31 July 2005
Area blogosphere tackles mass transit, light rail
The Houston-area blogosphere currently is engaged in an interesting, frank discussion of mass transit and light rail in the city.
Tory Gattis got the latest round going with his post, A hypothesis on the deeper psychology of light rail:
For transit, it's relatively cost efficient and maximizes federal funds. It will probably actually move a fair number of people. It connects most of the core attractions and job centers of our city with only two crossing lines. It'll probably generate a fair amount of high-density new-urbanist development along the lines. With more bus-rail transfers/connections, it's probably going to actually make a lot of trips more inconvenient for a lot of the transit dependent and reduce overall ridership (as it has already), but the more transit-dependent parts of town voted the most overwhelmingly for the plan, so it must be a tradeoff they're willing to make. Sure, it's a little bit of a splurge for the city, but haven't you ever splurged on something nice for your house that wasn't pure economic rationality?
Tom Kirkendall, who might well be described as the economist-rationalist blogger, responded today with The psychology of light rail:
Tory is clearly on to something in that there appears to be an element of a civic inferiority complex underlying some folks' support for light rail. However, Tory's point still does not explain why people who need mass transit the most -- i.e., folks who cannot afford the cost of buying and maintaining a car -- support light rail, which certainly does not improve their mobility and, by drawing resources away from mobility projects that would, probably harms it.
[snip]
Meanwhile, the light rail interest groups garner support for light rail from the part of the electorate that actually needs mass transit by simultaneously limiting the mass transit choices and threatening that part of the electorate with loss of the governmental funds for mass transit if they fail to support light rail. Thus, a referendum on mass transit issues is never promoted with choices between alternatives such as a light rail system, one one hand, and a cheaper and more effective bus-based system system, on the other. It's simply an "all or nothing" choice, and folks who need mass transit will understandably vote in favor of getting their share of public transportation funds even if it does not improve their mobility one iota. Indeed, given the cost of light rail systems, one wonders how those citizens who actually need mass transit would vote if the alternative were a light rail system, on one hand, and a new Toyota Prius for each such citizen, on the other? Frankly, the cost of the latter alternative would likely be cheaper than most any light rail plan.
So, at the end of the day, where does that leave us? Is it wrong that people who need mass transit vote in favor of something that does not really address their needs? No ... but it troubles me when they are misled in doing so.
And Laurence Simon, a regular user of mass transit in Houston, notes one constituency that seems to be availing itself of the light rail:
I didn't think much of it at the time, but there were at least two obvious bums on the Danger Train during my ride on Friday evening. As we like to say at work: "They reek like Dialup."
"Got a buck... anyone got a buck, just one buck... all I need."
[snip]
It didn't take long for the platforms to turn into bum-magnets. I rarely get to a platform without having to pass by at least one actively-soliciting beggar. But it's not like there's an organized flock of them... yet.
Look for the Houston-area blogosphere -- unlike the local newspaper -- to continue to foster a true debate over area mass-transit policy.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 07/31/05 09:44 PM | Houston Transit | Technorati | Comments (0)
Shock: A Sunday editorial page mostly free of "olds"
After several weeks of stale Sunday editorial page content, James Howard Gibbons finally put together a Sunday page that is almost entirely fresh, and even contains a fair number of op-eds of local interest.
Apparently, Mr. Gibbons couldn't resist running one bit of "olds" by Jonathan Chait, for obvious reasons:
Earlier this month, when President Bush met with Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III to interview him for a potential Supreme Court nomination, the conversation turned to exercise. When asked by the president of the United States how often he exercised, Wilkinson impressively responded that he runs 3 1/2 miles a day. Bush urged him to adopt more cross-training. "He warned me of impending doom," Wilkinson told The New York Times.
Am I the only person who finds this disturbing?
The crew at Brothers Judd answered that question rather well with their headline way back on July 22, when Chait's op-ed appeared in the LA Times.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 07/31/05 09:18 PM | Houston Chronicle | Technorati | Comments (0)
Chronicle reports on HPD manpower shortage
The Chronicle's Anne Marie Kilday reported Friday on the graduation of 63 new officers from the Houston Police Academy:
After 26 weeks of intensive training, 63 new police officers were sworn in at graduation ceremonies from the Houston Police Academy on Friday night, a giant step for them and a small step toward reducing a serious staffing shortage in the department.
[snip]
The graduates will boost a police department that is struggling with a lack of officers.
The department currently employs 4,365 officers, compared with 5,384 officers in 1996. More recently, about 660 officers have retired since a 14 percent pay raise went into effect in April 2004. Many had been waiting to retire with the increased pension benefits the raise allowed.
Hurtt said earlier this week that it would take about five academy classes each year to return to 1996 staffing levels by 2009 or 2010.
It's good to see the Chronicle give some coverage to HPD's manpower shortage. Aside from KHOU-11, most major Houston media have been strangely silent about the problem, allowing Mayor White and his Council largely to ignore it.
It still needs to be more of a priority.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 07/31/05 08:42 PM | Houston Life | Technorati | Comments (1)
Did Reliant cut its newspaper advertising budget?
The Chronicle editorial idealists think more Houstonians need to switch electricity providers:
[O]ne factor keeping electricity rates in Texas higher than they need to be is the reluctance of consumers to shop around for the best deal. While few businesses can afford to pass up available savings, less than a third of households have bothered to make a change in electricity providers.
With energy prices at record levels, unadjusted for inflation, even a 5 percent savings is worth a little effort. At 5 percent off, a homeowner whose monthly electricity bill averages $300 saves $180 in a year. One provider offers Houstonians a 16 percent savings.
Electricity deregulation is relatively new, and many residents just don't want to spend the time to shop for electricity that flows from the outlet just the same no matter who provides it. Only the billing will change. But the more Texans switch providers, the more providers will offer lower prices and better service to customers.
Reliant must not be spending enough on advertising with the Chronicle, because the newspaper never targets big local businesses that way.
Since the idealists are so critical of those of us who haven't switched from Reliant, perhaps each member of the editorial board could tell James T. Campbell the name of his or her electric provider, and he could post it on his blog. After all, if they're going to be critical of folks for not switching, they should surely let us know where they're getting good deals.
Incidentally, KTRK-13's Jeff Ehling ran an informative piece nearly two months ago on shopping for electricity providers.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 07/31/05 08:32 PM | Houston Chronicle | Technorati | Comments (0)
He didn't ask, "boxers or briefs?"
We've long been pushing for streamed audio/video of Chronicle interviews with newsmakers.
Reading excerpts of Matt Stiles interviewing Republican National Committee head Ken Mehlman and Democratic National Committee head Howard Dean is almost enough to make us rethink that idea.
Indeed, one senses Dean couldn't believe some of the questions he got:
Q: How many times have you appeared with Ken Mehlman? Is that rare?
A: I actually don't appear with Ken Mehlman.
Q: At the same event?
A: Well, that's not unusual. That's sort of part of the deal.
That's an embarrassing exchange.
Why in the world didn't the Chronicle find someone who could conduct an intelligent interview of two senior, important national political operatives?
ANNE LINEHAN ADDS: blogHOUSTON has never run a contest, but maybe it's time since the Chronicle's Q and A appears to be a regular feature.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 07/31/05 08:00 PM | Houston Chronicle | Technorati | Comments (12)
Registration begins for expanded HISD pre-K program
One of the nice parts of HISD's new budget is the expanded pre-K program. We were happy to see local media cover it last week:
For the first time, HISD says it will be able to place all eligible 4-year-olds in pre-kindergarten.
It's a nearly $2 million move by the district, but the price of the pre-k expansion could be priceless to the students it will serve.
[snip]
Starting this year, HISD says all eligible pre-k children will be served, free of charge. That's different than in past years, when HISD had to turn away thousands of children.
"The early childhood program really creates the educational foundation for young people. It is crucial that we start as early as possible," says Dr. Abe Saavedra. "HISD has four pre-k centers. Two new ones will be opening next month."
HISD says the new schools will add more than 1,100 pre-k slots.
All told, an estimated 15,500 children will be in HISD pre-k, up 11,000 from the last school year.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 07/31/05 07:11 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (0)
Delegation Watch mans the fax machine
In Delegation Watch, Samantha Levine reports that Republicans fared poorly in the "National Hispanic Leadership Agenda's latest congressional scorecard, which looked at how lawmakers voted on issues that affect Hispanics."
One look at the press release (pdf) NHLA sent out explains why Republicans didn't do well: the groups that make up the NHLA (page 2) and the issues (beginning on page 14) used in the scorecard have a decidedly leftist tilt.
In other breaking news, Republicans also didn't do well in scorecards sent to the media by Big Labor, NOW and NARAL, and the NAACP.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 07/31/05 09:52 AM | Houston Chronicle | Technorati | Comments (0)
White House Watch tackles a critical issue
Julie Mason's White House Watch explores the nail-biting question of whether or not President Bush gave the press corps "the finger":
A second term may produce a certain nonchalance on the part of the incumbent, but questions were raised last week as to whether President Bush had taken the attitude to extremes.
