31 March 2006
Houston Press: Run over by Metro
The Houston Press has conducted an in-depth look at Metro bus safety and how the transit agency handles the aftermath of accidents. It's a disturbing exposé, but it's important to read it all.
The story includes details of how Metro has dealt with the death of Domitila Leon-Herrera on January 20:
The day after the January 20, 2006, accident, Metro went into full-blown damage-control mode. Smalley, a senior manager, led a press conference in which he defended Metro's safety record by claiming that Metro drivers are involved in 0.68 accidents per 100,000 miles. This statistic includes neither accidents involving First Transit drivers nor less-serious crashes that Metro classifies as "incidents."
To the cameras and reporters, Smalley extended "sympathy and condolences" to Leon-Herrera's family. But Avila and his siblings say they never received any apology. And neither did Lorenzo Hernandez, her longtime boyfriend.
Metro still has not provided financial compensation for the accident. Not that any amount of money could make things right.
Thanks to Laurence and TP for the heads up.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 03/31/06 10:00 AM | Houston Transit | Technorati | Comments (3)
CoH: downtown parking is bad, be prepared to walk
I suppose this counts as KTRK-13's Parking Commission story -- a story that explains how downtown parking sucks and you might as well just walk:
The good news is that downtown Houston is getting more and more vibrant every day. The bad news is that with the growth comes growing pains. And that pain includes a perceived and problematic lack of parking. For anyone who's been downtown once or a thousand times, you know parking can be tough.
"It's very hard and inconvenient," said downtown driver Barbara Clark. "By the time you get where you're going, you're all sweaty and stinky."
"It's pretty crowded," agreed downtown driver Colin Amann. "It's hard to find and you've got to walk a fair piece to get to where you're going."
Hmmm, they forgot about MetroRail, I guess.
And in front of the courthouse complex, it could get worse even after construction is finished. One lot is about to go away, meaning roughly 200 fewer spots in favor of a new park in what is one of the busiest area of downtown.
"We're looking at being able to increase the number of on-street spaces," said Liliana Rambo with the city of Houston. "We're working with the public works department."
The city is also holding town meetings to coach suburbanites where to park when they come downtown and that if they can walk a couple of blocks, they'll find a reasonable space, despite the constant desire to find something closer.
Suburbanite meetings? Has anyone seen any info on those? And who wants to walk extra blocks in the middle of July and August to visit downtown, not to mention the courage required to drive anywhere around the Danger Train.
The city is also working on changing parking meters for the better. Their advice is to be patient. Be prepared to walk. And get to where you're going early just in case.
That's catchy! A new downtown slogan: Be Prepared to Walk.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 03/31/06 09:13 AM | Houston Transit | Technorati | Comments (3)
Metro bus hits pedestrian (again) (cont'd.)
Maybe more pedestrians are wearing city camouflage:
A pedestrian was hit by a Metro bus this afternoon at the Metro Transit Center, at Fannin and Pressler. The man stepped into the pedestrian crosswalk, "so the operator will be at fault," said Raequel Roberts , a spokeswoman for Metro.
The pedestrian was taken to an area hospital, "but his injuries do not appear to be life-threatening," Roberts said.
Recent Metro bus accidents have occurred on March 23, February 13, and a fatal one on January 21. Obviously Metro Police Chief Tom Lambert needs to have a chat with Metro bus drivers about their understanding of safety.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 03/31/06 07:28 AM | Houston Transit | Technorati | Comments (8)
30 March 2006
FBI enters City Hall probe
The FBI has requested Councilwoman Carol Alvarado's bank records:
The Federal Bureau of Investigation asked for the bank records of Houston City Councilwoman Carol Alvarado as it entered the investigation into improper bonuses at City Hall, KPRC Local 2 reported Thursday.
It's the first indication that the federal government is involved in the probe.
The FBI request is for all of Alvarado's bank accounts, open or closed. It went out Wednesday to major banks across the country through what's known as the loss avoidance alert system, which is an electronic network connecting banks with law enforcement.
The FBI would not comment on the investigation. But Harris County District Attorney Chuck Rosenthal confirmed for KPRC that the federal request was made.
As usual, Alvarado's attorney, Rusty Hardin, says this was completely expected, which means the councilwoman must've said, "Sí, yo puedo."
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 03/30/06 06:13 PM | Houston Politics | Technorati | Comments (10)
The LiveJournalists wake up; protest-fever must be over (updated)
We can only assume the media's interest in "La Gran Marcha" has peaked, since the Editorial LiveJournalists have now weighed in with not one, but two approving editorials. They applaud the school-ditching, Mexican-flag waving youth activists, and look forward to the time when the students graduate from school and vote (although they do caution the "children" that carrying Mexican flags and shouting "Viva Mexico" might not be the best way to get their message across...whatever their message is).
The most hilarious quote of the day is in the Chron's news story, from a very earnest high school freshman:
"There's no other way to be heard ... It's not the best way or the right way, but it's our way," Reagan freshman Jose Lopez, 14, said of the effort.
That's a kid who really needs to get back to class!
Second most hilarious quote of the day:
Jose Cantu, 18, a junior at Reagan, said he read the 54-page bill Wednesday so he could understand why he's protesting. "It got confusing," he said. "So I wanted to see the whole thing."
Oookay.
Slampo covers all the bases in this post, including our fine local media's reporting efforts, and the fact that many of these students appear to have snoozed through history classes in 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, etc., grades.
And Banjo points out that protesting in '06 is much easier than it was back in the '60s. (Speaking of which, the Chron's story notes that sending HISD buses to fetch Tuesday's protesters, after they met with Mayor White and Councilwoman Carol Alvarado, cost taxpayers $5,500.)
UPDATE: Fun and games and ditching school are over. HPD and HISD have had enough:
Dozens of HISD student protesters were stopped in their tracks by Houston police Thursday morning.
Twenty-six students were arrested on curfew violations and taken to the juvenile detention center.
The HISD students walked out of classrooms again Thursday to protest proposed immigration reform in the U.S. Senate.
According to HISD spokesman Terry Abbott, about 150 students from Madison High School and Dowling Middle School left school.
They were planning to march to Westbury High School but several HPD officers stopped the students before they could get to Westbury. Some of the students were questioned, frisked and arrested.
One girl was transported to the hospital after reportedly having an asthma attack.
HISD sent buses to pick up the rest of the students and take them back to school.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 03/30/06 10:06 AM | Houston Life | Technorati | Comments (18)
29 March 2006
Dynamo's ticket sales a bit lackluster
This story about the Houston Dynamo's ho-hum ticket sales:
The team will host the Colorado Rapids on Sunday in what will be Houston's debut in Major League Soccer, and word out of the Dynamo ticket office is that sales of season tickets barely have cracked the 2,000 mark.
On Tuesday, total tickets sold for the match, including season and individual-game tickets, hovered "in the low teens," Dynamo president Oliver Luck said.
reminded me of what Rob Booth wrote:
Many brave men and women risked their lives and died so that Texas would be independent from Mexico. AEG, Sylvia Garcia, and Prof. Ramos don't think their sacrifice should be honored. That is stunning beyond words. If they literally spit on Sam Houston's grave I wouldn't be more flabbergasted.
[snip]
I had six people lined up to go to opening day and was working on six more. I couldn't commit to season tickets, but I mentally was hyped to go to a bunch of matches.
Now, no way am I giving AEG $25 of my hard-earned money. I can't fathom the idea of putting my butt in one of those seats and watch men run around kicking a ball on the ground that people died to liberate, and giving $25 to people who spit on their sacrifice. That's what I'd be thinking the whole time.
I certainly hope Sylvia Garcia, Professor Ramos and all the other professional sensitives who had a hissy fit have bought their season tickets.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 03/29/06 07:34 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (6)
DA's office delivers Bonusgate subpoenas
The city hall probe rolls along, as grand jury subpoenas are handed out:
The district attorney's office handed out grand jury subpoenas Wednesday. One went to the mayor pro tem's office and a number went to other city departments.
The grand jury subpoena was delivered to the office of the mayor pro tem around noon on Wednesday. It asked that the acting mayor pro tem, Michael Berry, appear in front of the grand jury Friday morning. Or, in lieu of that action, to deliver a series of documents requested by the district attorney's office.
The subpoena asks for documents detailing the bonus policies and procedures, not only in the mayor pro tem's office, but in the offices of every single councilmember, though Carol Alvarado's spokesperson says she hasn't received a subpoena yet.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 03/29/06 07:15 PM | Houston Politics | Technorati | Comments (3)
Chron's Spur 527 map leads to confusion?
The reopened Spur 527 is still slow as molasses, apparently, and a visit to the Chronicle Corrections box could explain part of the reason:
The outbound lanes of Spur 527 enter the southbound lanes of U.S. 59 on the right-hand side of the freeway. A map on Page A4 Tuesday depicted the alignment incorrectly. A graphic showing the correct alignment appears on Page B3.
