a moment to join forces on a state bill that could help a...

Landing a better route.(Brief Article)
May 4, 2001... Donation, sale of land will offer access to I-35 -- bypassing downtown San Marcos The donation of 95 acres and pending sale of an adjacent 33 acres will lead to a transportation alternative allowing traffic to move from booming western...

E-business firm ramps up.(Edeagroup Inc.)(Brief Article)
May 4, 2001... An e-business consulting firm is gaining some ground that others have lost. Dallas-based edeagroup Inc., a spinoff of technical staffing firm The Adea Group Inc., is expanding into Austin with hopes of employing at least 60 people by the...

Firm taps a CEO.(Brief Article)
May 4, 2001... An Austin company that makes software for off-site monitoring of vending machines has named a new CEO and moved from the Austin Technology Incubator into its own headquarters. Isochron Data Corp. named Eric Loeffel as CEO and is in the...

Hicks seeks home for baseball team.(Tom Hicks)(Brief Article)
May 4, 2001... FRISCO -- Dallas businessman Tom Hicks is planning to enlarge his Metroplex sports empire with a minor-league baseball team in Frisco, sources say. A group led by the owner of the major-league Texas Rangers and pro hockey's Dallas Stars is...

Boeing requests construction bids.(Brief Article)
May 4, 2001... DALLAS -- The Boeing Co.'s real estate team has requested construction bids from several Dallas-based general contractors, sources close to the situation say, spurring speculation that the Metroplex might be a front-runner for the company's...

News channels in the works for Houston, San Antonio.(Time Warner Cable)(A.H. Belo Corp.)(Brief Article)
May 4, 2001... HOUSTON -- Belo Corp. and Time Warner Cable have created a joint venture to start 24-hour news cable channels in Houston and San Antonio. The Houston channel is set to go on the air sometime early next year. The channels will feature local...

New company set to deliver welcome bags to hotel guests.(Hospitality Direct Inc.)(Brief Article)
May 4, 2001... SAN ANTONIO -- Local businessman Dub Doyal, who developed the national door-to-door delivery concept behind his company Door Direct Inc., is launching a company that will deliver marketing materials to guests staying at hotels and motels in San...

Company pursues Medicare, Medicaid HMO for Houston.(Lifemark Health Plans of Texas)(Brief Article)
May 4, 2001... HOUSTON -- A Minnesota-based health care company is bucking the trend with its plan to begin offering a health maintenance organization product serving Medicare and Medicaid patients in the Houston market. Lifemark Health Plans of Texas is...

Baptist Health System yanks contract with managed care firm.(Brief Article)
May 4, 2001... SAN ANTONIO -- The ongoing attempt to turn around financially troubled Baptist Health System has taken another controversial twist. BHS executives have pulled the plug on the hospital system's current contract with PacifiCare Health Systems...

T3 cuts production time with pioneering method.(T3 Inc.)(Brief Article)
May 4, 2001... Austin's The Think Tank advertising and marketing firm is completing a $500,000 technology upgrade of its publishing division that already has accelerate production time on projects for Dell Computer Corp. Since October, T3 has been...

GSD&M creates slogan, logo for country music.(Brief Article)
May 4, 2001... Austin advertising and marketing agency GSD&M has created a new tagline and logo for the Country Music Association. Based on GSD&M's research, the agency came up with this tagline: "Country. Admit it. You love it." The Nashville-based...

Postal Service delivers big contract for Lance.(Lance Armstrong)(Brief Article)
May 4, 2001... The U.S. Postal Service will spend more than $20 million during the next three years to renew its alliance with the U.S. pro cycling team led by Lance Armstrong, the Austinite who has won the Tour de France the past two years. The Postal...

Mixed-use project gets go-ahead on S. Lamar.(Austin Planning Commision)(Brief Article)
May 4, 2001... Zoning for a mixed-use project that includes offices, retail and apartments on South Lamar Boulevard has been approved by the Austin Planning Commision. The project is on two acres on the southeast corner of South Lamar and Gibson Street,...

Savvis Communications Corp.(Brief Article)
May 4, 2001... Weeks before Savvis Communications Corp. revealed it has only enough money to operate through the month of May, the company wrapped up an employment agreement with CEO Robert McCormick that gives him a hefty bonus. The employment...

