The Dallas Morning News (Dallas, TX) articles from April 2000

The Dallas Morning News (Dallas, TX) archives from April 2000

Patchwork system makes universal coverage difficult.
April 2, 2000... Byline: Charles Ornstein TRIMS) Although the vast majority of Americans receive health insurance through their employers, by no means is the quality of coverage the same. Just ask Harry and Louise. The fictional middle-aged...

Humor in the workplace helps motivate employees.
April 2, 2000... Byline: Carla D'Nan Bass Kris Horner, owner of a Carrollton auto glass company, says he has discovered a link between Hawaiian leis and record-breaking sales totals. He did it by hosting a "Hawaiian Day" for his workers at Auto Glass...

About a third of shift workers say they're sleep-deprived.
April 2, 2000... Byline: Carla D'Nan Bass In recent years, employers and workers have been forced to address sleep deprivation, according to Dr. Philip Becker, executive director of the Sleep Medicine Institute at Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas. ...

Mother Nature shows her capriciousness.
April 3, 2000... Byline: William McKenzie Natural disasters are made for watching on CNN or the Weather Channel, right? That equation changed dramatically last week for many residents of the Fort Worth neighborhood where I grew up. An unexpected...

`Caitlin' star Lindsay Felton does it her own way.
April 3, 2000... Byline: Jeanne Spreier Lindsay Felton doesn't talk like her screen personality, Caitlin Seeger. She's polite, mature, professional and without the hotheaded barbs that spike Caitlin's discourse. Orphan Caitlin, a street-tough teenager,...

Invitations don't help with dress.
April 4, 2000... Byline: Maryln Schwartz Spring party invitations are out in full force, and on almost every one is that favorite catch phrase, ``casual.'' Some say ``Texas casual,'' some say ``Dallas casual,'' some say ``dressy casual.'' ``That's...

By accident or design, new products remove high-tech barriers for the disabled.
April 5, 2000... Byline: Paula Felps Dot Laux hasn't let time do much to slow her down. But the 80-year-old volunteer computer instructor sees daily the problems that arise when age and computer products collide. "I see so many people who really have...

Expect to play games on wireless devices as technology advances.
April 5, 2000... Byline: Victor Godinez Cell phone tennis, anyone? It's not here yet, but soon. Online wireless video gaming will soon be arriving on your cell phone. While these games initially won't boast the technical sophistication of their...

Tax simplification talk heats up on Capitol Hill.
April 5, 2000... Byline: Carl P. Leubsdorf As Americans get set to pay their income taxes, there is once more talk about tax simplification or reduction. But even some longtime reform advocates such as chairman Bill Archer of the House Ways and Means...

Vegetarian billboard stirs up a fuss.
April 10, 2000... Byline: Maryln Schwartz I just got back from Alabama, where there was a battle raging. The organization PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) wanted to put up a billboard in Mobile with a large picture of Jesus. Next to it...

Financial planners have freedom to structure job.
April 10, 2000... Byline: Vikas Bajaj DALLAS _ Peggy Everson didn't have to think long about rejecting American Express' recent job offer. Her 10-year-old financial planning practice as an independent contractor with American Express Financial Advisors...

Produce your own edible works of art.
April 12, 2000... Byline: Beatriz Terrazas If you want to create some of your own produce buddies, here are a few tips from Joost Elffers and Saxton Freymann, authors of ``One Lonely Sea Horse, and ``How Are You Peeling? Foods with Moods, from Arthur A....

Fruit faces give authors' children's books character.
April 12, 2000... Byline: Beatriz Terrazas DALLAS _ Smiling kiwis. Angry oranges. Shouting apples. Think you've seen all the emotions a carved fruit character can express? Not quite. Saxton Freymann and Joost Elffers, authors of last year's...

Casting selves as reformers is tough job.
April 12, 2000... Byline: Carl Leubsdorf George W. Bush and Al Gore have worked hard since clinching their presidential nominations to refine their public images and hone their appeals to the independent voters who will decide the 2000 election. Both...

