San Antonio Business Journal articles from June 1991

San Antonio Business Journal archives from June 1991

Local businesses just say no to substance abuse. (drug detection and prevention policies)
June 28, 1991... Local businesses just say no to substance abuse Nearly 5 percent of the 500-person workforce at Kinetic Concepts Inc. - or about 25 people - were quietly fired two months ago after a sweeping, randomly timed drug test at the local...

Cisneros launches air charter service. (Henry Cisneros' Cisneros Metro-Air Service Inc.)(includes related article on Cisneros' other business activities)
June 28, 1991... Cisneros launches air charter service En route to College Station, air charter owner Selig Eidelberg told his passenger, former Mayor Henry Cisneros, that he had a buyer for the aircraft and this would be their last flight together. ...

A Texas surprise. (Hibernia National Bank thrives contrary to analysts expectations)
June 28, 1991... A Texas surprise When Louisiana's Hibernia National Bank crossed state lines and entered the Texas market two years ago, many analysts criticized the move - saying the bank had missed most of the valuable deals and was picking through the...

Datapoint production leases site.
June 28, 1991... Datapoint production leases site In the name of modernization and efficiency, the local arm of troubled computer manufacturer Datapoint Corp. will move its production operation into space less than half the size of its former site. ...

Realtor takes experience to Russia. (Guy Chipman Jr.)
June 28, 1991... Realtor takes experience to Russia Guy Chipman Jr., chairman of San Antonio's top residential real estate brokerage, the Guy Chipman Co., recently saw glasnost in action firsthand. Accompanying his artist wife, Juanita, to an...

Falls, Netting combine CPA firms. (merger between Fred Falls & Associates and Conrad J. Netting & Co.)
June 28, 1991... Falls, Netting combine CPA firms Two small San Antonio accounting firms are merging their operations next month in an attempt to compete more effectively in the tight marketplace. Fred Falls & Associates, a four-partner firm, and...

S.A. banks post first-quarter profit, but few expect a stellar fiscal year. (San Antonio; Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s report)
June 28, 1991... S.A. banks post first-quarter profit, but few expect a stellar fiscal year San Antonio banks reported net income of $570,000 on $5 billion worth of assets during first quarter 1991, compared to more than $15 million in losses incurred...

CPS constructs natural gas station. (City Public Service)
June 28, 1991... CPS constructs natural gas station City Public Service is in the process of building San Antonio's first natural gas filing station to serve 48 vehicles in its 2,000-piece fleet that now run on gasoline and diesel. The station will be the...

Texas cities on real estate upswing. (Austin, Dallas and Houston)
June 28, 1991... Texas cities on real estate upswing Three Texas cities are targeted as major real estate growth markets, according to a study released by accounting firm Ernst & Young's real estate advisory services. Austin, Dallas and Houston,...

Back in the saddle. (Y.O. Ranch Hilton Hotel on comeback trail due to Advantage Hotel Corp.'s management)(Special Report: Tourisms/Conventions) (company profile)
June 28, 1991... Back in the saddle Three years ago, the Y.O. Ranch Hilton Hotel in Kerrville, with its massive chandeliers made from branding irons, mounted wild game heads and other trappings of Western extravagance, was as down and out as a trail-weary...

Hughes Aircraft eyeing Arlington for relocation. (Hughes Aircraft Co.'s Training and Support Systems Group)(Texas Trends)
June 28, 1991... Hughes Aircraft eyeing Arlington for relocation DALLAS - Senior management officials at Hughes Aircraft Co.'s Training and Support Systems Group have designated their Arlington operation as a leading contender for the future headquarters...

Visitors find inns a cozy option. (Lavern Campbell cashes in on hospitality)(Special Report: Tourism/Conventions)
June 28, 1991... Visitors find inns a cozy option It was the little things - Haagen-Dazs ice cream in the refrigerator, a turned-back blanket on the bed - that made Lavern Campbell's stay in a New York bed and breakfast something to remember. Upon...