The president visited the Capitol to speak privately with Republicans. Exiting the Wednesday meeting after about an hour, Bush gestured grandly with his hand at a clutch of reporters gathered outside.
The gesture was replayed during Jay Leno's Tonight Show monologue, where videotape was shown of the president, to gales of laughter from a studio audience that thought it was a well-known, silent put-down.
The next day, the true nature of the gesture was probed at the White House, where Ken Herman of Cox Newspapers asked spokesman Scott McClellan to explain it:
McClellan, testy as he battled a head cold, responded, "Ken, I'm not even going to dignify that with much of a response. But if someone is misportraying something, that's unfortunate."
Herman pressed on, asking whether the gesture was in fact "a finger of hostility."
McClellan said he was there when it happened and should know.
"I mean, I haven't seen the video that you're talking about, but I know the way the president acts. And if someone is misportraying it, that's unfortunate," McClellan said.
For the record, that was not a denial. And if McClellan indeed knows the way the president acts, he surely remembers a widely circulated videotape from Bush's second term as Texas governor, in which he playfully addresses the camera with an unambiguous middle finger.
"That's the one-finger victory salute," Bush said then.
Still, it remains unclear whether the same gesture was indeed made by an older and presumably wiser Bush at the Capitol. Repeated viewing of the tape, and further clarification from McClellan, suggests the raised digit was possibly a thumb.
Good grief! Slow news week, eh?
Strangely, Julie Mason and the Chronicle didn't provide a link to the tape. You can see it here and decide for yourself. Also note that reporters who were present think the President raised his thumb.
So...what is the point of White House Watch, anyway? Is it an opportunity to print up the latest gossip, or is it to offer up some tidbits of White House news that might not otherwise have received much press attention? It would be helpful if that was clarified.
KEVIN WHITED ADDS: May I answer that one?
My best guess is it's an attempt to cover up the fact that the newspaper doesn't have the access in D.C. that a Texas newspaper should, and therefore has to come up with something to justify its continued existence. It goes something like "we don't ever break important stories or get good quotes from Texas pols and aides, BUT here's a column that shows we exist!"
Readers are welcome, as always, to share their answers!
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 07/31/05 08:36 AM | Houston Chronicle | Technorati | Comments (0)
30 July 2005
How about a gardening blog?
Saturday is the one day of the week I don't miss the "star" section, because of its gardening focus. I especially enjoy reading Kathy Huber's column and the Lazy Gardener.
Along those lines, I would love to see the Chronicle add a gardening blog to its growing family of blogs.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 07/30/05 01:19 PM | Houston Chronicle | Technorati | Comments (2)
Why won't professional journalists embrace transparency?
The crew at PowerLine have noted that quite a few professional journalists have been asking to interview conservative talker Hugh Hewitt, because he worked with Supreme Court nominee John Roberts in the White House.
Interestingly, though, the journalists refuse truly to go on the record by conducting their interviews on Hewitt's radio program, so that normal folks can actually compare what the journalists write versus what Hewitt says in its full context.
Locally, we'd like the Houston Chronicle to take advantage of its partnership with KHOU-11 and put up full audio/video of editorial board meetings with politicians and others -- instead of acting as gatekeepers who selectively report those meetings in order to boost an agenda.
We think transparency would force the editorial board to be more professional and become more informed.
Perhaps when reader representative James T. Campbell is done contemplating his newspaper's coverage of women's professional basketball and defending his newspaper's not wholly accurate use of the term "insurgents" rather than "terrorists" (or was that post simply a chance to take potshots at Fox News and conservative ideologues?) to describe militants who increasingly target civilians, he can address our proposal.
Indeed, since Mr. Campbell laments in his latest post having to debate ideology rather than journalism (never mind that many choices at the newspaper seem to reflect an ideology that isn't at all neutral), we would think he'd welcome the opportunity to address our non-ideological proposal for more transparency for the editorial board.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 07/30/05 01:13 PM | Houston Chronicle | Technorati | Comments (1)
Have they reached "good guy" status yet?
How much longer can Reps. Tom DeLay and John Culberson remain Chronicle and Metro "bad guys" with news like this:
Metro says it got all it wanted and then some in a transportation bill Congress passed Friday, including authorization for at least $245 million toward its revised transit plan featuring rail and guided busways.
That's a huge turnaround since the previous bill, when legislation backed by local congressional leaders blocked the Metropolitan Transit Authority from using federal money for any rail project.
But in June the ice finally broke.
Mayor Bill White and Metro officials announced that House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Sugar Land, who previously had blocked rail funding, and another rail critic, U.S. Rep. John Culberson, R-Houston, had agreed to help the agency obtain $1 billion in federal funding over the next 10 years.
The bill passed Friday also gives Metro credit toward federal matching money for $324 million already spent on its Main Street light rail line, which was built without federal assistance.
On Friday, the mayor and Metro leaders had nothing but praise for DeLay's work in helping get the agency back on track.
In a statement headed "Promises made, promises kept," Metro President and CEO Frank Wilson said DeLay and others in Congress "kept their commitments and ushered in a new era of cooperation and support."
White echoed the theme. "From Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison to Majority Leader Tom DeLay and on, our entire congressional delegation has stepped up to move us forward," he said.
"There's more than we had asked for," White said. "We requested the members of the House and Senate to fight for Houston, to get the maximum amount of money we could. We have people who can, every year, make sure that ... Congress is able to disburse the money."
Culberson and Hutchison sit on congressional committees responsible for doling out federal transportation dollars.
Amid the jubilation, however, spokesmen for Metro, DeLay and Culberson emphasized that the bill, which covers the remaining four years of the 2004-09 transportation funding cycle, does not actually guarantee money for Metro. The agency still must win Federal Transit Administration approval of its projects and compete with other cities for annual appropriations. But the authorization, they said, shows strong support from Congress, which should increase Metro's clout with the FTA and make it easier to sell bonds for the agency's local match of the federal dollars.
Will the Chronicle's editorial board be mollified now?
KEVIN WHITED ADDS: Actually, I think the political game is a little more complicated. Mayor White and staff framed this issue beautifully, including their consultations with Reps. Culberson (R) and DeLay (R) and not Democrats whose districts are also affected. That way, when minorities object that they aren't getting the rail or the bus expansion they were promised, Mayor White deflects all criticism to Culberson and DeLay, saying they forced this plan on him, and he reluctantly went along because it was better than nothing (despite their denials that they helped at all in formulating this plan). And White therefore will continue to count on minority votes when he moves on to his seemingly inevitable statewide political race.
Rep. Culberson and his staff got played by our "aww shucks" mayor on this one (at least House Majority DeLay's staff had the good sense to be FAR away from it). No wonder they want to change the topic to border militias.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 07/30/05 11:11 AM | Houston Transit | Technorati | Comments (0)
New water playground opens at the Houston Zoo
The Houston Zoo has a new feature for children -- a water playground:
The Houston Zoo will debut its latest attraction for visitors on Saturday -- a water playground at the McGovern Children's Zoo designed in a coastal fishing village setting.
The new feature includes five pop jet fountains and three foaming fountains. A computer recirculates 800 gallons of chlorine-treated water through the fountains in a random pattern so visitors never know which fountain will spout next.
The water playground was a gift from The W.T. and Louise J. Moran Foundation and cost approximately $260,000.
From first-hand experience, I can tell you that children LOVE water playgrounds!
UPDATE: Brian Hill, Houston Zoo's Public Affairs Director, emails that there are a few bugs to be worked out and the water playground is not working right now. He said they hope to have it up and running again next week.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 07/30/05 10:47 AM | Houston Life | Technorati | Comments (6)
29 July 2005
MFAH to host baseball discussion
The Chronicle's David Barron alerts readers to what should be some interesting baseball talk Saturday morning:
Curt Smith, whose book Voices of Summer we discussed recently, is in town for a Saturday morning lecture in conjunction with the Baseball Hall of Fame exhibit at the Houston Museum of Fine Arts.
Smith will discuss baseball and broadcasting with Astros announcers Milo Hamilton and Larry Dierker and Chronicle columnist Richard Justice at 11 a.m. Saturday at Brown Auditorium in the museum's Caroline Wiess Law Building.
The discussion — unless Richard starts telling Earl Weaver stories, at which point it becomes a monologue — is free of charge with admission to the museum ($7 for adults, $3.50 for seniors, students with IDs and children age 6-18).
I guess I should just give up with regard to the "chummy" personal nature of so much Chronicle writing. Tomorrow's conversation ought to be interesting to baseball fans.