Television Q&A.
April 12, 2000... Byline: Norma Cavazos Q. I watched Law & Order on TV for several years. My favorite star was the beautiful prosecutor Claire, played by Jill Hennessy. She seems to have disappeared. I thought she would appear again on another show or in...

Voices for the offbeat? Weblogs conform to nonconformity.
April 12, 2000... Byline: Doug Bedell They are called weblogs _ blogs for short. In the space of a mere two years, this new breed of Web site has begun changing the way Net denizens navigate through the Internet's sometimes mind-boggling info-clutter. ...

Take a technology tour with Geek Trek 2000.
April 13, 2000... Byline: Doug J. Swanson PALO ALTO, Calif. _ Many of Northern California's attractions are instantly spectacular. One glimpse of the Golden Gate Bridge, or Yosemite, or Lake Tahoe, and you're in immediate awe. Not so the Silicon Valley,...

Space-themed dealership counts down to liftoff.
April 16, 2000... Byline: Terry Box SPRING, Texas _ Late this summer, the Mother Ship _ gleaming and laden with flashing lights and electronic gizmos _ will arise from the sandy soil here alongside busy Interstate 45. It will be guided by a dashing,...

Hospitals say recruiting, keeping IT workers critical.
April 16, 2000... Byline: Carla D'Nan Bass Recruiting and retaining employees are the major concerns of health care information and management workers, according to preliminary findings from a poll conducted by the Healthcare Information and Management...

Top salesman makes jump to consulting.
April 16, 2000... Byline: Carla DNan Bass DALLAS _ It's a grandmotherly adage: You've got to do what you can with what you've got. But that's how Jay Abraham built his career as a sales and marketing consultant. He doesn't have a formal education,...

Hardware reviews.
April 17, 2000... Just add a TV and an easy chair. That's pretty much the idea behind Sony's DVD Dream System, which puts most of what's needed for a home entertainment system in one package. But the best news is that the system's convenience is more than...

Tax planning begins now for lowering what you will owe next year.
April 17, 2000... Byline: Pamela Yip If you're like many people, you rushed to meet Mondays midnight deadline to file your 1999 income tax return. The last thing you want to think about is your 2000 tax. But just as it's good to change your smoke...

Health debate must move past incrementalism.
April 18, 2000... Byline: William McKenzie Give Bill Bradley credit for this point: He had the nerve during his presidential campaign to press for a health care "mandate." The Democratic candidate wanted to require every American to buy health insurance....

DVD set gives us four of Brigitte Bardot's most watchable roles.
April 19, 2000... Byline: Al Brumley Cyd Charisse danced better. Raquel Welch and Lana Turner were more glamorous. And just about anyone you can name was a better actor. But in her day, no one but Brigitte Bardot could've pulled off these...

The gore the merrier.
April 19, 2000... Byline: Jerry Bokamper Udo Kier sells Buicks now. He appears in commercials as a Teutonic engineer amazed by the standard equipment on the Century and bridling at a joke about there being an ejector seat. Thirty years ago, he was less...

Secret Service's confiscating signs at Bush rally raises questions.
April 19, 2000... Byline: Christy Hoppe AUSTIN, Texas _ George Wilson, a former county officeholder and lifelong Republican, found his sign confiscated and his loyalty rattled at a Bush for president rally this week. Wilson wanted to catch Gov. George...

Appeals court upholds ruling keeping Elian in U.S. for now.
April 19, 2000... Byline: Nancy San Martin and David LaGesse MIAMI _ A federal appeals court dealt a sharp blow to government efforts to return Elian Gonzalez to his father and native Cuba on Wednesday, setting off another celebration at the Miami home of...

`Stuart Little' stands tall.
April 19, 2000... Byline: Nancy Churnin ``Stuart Little is the mouse that roared at the box office. Even industry watchers were caught off guard by the success of this endearing new version of the E.B. White classic about a little mouse raised as just...

Clinton struggles with `What Next?'.
April 19, 2000... Byline: Carl P. Leubsdorf At the recent Radio and Television Correspondents dinner, President Clinton noted that the entertainer, Darrell Hammond, regularly impersonates him on ``Saturday Night Live.'' ``Poor Darrell,'' the president...