Retail real estate prospering in Houston's 'China Town.' (Texas Trends)
June 28, 1991... Retail real estate prospering in Houston's |China Town' HOUSTON - Asian businesses and stores co-exist with their American counter-parts along most of Bellaire Boulevard in Southwest Houston. But East definately dominates a two-mile swath...

New real estate company born in brokerage breakup. (Hallmark Cos.)(Texas Trends)
June 28, 1991... New real estate company born in brokerage breakup SAN ANTONIO - Even as the legal details of the break-up of local residential real estate brokerage Hallmark Bradfield Properties Inc. continue to be finalized, founder Susan Hallmark's new...

Credit crunch sends banks, borrowers to SBA's door. (people turning to U.S. Small Business Administration for loans)(Texas Trends)
June 28, 1991... Credit crunch sends banks, borrowers to SBA's door SAN ANTONIO - While banks are tightening their credit belts, more people are turning to the U.S. Small Business Administration for loans to start or expand companies. In the SBA's last...

Developer plans more luxury apartments near downtown. (Memphis Real Estate Inc.)(Texas Trends)
June 28, 1991... Developer plans more luxury apartments near downtown DALLAS - Heartened by the rapid success of its first luxury apartment building in the State-Thomas area just north of downtown, Memphis Real Estate Inc. is working on two additional...

Influx of high-tech firms making Austin a 'technopolis.' (advanced-technology companies' growth)(Texas Trends)
June 28, 1991... Influx of high-tech firms making Austin a |technopolis' AUSTIN - Austin is rapidly becoming one of the few technopolises in the world, as more and more advanced-technology companies either move here, open branches or just sprout up whole....

San Antonio brokers gripe RTC making life difficult. (Resolution Trust Corp.)(Texas Trends)
June 28, 1991... San Antonio brokers gripe RTC making life difficult SAN ANTONIO - Last summer, Scott Weems, a broker with property management firm WilsonSchanzer Inc., thought he had negotiated the sale of a local apartment complex for the Resolution Trust...

Feds crack down on exchange houses. (regulation of quasi-banking system in currency exchange and wire transfer houses)
June 21, 1991... Feds crack down on exchange houses LAREDO - Internal Revenue Service Special Agent Dan Morris reached into his desk drawer in his office at the Lincoln-Juarez International Bridge in late May to retrieve a special pen, one used only weeks...

Bo knew thrifts. (Walter W. McAllister III, former chairman and chief executive officer of San Antonio Savings Association)
June 21, 1991... Bo knew thrifts Five years ago W.W. "Bo" McAllister, chairman and chief executive officer of the city's largest thrift, San Antonio Savings Association, was a rising star in the banking industry. An executive committee member of the...

Telecommunication firms' merger creates mega equipment sales entity. (Telexec Inc.; ICS of San Antonio Inc.)
June 21, 1991... Telecommunications firms' merger creates mega equipment sales entity Two local telecommunications firms merged last week to create the largest private communications equipment sales firm in San Antonio. Telexec Inc., founded as a...

Toys R Us chain breaks ground on two new stores, expects to hire 125.
June 21, 1991... Toys R Us chain breaks ground on two new stores, expects to hire 125 Paramus, N.J.-based Toys R Us, which calls itself the world's largest toy specialty chain, broke ground recently on its fourth - and probably last - local toy store and...

Auto dealership fraud suit revs up again in local court. (Jack Guenther files suit against Northside Land Co. for misrepresentation)
June 21, 1991... Auto dealership fraud suit revs up again in local court Plaintiff: Performance Metroplex Inc., Jack Guenther, John K. Matt, Performance Toyota Inc. and TPC Management Co. Defendant: Northside Land Co., Kathy E. Bronstein and Elliot, Nell,...

