In this issue:
Homeowners Beware
From the Comptroller: Lone Star Scholars
Texas Rankings
Clearing a Path
Made to fit
Faded Blues
Texas Boots
In the Swing
Texas stats -- Fiscal and economic data
Homeowners, Beware
Creepy crawlers, fast-moving fungi
may be headed to your neighborhoodIn Texas, farmers aren't the only ones forced to spend millions of dollars every year fighting insects and other natural infestations. Homeowners also are locked in a costly combat with fire ants, termites and oak wilt, with no easy cures in sight despite the increasing range and severity of the infestations.
These pests can be more than a minor nuisance. Severe infestations of fire ants, for example, can pose a serious health threat. From 1980 to 1995, the state health department recorded 11 deaths attributed to multiple fire ant bites.
The state is gearing up to declare war on fire ants, thanks to a sizable funding boost in state research, education and regulatory programs. Budgets to address termite and oak wilt control are still limited, and experts predict these already costly problems will worsen if they do not receive immediate attention. Property owners need to have a keen eye and anticipate invasions by these marauders.
Mandibles of steel: Red imported fire ants cause an estimated $300 million in damage in Texas each year, including agricultural losses. In fact, fire ants have been named the state's No. 1 pest in terms of cost, according to the Texas Agricultural Extension Service (TAEX) at Texas A&M University. Nearly 90% of the state's population lives in territory infested by fire ants, and about one of every three Texans is bitten each year.
Imported fire ants were accidentally introduced to the port of Mobile, Alabama, from South America in the 1930s. They spread naturally through mating flights and were unknowingly transported by humans, eventually into most of the South and Southeast. Fire ants reached East Texas in the 1950s, where they quickly adapted to new food sources and nesting locations.
Fire ants now occupy almost two-thirds of the state, setting up home in 162 of Texas' 254 counties. The Texas Department of Agriculture reports that fire ants have infested about 56 million acres, with an average 80 mounds per acre. Each year, Texas homeowners spend tens of millions of dollars on eradicating these aggressors, treating bites and repairing damaged electrical equipment. Fire ants destroy outdoor lighting, air conditioners, sprinkler systems, computers and other electronic equipment.
Texas farmers have felt the sting of fire ants for several decades. Texas A&M's Fire Ant Research and Management Advisory Committee reports that cattle producers suffer an estimated $67 million in losses per year due to fire ants. About 70% of all cattle producers see some fire ant-related economic loss each year.
The 1997 Legislature approved $5 million for fire ant research and control to be coordinated through the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station (TAES) in the next biennium. Also involved are TAEX, Texas A&M, the University of Texas, Texas Tech University and the Texas Department of Agriculture. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is a participant.
The expanded TAES program aims for long-term fire ant control by interrupting or inhibiting the insect's reproduction cycle. Eliminating worker ants typically has little effect on the overall health of a colony, since those on the surface are usually expendable. Killing the queen is the only means of eliminating a mound.
The University of Texas is experimenting with a different approach to control. Researchers are attempting to breed large numbers of Brazilian flies, a predator from the imported ants' native land.
In the near term, TAEX will coordinate neighborhood-level efforts. Individual pilot communities will be surveyed to determine the extent of an infestation, then a management program based on each area's needs will be prescribed. Texas A&M entomologists say urban and suburban Texans typically use too much pesticide when treating a fire ant problem. A coordinated approach, using the most effective treatments, not only improves control but decreases chemical runoff.
Knock on wood: Property owners face another costly pest--the voracious termite. These scavengers eat trees and any damp wood--even if that means homes and businesses.
Each year, termites cause more than $250 million in damage in Texas, TAEX reports. Nationwide, termite damage tops $1.7 billion--more than all the storms, earthquakes and fires each year combined, according to Atlanta-based Orkin Exterminating Company Inc., the nation's largest pest control company.
Texas is especially hard-hit; in fact, the heat and humidity along the Gulf Coast create conditions that could be called termite heaven. Entomologists estimate that 40% of structures statewide are infested at some point. For structures more than 40 years old, the infestation rate is 90%. In contrast, midwestern states see termites in as few as 5% of their structures.
Termites can be especially persistent. Some businesses have found the insects to have tunneled into locked safes, where they consumed everything from real estate deeds to priceless art work. Termites also plague historical buildings, such as the Grimes County Courthouse in Anderson and Lyndon B. Johnson State Historical Park near Stonewall. In many cases, such structures are covered by chemical treatment bans enacted to preserve historic wooden structures.
Unfortunately, these bans make controlling termites especially difficult. Many public school buildings suffer from the same treatment dilemma.
