BUSINESS NEWS

Christie Sherwood and her staff at The Zone Day Spa are ready to take you away from your everyday hassles of life, if even for a little while. Experience a relaxing massage in one of the Zone's uniquely named and designed massage rooms. Located at 1900 Windsor in Montrose. Call today and let the Zone take care of you. 713/524-6711.

Ziggy's Healthy Grill has new owners! While the restaurant itself has been completely renovated, the food remains the same with excellent gourmet healthy cuisine. Check out the impressive list of exotic wild-game burgers. Ziggy's features $2 Zigg-a-ritas and a $3 appetizer menu during Tuesday Happy Hour (5 p.m. to closing). Get healthy at Ziggy's. Located at 2320 West Alabama (between Shepherd and Kirby), 713/527-8588.

Larry Broughton has recently joined Wells Fargo Home Mortgage (formerly Norwest Mortgage, Inc.) as a Home Mortgage Consultant. Broughton brings to Wells Fargo 25 years of impressive business experience. He has also been an active member and leader at Bering Memorial Methodist Church for over 13 years. As a new member of the Greater Houston Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, he is excited that he will represent Wells Fargo Home Mortgage at a booth at the upcoming EMPOWER 2000 on Oct. 8. Wells Fargo has a long tradition of supporting diversity for over 150 years, offers domestic partnership benefits to its employees, and has been a major supporter of many community organizations. As a special introductory offer to Wells Fargo, Broughton is offering $300 savings in closing costs for loans applied for on or before Oct. 31, 2000. Broughton is located in downtown Houston's Chevron Tower at 1301 McKinney. He can be reached at 713/654-3085.

Local merchant and community supporter George Froming of Image Cleaners has opened another location in the inner loop area. The newest Image Cleaners is located at 304 West Gray in a midtown street level retail center. This third location offers daily door-to-door laundry and dry-cleaning pickup at homes and area lofts, at the same great prices offered at the other two Image Cleaner locations at 3407 Montrose and 1833 W. Alabama. As Froming always says, "In by 9 out by 5."

Kenneth W. Lester, DC, and Elizabeth Baker, DC, announce the opening of Kirby Chiropractic, 2727 Kirby Drive, suite 324. The practice of Dr. Lester and Dr. Baker encompasses chiropractic care, sports injuries, physical rehabilitation, as well as soft tissue injury management. Dr. Lester and Dr. Baker are both graduates of the University of Texas at Austin before they received their degrees of Doctor of Chiropractic from the Texas Chiropractic College in Houston. Both doctors present a fresh approach to wellness and fitness, and eagerly anticipate their growth in the Upper Kirby District.

Galveston Island almost lost the Kon Tiki Bar after 23 years. When Ron Burges decided to close the club in July, long-time Kon Tiki supporter Jesse Garza purchased the club and has given the club a complete new look with extensive renovations, including new lighting and sound system. Renamed Garza's Kon Tiki, the club is scheduled to open Friday, Sept. 29. As before, the Kon Tiki will feature the talents of Misty Valdez and Naomi Warwick. Garza's Kon Tiki is located at 315 Tremont.

Charles Junkin, MA, LPC-S, has moved his practice to The Houston Guidance Center located at 9894 Bissonnet, suite 430. Junkin specializes in relationship issues, transgender issues, mood disorders, chemical dependency, and psychotherapy. Proudly serving the GLBT community, Junkin can be reached at 281/820-8787.

Last month, Houston neurologist William S. Gilmer, MD, was named vice president of the board of directors of the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association (GLMA). GLMA represents the interests of more than 70,000 lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender physicians and medical students, as well as millions of LGBT patients throughout North America. The largest organization of its kind, GLMA was founded in 1981 to combat homophobia in medicine and promote quality health care for all LGBT people. In private practice, Gilmer is also a clinical assistant professor of neurology at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. Gilmer was past president of the Bering Community Services Foundation, one of Texas' largest nonprofit HIV service providers, and is active in the Texas Medical Association as well as the Harris County Medical Society.

The Misfits, a levi-leather social club, will be hosting LOCKDOWN, their second annual leather-levi-uniform ball at Club Rehab, 709 Franklin St. The fundraiser is scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 24, 5-10 p.m. Beneficiaries of the event include the PWA Coalition and Body Positive. Tickets are available at local businesses and through Misfit members. For more information, call 713/683-6551 or visit www.misfitshouston.org.

Houston therapist Daniel Garces, MS, LPC, LMFT, has contributed to the latest publication from the Gay Men's Health Crisis (GMHC), Men Like Us: The Complete Guide to Gay Men's Sexual, Physical, and Emotional Well-Being. The publication offers gay men an outstanding resource on a multiplicity of aspects of their sexual, physical, and emotional lives. Garces offers his insights on developing life partners and dealing with differences in same-sex relationships.

In related news, Garces has been appointed to the faculty at the Houston Galveston Institute-a nonprofit agency located in the Montrose area specializing in training psychologists and allied mental health professionals. Garces is the youngest member to ever have been appointed to this position and will begin supervising, training, and instructing therapists post haste. Garces also maintains a private practice at the Houston Galveston Institute. In addition to individual and couples counseling, Garces facilitates a gay men's process group which addresses various issues impacting gay men's lives. Garces can be reached at 713/526-8390.