Listen
Then…nothing. The merger hasn’t happened yet.
In the more than 14 months since, crude oil prices have dropped lower than nearly anyone imagined. Both corporations have cut their work forces. European Union regulators and the U.S. Justice Department have launched reviews to determine if the proposed merger would pass anti-trust muster. And for now, the Houston-based companies remain separate, leading some to wonder if the merger will ever actually happen.
On this edition of Houston Matters, we discuss the possible future of the merger and what it could mean for Greater Houston and the energy industry. We talk it over with Loren Steffy, managing director for 30 Point Strategies, a writer-at-large for Texas Monthly, and a columnist for EnergyVoice.com.
Also this hour: Ben Taub Hospital has retained its “level one” trauma center status (meaning it has the surgeons, specialists and operating rooms to handle the worst of the worst injuries, at any moment). Houston Chronicle health reporter Markian Hawryluk shares with us why that status was initially threatened, and ultimately retained. Then Paige Phelps talks with Dr. David Persse, the Medical Director for the City of Houston Fire Department and Public Health Authority about why he thinks Greater Houston could use more level one trauma centers.
Then: We welcome your vision care questions for vitreoretinal surgeon and opthalmologist Dr. Amir Mohsenin from UT Health Science Center at Houston, and the Robert Cizik Eye Clinic. He fields your questions about nearsightedness, farsightedness, double vision, cataracts, macular degeneration, glaucoma — anything having to do with your eyes.
Houston Matters offers a free daily, downloadable podcast here, on iTunes, Stitcher and various other podcasting apps.