On a related note, the Astros announced today that Milo Hamilton will cut back on the broadcasts next season, and will broadcast home games only.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 07/29/05 10:42 PM | Houston Life | Technorati | Comments (3)
Metro's latest service changes go into effect August 14
By the way, Metro has posted a new round of service "adjustments":
METRO Service and Schedule Adjustments Coming August 14, 2005
METRO regularly looks for ways to improve its service to the community. These adjustments help us provide affordable, reliable and accessible service now and position us to expand our service in the future. Please review the information in this brochure for any changes that will affect your daily commute.
NOTE: Trips considered for elimination have experienced low ridership for an extended time. By discontinuing low-performing trips, METRO makes the best use of its resources, including your tax dollars, to provide Houston-area residents with transit services that are affordable, reliable and accessible.
Service Adjustments/Schedule Adjustments
1 Hospital
Weekday, Saturday and Sunday – Modified route inside the Veterans Administration Medical Center campus (effective 5-29-05).3 Langley
Weekday, Saturday and Sunday – Select northbound trips will start service at Bretshire and Homestead.4 Beechnut
Weekday – Adjust frequencies to match ridership demands. Change southbound PM peak frequency (3:00 – 7:00 p.m.) from 8 to 10 minutes. Change northbound AM peak frequency (5:00 – 9:00 a.m.) from 7 to 10 minutes. Change northbound PM peak frequency (3:00 – 7:00 p.m.) from 15 to 20 minutes.7 Tanglewood
Weekday and Saturday – Renumber to the 6 Jensen/Tanglewood. Service remains unchanged.17 Gulfton
Weekday and Saturday – Renumber to the 9 Gulfton/North Main. Service remains unchanged.18 Kirby Limited
Weekday – Discontinue the 9:32 p.m. southbound trip and the 9:40 p.m. and 10:25 p.m. northbound trips due to low ridership.26/27 Outer/Inner Loop Crosstown
Weekday, Saturday and Sund – Modified route inside Veterans Administration Medical Center campus (effective 5-29-05).37 El Sol Crosstown
Weekday, Saturday and Sunday – Modify the route to remove it from portions of Glendale, Hanover and Woodvale and change frequency from 35 to 40 minutes to provide more reliable service.72 Westview Circulator
Weekday – Discontinue the 8:30 p.m., 8:55 p.m., 9:20 p.m. and 9:45 p.m. westbound trips and the 5:14 a.m., 9:04 p.m., 9:29 p.m. and 9:54 p.m. eastbound trips due to low ridership.
Weekday, Saturday and Sunday – Modify the route to operate via Bingle between Long Point and Westview.98 Briargate Circulator
Weekday – Discontinue the 4:35 a.m., 9:30 p.m. and 10:05 p.m. eastbound trips and the 5:10 a.m., 9:30 p.m., 10:05 p.m. and 10:40 p.m. westbound trips due to low ridership.101 Hobby Airport Express
Weekday and Saturday – Renumber to the 88 Hobby Airport. Service remains unchanged.163 Fondren Express
Weekday – Add one afternoon northbound trip at 4 p.m. from Burdine and Gasmer to the Hillcroft Transit Center. Add one afternoon southbound trip at 3:14 p.m. from Sharpstown Center to Burdine and Gasmer to meet passenger demand.214 Northwest Station Park & Ride
Weekday – Add one morning trip at 6 a.m. from the Northwest Station Park & Ride to Downtown. Add one afternoon trip at 3:50 p.m. from Louisiana and St. Joseph Parkway to the Northwest Station Park & Ride to meet passenger demand.221 Kingsland Park & Ride
Weekday – Add one morning trip at 6:48 a.m. from the Kingsland Park & Ride to Downtown. Add one evening trip at 5:32 p.m. from Louisiana and Jefferson to the Kingsland Park & Ride to eliminate passenger overloads.257 Townsen Park & Ride
Weekday – Adjust evening trip times between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. to match ridership demand.265 West Bellfort Park & Ri
Weekday – Add two morning trips at 6:39 a.m. and 7:15 a.m. from the West Bellfort Park & Ride to Downtown. Add two evening trips at 4 p.m. and 5:14 p.m. from Congress and LaBranch to the West Bellfort Park & Ride to eliminate passenger overloads.273 Gessner Park & Ride
274 Westchase Park & Ride
Weekday – Combine routes and rename the 274 Westchase-Gessner. The route will serve the Westchase and Gessner Park & Ride lots. Replace the two morning trips at 7:05 a.m. and 7:20 a.m. on the 273 Gessner Park & Ride with existing morning trips at 7:05 a.m. and 7:20 a.m. on the 274 Westchase Park & Ride. Replace the two evening trips at 4:55 p.m. and 5:04 p.m. on the 273 Gessner Park & Ride with existing evening trips at 4:55 p.m. and 5:10 p.m. on the 274 Westchase Park & Ride.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 07/29/05 07:52 PM | Houston Transit | Technorati | Comments (3)
HISD looking for "Reach Out to Dropouts Day" volunteers
HISD is getting ready for its second annual effort to convince dropouts to return to school:
Help keep Houston’s kids in school—be a part of HISD’s second annual Reach Out to Dropouts Day (ROTD) initiative!
Last year, hundreds of teachers, counselors, administrators, business people, parents, and other volunteers formed teams to walk the neighborhoods surrounding eight HISD high schools on the district’s inaugural Reach Out to Dropouts Day. The teams visited the homes of students who did not return to class when the 2004–2005 school year began and encouraged the students to return to school to complete their education. Their efforts were so successful that HISD recovered 41 students that day and another 61 students came back to school later as a result of the door-to-door effort.
Now, HISD is gearing up for the second annual Reach Out to Dropouts Day—but to make this effort a success your involvement is essential. The effort has been expanded to 16 schools this year, which means more volunteers are needed to staff a phone bank on August 23 and 24 (in two-hour shifts) and to join other groups of volunteers in visiting students’ homes on Saturday, August 27 (from 8:00 a.m. to noon).
Here are the participating schools: Austin High School, Chavez High School, Davis High School, Furr High School, Jones High School, Kashmere High School, Lee High School, Madison High School, Milby High School, Sam Houston High School, Scarborough High School, Sharpstown High School, Waltrip High School, Washington High School, Westbury High School, Worthing High School.
Last year's outreach effort resulted in more than 100 students returning to school.
RELATED: Former HISD dropouts get back on track and graduate (bH)
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 07/29/05 11:01 AM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (0)
Chron bashes Harris County law enforcement
The Chronicle's editorial board writes a ridiculous editorial today about the Brazilian man who was killed by London police after he refused to follow police directions:
When British police fatally shot an innocent man, Brazilian national Jean Charles de Menezes, the outcry was loud and sustained. The shooting, coming in the wake of the London subway and bus bombings that killed 52, made international headlines. Mistaken for a terrorist, Menezes was shot at point-blank range. His killing raised the question of how far British police should go to thwart terrorism.
And leave it to the idealists to find a way to bash Houston-area law enforcement:
According to reporting by Chronicle writers Roma Khanna and Lise Olsen, an astonishing 193 police officers from 18 law enforcement agencies in Harris County killed or wounded 189 people over a five-year span ending in 2004. In 65 cases, the victim was unarmed. In some cases the officer fired into the suspect's back or into a moving vehicle. Twenty-three cases involved the mentally ill.
That's referring to the "special report" on police shootings the Chronicle ran last year. What the Chronicle fails to point out whenever it mentions its "special report," is this:
Earlier this year, Harris County District Attorney Chuck Rosenthal invited members of the editorial board to the basement of the Harris County Court House to experience the Shoot/Don’t Shoot Course – a state-of-the-art virtual reality program used to train law enforcement officers how to deal with a variety of simulated, life-threatening scenarios. According to those who witnessed the exercise, a majority of the editorial board members “killed” both innocent citizens and unarmed suspects. One reportedly shot a child – and was, understandably, so upset by their decision they could not continue the course.
Of course, sitting in an office at 801 Texas Avenue is much easier than being on the street, having to make split-second, life-and-death decisions.
RELATED: Owen Courreges and Sedosi
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 07/29/05 10:54 AM | Houston Chronicle | Technorati | Comments (2)
Rep. Culberson discusses border protection with Edd Hendee
Rep. John Culberson is on with Edd Hendee (KSEV-700) right now discussing this:
Adding an unusual proposal to the searing debate over illegal immigration, U.S. Rep. John Culberson of Houston introduced a bill late Thursday to let Texas and other border states establish armed militias to catch people trying to illegally cross from Mexico and Canada.
The bill, which he called a "thunderclap," is more than a solitary, symbolic gesture by the Republican lawmaker: It has 46 Republican co-sponsors.
It comes as the White House, Congress and local officials are becoming increasingly immersed in efforts to find the best way to secure the borders and perhaps also establish a "guest worker" program to let immigrants stay in the United States as temporary legal residents.
