Zion Oil & Gas, construction, Toyota, hospitals: Friday's Business Briefing

Your lunchtime look at D-FW business [Your lunchtime look at D-FW business] August 04,  2017 An Israeli flag flies next to the Megiddo-Jezreel #1 well drilled by []Zion Oil & Gas. (Zion Oil & Gas) The Big Story Does the Bible say there's oil in Israel? Thousands pay Dallas firm to find out Sefander Knotts is a believer and willing to back her conviction up with money. Although Knotts describes herself as broke, she finds enough spare money to invest in a Dallas company that's never earned a dime in its 17-year search for oil in a country that produces almost no oil. [With the Bible as its North Star, Zion Oil & Gas has spent more than $150 million of investors' money on a "special task, in a special country" — Israel.]( Knotts became a backer of Zion after watching a promotional video on YouTube of its quest to find oil in the Holy Land. Through the years, thousands of believers like Knotts helped Zion with the millions of dollars it needed to keep drilling dry holes in the prophesied land. "I'm going to keep investing for as long as it takes," said the 43-year-old Knotts, who splits time between a rental and RV in middle Tennessee with her husband. "I've had visions before. Every vision I've had has come true." -[Jeff Mosier]( Plus: [Find more D-FW energy news]( The Latest - Autos: [Toyota to join forces]( with Mazda on new $1.6B U.S. factory with 4,000 jobs. - Restaurants: [Downtown Dallas Omni]( to take over operation of four adjacent restaurants. - Real estate: [Paving products firm]( more than triples space in move to southern Dallas. - Retail: [UNT grads]( who created the ultimate handbag for a student project to appear on HSN tonight. - Business and politics: [Uber, PepsiCo, PayPal and JPMorgan Chase]( are latest businesses to oppose Texas bathroom bill. Advertisement Baylor Scott & White's bad debt and charity care topped $1 billion last year. (Louis DeLuca / DMN) Featured Columnist: mitchell schnurman Bad debt soars for THR, Methodist, Baylor hospitals, and don't blame just Obamacare Over 20 million Americans have gained health insurance under the Affordable Care Act, and that has greatly reduced the amount of uncompensated care for many hospitals in the U.S. [But not in the Dallas area, where top hospitals are providing more care and not getting paid for it.]( Instead of a decline in bad debt and charity care, those charges have climbed significantly for Texas Health Resources, Baylor Scott & White and Methodist Health, three of the largest health systems in the region. Together, they had almost $1.9 billion in uncompensated care last year, according to public filings. That’s up 81 percent since 2013, the year before the ACA took full effect. The trend is not sustainable, one hospital expert said, and it adds more pressure to an industry that faces uncertainty over the future of Obamacare, Medicaid funding and how much hospitals get reimbursed by the government. Plus: [Find more Mitchell Schnurman columns]( Elsewhere in Texas - Energy: [San Antonio’s Valero Energy Corp.](announces import deal to Mexico. (San Antonio Express-News) - Retail: [UT's University Co-Op]( to close Houston location (Houston Chronicle) - M&A: [Austin Realtors](sharply divided over listing service merger. (Austin Business Journal) - Restaurants: [The Lost Cajun restaurant]( to expand in Houston. (Houston Chronicle) - Real estate: [San Antonio officials grant $8 million tax incentive package]( to an Austin development firm to build across the street from City Hall. (San Antonio Express-News) More than 50,000 apartments are being built in the D-FW area. (Ashley Landis / Staff Photographer) on the horizon Has D-FW apartment building peaked? Top developer thinks so At midyear, more than 50,000 apartments were being built in the area — one of the largest numbers of new units on the way in any market in the country. But [rising construction costs and a slowdown in rent growth will cause apartment builders to pull back a bit](, says Steve Bancroft, senior managing director of Dallas-based Trammell Crow Residential. "Supply has peaked," Bancroft told members of the Stemmons Corridor Business Association at a meeting this week. "There is a little bit more supply than demand today." Bancroft said that while the outlook for rentals in North Texas and across the U.S. is strong, construction is dipping. "We are just taking our foot off the gas — we are not slamming on the brakes," he said. "There are some warning signs out there that make you want to ease up a little bit." -[Steve Brown]( Plus: [Find more on D-FW real estate]( Onboarding Who is getting hired and promoted - AVESTA HOLDINGS named Luke Kline director of acquisitions in Texas, based in Dallas. - FIDELIS REALTY PARTNERS named Mike Watson vice president of leasing in the Dallas office. - KPMG named Dennis van Ham advisory managing director based in the Dallas office. - PRESBYTERIAN COMMUNITIES AND SERVICES named Tim Mallad chief executive. - TEXAS INSTRUMENTS INC. elected Brian Crutcher to its boardnd possibly more Plus: [Find more executive moves]( Follow DFW stocks: [See how top North Texas stocks performed](, as well as the oil and gas markets and major stock exchanges. DFW Top 100 Places to Work 2016: The Dallas Morning News and Workplace Dynamics partner each year to feature the [Top 100 workplaces](, based on ratings by the people who work at them. The 2017 ranking is in progress. 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