Those readers who didn't have time to get to the inside of the B section were looking at an incorrect map!
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 03/29/06 01:18 PM | Houston Chronicle | Technorati | Comments (1)
Parents support protesting students (updated)
Students protested again today, although in smaller numbers:
More than 50 students from Marshall Middle School did not immediately show up for class Wednesday morning. Instead they showed up the reflection pond by City Hall. The protest was not as large Tuesday's protest at City Hall and ended before 11 a.m.
[snip]
The students ended their protest by wading in the reflection pond before getting on two Houston Independent School District buses to go back to class.
Sylvia Lopez, the mother of one of the students who protested, said she was not upset that her daughter missed her first classes.
"I am proud of my daughter because she is here. That means she cares about what is going on. I don't have to explain it to her. I don't have to tell her what's going on … she understood that," Lopez said.
[snip]
Unlike previous protests, there was not a long march for students at North Shore High School. The student protesters were corralled into the Galena Park Independent School District stadium and kept there.
"Now, they are treating us like dogs. They won't let anybody out. They don't want to hear us out. They think we are playing," a student told KPRC Local 2.
Parents were allowed to pick up their students and return them to school without an absence.
The parents who KPRC Local 2 spoke with said they support their children's actions.
"They are voicing their opinions. The kids … they are no different than us. They may not know exactly how to do it but this is the only way they know how," one parent said.
Lovely parents. Did the students get another meeting with Mayor White and (temporarily only a) Councilwoman Carol Alvarado?
And then there's this:
"The news is saying that we are just walking, looking dumb, talking about we don't know where we are going. We know what we are doing. We are standing up for our beliefs so we can stay and get a better education, and so our future children can have a better life," Aguilar said.
Where? In America or in Mexico? It's confusing with all those Mexican flags being waved around.
By the way, TAKS testing gets underway again next week. Protesting during school hours won't help these kids with TAKS prep.
UPDATE: Oh my:
The Mexican flag was flying outside Reagan High School Wednesday morning alongside the U.S. and Texas flags.
Reagan principal Robert Pambello decided to fly the flag after a discussion with his students, according to HISD spokesman Terry Abbott.
When someone saw the flag and complained, the regional HISD supervisor called the principal and ordered him to remove the flag.
Abbott said possible punishment for Pambello is under discussion.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 03/29/06 12:54 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (11)
Another boondoggle to add to the Lee P. Brown files
This KPRC-2 story on Houston's (not-functioning-very-well) automated water meter reading system is mind-blowing:
In 1999, former Houston Mayor Lee Brown trumpeted Houston as the first city to have a completely automated water meter reading system.
The goal of the program was to save the city millions of dollars by eliminating a small army of employees who physically read the meters. Instead, radio transmitters beam the information from the meter to a computer in a van as it drives by.
The project was supposed to cost $50 million and be complete in 2003. Instead, it's now costing approximately $75 million and won't be complete until 2008.
"The failure rate is beyond anything that we should have experienced," Houston City Controller Annise Parker said.
The Troubleshooters started asking questions about this program last summer. That prompted Parker to do her own review. She found the radio transmitters on the water meters have a 47 percent failure rate.
Forty-seven percent failure rate? $25 million cost overrun? Where's THAT money coming from?
But wait, it gets worse:
"That's something that we're not really proud of," said Wes Johnson, with the public works department.
Johnson said part of the problem is the new meters did not stand up that well to Houston's climate.
"This is cutting edge technology. Nobody has ever done this before in a city this size," he said.
Holy cow. A $50 million project with cutting edge technology that had never been done on this scale before, and no one thought to ask if it could stand up to Houston's weather??? Again, who's footing the bill for all this?
But wait, there's more:
The other part of the problem came when the city first started installing the transmitters. Initially, city employees did the work.
"A significant number of these were damaged. Some of our guys and gals didn't exactly know how to install them and damaged them during installation," Johnson said.
Aaargh!
But wait, there's even more:
But that's not the end of it. There are still at least 55,000 of the transmitters that are not working, are out of warranty and the city has no idea why they won't work.
"It almost reminds you of the $700 toilet that the Air Force bought years ago. It's sort of like, 'How bad can it get for the taxpayer?'" Houston City Councilman Michael Berry said.
How bad? So far, it's cost more than $3 million just to replace bad transmitters.
This is a perfect example of why government is rarely the answer to...anything.
So, here are the obligatory questions: Who's the genius who sold the city this project? What company is getting all this money for a product that doesn't work? Who's the moron who had untrained city employees installing what are obviously very sensitive meters?
At least Metro is attempting to recover taxpayer money lost on a non-working smart card fare system. Is the city going to sue the manufacturer of this barely-functioning water meter system? Why should taxpayers have to fund all these cost overruns for something that doesn't work? Why don't government contracts have escape clauses built in to make sure taxpayers don't get stuck paying for these boondoggles?
And call me a cynic, but which Mayor Brown official (or officials) was rewarded for getting this contract going? That IS how government (especially local government) operates.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 03/29/06 07:16 AM | Houston Politics | Technorati | Comments (12)
28 March 2006
HISD: student protesters face discipline
HISD superintendent Dr. Abe Saavedra has issued a statement about today's student walkout/protest. Here's an excerpt:
All the students who participated in today’s walkouts will be disciplined. The parents of each student who participated will be contacted and informed of the student’s actions. Each student action associated with today’s events will be reviewed by school officials, and students may, at the discretion of the principal, be placed in detention or in-school suspension, and may also be subject to other sanctions.
If these demonstrations continue on Wednesday or another time in the future, the consequence for students who violate the standards of conduct will be more severe. A repeat of today’s demonstrations could cause students to be suspended for up to three days, or be removed.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 03/28/06 08:31 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (9)
New face at KHOU?
Isiah Carey has heard who the newest member of KHOU-11's news team will be:
Sources tell The Insite that KHOU has hired former NBC network correspondent and Today show fill in anchor Len Cannon as their new anchor. He steps in where Jerome Gray stepped out according to sources. He's expected to start on the air April 10th...
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 03/28/06 07:03 PM | Houston Media | Technorati | Comments (0)
A new Chron eye
There is a new Chron Eye for the Death Row Killer Guy.
This one isn't as horrible as some, but it's really not clear why the newspaper devoted so much column space to the story of Death Row Killer Guy Kevin Kincy.
It's also not clear why he is referred to as "Kinsy" at one point in the story.
Those layers of editors and fact-checkers must have missed that one.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 03/28/06 04:35 PM | Houston Chronicle | Technorati | Comments (1)
Texans invest in security software
The Chronicle posts some tongue-in-cheek news about the Texans:
DAVID Carr could only dream of such protection.
Carr, the Houston Texans quarterback, was sacked 68 times last season, more than any other player in the National Football League. The team's security technology, it turns out, is more advanced than its offensive line and is one of the league leaders.
The organization has spent $40,000, plus periodic maintenance fees, for PacketSure, a Palisade Systems product designed to prevent users on the team's internal network from sending sensitive information to outsiders, said Nick Ignatiev, director of information technology for the Texans and McNair Group. This can include the team's playbook, scouting reports and financial information about customers.
Who needs any of that information? The game film was all the ammo opponents needed against the Texans last season.
If they could come up with some sort of software to keep the general manager from attempting to save his job by leaking all sorts of info to a certain local sportswriter (who ran with it at the time, but now says Casserly should have been fired), THAT would be a very good investment for the team.
But I suspect that general manager will be looking for a job after next season regardless. Once the Kubiak regime is fully up to speed, it won't need a general manager who leaks negative information about the head coach to local sports journalists when a season starts poorly.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 03/28/06 04:29 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (3)
Carol Alvarado to student protesters: Si se puede (updated)
(Temporarily not Mayor Pro Tem) Carol Alvarado greeted student protesters this morning at City Hall:
Upon reaching City Hall, the crowd of students was greeted outside by Councilwoman Carol Alvardo, who chanted with the students "Si Se Puede'' - meaning "Yes we can."
She congratulated the students for walking through the rain and standing up for their rights.
Two of the students met with Mayor Bill White and Alvarado before scores of them boarded buses back to their schools. As many as a thousand students were expected later today, police [sic].
"They feel like they want someone to listen to them,'' Alvarado said. "They feel very hurt because they see that their families come here to work."
Perhaps Councilwoman Alvarado should have encouraged the students to get back to school and focus on their studies.
It's unclear from the story if today's youth solidarity event was part of Joe Householder's efforts to cast the councilwoman in a more favorable light.
UPDATE: And here's what Mayor White apparently told students:
“[Mayor White] told us to keep on going, to not stop, to spread the word with everyone,” student Edgar Martinez said.
The mayor said he appreciates all the work the students are doing to get their message out, but he admitted it is a federal issue.
Chris Baker is wondering why the protesters are carrying Mexican flags if they want American citizenship. Hey Carol: ¿Dónde están las banderas Americanas?
UPDATE 2: Matt Bramanti: Skip school and you too can become a journalist!
