30 June 2007
Aiyer pleads guilty to campaign-finance-related charge
The Chronicle's Kristen Mack reports that HCC Trustee Jay Aiyer has pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor related to campaign finance:
Houston Community College Trustee Jay Aiyer pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of tampering with a governmental record Thursday and received a year of probation.
Aiyer, one-time candidate for Houston City Council, also must fulfill 160 hours of community service and pay a $750 fine. He also is prohibited from working on any political campaigns during his probation.
Aiyer, 38, a lawyer and former chief of staff for former Mayor Lee Brown, has served as an HCC trustee since 2001.
[snip]
Aiyer originally was charged with a state jail felony, but pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor to avoid a trial.
"It made sense to make peace," Aiyer's lawyer, Dennis Cain, said. "It could have had a massive impact on his future had he pleaded to a felony. It doesn't make sense to risk that kind of exposure. He wanted to put it behind him."
That is some kind of spin from Mr. Cain.
It is difficult to believe that a politician thought to have a bright future would cop a guilty plea to tampering with government documents simply because of the risk of exposure -- unless, of course, "risk of exposure" is translated as "high risk of guilty verdict."
At best, it appears that Aiyer made a mistake -- a really dumb, costly mistake. Indeed, that's the impression given by a part of the legal record reproduced on Miya Shay's KTRK-13 blog (although this is from the prosecutor's perspective):
On April 18th, 2005, Jay Aiyer was notified that a complaint had been filed against him regarding this with the Texas Ethics Commission. Mr. Aiyer was interviewed by HCDA Public Integrity on 11/15/06 and confronted with this information. Mr. Aiyer has told three different stories about when and how he came to file his original schedule F campaign finance report. When confronted with these inconsistencies, Mr. Aiyer came just short of admitting he had stolen the original Schedule F and substituted a more properly filled out one. When asked to tell the truth about what he did, and pointing out what evidences pointed to his tampering with the records, he stated that if he did admit to doing this, it could mean his losing too much.
Kristen Mack reported additional details in an earlier story on the legal charges.
It's an unfortunate and ironic turn of events for Aiyer. It's unfortunate, in that he seemed to have a future in Houston politics (indeed, we praised his willingness to talk about HPD's manpower shortage, back when the Mayor and his Council preferred to ignore the problem). It's ironic that his one-time opponent Sue Lovell's charges against him ultimately led to this outcome, since the appearance of organized labor seemingly purchasing her victory over Aiyer in their Council race also raised legal and ethical questions.
DEEP BACKGROUND: Questions over council candidate's campaign finance (Doug Miller, KHOU-11 News, 04/15/05), HCCS account at root of candidate scrutiny (Kristen Mack, Houston Chronicle, 08/05/05)
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 06/30/07 03:32 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (10)
Fertitta self-celebration pre-empts Phoenix!
Look who attended Tilman Fertitta's celebration of himself last week (according to Chronicle columnist Shelby Hodge):
Police Chief Harold Hurtt and wife Lonetta passed on the tequila but didn't fail to observe the grandeur of the party and of the estate. "There's a lot of opportunity in Houston. That's for sure, and a lot of people take advantage," he said.
Hurtt added that Fertitta had just agreed to serve as chairman of the Houston Police Foundation, "and I'm here tonight to make sure that he doesn't change his mind."
It's good to know that some things in Houston are more important than getting away to Phoenix on the weekends!
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 06/30/07 01:12 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (1)
29 June 2007
Mack: Clarence Bradford eyes run for DA post
In a column about Democratic aspirations to sweep Harris County in 2008, the Chronicle's Kristen Mack includes this bit of hilarity:
Former Houston Police Chief C.O. Bradford will take on GOP District Attorney Chuck Rosenthal.
[snip]
The most intriguing matchup will be the DA's race, given the long history between Bradford and Rosenthal.Bradford, who served as police chief in Mayor Lee Brown's administration, still has some battle scars.
Among them, a last-minute pay raise Brown gave Bradford that increased his pension, the crime lab debacle that began during his tenure, and an indictment on a perjury charge that eventually was dismissed by a trial judge.
Bradford was considering running for sheriff — going from the top cop in the city to the top officer in the county seems a more natural jump — but his strategists advised him that Thomas would be able to capitalize on each of those mishaps.
A matchup against Rosenthal would play like a grudge match, potentially giving Bradford some inoculation.
It will be difficult for Clarence Bradford to inoculate himself against his own record during the Lee Brown reign of error, not to mention the pointed criticism he received in the Bromwich reports on the crime lab fiasco.
Come to think of it, Bradford never really has answered to the public following the criticism from Bromwich. His campaign for DA ought to provide an excellent opportunity for him to answer all sorts of questions about his significant role in the crime lab fiasco.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 06/29/07 11:18 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (15)
28 June 2007
3,000
Future Hall of Famer Craig Biggio got his 3,000th hit tonight.
Baseball fans in most cities won't ever get to enjoy such an accomplishment, especially from a guy who stays on the same team his entire career.
Congrats, Bidge!
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 06/28/07 09:40 PM | Houston People | Technorati | Comments (7)
27 June 2007
Connelly surveys Houston sports talk radio
There's an interesting story by Richard Connelly on Houston's explosion of sports/guy talk radio stations in this week's Houston Press
There are things we already knew (Charlie Pallilo is tops).
There are things we didn't know (Rich Lord actually claims to over-prepare!).
There are things that raise an eyebrow (like John McClain's on-air flirting).
And much more.
In all, it's a pretty entertaining read.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 06/27/07 10:36 PM | Houston Media | Technorati | Comments (3)
Synchronization that doesn't make sense?
The Chronicle ran an interesting column from Lisa Falkenberg yesterday.
With recent stories on red light cameras, Falkenberg started wondering why the traffic lights downtown are "synchronized" in a way that makes little sense (that is to say, they all turn red or green at once, rather than maximizing the numbers of lights that a vehicle moving at an optimal speed can get through).
So she started to ask some of the city's experts.
Wes Johnson, spokesman for the Department of Public Works and Engineering, told me the lights were programmed "in sync" several years ago to help simplify traffic patterns during major downtown road construction.
But that construction was finished a few years ago. Why haven't the lights changed back?
Johnson wasn't sure. "It's real complicated," he said. "It's like rocket science. I've tried to get those guys to explain it."