Gov. Rick Perry indicated he is open to Culberson's idea.
"Illegal immigration has become a pervasive problem in this country, and it is a drain on our economy," Perry said. "Regardless of the mechanism, the federal government must provide a stronger presence along the border and must provide substantially more funding for border protection."
Among Culberson's co-sponsors are 10 Texans, including freshmen Reps. Ted Poe of Humble and Michael McCaul of Austin.
The measure's stated goal is to let governors create a Border Protection Corps of citizens to shield the country from "uniquely devious, criminal, cowardly and fanatically determined" terrorist organizations.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 07/29/05 08:24 AM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (3)
Lawsuit filed against Harris County's Appraisal District and ARB
A local real estate services firm has filed a lawsuit against the Harris County Appraisal District and the Appraisal Review Board, saying that the agencies are not following the law during appraisal protests:
The lawsuit, filed Monday by O'Connor & Associates, alleges that Harris County's appraisal review board, which weighs protests, does not act independently of the Harris County Appraisal District, which appraises property.
Jim Robinson, Harris County's chief appraiser, said the lawsuit is without merit and that review panels reduce appraised values in 70 percent to 80 percent of cases brought before them.
The plaintiff argues that the appraisal district has inappropriate influence over the process of challenging appraisals, including controlling the scheduling of hearings, and fails to provide advance copies of its evidence, as required by law.
"Some (appraisal review board) panels ignore the property owner's evidence of unequal appraisal even under circumstances where the district presents no evidence at all," the lawsuit says.
RELATED: O'Connor files suit against Appraisal District and Review Board (Houston Business Journal)
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 07/29/05 07:35 AM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (2)
28 July 2005
Where are the vaunted editors?
From time to time, journalists at newspapers still tout the superiority of their product to blogs, and frequently the editing process is cited.
So, does that mean that we can lay the blame for the Chronicle's lapses in quality on editors and the editorial process?
That's not a rhetorical question. Some recent Chronicle gaffes have left us wondering about the vaunted editorial process.
For example, on Wednesday, the Chronicle led off an editorial on Tuesday's space-shuttle launch as follows:
Once again a crew of the space shuttle Discovery has put America's space program back on course after the second of two disasters that took the lives of 14 astronauts, destroyed two shuttles and grounded the fleet. The thunder and fire of what appeared to be a nearly flawless launch Tuesday from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida served notice that NASA's commitment to station Americans permanently in space and eventually to take them well beyond Earth's orbit is back at full throttle and soaring upward.
As Matt Bramanti has pointed out, same-day news coverage of the launch made clear that it was not "nearly flawless." Since then, we've learned the launch was so flawed that future launches are again on hold.
Today, Erica Holzer of the Chronicle's underwhelming D.C. bureau is responsible for the following:
The vote, which was meant to take 15 minutes, lasted over an hour as the party leadership worked the floor, arm-twisting the undecideds. In the final 217-215 tally, 27 Republicans voted against CAFTA and 15 Democrats supported it.
It's time for a friendly blogHOUSTON grammar lesson. "Arm-twisting" is a noun formed by hyphenating the noun "arm" and the verb "twisting" (i.e. "The guy who was twisting my arm was engaged in arm-twisting"). Holzer manages to take a noun formed by hyphenation, and use it as a verb! It's hard to imagine why she or an editor didn't substitute "twisting the arms of undecideds" for the grammatical atrocity.
Finally, we've already pointed out the unfortunate use of the term "final solution" in an editorial about Israel -- a choice that reader representative James T. Campbell still has not addressed (in fairness, he's been very busy blogging about important matters like his newspaper's coverage of women's professional basketball). Here's another snippet from that editorial that seems less than ideal:
He's got no plans to give up any of the more than 100 remaining West Bank settlements where most of Israel's 240,000 settlers live.
Wouldn't "He has no plans" have been a much better choice?
So, where are the vaunted editors who are supposed to catch these sorts of problems that we hear bedevil blogs (and not professional media)? Are they on vacation?
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 07/28/05 10:41 PM | Houston Chronicle | Technorati | Comments (4)
Houston Democrat announces bid for governor
The coverage by Associated Press reporters Wendy Benjaminson and Jim Vertuno contained the following information:
Bell is best known for accusing House Majority Leader Tom DeLay of ethical violations. DeLay, a Houston-area Republican, was instrumental in the GOP-led Texas congressional redistricting effort that resulted in Bell's defeat.
Although DeLay was admonished by the House, Bell also was criticized for exaggerating misconduct allegations against the GOP leader.
Kristen Mack's coverage, which completely replaced the earlier AP coverage on the Chron.com website in the usual annoying fashion, drops some of the information contained in that earlier version:
The best-known legacy of Bell's single term was the ethics complaint he filed against DeLay, who later was admonished by the House Ethics Committee.
The Associated Press version was more informative, if less complimentary. The Bell press people should certainly drop Kristen Mack and the Houston Chronicle a thank-you note.
UPDATE: We should point out that the Perry vs World blog, put out by a Houston blogger and friend, is the go-to source for commentary on the gubernatorial race.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 07/28/05 08:37 PM | Houston Chronicle | Technorati | Comments (5)
Cingular nabs $8 million city contract
Cingular Wireless has won a five-year contract from the City of Houston:
The City of Houston has awarded Cingular Wireless a five-year, $8 million contract to provide voice and data services to employees of America's fourth largest city.
The new contract, which represents about 80 percent of the City's planned wireless expenditures over the next half-decade, includes the deployment of more than 1,600 EDGE-enabled PC modem cards and BlackBerry(TM) handhelds. Cingular also will continue to provide voice services for more than 3,800 wireless phones that it retains from previous agreements with the City.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 07/28/05 05:02 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (2)
Former councilman sues city over airport concessions contract
The City of Houston is being sued by a former Houston city councilman:
The City of Houston is being sued by a former Houston City Councilman in a dispute over duty-free concessions at Bush Intercontinental Airport.
A lawsuit filed by Branch/McGowen Ventures in Harris County District Court accuses airport officials of fraud and breach of contract, and seeks damages of $3 million.
Branch/McGowen Ventures is a partnership consisting of ex-Councilman Ernest McGowen Sr. and local fast-food franchisee Theldon Branch.
The partnership has operated the duty-free concession at Houston's largest airport since 1995. With the long-running contract up for renewal, the suit alleges the partnership was misled into investing in improvements to airport operations.
The suit contends airport officials promised to renew the contract if the partnership would make $500,000 in improvements. But shortly after $350,000 of the investment was raised, according to the suit, airport officials opened the bidding on a new duty-free concession contract.
In January, an airport selection committee rejected the bid by local partnership Branch/McGowen. Chosen instead was The Nuance Group Houston LLC, the local arm of a global operator of duty-free shops.
[snip]
Denying that airport officials made any promises, City Attorney Arturo Michel says, "The city's position is that that didn't happen."
Some City Hall insiders suggest the contract flap is indicative of an effort by Mayor Bill White to cut ties with the political cronyism left over from previous administrations.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 07/28/05 04:52 PM | Houston Politics | Technorati | Comments (1)
Federated to convert Foley's stores
The Houston Business Journal reports that, as expected, Federated Department Stores will be closing duplicate stores as part of its acquisition of May Department Stores:
Federated will close its Macy's store in the Galleria and convert the Foley's store operated by May in the same location into a Macy's. The Galleria Macy's store, which opened in 1986 and spans 256,000 square feet, has 322 employees.
The 68 duplicate locations that will be shuttered accounted for about $2 billion in sales last year. Included are 41 current May stores operating in 12 states under various brands, as well as 27 Federated stores operating in 14 states as Macy's.
The 16 Houston-area Foley's department stores to be converted to Macy's stores are at Almeda Mall, Baybrook Mall, Deerbrook Mall, Downtown (Houston) at 1100 Main St., First Colony Town Square, Galleria, Greenspoint Mall, Mall of the Mainland, Memorial City Mall, Northwest Mall, Pasadena Town Square, San Jacinto Mall, Sharpstown Mall, The Woodlands Mall, West Oaks Mall and Willowbrook Mall.
Foley's also operates a warehouse store at 4500 Gulf Freeway.
The Foley's stores conversions are part of a renaming process for 330 stores operated nationwide by May.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 07/28/05 01:14 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (1)
Crime Summit Conference
That's what Chief Hurtt called his press conference yesterday.
Topics included rising crime, the police manpower shortage, red light cameras (woo!), sanctuary for illegals, and...tattoos!
Chris Baker explained yesterday why he calls Chief Hurtt "Link Appleyard." It made me laugh, and after yesterday's "Crime Summit Conference," the characterization doesn't seem out of place.
