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• Barnett Shale: Tell Us About Your Lease Offer!
  

• For new Cowboys stadium, a diverse group of players
  By ANDREA AHLES

  At the new Dallas Cowboys stadium, the roof steel is provided by a Hispanic firm, the electrical wiring is from a business owned by women, and the fire-protection systems are provided by an African-American company.These contracts are part of the team's promise to Arlington leaders to hire local minority business owners. And with construction on the $1 billion stadium almost half complete, the Cowboys are clearly on their way to meeting their goals for hiring minority- and women-owned business, local minority leaders say."I'm pretty pleased," said Daryl Perez, president and chairman of the Arlington Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. "Of course, anybody would love to see more ... but the numbers are looking good."According to a Nov. 6 report submitted to the city, 78 minority- and women-owned businesses, known as MWBEs, had been awarded contracts to work on the stadium, which is scheduled to open in 2009. About $68 million -- approximately 22 percent of the $310 million spent so far -- has been paid to these firms, records show."The process has been going good, and we have a lot of companies involved," said Katrina Keyes, who was hired as an independent contractor to monitor the minority contracts. "We have especially done a great job on the local participation, where of the 80 MWBE firms, maybe only six or eight are out of state."'Fair share' goalsAfter Arlington voters approved a $325 million bond package to help build the stadium, city leaders hammered out a master development deal that included minority-participation goals.Under a fair-share agreement reached with the city, the Cowboys agreed to goals for hiring minority- and women-owned firms. These goals include awarding 25 percent of the construction work and 18 percent of the contracts for goods needed for the project to MWBE firms. The Cowboys also agreed to pay $100,000 to the city to pay for Keyes' work.The goals were meant to be guidelines, and no penalties will be assessed if the team does not meet them.Earlier concernsMinority leaders had pressed the Arlington City Council to include a minority-participation agreement because there was no such accord when the Rangers Ballpark in Arlington was built in the early 1990s.When the ballpark was ready to open, community leaders pointed out that few minority firms had worked on the facility. They said they did not want that to happen with the Cowboys stadium project, and the fair-share agreement was signed Sept. 30, 2004.However, before construction on the stadium had even begun, the Cowboys' commitment to hiring minority firms was sharply questioned. The Rev. Dwight McKissic, pastor of Cornerstone Baptist Church in southeast Arlington, said Cowboys owner Jerry Jones had promised that he would hire a minority firm or a joint venture that featured a minority business as a general contractor for the project. The City Council refused to pressure the Cowboys to hire a specific firm.The Cowboys hired Oklahoma-based Manhattan Construction as general contractor. As part of its winning bid, Manhattan entered into a strategic alliance with two local minority firms, African-American-owned 3i Construction and Hispanic-owned Rayco Construction, which work closely with Manhattan on oversight of the project.Status reportWhile the City Council receives quarterly updates from Keyes, no official assessment has been made on whether the Cowboys are on target to meet their goals in the five areas set out under the fair-share agreement.In a November report to the council, Keyes said that 22 percent -- about the same as the previous quarterly report, issued in August -- had been paid to minority firms. Of the 78 minority- and women-owned firms with Cowboys contracts, 31 are in Tarrant County, including 17 in Arlington.Of these firms, Azteca Steel has received the most money, $28.7 million. The Dallas-based firm is providing the high roof steel that will support the retractable roof. With Azteca's sizable contract, which will eventually reach $67 million, Hispanic firms have received the most stadium contract dollars.Luis Spinola, president of Azteca Steel, said the Cowboys contract is the largest single project his company has worked on. The company's work with Manhattan Construction on the Dallas Convention Center helped Azteca win the steel contract, Spinola said."They knew our reputation, which obviously helped," Spinola said. He said the company has provided steel for commercial projects since 1989.

• Don't expect a high-spirited welcome for Eagle spinoff
  By Mitchell Schnurman

  In 2000, AMR Corp. spun off its travel subsidiary, the Sabre Group, and employees were so thrilled they held a pep rally at Texas Stadium.Dot-coms were booming, and Sabre's stock was worth more than AMR's giant airline operation. Going independent rewarded shareholders, and Sabre believed that its growth would take off, because it could bid for more business from American Airlines' competitors.Things didn't work out as planned. Sabre, like American, was soon roiled by recession, 9-11 and the wholesale restructuring of the legacy airlines. It sold lines, slashed employee rolls, outsourced call centers and still saw its stock price tumble. Early this year, it was acquired by a private-equity firm, and the downsizing has continued.Sabre would have faced disruptive changes, regardless of whether it was under AMR's umbrella. Arguably, it fared better by being able to chart its own course and diversify its business.But its experience helps explain why American Eagle employees are anxious about the prospect of being spun off by AMR -- an idea the parent company proposed three weeks ago and aims to complete next year."We're not planning any tent rallies," said James Magee, an Eagle pilot for eight years and a spokesman for the union. "Nobody's excited about this opportunity. We can't even define the opportunity."Eagle workers are right to be worried, not because spinoffs are inherently bad but because the airline industry is still under intense pressure to contain costs. Eagle pilots are not highly paid -- Magee says he makes about $35,000 a year -- but the company has higher operating costs than most of its peers.AMR and Eagle executives have been pushing to make the regional carrier more competitive. In midyear, they restructured the way that AMR pays Eagle so that charges are based on market rates, a change that helps Eagle get ready to go it alone.At the same time, Eagle pilots have complained about understaffing, long hours and low pay. They say it's tough for the company to grow, because it doesn't pay enough to attract new pilots.The drive to do more for less is only going to intensify, whether Eagle becomes independent or remains an AMR subsidiary. But being owned by the world's largest airline offers a measure of protection and stability.Apart, the changes at Eagle are likely to be faster and more furious. That could be a positive, if Eagle becomes more competitive and starts winning contracts with other large carriers. But it's just as plausible that other regionals will jump onto Eagle's turf and try to take a bite of the American pie.Magee says that pilots worry about being whipsawed by American -- that even if Eagle keeps the American traffic, it may have to handle it for less.Understandably, all this is unsettling to workers -- made more so because AMR hasn't decided how it will handle Eagle's divestiture.It may spin out the company to shareholders, sell to a third party or perhaps try a public offering. Or it may do nothing.Four years ago, AMR put its money-management unit, American Beacon, on the block but said it didn't receive offers of fair value. So "there is a real possibility" an Eagle deal won't get done in 2008, said Fitch Ratings, given industry challenges over revenue and high fuel prices.But there's pressure to do something. Jamie Baker, an analyst at JPMorgan, said that "management complacency is not an option," not while high-priced oil is eating up profits."Old business plans are likely to be recut," Baker wrote, with executives taking a closer look at divestitures, consolidation and cutbacks in capacity.AMR is trying to walk a fine line here, aiming to improve both organizations -- American and Eagle -- by separating them. Employees don't get a say in the deal, but Eagle is more attractive if the work force is excited about an independent future.Eagle is one of the country's largest regional carriers, with about $2.3 billion in revenue this year.It provides service to more than 150 destinations and often funnels connecting traffic from smaller cities into American's network and American's planes.

• End-of-year tips don't have to break the budget
  By Kathy Kristof

  This time of year you may spend a lot of time figuring out what to buy for whom and making sure you don't forget any gift-worthy friends or relatives. But you may also have to wrestle with how much to give the service people in your life, such as your housekeeper, gardener, hairstylist or dog walker.Potentially dozens of people w