Pocket Change
– A roundup of economic news and information
Good News for Dining Out
Texas restaurant industry sales are expected to grow by 5.8 percent to $33.7 billion this year, according to the National Restaurant Association.
The growth rate nationally is expected to be 4.4 percent. Texas restaurant jobs could increase 22.9 percent by 2018. The state will have about 995,000 employees in the industry in 2008.
“The restaurant industry is entering its 17th consecutive year of real sales growth in 2008, and while the overall economy is slowing, the industry will still show respectable growth,” says Dawn Sweeney, president and CEO of the association.
Source: National Restaurant Association.
Retiring your Ride
The “Air Check Texas: Drive a Clean Machine” program allows as many as 1.9 million Texas households to receive up to $3,500 in vouchers to replace or repair an aging car or truck.
“Replacing an older vehicle with a newer one could decrease emissions by as much as 98 percent and improve air quality in those areas that need improvement,” says Bob Wierzowiecki, the program’s coordinator.
Vehicle owners must meet income requirements. The vehicle must have failed an emissions test and be registered in a participating county for at least 12 months prior to application, or be at least 10 years old and gasoline-powered, meet the 12-month registration requirement and have passed a Department of Public Safety motor-vehicle inspection within 15 months of application.
More information, including a list of vehicles eligible for voucher purchase, is available online.
UTHSC Spinoff Sold
CardioSpectra Inc., a spinoff of the University of Texas Health Science Center, has been acquired by a California company.
San Diego-based Volcano Corp. paid $25 million in cash for the company. CardioSpectra develops an optical coherence tomography (OCT) diagnostic catheter, which lets doctors diagnose vascular plaque at early stages. Volcano provides intravascular ultrasound products designed to diagnose and treat vascular and structural heart disease.
“We believe CardioSpectra’s OCT technology and products will be an important addition to Volcano, as we expect that it will allow us to expand our reach into clinical situations where extremely high-resolution imaging is paramount,” says Scott Huennekens, president and CEO of Volcano.
Source: Volcano Corp.
Boeing Makes Big Impact in Texas
Boeing contributes $3.52 billion
annually to the state’s economy and creates
more than 20,000 direct and indirect jobs, according to an
economic impact study by the Institute for Policy and Economic
Development at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP).
Boeing has 5,200 workers at sites in 14 Texas cities, including Houston and San Antonio.
“Boeing’s direct financial importance in Texas is significant, but there is a much larger impact on the state,” says Dennis Soden, executive director of the Institute for Policy and Economic Development at UTEP. “Boeing makes Texas competitive with high-wage, high-skill jobs that make the company a statewide asset. These jobs provide incentives for the best and brightest students in Texas to seek great career opportunities with a world-class company.”
Source: The Institute for Policy and Economic Development at UTEP.
A Bright Idea
Mayors of the state’s largest cities urge Texans to replace incandescent light bulbs with energy-saving compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs).
Austin, Dallas, El Paso, Houston and San Antonio mayors collaborated on the campaign with the Environmental Defense Fund and Texas utility companies and retailers.
If every Texas household changed one bulb, it would be the equivalent of removing 55,000 cars from the road. The energy savings could power 200,000 homes for a year. CFLs use about one-fourth the energy and last up to 10 times longer than regular bulbs.
Source: City of Austin.
Austin Best for Business
The Austin-Round Rock area is the best place for business in the United States, according to Moody’s Economy.com Inc., an independent economic research firm that ranked the Austin-Round Rock Metropolitan Statistical Area first among 380 metropolitan areas it tracks in its Economic Vitality Index.
The index is based on current economic conditions, expected trends and potential risks, taking into account factors such as employment growth, household income, productivity and business costs.
“Austin’s number one ranking is something the entire region can be proud of,” says Betty Voights, executive director at the Capital Area Council of Governments, which commissions the report from Moody’s Economy.com. “Economic development today is a competition among regions, and this top ranking serves as a strong message about our commitment to working together toward regional success.”
Source: Capitol Area Council of Governments, August 2007.