Other press conference...er "Crime Summit Conference" coverage: KPRC-2, KHOU-11, KTRK-13
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 07/28/05 10:12 AM | Houston Politics | Technorati | Comments (0)
That sounds like a fun ride to work
So, besides declining fare-box revenue and bus ridership, how is Metro doing?
Got into work almost 2 hours late, thanks to METRO not running the 07:30 102 Bush Non Express for whatever reason.
Two 17's went by while I sat reading my book. How bad is that, METRO?
Not that they'll be 17's for much longer. Saw a red tag on the route marker this morning. You know, morning... 06:50 when I got there to catch the 07:30 Downtown which didn't show up, but dozens of 246s and 247s breezed past.
Route is changing to 9. Not sure why. According to one person I know at METRO, there may be some kind of auditing procedure they're trying to hide their dismal on-time record with the 17 by changing the number. Helps avoid red flags and having Uncle Sam look at the numbers a tad closer when it's begging time.
You know, there's two ways from Downtown to work. 102 is supposed to be faster, but if the morons who run the route don't bother showing up or piss-poor buses that break down and leave gaps in the schedule are a part of the fleet, I may as well use 56 and waste an extra twenty minutes going through the Mexican enclave of Airline.
If METRO were to bother making their GPS information on the buses available to waiting customers like other major cities across the world sometimes do, rational decisions can be made.
Yes, I said customers. Not passengers. I'm a customer, not human cargo.
There's more.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 07/28/05 09:25 AM | Houston Transit | Technorati | Comments (1)
MetroRail ridership is "booming," but fare collection isn't
Courtesy of Tom Bazan:
Metro's June fare box revenue declined rather dramatically. In June 2004, fare revenue was $3,724,140.00. In June 2005, fare revenue was $1,936,783.06!
Also, Metro says overall ridership increased 1.13% from the previous year and bus ridership declined 1.72%.
Once again we see why Metro likes to tout ridership numbers (but are those numbers accurate?) as opposed to revenue. Metro Vice President John Sedlak recently claimed that MetroRail ridership is "booming." If he said something about Metro's fare revenue, it wasn't included in the story.
RELATED: The black hole that is Metro (bH); State performance audit (Metro publications)
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 07/28/05 08:34 AM | Houston Transit | Technorati | Comments (6)
Commissioners instruct HCTRA to hold community meetings
Charles Kuffner received a very heartening email from Robin Holzer of the Citizens Transportation Coalition:
In June, Harris County released the new Capital Improvement Plan which identifies 5-7 new priority toll roads to be developed. On Tuesday, CTC volunteers demanded that Harris County open up the toll road planning process, and we came home with a victory.
[...]
Community leaders from Cottage Grove, Westbury, Willowbend, and Meyerland expressed concerns about traffic, noise, flooding, air quality, and other impacts from proposed toll road construction. We called on County Commissioners not only to hold public meetings in every affected neighborhood, but also to ensure toll road planning addresses community concerns.
When the Toll Road Authority Director, Mike Strech, said there was no need to hold meetings until future plans are ready, the Commissioners disagreed. Commissioner Lee agreed meetings are important, Commissioner Garcia said they need to happen in every affected neighborhood, and Art Storey pledged to come participate. Judge Eckels asked us to help make sure good information gets out to the community.
As I write, civic club leaders in southwest Houston are organizing a town hall meeting about the Fort Bend Parkway Toll Road and related road widenings.
(I wrote about the Fort Bend Parkway Toll Road the other day.)
This is a major step in the right direction for HCTRA.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 07/28/05 07:55 AM | Houston Transit | Technorati | Comments (0)
27 July 2005
Painful
James Howard Gibbons had to be responsible for this:
But a virtual library, no matter how expertly perused, can't offer the serendipity so nourishing to creative thought. No matter where a scholar wanders on the Internet, she travels a linear path she has initiated with a predetermined key word or phrase.
Please.
Don't do that again.
Thanks.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 07/27/05 11:04 PM | Houston Chronicle | Technorati | Comments (0)
Houston Fire Museum's $2 million grant is not a certainty
KUHF-88.7 posted this bit of news today:
The Houston Fire Museum is using a $2 million grant from the Texas Department of Transportation to move forward with plans to expand the museum and turn it into a big midtown area educational complex.
[snip]
The Fire Museum Expansion Project has launched a drive to raise $20 million for the new building. Ponte says $2 million from the Transportation Department will be a big help because it gives their project credibility with other potential donors.
Ponte says they hope to break ground for the new and bigger Houston Fire Museum on Main Street in Midtown late this year or early next year.
Well! That's interesting. Why in the world would TxDOT be giving money to the Houston Fire Museum? And $2 million is a sizable chunk of change.
I called TxDOT and spoke with Janelle Gbur, who was very helpful. After quite a bit of digging, she finally had the background on the grant:
Back in the regular session, the Texas Legislature passed a bill that had a rider attached to it. The rider directed (key word) TxDOT to give $2 million to the Houston Fire Museum out of the Transportation Enhancement funds. (The rider directed TxDOT to provide funding for several other projects as well, including the Battleship Texas and the Tejano Monument.)
I asked if the Legislature could tell TxDOT how to distribute federal money. She said that was her question, too, and so she called the Federal Highway Adminstration to find out.
She was told that in theory, yes, the Texas Legislature could ask TxDOT to provide money out of Enhancement funds, but any project using Enhancement funds must be transportation-related. Meaning, the project would have to convince the feds that it meets the requirements of the Transportation Enhancement program. But, and here's the key, right now there is no money in the Transportation Enhancement program because the national transportation bill has been stalled for two years!
So first, Congress has to pass the transportation bill. When that happens, THEN the FHA will look at the Houston Fire Museum's proposal to decide if they even qualify for Transportation Enhancement funds.
It is not a done deal, and in fact, it is unclear whether or not the museum would qualify for the money, according to Janelle Gbur. She said this was a premature announcement.
One more point: normally when TxDOT gets Transportation Enhancement funds, it sets up a competitive bidding process with projects from all over the state vying for funding. When the Legislature directs TxDOT to give money to the Houston Fire Museum, it means there is that much less money available for other potentially worthy projects all over the state.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 07/27/05 06:11 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (2)
Chief Hurtt discusses Tasers and HPD staffing problems
HPD Chief Hurtt held a press conference today and shared some interesting tidbits:
Houston is one of the cities where Taser use by police will be looked at in a study funded by the Justice Department.
Houston Police Chief Harold Hurtt says there are enough questions surrounding taser use to warrant the federally funded study.
"Because there is so much concern about incidents where people have died after being tased that we need to do some extensive research in that area and review policy and procedure and training," said the chief.
• Response time to Code 1 calls -- the most serious -- has dropped slightly. Response time to other calls has increased slightly. He said the slower response times may be due, in part, to an increase in the number of calls requiring multiple units. Hurtt said a staffing shortage may also contribute to the slower times.
• HPD staffing continues to dwindle. The department has already lost 202 officers this year. Last year, HPD lost 465 officers, mostly to retirement.
• Sixty-three cadets will graduate from the Police Academy on Friday.
Interestingly, questions were raised about Tasers BEFORE Chief Hurtt convinced city council to pay out almost $5 million so Houston could have them. Those in charge must not have been paying attention.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 07/27/05 05:21 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (2)
Rep. Culberson should demand Metro go back to the voters
From today's Rad Sallee story on Metro's meeting with Afton Oaks residents:
Several speakers said they voted for Metro's rail plans in the November 2003 referendum and now felt betrayed that Richmond was being considered.
Some noted they had fought a similar battle in 1990, defeating a previous rail plan under then-Mayor Kathy Whitmire that included a line on Richmond.
Whiteley, an attorney, said sending rail down Richmond would be "a substantial deviation" from what voters approved, since the ballot referred to the line as "Westpark."
Attorney Cliff McAdams, a director of the club, asked [Metro President and CEO Frank] Wilson if he thought the ballot language was misleading. Wilson said he did, but said he thought the line legally can be built on either street.
Remember what Metro official George Smalley said:
Smalley said the changes are covered by a footnote to the ballot resolution that says: "Final scope, length of rail segments or lines, and other details, together with implementation schedule, will be based upon demand and completion of the project development process including community input."
It was in the fine print.
Except that Rep. John Culberson forced Metro to specify the expansion lines it planned in the 2003 Metro Solutions referendum:
Rep. John Culberson , R-Houston, inserted a provision into this fiscal year's transportation appropriations bill banning federal funding for rail in Houston unless voters approve each segment.
And Richmond wasn't on it:
The following summary lists the components and segments of MetroRail and commuter line, as described in Exhibits A and A-3 through A-9 of such resolution and the official notice of the election, and is a part of the ballot and the proposition being submitted to the voters at the election. The segments marked ** are expected to be completed by the end of 2012 utilizing the proceeds of the $640 million of bonds, if approved at the election.