That's just the way it is. Not to worry. Move along.
Another public works spokesman, Alvin Wright, tried to convince me that the lemminglike traffic-light pattern was "progress." He said it was part of a major mobility project and was helping reduce commute times.
I argued with him, then asked to speak with an expert. "We'll get you educated," Wright joked.
That's just the way it is. Not to worry. Move along, tee hee!
Finally, the expert, assistant public works director Jeffrey Weatherford, validated my concerns. He said he asked the same questions when he moved here from Arizona last year.
The traffic pattern downtown and in midtown's fringe isn't exactly progress, he said. It's a holdover from the heavy construction era. And the proper term for it is "simultaneous green." (Simultaneous red seems more accurate.)
"The driving habits right now of the public when you've got the simultaneous green are that it entices them to try and see if they can get that last green," Weatherford said. "And we don't want that."
Weatherford, who oversees Houston's traffic operations, said the "simultaneous green" remains for two reasons: Staff resources were focused on other parts of town and, when it was implemented, the public responded favorably.
Apparently, he said, drivers were delighted to see all the lights turn green at once and they felt like "gee, the system is working right."
The lights must have been really screwed up before, I thought. How could the stop-and-go pattern be an improvement?
Oh, it was really screwed up before. Falkenberg is lucky she came to the city after the Lee Brown era (or error, if you prefer).
Nonetheless, from "really screwed up" to "halfway screwed up" isn't the best we can do (and it certainly falls short of "world class"), especially after all the PR emissions from the administration on synchronizing lights and improving mobility.
Falkenberg notes that Weatherford has a project in the works to reprogram downtown north-south lights in a progressive pattern, but that he first has to build public support. Here's wishing him well in his efforts (maybe the mayor's PR staff could even help him out). Because like Falkenberg, I can't see why anyone would prefer traffic light eye candy to actual improvements in mobility.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 06/27/07 09:57 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (21)
26 June 2007
Coven Gathering/300 Club celebration: Saturday, June 30
As threatened here, we've decided to have a long-overdue blog gathering on Saturday.
We'll be honoring Vernon Guy and the rest of the 300 Club (commenters with 300 or more comments).
The festivities will take place on Saturday, June 30, at Byzantio on West Gray, from 4pm - ????
If you're a bH reader, blogger, commenter, 300 Clubber, or just feel like sitting on the patio and having a nice drink or Greek appetizer, please feel free to drop by.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 06/26/07 10:52 PM | Announcements | Technorati | Comments (21)
What did we get for our $3.8 billion?
Last week, City Council passed a $3.8 billion budget. We didn't comment at the time, as we were a bit under the weather, but there was a fair amount of news and blog commentary.
As noted in the main Matt Stiles story for the Chronicle, here are some highlights:
* The Mayor and Council reduced the property tax rate slightly, although appraisal creep will still result in an estimated 7% increase in aggregate property tax revenue.
* Spending on public safety will exceed $1 billion for the first time. Council added one police cadet class (for a total of seven), which could result in an addition of 200 net officers if assumptions hold.
* The waste-reduction fee proposed by the Mayor's task force met its demise, which was also noted by Slampo.
We later learned from a Stiles blog post that Councilmember Michael Berry's amendment to abolish the Mayor's Office on Immigrant and Refugee Affairs (MOIRA) was withdrawn, after Mayor White "agreed that the office should end activities perceived as advocacy for illegal immigrants." Advantage: Slampo.
The city budgeted $75 million for HMEPS, which was short of the amount that would have been required by law, had the city and HMEPS not finally reached agreement on the new figure (see also NewsWatch: City Hall) in a deal that allegedly preserves benefits for current city workers but changes benefits for future workers. Nobody really wants to talk about the remaining unfunded liability, but that will now be the next mayor's problem. We'll surely be blogging about it a few years from now, unless we find a new hobby by then.
And finally, there was an odd column from Kristen Mack last Friday on the budget, in which Mack asserted that the budget reflects an overly cautious, micromanaging mayor contemplating a run for statewide office on a platform of tax cutting and public safety. That actually sounds pretty good to us, bringing to mind images of Rudy Giuliani (who cleaned up a worse mess in New York City than even Lee Brown could have caused -- although Lee P. did contribute in his own way). Alas, Houston's spending growth (and fee growth) along with the crime issue cause our mayor to come up a bit short in comparisons with Giuliani (which might have been a less confusing thesis).
So, there's your two-glasses-of-wine-and-nearly-a-week-late review of the budget. Please be sure to add your own thoughts in the comments.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 06/26/07 10:36 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (6)
A conservative columnist for the Chronicle?
Chronicle reader representative James Campbell follows up on the news of Cragg Hines' retirement with this interesting blog tidbit today:
I spoke with Chronicle editorial page editor James Howard Gibbons who said he wants to hire a local conservative columnist to put in the mix of staff columnists. Stay tuned for more details.
That would be quite a development, if Gibbons actually follows through.
Still, we'd settle for a web-savvy columnist who might be willing to shake things up a little -- say, this guy or this guy. They both have journalism backgrounds, after all, and newspapers like that. Plus they're wicked writers (and I like that).
If you have any suggestions for the Chronicle, feel free to leave a comment on Campbell's blog.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 06/26/07 09:25 PM | Houston Chronicle | Technorati | Comments (8)
Breaking news you CAN get elsewhere (06-26-2007 edition)
The Chron.com Froot Loops bureau has been watching the TV news again this morning:
A tow truck driver was shot to death in southeast Houston late Monday night, according to televised reports by KTRK (Channel 13) and KHOU (Channel 11).
Authorities gave reporters this account: The driver was leaving a restaurant at Reed and Mallory after having dinner when he was approached by someone who shot him. The driver pressed the gas of his truck and plowed into a pole in the restaurant's parking lot, and died at the scene.
About 100 people who knew the victim gathered at the scene and were shocked to learn of his death.
Police plan to comb the victim's truck for evidence, but have no description of the suspect.
The driver was leaving a restaurant when he was approached by someone who shot him (according to the TV news, of course)?
That's some fine online city news desk the Chronicle is running these days.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 06/26/07 09:02 AM | Houston Chronicle | Technorati | Comments (0)
25 June 2007
Maybe if the bayou weren't so brackish...
The Chronicle runs a feature by Carolyn Feibel on the Buffalo Bayou Partnership's Sunday kayaking trip on the Buffalo Bayou.
