Austin Business Journal articles from November 1991

Austin Business Journal archives from November 1991

Social goals tagged to tax abatements. (proposals for a new tightened tax abatement policy for Austin, Texas)
November 4, 1991... In proposing a new tightened tax abatement policy, city economic-development officials are admittedly walking a fine line between giving businesses an attractive incentive to locate or expand in Austin and addressing social goals. As a...

ComputerLand sold. (ComputerLand Texas acquires ComputerLand of Austin)
November 4, 1991... ComputerLand Texas -- the Arlington-based firm that owns ComputerLand franchises in Dallas, Fort Worth, San Antonio and Houston -- was tying up loose ends last week to acquire ComputerLand in Austin. Carol Thompson, president and co-owner of...

First project in five years. (multifamily housing development in Austin, Texas)
November 4, 1991... The first multifamily development built in the city since 1986 is nearing completion north of Lake Austin. "It's supply and demand. And multifamily |housing~ has stayed so full for so long there's demand now," said Fredda Anderson, marketing...

Van Stone out in two-fer deal. (ouster of Don Van Stone, chairman and chief executive officer of First City Texas-Austin)
November 4, 1991... Don Van Stone, the popular former chairman and chief executive officer of First City, Texas-Austin who was ousted from his job last week in a management shakeup, finds himself out of banking but not down on Austin. "We'd certainly like to stay...

High-tech work to offset Bergstrom loss. (planned closure of Bergstrom Air Force Base)
November 4, 1991... High-tech manufacturing will fuel Austin's economy through 1993 to offset losses stemming from the planned closure of Bergstrom Air Force Base, according to Texas Comptroller John Sharp. In the latest issue of Texas Economic Quarterly, Sharp...

Could be worse. (Texas unemployment rate)
November 4, 1991... If a 6.4 percent statewide unemployment rate is bad, at least it has been worse. So says Mary Scott Nabers of the Texas Employment Commission in recently announcing the September joblessness figures. "I feel pretty grim about our situation when...

Stock coaches. (Merrill Lynch and Company Inc. forms in-house investment advisory group)
November 4, 1991... By forming its own in-house investment advisory group, a local brokerage firm has joined a growing national trend toward forming such organizations. The Austin-based group -- formed at Merrill Lynch -- is responsible for more than $120 million...

Tracor OK up to IRS. (reorganization plans of Tracor Holdings Inc.; Internal Revenue Service)
November 4, 1991... A federal bankruptcy judge has found that all creditor classes have approved reorganization plans of Tracor Holdings Inc. The plans call for recapitalization of two companies through equity transfers and restructured bank loans. Judge Larry E....

Hibernia tapering losses in hopes of Texas sale. (bank holding company)
November 4, 1991... Hibernia Corp. has announced the news that it is losing money more slowly than ever as the Louisiana-based banking corporation continues to seek a return to profitability through sale of its Texas assets. Third-quarter losses came to $25.1...

Southern Union Co. (Mergers) (Brief Article)
November 4, 1991... Southern Union Co. of Austin has acquired Brazos River Gas Co., a natural gas distributor based in Mineral Wells.

Austin chasing after nurses. (Austin, Texas)(Focus: Health Care)
November 4, 1991... There's good news and bad news about the nursing situation in Austin. The bad news is that the shortage of nurses in the city is so acute that hospitals are recruiting from as far away as Canada and offering all sorts of incentives -- like...

Tracor Applied Sciences Inc. (Contracts) (Brief Article)
November 4, 1991... Tracor Applied Sciences Inc., a subsidiary of Tracor, has been awarded a contract with a total potential value of $30.6 million by the Naval Air Test Center. The firm will provide engineering and technical services for support of Navy...

Cox/Croslin and Associates Inc. Architecture and Planning. (Contracts) (Brief Article)
November 4, 1991... Cox/Croslin and Associates Inc. Architecture and Planning was awarded the contract to design the new Texas State Treasury Building. The $3.2 million project entails the complete renovation of the 97,000-square-foot existing Guaranty Federal...

Greater Texas Landscape Services. (Contracts) (Brief Article)
November 4, 1991... Greater Texas Landscape Services has been awarded the contract for landscape management services at Schlumberger.