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 03/28/06 12:48 PM | Houston Politics | Technorati | Comments (19)
Most painful story on Monday night's local news (updated)
It's no surprise it was from KHOU-11's Shern-Min Chow:
It was a vivid civics lesson Monday as scores of students skipped class from Eisenhower and Humble high schools to protest HB 4437.
[snip]
Among those watching, Julian Hernandez and Jorge Mateo, seniors at the school.
"I'm in top 5 percent of my class," said Milby student Julian Hernandez.
"I'm also taking AP calculus, taking AP government/economics, AP chemistry," said student Jorge Mateo.
The 17-year-olds are both excellent students. Both have been accepted to UT Austin, the prestigious engineering and business schools. Both are illegal.
"It's not my fault I was brought into the country. Why should I have to pay for decisions that were made before I was even born?" said Hernandez.
Jorge came as a baby. Today he lives in a tiny efficiency apartment with his mom. His American Dream may only come thru DREAM Act, for good students.
It applies to those brought to the U.S. more than five years ago when they were 15 years old or younger, who graduate from high school and have good moral characters.
The measure grants them conditional residency.
"They're given six years to be here legally, to be able to work and either get a 2-year degree, two years towards a 4-year degree or two years in the military," said Magali Candler, Tindall & Foster immigration attorneys.
Then, permanent residency and citizenship could follow.
There's more, if you can stomach it, and you had to see it on the 10 o'clock news last night to get the full impact of how bad this piece of advocacy journalism was.
As for civics lessons, there's another one that happens in November and our elected officials are well aware of it.
UPDATE: Now KHOU-11 is reporting that some protesting students have been arrested this morning. Hey! This could be another civics lesson! Maybe they'll get extra credit when they finally go back to school.
ANOTHER UPDATE: KPRC-950 news says the protesters are walking down Main Street. Watch out for the Danger Train!
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 03/28/06 09:42 AM | Houston Media | Technorati | Comments (12)
27 March 2006
If Queen Sheila was there, cameras must've been rolling
What's got the media's attention today? High school students fighting for their rights, of course.
And who makes an appearance? Why, it's none other than Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee:
Students protesting proposed federal immigration legislation greeted Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee and other elected officials with signs Monday outside the federal building in downtown Houston as they gathered to discuss the immigration debate going on in Washington, D.C.
"It is the earned access to legalization," said Lee. "What that means is we put together a package that answers the concerns of Americans that believe that we should not affirm illegal acts. But what we do affirm is individuals who have jobs, who have roots, who have homes and have been paying taxes."
Lee said she will go back to Washington Tuesday and introduce legislation that will give all undocumented workers a temporary identification while the reform is being debated.
She has certainly mastered the art of DC-speak.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 03/27/06 07:19 PM | Houston People | Technorati | Comments (17)
Harris County's dirty waters
KUHF-88.7 has details of a new report on pollution in Harris County waters:
A new report says industrial and municipal facilities in Harris County are some of the worst violators of the Federal Clean Water Act, polluting rivers, lakes, bayous and the ship channel at record pace.
[snip]
The report, titled Troubled Waters, an Analysis of Clean Water Act Compliance, was released by Austin-based Environment Texas. It says hundreds of Texas companies and municipalities exceeded their permit limits between July of 2003 and December of 2004. More than 100 reported instances where they exceeded their permits by at least 500 percent. Luke Metzger is with Environment Texas and says polluters are using waters in Harris County as their own dumping grounds.
"Harris County is actually number one in the nation in our report for Clean Water Act exceedances. 99 oil refineries and chemical plants and other facilities discharged toxic chemicals like cyanide and copper into our waterways greater than their own permits allow."
Metzger says penalties for clean water violations have very little bite and that ignoring the guidelines often makes more economic sense to companies and municipalities than following the rules does.
"You could just do the math. The fines are so low it's cheaper to just pay a fine occasionally than actually take the steps to comply with the law. So actually it's just a perverse incentive to break the law because out state is failing to adequately enforce them."
According to the report, 348 polluters in Texas exceeded the guidelines more than 2000 times between 2003 and 2004. The City of Houston was fined almost a million dollars last year for violations at a wastewater treatment plant. Terry Clawson is with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and says the agency does what it can to punish water polluters.
PREVIOUSLY: Houston earns "world class" environmental penalty
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 03/27/06 06:39 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (1)
Slow posting
I'll be involved in some business travel over the next week, and posting is likely to be slow or even nonexistent from me.
Would you all please try not to let Houston fall apart during this stretch? :)
There is a new sports podcast posted for your amusement. I'll see you all as time allows!
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 03/27/06 08:32 AM | Announcements | Technorati | Comments (0)
26 March 2006
The Chronicle misses the real story
In what is not an isolated case, the Chron took a story and buried the real lede. Slampo has the details:
Take this fer instance we stumbled across in the weekly Alief/Southwest section of Thursday’s Houston Chronicle, in a story on the latest get-together of the Alief school board. The story opened with the “news” that the district trustees had voted to nominate their superintendent for the “Superintendent of the Year” award given by the Texas Association of School Boards. The board deemed the super to be deserving of the honor partly because of the district’s acclaimed welcoming response to the flood of Katrina evacuee students into its schools.
The story ambled on in this vein until the 17th or so paragraph, when it allowed that one “concern” of the Alief Community Coalition, an area support organization for the school district, is Alief’s “burgeoning homeless population.”
That one pulled us up short, but we hit the wall at the next paragraph:
According to [an Alief ISD administrator], the influx of hurricane evacuees elevated Alief’s homeless population from 435 in 2005 to more than 4,000 in 2006.
Jumpin’ Jesus, stop the presses! If that were true---and we’re skeptical---shouldn’t that be all over the front page of the daily paper, rather than buried inside a story in a zoned section that no one but us and 12 or 13 other damned souls will bother to read?
You know, there is so much the Chron could have done with that...
Where's the interview with city leaders asking what they are doing to help these people? Where are the interviews with homeless advocates and others who run homeless shelters to ask how they are coping with this huge increase? How is Alief ISD dealing with the homeless children? Is this happening in other parts of Houston and its surrounding communities? Is anyone looking out for the libraries? (That one's for Laurence.)
We have long lamented the Chron's lack of in-depth local news coverage (and lackluster editorial leadership). Yes, the "This Week" sections are nice, but too many times we have seen stories hidden in those that really should be in the main paper, getting to a much bigger audience. One solution (as Kevin has pointed out often) is to shutter the weak DC bureau and redirect those resources, but the Chron doesn't appear interested in that.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 03/26/06 08:07 AM | Houston Chronicle | Technorati | Comments (3)
25 March 2006
MST's Ouroboros shines
The play, directed by Robert de los Reyes, has gotten solid reviews from both the Houston Chronicle and the Houston Press, but the reviews themselves are interesting because of the difference in quality. The Press review literally blows the Chronicle review away.
Here is a representative excerpt from the Chronicle review by Everett Evans:
MST is alternating the two versions, but it's not necessary to attend both. The material is the same in both, though the order of the scenes is reversed.
If this sounds confusing, it often is. Beyond the "time trap" premise, Jacobson mixes Twilight Zone fantasy, travel adventure, Will & Grace-style banter (in mischievous Tors' flip humor) and earnest exploration of faith, myth and miracles. Plus (inevitably) lots of jokes on whether Catholics, Lutherans or Jews inflict the heaviest guilt trips. If the mixture sometimes feels uneasy, certain lines strained, certain situations contrived — well, is it any wonder?
Yet the play usually remains intriguing. Give Jacobson credit for trying something different, keeping things unpredictable. This may be the first "Americans in Italy" tale in which not a single character falls madly in love with a gorgeous Italian.
[snip]
Director Robert de los Reyes has his hands full with all this and acquits himself resourcefully. It's tough to establish a secure tone in a play encompassing everything from hymn-singing to risqué quips about seducing priests, but Reyes and his cast make a game effort.
In the Nun's Tale version (which I attended), Celeste Roberts' searching and patient Margaret and Justin Doran's wryly irreverent (but with secret depths) Tor seem to predominate. Fritz Dickmann's distraught Phillip and Sara Gaston's volatile Catherine are convincingly agitated as the pair who (in this chronology) know from the first appearance that something weird is happening. Given Catherine's hysteria and hallucinations, Gaston may have the most challenging role and does pretty well at making a rather mind-boggling character credible.
That's pretty superficial analysis that actually gets wrong a critical point (bolded, to which I'll turn momentarily).
Contrast that lackluster account with the following representative excerpt from the Houston Press review by Lee Williams:
Tom Jacobson's Ouroboros might be one of the most richly textured works Main Street Theater has put on in years. The story is told from two points of view in two productions shown on alternative nights. One is a comedy, A Nun's Tale; the other a tragedy, A Priest's Tale. Both stories collide in the middle, when the minister and the nun make love. Faith, death, the possibilities of miracles, and the corporal sorrows of human love are all at stake in this strange and fascinating work about two lonely couples who meet in Italy. They go searching for answers to some very heady questions.