Gr8 LLC.(Brief Article)
May 4, 2001... Web designer Gr8 LLC didn't pay the 20 workers it fired last week for more than a month before handing them pink slips, company executives say. The firm, which had grown into one of the city's most visible tech firms, struggled to meet...

NetRadio Corp.(Brief Article)
May 4, 2001... Online music company NetRadio Corp. has farmed out its e-commerce business to Amazon.com Inc. in a concession that selling compact discs and other merchandise -- once NetRadio's key source of revenue -- was unlikely to turn a profit anytime...

George L. Capell.(Brief Article)
May 4, 2001... A Gardenville, Pa., man has filed for bankruptcy protection for himself and his business after the State of Pennsylvania sued both for allegedly failing to deliver part or all of thousands of computer systems they sold to consumers over TV and...

IBT Technologies lays off 18 more employees.(Brief Article)
May 4, 2001... Austin-based IBT Technologies Inc., an e-learning company, laid off 18 people April 25. IBT now has 45 employees. This is the second round of layoffs at the company, which cut 23 jobs in December. The company's founder and former CEO,...

Austin law office closes after exodus.(Brief Article)
May 4, 2001... The Austin office of Dallas-based law firm Arter & Hadden LLP has closed following the departure of Tom Loeffler, chairman of the firm's government affairs practice group in Washington, D.C. The San Antonio office, where Loeffler also...

Diving into the pool business.(Pure-Chem)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 4, 2001... Pure-Chem helps maintain pool water Gather up the pool toys, slather on the sunscreen and dive in. With Austin's temperatures climbing, people are ready to spend some time in the water. Residential pool owners are seeing more of their...

Ensuring that your employees are healthy.(health insurance)
May 4, 2001... Finding affordable health insurance benefits for your employees is getting tougher every year, adding one more headache to managing a small business in these challenging times. "Premiums have gone up tremendously in the last year," says...

Austin ranks high for startup activity.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 4, 2001... Austin ranks seventh among large U.S. metropolitan areas for startup activity, according to a new survey. Las Vegas was ranked first in the survey, done by Camp Hill, Pa.-based Brandow Co. Inc. Orlando, Fla., was No. 2 and Phoenix was No....

Privacy efforts may mean public opportunities.(privacy laws)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 4, 2001... From Washington, D.C., to Austin, debates are never-ending about the privacy of electronic records and how public records should handled. Big changes are on the way and, as a result, technology vendors with expertise in the area of security...

HEB offers reward in attack on worker.(H.E. Butt Grocery Co.)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 4, 2001... H.E. Butt Grocery Co. is offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of two men who beat and robbed a store employee April 19. The beating happened at 3:30 a.m. in the parking lot of the HEB at Wells...

Two golf courses buy systems from UpLink.(global positioning systems)(Brief Article)
May 4, 2001... Golf courses in Montana and Oregon have purchased global positioning systems from Austin-based UpLink Corp. UpLink's latest customers are Lake Hills Golf Club in Billings, Mont, and Diamond Woods Golf Club near the Cascade Mountains in...

BroadJump picks up Adelphia as customer.(Adelphia Communications Corp.)(Brief Article)
May 4, 2001... Austin broadband software company BroadJump Inc. has added Adelphia Communications Corp. [Nasdaq: ADLAC] to its customer roster of broadband service providers. Adelphia, based in Coudersport, Pa., is the sixth-largest largest cable...

PEOPLE.
May 4, 2001... VICTORIA BRUSH was appointed vice president of human resources at DuPont Photomasks Inc. Brush will direct and guide all aspects of human resources, including compensation, benefits, recruitment, organizational development, training and...

Basic rules apply again.(state of economy)(Brief Article)
May 4, 2001... After being burned with their greed, investors will go back to looking at hard facts before anteing up Most of the funny money that was used to fuel one of the most speculative spasms in stock market history is now nothing more than...

Peace from just a wag.(psychological value of pets)(Brief Article)
May 4, 2001... The battle of business can be tough every day. It's such a struggle for some, that they've turned to a tome called "The Art of War" seeking a philosophy to get them through. For others, there's overindulgence to escape, be it a happy hour or an...

