Houston News

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott and pharmaceutical manufacturer Actavis Mid-Atlantic LLC and Actavis Elizabeth LLC made an $84 million settlement agreement on Wednesday. The agreement resolves the state’s civil Medicaid fraud enforcement actions against Actavis. Actavis was charged with defrauding the taxpayers and improperly reporting drug prices to the Texas Medicaid program. The settlement agreement allows the Attorney General’s office to recover $29.23 million for Texas’ general revenue fund...

Prosperity Bancshares Inc. has completed the switch of its stock listing from the Nasdaq Global Select Market to the New York Stock Exchange. The Houston-based bank holding company began trading Wednesday on the NYSE under the new ticker symbol “PB.” The company previously traded under the ticker symbol “PRSP.” Prosperity Bancshares is the parent company of banking subsidiary Prosperity Bank.

The Nation’s Restaurant News awarded Brennan’s of Houston with a spot in its Fine Dining Hall of Fame earlier this month. The sister restaurant to New Orleans’ Commander’s Palace, Brennan’s serves high-end Southern cuisine. The Nation’s Restaurant News noted Brennan’s perseverance after closing from Hurricane Ike damage in 2010. The news also pointed out the restaurant’s use of local ingredients and Southern hospitality. Four other restaurants were inducted into the Fine Dining Hall of Fame this year, including Rioja in Devner and Coi in San Francisco...

Ton of pot found in 'reefer truck' at border express-news Copyright 2011 express-news. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Published 02:40 p.m., Wednesday, December 28, 2011

BROWNSVILLE — Customs officers in Pharr seized more than a ton of marijuana from a “utility reefer trailer” in the cargo lot of an international bridge, Customs and Border Protection said Wednesday. The seizure occurred Friday, after officers at the Pharr-Reynosa International Bridge referred a refrigerated (“reefer” in CBP parlance) tractor-trailer for further inspection. Officers found 423 packages of alleged marijuana with a total weight of 2,465 pounds. The load carries an estimated street value of $2.5 million, CBP said.

Whitestone REIT (NYSE Amex: WSR) closed its purchase on Wednesday of the Shops at Starwood, a North Dallas-area retail center, for $15.7 million in cash. The Houston-based real estate company also purchased an adjacent 2.73-acre undeveloped parcel of land for $1.9 million, which was mainly funded through a loan. Whitestone could add up to 36,000 square-feet of retail and executive office space to the development site. The Shops at Starwood is a Class A retail center with 55,385 square feet of leasable space...

Wide receiver Andre Johnson was in fine form, per Gary Kubiak. And defensive coordinator Wade Phillips, who’d been around the team for a couple of days following a two-week hiatus because of a surgical procedure involving his kidney and gallbladder, made an appearance at Methodist Training Center.

Flotek Industries Inc. (NYSE: FTK) said Wednesday it will retire about $36 million in debt by buying back bonds in cash and with interest. Flotek president and chairman John Chrisholm said in a statement that the Houston-based energy company’s cash flow this year and a positive 2012 outlook provided an opportunity to overhaul its balance sheet. The repurchasing agreement is part of a 12-month effort in which the company has managed to reduce its debt by 50 percent, about $70 million, without diluting shareholders’ value, Chrisholm added...

The most popular daily news web articles on the Houston Business Journal’s website in 2011 spanned a variety of topics and industries, including energy, real estate and technology. Taking a glance at the stories that received the most web hits this past year, it is clear that Houston’s energy industry led the way past the recession, with the big moves by established businesses — including Exxon Mobil Corp. and Halliburton Co. — and the continued development of shale plays. Readers were also interested in keeping up with the construction of the new Houston Dynamo downtown stadium...

Texas has the strongest retail sector in the nation, and it is one of the few states to currently have more retail jobs than it did before the recession. The Lone Star state had more than 30,000 jobs in November than in November 2006, according to an analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data by The Business Journals’ On Numbers. Texas recorded about 1.2 million retail jobs last month. Only five other states saw an increase in retail jobs since 2006, including Oklahoma and North Dakota, which gained the second and third most jobs in the nation, respectively...