Fred Robinson Development Services. (Contracts) (Brief Article)
November 4, 1991... Fred Robinson Development Services has completed construction of the offices of Frost, Trujillio & Associates, the stock broker-dealer firm on the fourth floor of 804 Congress Ave.

Blockbuster Entertainment Corp. (Earnings) (Brief Article)
November 4, 1991... Blockbuster Entertainment Corp. announced record third quarter revenue (generated from company operations and franchise owners) of $400.3 million -- an increase of 33 percent over the $300.9 million reported for the similar period in 1990. Net...

Southwest Airlines. (Earnings) (Brief Article)
November 4, 1991... Southwest Airlines' net income for the third quarter dropped 31.7 percent to $15.7 million, compared to the $23 million earned in the third quarter a year ago. Earnings per share were 37 cents versus 54 cents in the third quarter 1990, a decrease...

Kenneth Haulotte. (Brief Article)
November 4, 1991... KENNETH HAULOTTE has been named president of O'Neal Construction Inc.

Austin leads nation in housing increases. (Industry Overview)
November 11, 1991... Austin has had the biggest percentage gain in residential construction of any metro area in the United States so far this year, a new industry research report showed. And, according to one local real estate analyst, John Lindley, the latest...

Toner scam hits Austin. (copy-machine toner cartridge mail racket)
November 11, 1991... David Davenport didn't give it much thought when he began ripping open the newly arrived box from UPS to his office a few weeks back. But when he saw the unsolicited copy-machine toner cartridge inside the box, Davenport knew the scam was on....

Trade pact will be costly. (in terms of public works projects to be undertaken between Texas-Mexico borders)
November 11, 1991... A free-trade agreement with Mexico could create as many as 300,000 new jobs in Texas by the end of the century, but only if major environmental and public works projects prepare the way. That is the message contained in a recent report issued...

AG orders record access. (attorney general orders investigation Austin City Council records pertaining to political and commercial lobbying)
November 11, 1991... Austin City Council members must turn over office calendars, phone records and other information sought by a local environmental attorney, the Texas attorney general's office has ruled. Attorney Bill Bunch said he requested the information...

Major firms merge. (Lockwood, Andrews & Newman Inc. and Leo A Daly) (Brief Article)
November 11, 1991... One of Texas' largest engineering and architectural firms, Lockwood, Andrews & Newman Inc., with offices in Austin, is merging with one of the nation's largest, Leo A Daly. The move will bring together about 1,000 employees among LAN's five Texas...

Air traffic down. (Robert Mueller Airport passenger traffic) (Brief Article)
November 11, 1991... Both passenger and cargo traffic at Robert Mueller Airport dipped in September compared to the same month a year ago. Total passenger traffic was down 4 percent with 315,775 travelers. Cargo was off 11.4 percent for the month with about 1.2...

Beware: 'tis the shoplifting season. (Christmas related crime and prevention) (Industry Overview)
November 11, 1991... Ah, Christmas. A retailer's favorite time of year. Uh-oh, Christmas. A shoplifter's favorite time of year, too. Break out the tinsel and get ready for the outbreak of thieves. Maybe a surveillance camera among the Christmas-tree lights will...

Employees can take stock in their jobs. (Texas is second as to employee ownership of firms)
November 11, 1991... Despite a state recession that has left Texas businesses plumbing for the bottom line for years, Employee Stock Ownership Plans remain a popular benefit among management and employees alike. Texas is second only to California in the number of...

Slow business rise. (Austin Purchasing Management Association's survey on prices and deliveries) (Brief Article)
November 11, 1991... Results of the October economic survey by the Austin Purchasing Management Association shows modest increases in employment, production and new business orders. The survey consists of a cross-section of association members who are primary...

Filing electronically. (Electronic Tax Filing System) (Brief Article)
November 11, 1991... The 1,900 largest Texas sales taxpayers who currently remit their payments by electronic fund transfer now are being invited to file their tax returns by computer as well. Texas Comptroller John Sharp said the new Electronic Tax Filing System...

Sky's the limit. (Austin's Cox/Croslin and Associates chosen to design the final phase of St. Louis Gateway Arch along the Mississippi River in St. Louis, Missouri) (Brief Article)
November 11, 1991... When it comes to the projects that a local architecture firm was chosen to complete, the sky is literally the limit. Austin's Cox/Croslin and Associates Inc. was selected by National Park Service to design the final phase of the St. Louis...