TAEX reports there are few alternatives to chemical treatments. One that shows promise during homebuilding is laying the concrete slab on sand granules that are too large to be moved by termites, effectively blocking their spread. The new sand has been tested in Houston, and some Texas companies sell the product.
Another strategy is to place a screen with tiny mesh under the foundation, but this method is too expensive for most homebuilders. It is used in Australia. Texas is home to a variety of termites, including the Formosa, which can consume four times as much wood as the more common subterranean and drywood termites. Formosa termites first established themselves in Pasadena and spread across much of the Gulf Coast. Isolated colonies have been found in Fort Worth and Austin.
Termites can travel more than 100 feet from their colonies, leaving a chemical trail for others to follow once they find a food source. These unyielding creatures seldom rest--sometimes working 24 hours a day to bring food into the colonies. One colony can infest several homes. Termite queens, which have been known to live many years, are capable of laying millions of eggs.
Not-so-solid oak: Insects aren't the only scourge that can plague homeowners. Ceratocystis fagacearum, a fungus commonly known as oak wilt disease, has killed millions of trees in Texas. The impact of oak wilt is being called "catastrophic" in certain areas.
Live oaks and red oaks are especially susceptible. Trees that contract the disease sometimes die within weeks. Insects spread the fungus to new locations after feeding on fungus mats growing on diseased red oaks. Once the fungus enters a live oak, it spreads to others through the root system, traveling an average 100 feet a year. Trenching, tree removal and fungicide injection are recommended, though these efforts can fail when the fungus jumps a trench or control measures are implemented improperly.
Plant pathologists at TAEX report that treating a case of oak wilt averages $3,000. The most effective deterrent is trenching, cutting deep channels around infected trees to halt the spread of the disease through the roots. Trenching runs from about $3 to $30 per linear foot. Injecting an infected tree with a fungicide to slow the disease costs about $10 per diameter inch.
Losing trees can have a huge effect on a home's property value, as much as a 20% loss, and the lack of shade means higher air conditioning bills. Diseased or dying trees need to be removed, typically at a cost of $1,000 a tree.
Replacing trees will tax any homeowner's patience--it can take 60 years for a new oak to grow to the size of the one removed. The monetary value of trees varies, depending on the size, age and location. But live oaks, one of the most common trees in Central Texas, are considered to be among the most valuable by the International Society of Arboriculture.
Oak wilt has caused widespread live oak mortality in Lampasas, Burnet, Kerr, Bandera and Travis counties. The Hill Country is especially susceptible to oak wilt due to the large concentrations of oak trees. Isolated outbreaks have also plagued Lubbock, Midland-Odessa and Pasadena.
About $745,000 a year is being spent on the state's Oak Wilt Suppression Project, according to the Texas Forest Service. More than half of the funding comes from federal sources; the remainder is picked up by the state. The Forest Service is helping private landowners obtain matching grants for trenching costs. About 180 oak wilt sites, ranging from ranches to urban neighborhoods, benefit from the grant program each year.
The Forest Service estimates that control efforts saved Texans $30 million in tree removal, replanting and fungicide injection costs from 1988 to 1996.
Prevention pays: Most Texas homeowners learned long ago that the price of a home does not end with mortgage payments, taxes and insurance.
The list of possible encroachers is much longer than those mentioned above--don't forget southern pine beetles, disease-carrying ticks, webworms and carpenter ants.
Constant vigilance and prevention are necessary to keep minor pests or disease from growing into expensive headaches or health hazards.
While treatment programs and government-funded research offer some hope for the future, it is still a safe bet that pests will continue to gnaw sizable holes in property owners' pocketbooks.
Contributing to this article:
Michael Benavidez and Greg Mt.Joy
Has your property been invaded?FIRE ANTS
When red imported fire ants build a home, they go for size: mounds are one to two feet in diameter and can be more than a foot high. If you poke a stick in the mound and the ants attack, you're in fire ant territory. Recommended treatment is a broadcast bait, which will be carried back to the mound. Eradication takes a month or two.TERMITES
The first sign of infestation is the presence of swarms around windowsills or near light. Swarms may occur inside the house too. Look for discarded wings on windowsills or in cobwebs. Drywood termites leave fecal pellets. Infested wood has a dull or hollow sound. If indications are present, call a pest control operator to conduct a home inspection. The best prevention is to deny termites access to food, moisture and shelter. Homeowners should remove all potential sources of outdoor food: stored lumber, firewood, scrap lumber and dead trees.OAK WILT
Oak leaves develop yellow veins that eventually turn brown. Defoliation may be rapid. If trees show symptoms, they already are dying. Action should be taken prior to signs of disease. If the disease is as close as 200 feet of your property, act now. Trenching and/or chemical treatment is the recommended response, and always paint fresh tree wounds as soon as possible, including pruning cuts. Avoid pruning from February to June. Do not buy firewood from infected areas.