Clinton dedicates Oklahoma City memorial.
April 19, 2000... Byline: Arnold Hamilton OKLAHOMA CITY _ Likening it to the ``sacred ground'' of Valley Forge, Gettysburg and Selma, President Clinton on Wednesday joined thousands of Oklahomans in dedicating a memorial that he said will serve as a lasting...

Celebrity tell-alls tomes _ talk about sleazy.
April 19, 2000... Byline: Marilyn Schwartz The subject of privacy is becoming more and more of an issue. Fears about invasion of privacy on the Internet are being widely talked about. But even more these days, people seem to be willing to talk about and...

Unwind and rewind with the Simpsons.
April 19, 2000... Byline: Tom Maurstad The theme of this week's column is theming. In the video marketplace, theming is the art of packaging, a means by which to put a new spin on an old product and thus inspire another generation of sales. Theming is...

On Columbine anniversary, Bush spends the day with children.
April 20, 2000... Byline: Christopher Lee TEMPLE, Texas _ Presidential rivals George W. Bush and Al Gore offered prescriptions Thursday for preventing the kind of violence that exploded in the massacre at Columbine High School. Appearing at Cater...

AOL is great for parents, chat-room mavens, but service remains weak.
April 20, 2000... AOL'S PROS IT'S AVAILABLE WORLDWIDE: Or nearly so. It's got more local access numbers than any other Internet service provider, so chances are you can always find a line in, if not a modem. Many travelers find it smart just to keep an...

Despite lower-cost access options, AOL subscribers won't cut cord.
April 20, 2000... Byline: Paula Felps DALLAS _ Today's virtual landscape bears little resemblance to the Internet of 15 years ago. Back then, the Internet was uncharted territory; checking mail still involved actually walking to a mailbox and the...

Electronic adventures: video and computer game reviews.
April 20, 2000... POLARIS SNOCROSS Maker: Vatical Entertainment Rating: 2{ stars System: Game Boy Color Suggested price: $30 Number of players: Up to 2 Winter may be over, but you can still race on official Polaris snowmobiles with...

Hardware reviews.
April 20, 2000... The Dallas Morning News Canon, a big player in scanners for years, has recently introduced the CanoScan FB 630Ui, a diminutive $149 flat-bed machine targeting Mac users, but not for them exclusively. The 630Ui is one of the first...

Other sweeps programming.
April 20, 2000... Byline: Ed Bark The first full week of the May sweeps offers these additional prime attractions: _``Take Me Home: The John Denver Story (CBS) _ Chad Lowe, last seen bawling while wife Hilary Swank accepted an Oscar, plays the title...

No-names `star' in ABC's and NBC's May sweeps miniseries.
April 20, 2000... Byline: Ed Bark DV30:DA) Whatever your reasons for watching ``Arabian Nights or ``The '70s, they won't include the allure of name-brand stars in lead roles. Both four-hour miniseries, premiering on the first Sunday of the May...

Television Q&A.
April 20, 2000... Byline: Norma Cavazos Q. Please tell me more about the gorgeous actress Michael Michele who plays Dr. Cleo Finch on NBC's ``ER. _ D.R., Las Vegas, Nev. A. Michael Michele found her way to the staff of ``ER this season after appearing...

Lakers are ready to knock Spurs off their perch.
April 21, 2000... Byline: Marc Stein DALLAS _ A.C. Green was on the team that hatched the habit, the NBA's lengthy drag of repeats. Green, ironically, is also on the team most likely to end the trend, to prevent the San Antonio Spurs from joining all...

Easy calculation figures out after-tax yield of tax-exempt bond fund.
April 21, 2000... Byline: Pamela Yip Here's how you figure out and compare the after-tax yield of a tax-exempt municipal bond fund with that of a taxable bond fund holding bonds of similar credit quality and maturities: First, subtract the percentage of...