[snip]
Soon enough, we discover that Philip and his wife are sad, and their marriage is in deep trouble. Though Margaret, the nun, is the one who starts out the play seeming unbalanced, we quickly learn that it is Catherine who is taking antidepressants. "They don't work," she tells us frankly. Guilt-ridden because he's unhappy with his marriage, Philip has resigned himself to his sorry situation, spending most of his time nursing his fragile wife through her suicide attempts and obsessive-compulsive behaviors. The Lutheran minister has lost faith. He has trouble believing in the simple joys of life, much less in any miracle.
Just as Philip has lost his faith, Margaret, the nun, is also in a bit of a spiritual crisis. She recently witnessed a death that left her terrified. Her gay friend Tor's longtime partner passed away; beforehand, he had a very dark vision of what awaited him on the other side. It has shaken Margaret to the core. Tor, on the other hand, is simply grieving. He has followed Margaret to Italy to distract himself from his sorrow and to fulfill a longtime sexual fantasy: He wants to sleep with a priest.
The story takes us through Venice, Florence, Siena and Rome. The characters make strange and mystical discoveries involving a pair of golden rings, the head of Saint Catherine and a darkly violent priest. Somehow, these odd happenings manage to add up to a story that's perfect for the theater. It touches the kinds of profound mysteries – death, love, faith – that only art and spirituality can answer. Both highly dramatic and wonderfully eccentric, the script and this production are intelligent and so provocative, it's hard to see one show without longing to see the other.
Earlier in the review, Williams notes that (s)he had only seen the play in one direction (A Priest's Tale), although (s)he perceptively writes in the opening of the review that the direction of the play (i.e. A Priest's Tale or A Nun's Tale) effectively sets the overall tone.
Williams (and the guide to the play) suggests that the direction sets the play as either a comedy or a tragedy, but that's not quite how I would describe it. Having seen both versions of the play, I can state emphatically that the direction does establish the tone, with one version growing more bleak and desperate as it progresses (the priest's tale), and one growing more positive (the nun's tale). The priest's tale is definitely the darker version. And the Chronicle reviewer just blew it by implying that the direction makes no difference, which is a pretty crucial thing to blow given the nature (and name!) of the play.
If you have any interest in theater, I highly recommend both versions of this play. Robert de los Reyes has done a spectatular job interpreting a very difficult story, and the actors really pull it off (it would be easy for the actor portraying Tor to overdo it, for example, and steal the show while overshadowing the story; Justin Doran does not). The fact that they pull off this difficult story within the unique room that is the Main Street Theater (audience on four sides) is just another testament to the skill of the cast, crew, and director. The play runs through April 9. Information is available on the Main Street Theater website.
UPDATE (03-26-2006) It's been pointed out that reviewer Lee Williams might be female. Since I don't know for sure, I changed the gender references above.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 03/25/06 03:49 PM | Houston Arts/Culture | Technorati | Comments (0)
Chronicle should have stuck with AP copy on Martinez stay
With the recent revelation that a conservative blogger hired by the Washington Post was actually a plagiarist (a story carried in today's Chronicle), it's probably worth asking what constitutes legitimate use of wire copy in crafting a newspaper story, and what amount of borrowing requires a journalist to note that a wire service (or other external source) contributed to the report.
Today's case in point concerns a story in today's Chronicle by Zeke Minaya that does not credit the AP. Here is "Minaya's" lede:
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on Friday held up the execution of Raymond Leon Martinez, who was slated to die Tuesday for the 1983 killing of a Houston bar owner.
And here is the lede from Matt Curry's AP story that preceded "Minaya's" story on Chron.com (and elsewhere):
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals today put off the execution of Raymond Martinez, who was scheduled to die Tuesday for the 1983 slaying of a Houston bar owner.
Does changing two words and adding a middle name REALLY get Minaya around the need to credit AP reporter Matt Curry for contributing to "Minaya's" report?
"Minaya's" reporting is also made weaker by the fact that the Chronicle chose not to reproduce Curry's description of Martinez's brutal crimes, a description that logically should have followed the quotation from Harris County Assistant District Attorney Lynn Hardaway in "Minaya's" story.
In short, the local reporter appears to have borrowed the AP writer's lede without proper attribution, and the final report omitted detail that gave the story more of a local context. The newspaper would have been better off sticking with the AP copy, lede and all.
BACKGROUND: Here is an example of the Chronicle crediting the AP's contribution to a story.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 03/25/06 02:37 PM | Houston Chronicle | Technorati | Comments (9)
Patrick continues political evolution (cont'd)
Fresh off his convincing victory over three primary opponents, Texas Senate candidate and local talker Dan Patrick will be getting a little help from Texas lobbyists to retire his campaign debt. The Chronicle's Clay Robison reports:
State Senate nominee Dan Patrick, who blasted an opponent in the recent Republican primary for taking contributions from lobbyists, is having a fundraising reception in Austin next week, hosted by lobbyists for a range of special interests, including casinos.
Lobbyist Steve Bresnen, whose clients include the Texas Trial Lawyers Association, the Texas State Association of Fire Fighters and the Bingo Interest Group, said he organized the Thursday event at the private Austin Club.[snip]
It is not unusual for newly elected legislators or legislative candidates to have Austin fundraisers, but Patrick, campaigning before the primary as a political outsider, all but condemned the lobby.
In a campaign television spot, he urged voters to help him "take our state back from the special interests and the lobbyists."
"It's time for change," he said.
In an interview Thursday, Patrick said his principles haven't changed. He said he still isn't soliciting special interest money but would take some donations if they were offered with the understanding that no strings were attached.
"I have a lot of debt (more than $300,000) to retire," he said.
It is probably not a coincidence that the amount of money that the wealthy Patrick personally loaned his campaign was in the neighborhood of $300,000.
And so, as we've pointed out before, the "insurgent" continues his transition to ordinary politician. Not that there's anything wrong with that, as they say.
PREVIOUSLY: Patrick makes quick transition from insurgent to politician, Patrick continues transition from insurgent to pol.
BLOGVERSATION: Greg's Opinion, Off the Kuff, Isolated Desolation.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 03/25/06 02:03 PM | Houston People | Technorati | Comments (0)
HPD to boost police academy classes?
The Chronicle's Monica Guzman reports that HPD is finalizing a plan to boost HPD cadet classes in order to address the worsening manpower problem:
If the city approves funding, HPD's 20 proposed academy classes could add up to 1,500 officers to the department between now and the end of fiscal year 2008 — nearly double the number initially planned.
Officials also will begin accepting applications year-round for seats in the department's modified entry academy class, a 13-week course designed to expedite training for peace officers from other departments. Classes will be scheduled to accommodate qualified candidates as they apply.
The low number of cadets enrolled in the first modified entry class this year highlights the difficulty in finding such candidates and the need for officials to do more to find them.
As Laurence Simon notes, landing recruits might be a bigger problem than anticipated. This can happen when growing problems are ignored for years by politicians, and then must be addressed quickly once they can no longer be ignored.
Guzman's reporting contained this snippet:
In addition to general funding, police officials may be able to use part of $20 million the city recently received from the Department of Justice, the bulk of which will fund a $1 million-per-month HPD overtime program whose FEMA funding expires at the end of the month.
In the Hutchison/DeLay/White/Hurtt press conference announcing the $20 million federal allocation to the city, Mayor White expressed his interest in using some of the money to boost cadet classes. Chronicle print readers wouldn't know that, however, because the newspaper inexplicably chose not to cover the news in its print editions.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 03/25/06 01:39 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (1)
TXDOT paints stripe on Spur 527 suicide merge
On Thursday, KHOU-11's Jeremy Desel followed up on Chronicle Move It columnist Rad Sallee's earlier reporting on the dangerous merge on the reopened Spur 527.
Desel reports that TXDOT actually broke out some paint in an effort to make the dangerous entrance safer:
A sound wall built to protect the nearby neighborhood makes it difficult for merging drivers to see each other, even causing one driver to yell to 11 News, "This is dangerous".
Another called it a "suicide merge".
"It looks a little bit different than what they are used to," said Quincy Allen, TxDOT.
Quincy Allen is the TXDOT Project engineer for the Spur 527.
In the 10 days the ramp has been open he has heard the complaints, which was enough to get him to reevaluate.
"Some folks it appeared that you had to make an immediate merge. So we put the stripe there to improve that merge," he said.
It's a 100-foot stripe aimed at aiming drivers in the right direction.
"It's really difficult to figure out where you are going anymore," said one driver.
But the biggest problem says TXDOT isn't the signs, or the paint, or the wall, but drivers who are already on the spur.
"Looking at this it looks maybe like a freeway. But the speed limit on the spur in this location is 35 miles an hour."
For engineers to blame drivers for being on a road and behaving like drivers is kind of ridiculous. The fact is, that merge has terrible sight lines, is too short, and is (therefore) dangerous.