From the Comptroller:
Lone Star ScholarsIt used to be that a high school diploma was enough for most Texas jobs. High school wasn't even compulsory until 1949.
But more than half of all new jobs in Texas now demand at least some college or post-secondary training, and half of those require a college degree.
That's why I proposed Lone Star Scholars to provide tuition, fees and books to Texas high school graduates who advance to a higher education and maintain a 2.8 grade point average (GPA) or better. Students would earn one-year scholarships for each year in a Texas high school.
Children of military personnel stationed here for a tour of duty would receive four-year scholarships if they go to college in Texas.
Any students qualifying for Pell grants or other federal aid would receive Lone Star Scholar awards adjusted accordingly.
This proposal would be a perfect complement to the Texas Tomorrow Fund. Students covered by the state's innovative prepaid college tuition plan could use Lone Star Scholars to pay for books, room and board and other expenses.
The projected cost of my plan, based on student enrollment and performance patterns, would be $485 million a year--paid from budget cuts and savings that will be detailed in my next Texas Performance Review.
Never again should working, middle-class parents lie awake at night, wondering how they will finance their kids' college aspirations.
Families who earn too much money to qualify for financial aid but too little to foot the bill by themselves should be able to count on our support.
The next tax cut should be aimed where it does the most good for Texas, cutting taxes by reducing the cost of college tuition and fees for children who work and study hard.
-John Sharp
The Comptroller's Office receives many phone calls and letters from people asking how Texas compares to other states on various measures--particularly state government spending, taxation and employment.
That's why a handy summary of rankings, called "Texas, Where We Stand," has been published by the Comptroller's Research Division since 1994 and distributed to state officials, policymakers and other interested readers.
The 1997 edition is now available, and is based on data from a variety of federal and state agencies, private sector groups and non-profit organizations.
Since the 1996 edition was released, Texas' economy has continued to thrive, as reflected in improved rankings in unemployment (14th nationally), welfare dependency (5th for food stamp recipients relative to population) and poverty (6th).
Other standings reflect changes in state and local governance. For instance, in public corrections jobs per capita, Texas now ranks first, up from 13th in 1991. Also, Texas has moved into the middle of the pack with a No. 28 ranking for state park acres relative to state land area, up from 41st place in 1990.
In other areas, the state shows lesser but still important improvements: Texas now ranks 25th in per-capita education spending by state and local governments, up from 29th in 1992. Child support collections per capita have grown but still leave a lot of room for improvement: the most recent data shows Texas in 40th place, up from 48th in 1991.
Once again, Texas outranked all other states in cattle, crude oil and natural gas production, exports to Mexico, capital punishment, farms, public school districts and its incarceration rate. Texas was 50th in per-capita arts and foster care spending.
Many more updated rankings can also be found on Window on State Government.
Or, call 1-800-531-5441, ext. 3-4900, to request a free copy of "Texas, Where We Stand."
Contributing to this article:
Eva DeLuna-Castro
Clearing a Path
Family Pathfinders celebrates
first year of helping families in needThe participants have a history of "hard knocks" and a desire to work and overcome adversity. Their sponsors possess a strong volunteer spirit and a knack for tapping community resources.
Together both groups have a common goal--to move Texans from welfare to work, one family at a time.
Under Comptroller John Sharp"s Family Pathfinders program, nearly 1,650 volunteers in 92 Texas communities have helped almost 220 families take steps toward work and eventual independence.
The program, which began a year ago, is based on the idea of strengthening the role of communities in helping families and using the momentum of years of community service practiced by civic clubs, congregations and businesses.
In Family Pathfinders, community groups "adopt" families on public assistance, help them get jobs and teach them life skills. The Comptroller's Office coordinates the program and provides technical support and training; in fact, the agency has received national recognition for its efforts.
Matchmaker: Once a team is trained, the Comptroller's Office contacts the appropriate agency in the local community to recruit a family to match with the team. Generally, Family Pathfinders receives several applications.
Comptroller staff interview the team leader to determine the makeup of the team and match it as closely to clients' interests and needs as possible. Sponsors provide a variety of services, depending on members' talents and clients' needs. During the first year of Family Pathfinders, one distinguishing characteristic was the creativity with which sponsoring teams engaged community resources--from tutoring to helping locate a job, to assisting with car repairs or dental work, to providing clothes and furniture.
The first pairing of a Pathfinders team and sponsor took place in September 1996, when Saint Timothy Catholic Church in San Antonio agreed to sponsor three families. Since then, there have been numerous examples of team-work.
A Wichita Falls woman, while working toward licensed vocational nurse certification, admits some days are more challenging than others. However, she has shown her Pathfinders sponsors the definition of persistence.