Brokers see changes in size of space demands.(Statistical Data Included)
May 4, 2001... There are big deals and there are little deals -- lately, there have been more of the latter. Austin real estate brokers say the average size of office leases has come down from six months or a year ago. An analysis of deals brokered by...

When space turns scarce, choose creativity.
May 4, 2001... When the going gets tough -- or space gets tight -- the tough not only get going, their creativity tends to take center stage. As Austin's available retail and office space turned nearly as scarce as hens' teeth, business owners with creative...

Stratus reports $20,000 profit.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 4, 2001... Austin's Stratus Properties Inc. [Nasdaq: STRS] reported net income of $20,000 during the first quarter of 2001. That compares with net income of $7.3 million during the first quarter of 2000. The figure for last year included $7.4 million...

Expeditrix expands in San Antonio.(Brief Article)
May 4, 2001... Austin-based Expeditrix Corp. expanded its SmartClose Web-based transaction management platform into the San Antonio real estate market by signing Stewart Title-San Antonio and Commerce Land Title Inc., a financial services subsidiary of Centex...

OFFICE SPACE FOR LEASE.(Illustration)(Statistical Data Included)
May 4, 2001... OFFICE SPACE FOR LEASE OFFICE LEASING, CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT Name of property Total s.f. currently Physical address ...

RETAIL SPACE FOR LEASE.(Illustration)(Statistical Data Included)
May 4, 2001... RETAIL SPACE FOR LEASE Name of property Total s.f. currently largest/smallest Physical address available space available RETAIL LEASING, CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT...

INDUSTRIAL SPACE FOR LEASE.
May 4, 2001... INDUSTRIAL SPACE FOR LEASE Name of property Total s.f. currently Physical address available INDUSTRIAL LEASING, CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT 5th Street Market...

'Biotech corridor' planned.(biotechnology industry between Austin and San Antonio)(Brief Article)
May 11, 2001... Austin, San Antonio team up to play on each other's strengths in biotechnology industry Efforts are under way to create a "biotech corridor" between Austin and San Antonio. The San Antonio/Austin Life Science Association recently was...

ABIA may lose flights.(Austin-Bergstrom International Airport)(Brief Article)
May 11, 2001... Legislation pending at the Texas Capitol could mean 2,700 fewer flights at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport and an economic boom for San Marcos. An April 25 amendment to legislation filed by Rep. Ron Wilson, D-Houston, calls for the...

Museum may moo-ve here.(Brief Article)
May 11, 2001... Nebraska company considers Georgetown, Round Rock for monument to Texas cattle drives The University of Texas' Longhorns soon might have to move over for other cattle -- big cattle. Omaha, Neb.-based development company J. Greg Smith...

Not singing the Dell blues.(Dell Computer Corp.)(Brief Article)
May 11, 2001... A recent quick poll has found layoffs by one of the Leading businesses isn't killing Central Texans' fighting spirit. Austin's The Benchmark Co. polled more than 400 tech workers in Central Texas on May 8, the day after Dell Computer Corp....

Lawn in order.(Brief Article)
May 11, 2001... Looking for the best grass in Austin? Try the Texas Capitol. That's the opinion of one of the nation's largest lawn care products firms, Briggs & Stratton Corp. The company put the Capitol grounds on this year's Top 10 Lawns List, right up...

Rooftop Ranch.(Brief Article)
May 11, 2001... Local developer Leon Whitney has purchased the 547-acre Elliott Ranch with the goal of bringing 213 more homes to Northern Hays County. Whitney has chosen a popular area. According to U.S. Census Bureau statistics, Hays County was one of...

Governor gab.(former Texas Gov. Ann Richards)(Brief Article)
May 11, 2001... Known as much for her ability to turn a colorful phrase and lively storytelling as for her leadership, former Texas Gov. Ann Richards will be the keynote speaker for the Association of Legal Administrators' 30th annual Educational Conference...

Improving Austin's infrastructure.(Brief Article)
May 11, 2001... A publicly Waded Internet software company is putting more than $150,000 of its money where its ftiture is. 724 Solutions Inc. has donated $150,750 to four Austin nonprofit organizations. On behalf of the Austin Entrepreneurs Foundation,...