American Airlines, Pilots' Union Fail to Reach Agreement in Recent Talks.
April 22, 2000... Byline: Katherine Yung Apr. 22--American Airlines Inc. and its pilots' union have ended talks aimed at extending the pilots' current labor contract by two years. The talks, which began in midDecember, broke off late Thursday over...

The Dallas Morning News Sports Business Column.
April 22, 2000... Byline: Richard Alm Apr. 22--STADIUM A SELLING POINT FOR SMU: For the first time in years, Southern Methodist University figures that it's got something to sell in its football team. The reason for the renewed optimism is the Gerald J....

Internet Supermarket Web Sites Experience Fierce Competition.
April 22, 2000... Byline: Maria Halkias Apr. 22--Online grocers are finding out what their brick-and-mortar counterparts have known for a long time: Competition is fierce out there. This is one dot.com category where players are still flush with...

Grapevine, Texas, to Build Hotel Modeled on Historic Nashville, Tenn., Hotel.
April 23, 2000... Byline: Veronica Alaniz Apr. 23--NASHVILLE, Tenn.--Opryland Hotel doesn't do anything small. It boasts of being the world's largest hotel and convention center under one roof. But being the biggest isn't the only reason that 2...

Dallas dealmaker Haas publishes second book on African wildlife.
April 23, 2000... Byline: Cheryl Hall Dallas dealmaker Bobby Haas' latest proposition is a guaranteed money loser yet promises to yield more personal satisfaction than deals that netted him millions. The 52-year-old co-founder of Haas Wheat & Partners...

Grapevine, Texas, to Build Largest Hotel, Convention Center in Area.
April 24, 2000... Byline: Veronica Alaniz Apr. 24--GRAPEVINE, Texas--When Opryland Texas rises out of the prairie along the shores of Grapevine Lake, it will be the biggest hotel and convention complex the Arlington-D/FW area has seen. The complex is...

Blockage for Ryan was severe.
April 24, 2000... Byline: Chip Brown AUSTIN, Texas _ Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan never showed signs of slowing while pitching into his 40s and even holding his own on a mound charge by Robin Ventura. But heart trouble nearly caught up with him at age...

Scores should be settled on court.
April 24, 2000... Byline: Tim Blackistone It was Hype Week for Super Bowl XIII. The Steelers and Cowboys were preparing to do battle. Somebody asked the loquacious linebacker from Dallas, Hollywood Henderson, what he thought about the Pittsburgh...

Microsoft plunges 16 percent.
April 24, 2000... Byline: Katie Fairbank Microsoft Corp. got bad news Monday from all corners _ reports of decreased revenues, a soured market for personal computers and a possible breakup of the company causing the once high-flying stock to plunge to a...

Cuban-Americans see influence waning in wake of Elian case.
April 24, 2000... Byline: Nancy San Martin MIAMI _ For decades, the Cuban-American exile community of South Florida successfully took local politics from the streets of Miami to the halls of Congress, using their political influence and acumen to shape...

Even the best parents make mistakes.
April 24, 2000... Byline: Leslie Garcia Janyce Draper is a grandmother now. But she remembers the incident as though it happened this morning. ``Our oldest son was 18 months old, and he fell out of the car because we didn't have the doors locked,'' says...

Goal of `Quit whining and read' effort is literacy.
April 24, 2000... Byline: John C. Davenport When she was growing up, Jodi Jill would take her younger brothers to the library, hoping to share with them her love of books and reading. Things didn't quite go as planned. Her brothers' fidgeting and...

Investors turn to blue chip stocks, shy away from technology.
April 24, 2000... Byline: Bill Deener The spring mudslide in technology stocks continued Monday as investors rushed again to the safety of the more staid stocks of the Dow Jones industrial average. Technology investors were sent scurrying after...

Return of the revolutionaries.
April 24, 2000... Byline: Rena Pederson NEW YORK _ The last time most of us were together, Richard Nixon was president and Spiro Agnew was vice president. J. Edgar Hoover was head of the FBI. It was 1969-1970, one of those rare explosions in time that...