1. NORTH HARDY
**A. UH-Downtown to Northline Mall
B. Northline Mall to Greenspoint
C. Greenspoint to Bush IAH Airport2. SOUTHEAST
**A. Downtown/Bagby to Dowling
**B. Dowling to Griggs/610
C. Griggs/610 to Park & Ride in the vicinity of Hobby Airport
D. Sunnyside: Southeast Transit Center to Bellfort
E. Sunnyside: Bellfort to Airport Blvd.3 . HARRISBURG
**A. Dowling to Magnolia Transit Center
B. Magnolia Transit Center to Gulfgate Center
C. Gulfgate Center to Telephone Road4. WESTPARK
Wheeler Station to Hillcroft Transit Center5. UPTOWN/WEST LOOP
**Westpark to the Northwest Transit Center6. INNER KATY
Downtown/Bagby to Northwest Transit Center7. SOUTHWEST COMMUTER LINE
Fannin South Park & Ride to Harris County line
But Westpark is in there. Frank Wilson tiptoed around the Westpark problem:
But Wilson said the route cannot run solely on Westpark, which he described as a "desert" separated by the broad Southwest Freeway from Greenway Plaza, Lakewood Church and other sources of riders to the north.
That means, he said, the Westpark route as initially designed would be "a non-starter" with federal funding authorities, who look at a project's benefit-to-cost ratio.
Which means if Metro needs to change the plan, Metro needs to go back to the voters. Rep. Culberson required Metro to specify each segment in 2003. Metro is now altering the 2003 Metro Solutions plan and Rep. Culberson should force Metro to go back to voters.
RELATED: A first-person account of Frank Wilson's meeting with Afton Oaks residents; Business owner: No rail down Richmond (River Oaks Examiner); For some, the only good rail is no rail (River Oaks Examiner)
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 07/27/05 08:28 AM | Houston Transit | Technorati | Comments (1)
HISD is not using bond money for new headquarters
Here's a correction in today's Chronicle:
A story on Page B1 of Tuesday's City & State section incorrectly reported the source of the money that is paying for the Houston Independent School District's new headquarters building. The building is being paid for with proceeds from the sale of HISD's existing headquarters building.
Let's check out yesterday's story to find out what it said the source of money was for the new headquarters:
Houston voters gave HISD permission to borrow $808.6 million in 2002 to build 32 new schools and renovate 28 others. The bond program also includes money for the district's new headquarters at U.S. 290 and Loop 610, new playgrounds for 125 elementary schools and air conditioning for 47 middle and high school gyms.
Oh my goodness! Yesterday the Chron reports that bond money is paying for HISD's new headquarters and today, in a little teeny box, the Chron says...ooops, sorry.
Watch out for unhappy letters to the editor, screaming about HISD's misuse of bond money.
KEVIN WHITED ADDS: Let's see, an education story that got basic facts wrong in a way likely to generate public criticism of HISD? Who might have done such a story for the Chronicle? Ah, yes, Jason Spencer was the author. I'll have to confer with Anne, but I suspect she left that out this time due to fear of repetitive stress typing injuries caused by identifying his blunders over so many blog posts.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 07/27/05 06:12 AM | Houston Chronicle | Technorati | Comments (0)
26 July 2005
HPD/HFD incident logs meet Google maps
I've been remiss in calling attention to IncidentLog.com.
The site takes the police and fire incident data that's available on the City of Houston website, and displays the data on a nice google map.
An added bonus is that it is searchable. I'm not sure how long the data is saved, but it appears to go further back than the incidents displayed on the city site at any given time.
Now we just need the City of Houston to add a METROrail collision tag to its incident reports. This would save interested parties the trouble of having to file public information requests to obtain collision information that METRO ought to be providing without such prompting.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 07/26/05 10:20 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (2)
Do they ever wonder why they have no access?
We've suggested previously that the Chronicle's slant on the news, combined with its editorial stance, probably limits the access of the newspaper's D.C. bureau to Texans who are part of the governing majority in Washington.
As a case in point, here's a snippet from Samantha Levine's latest column:
Cornyn also had to explain the seeming conflict between his legislative goal of opening federal records and his defense of the White House's decision to keep secret some papers related to Roberts' past government service.
Cornyn recently wrote a bill to improve "the accessibility, accountability, and openness of the federal government."
What's the conflict?
We're pretty sure Sen. Cornyn understands the concepts of attorney-client privilege and separation of powers, even if Miss Levine does not (or, we should say, even if she acts like she does not in order to portray Sen. Cornyn as a hypocrite).
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 07/26/05 09:34 PM | Houston Chronicle | Technorati | Comments (2)
The return of the Monotonous Voice
Perhaps it's just me, but for a while it seemed as if James Howard Gibbons had forgotten about that "Another Voice" feature, in which the Chronicle editorial page rips blurbs out of the newspapers from which the editorialists frequently take their cues.
Gibbons seems to have rediscovered the magic.
Yesterday, there was a Monotonous Voice from the New York Times. Today there is a Monotonous Voice from the Washington Post
Since Gibbons seems to like to crib from the LA Times editorial page also (as we've seen from how he's been putting the Sunday editorial pages together recently), it would only be fitting if there's a Monotonous Voice from that newspaper tomorrow.
UPDATE (07-27-2005): No LA Times Monotonous Voice today. We're disappointed with Mr. Gibbons.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 07/26/05 09:03 PM | Houston Chronicle | Technorati | Comments (2)
HCTRA declines to tell residents about proposed toll road
Here's yet another story about Harris County being less-than-forthcoming on a possible toll road project:
There could be another toll road in the works to help commuters from Fort Bend County. The early proposal would connect the still-under-construction Fort Bend Parkway toll road to the West Loop. But the plan is already under fire.
Even though there isn't start date for construction. Harris County has already bought some right-of-way for the road and has an early design plan. And that's big news to thousands of people who could be most affected by the project.
The Fort Bend County toll road is considered the gateway to new master planned communities. It takes people from suburban homes into Houston. Harris County has plans for a toll extension. That would make the trip even faster, but many homeowners who live in the proposed road's path know nothing about it.
"You're the first news I've ever heard about that toll road coming in here," confessed home owner Ted Sewell. "I thought it was just going to stop right there at South Main where it's going right now."
The Harris County road would meet Fort Bend County's Highway 90 next to the South Loop. For Sewell it could mean anything from a noise nuisance to costing him his home.
He said, "It doesn't surprise me that I'm not told, because that's the way governments work. Their best work is done in secrecy."
Neighborhood leaders also want the county to conduct a complete environmental impact study, so they'll know exactly what piping cars from Fort Bend County all the way into Houston neighborhoods will do to them.
The Harris County Toll Road Authority doesn't consider the process a secret, but admits to declining some invitations to tell southwest Houston neighborhood groups about the project.
That's pretty much business as usual for Harris County.
RELATED: South Post Oak Toll Road? (bH), The Toll Road Authority isn't making many friends (bH)
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 07/26/05 08:26 PM | Houston Transit | Technorati | Comments (0)
Ellis: HPD should stop ignoring violations of immigration law
KHOU-11's Doug Miller reports on a proposal by Councilmember Mark Ellis to allow HPD to stop ignoring violations of federal immigration law:
It stems from HPD's version of a "don't ask, don't tell" policy regarding illegal immigrants.
But one city council member wants police to start asking some simple, but pointed questions.
And that's raising some tough questions about what Houston police should do about enforcing immigration laws.
[snip]
A longstanding policy forbids Houston cops from asking people whether they're illegal immigrants.
Now a city council member wants that policy changed.
"We've had some rapists here in the city of Houston that were illegal immigrants," says City Council Member Mark Ellis. "We know that some of the terrorists that attacked New York back on September 11, 2001, we know that they were illegal immigrants. And so, when do we say, Enough is enough?"
Houston's police chief believes the policy makes the city safer, because it lets undocumented workers talk freely with police about serious crimes. And Houston's mayor agrees."I want the police out there stopping crime, catching criminals, locking them up in jail," says Mayor White. "And I want to devote all the resources to the police on that, not to do the job of the INS."
First of all, we know that's just MayorWhiteChiefHurtt spinning himself dizzy, since the highest-profile effort of the administration to stop crime and catch criminals has been devoting police overtime resources to harass downtown pedestrians as part of the great downtown jaywalking revenue stream.
MayorWhiteChiefHurtt should be more honest and simply state that he believes he has the authority to choose which federal laws HPD will enforce, or ignore.
Further, there is this bit of filler from a local professor:
One political analyst notes the term-limited council member is thinking about running for higher office.
"It's Mark Ellis running for senate or something else," says Jon Taylor of University of St. Thomas. "It's politics. I hate to say it, but that's what it is."
I hate to criticize such a devout Sooner fan, but that really doesn't address the advantages or disadvantages of the proposal by Councilmember Ellis. Is it good policy, or not?