GMAC challenges pedigree of Thoroughbred sales files. (General Motor Acceptance Corp.; Thoroughbred Chevrolet Inc.)
June 21, 1991... GMAC challenges pedigree of Thoroughbred sales files Plaintiffs: General Motors Acceptance Corp. Defendant: Thoroughbred Chevrolet Inc. and Diane Fults Case No: 91CI-08523 General Motors Acceptance Corp. sued Thoroughbred Chevrolet Inc....

Landowners' lawsuit alleges fuel leak littered leased land. (Quincy and Frost National Bank sues Mobil Oil Corp. for environmental damages)
June 21, 1991... Landowners' lawsuit alleges fuel leak littered leased land Plaintiffs: Quincy Lee and Frost National Bank as Trustee for Steven Quincy Lee and as Trustee for Charles Bruce Lee Defendant: Mobil Oil Corp. Case No: 91CI-08471 Quincy Lee and...

Sitterle launches lawsuit to petrify Stone Oak foreclosure. (Sitterle Properties)
June 21, 1991... Sitterle launches lawsuit to petrify Stone Oak foreclosure Plaintiffs: Sitterle Properties, Daniel S. Sitterle, Frank J. Sitterle and SHS General Partnership Defendant: Stone Oak Inc. Case No: 91CI-07951 In a suit alleging breach of...

Environmental liabilities. (banks are liable for the cleanup costs of hazardous wastes found on foreclosed property)(Special Report: Financial Institutions)
June 21, 1991... Environmental liabilities What once was a simple way to protect an interest - foreclosing on property or securing collateral - has now become a risk to bank officials who now find themselves face-to-face with the hefty environmental...

Leon Valley picks up where big banks leave off. (Leon Valley Bank)(Special Report: Financial Institution) (company profile)
June 21, 1991... Leon Valley picks up where big banks leave off Eight years ago Jack Lewis Jr. went to a national skeet shooting championship on the nearly barren Northwest side of San Antonio. One year later, he opened up Leon Valley Bank in the same area....

Cut off from financial institutions businesses seek alternative lending. (commercial loans from Small Business Administration)(Special Report: Financial Institutions)
June 21, 1991... Cut off from financial institutions businesses seek alternative lending Many small-business owners who once turned to their banker for real estate loans lately have found those traditional lenders able only to recommend an alternative...

Financial insitutions rekindling relationship with over-50 market. (financial services for the retired and elderly population)
June 21, 1991... Financial institutions rekindling relationship with over-50 market For years, financial institutions have recognized the importance of catering to the retired and elderly population. Many institutions offered small incentives to lure that...

Local Hispanic firms lead the way. (Hispanic Business magazine's list of 500 largest Hispanic corporations)
June 14, 1991... Local Hispanic firms lead the way Three San Antonio companies are among the cream of the Hispanic business crop, making the top 10 of Hispanic Business magazine's list of the 500 largest Hispanic corporations in America published in this...

The risk taker: Angelo Drossos takes on Excel as his new challenge. (Excel Communications Group Inc.)
June 14, 1991... The risk taker Angelo Drossos takes on Excel as his new challenge Cut through all the hot-tempered histrionics about whether Excel Communications Group Inc. should be allowed to challenge Paragon Cable TV, and a more provocative question...

Firms face new EPA permit regulations. (Environmental Protection Agency imposes new regulations on storm water runoff)
June 14, 1991... Firms face new EPA permit regulations New environmental regulations and permitting procedures will force nearly 700 local businesses to spend thousands of dollars to test their storm water runoff and ensure its cleanliness or face hefty...

Brokers say RTC makes life difficult. (real estate brokers complain about Resolution Trust Corp.'s management practices)
June 14, 1991... Brokers say RTC makes life difficult Last summer, Scott Weems, a broker with property management firm Wilson-Schanzer Inc., thought he had negotiated the sale of a local apartment complex for the Resolution Trust Corp., the agency empowered...