While this blogger is generally a fan of leisurely sightseeing via kayak, sightseeing via kayak on that particular stretch of Buffalo Bayou doesn't sound that appealing (for free, let alone $50). For those who go, this advice from a Chron.com commenter seems worthwhile:
Make sure to take a shower with antibacterial soap, dress all cuts and scapes and insect bites, this water is polluted and full of sewage during some periods. Consider, going to another place, this waterway is an urban nightmare, even though it appears fine from a distance.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 06/25/07 09:18 PM | Houston Life | Technorati | Comments (10)
24 June 2007
Cy-Fair ISD to consider $807 million bond referendum!
Wow:
A Cypress-Fairbanks school bond study committee unanimously approved an $807.1 million bond issue recommendation on Monday.
The bond issue would fund new schools, buses, technology and renovation work on several of the district's existing schools and facilities in the next five years.
The bond issue could raise Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District's debt service tax rate as much as 6.5 cents as the bonds are sold and debt is repaid.
Remember Cy-Fair ISD built the huge Berry Center for $81 million; included in this bond proposal are two high schools that could cost $97 million...EACH!
Bond committee members also considered ways to further reduce the cost of two proposed high schools, which would be the district's 11th and 12th high schools, in the bond recommendation.
They said there was concern in the community about building two schools at about $97.5 million each.
Concern? Ya think? High schools that cost almost $100 million should be a cause for concern. Will they look like this? Or maybe this?
Cy-Fair ISD officials have to worry that there will come a time when residents won't want to fund the continued fluff and extravagance. Will this referendum be too much for Cy-Fair residents? We'll find out.
PREVIOUSLY: Residents send a clear message to Spring ISD, The backlash against school bond elections
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 06/24/07 10:39 AM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (8)
23 June 2007
KHOU's Lauck files last report
The veteran reporter is stepping away from the news grind because of his battle with Parkinson's disease, which he revealed to the public this week.
Lauck's farewell report is available here. Mike McDaniel's related story for the Chronicle is available here.
Here's wishing Dan Lauck all the best in his battle against Parkinson's. Houston news consumers will certainly miss him.
BLOGVERSATION: Isiah Carey's Insite.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 06/23/07 03:27 PM | Houston Media | Technorati | Comments (3)
Chron D.C. columnist Hines to retire next month
Yesterday, MediaBistro's Fishbowl DC reported that Chronicle columnist Cragg Hines is retiring:
FishbowlDC has learned that Houston Chronicle Washington columnist (and former Houston Chronicle D.C. Bureau Chief) Cragg Hines is retiring after 35 years with the paper. A Gridiron fixture, Hines has become one of the great Washington monuments in the journalism community. He is leaving at the end of July.
Chronicle reader representative James Campbell confirmed the news in response to my email query last night.
In light of this news, maybe the Houston-area Coven will have a retirement party for Mr. Hines next Saturday (we can also celebrate Vernon Guy and the rest of our 300-comment club). Details to follow shortly.
So, will Hines be replaced, and will the Chronicle finally hire a moderate-to-conservative columnist to balance its stable of lefties? Or will Jeff Cohen consider shuttering that irrelevant D.C. Bureau altogether?
ANNE LINEHAN ADDS: Awwww, we're going to miss Cragg. Will his famous fur coat end up in the Smithsonian, seeing as how he's a "Washington monument"?
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 06/23/07 12:54 PM | Houston Chronicle | Technorati | Comments (12)
City surplus jumps to $33 million
In her June newsletter, City Controller Annise Parker announced that the city's budget surplus had increased to $33 million -- $15 million more than last month's surplus:
The city's robust projected FY07 surplus jumped another $15 million this month thanks in large part to a FEMA refund for the city's Hurricane Katrina and Rita expenses.
Houston City Controller Annise Parker reported that the current Monthly Financial and Operating Report (MFOR) projects a $33 million increase in General Fund undesignated reserves compared to $18.1 million reported last month. This is the net result of a $13 million increase in projected revenues and a $1.9 million drop in expenditures.
Revenues
• Intergovernmental revenue rose $8.8 million because of FEMA repayment for city expenses during Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
• Projected phone franchise fees are $2.9 million higher.
• Interest income jumped $2 million due to continuing higher cash balances.
• Other Taxes increased $575,000 because of third quarter mixed beverage tax receipt from the state.
• Projection for Miscellaneous/Other revenues dropped $6.4 million. [...]
Just thought you might find that interesting, especially the next time Mayor White says the city doesn't have money for ________ (fill in the blank).
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 06/23/07 10:13 AM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (8)
21 June 2007
The Museum of Printing History hunts down Houston hoaxes
Houston's Museum of Printing History is one of my favorite local haunts. I've attended meetings there, visited exhibits, and shown off the museum to friends. Writers get a kick out of the miniature book collection. Artists embrace the working galleries and paper making classes. History buffs revel in the recreated printing shops and Early Texas news. This summer the halls are full of stories that brim with deception. Houston hoaxes. Surely I can find a free hour or two between now and the end of September to check this out:
Forgers, Frauds, & Pirates:
Faking the Book
May 10 - September 30, 2007Exposing the dark side of the literary world, this exhibition gathers many of the most infamous examples of published deception to appear over the past four hundred years. Visitors to the exhibition will see copies of the Texas Declaration of Independence and a newspaper account of the death of George Washington, as well as other works. All are fraudulent. Behind these fake objects stand the fascinating stories of their forgers, depicting the wide range of motives and personalities behind these frauds -- which sometimes led to other crimes, including murder. Be sure not to miss our cases devoted to forgeries and hoaxes perpetrated in Houston.
Posted by Vikk Simmons @ 06/21/07 10:36 PM | Houston Arts/Culture | Technorati | Comments (3)
METRO fires train operator
KHOU-11's Jason Whitely reports that METRO has fired train operator LaShonda Gordon following a wrong-track incident in May:
Gordon is telling her story here for the first time.
“I blew my horn,” she remembered. “He gave me a proceed sign to come through and I did. I crossed over from Track 1 to Track 2 and I thought ‘I don’t remember getting a command to crossover.’”
She didn’t get one.
As 11 News first reported, a crew was working on the switch and mistakenly left it open causing Gordon’s northbound light rail train, carrying 180 passengers, to move over to the southbound track.