On a related note, Kris Axtman has a piece for today's Christian Science Monitor on the dangers of our porous southern border, and the story even carries a Houston byline. Inexplicably, Axtman did not include exhortations from Mayor White and/or Chief Hurtt that they are much too busy harassing downtown pedestrians to worry about trivial matters like dangerous illegal immigrants.
UPDATE: This looks to be the hot topic on the Chris Baker program today, on KTRH-740.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 07/26/05 01:52 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (20)
A clarification to today's Chronicle eminent domain story
Today's Chronicle has a story by Matt Stiles about Councilman Michael Berry's proposed ordinance to limit the city of Houston's ability to declare eminent domain:
With protection for property owners from private-development land seizures dead for now in the Legislature, a Houston councilman is proposing a new city ordinance intended to limit Houston's eminent domain powers.
Councilman Michael Berry, a lawyer and real estate agent, has asked Mayor Bill White's administration to draft a new rule preventing the city from taking property unless needed for public use.
[snip]
"My intent is to prevent the government from acting as an agent of private developers," Berry said. "This is to preserve as sacrosanct private property rights and prevent the government from taking private property except for a public use."
Councilman Berry's office indicates that he has not asked the mayor's office to draft an ordinance; in fact, Councilman Berry has already submitted a draft ordinance (with input from Dana Berliner, a Kelo advocate) to the mayor's office for consideration and a thorough debate.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 07/26/05 09:25 AM | Houston Politics | Technorati | Comments (0)
Was #96 really #100?
We've all been let down. It appears MetroRail's 100th crash has already happened. You see, Tom Bazan's latest open records request of MetroRail accidents shows that, unsurprisingly, there were some unreported collisions.
All of you who participate in an office pool, keep an eye on John Gaver's site for the official word on when #100 happened, although he tentatively thinks this one was the Big One.
What's weird is that the media usually love a milestone event. However, our local media haven't been interested enough to keep up with MetroRail.
RELATED: Laurence Simon
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 07/26/05 07:47 AM | Houston Transit | Technorati | Comments (0)
Red light-running bus driver received ticket
KHOU-11 has some updated information on the two-bus collision from Sunday:
City crews were busy Monday morning installing two new crosswalks signs in downtown Houston.
The installation comes after two Metro buses collided on Sunday morning, tearing down the crosswalk signs.
Officials say the driver, Dwayne Stiggers, ran a red light at Dallas and hit the other bus that was headed south on Smith.
Both drivers and two passengers were taken to the hospital. Their injuries are non-life threatening.
Stiggers was ticketed for his actions. Metro is investigating the accident and has started a disciplinary review.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 07/26/05 06:47 AM | Houston Transit | Technorati | Comments (0)
Commissioners Court voting on $450 million bond referendum today (updated)
Harris County Commissioners are set to vote -- TODAY -- on approving a $450 million bond referendum that would go before voters in November:
Harris County voters could be asked in November to approve a $450 million bond issue — one of the biggest in county history — if county officials give the go-ahead for a referendum today.
If passed, $200 million would go for road building and repairs, $150 million for parks projects, $65 million for building a new Family Law Center and $35 million for renovating and expanding the juvenile detention center on West Dallas.
Recent bond issues have not raised the county's tax rate because increased property values and taxes on new properties covered bond debt. But three members of Commissioners Court say the new bonds likely would lead to an increase in the tax rate.
"If you pass issues like this, tax increases are certainly possible — probable — in my opinion," said Precinct 3 Commissioner Steve Radack.
Precinct 2 Commissioner Sylvia Garcia, who represents the eastern part of the county, said she is not convinced that county residents want a referendum on bonds that would lead to tax rate hikes.
"My bottom line is that I'm not going to increase the tax rate," said Garcia, a first-term commissioner who will be seeking re-election next year. "My sense of the current climate is that people don't want increased taxes."
Good for the Chronicle's Bill Murphy, getting this story out, but the meeting is this morning! I am on the news alert email list for Judge Eckels -- it's the only email alert thing I could find on the county page -- and I did get an email alert yesterday...announcing that Judge Eckels had shown his appreciation for law enforcement, fire and volunteer agencies by distributing over 8,000 Astros tickets for three end-of-July games. Not one peep about a meeting dealing with such a big issue.
How much longer will these elected officials, who are little kings (or czarina) in their kingdoms, keep the public in the dark? Why aren't these meetings ever held outside of downtown? Why is there not a big media blitz to promote these meetings? We are talking a half of a billion dollars and the meeting is THIS MORNING! There is nothing on the front page of the Harris County website that says, "Meeting July 26 -- up for discussion: a half billion dollar bond referendum."
Why not? The cynical side of me says it's because they really don't want us there voicing any dissenting opinions.
UPDATE: Via Sedosi, I see that Bill Murphy's story now says the bond referendum was voted down. Excellent!
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 07/26/05 06:31 AM | Houston Politics | Technorati | Comments (0)
25 July 2005
Food and drink roundup (07-25-2005 edition)
We're finally going to get a food and drink roundup...rounded up.
Alison Cook heads to the boonies to give Santa Fe Flats New Mex Grille a try. That's a long way for a Midtowner to go for red chiles.
Robb Walsh tries Noé and revels in the "mind blowing"ness and complexity of the cuisine. I don't know. I am definitely NOT a sybarite (?).
Dai Huynh joins in the all-things Lakewood Church and tells us eateries local to the new location are gearing up for the tens of thousands of hungry after-church goers.
Ken Hoffman reaches out for Burger King's Tendercrisp Chicken Caesar Salad. Is it a sign of an impending apocalypse that Burger King has, what they call, a 2005 Salad Collection?
And Gracie Ochoa reviews Armadillo Palace.
World Class, all!! Enjoy!!
Posted by Callie Markantonis @ 07/25/05 10:49 PM | Houston Life | Technorati | Comments (0)
Afton Oaks residents don't want Galleria development rail boondoggle
KHOU-11's Mike Zientek reports that Afton Oaks residents aren't too happy about the possibility of METRO routing a rail line down Richmond:
Homeowner Richard Whiteley said nearby Richmond Avenue has never been a threat -- until now.
Metro planners said they are considering putting a light rail line along Richmond, running right past Afton Oaks.
Whiteley worries the avenue would become narrower, and drivers looking to avoid it would turn his community into one big detour.
"It would be bedlam here. We'd have cars backed up. We wouldn't be able to get out of the neighborhood," Whiteley said.
Daphne Scarbrough owns a custom bed store a few miles east on Richmond Avenue.
She worries an elevated rail line would lead to water inside her business during heavy rain.
"There's no place for the water to go. So the water, I would assume that it's going to have to come up onto the land and on either side of the rail," Scarbrough said.
Opponents of Richmond rail point to something else. They said when voters approved a Metro measure back in 2003 the proposed southwest line ran along Westpark Drive. The word 'Richmond,' they claim, wasn't even whispered.
"I don't think that anybody, either when they buy a house or take on any large endeavor, their initial plans are implemented to the 'nth' degree that was in that plan," said George Smalley, Metro spokesperson.
In effectively endorsing the White/METRO bait and switch, Rep. John Culberson (R) lost quite a bit of credibility, since he previously had insisted that METRO provide detailed ballot language on rail-line placement.
Now, with Culberson's tacit approval, METRO officials and Mayor White basically scoff at the notion that the METRO solutions plan that had the approval of voters is at all binding -- and it seems the Afton Oaks folks may get a light rail line Galleria development boondoggle in their neighborhood, like it or not.
UPDATE: Don't miss these comments in our forum from a resident who was at the meeting.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 07/25/05 09:53 PM | Houston Transit | Technorati | Comments (14)
At least some Texans in D.C. talk to the Chron
We've previously noted the lackluster reporting that comes from the Chronicle's D.C. bureau, and suggested that it most likely is a result of lack of access to Texas politicians in the majority.
However, Alexis Grant proves today that the Chronicle D.C. bureau isn't TOTALLY excluded when it comes to Texans in Washington:
When Houstonian Molly Miller hit a grounder to the shortstop during her T-ball game on Sunday, she had a special fan in the bleachers cheering for her: President Bush.
Her field, base lines and all, was in Bush's back yard.
Molly's West University Little League team, made up of mentally and physically disabled players from Houston, faced a team from Williamsport, Pa., in a one-inning game on the South Lawn of the White House. It was the first Texas team to participate in Bush's South Lawn League, which brings several teams to the capital each year.
"The best part about it was meeting the president of the United States," Molly, 13, said after the game. She had shaken Bush's hand, accepted his gift of an autographed baseball and had her photo taken with him.
It's actually a nice story about a nice gesture, and represents more original reporting than we can recall coming from that bureau in ages.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 07/25/05 09:24 PM | Houston Chronicle | Technorati | Comments (0)
Chronicle's "final solution" a stunningly bad choice
Matt Bramanti properly condemns the Chronicle editorial board's use of the term "final solution" in today's editorial about Israel and the Gaza Strip.