Patios partners support Garner. (Los Patios retail and restaurant complex; Kerry Garner)
June 14, 1991... Patios partners support Garner In the wake of former Los Patios officer Virginia Snell Seward's recent lawsuit to oust partner Kerry Garner, the rest of the ownership group has banded together behind Garner. Garner also won a small...

Largest credit unions post $4 million first-quarter profit. (San Antonio, Texas)
June 14, 1991... Largest credit unions post $4 million first-quarter profit San Antonio's 10 largest credit unions reported total net income of more than $4 million in first quarter 1991 as they continue to hold a steady course of financial growth. ...

KCI set to acquire California firm after settling lengthy legal squabble. (Kinetic Concepts Inc. to acquire Mediscus International Limited)
June 14, 1991... KCI set to acquire California firm after settling lengthy legal squabble Specialty bed manufacturer Kinetic Concepts Inc.'s recent agreement to purchase an overseas company came after it settled a legal squabble with the company and its...

CBS Properties expands portfolio with Commerce, Century buildings. (CBS Property Services Inc. to handle leasing and management duties for Commerce Plaza and Century Building)
June 14, 1991... CBS Properties expands portfolio with Commerce, Century buildings CBS Property Services Inc., a Phoenix-based real estate management and leasing firm that has been in San Antonio for a year, recently has tripled its local portfolio. By...

Full court press. (sports lawyers)(Special Report: Sports)
June 14, 1991... Full court press Lawyer James Myart and partner Russell Johnson can't get through their meeting without a series of interruptions. But they don't mind. The calls that take the Davidson, Troilo & Booth lawyers out of conference would...

Charles Conner and John Kovacs. (Manufacturing)
June 14, 1991... Charles Conner and John Kovacs Charles Conner and John Kovacs are the new principals of a joint venture between Conner & Associates Inc. and John Kovacs & Associates known as Conner & Kovacs. Staff at the new firm are Suellis Ethridge,...

Local S&L depositors have lost $345,000.
June 7, 1991... During the past two years, depositors in San Antonio thrifts have lost about $345,000 in uninsured deposits when the institutions they held their money in went belly up. Depositors lost the most at North American Savings Association,...

Electronics giant ponders new stores here. (Circuit City Stores Inc.)
June 7, 1991... Circuit City rumored to fill vacuum left by Highland Although the "Going Out of Business" signs are barely posted at San Antonio's Highland Superstores outlets, local retail sources speculate that the stores already may be the subject...

Ex-AG kicks off law office chain in San Antonio. (former state attorney general Jim Mattox; Jim Mattox and Associates)
June 7, 1991... Former state attorney general and gubernatorial hopeful Jim Mattox has become a major shareholder in a chain of storefront legal service clinics in San Antonio and Houston that will bear his name. Jim Mattox & Associates, The People's Law...

Bankruptcy builds Xerox' business. (photocopying services for bankruptcy courts)
June 7, 1991... Being forced to file for bankruptcy is a bitter pill to swallow for some companies. But at 23 cents a page for copies, a major bankruptcy can be good business for Xerox Corp.'s office in San Antonio. Two major bankruptcy cases alone this...

Trammel Crow crowing about two new leases.
June 7, 1991... Developer gets contracts to One Internat'l, Texas Plaza The local office of Dallas-based Trammell Crow Co. recently won leasing contracts on two plum San Antonio office properties, One International Centre, the largest office structure...

East Side residents up in arms over KMOL community meeting fiasco. (KMOL-TV's neighborhood meetings)
June 7, 1991... When KMOL-TV, Channel 4, scheduled a meeting with residents of the predominantly black East Side this week to find out what they think about television coverage of their community, it got more than it bargained for -- ranging from an angry,...