“I’m trying to call on the radio but there were a lot of people on the radio at this time,” Gordon recalled as soon as she crossed over. “I don’t know who was talking or what but I couldn’t get through. So I called them on my cell phone.”
Her personal cell phone, a pink Sanyo, is how Metro found out.
When our story prompted the transit agency to call a news conference on May 21, Metro bragged its redundant safety procedures prevented disaster.
Not true.
Gordon’s call evidently did.
The switch crew didn’t realize the mistake, neither did the flagger and the Metro controller at Transtar never noticed the train on the wrong track.
Of all those people, LaShonda Gordon, the only one to apparently recognize the problem, was also the only one fired.
Just another METRO fiasco. Nothing to see here (say the METRO PR folks), move along.
The Chronicle's Rad Sallee reports on the firing here.
BLOGVERSATION: Houblog.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 06/21/07 10:20 PM | Houston Transit | Technorati | Comments (19)
Now the Houston Zoo raises admission fees
Okay, this business about the increase in toll road fees this week has been bad enough, but now the Chronicle reports that our friends at the zoo plan to make it a bit more financially difficult to watch the bears and walk among the snakes, bats, and birds at the zoo. Fie. Adults will pay ten dollars and then pay another five per child. While I want the zoo to take appropriate care of the animals, provide a good environment, and continue the great learning experience offered to Houstonians, it does seem a shame that a family of four will be spending twenty (uh, make that thirty) dollars just to gain entrance.
UPDATE: Thanks to Adam, an ever-alert reader, for the math correction. Too much frustration creates a fertile ground for very bad math. Reader Sedosi made the excellent suggestion to check into memberships. I haven't seen anything to indicate a raise in memberships--yet. A family membership (2 adults, up to 3 children) costs seventy dollars. Sounds like a great deal with a lot of additional benefits.
BLOGVERSATION: Lose an Eye, It's a Sport, Off the Kuff.
Posted by Vikk Simmons @ 06/21/07 08:58 PM | Houston Arts/Culture | Technorati | Comments (21)
Harris County residents 1, Harris County judge 0
Judge Ed Emmett and Commissioner Steve Radack enjoyed hearing from Harris County drivers yesterday and today regarding the (now dead) proposal to increase fees dramatically on the Westpark Tollway:
Harris County Judge Ed Emmett announced today that the county will not double fees during peak hours on the Westpark Tollway, backing off a decision made two days earlier that was assailed by many tollway drivers and area residents.
``We will cancel the Westpark (peak-hours) increase,'' at the next Commissioners Court meeting, he said.
Member of Commissioners Court, especially Commissioner Steve Radack, have received phone calls and e-mails from residents criticizing the court's decision Tuesday to raise Westpark fees from $1 to $2.50 per transaction during peak hours.
The plan to rescind Tuesday's unanimous vote by the court ``was certainly influenced by the public's reaction,'' Emmett said.
And in spite of the toll road authority hiring a consultant to figure out what to do about the crowded toll roads (no, not the judge's own transportation consulting company), Judge Emmett says there was more that he and the commissioners should have considered:
On Tuesday, Radack said of drivers who couldn't afford peak-hour fees, ``Let them go down Richmond Road. Or they can use Westpark,'' a secondary road near the tollway. His comment especially angered commuters.
But Emmett said Radack's comment may have been useful because many residents phoned or e-mailed to say that Richmond also is congested and is not a viable alternative.
Emmett said he and other court members reviewed alternatives to the tollway and decided that it was unwise to force some drivers onto backed-up secondary streets and highways where construction is under way, such as Interstate 10.
``The truth of the matter is, we and the consultants hadn't factored in the construction on the other highways,'' Emmett said. ``You can't have congestion pricing if you don't have a place for people to go to avoid congestion.''
Uh, didn't factor in alternatives for drivers to use? How much do these transportation consultants get paid, anyway?
This was probably an interesting couple of days for the new judge. And others have noticed, too.
COMPLETELY UNRELATED: Did you know Judge Emmett was named 2005's Transportation Person of the Year?
BLOGVERSATION: Tim Heller's Weather Blog
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 06/21/07 07:11 PM | Houston Transit | Technorati | Comments (7)
Houston's mystery bookstore hosts two thriller writers this week
Thanks to problems with a "defective modem," I've been unable to post until now. So, while this is short notice the author visits are well worth a quick mention. Murder by the Book hosts a double signing tomorrow (Friday, June 22, 2007) at 6:00 p.m. with writers John Connolly and Jeffrey Deaver. Connolly will sign his latest, The Unquiet. (I actually have this one as my on-the-plane-read Sunday as I head out of town.) Deaver will be signing The Sleeping Doll. I've enjoyed Deaver's books in the past and still count his The Empty Chair a favorite.
Posted by Vikk Simmons @ 06/21/07 06:17 PM | Houston Arts/Culture | Technorati | Comments (2)
20 June 2007
Not world class: Houston ERs get national attention
Yesterday, a reader passed along a USA Today story by Richard Wolf on Houston's overwhelmed emergency healthcare services. Here is a quick excerpt:
Ijeoma Onye awoke one day last month short of breath, her head pounding. Her daughter, Ebere Hawkins, drove her 45 minutes from Katy, Texas, to Ben Taub General Hospital, where people without health insurance pay little or nothing for treatment.
Onye, 62, waited four hours to be seen. Still, going to the emergency room was faster than getting an appointment. For that, "you have to wait months," Hawkins says.
Ben Taub is the hub of the Harris County Hospital District, a network of hospitals and care centers serving the Houston area's 1.1 million uninsured residents and hundreds of thousands more with little coverage. Here, the national statistic of 45 million uninsured people is more than a number. It's a crisis.
Nationally, more than 15% are uninsured. In Texas it's nearly 24%, the Census Bureau says, the highest percentage among the states. Here in Harris County, it's 30%, according to state figures, the highest rate among the nation's top 10 metropolitan areas.
As the Houston area struggles to deal with a rising tide of uninsured, it offers a lesson for the nation: Let the problem get out of hand — to a point where nearly 1 in 3 people have no coverage — and you won't just have a less healthy population. You'll have an overwhelmed health care system.
"Texas is the case study for system implosion," says neurosurgeon Guy Clifton, founder of the Houston-area group Save Our ERs.
