30 November 2004
Chron: blogging built on "questionable ethical foundation"
The Chronicle's entertainment editor Andrew Dansby continued with a line of recent Chronicle tributes to Dan Rather last week, and took some shots at bloggers:
Capacity to become a pundit has increased since blogging software (and the term itself) surfaced almost six years ago.
Unlike the cool delivery of news in years past, the new lawn-chair pundit and his minions engage in discourse and the processing and proliferation of ideas. It's active, and because it is governed by no apparent rules, it is built on a questionable ethical foundation.
Blogging is built on a questionable ethical foundation?
Well, THERE is a quantum leap of logic! Of course, if Dansby spends any time reading his newspaper's "blogger," we can certainly forgive his confusion about blogs.
For a more compelling view of blogging and big media, here's a recent article by N.Z. Bear (a blogger) on Tech Central Station.
(12-01-2004 Update) Here's another interesting take on blogging and Dan Rather from Chris Weinkopf, editorial page editor of the LA Daily News. I found it via PowerLine, the blog that drove the Rathergate story.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 11/30/04 08:54 PM | Houston Chronicle | Technorati | Comments (1)
Odd police priorities for White/Hurtt
KHOU-11's Jeremy Rogalski has done some excellent reporting on more funding problems within HPD, raising serious questions about the training and equipment in traffic accident investigation:
"It's just terrible," said Sam, one recent HPD accident investigator, who wished to remain anonymous. "If we ask for equipment they say well you didn't have it last year, why do you need it this year?"
And so Sam says officers are forced to dip into their own pockets to buy cameras, measuring wheels, even laptop computers that work because the city-issued gear often doesn't.
"We're just not in a position right now to buy everything that we need," said Police Chief Harold Hurtt, who took the job in March.
When asked if he sees a problem in assigning someone to do a job and not giving him the basic tools to do that job?
"Well, I don't know if we're not giving them the basic tools to do that job," said Hurtt.
But HPD, at one point, investigators tell us, wouldn't even buy spray paint to mark up a scene -- spray paint that costs just a few bucks a can.
And that's not all.
"Some officers are spenindg thousands of dollars to get their own training," said Sam. "It's been the norm for several, several years."
And frustrated cops have put it in writing, like a blistering letter to the police chief and others in which an officer wrote, "I'm appalled that our department is not willing to equip or train officers in the Traffic Division ... proper fatality investigations should be one of the top priorities."
Chief Hurtt has managed to convince City Council to spend $5 million on Tasers, and Mayor White's priorities include spending millions on a downtown park.
Meanwhile, one of the most basic functions of any municipality -- police protection -- continues to suffer from underfunding and misplaced priorities from the dynamic duo of Hurtt and White.
Rogalski's full interview with Chief Hurtt is located here. Note that the police chief is still uniformless. Perhaps passing a test so he can wear the HPD uniform isn't a priority of our chief. Who knows, maybe he's not planning on staying in Houston much longer.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 11/30/04 07:28 PM | Houston Life | Technorati | Comments (0)
Mayor's tree lighting ceremony
Wednesday night, Mayor White will be hosting a tree lighting ceremony at City Hall:
Included in this year’s program are the Houston Voices of New Hope Choir under the direction of Hanq Neal, the Houston Metropolitan Dance Company, Pancho Claus, Mecca Mariachis, and the Houston High School for the Performing and Visual Arts String Quartet.
The event culminates with the lighting of the holiday tree, accompanied by a fireworks display synchronized to Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus.
Pancho Claus? Well, there are those who say Houston is world class.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 11/30/04 06:10 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (2)
29 November 2004
Food and drink roundup (11-29-2004 edition)
The usual food and drink roundup that we normally post on Thursday is making a belated appearance today, as it just didn't seem worth posting while everyone was enjoying (or not enjoying) turkey leftovers.
Now that we're sick of those leftovers, here's the usual roundup.
It's a double shot from Robb Walsh this week, who says fajitas are the way to go at Herrera's Mexicatessen. Whether you go with bacon or not is a purely personal decision, he notes. Walsh also checks in on La Tour d'Argent, reopened under the direction of chef Cedric Guerin, who is hopeful the boycotts that wrecked the local French culinary scene for a while are well behind us.
Alison Cook pays a visit to Arcodoro, where it's imported fall truffle time. For those after less sophisticated -- or at least expensive -- fare, I might recommend the pizza at Arcodoro, which I've greatly enjoyed in the past. Then again, if pizza's what you're after, you might just as well head to Kenneally's, which serves a fine pizza in a relaxed Irish pub atmosphere.
If you're just in the mood for a sandwich, Ken Hoffman has the lowdown on the Subway Toasted Meatball Marinara sub, which is not, with its 126 grams of carbs, for followers of the late Dr. Atkins.
Finally, Dai Huynh visits west Houston's Java Coffee & Tea Co., while Lance Walker checks out the Six Degrees Lounge downtown.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 11/29/04 04:51 PM | Houston Life | Technorati | Comments (0)
Blending education and technology
Two local middle schools have been selected to participate in the Technology Immersion Program, which will study how student achievement in core subjects is impacted when students and teachers have computers, special educational software, online tools and immediate tech support:
Round Rock-based Dell (NASDAQ: DELL) is providing notebook computers and technology training for students and teachers in 18 schools in Texas, including Woodland Acres Middle School in Galena Park ISD and Kaleidoscope Middle School (a Charter School) in Houston ISD.
TIP explores the impact of technology immersion on student progress by providing teachers and students the resources for developing 21st century skills.
In addition to professional development, the 18 TIP schools receive Dell notebook computers, productivity software, online content focused on core curriculum areas, online assessment tools and technical support.
The Texas Center for Educational Research has been hired to measure the impact of all this technology on student achievement and it will be interesting to see the results, when they are published.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 11/29/04 04:50 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (0)
TxDOT meetings scheduled for 288 expansion project
The Chronicle reports that TxDOT will be holding public meetings on its plans to expand highway 288 from downtown Houston to Freeport:
TxDOT and its consultants will present the expansion concept from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Pearland Junior High South, 4719 Bailey, Pearland; Wednesday at Pilgrim Community Center, 3118 Blodgett, Houston; and Thursday at Angleton High School, 1201 Henderson, Angleton. For more information, call 713-802-5074.
More information is available on the TxDOT website.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 11/29/04 04:06 PM | Houston Transit | Technorati | Comments (0)
Blogging about Enron
Local attorney and blogger Tom Kirkendall comments on an op-ed by Ken Lay's defense attorney Mike Ramsey.
Ramsey is highly critical of the Chronicle for what he calls tabloid/lynch mob journalism with regard to its treatment of Ken Lay.
It's not entirely surprising that the newspaper that missed the collapse of Enron while it was happening has now resorted to portraying certain figures in the controversy as "bad guys." That's the sort of journalism that the Chronicle specializes in, especially on the editorial page.
Kirkendall, of course, has followed the Enron proceedings closely on his blog, and has frequently criticized the government's weak case. His blog is a valuable supplement to fairly disappointing coverage from local print media.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 11/29/04 03:12 PM | Houston People | Technorati | Comments (0)
What to do with an old rail corridor in the Heights
Residents in the Heights are concerned that a toll road is coming soon to an old rail line, according to this Houston Press story:
For years, residents in the Houston Heights have been pushing to build a bike trail along an abandoned rail line, connecting their historic neighborhood with the heart of downtown. Last week, many of them learned that Harris County bureaucrats have been discussing plans of their own for the route: a toll road.
Excerpts from a letter to this effect, written by Mike Strech, director of the Harris County Toll Road Authority, were pinging around the Internet last week, inspiring confessions of fear and outrage from bicyclists and soccer moms.
[snip]
Harris County Commissioners Court oversees the toll road authority. In August, commissioners voted unanimously to authorize the authority to begin negotiations to purchase the rail corridor.
Yet County Judge Robert Eckels, who is closely involved in transportation planning, says that siting a toll road along the rail bed would be very unlikely. "I'm not going to say it's impossible," he says. "Somebody could come along in 20 years and do it, but it's not on my plans. I cannot foresee the need for a toll road."
He says the commissioners are seeking the property, which soon will go up for sale, to keep it open for future public use. The toll road authority was the agency of choice to acquire it, he adds, because it has sufficient funds on hand to pay for the land.
Even so, that assurance has done little to quell neighborhood fears. A toll road could serve as a traffic-bristling concrete barrier, bisecting historic Heights Boulevard and assorted enclaves of one of Houston's oldest and most established communities.
[snip]
In the plans, TxDOT has required the city to place the trail along the edge of the corridor, to leave space for other uses. One possibility would be the spur near Shepherd Drive outlined in the toll study. Metro also has considered running light rail down the corridor and then cutting south along Yale Street to link up with a possible Washington Avenue line.