Basic investment strategy bears revisiting in wake of recent events.
April 24, 2000... Byline: Pamela Yip DALLAS _ Find a company with a strong product or promising idea, mix in top-flight management, throw in strong earnings and, voila, you have a good reason to buy the stock. What a concept. Many investors forgot...

Wondering about the Elian mess.
April 24, 2000... Byline: Marilyn Schwartz The Elian Gonzlez mess is getting even messier. I'm still waiting for someone to ask the really tough questions of the Miami relatives. Every time I turn on my TV, I see the cousin who is supposed to have been...

Markets' ride sends many would-be e-billionaires back to real world.
April 24, 2000... Byline: Vikas Bajaj TRIMS) Good things come to those who wait. That's the new motto of some Internet workers whose stock-option portfolios have been rendered virtually worthless by Wall Street. Many of these "new economy"...

New Start-Up to Challenge American Airlines on Routes, Service, Cuisine.
April 25, 2000... Byline: Katherine Yung Apr. 25--The battle for high-paying business travelers at Love Field will pit torte Florentine against omelets and buttermilk pancakes. Just six days remain before American Airlines Inc. faces off against...

New Warning System to Alert Dallas Drivers to Flooded Roads.
April 25, 2000... Byline: Michael Saul Apr. 25--Dallas officials plan to unveil a $2.2 million warning system Tuesday to alert drivers to flooded roadways, a project that comes five years after one of the deadliest storms in the region's history. The...

Tentative Pact Reached to End Lockheed Martin Strike in Texas.
April 25, 2000... Byline: Katie Fairbank Apr. 25--Lockheed Martin Corp. and striking production workers reached a tentative deal Monday night that could end the 15-day-old strike at the defense company's Fort Worth plant. The 2,300 members of Local 776...

Microsoft Takes Hits on Revenues, Sales, Antitrust Case.
April 25, 2000... Byline: Katie Fairbank Apr. 25--Microsoft Corp. got bad news Monday from all corners reports of decreased revenues, a soured market for personal computers and a possible breakup of the company causing the once high-flying stock to plunge...

The Dallas Morning News Robert Miller Column.
April 25, 2000... Byline: Robert Miller Apr. 25--UD DRIVE HITS 87 PERCENT OF ITS INITIAL GOAL: Lots of University of Dallas supporters have signed onto the $25 million Phase I of its 10-year, $104 million capital campaign. "The Phase I campaign now...

State Farm Delays Donation to Improve Dangerous Texas Intersections.
April 25, 2000... Byline: Tony Hartzel Apr. 25--Three of the nation's five worst intersections for accidents in 1998 have been improved by North Texas cities for $1 million each, but money that an insurance company pledged to help has not arrived. When...

Stock Slide Continues.
April 25, 2000... Byline: Bill Deener Apr. 25--The spring mudslide in technology stocks continued Monday as investors rushed again to the safety of the more staid stocks of the Dow Jones industrial average. Technology investors were sent scurrying after...

Construction Begins on Downtown Dallas High-Tech Office Complex.
April 25, 2000... Byline: Steve Brown Apr. 25--Construction has begun on a project that will turn two blocks of vacant downtown Dallas buildings into a new campus for high-tech and telecommunications companies. The owners of the Dallas Infomart and...

Texas Governor Bush Touts Free Trade Between U.S., Mexico.
April 25, 2000... Byline: Rick Klein Apr. 25--NUEVO LAREDO, Mexico--Gov. George W. Bush used a ceremony Monday at a new Texas-Mexico bridge to tout stronger U.S. links to Latin America. "As president, I will work to create an entire hemisphere of free...

Dallas Television Anchor Sues Organizations over Textbook Portrayal.
April 25, 2000... Byline: Todd Bensman Apr. 25--KXAS-TV (Channel 5) anchor Mike Snyder, criticized in 1994 for his participation in a Republican political rally, has sued two organizations over the way an ethics textbook portrays the incident. Mr....

For John Wetteland, survival is part of endurance test.
April 25, 2000... Byline: Gerry Fraley When a hitter achieves 3,000 hits, there is a celebration. When a starting pitcher makes it to 300 wins, there is jubilation. When a closer reaches 300 saves, there is a long sigh of relief. Hitters rake....