The problems here, as elsewhere, are many. Small employers are dropping health coverage. Federal and state subsidies don't make up the difference. Illegal immigrants represent 21% of the county's public caseload, even though they represent only about 6% of the area's population.
Many people treat hospital emergency rooms as their healthcare provider of choice (when urgent care clinics would be a better choice -- the problem being that those clinics do tend to expect payment or insurance), which is obviously straining the system to the breaking point. And while the story focuses on the uninsured, probably the illegal/poor immigrant problem is the bigger story for Houston.
I'm not going to pretend to have the answers to this complex problem (What? Can I admit that, or will my blogging credentials be revoked?), but it's clear that the local problem is pretty serious, even if it doesn't attract the amount of attention one would expect.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 06/20/07 10:24 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (14)
19 June 2007
White demands Hurtt exercise common sense on license plate frames
The Chronicle's Matt Stiles reports that Mayor White has reversed a decision by his bumbling, absentee police chief on the matter of continuing to ticket motorists for what are technically license plate frame violations (despite amendments to the law that take effect in a few months):
Calling the practice a "gotcha system," Mayor Bill White on Monday said Houston police shouldn't ticket motorists for having common brackets around their license plates that will no longer be illegal when a revised state law takes effect in September.
The department had been issuing the $98 tickets under a broadly worded state statute intended to prevent motorists from trying to evade authorities by obscuring their plates.
The state's top appellate court ruled recently that the law's wording meant that any covering of the plate — even the stars, moon or state nickname — was a violation.
The Houston Chronicle reported Sunday that officers had issued at least 9,500 such tickets since January, including 2,200 since Gov. Rick Perry signed a bill that would allow drivers to have brackets advertising car dealers or touting alumni affiliations.
White said he planned to tell both Police Chief Harold Hurtt and the city's top prosecutor, Randy Zamora, that motorists shouldn't be punished if an officer can reasonably determine the state and plate numbers.
"Our law enforcement officers should have better things to do," White said. "We're not there to just have some gotcha system. The purpose of these moving-violation citations is to discourage unlawful behavior, not to generate the maximum amount of revenue possible."
Good for Mayor White.
And good for Matt Stiles, whose reporting on this matter obviously made a difference.
The Editorial LiveJournalists had an amusing Me-Me moment today on the same topic:
One ticket recipient, a freelance journalist who writes editorials for the Chronicle, was ticketed the morning after Hurtt made his comments to the paper's editorial board.
That's one way to get the attention of the Editorial LiveJournalists!
BLOGVERSATION: NewsWatch: City Hall.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 06/19/07 10:08 AM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (2)
18 June 2007
MayorWhiteChiefHurtt address southwest Houston crime
Over the weekend, the Chronicle's Anne Marie Kilday reported on a surge in crime in southwest Houston:
Facing complaints that recent armed robberies and assaults have caused business to drop by 25 percent in southwest Houston's Chinatown, Mayor Bill White and Police Chief Harold Hurtt are taking steps to put more police officers in the neighborhood.
The mayor and police chief met with Chinatown community and business leaders Wednesday, where they heard concerns about rising crime.
Though community leaders asked for officers to be posted at 13 specific locations, White said other "proven crime-solving techniques" would be used.
Because recent statistics show crime has increased in three police beats nearest to Chinatown, White and Hurtt said more officers will be dispatched to those three beats. In addition, undercover officers and detectives will be sent to "hot spots." White also directed Hurtt to meet regularly with a neighborhood liaison to keep the community posted.
The Asian American community conference was called by Sugar Land City Councilman Daniel Wong, in response to several home invasions after shoppers or diners in Chinatown were followed home by armed robbers.
"The community is hurting, is scared, upset and angry, because we are not used to seeing these things happening in our community. We need immediate action on police visibility," Wong said.
Kenneth Li, president of the Asian American Business Council, said the crime wave had caused "a noticeable drop in evening shopping and dining," and potential investors were reconsidering plans to put money into the neighborhood.
Three community leaders recounted a series of violent and brazen crimes that had recently been committed in the Chinatown Southwest area, a popular shopping district centered at Bellaire and Corporate.
Unfortunately, violent and brazen crimes are on the rise in too many parts of Houston. It's too bad there aren't enough cops for a "surge" all across town.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 06/18/07 11:45 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (8)
17 June 2007
HPD cranks up revenue stream before license plate law revisions kick in
The Chronicle's Matt Stiles reports that HPD is taking full revenue-stream advantage of a poorly written 2003 Texas law on license plate frames (before revisions kick in later this year):
Houston police officers continue writing tickets to motorists with brackets bordering their license plates despite a new law passed last month making it clear drivers should be cited only if the plate is significantly obscured.
Since January, officers have issued at least 9,500 citations for what they considered license plate obstructions — generally the brackets advertising car dealers or touting sports and alumni loyalties.
Municipal court records also show that since May 4, when Gov. Rick Perry signed a bill that clarified the existing law, at least 2,200 motorists have been cited.
The new law doesn't go into effect until September, but the zeal with which tickets have been issued since Perry signed it has angered some of the cited motorists and disappointed the two Houston-area lawmakers who clarified the rules during the recent legislative session.
"It was never the intention of the Legislature for people to be receiving traffic citations for having license brackets," said state Sen. Tommy Williams, R-The Woodlands, who sponsored the bill. "It's clearly out of bounds for them to be issuing tickets now."
He added a common complaint among motorists interviewed by the Houston Chronicle: "It gives the impression that they're just trying to collect revenue."
It does give that impression, yes.
There are more interesting details in the fine story by Stiles, which should be read in its entirety.
If you have a license plate frame on your car, you might want to consider removing it, at least until September.
BLOGVERSATION: NewsWatch: City Hall.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 06/17/07 09:58 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (15)
Terror plot stories on the weekends are so inconvenient
A couple of weeks ago, the local Hearst daily, like the vaunted New York Times, chose to bury inside the newspaper the story of a developing terror plot against New York's JFK airport. The New York Times placed the story on page 37.
That prompted the new public editor of the Times to start his column early, with criticism of the decision:
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 06/17/07 09:45 PM | Houston Chronicle | Technorati | Comments (0)
Continental Airlines is to blame for the passport fiasco?
Those who travel (for fun or for business) or who follow travel news/blogs obsessively are, no doubt, well aware of the ongoing fiasco with the issuance of passports, in which tighter rules for western hemisphere travel have resulted in a passport backlog that nobody seems to have a clue how to fix.