Difficult courses such as anatomy and physiology are discouraging for her, especially when she's preoccupied with a sick child. Her son went to the hospital with pneumonia during her first week of classes, yet she still managed to attend.
In Tyler, the Shiloh Holiness Church has sponsored three families, offering celebration with each victory and support with each setback. The Pathfinders team helped one woman land a job with excellent pay and benefits in the private sector. Another woman is awaiting word on a job she applied for at a college campus.
"She thinks she can't do a thing, but I told her she could," says Mary Tucker, a missionary with Shiloh Holiness Church.
While the Tyler church helps Pathfinders families with clothes, encouragement and moral support, one of the strongest resources is coming up with ideas on where to go and who to call for jobs.
"There is a reward that money can't buy," Tucker said. "A satisfaction that comes from helping someone."
The Pathfinders team at Cornerstone Outreach Center of Amarillo used its imagination to help one client obtain car repairs. A local newspaper featured the woman's transportation dilemma, and within days her car was repaired for free.
Another client expressed her Pathfinders experience simply: "They want me to be successful in life. These are people that just came willingly out of nowhere to help me and my kids."
The team leader of one Central Texas Pathfinders team has kept a journal of a client's victories and disappointments. The journal entries illustrate the inventiveness required in finding local resources to help someone seeking work.
The Central Texas client is taking classes to obtain her General Educational Development (GED) certificate. She expresses to the team leader worry about life events that range from what to give her children for Christmas to overcoming a fear of driving. Each time, according to the journal, the team leader assures her that she can reach her goals.
"I called (her) on the phone and said that when she was having study problems to give me a call and I would try to help," he wrote in one entry. After regular tutoring sessions and borrowing flash cards and library books, she started making progress in reading. He tutored her children and drove her to daily instruction for job search and interview skills. He helped her fill out applications.
"I told her to go to every place that was within walking distance and apply for a job, and I was surprised that she did go to many of them," he wrote. "Right now, we are waiting for job calls."
As the first-year Family Pathfinders alumni climb toward independence, sponsoring organizations continue to recruit new families. Two Lions Clubs in the Austin area recently repaired a family's home. Summer day camp was arranged for the children.
VISTA helpers: Family Pathfinders has been awarded 20 VISTA volunteers, who will be placed in 15 areas of Texas to recruit, train, match and follow up with Pathfinders sponsors. VISTA is a national service program that places individuals in disadvantaged communities to help residents become more self-sufficient.
The Pathfinders plan is to place these full-time workers in various non-profit agencies, mostly interfaith social services providers. They will receive basic leadership training from the state Corporation for National and Community Service, then from Family Pathfinders.
The volunteers will be employed up to three years. Through the federal government, they will be paid a subsistence salary, receive health benefits and limited child care, and they can receive a lump sum educational award at the end of their term of service. Groups throughout the state have agreed to provide office space and supervise the VISTA volunteers, who can be hired from the local community or a national pool in much the same way as Peace Corps volunteers. The local entity decides which hiring option to use.
The estimated value of the VISTA grant is $750,000 over three years. Targeted areas for the VISTA volunteers are: Abilene, Austin, Beaumont/Port Arthur, Brownsville/Harlingen/San Benito, Corpus Christi/Victoria, Dallas-Fort Worth, El Paso, Galveston, Houston, Laredo, Lubbock, McAllen/Edinburg/Mission, San Antonio and Tyler.
The can-do spirit: Family Pathfinders was cited this spring as the best model for helping people sustain independence in welfare reform. The Texas program was applauded at the conference, "Welfare to Work: Keeping Jobs and Sustaining Success," hosted by Vice President Al Gore. The Washington, D.C., conference highlighted programs that help welfare families find jobs and keep them and brought together employers, civic group representatives, labor leaders and state and government officials from across the country.
Also this year, Comptroller Sharp and Family Pathfinders Director Lucy Todd shared information about Family Pathfinders with other state delegates at the "Summit for America's Future," hosted by retired General Colin Powell in Philadelphia. Designed to promote volunteerism and community service, the event drew people from around the country to learn how to build on the momentum of public or private programs to help children.
Contributing to this article:
Julie Crimmins
Made to Fit
Apparel manufacturing remains active
in Texas despite U.S. declineApparel manufacturing is a small but important part of the manufacturing sector in Texas. It continues to provide a significant portion of employment in border counties and is a stable share of jobs in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
Traditionally a protected industry, U.S. apparel manufacturing now faces increased competition from developing countries that offer low production costs and, in many cases, fewer regulations. The industry's low capital cost, labor-intensive nature makes it ideal for developing countries with high unemployment.
Increased global competition, fueled by passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), has caused many large U.S. apparel manufacturers to relocate, resulting in job losses.