I had a look at that 100-foot stripe yesterday. It seems like it might be shorter than 100 feet, although I wasn't about to stand in traffic to measure it! But even assuming it is 100 feet -- just think how quickly that likely Texans first-round pick Reggie Bush covers 30 yards when running full speed. That's at one Reggiepower. Now imagine how fast a heavy hunk of metal with an engine of anywhere from 100 to 300 horsepower can cover that 30 yards. And just for fun, make it impossible to see the rest of the field (keeping with our football analogy) for the last ten yards or so, with lots of traffic (linebackers and safeties!) just waiting to put the big hit on.
That's just scary. And on such an expensive project, it's really an unfortunate oversight.
Even TXDOT's designated apologist Janelle Gbur is going to have trouble convincing people that reality is not reality, and the suicide merge really is just fine.
In further Spur 527 news, the Southwest Freeway from Shepherd to the Spur is closed this weekend, while TXDOT prepares to reopen the other side of the Spur. That should help immensely with the Southwest Freeway/Downtown traffic bottleneck drivers have experienced since the Spur reconstruction began.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 03/25/06 08:30 AM | Houston Transit | Technorati | Comments (2)
Houston's new Parking Commission will get to the bottom of this
Hart received the notice last month. It's a reminder to pay $25 for a parking violation. So this week, after paying $3 for parking in the lot across the street and standing in line, the judge told Hart what he already knew. There was a mistake and he wasn't the only one.
Four-thousand people got the same notice. Apparently the vendor the city uses to generate them had a computer problem.
"It was just a glitch of the system that happened at that particular time," Liliana Rambo with the Houston parking management division told us.
Case closed, right? Wrong. What about Hart's $3 that he paid for parking, multiplied by the others who may have done the same thing? .
"Three dollars times 4,000. That's $12,000 and that's just the bare minimum we're talking about," said Hart. "It could be more if people paid money without contesting it."
At first, he was told he couldn't get his money back
"The city is going to make money off of it," he said. "It's revenue they shouldn't be making."
We took the issue to the parking commission.
"We'll be able to refund him the three dollars for being in the parking lot," said Rambo.
How many people won't come forward for refunds? That little "glitch" could turn into a nice chunk of change for the city.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 03/25/06 08:28 AM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (0)
24 March 2006
Alvarado headlining "financial literacy" seminar
David Benzion at Lone Star Times notes that former Mayor Pro Tem and current Councilmember Carol Alvarado will be holding a "Town Hall Meeting On Financial Literacy" this weekend with State Sen. Rodney Ellis.
As we know after weeks of news coverage, Alvarado at the very least was inattentive in overseeing the finances of the Mayor Pro Tem's office (she defends her inattention by calling herself a victim!), one of the few non-ceremonial roles of that office. And more recent coverage suggests that the District Attorney's office is conducting a broader investigation of possible financial wrongdoing in the Mayor Pro Tem's office. The situation is serious for a politician with aspirations of bigger and better things, as evidenced by Alvarado's retention of an expensive defense attorney and PR firm.
So, the notion that she's going to be conducting a seminar on financial literacy this weekend is just kind of hilarious, considering her own plight.
We can't help but wonder if she ran this idea by her expensive PR firm, given how ludicrous it seems. And, as David Benzion points out, it's hard to imagine Joe Householder approved of the clip art used on the flyer.
For anyone who wants to learn how to avoid being victimized by subordinates who might give themselves unauthorized pay raises, the seminar will be held on Saturday, from 1:00 to 3:00 pm, at the HCC Central Campus Gymnasium (1300 Holman).
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 03/24/06 08:55 AM | Houston People | Technorati | Comments (16)
Mack connects the red light camera dots
We (bH bloggers and commenters) have speculated before on any connections the winning red light camera vendor (ATS) might have with MayorWhiteChiefHurtt. Today Kristen Mack has the details:
HPD maintains that ATS won because it had the best overall package.
As is typical in efforts to land profitable city contracts, someone on every side has some City Hall connection.
ATS' ties are through former Texas Land Commissioner Gary Mauro, a good friend of White.
Mauro, though, says he was hired to consult ATS, not to lobby City Hall.
[snip]
The council approved the use of cameras to catch red-light violators in December 2004.
Those plans were stalled while the city fought legislative attempts to ban red-light cameras last year. Helping the city in the fight were prospective vendors, hoping for the lucrative city business.
The city won in Austin, with help from former City Councilman Bert Keller, who is vice president of sales for the southeast region for Rhode Island-based Nestor Traffic Systems. Nestor believed it could win the contract if the city kept the right to install red light cameras. But Nestor placed third among the three bidders.
Lawyer Darryl Carter, who lobbies on behalf of Dallas-based ACS, also kept close tabs on key developments in Austin.
ACS, which placed second, hasn't publicly fought the outcome — possibly because it has a motivation for maintaining warm relations with the city. ACS already collects city ambulance fees and is in line for a lucrative parking meter contract.
[snip]
By contrast, ATS, which didn't lobby at the Legislature, seemed to arrive out of nowhere. Based on the way business is usually done at City Hall, watchers were wondering how ATS was connected.
All they've been able to find is Mauro's longtime ties to White. Both worked in 1975 for then-U.S. Rep. Bob Krueger, D-New Braunfels. City Hall chatter to the contrary, Krueger says he has no ties to ATS.
But Mauro and White have other political connections. Mauro headed Bill Clinton's presidential campaigns in Texas. White worked in Clinton's administration as a deputy energy secretary.
That's good stuff from Mack...and some sunshine that needs to shine.
Let's not forget that the rules were changed during the camera test period, and that Nestor used collision-avoidance technology -- technology the city doesn't want to use.
But rest assured, Mayor White is still protecting Houstonians from red light camera shenanigans.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 03/24/06 08:19 AM | Houston Politics | Technorati | Comments (8)
Chronicle reporters analyze city's performance-pay spending
The Chronicle's Matt Stiles and Alexis Grant have been poring over records of bonuses to Houston municipal employees, and write about their findings in a story today.
Their entire story is worth reading, but I'm going to excerpt some notable findings:
About one in six city employees received extra money in their paychecks since Mayor Bill White took office in January 2004 under various performance-pay programs. They've collected about $4 million, according to a Houston Chronicle analysis of electronic payroll records.
[snip]
White defends authorized performance payments, saying they spur hard work and save money through efficiencies.
"Modern, successful organizations pay for performance," he said. "Part of my goal is to have the amount of city services we deliver increase much faster than the money we spend. That means rewarding efficiency."
[snip]
The top recipient of authorized bonuses is a 20-year veteran police mechanic who has received at least $95,000 more than his $33,000 base salary since 2004. He finishes front-end alignments and brake jobs faster than even his most skilled colleagues, police superiors say, earning him daily bonuses for beating average job times.
"I call him the Tiger Woods of fixing cars," said Ronald Young, who oversees the police fleet's maintenance operations.
The Police Department has led the city in bonus pay, spending at least $2.1 million since 2004, much of it to mechanics and their supply staffs. Uniformed employees, such as police officers and firefighters, don't receive performance bonuses.
Seven of the 10 city employees who got the most in bonuses were police mechanics. They received about $410,000 since 2004. The program started before White was elected.
Though they didn't provide any documentation, city and police officials say the program saves taxpayers' money.
Later in the story, Paul Bettencourt criticizes pay bonuses in general.
I don't have a problem in principle with performance bonuses of some sort, but when it gets to the point that a $33,000 mechanic is earning more than his salary in performance bonuses, it seems likely that the performance requirements are too low. City and police officials need to provide documentation of how the program saves taxpayers' money, rather than simply providing vague assurances.
Houblog has more detailed thoughts on the story.
What do you think? Do you agree with Mayor White or with Paul Bettencourt on performance bonuses? And how should a municipality structure performance bonuses so that the system isn't simply a mechanism for boosting salaries (and not performance necessarily)? Please leave your thoughts.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 03/24/06 08:15 AM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (2)
Press release coverage of the Parking Commission
As noted here, City Council approved Mayor White's appointments to the new Parking Commission, and the mayor has issued a press release. KPRC-2, being ever vigilant, got the press release and posted a little something:
The City of Houston has a new commission set up to ensure citizens get a parking spot in downtown.
The formation of the Public Parking Commission was announced Wednesday.
Officials said the commission would evaluate the city's current parking situation, what needs to be improved and where new parking spots could be allocated.
It will also analyze parking-related ordinances.
For pity's sake.
The formation of the new parking authority was not announced Wednesday. The idea of the unaccountable, quasi-governmental agency was first floated in February of 2005 and it was approved by Council in August of 2005. What happened on Wednesday was approval of the people who will rule over the authority, and in turn, Houston's parking.
KPRC's blurb ("where local news comes first") is just pathetic. The Houston Business Journal posted a story that's more accurate, but clearly comes straight from the mayor's press release.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 03/24/06 07:08 AM | Houston Politics | Technorati | Comments (2)
23 March 2006
Chron reader rep cracks on TMi page (again)
For the second time, the Houston Chronicle reader representative has publicly called out the newspaper's inane TMi page (in the STAR section) for questionable editorial judgment.