Who can blame the residents for not wanting a toll road bisecting their neighborhood? And all of us have enough experience with government to know that when government says don't worry, then it is time to worry.
The Chronicle has an editorial on this subject today (the only place I saw the Chronicle previously mention this story was last week in the regional This Week section for the Heights area) where the editors bemoan the possible plan to build a toll road. The editors would like the space to be turned into a hike and bike trail, which sounds swell, except for that bolded part above from the Press story, about Metro wanting to use the old rail corridor for a light rail line. The editors don't mention the idea and since the Chronicle is extremely pro-light rail, I'll be curious to see which side the editors take on the issue.
Also, the Chronicle's This Week story never mentions Metro's interest in the rail corridor, while the Press story mentions it twice. Interesting omission on the part of the Chronicle, or maybe it was a problem of not-so-thorough reporting.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 11/29/04 05:40 AM | Houston Transit | Technorati | Comments (1)
28 November 2004
The ultimate sacrifice
Today's Chronicle has the story of some local families who have lost loved ones in Iraq:
"It's tough," said Barbara Rozier, of Katy, whose son, Jonathan, was slain in Iraq 16 months ago, making this the family's second holiday season without him. Rozier, a 25-year-old Army lieutenant, died in a Baghdad ambush on July 19, 2003, leaving behind his wife, Jessica, and 2-year-old son, Justin.
"There are times when it's almost like a fresh wound, where things will trigger it. You just feel that emptiness and that ache all over again. And then it heals up and you move on," she said.
For her Cinco Ranch family, a key to coping with the grief has been maintaining routines and traditions and doing charitable works to honor their hero, Rozier said.
Saturday, family members continued their private initiative to help troops still in the fray. Led by the soldier's sister, Elizabeth, they used several thousand dollars in donations to buy long-distance calling cards for sailors and soldiers in the war zone and planned to put them in the mail. They've shipped several hundred of the phone cards already this year.
Local blogger Chris Elam knows the Rozier family, and on his blog shared some thoughts:
We both knew Elizabeth Rozier from home school activities, and Liz and I both went on to attend Texas A&M. Her older brother Jonathan, was also a home-schooled young man, a corps member at Texas A&M, and graduated the same year I did. Last year, we heard with sadness, that he had been killed during a rocket-propelled grenade attack in Iraq. He left behind a young wife, and a 9-month old son.
It is a very sad story, but the confidence and hope the Rozier's have, is that they will see Jonathan again in Paradise. In the meanwhile, they are obviously staying active in supporting the military, and Elizabeth has had many opportunities to become active in GOP politics, and from what I hear, has a bright future in our party. This past August, she was the first at-large alternate (Governor Perry's) of the Texas Delegation to the GOP Convention in NYC.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 11/28/04 12:34 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (0)
27 November 2004
Journalists face the mystery of economics
Today's Chronicle has a story on the challenges local food banks face with more fresh and frozen food being donated and the increased need for cold storage, which isn't cheap:
To meet consumer demands for more healthful food choices, grocery stores are stocking more fresh and frozen foods — and donating their excess supplies to food banks.
"If you look at the grocery stores, the can and box aisles are shrinking. Produce is expanding. There are more frozen foods," said Jan Pruitt, chief executive officer of the North Texas Food Bank and president of the Texas Association of Second Harvest Food Banks.
"Whatever those retail stores look like, food banks have to mirror because that's the product that is going to be donated to us. We're following the lead of the food industry."
This increase in fresh and frozen food donations has meant a more nutritionally balanced meal for those who need food assistance, but it's also meant agencies have had to expand their cold storage space — a costly proposition for charities already struggling with a tight economy and increased demand for their services.
"Once upon a time, food banks were mostly dry goods," said Ross Fraser, a spokesman with America's Second Harvest, the largest domestic hunger-relief organization.
"There is now an increase in the amount of produce, fruit, dairy. To do that you have to have refrigeration and freezer space. It's a big demand."
The reporter, Salatheia Bryant, does a little editorializing by stating that cold storage space is "a costly proposition for charities already struggling with a tight economy..." What evidence does Bryant provide for the "tight economy"? Or, better yet, what does a "tight economy" actually mean to Bryant?
The U.S. economy is in pretty good shape, according to this Bloomberg story:
Initial jobless claims dropped to the lowest level since early September, and October new home sales rose to the third- highest ever, other reports showed today. Orders for durable goods, or items made to last at least three years, decreased 0.4 percent after a 0.9 percent gain in September that was four times more than first estimated, the Commerce Department said in Washington.
"The economy is in quite good shape,'' said Stephen Stanley, chief economist at RBS Greenwich Capital in Greenwich, Connecticut, in an interview. "We are looking at good growth, not blowout numbers.''
Thomas Sowell, who should have a regular op-ed place in the Chronicle's Outlook section, wrote a column on the problem of journalists and economics: journalists very often don't understand even the basics of economics:
The time is long overdue for schools of journalism to start teaching economics. It would eliminate much of the nonsense and hysteria in the media, and with it perhaps some of the demagoguery in politics.
The Chronicle reporter passes on what is conventional wisdom in newsrooms, without providing any actual backup for the claim of a "tight economy." If Bryant meant to say that current funding levels and donations need to increase so food banks can pay for cold storage, then that's what should have been said, without the editorializing.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 11/27/04 10:25 AM | Houston Chronicle | Technorati | Comments (0)
26 November 2004
Fairness in labeling
Curves has rapidly become a hot name in fitness club circles and it has a Texas/Houston connection. So of course, the Chronicle picks up an AP story about the company and its founder, Gary Heavin:
The company is the creation of Gary Heavin, 49, who heads Curves International in Waco. Heavin was a millionaire by age 30 after taking over a failing health club in Houston and expanding it into a chain of 17 clubs. But then came a divorce, bankruptcy and business failure. He spent 2 1/2 months in jail when he couldn't make child support payments.
In 1992, Heavin and his second wife, Diane, opened the first Curves club. It was small and simple, a place where women could feel comfortable.
Three years later, Heavin was selling franchises, and by 1998 there were 500. Curves aims to have more than 25,000 — including 8,000 in Asia and 8,000 in Europe — within five years. By comparison, Gold's Gyms and Bally Total Fitness, two of the biggest fitness clubs in the country, have about 1,000 facilities between them.
Toward the end of the article, the AP reporter passes on this important information:
Curves and Heavin, however, aren't without critics.
Some dismiss Curves as a fad. Heavin, a born-again Christian, has been criticized for his conservative political views and donations to anti-abortion causes. Some members have quit the clubs over his political stands.
At the annual Curves convention in Las Vegas this month, one of the topics was "the fallout from my values," Heavin said.
Oh no! He's a born-again Christian!
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 11/26/04 09:31 PM | Houston Chronicle | Technorati | Comments (0)
Chronicle glosses over Rather "controversy"
Dan Rather's "retirement" announcement on Tuesday was obviously intended to accomplish two things: pre-empt what is likely to be damning criticism from the internal investigation of the fraudulent documents he presented to television viewers during an election campaign, and pre-empt it when everyone's attention is focused on Thanksgiving and not the usual news cycle.
Of course, if every media outlet could be counted on to cover Rather's announcement as sympathetically as the Chronicle, then CBS News wouldn't have had to bother with the announcement.
Here is the way the Chronicle's Mike McDaniel describes the "controversy" related to Rather's retirement:
Rather drew fire for a 60 Minutes report, aired in September, that raised questions about President Bush's service while in the Texas Air National Guard. An internal investigation was launched, with the probe led by former U.S. Attorney General Richard Thornburgh and former Associated Press executive Louis D. Boccardi. Results of the investigation are expected soon.
and
During the election, Rather came under attack by conservatives who accused him of being the poster boy for liberal media.
and
The mood inside CBS has been tense since the controversy over the National Guard story. "Morale is not great for all the obvious reasons," veteran reporter and Face the Nation anchor Bob Schieffer said. "CBS made a mistake, Dan admitted it, the company apologized for it, and (the report will) be made public without CBS having a chance to edit it.
Not once in the story does McDaniel elaborate on the "mistake" Dan Rather and Mary Mapes made -- airing a story with fraudulent documents obtained from questionable sources and without proper vetting in the midst of a close election contest.
If one didn't already know the details of the "mistake" and "controversy" (hat tip: bloggers), one wouldn't have a clue what Mike McDaniel was talking about, and might actually feel sorry for the retiring old dinosaur. (And contrary to that cherrypicked Schieffer quote, Rather has never admitted he presented fraudulent documents, or apologized for it.)