Overall apparel employment in Texas has remained fairly stable since 1992, although shifts within the state have occurred and Texas workers have not been immune to job displacement.
Now it is up to the Texas apparel industry to exploit its advantages, namely the state's plentiful labor supply and proximity to Mexico. Texas companies also stand to benefit from improved communications technology.
Apparel in perspective: About 60,000 Texans are employed in apparel manufacturing. Apparel shipments by Texas manufacturers were valued at about $5 billion in 1995, accounting for about 2% of the state's total manufacturing shipments. Apparel accounts for about 5% of manufacturing jobs in Texas.
Nationwide apparel employment has fallen steadily since 1973, as low labor costs in developing countries have spurred U.S. apparel makers to move production offshore. The heaviest job losses have occurred in New York and Pennsylvania, the nation's traditional apparel giants. In contrast, apparel employment in Texas and Florida has remained essentially flat, while California's apparel employment has risen since the early 1980s.
Men's and boys' clothes, including shirts, trousers, jeans and woven neckties, account for the largest segment--36%--of Texas' apparel manufacturing. Male clothing tends to be more important to the industry in Texas and other southern states, while the more tailored women's blouses, skirts and dresses account for the majority of apparel manufacturing in New York and California.
Regional employment: Texas' apparel industry has largely been concentrated along the Texas-Mexico border and in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The two areas play different roles: more actual cutting and sewing happens on the border, while Dallas-Fort Worth has long been the center of other industry activities, most notably design and marketing. High fashion came to the area in 1907 when Neiman Marcus opened in downtown Dallas.
Some large manufacturers are headquartered in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, such as Williamson-Dickie Manufacturing Co. and Jerrell Inc. In 1995, gross sales of apparel by manufacturers in this region totaled $771 million, almost half of all sales by Texas manufacturers. The Metroplex, however, accounts for only about 14% of Texas' apparel manufacturing employment, indicating that local manufacturers contract for actual production outside the Metroplex.
Dallas is internationally known as a fashion center because of the Apparel Mart, the country's largest regional mart. Retailers come to Apparel Mart five times a year to view lines of apparel by designers and manufacturers from all over the world; some lines would otherwise be available only in New York or Los Angeles. Apparel Mart does not especially promote Texas apparel manufacturers because its mission is to bring fashion into Texas from other states and countries.
On the border, the apparel industry revolves around actual garment production. U.S. trade policies in the late 1980s expanded the practice of production sharing, in which garments cut in the U.S. are sent to areas such as Asia and Latin America to be sewn and returned to the U.S. As a result, some apparel makers relocated to the Texas-Mexico border, where access to low-cost labor helps keep production costs down.
From 1983 to 1995, the share of Texas' apparel employment rose from 25% to 32% in El Paso County and from 5% to 9% in Hidalgo and Cameron counties. During the first half of 1996, apparel jobs accounted for 8% of all non-agricultural employment in El Paso County, 6% of jobs in Cameron County and 4% of jobs in Hidalgo County.
Global competition: U.S. apparel imports grossed almost $40 billion in 1995, up 62% from 1989. According to the International Trade Commission, imports now make up about half of the U.S. domestic apparel market. In 1995, 65% of U.S. apparel imports came from Asian countries.
Until 1995, international trade in textiles and apparel was largely governed by the 1974 Multifiber Arrangement, under which importing countries--usually those in North America and Western Europe--could set quotas on imports from developing countries where labor costs for sewing and assembly are much lower. These quotas were intended to help domestic markets withstand competition from areas such as Malaysia, Hong Kong and the Caribbean islands.
With the establishment of the World Trade Organization in 1995, the Multifiber Arrangement was replaced by the Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC). The World Trade Organization has adopted the trade rules of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, which prohibit the use of quotas.
The ATC calls for a 10-year phasing out of all quotas on imports of textiles and apparel from countries that are World Trade Organization members. Currently, the U.S. has quotas with 45 countries, 36 of which are members. Under the ATC, U.S. apparel makers face more competition from lower-paying countries that, by 2005, will have no restrictions on the amounts of textiles and apparel they export to the U.S.
In addition, the U.S. textile and apparel industry faces greater competition from regional pacts such as NAFTA, Mercosur and the European Union.
NAFTA effects: The maquiladora industry along the Texas-Mexico border has been fueled by a pre-NAFTA provision that guarantees access to U.S. markets for apparel assembled in foreign countries from fabric cut in the U.S. Under this provision, finished garments re-enter the U.S. and are assessed import duties only on the value added abroad.
When some apparel manufacturers closed Texas plants to set up foreign plants and reship their products under this provision, low-wage Mexico and Caribbean Basin Initiative countries became the main beneficiaries.