It's been a less-than-stellar performance by our federal government, with plenty of blame to share between the legislative and executive branches (although State and Homeland Security certainly get the most).
Last weekend, though, one of the Chronicle's temporary Rick Casey replacements picked a most unlikely culprit to blame for the fiasco (so unlikely I've not seen it anywhere else, despite my near obsession with travel news):
In a January memo, the Department of Homeland Security's office of Customs and Border Protection told airlines that during the initial phase of the new passport requirements, airlines wouldn't be fined for not complying. They were encouraged to implement a "flexible phased" policy allowing wiggle room while the program got off the ground, according to Customs spokeswoman Kelly Klundt.
[snip]
Technically, the government hasn't even been enforcing the new passport requirements for Americans traveling to Mexico, Canada and the Caribbean. The Customs memo promised to notify the airlines in writing 30 days before the law took full effect. That hasn't happened yet.
[snip]
"That wasn't publicly disseminated because we didn't want to encourage travelers not to comply," Klundt said. "We're walking a tightrope here. We're trying to implement something that Congress told us to implement, while making sure that Congress' constituents aren't stranded travelers."
[snip]
Meanwhile, some airlines, such as Fort Worth-based American, chose to quietly follow the memo, allowing flexibility. For instance, American allows U.S. citizens to travel to Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean with a birth certificate if they haven't gotten their passports.
Other airlines, including Houston-based Continental and Arizona-based U.S. Airways, chose to ignore the memo and require passports, even at the risk of stranding passengers caught up in an unprecedented passport-application backlog. In the Houston regional office alone, it has mounted to 90,000 applications.
The result is a national fiasco....
[snip]
So why has our hometown airline decided not to help?
As consumer travel has finally recovered from the 9/11 shock and airlines (not to mention air traffic control systems) are bursting at the seams with travelers, it's become a populist pastime to bash the airlines. And with service cutbacks, delays, and stranding of passengers growing more frequent, the airlines do deserve some of the criticism they get from their customers.
But blaming the airlines (specifically Continental Airlines) because the federal government has made a fiasco out of a basic function of government (passport issuance) is one of the silliest things we've seen from the local Hearst daily in a while. It's almost as silly as the federal government using the local Hearst daily to bash the airlines for literally following their rules (or not following their rules, or not reading their minds, or not doing something to make it all better, whatever that might be). It's even sillier than this, in my view.
How much longer before Rick Casey gets back?
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 06/17/07 11:58 AM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (3)
Judge Emmett: the emir of the state of Incumbistan
Columnist-extraordinaire Mark Steyn made a killer observation last week regarding Mississippi Senator Trent Lott:
I have no serious expectations of Senators these days, but I would like them at the very least to try and sound a little less like the plump complacent emirs of the one-party-state of Incumbistan. Trent Lott fails even that test.
If he gets in, Bacarisse will face County Judge Ed Emmett in a Republican primary. Emmett was appointed by commissioner's court earlier this year when Robert Eckels resigned.
"I know he wanted to be county judge. The folks down at the county considered him and chose me instead," Emmett said of Bacarisse.
Emmett also questioned Bacarisse's qualifications for the job. Bacarisse, 43, has been district clerk for 12 years, his ministerial duties include summoning prospective jurors for state and county courts and maintaining certain court files. The county judge deals largely with regional issues, including transportation and emergency management.
"The other thing that is woefully lacking, is if Charles were not district clerk, what would he be? He has never had a job outside government," Emmett said.
"He's sat at the public trough his whole life."
If Emmett is practicing bare knuckles politics before Bacarisse has even declared, it's a just a taste of what's to come in a primary.
Or it could be to scare Bacarisse out of entering the race.
Emmett said he doesn't understand why "Republican activists" would want a spirited primary when there is going to be a tough general election next year.
The only reason to throw out an incumbent is if you want to do something different or better, Emmett said.
It's a stretch to call Emmett an incumbent said Jim McGrath, a spokesman for Friends of Charles Bacarisse.
"He is the sitting judge. I accord him the respect the office is entitled to. But no one deserves a coronation. There should be a contest of ideas. He needs to be tested in a primary," McGrath said.
"Voters get to decide who has the right experience for the job. No one should be arrogant enough to substitute their own personal will against that of the majority."
Holy cow. Ed Emmett is quite a piece of work. Thanks (again), Judge Eckels.
ADDING MORE: Emmett's quote above really grates, where he says HE was chosen, not Bacarisse. Just because a backroom deal was cut does not mean Harris County Republicans have no say in the next election. From the beginning, Emmett has come across as a fairly unlikable fellow, and maybe that's just his public persona, but he needs to win over voters, and this type of arrogance isn't the way to do it. Voters don't appreciate being left out of the process, and we certainly don't like being told that we don't need a choice.
Also, The Emmett Company, a transporation consulting group, will continue to be headed by Judge Emmett:
Currently, Mr. Emmett is serving as County Judge of Harris County, Texas. The Harris County Commissioners Court unanimoustly appointed him to replace Robert Eckels, who resigned on March 6, 2007. Judge Emmett will continue to own The Emmett Company and direct the overall strategy[...]
I certainly hope some local watchdog journalist will keep an eye on the transportation projects the county approves, if you get my drift.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 06/17/07 08:39 AM | Houston Politics | Technorati | Comments (11)
16 June 2007
The really stupid idea that just won't die
The government's propensity to encourage stupidity on a massive scale takes another step forward as Harris County allows the Astrodome Redevelopment Group to continue planning the Astrodome Luxury Hotel and Convention Center (via Chron.com):
During the next three months, Astrodome Redevelopment will try to clear another hurdle: convincing the Texans and the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo that they can coexist with a 1,200-room, four-star convention hotel.
The Dome would include a 2,100-space garage around part of the exterior, nightclubs, restaurants and retail stores. Astrodome Redevelopment officials envision the facility as a destination attraction, with winding waterways and gondola rides.
Winding waterways and gondola rides -- awesome!
It's unclear if the developers have any idea what it takes to become a "four-star hotel." It ain't easy. And the determination isn't based on winding waterways and gondola rides.