Safety first. Dynamic Systems Inc.(Brief Article)
May 11, 2001... ... Safety first. Dynamic Systems Inc. of Austin has been named the safest mechanical contractor in the United States by The Associated General Contractors of America Inc. The association also recognized the safety record of more than 20...

Wal-Mart to build distribution center.(Brief Article)
May 11, 2001... CLEBURNE -- Cleburne, a Johnson County town with roughly 26,500 residents, is about to get a very large neighbor. Discount giant WalMart Stores Inc. has chosen the city for a 888,000-square-foot food distribution center expected to...

Ice company heading to Dallas.(Brief Article)
May 11, 2001... HOUSTON -- Houston-based ice manufacturer Packaged Ice Inc. is packing its bags and heading north. The publicly traded company plans to relocate its corporate headquarters to Dallas following the recent resignation of company founder and...

Chamber chooses a new VP.(Brief Article)
May 11, 2001... President and CEO of chamber in Beaumont hired to direct economic development efforts The Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce has hired a new vice president of economic development -- a post that's been vacant since last year. John...

Getting a fresh start.(executive Betty Otter-Nickerson)(Brief Article)
May 11, 2001... Otter-Nickerson goes from leading local BMC office to heading software startup BMC Software Inc.'s former top Austin executive, Betty Otter-Nickerson, may have moved down a few notches in terms of company size, but as president and CEO of...

Startup feels energized.(Brief Article)
May 11, 2001... enWorkz moves HQ to Austin from Singapore to capitalize on burgeoning utility industry Former Enron Corp. consultant Bill Tan decided to take the powe issue into his own hands by founding Austin-based enWorkz Inc., which is about to be...

Deal for assets collapses.(Brief Article)
May 11, 2001... Avatar Technology seeks refund after proposed acquisition of Future Protocol fails to happen A deal to purchase the assets of Internet services firm Future Protocol Inc. has fallen through and prospective buyer Avatar Technology Inc. wants...

Plans call for thousands of homes in Hays County.(Brief Article)
May 11, 2001... The City of Dripping Springs has approved two separate development agreements that envision bringing thousands of homes as well as commercial development to more than 4,000 acres in northern Hays County. One agreement, with MAX Foster Ranch...

@Security hires Ogilvy for public relations.(Brief Article)
May 11, 2001... Austin-based @Security Broadband Corp. has hired New York-based Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide to develop its public relations program. @Security Broadband uses broadband technology to provide residential and commercial security...

Office building planned for La Frontera project.(Brief Article)
May 11, 2001... An Austin developer wants to begin construction this summer on a 32,350-square-foot office building in Round Rock's La Frontera development. RDW Holdings Inc., which does business as Robert D. Wunsch Development, is managing developer for...

San Antonio architecture firm sets up Austin office.(Brief Article)
May 11, 2001... A San Antonio architecture firm with an emphasis on historical renovation is using a project for the University of Texas to establish an Austin office. 3/D International has leased offices in the Littlefield Building at Sixth Street and...

Site catering to Indians sets sights on revenue.(Brief Article)
May 11, 2001... While other online communities have sunk, online Indian community Sulekha.com is afloat -- and expanding. Sulekha.com, owned and operated by Austin-based Smart Information Worldwide Inc., is adding a geographic component to its online...

Kevin Craig.(Brief Article)
May 11, 2001... Austin Kevin Craig has become the sole CEO of Austin-based Aperian Inc. Craig had been co-CEO at Aperian since April 9, when the computer networking company merged with Phoenix-based Fourthstage Technologies Inc. in a cash-and-stock...

Gov. Tom Ridge.(Brief Article)
May 11, 2001... Philadelphia Pennsylvania's growing technology industry would get a big boost if Gov. Tom Ridge's spending blueprint is approved, including a plan to create the largest state-financed technology development program in the country. Now...

Drugtest Inc.(Brief Article)
May 11, 2001... Houston Drugtest.com had to undergo a yearlong test itself before sealing a recent deal that added $15 million to the company's balance sheet. Houston-based Drugtest Inc. was formed in February through the merger of Houston-based Drug...