Here is what James Campbell wrote today, in the conclusion to his post about the decision to run a photo of full rear nudity on the TMi page yesterday:
On Wednesdays I dread turning to the page. Last Wednesday's page shows why.
In his earlier column, Campbell wrote that the newspaper gets "very little feedback on the page."
Today, Campbell wrote:
Readers of the print edition often complain about the page....
Frequent complaints would seem to be feedback of the sort that the newspaper doesn't want. Perhaps it's time for the Chronicle to do some market research to determine if that inane TMi page is at all attractive to subscribers (as opposed to the people who put it together and obviously intend it to be shocking, or self-fulfilling, or something). If somebody has done that research, perhaps it should be shared with the reader representative. Or perhaps *gasp* the Chronicle ought to consider listening to the complaints of its readers (and its reader representative).
We realize that last one might be tough for STAR journalists whose inclination is sometimes to lash out irrationally at readers, but it's just a friendly suggestion. Diversity is beauty, after all (even diversity of thought).
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 03/23/06 01:19 PM | Houston Chronicle | Technorati | Comments (12)
METRO bus hits downtown pedestrian
The KHOU-11 news blog reports that a METRO bus has struck a pedestrian (again):
A mother and daughter were crossing the street when the 67-year-old mom was struck by a Metro bus at the intersection of Fannin and Congress around 10 a.m.The victim was taken to Memorial Hermann Hospital. Two witnesses at the scene report the women were crossing with the light when then accident occurred.
Metro said the bus driver would be cited for failure to yield the right of way.
Be careful out there, people. Especially if you see any vehicle with the METRO logo.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 03/23/06 12:07 PM | Houston Transit | Technorati | Comments (1)
22 March 2006
Alvarado now the subject of criminal inquiry
After several weeks of (misleading) assurances from Mayor White and Carol Alvarado's PR people that Alvarado was not the subject of the investigation by OIG, it turns out that Alvarado is being investigated by the District Attorney's office. KPRC-2 reports:
Houston City Councilwoman Carol Alvarado is the subject of a criminal investigation by the Harris County District Attorney's Office, KPRC Local 2 reported Wednesday.The district attorney's office is investigating an allegation of criminal wrongdoing by the former mayor pro tem.
District Attorney Chuck Rosenthal told KPRC Local 2 that there are questions about whether Alvarado asked her employees to perform tasks unrelated to city business. The exact nature of the jobs was not disclosed, but it could be illegal if the tasks were carried out while the employees were on the clock for the city.
Rosenthal's office would be expected to investigate Alvarado to some extent simply as a matter of due diligence, so this wouldn't be particularly newsworthy save for the fact that Mayor White and Alvarado's PR team went out of their way to trumpet the fact Alvarado was not a subject of the earlier OIG investigation.
BLOGVERSATION: Houblog.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 03/22/06 10:25 PM | Houston People | Technorati | Comments (9)
AP eye for the death row baby killer guy
The Chronicle chose not to dispatch a member of its staff to cover the execution of a baby killer in the form of a Chron Eye, instead running AP copy today:
[Robert] Salazar, 27, was the sixth prisoner put to death this year in Texas and the second of four scheduled this month in the nation's busiest capital punishment state.
Salazar told police he just wanted Adriana, whom he was baby-sitting, to stop crying. So he pushed her with the back of his hand, causing her to fall down in a bathtub and hit her head.
``I did not mean to hurt Adriana,'' Salazar told police in a statement after his arrest for the girl's death in her Lubbock home. ``I don't want people to think I'm a bad person for what I did.''
But authorities said Salazar did more than push the toddler. In a violent rage, he inflicted injuries on Adriana that a pathologist who testified at his trial said were worse than those suffered by victims of auto accidents.
Nice guy.
Apparently, even the Chronicle's anti-death-penalty editors draw the line at sending out staff to portray an admitted baby-killer sympathetically.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 03/22/06 09:54 PM | Houston Chronicle | Technorati | Comments (0)
DeLay, Hutchison secure $20 million for Houston cops
Yesterday, Mayor Bill White, Police Chief Harold Hurtt, U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay, and Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison held a press conference downtown to discuss $20 million in funding secured by DeLay and Hutchison to boost Houston law enforcement (in partial response to the demands placed on HPD by the influx of hurricane refugees).
The money will be used to fund ongoing acronym crimefighting efforts (involving overtime expenditures) as well as cadet classes (to tackle the bigger manpower problem at HPD).
MEDIA COVERAGE: KPRC-2, KHOU-11, Chronicle.
UPDATE: As it turns out, the online story linked above didn't appear in the print version of the Chronicle. That's pathetic.
BLOGVERSATION: Texas Safety Forum.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 03/22/06 09:42 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (0)
Houston happenings
Let's take a look at Breaking City News on the City of Houston's website.
The city's water and sewer rates are going up, effective April 1:
In accordance with City of Houston, Code of Ordinance 2004-299, Water and Sewer Rates are adjusted annually based on the increase in costs in the region. A 3.6% adjustment (based on the Consumer Price Index) will take effect April 1, 2006 and will allow the City to deal with rising costs without having to cut back on services. This adjustment is also key in funding investments to prevent flooding in our neighborhoods, to rehabilitate aging water and sewer lines and to safeguard the security of our water supply.
Do you have a comment to share about the Tour de Houston? The city is soliciting feedback.
Here's information on the Mayor's Youth Council and Teen Task Force. There was a meeting last night...I wonder if local media covered it?
The city is moving ahead with Project Houston Hope's affordable housing:
The City of Houston is seeking comments on a draft request for proposals for turning vacant lots into affordable housing. The City is foreclosing on delinquent properties and will build housing allowing truly affordable home ownership. The first RFP will include about 175 lots suitable for 195 or more housing units. Down payment assistance shall be used to bring monthly payments down to a level where many working families now renting can instead build equity in their homes.
That's swell that Houston will work to get monthly house payments down to an affordable level, but what about property taxes? That's where many lower-income people end up losing their homes -- they can't afford the sky-high property taxes. Is Mayor White going to do something about that? Prop. 2 would help.
And the city is sponsoring the Government Procurement Connections conference at the George R. Brown Convention Center April 3 and 4.
Oh, and Council approved the mayor's recommendations to the Parking Commission, and the renaming of West Little York Park to Sylvester Turner Park.
UPDATE: I just saw something funny: on the city's main page the Tour de Houston headline says, "Give us your comments On Guarantee Bank Tour de Houston Bike Ride." Of course, it's Guaranty Bank.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 03/22/06 04:33 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (3)
Downtown Houston parking trap?
Isiah Carey goes on a parking rant:
This is the site [sic] that just kills me...people parked at meters in downtown Houston that are victimized when the the meter maids show up out of no where with the blue bags. The clueless driver then finds himself at a meter that's now off limits. You get a fat $65.00 ticket. It happened to me a month ago. The city of Houston should place up signs saying "Hey Dummy, even though you paid for this spot ten minutes ago you're still breaking the law and you're gonna get a big ticket." I think it's a scheme by parking enforcement to dig deep in our pockets. City Council Members where are you - make an ordinance for proper signage warning us poor Houston drivers that you're rolling into a trap.
He's got pictures, so follow the link. Maybe Carey can stick a camera in the new Parking Commission members' faces and ask them what's up. Then they can put their hands up to shield their faces while they run to their cars and he can chase after them. It'll make for a great news story!
UPDATE: Carey follows up with a response from Liliana Rambo, the city's head of parking enforcement.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 03/22/06 07:08 AM | Houston Transit | Technorati | Comments (5)
Mayor White to defend his SAFEclear program in court (updated)
Mayor White is heading to court today to defend one of his cornerstone programs: SAFEclear:
"We'll fight. We will fight the towing industry for the safety of the public," said Mayor White on Tuesday. "We do know that there are federal laws and state laws that might protect some activities by the towing operators. I just want to make sure they're fighting for the safety of the people in our region."
Mayor White is voluntarily testifying in federal court Wednesday. He will try to convince a federal judge that the city is actually complying with an order handed down last fall.
"We believe we complied with the court's order," said White.
When Safe Clear first began, only wreckers with contracts could tow stalled cars off Houston's highways. The court order forced the city to allow people to call their own wreckers, but the group that filed the lawsuit says the changes aren't good enough.
"They're still excluding us from doing business the way we did before in Houston," said Suzanne Pool with the Professional Towing Association.
Pool says she hopes to convince the federal judge that all wreckers, not just those with contracts, should be allowed to clear cars off Houston's highways. And she'd like that order handed down sooner rather than later.
KEVIN WHITED ADDS: Until the KTRK-13 story was posted, I hadn't seen any real detail in the other stories as to the specific legal complaint from Pool's group. If I'm reading this correctly, it would seem that Pool is insisting that federal law doesn't allow exclusive tow contracts of any sort. I don't know that a federal court is going to agree with that.