Even better than that, McDaniel managed to find perhaps the only media critics in the nation who were "surprised" and "taken aback" by the Rather announcement.
The newspaper that missed Enron continues to prove it is no one-hit wonder when it comes to journalistic ineptitude.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 11/26/04 10:41 AM | Houston Chronicle | Technorati | Comments (1)
It's official: Pallilo to move to KBME
David Barron reports that it's now official after 20 days of silence -- former KILT-610 sports talker Charlie Pallilo will be the featured personality on Clear Channel's new sports talk station in Houston, after making a pre-launch stop at his old home, KTRH-740:
Charlie Pallilo is back on the air at KTRH (740 AM), where he will co-anchor SportsBeat until Clear Channel Houston launches its all-sports format on KBME (790 AM) in late December or early January.
Pallilo returned to KTRH, where he worked for more than a decade before joining KILT (610 AM) in September 1999, on Wednesday night. He will remain on KTRH, working with Carl Dukes and Ted DeLuca, until KBME launches, then will work afternoon drive from 3 to 7 p.m. on the rebranded ESPN 790, the "Sports Animal."
"It will be an exciting, challenging enterprise, going from one good company (Infinity Broadcasting, owner of KILT) to another (Clear Channel) that has established its ability to build a good station," Pallilo said. "Having ESPN as the anchor network will open up some possibilities and elements that you can build into a show over time.
"And sometimes, change is a part of life."
The last comment was a reference, in part, to the end of his on-air partnership with Rich Lord. The two worked together at KTRH in the early 1990s and shared the mike for five years on KILT's afternoon drive show.
"We had a great time doing that show together, and I would have no problem ever working with him and other people (at KILT) again," Pallilo said. "I just had to make a decision and decided to take on the challenge of being part of something from square one."
Lord said he and Pallilo "enjoyed a chemistry that's hard to find. The time we worked together is always going to be special to me."
Pallilo, whose contract at KILT expired in September, received an offer from Clear Channel late last month. Infinity had 20 days to match the offer and took Pallilo off the air during that time.
When the 20-day period expired earlier this week, Ken Charles, Clear Channel Houston's director of AM programming, rushed him onto KTRH rather than waiting for KBME's all-sports debut.
"He's the best sports talk host in town," Charles said. "And if we're going to launch this station, we want to launch with the best. We will have ESPN Radio, Fox Sports Radio, Dan Patrick and we wanted Charlie.
Pallilo will be great, but Patrick is awful. Please PLEASE learn from The Ticket in Dallas, and give us interesting personalities talking about local sports and life. Patrick is a cure for insomnia.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 11/26/04 10:02 AM | Houston Media | Technorati | Comments (1)
Safety claims by Taser called into question
Alex Berenson of the New York Times reports today that many of the safety claims of Taser International regarding its weapons have been somewhat exaggerated:
Taser International, whose electrical guns are used by thousands of police departments nationwide, says that a federal study endorses the safety of its guns, but the laboratory that conducted the research disagrees.
Taser said last month that the government study, whose full results have not yet been released, found that its guns were safe. Since that statement, the company's stock has soared and its executives and directors have sold $68 million in shares, about 5 percent of Taser's stock and nearly half their holdings.
But the Air Force laboratory that conducted the study now says that it actually found that the guns could be dangerous and that more data was needed to evaluate their risks. The guns "may cause several unintended effects, albeit with low probabilities of occurrence," the laboratory said last week in a statement released after a symposium on Tasers, as the company's guns are known, and other weapons intended to incapacitate people without killing them.
Taser said Wednesday that it stood behind its October statement.
Other data presented at the symposium raised questions about one of Taser's key claims about the effectiveness of its newest and most expensive weapon.
Who knew?
Certainly not the city leaders who approved a $5 million contract with Taser.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 11/26/04 09:24 AM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (0)
The Chronicle's list of blessings
Yesterday's Chronicle ran a Thanksgiving editorial that started off in the right direction:
It is a time of the year when many American families will more keenly feel the absence of loved ones serving in combat zones abroad. And it is a time for all Americans to recognize the sacrifice made by those men and women who have given their life trying to secure freedom and democracy in Iraq and Afghanistan.
But it quickly went downhill from there:
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 11/26/04 09:07 AM | Houston Chronicle | Technorati | Comments (0)
25 November 2004
Heflin campaign goes nuclear
Republican Talmadge Heflin's campaign has now "gone nuclear" with regard to his most recent race against Democrat Hubert Vo (the certified winner of the race):
State Rep. Talmadge Heflin asked the state House of Representatives today to overturn the results of his failed re-election bid and either order him returned to the Legislature or call for a new election.
Heflin's attorney, Andy Taylor, said the election results in state House District 149 in southwest Harris County were fraught with voting irregularities and potential fraud, most of which occurred in predominantly Democratic precincts.
"The true outcome of this election was stolen from the voters in House District 149," Taylor said Tuesday. "We will prove that Representative Talmadge Heflin was re-elected."
Heflin, a Republican member of the House since 1983 and chairman of its Appropriations Committee, lost to Democratic businessman Hubert Vo by 32 votes earlier this month. But Heflin's campaign alleges that those election results include at least 248 irregularities that could have altered the outcome.
I'm rarely surprised by political events -- indeed, I make a living by predicting such events (at least in the international sphere) -- but this one surprises me.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 11/25/04 11:35 AM | Houston Politics | Technorati | Comments (1)
24 November 2004
Kicking off the holiday season
There are quite a few goings-on this Thanksgiving weekend, besides the parade Thursday morning.
The Uptown Holiday Lighting will take place Thursday, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., on Post Oak Blvd., between San Felipe and Westheimer.
On Friday, Galveston's Harbor Parade of Lights will take place at 6 p.m., along Pier 21; and the Holiday Lights in Hermann Park kicks off at 6 p.m. at the Molly Ann Smith Plaza. That will be followed by a Houston Symphony Holiday Concert performed at Miller Outdoor Theatre at 7:00 p.m.
On Saturday, Market Street in The Woodlands hosts a Lighted Carriage Parade at 6 p.m.; and Galveston holds its official tree lighting ceremony from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the San Luis Resort.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 11/24/04 05:16 PM | Houston Life | Technorati | Comments (0)
Who's really supporting Cy-Fair ISD bond initiative?
Cy-Fair ISD is taking a $700 million bond initiative to the voters and the Chronicle's Jason Spencer has uncovered a bit more to the story:
A political action committee, or PAC, calling itself Citizens for Cy-Fair ISD Bonds plans to spend more than $60,000 on the campaign, touting "local support" for the referendum, which begins early voting today. But what the ads don't say is that almost all the money behind the ads is coming from companies that stand to make millions if the proposal passes.
Among the biggest contributors are four architectural firms that have a history of doing business with the district, which stretches across 186 square miles in northwest Harris County.
And apparently this is par for the course:
"Potentially, it means a lot of work for a lot of companies," said Ken Simonson, chief economist for the Associated General Contractors of America based in Alexandria, Va.
Construction firms spending money to promote bond packages isn't unusual, he said. In 2002, for example, when the Houston Independent School District asked voters for $808 million to build new schools, Atlanta-based Heery International gave $15,000 to the PAC that successfully advocated for the bond package. Heery is now managing construction projects worth nearly $200 million in bond money.
Records show the four architectural firms have already won plenty of school contracts, collectively billing Cy-Fair ISD $7.2 million last school year for design work related to a $470.5 million bond package approved by voters in 2001.
Good for Spencer, getting this information out in the open. He's the same reporter who unmasked the HISD superintendent candidates.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 11/24/04 01:14 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (0)
A Safire column that could serve as "another voice"
Yesterday, the Chronicle posted a typically simplistic editorial, in which the editors hyperventilated about several relevant, experienced GOP committee chairmen putting the brakes on a massive intelligence "reform" bill that had been moving through the Congress at breakneck speed (certainly faster than many Bush judicial nominees, which only require an up/down vote of the Senate).
Today, William Safire -- whose columns are regularly picked up by the Chronicle -- pens a sober response to mainstream media types that, like the Chronicle, have criticized the administration for strong-arming its critics (on the left and right), but now argue that it needs to whip into line committee chairmen who presumably know more about their areas of expertise than, say, Jeff Cohen or Andrea Georgsson:
The sore-loser set has been complaining that the president has banished healthy internal dissent. Darryl Zanuck's classic line to quavering executives has been evoked, "Don't say yes until I finish talking!"
But wait: that was before a minority of a hundred or so members of Congress, basing their stand on the testimony of the nation's five most senior military officers, refused to say yes to the private lobbying juggernaut set up by the disbanded 9/11 commission. This group had already brought the media, the Congressional leadership and finally the president to their knees.