Temp work down. (temporary help industry) (Brief Article)
November 11, 1991... The temporary help industry had a payroll of approximately $10 billion in 1990, down more than 6 percent from the past two years. Last year, slightly more than one million people were working on any given day as a temporary employee in the United...

Hart Graphics expands with new subsidiary. (creates new division Dial: Distribution)
November 11, 1991... Hart Graphics, Austin's largest printing company, has just gotten bigger. The firm recently announced creation of a new division that will be housed in 42,000 square feet of warehouse-office space on Longhorn Drive in Northwest Austin. The...

Datum Inc. (Earnings) (Brief Article)
November 11, 1991... Datum Inc., announced sales for the quarter ending Sept. 30 of $7.67 million - an increase of 15 percent over sales of $6.66 million reported in the similar period in 1990. Earnings of $78,000, or 3 cents a share, contrasted with a loss of...

Larry Lubenow & Associates. (Contracts)
November 11, 1991... Larry Lubenow & Associates, an Austin-based full-service public relations firm, has received contracts from the Ohio Manufacturer's Association in Columbus, Ohio, for media relations at its 1991 Leadership Forum; MCI Eastern Region in Ryebrook,...

Retiring banker. (Donald R. Rogge, chief executive officer of the Tenth Farm Credit District) (Brief Article)
November 11, 1991... Donald R. Rogge, chief executive officer of the Tenth Farm Credit District, has announced plans to retire from the $4.7 billion agricultural lending cooperative as soon as a successor is named. Rogge began his career in 1961 with the Federal...

Shattuck & Associates. (Contracts) (Brief Article)
November 11, 1991... Shattuck & Associates, auctioneers of medical and scientific equipment, has received a two-year contract for auctioneer services at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. This is the sixth contract awarded the firm by a UT facility....

Play It Again Sports. (Openings) (Brief Article)
November 11, 1991... Play It Again Sports, a national chain specializing in used and new sports equipment, has opened its first store in Austin at 2933 W. Anderson Lane in the Hillside Shopping Center, telephone 451-8976.

Chandler Woolley Bonnett Inc. (Openings) (Brief Article)
November 11, 1991... Chandler Woolley Bonnett Inc., a full-service advertising, marketing and public relations firm, has opened its Austin offices in the Colonnade Office Centre at I-35 and Yager Lane in North Austin, telephone 873-8881, fax 873-7677.

Texas faces radioactive waste deadline. (Focus: Environmental and Disposal)
November 18, 1991... If Texas can't meet a series of deadlines, the first coming as soon as Jan. 1, the state's low-level radioactive waste may have no place to go. Fines and surcharges from missing the deadlines could adversely impact both the state and companies...

Recycling pays big. (water recycling systems at Texas Instruments Inc.)
November 18, 1991... Six years ago a determined group of Texas Instruments engineers began looking for ways to recycle some of the 10 million gallons of water used monthly by its Austin circuit-board-making facility. The work has paid off handsomely. The Texas...

Forecast: steady growth for Austin.
November 18, 1991... The looming closure of Bergstrom Air Force Base will slow, but not stop, Austin's moderately expanding economy thanks to computer and construction activity. That is the forecast offered by Texas Comptroller John Sharp in a recent seminar on...

$20 million contract awarded to Radian. (Brief Article)
November 18, 1991... Austin's Radian Corp. has been awarded a $20 million contract by the Omaha District Corps of Engineers to conduct military and civil hazardous-waste projects over a three-year period. Radian's engineers and scientists will provide a variety of...

Computers. (joint agreement between Microelectronics and Computer Technology Corp. and Andersen Consulting) (Brief Article)
November 18, 1991... Getting the glut of business computer hardware and software systems to work together may become easier, based on an agreement between the Microelectronics and Computer Technology Corp. (MCC) and Andersen Consulting to join forces in the...

Homogenized data. (Evolutionary Technologies Inc. launches data-migration software) (Brief Article)
November 18, 1991... In a separate but related aspect of computer communication, Austin-based Evolutionary Technologies Inc., an MCC spinoff, has launched data-migration software that may cut corporate costs. Whereas the MCC Carnot Project seeks to make different...

Smaller slice. (decrease in U.S. market share in international integrated circuits industry) (Brief Article)
November 18, 1991... While the international integrated-circuit industry has increased more than 400 percent in the past decade, the U.S. share of the market has been cut in half. According to Sematech, the Austin-based research consortium, U.S. companies supplied...