UPDATE (12:15 pm): Various media outlets are reporting that the federal judge declined to hear from Mayor White, and also declined to hold the city in contempt (of the court's previous order) after hearing from attorneys. Basically, that means that the SAFEclear program as presently construed will continue (as predicted above). The complainants have promised new legal action.
PREVIOUSLY: SAFEclear archives
LOCAL MEDIA COVERAGE: Chronicle, KUHF-88.7, KPRC-2, KHOU-11, KTRH-740
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 03/22/06 06:58 AM | Houston Transit | Technorati | Comments (6)
Metro's University Line town hall meeting (updated)
Local media covered Monday night's Metro town hall meeting discussing which route the University Line should take -- Westpark or Richmond. It appears from media accounts that the majority of those who attended the meeting opposed Metro's plan to put a new light rail line down Richmond. (In 2003 voters approved Metro's plan to put a line down Westpark.)
Rad Sallee's story included Robin Holzer of the Citizens' Transportation Coalition, who apparently is in favor of Richmond Avenue being used. I must say I was taken aback by her favoring Richmond, since she has been such a strong advocate for residents and municipalities having a say in road building projects:
"The process isn't always designed to engage the public," said Robin Holzer, who chairs the coalition. "We want to solve problems in the planning stage before contracts are let and before the bulldozers break ground."
The coalition wants road-building entities, such as the Harris County Toll Road Authority, to seek approval of their projects from affected residents or municipalities and hold at least three public meetings — day, evening and weekend.
Yet in writing about Metro's February board meeting, Robin said this:
What’s most notable to me about the elected officials’ comments is less about what they said than what they did not say: no one called for another expensive transit referendum and no one demanded that Richmond be taken off the table before it is studied. Chalk up one victory for democratic process and informed decision making!
I hope the CTC WILL support the democratic process by backing up what a majority of affected residents and business owners want when it comes to the University Line.
UPDATE: Chris Tritico is filling in for Chris Baker today and he thinks the 2003 referendum vote might be invalid, in the case of Westpark vs. Richmond, since Metro got approval for Westpark but now wants to build down Richmond.
I have used this example before and I still think it's a valid comparison: let's say a school district sells a bond vote by saying the funds will go to building a new library, a new science lab and a new health clinic. The citizens say yes to the bonds, then the school district comes in and says, well, we changed our minds. We think that instead of building the library, the science lab and the health clinic, we'd like to build a new media box for the football stadium, a new indoor swimming pool and some soccer fields.
A school district can't do that. They sold the vote on a specific list of items and the district needs to abide by what was on the ballot, or present a new list of wants for a new vote.
BLOGVERSATION: Off the Kuff
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 03/22/06 06:46 AM | Houston Transit | Technorati | Comments (23)
21 March 2006
HISD's latest TAKS test results
The results from HISD's February's TAKS reading tests are in and the numbers appear to be encouraging, with fifth-graders making strong gains:
According to officials at the Texas Education Agency, eight out of 10 HISD third graders passed the TAKS reading test in English this year, and seven out of 10 fifth graders passed.
HISD saw a big increase—five percentage points—in the number of third graders reaching "commended" status, up from 29 percent in 2005 on the third-grade English-language reading test to 34 percent in 2006.
On March 10, the Texas Education Agency released the scores of third and fifth graders who took the reading test in February.
The passing rate for HISD's third graders was about the same in 2006 as in 2005, but fifth graders saw a strong increase. The passing rate for English-speaking students on the fifth-grade reading test increased from 62 percent in 2005 to 70 percent this year, and increased from 68 percent to 71 percent for Spanish-speaking students.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 03/21/06 10:35 AM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (3)
Mayor Pro Tem's office: Forgeries R Us?
Remember when (temporarily former) Mayor Pro Tem Carol Alvarado was shaken as she saw a memo that contained her allegedly forged initials? Courtesy of Houblog, here is the side-by-side comparison of Councilwoman Alvarado's initials and the allegedly forged ones.
Then Isiah Carey posted a couple of other Bonusgate documents with an entirely different set of initials/signatures (lower left corner). And as Ubu Roi points out, who signed in Mayor White's spot (lower right corner)?
And now fired Mayor Pro Tem office staffer Christopher Mays says that HIS signature was forged:
Mays collected more than $30,000 in extra pay. His signature appears on many of the documents that allowed the employees under investigation to pad their paychecks.
Now, there are questions about whether Mays' signature was forged.
He told KPRC by phone, "I can tell you this. My signature was forged, forged many times."
KPRC checked some documents to compare Mays' signature with his authentic signature.
One of the documents was a memo from former City Councilman Gordon Quan that surfaced last week.
A former employee of Quan said a memo requesting additional money for the mayor pro tem's office is absolutely fake. She is not sure if Mays was in on it.
Another document approving the bonuses showed Mays as the one who prepared the paperwork. But sources told KPRC Local 2 that Mays did not have access to the software that would have allowed him to fill out the document.
Are there ANY initials or signatures on ANY documents from the Mayor Pro Tem's office that can be authenticated??? Was this only going on in the Mayor Pro Tem's office under Alvarado, or is this SOP throughout city government?
PREVIOUSLY: Now it's Gordon Quan's initials that may have been forged
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 03/21/06 09:57 AM | Houston Politics | Technorati | Comments (13)
Meals on Wheels program struggles to meet demand
The Chronicle ran a troubling story last week on the difficulties that Houston's Meals On Wheels is facing:
Now, almost 4,000 elderly, homebound Houston-area residents receive free meals through Meals on Wheels programs sponsored by Interfaith Ministries, the YWCA of Houston and the Jewish Community Center. Free meals are also served at various sites across the city.The three agencies' waiting lists have steadily increased in the past few months, and because Interfaith Ministries delivers more meals (3,000) than the other agencies, its waiting list has seen the most growth. In the past six months, 50 residents have signed up each month, and 1,003 residents are waiting for service. The agency said increased awareness of the program and more referrals from health care providers are driving the surge in demand.
The agency must raise more than $1 million to cover costs and accommodate the additional 1,000 clients, said David Roberts, director of Interfaith's senior nutrition services.
In south Houston's Sunnyside neighborhood, about 200 people are on the YWCA's waiting list. The agency serves 610 elderly residents.
"Times are bad," said Rhonda Thornton, director of senior services.
In southwest Houston, the Jewish Community Center's 75 volunteers deliver free meals to 330 residents during the week, said Jerry Wische, the center's director. About 50 people are awaiting the service, he said.
Those on waiting lists sometimes are added to service rolls when a client dies, moves away or no longer needs service. Others are added when a new route opens up. Still, agency leaders said they are mindful of how long elderly residents are on the lists.
Interfaith Ministries' goal of serving all of those on its waiting list poses real financial obstacles.
"Once you ratchet up to feed another 1,000 people, you're going to have to feed those people. It's not a one time deal," the Jewish Community Center's Wische said. "It becomes a base increase."
The Meals on Wheels agencies receive funding from the Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services, United Way, area churches, businesses and private donations.
In the past few years, Harris County Area Agency on Aging figures show slight decreases in funding for meal-delivery agencies. Interfaith Ministries receives about $2.5 million each year from the agency on aging, covering about 60 percent of its $3.9 million annual budget, Roberts said.
Each meal costs $5, and the annual cost per client is $1,200.
Strangely, the Chronicle (good corporate citizen that it is *ahem*) omitted any information on how generous Houstonians might donate to the Meal on Wheels program. Here is the Meals on Wheels donation page for Interfaith Ministries.
UPDATE: KTRK-13 reports that Mayor White is trying to raise awareness of the program. Their reporting also contains the link provided above.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 03/21/06 08:30 AM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (1)
20 March 2006
City Council topics: Parking Commission members and renaming a park
This week's city council agenda has a couple of interesting items.
First, Mayor White's recommendations for the city's new Parking Commission:
3. REQUEST from Mayor for confirmation of the appointment of the following to the PUBLIC PARKING COMMISSION:
Position Six - MR. ROBERT EURY, as an ex-officio representative of the City’s Municipal Management Districts
Position Seven - MR. GERARD TORRES, for a term to expire 12/31/2006
Position Eight - MR. MARCUS L. DAVIS, for a term to expire 12/31/2007
Position Nine - MR. M. MARVIN KATZ, and to serve as Chair, for a term to expire 12/31/2006
Position Ten - MS. MICHELLE LYNN COLVARD, for a term to expire 12/31/2007
Position Eleven - MR. JOE R. MARTIN, for a term to expire 12/31/2006
Position Twelve - MR. ANDREW F. ICKEN, for a term to expire 12/31/2007
Position Thirteen - MS. EVALYN LAING KRUDY, for a term to expire 12/31/2006
Position Fourteen - MR. CHARLES D. REEDSTROM, for a term to expire 12/31/2007
Position Fifteen - MS. MARY JO (JODY) MCFADDEN, for a term to expire 12/31/2006
There are definitely some Houston Cocktail Party Circuit names on that list. Thanks to Tom Bazan for the heads up and no thanks to our local media for their coverage. Talk about dropping the ball! A whole new quasi-governmental agency is getting underway and our local newshounds can't be bothered to tell us who will be doing the decision-making (as unelected officials). So much for our watchdog media that keeps the public's right to know at the forefront. Mayor White must be pleased.