But under NAFTA, these Caribbean countries lost equal footing with Mexico in apparel imports. One NAFTA provision allows garments cut and formed in the U.S but sewn and assembled in Mexico to re-enter the U.S. free of duty or quota. In 1995, about 80% of all U.S. apparel imports from Mexico came in under this provision. Caribbean countries saw their volume of U.S. apparel imports increase by only 21% in 1995, compared with Mexico's 52% gain.
Mindful that several U.S. apparel firms have offshore production sites in the Caribbean, the federal government has proposed initiatives to establish NAFTA parity for those countries. The proposed U.S. Caribbean Basin Trade Enhancement Act would enhance the countries' price competitiveness with Mexico.
In light of Mexico's labor supply and easy access to U.S. markets, Mexico would likely remain the first choice for offshore production. Mexico is the third largest single-country supplier of apparel to the U.S. with shipments valued at $2.9 billion in 1995.
Job-saving technology: Industry experts say advanced communications technology could help preserve U.S. apparel manufacturing jobs. Ironically, the apparel industry has traditionally been relatively "low-tech."
The growing use of "quick-response" communications technology could improve U.S. apparel makers' competitive position by helping them respond to consumer demand. Quick response describes the communications chain linking retail outlets, apparel makers and raw material suppliers (mainly textile manufacturers).
Historically, a designer teamed up with a manufacturer to produce "sample" items for retailers to view at fashion showcases such as Apparel Mart. Retailers ordered quantities of items they liked from the manufacturer.
Today, it is also common for retailers to tell manufacturers what kinds of items they want to carry, and designers working for the manufacturers design items to fit the retailers' descriptions. For instance, a department store chain might contract with a manufacturer to design and produce a line of women's mid-priced office wear. The chain specifies a range of colors, the cut of a jacket and the fabric content, and a designer renders the sketches from which garments are patterned.
Computerized quick-response systems dramatically reduce the time lags at each link of the chain. Quick-response technology and changes in the design process can reduce the time from design to stocking of a garment from 18 months to about three weeks.
Effective quick-response technology depends on extensive telecommunications links and transportation infrastructure. Apparel industry experts believe the U.S. is better positioned than other countries in both areas, and thus may be able to compete against low-wage countries by offering consumers more immediate gratification.
If Texas apparel manufacturers can take advantage of both quick-response technology and the state's relatively low wages, apparel manufacturing could continue to grow in Texas.
Contributing to this article:
Bee Moorhead
and Noralisa LeoLove the comfort of well-worn jeans? Like the stone-washed look? Chances are the jeans you wear were treated at a finishing facility. Denim manufacturers rely heavily on this service to produce the lived-in look, a process achieved by washing the garments with pumice rocks.
During the stone-washing process, the pumice crumbles, leaving a residue that is discharged to local treatment plants. In the dry region of West Texas, finishing facilities have strained local water supplies and hampered water conservation efforts.
From 1987 to 1990, as the stone-washed look became trendy, the number of El Paso finishing operations rose from one to 25, and the city began to feel the impact--the cost to treat pumice-laced wastewater topped $300,000 in 1990. By the time finishing facilities peaked at 36 in 1993, they were using an average 10 million gallons of water a day.
The industry and city responded with a combination of innovation and regulation that solved the problem.
Now city regulations require such facilities to install settling basins to catch the pumice residue and to pass the water--free of solids--onto the wastewater system. El Paso also assesses a fee on the amount of solids in wastewater, based on a threshold of 300 milligrams per liter of water. The industry has reduced the use of pumice, substituting enzymes and a powder abrasive called perlite.
With many finishing operations following apparel manufacturers south of the border, only 10 facilities remain in El Paso, and some of those have turned to innovative water recycling methods.
International Garment Processors (IGP), northeast of El Paso, uses an in-house treatment plant for discharged water. Located outside the city limits, it must comply with state standards enforced by the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission.
IGP reports using 900,000 gallons of unpotable water a day to dye and stone wash denim garments. The water is then treated in holding ponds and used to irrigate alfalfa and pistachio fields. A portion of the treated water is used for drinking purposes.
In addition to water recycling, IGP is exploring the use of pecan shells as filters to clean discharged water. Preliminary research at New Mexico State University shows that chemically and thermally treated pecan shells are better at absorbing chemicals and dyes in water than are other activated carbons. Using pecan shells could save IGP some treatment costs.
Texas Boots:
Alive and KickingThe cowboy brings to mind images of the Old West and the romantic notion of life on the open prairie. But life was not easy for the men who drove Texas cattle. A diary entry during one cattle drive to Iowa read: "What a night--thunder, lightning and rain. Dark days are these to me. Nothing but bread and coffee. Everything wet and cold...sick and discouraged."