The comments in the Chron.com story are pretty entertaining. Last I checked, most of the commenters were skeptical of this boondoggle, but a few were waxing poetic about how terrific this would be for the Astrodome, and how small-minded naysayers are. Here's a sampling:
If you build it, they will come. If this project is developed correctly, this will become a tremendous destination for outside tourists as well as Houstonians, and you all know this is true. Why should people go to Vegas for Gondola rides? Gondola rides in Vegas seem just as stupid to me as gondola rides in Houston, because I've been to Italy. People go to Vegas for Gondola rides, why not Houston's Astrodome? If they go to the Nevada DESERT for gondola rides, why not the Gulf Coast?
Vegas or Houston? Houston or Vegas? Why would people want to go to Vegas when they could ride gondolas in Houston? I dunno.
This building is too good to destroy, and we will be idiots if we cannot use our vision and foresite to use this structure for economic means. If a person can't begin to grasp how this structure can add value to our city, then that person should just move away. We should respect those who had the vision to build the Astrodome, and try to rise to their level. This building is not only worth keeping, this building is a huge landmark, and should be preserved in perpetuity. I guarantee that this structure will be a HUGE money maker after the investments have been made. You people have no vision for the future.
Good grief!
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 06/16/07 02:13 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (11)
15 June 2007
Why the Danger Train will always have to be heavily subsidized
KTRH-740 is running an AP story on its website that perfectly explains why light rail transit in Houston will never come close to supporting itself:
AAA spokesman Geoff Sundstrom said commuters are willing to drive more fuel-efficient autos but are loath to give up the keys entirely, regardless of gas prices. He said many people equate carpooling and mass transit with "a decline in their personal standard of living."
"The freedom of mobility that comes with the use of a personal automobile is something we are very, very reluctant to give up as individuals," Sundstrom said.
That's it in a nutshell. The vast majority of people are unwilling to give up their personal freedom just because some utopians think they should.
Light rail is terribly inflexible, and subject to power failures and weather-caused shutdowns. Light rail cannot go to most of the citizenry; most of the citizenry must go to light rail. Light rail counts on customers who are willing to be part-time pedestrians, not always an inviting prospect in Houston. And if someone has children in daycare, or has to stop off at the grocery store on the way home, good luck getting there with light rail.
Oh, and for all that inflexibility, taxpayers get to foot a hefty bill: more than $20 per MetroRail rider. The per-rider bus subsidy is around five dollars.
The point is most people work hard to attain a good quality of life, and they don't want to give it up. Folks want to have the freedom to go where they want, when they want. And the dirty little secret is that most of the loudest rail supporters will never use public transportation themselves (i.e., Metro officials, Chronicle editors, COH officials). They just hope others will.
No thanks.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 06/15/07 07:29 PM | Houston Transit | Technorati | Comments (17)
14 June 2007
Marcus Luttrell book signing on Saturday
Reader Steven Walker calls our attention to a Washington Post story about a Houston-area hero.
Here's an excerpt:
The blood in his eyes almost blinded him, but the Navy Seal could hear, clattering above the trees in northeast Afghanistan, rescue helicopters.
Hey, he pleaded silently. I'm right here.
Marcus Luttrell, a fierce, 6-foot-5 rancher's son from Texas, lay in the dirt. His face was shredded, his nose broken, three vertebrae cracked from tumbling down a ravine. A Taliban rocket-propelled grenade had ripped off his pants and riddled him with shrapnel.
As the helicopters approached, Luttrell, a petty officer first class, turned on his radio. Dirt clogged his throat, leaving him unable to speak. He could hear a pilot: "If you're out there, show yourself."
It was June 2005. The United States had just suffered its worst loss of life in Afghanistan since the invasion in 2001. Taliban forces had attacked Luttrell's four-man team on a remote ridge shortly after 1 p.m. on June 28. By day's end, 19 Americans had died. Now U.S. aircraft scoured the hills for survivors.
There would be only one. Luttrell's ordeal -- described in exclusive interviews with him and 14 men who helped save him -- is among the more remarkable accounts to emerge from Afghanistan. It has been a dim and distant war, where after 5 1/2 years about 26,000 U.S. troops remain locked in conflict.
Out of that darkness comes this spark of a story. It is a tale of moral choices and of prejudices transcended. It is also a reminder of how challenging it is to be a smart soldier, and how hard it is to be a good man.
The rest of the WaPo story is fascinating.
As it turns out, Luttrell is from the Houston area (roughly speaking).
His book, Lone Survivor was just just released this week, and Luttrell will be signing copies at Borders in The Woodlands on Saturday. If you're in the vicinity on Saturday, you might consider stopping by and giving a shout out to a true local hero.
UPDATE: KHOU-11 News covered this story Friday.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 06/14/07 10:40 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (0)
13 June 2007
Maybe not Manhattan, but definitely world class
KRIV-26's Isiah Carey posts a press release announcing a new skatepark in Houston, with a press event scheduled for Thursday.
The title of the press release is exciting:
Announcing a World-Class Skatepark for Houston
It's always good when Houston can be world-class!
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 06/13/07 11:55 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (11)
Kotkin mistakes West Houston for Manhattan?
In the latest Houston Press, Rich Connelly has a little fun with urban commentator/self promoter extraordinaire Joel Kotkin, who has recently gotten attention for a study he did for the Greater Houston Partnership.
This was an entertaining exchange:
The Greater Houston Partnership, our area's version of the Chamber of Commerce, commissioned yet another study about how this area should encourage growth. Cities like Atlanta and Charlotte have done the same thing, and come out with plans to attract young brainy types by hyping just how hip their cities are.
The report to the GHP by urban expert Joel Kotkin of Los Angeles, on the other hand, said Houston should forget about trying to be trendy.
Hair Balls: What, we're not hip?
Joel Kotkin: I've always said if you need a campaign to prove you're hip and cool, you're not. Personally, I think Houston's very cool...You know, I went out with [friends] to a sushi bar on Westheimer. It was 8:30 at night, it was winter and I swear I thought I was on the West Side of Manhattan.
HB: Whaaaat?
Yeah, that was our reaction.
But in a way, it's good news. We don't need to build that downtown soccer stadium to be like Manhattan. We're already like Manhattan. Or at least West Houston is.
In some bizarre alternate universe.
BLOGVERSATION: Houston Strategies.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 06/13/07 11:24 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (7)
We remember that guy
The Drudge Report has been touting a South Florida Sun-Sentinel story on Broward County's threat to cancel business with a Florida radio station because it airs Rush Limbaugh. Here is an excerpt with the background:
Radio station WIOD, AM 610, has been the official channel for emergency information from Broward County government for the past year. The County Commission, all Democrats, balked at renewing the deal Tuesday, unable to stomach the station also being home to Limbaugh's talk show.