Second is this fun one, courtesy of bH commenter Vernon Guy:
5. RECOMMENDATION from Director Parks & Recreation Department to change the name of WEST LITTLE YORK PARK, located at 2800 West Little York to SYLVESTER TURNER PARK DISTRICT A - LAWRENCE
I guess we now know what some of those Tour de Houston funds will go to -- new park signage.
UPDATE: Ubu Roi does some Googling on the soon-to-be Parking Commission members.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 03/20/06 05:34 PM | Houston Politics | Technorati | Comments (14)
Bonusgate documents
Isiah Carey has posted copies of a couple of Bonusgate documents. Go check them out.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 03/20/06 05:05 PM | Houston Politics | Technorati | Comments (9)
Motorists complain about Spur 527 ramp; TXDOT spins
One component of the Spur 527 reconstruction has now opened, and motorists are already complaining to the Chronicle's Rad Sallee about the poor design:
The news is better on Spur 527, which links the southwest side of downtown with the Southwest Freeway. Its outbound lanes reopened last week after being closed since February 2004 for rebuilding. And by the end of the month, the inbound lanes should be open too, TxDOT said.
Not everyone is pleased with the result, however. Patti Roth writes that the outbound entrance ramp to the rebuilt spur from Milam and Richmond is "so short it's nearly impossible to merge on."
"Not only that, you're coming up to the spur and it's coming down to meet the ramp, so there is no way to see anyone as you're merging," she said.
Stu MacPherson has a similar warning. "I used the new on-ramp to U.S. 59 South at Milam and Alabama for the first time Monday afternoon and nearly lost my life!" he wrote.
"The ramp spills out onto the main spur ... with absolutely no merge lane and zero visibility of the traffic already on the spur. Had I been 1 second later, the Suburban doing 70 mph in my (our) lane would have obliterated me," he said.
Sallee's correspondents are right. I stopped using the lane after one use, and now go out of my way to enter the Spur from Smith, because the Milam entrance ramp to the spur is effectively a suicide merge. There is simply no excuse for TXDOT to have done such a poor job with that ramp.
Of course, that doesn't stop TXDOT's designated apologist from spinning:
TxDOT spokeswoman Janelle Gbur said she believes both readers are talking about the same ramp, which comes off Milam between Alabama and Richmond, and she acknowledged it is a tight merge.
TxDOT will monitor the site for problems and verify that it complies with required design standards, Gbur said. "But it is not our practice to start piling on modifications within a couple of days after opening a new facility," she said.
Gbur added that project engineer Quincy Allen inspected the ramp and agreed that because the spur has been raised about 9 feet and has higher guardrails than before, it lacks the visibility that drivers are used to on entrance ramps.
Gbur disagreed that there is no merge lane. She said a "reasonable" distance is allowed for entering traffic to merge."But because of the limited visibility, motorists may feel they have no time at all," she said.
Translation: Until someone dies, we're really not that concerned with what mere motorists think of our edifice, and we'll continue to put forth our version of reality, where limited visibility and a suicide merge are "reasonable."
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 03/20/06 12:46 PM | Houston Transit | Technorati | Comments (12)
19 March 2006
Second annual Tour de Houston
Saturday was Tour de Houston bike ride day:
Among the roughly 2,500 participants was one cyclist diligently leading the crusade of inspiring Houstonians to ramp up their level of activity via marathons or bicycle rides.
"I just want to let people know that keeping fit can be fun. It's not like any big sacrifice," said Major Bill White, an avid cyclist. "Leadership is about setting a good example."
White has doggedly tried to encourage Houstonians to seek fitness. He was joined Saturday morning by Houston Councilwoman Carol Alvarado and another cycling enthusiast.
"I fought obesity most of my life, and I suspect that I'll continue that battle," said District 13 State Senator Rodney Ellis. "From liquid solutions to diet pills, finally I matured enough to get an exercise program and a nutritionist to help me learn how to eat.
Proceeds from the Tour will benefit the Houston Parks and Recreation Department.
I'm disappointed. The story doesn't mention Houston bicyclist Bob Stein.
As for the proceeds, let's hope Councilwoman Alvarado won't be overseeing those funds as they make their way to Parks and Rec.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 03/19/06 09:42 PM | Houston Life | Technorati | Comments (5)
Metro's new PR campaign
Metro has decided to go on offense and Rad Sallee has the details:
Metro's board heard a staff report Thursday on the agency's new "Communication, Education and Awareness Plan," days before a crucial public meeting on a proposed University light rail line.
CEAP. Hmmm. Metro should get with Chief Hurtt for a better acronym.
President and CEO Frank Wilson added, "We need to do status reports and updates, so people will know where we are." He said there is "extreme interest from the community" about Metro's plans — particularly for the University line — along with "a lot of misinformation and a lot of fear."
[snip]
Karen Marshall, Metro director of community outreach and government affairs, said the increased public information efforts include ads in news media and an enhanced Web site.
[snip]
Metro's enhanced Web page includes a link to an article in Houston Intown Magazine headlined "Why the Richmond Rail Line Makes Sense," by planner and "smart growth" advocate David Crossley.
Wilson said the page will also include testimonials from business people who weathered the years of light rail construction on Main Street and are now benefiting from the line.
Asked if it would only post material favorable to Metro's plans, Wilson said he would post anything "pertinent and germane."
"It's an open forum," he said. "I can learn something from a criticism as well as I can a compliment."
Asked about using tax dollars to advertise its programs, he said, "We're not advertising the program. We're providing information."
Oh right! Just some info. If Metro really wants to provide information, it would start posting all Danger Train crash details on its website. You know, the details Tom Bazan has to do an open records request to get. (Funny how the Chronicle didn't make that a part of its Sunshine Week coverage.)
We won't hold our breath for any links to criticism.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 03/19/06 08:45 PM | Houston Transit | Technorati | Comments (2)
The ongoing quest for a "world-class" downtown destination
The Chronicle's Alexis Grant plays up the City of Houston's latest effort to create a "world-class" downtown destination:
With a new wireless network, contemporary furniture and a cafe, the renovated downtown library could become a weekend destination for fun, relaxation and, of course, research.
That's the hope of John Middleton, who's coordinating the renovation of the Central Library's Jesse H. Jones Building, which is scheduled to start next month. It's planned to be completed by the end of 2007.
Why can't we just renovate the library with the goal of building the best darn library that we can reasonably afford?
Why must the inferiority complex of so many members of the downtown establishment always lead to these grandiose expectations (okay, I guess I built the answer into the question)? Why can't the renovation just be a renovation, and not the creation of a weekend destination for fun and relaxation?!
Of course, some members of the "world class" crowd aren't buying what is being sold:
Architectural writer Barrie Scardino said the city should build a new downtown library instead of revamping the old one.
"It's a good building, it's just not a good library for today's needs," Scardino said. "Why spend the money to make this building work when (building a new one) is probably inevitable anyway?"
Houston should have a library that rivals that of Seattle, Scardino said. Seattle's $165 million, 11-story glass-and-steel building is revered by architecture experts.
Middleton, however, said a new library likely won't be built in the next few years. A Seattle-like investment in the downtown library would not make sense in Houston, he said, because the city's sprawl prevents large numbers of people from using it. Most people use their local branch instead, he said.
"The difference in justifying a huge Central Library is we don't have a huge central population," he said. "When half of the population would have to drive 25 miles to get here or 30 or 40 miles or more, it's not the same dynamic."
In other words, even an architectural marvel like Seattle's "world-class" library wouldn't create a downtown destination in Houston, an admission that contradicts Grant's pronouncement at the beginning of the story.
I guess that's balance, Chron-style.
PREVIOUSLY: Downtown library to close for renovation.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 03/19/06 05:29 PM | Houston Life | Technorati | Comments (10)
18 March 2006
Schiavo gives Chron editors difficulty
In a staff editorial, the Chronicle's editorial LiveJournalists apparently got so excited about former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor's warnings about the coming American dictatorship that they wrote the following:
O'Connor then singled out by deed, though not by name, two Texas politicians for their verbal attacks upon the court for doing its job. Last year, criticizing federal and state court rulings that allowed Terry Schiavo's vegetative state to end in death, then-House Majority Leader Tom DeLay said, "The time will come for the men responsible for this to answer for their behavior."
Who is Terry Schiavo?
Do they mean the late Terri Schiavo?
That wasn't the only bungled reference to Schiavo in recent Chronicle editions. The news section managed to "edit" a reprint of an article by the Washington Post'