The principled refusal of two House committee chairmen to be steamrollered into hasty passage of a pre-election-driven bill has flipped the previous bashing of the supposedly domineering Bush 180 degrees.
Now the party line is: "Whatsamatter, W., you can't whip these right-wingers of yours into line? The Establishment has decreed that our intelligence operations will be reorganized now, quick, before the new Congress takes the oath and holds further hearings. Why can't you force your generals and your saluting solons to get with the program? Where's Tom (the Hammer) DeLay when we need him?"
That's quite a flip-flop.
Speaking of flip-flops, in a delicious twist, the Chron editors actually tossed a little praise towards DeLay:
If, as has been reported, House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Sugar Land, spoke up for going ahead with the bill, good for him.
As Safire asks, what's the rush? Who can be opposed to getting the thing right?
One wonders whether the Chronicle will pick up this Safire column.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 11/24/04 10:00 AM | Houston Chronicle | Technorati | Comments (0)
New parking lot at Bush Intercontinental
Bush Intercontinental has opened a special parking lot for people awaiting passenger arrivals:
During this busy Thanksgiving holiday travel period, which officially starts today, people can wait for passengers in the newly opened cell phone parking lot about one mile east of the terminals near Will Clayton and Colonel Fischer.
After receiving a phone call, drivers can make their way to the terminals to pick up passengers waiting outside.
"It works much better than circling (the terminal)," said Jessica Berger, who went to Bush on Tuesday to pick up her father, Elliott Berger, of Illinois.
The free lot is important because airport officials will be enforcing stricter rules on curb-side loading and unloading of passengers and baggage at terminals. Officials are hoping the permanent lot will prevent congestion caused when drivers repeatedly circle the terminals waiting for passengers to come outside.
When I first came to Houston, I was surprised at the number of cars allowed to park outside the terminals at Bush Intercontinental, waiting for...whatever. Post-9/11, my experience at other airports has been that you either keep moving or a police officer will promptly come over and tell you to get moving, but Bush Intercontinental seemed to have a more relaxed attitude. Sounds like this is a step in the direction of changing that relaxed attitude.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 11/24/04 07:56 AM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (3)
23 November 2004
Chronicle breaks out the airbrush
The Chronicle ran a story with the following headline earlier today:
Testaverde keeps his job as starter
I read the article with some interest earlier, because I knew for a fact the headline was misleading. Bill Parcells announced yesterday that he wasn't ready to name a starter, that it would be Testaverde if he could go, but that his recovery from injury seemed doubtful.
Today, Parcells actually said that Drew Henson most likely would start.
Interestingly, after today's announcement from Parcells, the Chronicle posted the related AP article to its website, and deleted the old, erroneous article altogether (link via Google News).
It's strange that the Chronicle deleted the article from the website, because it appeared in print editions of the newspaper with the same erroneous headline as above. But then again, it's a newspaper that regularly engages in strange practices with regard to web archiving.
(11-24-2004 Update) Respected NFL beat writer John McClain writes more in today's Chronicle:
Parcells never will admit it, of course, but you just know that he knew Monday exactly who was going to start against Chicago.
Sure, any Cowboys fan knew that. But McClain's newspaper reported the wrong guy.
And then took down the story.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 11/23/04 11:54 PM | Houston Chronicle | Technorati | Comments (0)
Thanksgiving Day Parade
Houston's 55th annual Thanksgiving Day Parade will take place Thursday morning (naturally):
Organizers expect nearly 400,000 spectators will line a 20-block route through downtown for the 55th annual Washington Mutual Thanksgiving Day Parade on Thursday morning.
The theme of the parade will be "Just Believe," said parade director Susan Moriarty.
"We've got some fantastic floats, lots of animation," she said.
The celebrity guest of the big downtown event is hometown singing star Jennifer Holliday, winner of two Grammys and a Tony. She had a Top 40 hit with And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going, and has appeared on Broadway, TV and in movies and has performed at the White House and at Carnegie Hall.
Looks like the weather will cooperate, too.
The Chronicle also provides the parade route:
The parade will head west on Texas to Fannin, turning south to Dallas. East on Dallas for four blocks turning north on La Branch proceeding east on Rusk and ending at Crawford.
KHOU-11 has more coverage.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 11/23/04 09:11 AM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (4)
Big tree trips up light rail train; bus called in
MetroRail had a weather-related problem yesterday evening:
Heavy rainstorms uprooted a tree at Hermann Park tonight, severing a MetroRail power line when the tree fell across the southbound tracks.
The tree snapped the cable about 8:45 p.m. near the Hermann Park/Rice University station along Fannin near Sunset. No one was injured.
Metro Police Sgt. Herbert Darby said the tree would have to be removed from the tracks before the line can be repaired and power restored to the system.
"It's a pretty good-sized tree," Darby said.
Kerry Vick of Victoria and about 10 other MetroRail passengers were stranded for about 90 minutes when their southbound train suddenly lost power.
[snip]
A Metro bus was later called to ferry Vick and the other passengers to their final destinations.
The line is expected to be repaired early this morning, officials said.
Good thing a bus was able to get through so Metro's passengers could continue their travels.
UPDATE 1: That above link now takes you to a "new" Chronicle story, telling us the line was repaired today around 10 a.m. blogHOUSTON gets very annoyed when the Chronicle puts an updated story in a link used for the original story, because the original story just disappears. Poof!
UPDATE 2: Metro has put out a news release:
A "bus bridge" was immediately deployed to provide service between the inactive stations. After safely transferring passengers to buses for the rest of their trip, METRO maintenance crews began removing the fallen tree. However, repair of the downed power line was delayed due to continued lightning in the area overnight.
Partial METRORail service resumed Tuesday morning, with trains running on a six-minute frequency between UH-Downtown Station and Wheeler Station and two-car trains running on a 10-minute frequency between Fannin South and Memorial Hermann Hospital/Houston Zoo Station.
A bus bridge, which requires a bus-train transfer, remained in effect between Wheeler Station and the TMC Transit Center for those traveling north and south between the affected METRORail section until full service was restored at about 10 a.m. today.
Thank goodness for those under-appreciated buses. And with all the cuts in bus service, Metro has lots of buses available to help out when the train becomes inoperable.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 11/23/04 06:35 AM | Houston Transit | Technorati | Comments (9)
22 November 2004
Heflin asks for recount
KHOU-11 reports that Talmadge Heflin has requested a recount in his extremely close contest with Hubert Vo:
A longtime Houston legislator who lost his re-election bid by 32 votes -- requested a recount Monday.
Republican Representative Talmadge Heflin lost to Democrat Hubert Vo.
The recount request has gone to the Texas Secretary of State's Office.
Harris County election officials have until next Monday to finish the recount.
Heflin's attorneys have said they're also considering challenging the vote, which would take the argument to the Republican-ruled Texas House for consideration.
I don't think any reasonable person can begrudge Heflin a recount in such a close race, but I really don't expect it to move to the Texas House if the recount confirms his loss.
(Update) Joe Stinebaker reports for the Chronicle. The Heflin camp seems to be suggesting fraudulent ballots. But can they prove it? Stay tuned.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 11/22/04 09:13 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (0)
Plane crash near Hobby
Local news stations are reporting a small, Gulfstream plane has gone down near the Beltway and 288. The Beltway between Cullen and Wayside is closed as a result.
(Update) More from KHOU-11/Belo.
(Update 2) KHOU is now reporting that the plane that crashed was to be used by former President Bush to fly to Ecuador. That trip has now been canceled. The KTRK-13 link above has been updated to reflect that the plane was to be used by the former President to fly to "Equador."
(Update 3) KTRK has corrected the "Equador" mistake. :)
Posted by Callie Markantonis @ 11/22/04 07:19 AM | Houston Transit | Technorati | Comments (1)
21 November 2004
Covering the news important to... Nebraskans
The Chronicle reprints a Washington Post story on Nebraska Senator Chuck Hagel (R), who is apparently "thinking seriously" about running for President in 2008.
Hagel is the sort of Republican who impresses some Democrats with his occasional "contrarian" views, but he is little known within his own party, does not seem all that enamored of trying to appeal to the sorts of voters who decide Republican primaries, and is notably lacking charisma.
So, why tie up column space to (re)print this story? There's no local connection. 2008 is far away, and people are still suffering from election fatigue. And at this point, the Senator seems more popular among journalists than among the grassroots.