Bramanti's post further informs that reader representative James T. Campbell is looking into it.
What is there to look into?
There's really no good explanation for such a truly unfortunate choice of words in an editorial about Israel.
Maybe it will prompt another blog entry from Mr. Campbell, like the one on "gypped" a couple of weeks ago.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 07/25/05 08:53 PM | Houston Chronicle | Technorati | Comments (1)
Tom Kirkendall solves the city's golf course problem
Yesterday the Chronicle ran a Matt Stiles story on Houston's municipal golf system. Tom Kirkendall has some more thoughts on the city being in the golf course business, and a great idea on how the city can get out from under the red ink:
Here is a "thinking outside the box" suggestion for the Houston City Council on the golf course operation. Other than Memorial Park and Hermann Park golf courses, sell the remainder of the golf courses, including a sale or donation of the Gus Wortham Course to the University of Houston, which could then invest the funds necessary to renovate that tract into a potentially fine university course close to the University's Central Campus. With a portion of the funds generated from the sale of the courses, the City could then fund an endowment to be administered by the Houston Golf Association to promote golf to underprivileged children and citizens of Houston.
Someone please forward this idea to Mayor White!
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 07/25/05 12:39 PM | Houston Politics | Technorati | Comments (0)
Move It! covers residents' concerns about I-45 expansion plan
Rad Sallee explores the uproar over TxDOT's I-45 expansion plan:
At Friday's meeting of the regional Transportation Policy Council — an event normally as dry as the Katy Freeway on a hot day — Woodland Heights resident Peggy Lindow woke up the audience.
Her ire was fueled by Texas Department of Transportation plans to increase the capacity of the North Freeway through her pleasant turn-of-the-century neighborhood northwest of downtown.
"Those houses that were originally destroyed for I-45 are gone forever, but we want to keep the ones that are left," Lindow told about two dozen elected officials, planners and road builders at the long table.
"We are not sophisticated in the ways of politics or highway planning," she said. "We are ordinary people whose homes and quality of life are threatened by the laziness and arrogance of a bunch of lifelong civil servants."
As described in a draft report by TxDOT consultant Carter & Burgess Inc., the preferred plan would have eight main lanes — the same as now — but would replace the single reversible HOV lane with four managed lanes that could be free for car pools and tolled for others, a net gain of three lanes.
But that sounds a lot like widening, and the freeway is already squeezed into a trenched segment near North Main and Houston Avenue. Just to the west is Woodland Heights, expensive and historic, and to the east is a cemetery.
[snip]
Carter-Burgess project manager Janet Kennison said TxDOT "will make every effort to remain within the existing right of way," but added that some acquisition may be needed at North Main and at the Shepherd curve to the north.
Trietsch said Lindow's diagram assumes the added capacity would be added laterally, but he said it could be double-decked, as has been done in Dallas and Austin.
I've wondered why the double-decking option hasn't been talked about, but I also don't live in that area so I have no idea what the residents who would be affected think of it. Maybe Charles Kuffner will have an opinion.
And I was very glad Sallee added this:
Several speakers also touched on the subject of openness and candor, a theme heard at meetings on the Metropolitan Transit Authority's revised transit plan. A common complaint was that TxDOT lets the public speak but then does what it planned to all along.
Add the Harris County Toll Road Authority to that little grouping.
UPDATE: Charles Kuffner addresses the double-decking idea.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 07/25/05 10:26 AM | Houston Transit | Technorati | Comments (0)
Chron perplexed by teachers who want to teach at good schools
It must be tough to be an idealist and then be constantly disappointed in your fellow man:
Fuller's research, using data from the 2003-04 school year, the latest available, examined seven school districts in the Houston region. He found that the teachers with the best credentials work in the schools with the most affluent students, and the less-qualified instructors teach in schools populated by low-income students. This matters because of another correlation — students who attend schools where the worst teachers predominate tend to perform poorly on standardized tests.
[snip]
Obviously, some inspired and skillful teachers teach in poor-performing schools. They tackle the most challenging assignments and endure the worst working conditions. Their students tend to have poorly educated parents less able to help them with homework.
Many poor children lack school supplies and suffer from poor nutrition. When discipline at school becomes an issue, it can be difficult to get parents working multiple jobs to focus on finding a solution.
The problem is how to attract and retain good teachers at the schools that desperately need them. There are only so many excellent teachers who will remain in under-resourced schools. They deserve merit bonuses and a medal.
Education experts say that incentive pay for teaching in less-desirable schools can be part of the solution. Those schools also need to provide adequate training and teaching supplies, enforce student discipline and cultivate a supportive workplace. Schools that provide these things will find that the best teachers will flock to them and stay put once on board.
A lack of school supplies doesn't explain the problem with California schools, where school supplies are provided by each school. Yep, in California, no student has to provide his or her own school supplies. (I know because when I finally moved out of California, I was confounded by this new requirement to buy school supplies!)
And we taxpayers spend a TON of money on free and reduced-cost breakfasts, lunches, and after-school snacks, nationwide. Poor nutrition can't be that big of an excuse.
However, the editorialists come perilously close to a big problem in poorer schools -- discipline. We have become a nation of wimps and molly-coddlers. The education elite that began running public schools 40-odd years ago changed the focus from learning and discipline, to one of self-esteem. Self-esteem entails not hurting a student's feelings, understanding, excuse-making, creating new realities, etc.
Besides providing a subpar education, an education based upon self-esteem can often be dangerous for teachers! And school administrators are sometimes weak and afraid of activist groups and teachers unions. If a teacher takes a firm-stand, it's not unusual for a school principal to reverse course if there's any adverse media attention.
Of course, what's most ironic about the Chronicle's complaint is that the media has long been a big supporter of progressive educational practices. It's not often we see any media outlet calling for a hard look at the current educational fads that have led to the problem the Chronicle now bemoans.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 07/25/05 10:09 AM | Houston Chronicle | Technorati | Comments (12)
Metro: working against intelligent transit options
Yesterday I commented on the Chronicle's ridiculous editorial trying to boost Metro's new expansion plan.
Today Owen Courreges gives us a much more in-depth (and smarter!) response to the Chronicle's blatant cheerleading:
The 1983 rail referendum was rejected by a stark 2:1 margin, and yet Metro had already contracted for the rail cars themselves, as if it was a forgone conclusion that the referendum would pass. It cost them $1 million to break these contracts. The Chronicle won’t admit it, but the fact is that the 1983 heavy rail plan was a massive debacle. Metro was stupid.
In 1999, Harvard Professor Jonathan Richmond, in a report written for the joint MIT/Harvard Cooperative Mobility Research Program, praised Metro as an example of a city which had pursued cost-effective transit options (i.e. HOV and bus service improvements) instead of investing in the overwhelmingly cost-ineffective light rail fad that was sweeping the nation. When Metro focused solely on buses, as voters forced them to do, Metro actually improved mobility. In hindsight, voters made the right decision. It’s Metro that’s working against intelligent transit options.
Please go read his whole post; it's much more enlightening than anything the Chronicle has given us.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 07/25/05 06:56 AM | Houston Transit | Technorati | Comments (1)
24 July 2005
Sunday Chron opinion page: Not (quite) everything is stale!
Although the Sunday Chronicle opinion page remains far short of the ideal state, there was some progress this weekend.
In addition to fresh house editorials and the usual lefty rants from Clay Robison and Cragg Hines, the section actually had two original op-eds with a local twist, one by Sen. John Cornyn (R) and one by Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D) and David Cole.
Of course, the bulk of the material was stale. Jeffrey Rosen's op-ed ran on July 21 in the New York Times. John Yoo's op-ed ran on July 21 in the Washington Post. John P. Avlon's op-ed ran on July 19 in the New York Sun. David Barash's op-ed ran on July 18 in the LA Times. Charles Krauthammer's column ran on
July 22 in the Washington Post. Paul Krugman's column ran on July 22 in the New York Times. Karl Inderfurth's op-ed ran on July 11 in the LA Times.
That's still a lot more stale content than one might expect of editorial pages in their ideal state.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 07/24/05 10:46 PM | Houston Chronicle | Technorati | Comments (2)
If a Metro bus runs a red light, does the driver get a ticket?
There was a collision downtown today involving two Metro vehicles, but for once it wasn't the train:
Two Metropolitan Transit Authority buses collided downtown this morning, sending four people to the hospital.
(Screencap courtesy KHOU-11)An articulated bus traveling south on Smith apparently ran a red light and slammed into a bus headed east on Dallas about 8:30 a.m., said Ken Connaughton, Metro spokesman.
[snip]
One of the buses was pushed onto the sidewalk and hit a brick wall at the Hyatt Hotel, Connaugh