Ryan saved by fast act, doctors say.
April 25, 2000... Byline: Chip Brown (Updates throughout) AUSTIN, Texas _ Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan's heart, the same one that allowed him to pitch into his mid-40s and turn back Robin Ventura's mound charge near the end of his career, was also the same...

Cheney to head committee to pick running mate for Bush.
April 25, 2000... Byline: (ARCHIVE PHOTOS) By Rick Klein Klein DAYTON, Ohio _ Dallas businessman and former Defense Secretary Dick Cheney will head a committee that will help George W. Bush choose a running mate, the governor said Tuesday. ``He has...

HEADLINE HERE.
April 25, 2000... Byline: Rick Klein DAYTON, Ohio _ Flanked by Texas Democrats and Ohio Republicans, Gov. George W. Bush said Tuesday that he can work with people of all political persuasions to craft smart policies. ``It sends a signal to America about...

Largest operator of golf courses forms new electronic marketplace.
April 25, 2000... Byline: Richard Alm DALLAS _ Dallas-based ClubCorp Inc., the world's largest operator of golf courses, private clubs and resorts, joined Tuesday with Atlanta's Harbinger Corp. to form a new company that will create an electronic...

Microsoft breakup is now very real possibility.
April 25, 2000... Byline: Alan Goldstein For Microsoft Corp., what was once unthinkable may now be possible. Federal and state officials are said to be seeking a breakup of the software giant as an antitrust remedy, splitting it into separate companies to...

HEADLINE HERE.
April 25, 2000... Byline: Ed Timms Far removed from the media frenzy and geopolitical posturing that has defined the Elian Gonzalez case, many U.S. citizens fight to return their abducted children from a foreign country. They've waged costly legal...

Courts face questions about children's ability to decide.
April 25, 2000... Byline: Karen M. Thomas As 6-year-old Elian Gonzalez, his father and his Miami relatives now wait for a mid-May hearing to decide if he could seek political asylum, an image of the young boy still haunts. Who can forget the widely...

Cuban-Americans protest of Elian seizure shuts down Little Havana.
April 25, 2000... Byline: Connie Piloto MIAMI _ Small businesses in bustling Little Havana were closed Tuesday, along with large chain supermarkets and fast-food restaurants, as Cuban-Americans protested the government's predawn seizure of Elian Gonzalez....

Gore touts economic prosperity, attacks Bush's `politics of illusion'.
April 25, 2000... Byline: G. Robert Hillman NEW YORK _ Vice President Al Gore, claiming a share of credit for the nation's economic prosperity, charged Tuesday that the election of George W. Bush as president would send the country back to the...

N.Y. mag's culture guide takes readers on the road to hipness.
April 25, 2000... Byline: Teresa Gubbins The frustrating thing about hipness is that you can't try. Either you're hip or you're not. It's certainly not something you can learn from a book. Ha _ fooled again. If a how-to on hipness existed, it'd be...

Hiring a fishing guide can be a good investment.
April 25, 2000... Byline: Ray Sasser DALLAS _ An elderly caller phoned the newspaper office one day to inquire about fishing guides at Lake Fork. He'd been reading stories about all the big bass caught at Fork, he said, and he wanted the name of a fishing...

Texas lakes, sport-fishing industry emerged from 1950s drought.
April 25, 2000... Byline: Ray Sasser A mong philosophical questions, it's hard to beat this one - which came first, the chicken or the egg? The fishing version of that question asks which came first, the fish or the lake. It was the lake, of course. ...

Religion in the media: a look at recent books and music.
April 25, 2000... BOOKS: ``The Battle for God, by Karen Armstrong (Alfred A. Knopf, 448 pages, $27.50). Karen Armstrong just added another good title to her recent string of well-written books focusing on the monotheistic faiths. In ``The Battle for God,...

Violent video game apparently leaves players in blasting mode.
April 25, 2000... Players say they can tell a video game from real life. But after the screen goes dark, real life may feel like a video. Although many people have opinions on links between violent video games and aggression, few experiments have been able...