Oh, wait -- I seem to have answered my question.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 11/21/04 04:51 PM | Houston Chronicle | Technorati | Comments (0)
Still hoping for Texas Magazine Sundays
Last Sunday's "star" section was dominated by a huge picture of a couple of hikers ascending a hilltop, behind them a beautiful carpet of trees, and a story all about exploring Texas' great outdoors. It was Texas Magazine-heaven:
Across the state, people hoping to experience fall in the wild are flocking to state and national park campgrounds from Big Bend to the Gulf Coast. Although camping statistics are difficult to track, it is estimated that more than 50 million people go camping each year. In Texas alone, state parks saw 2.4 million overnight visits in fiscal year 2004, up from 1.5 million the previous year -- not including overnight campers at Texas parks run by the National Park Service or those who visit private campgrounds.
With those figures, dropping temperatures and the beauty of leaves turning shades of yellow, orange and red, it should be no surprise that camping sites are packed with people enjoying a cooler taste of the outdoors.
And for one week I wondered if MeMo would give us Sunday "star" sections that resembled Texas Magazine.
Alas, no. Today's "star" front page is dominated by this story about the Way Station and its mission to help the homeless. A fine story no doubt, but it could have run last week in place of this, and today we could have had another Texas Magazine Sunday.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 11/21/04 04:00 PM | Houston Chronicle | Technorati | Comments (0)
More on the demise of KLOL
Michael McGuff has more thoughts on the demise of radio station KLOL for KTRK-13.
He even mentions a number of websites, including blogHOUSTON and Off The Kuff, in yet another sign that blogs have officially arrived as alt-media.
Unfortunately, our earlier speculation that Ken Charles could just be pulling a publicity stunt before unrolling a new album-rock station remains just that -- fun speculation at this point.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 11/21/04 03:22 PM | Houston Media | Technorati | Comments (0)
Collective Soul at Jones Plaza
We normally leave Houston's live rock scene to David Cobb, linking over to his great blog when appropriate.
However, when a big band like Collective Soul comes to town to put on a free show, it's definitely worth a mention here.
They'll be playing Jones Plaza downtown as part of a Texans pre-game party that appears to be sponsored by Clear Channel, Ford and Subway (among others). Apparently, a giant screen will be available for tailgaters to watch the game downtown. The festivities are set to begin around 5 pm, according to the various Clear Channel websites.
The Texans, of course, have to deal with Green Bay and the great Brett Favre tonight at Reliant, so a free Collective Soul concert may well be the highlight of the day for Texans fans.
Now if we could just do something about this rain...
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 11/21/04 08:54 AM | Houston Life | Technorati | Comments (0)
20 November 2004
Food and drink roundup (11-20-2004 edition)
We're running a few days behind on the food and drink update, as life has intruded on the blogging lately -- that, and the Houston Press web redesign was so extensive that the link to Robb Walsh's column was broken for a while. It's just not a food and drink roundup without that guy.
Empanadas are a favorite in Houston, and this week Robb Walsh checks out Marine's Empanadas:
In the course of writing this review, a strange coincidence came to light. A restaurant called Original Marini's Empanada House (3522 South Mason Road) has recently opened in Katy's Cinco Ranch neighborhood. It is owned by none other than Sergio "Alex" Marini, the son of the old Westheimer Marini's founders, Leonilda and Marcello Marini, who also are helping out at the new spot. The new restaurant reportedly features the same monkey juice and Viva Zapata empanadas that were originally concocted at the Westheimer location in the 1970s.
No doubt there are lots of other menu similarities between Marine's Empanadas at Richmond and Hillcroft and the freshly resurrected Original Marini's Empanada House in Katy. That's because the two restaurants share a much-beloved common ancestor. And both are helping to keep the fond memories alive.
blogHOUSTON readers will, of course, recall that Alison Cook visited the Original Marini's in Katy a few weeks ago.
This week, Cook stays in Houston (!) to pay a visit to Monica Pope's T'afia:
The beauty of T'afia is that it presents you with food worth thinking about. Now I'm less reluctant to mix and match (b3r beef filet with a crystalline, seasoned sea salt? yum), then pick one of the enticing $5 side dishes that include Pope's famous vegetables, many of them organic.
Here's where her longtime passion for sustainable agriculture and local growers really shines: In farmer Lola Daniel's glorious shell beans, perhaps bathed in a sherried vinaigrette; in glossy baby spinach leaves that seem to be five minutes from the garden; in a milky gratin of potato and the haunting, underutilized gem known as celery root. These are the kinds of dishes that make me happy to be alive.
Most of all, though, I'm happy that chef Pope and her partner, Andrea Lazar, have finally created a world from scratch. Goodbye, landlords, pint-size kitchens, immutable buildings and decor. With T'afia's pristine brick rectangle gutted and a huge kitchen built on, the pair are free to indulge their taste for modern design and local artists.
So T'afia is all of a piece, from its enormous paper lanterns in the garden room to the alluring Ratafia Royale cocktails. Coriander and lemon verbena never tasted so good as they do melded with vodka, white wine and a dash of sugar, then fizzed with inexpensive champagne. This is inspired cooking in a flute goblet, an evocative way to begin -- or end -- a meal.
Foodies have always loved Pope, and from the sounds of it, this restaurant will be an even bigger hit with them than her Boulevard Bistro, my favorite brunch joint in its heyday.
Dai Huynh interviews Robert Gadsby, who is overseeing the opening of Houston's rendition of his Noé restaurant (at the Omni Hotel). He's spending big money and making big promises:
Noé-Houston is the springboard to produce the style of cuisine I really like to do -- the recipes where Robert Gadsby can strut.
Strut away.
Finally, Ken Hoffman ponders IHOP's obscene caramel combos. Breakfast, dessert, who really knows? General Mills started us in this direction with Cookie Crisp. It's only a matter of time before chocolate cake is just another breakfast food.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 11/20/04 11:52 PM | Houston Life | Technorati | Comments (1)
19 November 2004
Metro still waiting for working "smart card" system
The story in the Chronicle this morning about Metro hiring a consultant to monitor a contractor who has yet to deliver the "smart card" system, is humorous, in a sad, wasting-more-taxpayer-dollars kind of way:
The Metro board voted Thursday to spend up to $100,000 on a consultant to oversee a contractor that has yet to implement a system that would allow bus and rail riders to buy fares with a "smart card."
San Diego-based Cubic Corp. was supposed to have the card system ready when Metro's 7.5-mile light rail line opened Jan. 1. But nearly a year later, the fare-buying system still is not functional.
The board of directors authorized hiring LCL Advisors, whose clients have included the Port Authority of New York and the New Jersey toll roads system, to monitor Cubic Corp.'s work. LCL will be paid $150 an hour, plus expenses, up to $100,000.
Metropolitan Transit Authority Vice President John Sedlak said the company and its principal consultant Richard J. Lobron will "assess the work activity" of Cubic and help test the system's accuracy.
Sedlak said Metro no longer has an expected date for the cards to be in use, "and that is one of the reasons why we're bringing a consultant in."
Metro awarded Cubic an $8 million contract in 2002 to develop and provide the fare collection system.
Metro's not exactly rolling in the dough these days, thanks to the shiny choo choo, in spite of the fact that we are told Metro is always looking for the best use of taxpayer money. We see bus routes being cut right and left to help offset Metro funding problems. And KTRK-13 says there is some question about Metro's bus maintenance. We certainly hope there is some clause in the contract with Cubic Corp. that will allow Metro to recoup some of that $8 million, at the very least to repay the cost of hiring a babysitter.
Then there is this sentence, which is icing on the cake, so to speak:
A Cubic spokeswoman said she was not aware of problems with the system in Houston.
The "smart card" system is not functional a year after it was supposed to be implemented, and Cubic Corp. is unaware of any problems. It's absurd.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 11/19/04 05:41 PM | Houston Transit | Technorati | Comments (0)
A&M Wins Championship!*
* In meat judging.
Texas A&M won the International Intercollegiate Meat Judging Contest by scoring 4,087 points – nine points more than second place winner, Texas Tech University.
Posted by Ethan Glading @ 11/19/04 10:34 AM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (2)
Steffy: KLOL is victim of deregulation
Loren Steffy has a column in today's Chronicle about the demise of KLOL-101. He says the blame is not with Clear Channel, but with Washington, D.C. and deregulation. He calls it the "Wal-Marting of the airwaves":
Fewer media owners mean fewer media choices. If you own eight stations, as Clear Channel does, in a broadcast area the size of Houston, you can create vertical markets, nice little demographic compartments tailor made for advertisers.
No matter what your business, Clear Channel has a cookie-cutter market segment for your target customer base: Latino hip-hop, "new mix" pop, Fleetwood Mac-inundated "classic rock," news/talk and gooey "easy listening" to name a few.
There's lots of real estate on the dial, with little format overlap. What's the point in dominating a market if you have to compete with yourself?