IBM Corp.(Brief Article)
May 11, 2001... San Jose, Calif. IBM Corp.'s $1 billion purchase of Informix Corp.'s newly independent database software business was significant news for both companies: It's one of IBM's biggest acquisitions ever, and it provides much-needed stability...

U.S. Commerce Department.(Brief Article)
May 11, 2001... Washington, D.C. The U.S. Commerce Department is investigating what it thinks are "significant issues" in an agreement that allows VeriSign Inc. to maintain its exclusive hold on valuable Internet domain name directories. In a letter...

Louis Shanks to expand with store in Dallas area.(Brief Article)
May 11, 2001... Austin-based Louis Shanks of Texas Inc. is entering the Dallas market with its largest store to date. Construction will begin later this year on a free-standing furniture store at State Highway 121 and the North Dallas Tollway in Frisco....

Cary joins Vitalz as chief operations officer.(Brief Article)
May 11, 2001... Dave Cary has been hired as chief operations officer at Austin-based Vitalz Inc., a provider of Web-based scheduling and resource management for the health care industry. Cary has been an investor in and adviser at Vitalz. In January,...

Austin becomes pet project for insurance firm.(Brief Article)
May 11, 2001... Move over Blue Cross -- there's a new "blue" in town. BluePaw Family Pet Insurance Co. recently launched its advertising campaign and has begun offering health insurance coverage for the pets of residents in the Austin area. With the...

Automotive parts company files for Chapter 11 protection.(Brief Article)
May 11, 2001... HOUSTON -- Houston-based Rankin Automotive Group Inc. -- which does business as US Parts -- has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in U.S. Bankruptcy Court. Rankin, which has about 175 local employees, is a specialty supplier and...

CEO: Plans for health care system don't include sale.(Brief Article)
May 11, 2001... SAN ANTONIO -- Interim CEO Janice James heads the turnaround team attempting to get the financially troubled Baptist Health System back in the black. She says the plan, at least for now, doesn't include selling BHS. But BHS' consultants...

Small business incubator to be set up at former base.(Brief Article)
May 11, 2001... SAN ANTONIO -- The Greater Kelly Development Authority and the University of Texas at San Antonio are negotiating to develop a small business incubator at KellyUSA. If approved, it would expand the university's Kelly Small Business...

Digging into his business.(Brief Article)
May 11, 2001... Earl Broussard Jr. mixes a heavy dose of innovation and heritage into the projects he designs When Earl Broussard Jr. was a boy, his father use to drive him around their hometown of Baton Rouge, La., to show him the buildings Earl's...

Really cleaning up.(Action Cleaning and Restoration)(Brief Article)(Company Profile)
May 11, 2001... Cleaning, restoration company smells sweet success Tear gas, skunks, mold and crime scenes. Who ya gonna call? The havoc these things can work probably isn't a job for Ghostbusters. All carry the potential to severely damage an office...

SBA honors area banker.(Brief Article)
May 11, 2001... A Georgetown banker has been named Financial Services Advocate of the Year for the San Antonio district of the U.S. Small Business Administration. Larry Bullock is senior vice president of First Texas Bank of Georgetown. The SBA cites him...

Turnkey marketing may be business key.(Saepio Technologies Inc., F.C. Tucker Company Inc. and Kinko's Inc.'s marketing products and services)(Brief Article)
May 11, 2001... All too often, a company with a sound marketing plan at the corporate level struggles with carrying out the plan at the local level. This frequently happens to companies with franchisees, independent distributors or a dealer network. ...

Good advice: Advisory board may be first step.(Sherpa's Pet Trading Co. uses PartnerCom Corp.)(Brief Article)
May 11, 2001... Gayle Martz worked for years to solve a big problem for people who want to travel with their pets. As founder of Sherpa's Pet Trading Co., Martz not only designed stylish, lightweight, ventilated pet carriers, but lobbied hard to convince major...

Long-term disability is healthy company policy.(Brief Article)
May 11, 2001... What would happen if a simple fall left an employee with a badly broken arm and unable to work for months? Technically, he would be disabled. And if he wasn't protected by long-term disability insurance, his wages would be cut off. You...