Working in these conditions, cowboys needed sturdy, functional footwear, so their boots were designed for long days in the saddle. The pointed toes made it easier to slip into stirrups, while the tall shaft helped protect the wearer from dry brush along the prairie. Steel shanks provided arch support, especially when cowboys stood up while on horseback and shifted their body weight forward. The underslung or angled heel allowed the boot to hang comfortably in the stirrup and made it easier for the cowboy to walk when he dismounted.
Justin empire: From 1863 to 1884, cowboys drove about 10 million head of cattle along the Chisholm Trail, which began in southwestern Texas and led north to Abilene, Kansas. Cattle drives along this trail spawned the cowtowns and stockyards that would endure as the cowboy's legacy, along with another rich tradition in the Lone Star State: the craft of bootmaking.
H.J. Justin, the first known Texas bootmaker, opened a shop in 1879 in the town of Spanish Fort, on the east fork of the Chisholm Trail. When cattle drivers passed through, Justin measured their feet; by the time they returned, their new boots were ready. In 1887, when the railroad was built south of Spanish Fort, Justin moved his business to Nocona to take advantage of better shipping facilities.
The prospering company relocated to Fort Worth in 1925, while Justin's daughter Enid remained in Nocona and founded her own boot company. In 1981, Justin Industries, by then a manufacturing conglomerate in building materials and footwear, acquired Nocona Boot Co.
Today, the footwear component of Justin Industries includes five major brands: Justin, Nocona, Tony Lama, Chippewa and Diamond J., all of which maintain production facilities in Texas. Footwear sales for the group totaled $221 million in 1995. With 1,300 workers in Texas, Justin dominates employment in this industry.
Several styles have evolved from the functional cowboy boot. One of the most popular is the Wellington/Roper boot, characterized by a rounded toe and a square heel. About 20 years ago, team and calf ropers began sporting this design at rodeos. By the early 1980s, Justin helped launch the Roper in Texas by offering the boot in a variety of colors. Today, Wellington/Roper is the preferred choice in Texas, whereas customers in other states still prefer pointed boots.
Dude market: The Texas boot industry has changed to broaden its clientele. El Paso, the self-proclaimed "Boot Capital of the World," is home to Tony Lama, Lucchese Boot Co. and Rocketbuster Boots USA, all specializing in luxury boots ranging from $230 to $5,000 a pair. Unlike the plain brown cowhides of yesteryear, boots made for this new market use exotic hides such as ostrich and alligator, with fanciful designs and bright colors.
Despite this new marketing thrust, Texas bootmakers remain committed to providing quality boots that rarely leave the wearer's feet--as in the days when, to quote the popular epitaph, cowboys died with their boots on.
Contributing to this article:
Noralisa Leo
In the Swing
Texas is becoming a popular golfing destinationRoughly 2 million Texans play golf, a leisure activity that contributes more than $3 billion annually to the state economy. The combination of a mild climate and lots of open space helps explain why Texas has more than 800 golf courses.
Texas is home to about 71 Professional Golf Association tour players and 1,300 PGA members and apprentices. Golf Digest reports that more professional golfers live in Texas and Florida than any other state, due to good weather and the absence of state personal income taxes.
Golf is a game that many devotees find addictive, and it continues to attract newcomers. Professional women are taking to the courses for business reasons, just as men have for decades. Younger players, age 20 to 30, are being attracted by new superstars like Tiger Woods, Justin Leonard and Kelli Kuehne.
Any way you slice it, golf isn't cheap. Unlike basketball or tennis, the equipment requirements are anything but simple. The average golfer spends $1,600 a year on golf-related merchandise and travel.
Economy-minded players favor golf offerings at state parks or municipal courses, some of which have green fees of $10. The cost is substantially higher at private courses, where the weekend green fees for guests can run $125 each.
Follow through: Several of the world's top teaching professionals and golf schools are located in Texas. The dean of all golf teachers, the late Harvey Penick of Austin, guided talents Tom Kite and Ben Crenshaw, both Texans. Claude "Butch" Harmon Jr. of the Lochinvar Golf Club in Houston has been named "the hottest instructor in golf" by Sports Illustrated. He instructs Tiger Woods and other pros.
Chuck Cook at Barton Creek Lakeside Country Club in Austin has worked with Tom Kite, Payne Stewart and Corey Pavin. Paul Marchand of the Houston Country Club, who coaches Fred Couples, was named by Golf Magazine as one of the country's top 50 golf instructors.
Lessons don't come cheap. One hour of instruction from Harmon runs $200 for a non-member. A six-hour clinic at Independent Golf Research in Austin costs $300.