In the name of cost efficiency, the prefab formatting can be replicated in city and after city. Media consolidation becomes media coagulation, the Wal-Marting of the airwaves. Call it McRadio.
[snip]
The betrayal of the public trust didn't happen in San Antonio; it happened in Washington.
Clear Channel has an obligation to grow. That is, after all, what businesses do, and Clear Channel has simply done that better than any of its rivals, gobbling up stations like Pac Man since the broadcast industry was deregulated in 1996. It now owns 1,200 nationwide.
Deregulation has meant an end to incremental revenue. Broadcasting now is about growth, and big money is in the buying of stations, not the owning of them.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 11/19/04 10:05 AM | Houston Media | Technorati | Comments (0)
Opposition to the Grand Parkway
State Rep. Debbie Riddle has spoken out strongly against the Grand Parkway section that is scheduled to be built through Spring:
Rep. Debbie Riddle, R-Houston, used the Grand Parkway Association's 20th annual report to the Texas Transportation Commission to state concerns the proposed route between Texas 249 and Interstate 45 "would just decimate the property values" in the Spring area and "import traffic into my district."
She pointed out several subdivisions and a Catholic school the highway would wipe out.
"There is tremendous concern over what this would do to Spring," she said. "Because of the tremendous growth in our area, so many lives are going to be disrupted."
After two hearings produced overwhelming public opposition to the proposed 12-mile segment, the Texas Department of Transportation declined in July to proceed on final environmental reviews. It directed the association to conduct a supplemental study re-evaluating other routes. That review is due by spring.
On the other hand, state Sen. Jon Lindsay appears to be working to get the segment fast-tracked, as noted here previously.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 11/19/04 08:06 AM | Houston Transit | Technorati | Comments (0)
18 November 2004
Live music roundup (11-18-2004 edition)
As usual, David Cobb has posted his weekly rock-oriented live music roundup.
The following are notable live alt-country/Americana/Texas country music shows around town this weekend.
Thursday, November 18
Micky and the Motorcars, Blanco's
Friday, November 19
Texas High Life (F-Co opens), Firehouse Saloon
The Clumsy Lovers, Mucky Duck
Big Sandy and his Fly Rite Boys & Sean Reefer, Continental Club
Stephanie Urbina Jones, Anderson Fair
Saturday, November 20
Jesse Dayton, Continental Club
Deryl Dodd, Firehouse Saloon
Patrice Pike, Mucky Duck
Texas High Life, Sidecar Pub
Shake Russell and Mike Hearne, Anderson Fair
Peach Truck Republic, Last Concert Cafe
Sunday, November 21
Ian Moore, Rudyard's
Be sure and check with the venue before heading out to any of the shows. Schedules do change, and you can't always trust a bunch of yahoos with a weblog, after all!
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 11/18/04 10:27 PM | Houston Life | Technorati | Comments (0)
Scabby Hates El Paso
Scabby The Rat made an appearance today in downtown Houston. The 13-foot-tall inflatable rat is famous for his management hatin’ and his menacing scowl. Also, he has appeared in an episode of The Sopranos. The men who accompanied Scabby were chanting, “El Paso Sucks.” It’s true. I drove through there once.
Posted by Ethan Glading @ 11/18/04 06:32 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (2)
Covering what's important to...NYC residents
With all there is to see and do in Texas, what do you suppose MeMo chose to give front page "star" treatment today? New York City's Museum of Modern Art, of course:
It's huge and luminous, with soaring new spaces and an enviable collection of paintings and sculptures that define 20th-century art.
After a two-year expansion and renovation, the Museum of Modern Art is settling into its new home, designed by architect Yoshio Taniguchi. In the process, it's reinforcing its identity as the progressive institution envisioned by its founders 75 years ago.
How exciting, for Houstonians.
Since the story has a Chronicle byline, we assume MeMo sent a Chronicle staffer to do the front-line reporting. Just think of the money the Chronicle could have saved if MeMo had decided to cover a museum here in Texas.
And right below that MoMA piece is a Clifford Pugh story about "Desperate Housewives" fashion.
Seriously.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 11/18/04 01:30 PM | Houston Chronicle | Technorati | Comments (2)
Hearings scheduled for Metro service "changes"
We noted here Metro's latest proposal of service changes (mostly service cuts) and if you have a sharp eye you'll spot the little notice in today's Chronicle alerting Houstonians to tomorrow's Metro hearings to "discuss" the proposed cuts, oh uh, changes:
Metro will hold two public hearings Friday to receive comments on proposed service changes that would go into effect early next year. Changes being considered for January include ending service to the Alief Park & Ride on Route 262 and closing the lot. Also planned is an extension of Route 137 to the Maxey Road Park & Ride on Sundays. Routes facing potential elimination in April include 35, 41, 54, 64 and 89. The hearings will be at noon and 6 p.m. in the Metro board room at 1201 Louisiana.
So, up for "discussion" (let's face it - this "discussion" is window-dressing only) is ending service to the Alief Park & Ride on Route 262 and closing the lot there, eliminating routes 35, 41, 64 and 89. Oh, and extending one route.
Which leaves us to wonder how this fits into Metro's Solutions transit plan to add:
72 miles of additional rail service
50% more bus service
Signature Express bus service
250 miles of two-way,
all day Park & Ride service
Nine new Park & Ride lots
Nine new Transit Centers
and more!
Maybe that "and more!" is where all the cuts should be listed.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 11/18/04 10:10 AM | Houston Transit | Technorati | Comments (1)
17 November 2004
KHOU's unfortunate language
KHOU-11 reports on a big raid on prostitution houses in Houston:
Houston Police Vice Squad officers have shut down 10 houses of prostitution.
Police raided the locations of the Wildflower Group and Escape in Houston Group Tuesday.
In all, 54 people were arrested, but only seven were charged.
Those charged are the owners and managers of the establishments.
The women working at the establishments who cooperated with investigators were granted testimonial immunity.
Officers call the bust "huge" and say by going after the biggest operators they hope others will close down.
That bolded portion is just unfortunate, if you think about it.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 11/17/04 09:35 PM | Houston Media | Technorati | Comments (0)
Maybe that's why he's undercover
A man who turned out to have a loaded gun wandered into HPD on Monday and demanded to see Police Chief Harold Hurtt.
Fortunately, the man was arrested without incident.
Police Chief Hurtt was out of town, apparently not realizing that Out-of-Town Hurtt doesn't roll off the tongue nearly as well as Out-of-Town Brown.
Maybe now, though, we understand why he's the plainclothes police chief -- he wants to confuse random crazy people who wander into HPD with weapons!
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 11/17/04 09:30 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (1)
All hail Houston's busybody brigade
The Chronicle's Robert Crowe can't heap enough praise on the Houstonians who are writing parking tickets as part of the Municipal Volunteer Parking Program.
While we certainly appreciate the city's concern for making sure ineligible drivers aren't occupying handicapped parking spaces, we can't help but wonder why the city has to rely on "volunteers" to take care of city services like traffic/parking enforcement.
A city that has millions of dollars to spend on Tasers shouldn't have to depend on mostly unaccountable busybodies plucked off the street and given four hours of training for what should be basic city services.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 11/17/04 08:42 PM | Houston Life | Technorati | Comments (0)
Chron eye for the death row killer guy - cont'd
On Monday, it seemed Roma Khanna had let Jeff Cohen down.
In that installment of the Chron Eye for the Death Row Killer Guy, Khanna departed slightly from the Chron Eye formula, neglecting to mention redeeming prison activities of the death row killer (like poetry or knitting) and also neglecting any reference to HPD or the crime lab, while actually devoting column space to the victim.
However, Khanna rebounded strongly today (the death row killer guy is scheduled to be executed tonight), as lawyers brought out the kitchen sink in an effort to save the death row killer guy:
An attorney representing a Houston man scheduled to be executed today argued Tuesday his life should be spared because of problems with the police work and prosecution in the case.
Anthony Guy Fuentes, 30, is scheduled to receive a lethal injection this evening for the shooting death of Robert Pres-ton Tate, 28, after a robbery of a convenience store on Feb. 18, 1994. Fuentes admits he participated in the robbery but maintains he did not kill Tate.
An appeal filed Monday notes discrepancies in the testimony of eyewitnesses and argues that Houston police officers improperly questioned witnesses. Defense attorneys also argued that Harris County prosecutors knowingly allowed a witness to give false testimony and withheld information that would have allowed defense attorneys to expose inconsistencies.
"You have all of these witnesses who witness the same event, and they are all seeing different things — some of them are dramatically different," said Jim Marcus, executive director of the Texas Defender Service and one of Fuentes' lawyers. "There are so many problems with the eyewitness testimony, and the case really hangs on putting the right gun in Fuentes' hands."