The Texas Hospital Association on Wednesday appointed Margaret Van Bree, CEO of St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital in Houston, to its 2012 board of trustees. A total of eight new trustees from hospitals across Texas were elected to the board, and they will begin their three-year terms on Jan. 1. Tim Lancaster, president and CEO of Hendrick Health System in Abilene, moved up from chairman-elect to take the role of chairman of the board. George Hernandez Jr., president and CEO of University Health System in San Antonio, was elected chairman-elect, while William Webster CEO of Medical Center Health System in Odessa, becomes immediate past chairman...

Abortion, immigration changes among new 2012 laws Associated Press Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Updated 03:25 p.m., Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Girls seeking abortions in New Hampshire must first tell their parents or a judge, employers in Alabama must verify new workers' U.S. residency, and California students will be the first in the country to receive mandatory lessons about the contributions of gays and lesbians under the set of state laws set to take effect at the start of 2012. A federal judge last week blocked parts of the law that would have required police to check the immigration status of criminal suspects or people stopped for traffic violations they think might be in the country illegally, and that would have made it a crime for illegal immigrants to transport or house themselves. The law also requires coaches in public and private schools and even volunteer Little League and Pop Warner football coaches to take free annual online training to recognize the symptoms of a concussion. People 18 and under in Illinois will have to wear seat belts while riding in taxis for school-related purposes, and Illinois school boards can now suspend or expel students who make explicit threats on websites against other students or school employees. A California law will add gays and lesbians and people with disabilities to the list of social and ethnic groups whose contributions must be taught in history lessons in public schools. Among federal laws, a measure Congress passed last week to extend Social Security tax cuts and federal unemployment benefit programs raises insurance fees on new mortgages and refinancings backed by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Housing Administration by 0.1 percent beginning Jan. 1. Election law changes in Rhode Island and Tennessee will require voters to present photo ID, a measure that supporters say prevents fraud and that opponents say will make it harder for minorities and the elderly to cast ballots.

Man killed by HPD cop was from Pearland HOUSTON CHRONICLE Copyright 2011 HOUSTON CHRONICLE. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Published 11:45 a.m., Wednesday, December 28, 2011

HPD spokesman Kese Smith said Hampton was leaving an apartment complex after responding to an unrelated call when he saw a Chevrolet Camaro speeding eastbound on Tidwell. "At some point during the struggle, the officer wound up lying on his back on the ground with the suspect standing over him, reaching down to either assault him or grab his weapon," Smith said. The case is under investigation by the HPD Homicide Division, the department's Internal Affairs Division and the Harris County District Attorney's Office.

Oil prices fell today after Iran threatened block of a crucial tanker route in the Middle East, prompting Saudi Arabia to promise to offset any loss and the U.S. Navy to say any blockade would "not be tolerated."

Cobalt International Energy Inc. (NYSE: CIE) insiders sold off some 377,000 shares this month worth more than $5.6 million. The trades were conducted by two insiders in five transactions on Dec. 21, according to documents filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The biggest chunk was sold by James Farnsworth, chief exploration officer of the Houston oil exploration and production company. He sold 313,100 shares at $14.92, worth about $4.6 million. On the same date, Farnsworth sold another 6,900 shares at $15...

KBR Inc. said on Wednesday that Tecnimont S.p.A awarded it a contract for the license and basic engineering design of a new ammonia plant in Egypt. Egyptian-based Chemical Industries Holding Co.–KIMA will build the new plant in Aswan, Egypt, and KBR will provide a license for its ammonia technology and engineering services to the plant. Terms of the contract were not disclosed. According to a statement from KBR, the plant is on a “fast-track” building plan, and is designed to support Egypt’s modern fertilizer complexes...

The dire impact of the massive Gulf spill was apparent Sunday on oil-soaked islands where pelicans nest.

Former Astro Jose Lima, a right-hand pitcher who was a 20-game winner and an All-Star during a 13-year major league career, died Sunday, the Los Angeles Dodgers said. He was 37.

An officer killed during a car accident is laid to rest, KPRC Local 2 reports.

A Fort Bend County Deputy and a bystander were shot by bank robbery suspects Saturday morning and investigators said one of the suspects shot and killed himself, KPRC Local 2 reports.