Texas also is home to 14 golf-related manufacturers, according to the Texas Survey of Manufacturers. Golf bags are produced in Arlington, golf clubs in Austin, golf ball retrievers and golf cart accessories in Granbury and golf training equipment in Waco.
The world's largest distributor of golf equipment is Austin-based Golfsmith International Inc. with more than 700 employees. The 30-year-old company is among the 100 largest mail-order companies in the U.S. and has sales of $120 million a year. Orders for golf club components are shipped to 90 countries.
The company's 41-acre site includes a teaching facility, which has enrolled more than 6,000 students from the U.S. and abroad, and a training program for making and repairing clubs.
Fun in the sun: First-class golf resorts abound in Texas. These properties include lodging facilities as well as golf courses. In 1996, Conde Nast Traveler named two Texas resorts to its "world's best" list--Barton Creek Resort in Austin (ranked 17th) and Four Seasons Resort and Club in Irving (36th). Barton Creek Resort offers 54 holes of golf and conference, tennis and spa facilities. The Four Seasons' 400-acre complex has 36 holes of golf, and is the site of the GTE Byron Nelson Classic and a golf school. It also offers extensive meeting, tennis and spa facilities.
Other resorts include the Horseshoe Bay Resort, which was designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr. This resort offers 54 championship holes, a yacht club, stables, conference and tennis facilities.
In 1993, the Hyatt Regency Hill Country resort in San Antonio opened the state's largest golf resort with 500 rooms, enhancing the area's reputation as a leading golf destination. San Antonio has 45 golf courses and might get another 15 courses in the next 20 years.
Tourneys: Texas is hosting five PGA tour tournaments this yearăShell Houston Open at The Woodlands, GTE Byron Nelson Classic in Irving, MasterCard Colonial in Fort Worth, La Cantera Texas Open in San Antonio and the Tour Championship in Houston. The purses range from $1.4 million to $4 million.
The Byron Nelson Classic in May drew 250,000 spectators and was a sellout with $8 million in advance sales, largely because Tiger Woods played (and won). Other notable events include the Ladies Professional Golf Association Skins Game at the Stonebriar Country Club in Frisco, the Southwestern Bell Dominion (Senior Tour) at the Dominion Country Club in San Antonio and the Nike tour in Austin and Odessa.
The price to attend tournaments ranges from $10 just to watch the golfers practice to $40 to stand behind the ropes at an actual tournament.
A look back: Golf in Texas will soon mark 100 years since the first course was chartered in Galveston. This milestone can be celebrated along with the number of outstanding businesses, professional golfers, instructors, resorts, tournaments and courses Texas has produced.
Much of the sport's history can be seen at the Texas Golf Hall of Fame at The Woodlands' Tournament Players Course near Houston. Exhibits and memorabilia showcase the history of Texas golfers, including 79 Texans inducted into the Hall of Fame. The 10,000-square-foot facility is open to the public.
Contributing to this article:
Diane ThomasTexas Milestones
1898 The state's first legally chartered and professionally designed golf course debuts in Galveston.
1916 Brackenridge Park golf course in San Antonio, Texas' first 18-hole golf course, opens for play.
1925 Houston native Jimmy Demaret begins his professional golf career, which leads to eventual wins at the Texas PGA and the Masters. He later helped found the Senior Professional Golfers Association Tour.
1927 The state's first major golf event is held in Dallas-the National PGA Championship.
1936 Colonial Country Club opens in Fort Worth.
1945 Texan Byron Nelson wins 11 straight PGA tournaments, a record that remains unbeaten.
1948 The first golf cart is patented in Houston by R.J. "Dick" Jackson.
1950 Olympian Mildred "Babe" Didrikson Zaharias helps found the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) and became its first president.
1953 Texan Ben Hogan wins the Masters, U.S. Open and the British Open.
1968 Dallas-born Lee Trevino wins his first U.S. Open.
1978 The first Legends of Golf Tournament is held at Austin's Onion Creek Club.
1985 Four-time LPGA president and Texan Kathy Whitworth logs her 88th and final career win.
1992 Fred Couples of Plano wins the Masters and becomes the PGA Tour Player of the Year. Justin Leonard, former University of Texas Longhorn, captures the U.S. Amateur Championship.
1995 Harvey M. Penick, one of the world's most famous golf instructors, dies at age 90. Austinite Ben Crenshaw wins his second Masters title.
1996 Kelli Kuehne of McKinney turns pro after two U.S. women's amateur championships. Fort Worth native Mark Brooks wins the PGA Championship.
1997 Austinite Tom Kite, the second-leading career money winner ($9 million-plus) captains the 1997 U.S. Ryder Cup Team. Justin Leonard wins the British Open. Golf legend Ben Hogan dies at age 84.
Fiscal Notes
August 1997
August 1997