Chronicle editor Jeff Cohen's wife, Kathryn Kase, is a prominent member of the Texas Defender Service.
Maybe that explains the journalistic resources devoted to the Chron Eye for the Death Row Killer Guy, even as entire sections are dropped and staff is laid off.
(Update) Anne Linehan calls my attention to the fact that the Texas Defender Service's website links to a recent Chronicle series, A Deadly Distinction, on Harris County as the "pipeline to death row" in Texas. How convenient!
(Update 2) This particular Death Row Killer Guy is no longer with us.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 11/17/04 08:21 PM | Houston Chronicle | Technorati | Comments (0)
Houston housing market is still hot
Houston home sales set a record for the month of October and are still on a record-setting pace for the year, according to this Houston Business Journal article:
Despite some signs of home sales slowing in other parts of the country, Houston's residential housing market continued to set records, according to statistics released by the Houston Association of Realtors Multiple Listing Service.
Total property sales for October reached 5,741, which represents the highest number of sales ever recorded in Houston in the month of October.
Year-to-date existing-home sales continue to rise ahead of last year's record-setting pace with 60,334 listings sold so far this year, a gain of more than 9 percent from the same period last year.
Year-to-date existing property sales through October 2003 totaled 55,154.
"The continuation of highly-favorable interest rates coupled with a net gain of 24,600 new jobs in the past 12 months in Houston resulted in an all-time record for housing sales for October," says Ted C. Jones, HAR chairman and Stewart Title chief economist.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 11/17/04 02:18 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (2)
Denigrating Rod Paige
Here's the last paragraph from today's Chronicle editorial on outgoing Education Secretary Rod Paige:
Perhaps the greatest irony of Paige's career is that although he grew up in segregated schools in Mississippi and served as dean of education at Houston's heavily black Texas Southern University, his biggest supporters, both in Washington and at HISD, have been white conservatives. However his accomplishments as education secretary are eventually rated by history, as a prophet he has clearly been underappreciated in his own community.
The left and the old media keep telling us that America is too divided by race, and that we need to become colorblind. So why does the old media keep defining people by race? Why can't Rod Paige's achievements stand on their own? Instead, the Chronicle attempts to minimize those achievements by saying he was only supported by white conservatives. That's so disrespectful. If Rod Paige was a liberal Democrat, I have no doubt the Chronicle would NOT have described him as being supported by white liberals.
But, just for fun, let's take a brief moment to look at who white liberals (including the Chronicle editors) have supported: former mayor Lee Brown, and former police chief C.O. Bradford.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 11/17/04 09:01 AM | Houston Chronicle | Technorati | Comments (5)
Disconsolate editors
The Chronicle editors are not happy campers. This whole media effort to unseat President Bush didn't turn out well, and that fact is settling in:
Specter, who supports a woman's right to choose abortion, is in line to become chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Anti-abortion activists who supported President Bush's bid for re-election are demanding that Specter be barred from the chairmanship.
Although Republican senators thwarted many of President Bill Clinton's judicial nominations, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist is incensed at Democratic filibusters that have kept a few of Bush's nominees off the appeals courts. Frist's frustration is evident in his threat to change the rule allowing 41 senators to prevent a bill or nomination from coming up for a final vote.
Meanwhile, outgoing Attorney General John Ashcroft criticized federal judges who refuse to exempt the Bush administration from laws and treaties outlawing inhumane treatment and imprisonment without charge or counsel. Ashcroft accused the judges of jeopardizing national security.
The Constitution, with its checks and balances, was expressly designed to keep such blanket exemptions from happening. The Senate rule requiring 60 votes to close debate has the same purpose and effect. These restrictions are frustrating to politicians eager for change. To date, however, the nation has suffered less harm from the checks and balances than it would suffer without them.
Andrew McCarthy of NRO has some thoughts on this issue of judges:
Nationally, Democrats are in the thrall of trial lawyers, civil-liberties activists, and the pro-choice lobby. These interest groups are no dummies — they fully appreciate that much of what they want to bring about as policy (e.g., abortion-on-demand, affirmative action, according constitutional protections to foreign enemy combatants) is unpopular with voters, while much of what is popular with voters (e.g., tort-reform) is anathema to them. They are reliant on activist judges willing to stretch the Constitution as a sheath that gives their preferences the cover of "fundamental law," insulating them from challenge at the ballot box. For them, then, there is no issue in national politics more crucial than the composition of the federal bench. It is, bluntly, the whole ballgame.
Does anyone think that if John Kerry had won the election, he wouldn't have nominated judges that followed his lines of thinking? The American people sent a message by reelecting President Bush and increasing the Republican majorities in the House and the Senate, and one issue (of many) was judicial appointments. The editors obviously aren't happy about it, but they're clearly not in the mainstream these days.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 11/17/04 07:29 AM | Houston Chronicle | Technorati | Comments (0)
16 November 2004
Is KLOL's demise just another publicity stunt?
Since KLOL-101's abrupt switch of format from album rock to Latino music, Ken Charles and Clear Channel have certainly generated a buzz.
The news has been on television. The news has been on other radio stations. The news has been on blogs. The news has even led to at least two online petitions.
With its death, KLOL has generated more buzz than it has generated in ages.
I'm starting to wonder if that's as coincidental as it seems.
Does anyone else remember the big controversy that ensued when 107.5 "The Buzz" FM announced that it would be closing up shop -- only to have the news trickle out a bit later that the alternative station would actually be swapping places on the dial with another Clear Channel station (moving to 94.5)?
What about the buzz Ken Charles generated when he dropped CBS News from KPRC after the Rathergate controversy?
And not all that long ago, he generated buzz in reaction to the agreement between Jerry Jones and Bob McNair not to offer Dallas Cowboys games on the radio to the Houston market (he wasn't able to pick up the Cowboys radio network, but instead a generic broadcast of selected Cowboys games).
I'm not saying that Charles has definitely pulled another publicity stunt and that a resurrected KLOL is going miraculously to reappear on the Houston radio dial. Only Ken Charles and the Clear Channel crew know that. But I am saying it wouldn't shock me.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 11/16/04 11:45 PM | Houston Media | Technorati | Comments (0)
Where's MeMo's Pulitzer Prize?
Here's MeMo's homage to William Safire:
Speaking of which, the Father of the Nattering Nabob is hanging up his quill after many years of nabobbing and other pointless alliteration. Alas, he intends to keep his language column.
So after that jab at Safire, a Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist, she continues with these profundities:
3.Have you seen these online CNN ads? They're very subservient chicken! Oooh, Anderson Cooper as a subservient chicken. We're totally there.
a. Octopus sex (warning: not for pre-adolescent invertebrates).
b. eBay: because people are basically good at heart. So they yank the grilled cheese sandwich that looks like the Blessed Virgin.4. During the fight, an awards ceremony broke out. How will this play on UPN? (There's still a UPN?)
a. C'mon. When was the last time you heard the phrase "rap session"? 1978? Sheesh. There goes Vanity Fair's street cred.
5. You can't sleep because of work. You can't work because you can't sleep. Soothe yourself with pretty things.
Sort of leaves one stunned.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 11/16/04 06:36 PM | Houston Chronicle | Technorati | Comments (5)
KSEV's "Financial Desk" misstates why Viagra ad was pulled
This morning on KSEV-700, Steve Drake, of KSEV's "Financial Desk," said that the FDA ordered Pfizer to pull its "Wild Thing" Viagra ad because the ad was too suggestive. That is NOT the reason why the FDA ordered the ad pulled:
"The TV ads omit the indication for the drug (namely, treatment of erectile dysfunction) and fail to provide information relating to the major side effects and contraindications of the drug, as required," Christine Hemler Smith, a Food and Drug Administration regulatory review officer, informed Pfizer in a letter posted on the agency's Web site.
[snip]
"The TV ads claim that Viagra will provide a return to a previous level of sexual desire and activity," Smith wrote to Robert B. Clark, a Pfizer vice president. "FDA is not aware of substantial evidence or substantial clinical experience demonstrating this benefit for patients who take Viagra," Smith wrote.
[snip]
Men who already have heart disease can risk further heart woes when they have sex, Smith's letter said. Viagra, approved to treat erectile dysfunction, should not be used by men with heart conditions whose doctors have warned them not to have sex. Also, patients taking drugs that contain nitrates have been warned not to take Viagra because of sudden, unsafe drops in blood pressure.
What Drake said is just flat-out wrong, according to the FDA letter to Pfizer.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 11/16/04 10:42 AM | Houston Media | Technorati | Comments (8)
Moving on and moving in
Heflin team in limbo over election challenge: Many in Capitol ready to move on after defeat by Vo (from the Chronicle):
Although veteran Republican state Rep. Talmadge Heflin still is contemplating a challenge to his 31-vote defeat, some members of both parties are acting like he's out and some are saying openly that he should accept his loss.