Law pays. (survey of attorneys' incomes)
November 18, 1991... Nationwide, the average corporate attorney is paid $93,400 a year, according to an annual survey of 388 organizations by an Illinois consulting firm. The study by Abbott, Langer & Associates found that 10 percent of attorneys not practicing in...

Council to discuss bond election issues. (Austin City Council)
November 18, 1991... The Austin City Council will begin using the B word -- bond election -- in earnest this week. The council has scheduled a 2 p.m. work session on Wednesday, Nov. 20, at the TownLake Center Building, 721 Barton Springs Road, to begin figuring...

$1.9 million bid. (0Trinity Parking Inc. obtains option to acquire hal-block tract at First and Trinity streets)
November 18, 1991... A company that wants to build a parking garage downtown to serve the city's new convention center has obtained an option to acquire a half-block tract near the center from the state for about $1.9 million. The state School Land Board early this...

Dell Computer makes 'Covenant 200' list. (nation's top 200 socially responsible corporations)
November 18, 1991... Fourteen Texas firms, including Austin-based Dell Computer, are among the nation's top 200 socially responsible large corporations, according to an 18-month study by Covenant Investment Management, a Chicago-based investment advisory firm. The...

TJ Maxx opens two stores, closes another.
November 18, 1991... TJ Maxx, a national off-price retailer, has opened two new stores in Austin, while closing one. The new stores are at the Sunset Valley Marketfair at Brodie Lane and W. Highway 290, and Great Hills Plaza at Great Hills Trail and Research...

Recycling: down in the dumps. (Focus: Environmental & Disposal)
November 18, 1991... 40 percent of some recycled items go into the landfill You say you're a green kind of guy. You're an environmentally conscious kind of gal. You dutifully separate your trash into recycling bins in hopes of saving the city's landfill, which...

Ad agencies urge clients to go green. (campaign to spread environmental reponsibility)(Focus: Environmental & Disposal.)
November 18, 1991... A group of advertising and marketing experts, led by Austin's GSD&M Advertising, is carrying out an ambitious campaign to spread environmental responsibility to the nation's advertising business. The ad specialists hope their environmental...

Your old motor oil heats the northeast. (Waste oil recycling companies in Austin, Texas; includes directory)(Focus: Environmental & Disposal)
November 18, 1991... Austinites are helping to keep Yankees warm this winter. They probably don't know that's what they're doing. They probably just think they're being conscientious and recycling used motor oil, but most of the waste oil is going north to keep...

Wastes from our yards choke landfill. (yard wastes)(Focus: Environmental & Disposal)
November 18, 1991... One of the largest problems landfills have is right in your front yard. Yard waste -- grass clippings and leaves -- accounts for about 20 percent of municipal solid waste, the largest percentage of any material after paper (40 percent), said...

Natural Resources Inc. (Contracts) (Brief Article)
November 18, 1991... Natural Resources Inc. has been selected to provide landscape construction and management services at Farm Credit Bank.

JanCom Engineering Co. (Contracts) (Brief Article)
November 18, 1991... JanCom Engineering Co. of Austin has received authorization to assist the Lower Colorado River Authority in producing acquisition documents for the purchase and installation of integrated data network equipment. The system will integrate...

Schlumberger. (Earnings) (Brief Article)
November 18, 1991... Schlumberger announced net income for the quarter ending Sept. 30 of $196 million, a 33 percent increase over earnings during the same period in 1990. Earnings of 82 cents a share also were reported.

Warren/Martino. (Notables) (Brief Article)
November 18, 1991... Warren/Martino, the Austin marketing, advertising and public relations firm, has unveiled the "Brick Van," a customer-service van for client US Brick. The van was painted by local artists Doug Jaques and Gary Martin.

Perryman Consultants Inc. (Notables) (Brief Article)
November 18, 1991... Perryman Consultants Inc., the Waco-based economic consulting and research firm, has opened an office in the Washington D.C. area. The firm also has an office in Dallas. Pennsylvania Commerce Secretary Andrew T. Greenberg announces the...