Former chicken man goes back to fast-food roots with burger joint. (former Church's Fried Chicken Inc. executive C.H. "Buzz" Roman forms Rooty's of San Antonio Inc.)
June 7, 1991... Local restaurateur C.H. "Buzz" Roman, formerly the No. 2 man at Church's Fried Chicken Inc., will launch a new fast food restaurant next month: Rooty's, a 1950s-style, upscale burger joint slated to cost $450,000. Rooty's, which will...

Small credit union sstruggle to rev up auto loan portfolios.
June 7, 1991... Decreasing auto sales, shifts in financing and increasing competition among financial institutions pushing to get a share of the consumer loan market are forcing smaller credit unions to work harder to get what has traditionally been their...

Alamo S&L has little luck selling its charter to start insurance firm. (Alamo Federal Savings Association; SATEX)
June 7, 1991... As the now-defunct Alamo Federal Savings Association struggles to sell off its former assets, one of its oddest assets, a state charter that can ease the way to setting up an insurance agency, could prove one of the hardest to sell. When...

SwRI starts $5 million jet contract analyzing F-5s from four countries. (Southwest Research Institute)
June 7, 1991... Southwest Research Institute has received a $5.33 million order from the U.S. Air Force for engineering services on 20 F-5 fighter planes owned by four countries -- the first order under a contract awarded to SwRI in August estimated to be...

Local phone co-op sues after SW Bell yanks out its cord. (TexTel Co-op Inc. claims Southwestern Bell Co.' rates puts it out of business)
June 7, 1991... Plaintiff: TexTel Co-op Inc. Defendant: Southwestern Bell Co. Case No.: 90CI-16159 Alleging that Southwestern Bell Co. is putting it out of business by increasing its phone rates, a local telephone cooperative is suing the...

Local contractor complains its sewer pipes were garbage. (SACC sues JM Manufacturing for defective sewer pipes)
June 7, 1991... Plaintiff: SACC Inc. Defendant: JM Manufacturing Inc. Case No.: 91CI-04516 SACC, a construction contractor, is suing JM Manufacturing for $150,000 for allegedly making a defective sewer pipe. According to the suit, when SACC was hired...

Movie chains tries pulling curtains down on ACT III. (Cinemark USA Inc.'s antitrust action againts Act III Communications Inc.)
June 7, 1991... Plaintiff: Cinemark USA Inc. Defendants: Act III Theatres L.P., Act III Theatres G.P. Inc., Act III Theatres Inc., A3 Theatres of San Antonio Ltd., Act III Communications Inc., N.L. Communications Inc., Act III Communications Holdings G.P....

'Puzzlehead' pair market fragmented scenes of Texas. (Texas Panorama Inc. produces jigsaw puzzles of Texas scenery) (company profile)
June 7, 1991... Texas Panoramas Inc. of San Antonio has made a business of chopping up Texas scenery from East Texas to the Big Bend -- into 1,008 pieces, to be exact. The company, founded by a mother-daughter team of entrepreneurs last May, produces...

Changing the rules of the game. (new insurance bill)(Special Report: Insurance)
June 7, 1991... Proposals in the new insurance bill will raise the stakes for local players in the insurance industry. When Gov. Ann Richards places her signature on Texas' House Bill 2, the Omnibus Insurance Reform Act, she will be fulfilling campaign...

McCain brings old-fashioned qualities to an ever- changing field. (Marietta McCain)
June 7, 1991... When Marietta McCain stepped up to the golf green amid tournament ropes and thousands of applauding onlookers, it didn't really matter to her that she had just recently taken up the sport. Nor was she bothered by the gaping mouths of the...

Judith Maxwell. (Retail)
June 7, 1991... Judith Maxwell was promoted to executive vice president and chief financial officer at Curtis C. Gunn Inc.

Curtis Vaughan III. (People on the Move: Other)
June 7, 1991... Curtis Vaughan III was promoted to president and chief operating officer of Vaughan & Sons Inc.

Randall Puckett. (People on the Move: Other)
June 7, 1991... Randall Puckett was re-elected president and promoted to chief executive officer of Alamo Lumber Co.