Heflin's lawyers said they hope to decide by Friday whether to request a recount, although the deadline for doing so isn't until after the Texas secretary of state certifies the election result next week. The Houston lawmaker also could contest the election in the state House.
[snip]
Some people in Austin already are waiting to move in, with a senior legislator claiming Heflin's Capitol office in a ritual that follows legislative elections. Based on seniority, returning House members get the chance to pick new offices being vacated by retiring or defeated members.
State Rep. Edmund Kuempel, R-Seguin, the only remaining member of the legislative group first seated in 1983 along with Heflin, claimed Heflin's third-floor office, one of the bigger ones in the Capitol.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 11/16/04 06:31 AM | Houston Politics | Technorati | Comments (0)
15 November 2004
Quannel X found guilty of reduced charge
Dale Lezon reports that the jury has reached a verdict in the Quannel X trial:
A jury today found Quanell X guilty of fleeing a police officer, a lesser offense than the charge of evading arrest he received when a fugitive was found in his car in June.
The jury had the option of convicting him on a lesser charge if all the conditions for that offense were met.
State Criminal District Judge Brock Thomas sentenced Quanell X to six months probation, a $300 fine and 30 hours of community service.
That resolution seems fair enough. We had previously predicted a guilty verdict, but given former Chief Bradford's testimony about unwritten policies that his successors didn't know about (but were still policies in his view), it's hard to blame the jury for reducing the charge.
Here is additional coverage from KPRC-2, KHOU-11, and KTRK-13.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 11/15/04 06:44 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (7)
The Chronicle is right, but late
The Chronicle's top editorial this morning is about HISD's finalist for superintendent:
After a perfunctory search, HISD trustees appoint the first Hispanic to be superintendent, a job thatapparently was his from the start.
Abelardo "Abe" Saavedra might be the best person in the nation to lead the Houston Independent School District. Unfortunately, Houstonians have no way of knowing. After a search that did not rise to the level of the pro forma, HISD trustees named Saavedra the only finalist.
Several HISD trustees had made it plain from the start that the job was Saavedra's to lose. Saavedra has been interim superintendent since Superintendent Kaye Stripling retired in June. To ensure that Saavedra did not lose it, HISD's search team limited the list of candidates to unemployed or soon to be unemployed school superintendents from much smaller districts.
Running one of the nation's largest school districts presents a daunting challenge. There is no person alive who can single-handedly ensure that every penny of the district's $1 billion annual budget is spent efficiently; every child is taught and encouraged to succeed; and all parents take an interest in their children's studies. However, if the search team could not find more than one talented leader from the field of public education, it should have broadened the search.
Certainly we agree with the Chronicle, as evidenced by blogHOUSTON's previous posts on this search. However, it would have been more helpful if the editors had spoken out like this BEFORE the sole finalist was chosen. A little prodding from Houston's one major paper could have pressured the trustees to put more effort into the superintendent search.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 11/15/04 10:59 AM | Houston Chronicle | Technorati | Comments (0)
TranStar gets a nod
Houston's TranStar gets a mention in this Reuters story on CNN.com about websites that help commuters:
The Greater Houston Transportation and Emergency Management Center provides a real-time traffic map with color-coded trouble spots in addition to up-to-the-minute reports on weather, accidents and incidents, road closures and construction projects.
The site is among the most sophisticated of its kind.
Kevin has written previously about TranStar here and here.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 11/15/04 09:24 AM | Houston Transit | Technorati | Comments (1)
Updated flood maps
After the widespread flooding from Tropical Storm Allison in 2001, FEMA and the Harris County Flood Control District formed the Tropical Storm Allison Recovery Project:
When the local rains finally eased, Allison had left Harris County, Texas, with 22 fatalities, 95,000 damaged automobiles and trucks, 73,000 damaged residences, 30,000 stranded residents in shelters, and over $5 billion in property damage in its wake. Simply put, everything about Allison was "off-the-charts."
One of the goals of the project was to redraw the Flood Insurance Rate Maps:
The purpose of the TSARP project is to develop technical products that will assist the local community in recovery from the devastating flooding, and provide the community with a greater understanding of flooding and flood risks. An end product of the study will include new Flood Insurance Rate Maps, with new delineations of Special Flood Hazard Areas.
Those maps are now available here. Residents can enter an address to see the map for a specific area.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 11/15/04 07:04 AM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (0)
14 November 2004
Avoiding Metro Rail like the plague
Here's a smart driver's education teacher:
Steve Trimble has been teaching driver's education for more than 20 years and owns Courtesy Driving School of Katy.
[snip]
"People say, `It's a driver's ed. car, stay away.' But we've got dual controls, extra brakes. We are paying attention to what we're doing. (An accident) is rare."
And no, he doesn't take students downtown by Metro Rail.
"We avoid that like the plague," Trimble said.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 11/14/04 07:20 PM | Houston Transit | Technorati | Comments (0)
Recollection day at the Chronicle
The Chronicle's three partisan staff editorialists must be worn out from all the electioneering and "bad guy" articles they've penned through the election season.
That's the best explanation I can manage for today's "recollection series," in which Clay Robison recalls Governor Bush's efforts at tax reform in Texas, Rick Casey recalls his time as a non-Harris County grand juror, and Robison further recalls various Texas election challenges (a double shot of Robison).
While it's not especially groundbreaking or exciting journalism (although Robison seems way out there with his speculation of what might happen to Republicans IF they vote for a new election in the Heflin/Vo race IF Heflin contests the election -- so many IFs would suggest to good editors this story isn't ripe for publication yet), it's at least not offensive journalism.
Even Cragg Hines seems to have dialed down the rhetoric on the editorial page today.
We're happy to applaud such baby steps from those three columnists. Maybe more trips down memory lane are in order for at least two of them. Whatever it takes!
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 11/14/04 04:44 PM | Houston Chronicle | Technorati | Comments (0)
Those Mr.'s can be tricky
Here's an amusing edit job by the Chronicle of a N.Y. Times story. It's a piece about Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada who is expected to become the new Senate minority leader. Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska likens Sen. Reid to Mister Rogers:
"When the conservative talk show hosts start saying bad things about Harry Reid, it will be like attacking Mr. Rogers," Senator Ben Nelson, Democrat of Nebraska, said of Mr. Reid, who shares Mr. Rogers's affection for a cardigan.
The N.Y. Times often refers to people in articles with a Mr. or a Ms. in front of the last name. So Sen. Reid was referred to as Mr. Reid and Sen. Joe Biden was referred to as Mr. Biden. The problem begins with the N.Y. Times reporters writing Mr. Rogers. The correct way is to spell out Mister. Then, the Chronicle takes all the Mr.'s out of the story, as is its norm, and we get this:
"When the conservative talk show hosts start saying bad things about Harry Reid, it will be like attacking Rogers," Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., said of Reid, who shares Rogers' affection for cardigans.
Woops! It took me several readings and a check of the story on the N.Y. Times website to confirm that Sen. Nelson was talking about Mister Rogers.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 11/14/04 01:44 PM | Houston Chronicle | Technorati | Comments (0)
13 November 2004
Saavedra is HISD superintendent finalist
In what clearly is not a stunning development, the HISD board has announced its finalist for superintendent:
The Houston Independent School District's board named interim Superintendent Abelardo Saavedra as the person it wants to succeed Kaye Stripling as superintendent of the nation's seventh-largest school district.
Saavedra emerged from a field of 22 candidates as the sole finalist today after an interview. He was one of four semifinalists. The board plans to vote on Stripling's successor Dec. 9.
Those quality candidates HISD brought in sure gave Saavedra a run for it. Look, Saavedra may indeed be the best person for the job, but conducting a less than half-hearted search doesn't benefit the students and parents of HISD. Saavedra should have been made to fight for the job, to rise to the level of the challenge. Instead the outcome was almost predetermined with some board members making it clear that Saavedra was their first choice.
This is an AP story, but it's pretty much taken straight from the HISD press release, quotes and all. I would assume that Jason Spencer of the Chronicle will have an actual story in tomorrow's paper.
UPDATE: The link at the top of this post now takes you to the Chronicle-authored story, not the AP press release story.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 11/13/04 06:04 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (0)
Sorting out the Quanell/Bradford/HPD/media confusion
Testimony in the Quanell X trial ended this week, with Quannel X's attorneys contending that he had a deal to bring in cop-shooter Derrick Forney and HPD brass contending there was no such deal in place.
Despite having plenty of time to work on this story, the local media hasn't been much help in sorting it out.