Goldsmith, Black, Sproull & Osborne, L.L.P. (Openings) (Brief Article)
November 18, 1991... Walter M. Hall, J. Robert Goldsmith, William E. Black, Steven H. Sproull and C. Barry Osborne announce the opening of a new law office in Austin named Hall, Goldsmith, Black, Sproull & Osborne, L.L.P. The firm will be practicing in the recently...

Software prompts a 'creative frenzy.' (Focus: Telecommunications) (Industry Overview)
November 25, 1991... If there were a way to cut three days work to three hours, would you be interested? Jerry Wagner, founder of Austin's Collaborative Technologies Corp. (CTC), figured a lot of business people would be interested. He developed Vision Quest...

Recovery of real estate to continue. (Industry Overview)
November 25, 1991... Despite uncertainties over such things as endangered species and available money from lenders, despite rising local property taxes and a sputtering national economy, Austin will continue on the road to real estate recovery in 1992. The...

UT official in book scheme. (Keith McGowan supplies textbooks used in legal assistant training in University of Texas)
November 25, 1991... The director of legal assistant training at the University of Texas is the secret supplier of textbooks used in the program, the Austin Business Journal has learned. Moreover, Keith McGowan, director of the Legal Assistant Certificate Program,...

Hocking up. (EZCORP Inc., pawnshop operator reports net income)
November 25, 1991... The pawnshop business is good according to Austin-based EZCORP Inc., the second-largest operator of pawnshops in the United States. The company reported net income for the year ending Sept. 30 of $1.1 million or 21 cents a share. That's up from a...

New 800 service. (Southwestern Bell Telephone Co. offers regional 800 service)
November 25, 1991... Southwestern Bell Telephone Co. is offering Austin customers regional 800 service. The Maximizer 800 service lets businesses receive toll-free calls from customers and employees throughout their Southwestern Bell long-distance calling area on the...

Good choice. (Texas is the second-most preferred state among industrial executives)
November 25, 1991... Texas is the second-most preferred state among industrial executives surveyed about past and future site selection decisions concerning their businesses, according to the Texas Department of Commerce. More than 350 companies were surveyed...

New problems for Barton Creek ordinance.
November 25, 1991... Conflict over an ordinance to protect Barton Creek could erupt again soon, this time over rules being drawn up by city staff to carry out the ordinance. The rules are to provide a blueprint to assist city staff and the development community in...

Ozone resurfaces. (proposal to control ozone-depleting chemicals in Austin, Texas)
November 25, 1991... On another environmental front, a proposal to control the use of ozone-depleting chemicals in Austin is soon expected to surface again after a year on the shelf. The city legal staff has drafted an ozone ordinance, which is to be reviewed by a...

Cable performance. (10th-year performance study of Austin CableVision)
November 25, 1991... The city's office of regulatory affairs is seeking outside help to conduct the 10th-year performance study of Austin CableVision. Proposals from firms seeking to do the study are due by Dec. 9. A contractor is expected to be hired by early next...

One world, one telephone number. (Motorola Inc.'s Iridium communication system)(Focus: Telecommunications)
November 25, 1991... If you're taking in a business conference at McMurdo Sound in sunny Antarctica and during the lunch break you want to check on your sales force in Srednekolymsk, Siberia, you'll soon be able to do just that simply by dialing your cellular phone....

Videoconferencing moves information instead of people. (Southwestern Bell Corp.'s Local Area Video Network)(Focus: Telecommunications)
November 25, 1991... Although the technology is relatively new, Austin-area telecommunications companies are getting into video networking in a big way. Southwestern Bell announced this month the creation of a Local Area Video Network (LAVN) that will provide...

Garry W. Entress Public Relations. (Contracts) (Brief Article)
November 25, 1991... Garry W. Entress Public Relations has been retained as a consultant by Kathleen C. Anderson for her campaign for the 167th District Court of Travis County in the March 10 Democratic primary.

Citizens Inc. (Earnings) (Brief Article)
November 25, 1991... Citizens Inc., an Austin-based life insurance holding company, announced earnings of $3.1 million or 20 cents a share for the nine months ending Sept. 30. These figures are a 198 percent increase over earnings of $1 million or 7 cents a share for...

Impact Printhead Services. (Brief Article)
November 25, 1991... DENE JACOBSON, former chief financial officer, has been promoted to president and chief operating officer of Impact Printhead Services.

Healthvest. (Brief Article)
November 25, 1991... DONALD W. EVANS has been appointed president and chief executive officer of HealthVest.