Commissioner Stacy Ritter said she did not want to support a station that's out of step with area politics. Ritter, a Democratic stalwart in the state Legislature before being elected to county office, cited talk shows hosted by Limbaugh and Sean Hannity and WIOD's partnership with Fox News.
"They have every right to speak, but we don't have to do business with them," she said.
It's not a Houston-centric story of the type we usually discuss here, but friend Matt Bramanti called our attention to this part:
Ken Charles, WIOD's director of AM programming, said Tuesday the station's talk show lineup has no relationship with its news coverage and that the county should focus on the benefits of teaming with the station.
"It's a shame that people would let politics get in the way of saving lives in a hurricane," Charles said.
That would be the same Ken Charles who formerly oversaw Clear Channel's Houston talk operations, and sometimes found himself in the middle of such media stories here.
It seems like he's settled into his new home and is doing his thing in south Florida.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 06/13/07 09:34 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (1)
Paying more and getting less (cont'd)
The Chronicle's Robert Crowe reports that the city is considering ways to cut down on false alarms from burglar alarms:
Hoping to curb a growing problem with false alarms, city officials are considering an increase in burglar-alarm fees and fines.
Houston police say false calls cost the city $9 million a year. That's $5 million more than what the city generates in burglar-alarm permit fees and fines each year, HPD Capt. Dwayne Ready said.
"We're really trying to look at how to reduce the number of (false) calls because it's so high," Ready said.
Under the city's current ordinance, residents and businesses are not charged for the first five false burglar alarms. The city charges the owner $50 for each subsequent false alarm.
The proposed revisions would limit properties to three free false alarms.
The fourth and fifth false alarms would cost $50. The sixth and seventh would cost $75, and any more would cost $100 each.
It makes sense for the city to try to cut down on false alarms, and in a way that puts the cost on those who cause false alarms.
Of course, it's the White Administration, so a chance to boost the revenue potential comes into play:
The city also is considering a plan to boost the annual residential permit fee to $30 from $15. Commercial permit fees would increase to $70 from $40 a year.
That would be a 100% increase in the alarm permit fee. In the name of public safety, of course (and not revenue enhancement).
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 06/13/07 09:08 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (7)
12 June 2007
Vikk Simmons book signing Saturday
Local author and bH books/culture blogger Vikk Simmons informs that she will hold a signing this Saturday for her (and co-author Elaine Galit's) book Exploring Texas History: Weekend Adventures.
For those who are still trying to figure out a good Father's Day gift, that sounds like it might definitely work. Or maybe you just want a signed copy for yourself.
In any case, feel free to go say hi to Vikk on Saturday if you're in the Webster area. Here are the details:
Vikk Simmons and Elaine L. Galit
Exploring Texas History: Weekend Adventures
Saturday, June 16, 2007
3:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Barnes & Noble - Baybrook
1029 W. Bay Area Blvd.
Webster, Texas 77598
(281) 554-8224
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 06/12/07 11:25 PM | Houston Arts/Culture | Technorati | Comments (2)
HPD captain steps away from private security deals
In a story about changes to Midtown's weekend police/security patrols, the Chronicle's Jennifer Friedberg provides an update on the status of HPD Captain Dwayne Ready:
The Midtown Management District is looking to fill a void in its weekend bike patrol after Houston Police Department Captain Dwayne Ready resigned his position of coordinating patrols for the district on June 1 after questions arose about billing issues.
Ready did not resign from HPD.
For about three years, the Midtown Management District has paid Ready $1,300 monthly to coordinate the bicycle patrols of two off-duty HPD officers who ride through the area three times a week — mainly on weekends — for a fee of $4,000 per month.
Ready also coordinated four Harris Precinct 7 Constable officers who operate under a separate contract with Midtown and Metro and Houston Community College police, who operate within the district's boundaries, but do not have a contract with the district.
Ready also resigned from his position with the Greater Southeast Management District on June 1, said district executive director Jason McLemore.
In that position, he coordinated two bike patrol officers, crime reporting and graffiti control for the district since October 2004 for $1,000 per month.
The two off-duty HPD officers are paid $25 per hour for the bike patrol with a cap of $1,600 per week.
The Harris County District Attorney's Office is investigating whether officers under Ready's supervision double-billed, saying they were working shifts for HPD and as bike patrol officers for the Midtown and Greater Southeast districts at the same time.
HPD has also launched an internal affairs investigation according to HPD Public Affairs Officer Gabe Ortiz.
"It is not a criminal investigation and he (Ready) is still currently on duty," Ortiz said.
Readers may recall that KTRK-13's Wayne Dolcefino first raised questions about Captain Ready's "private" security/police deals back in May.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 06/12/07 10:48 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (0)
Hermann Park kiddie train in line for an upgrade
Various media outlets recently reported that the Hermann Park kiddie train will soon be going away, to be replaced by a more significant train. Here's an excerpt from the Chronicle:
Under a proposal from the Hermann Park Conservancy and the Houston City Council's quality-of-life committee, the little train could be getting a $4 million upgrade, with new tracks and trains, a new train station and three new train stops.
Two new stops will be located near the MetroRail depots at Hermann Park/Rice and at the Houston Zoo. The third new train stop will be near the Houston Museum of Natural Science, the Houston Garden Center and Miller Outdoor Theatre.
The proposal, part of an $11 million improvement plan for Hermann Park's Lake Plaza, will be considered on Wednesday by the Houston City Council, Councilwoman Pam Holm said.
As they waited in the blazing, hot sun for the trip around the park, many train riders expressed support for the idea of an updated train with additional stops.
Two-year-old Carter Jones didn't seem to care.
"I love the train!" the little boy said. "It's a sunny day!"
Carter is "a second-generation train rider," said his father, Chris Jones, of Houston. They were spending the day at the Houston Zoo and Hermann Park with Jones' brother-in-law, Doug Keady, and Keady's son, Drew, of Grapevine.
"All the guys are going on the train," Jones said. "I used to come down here as a kid."
The idea of a multipurpose train with additional stops "is a great idea," Jones said. "This is a humongous park, so having multiple drop-off spots would make it much easier to get around."
Heaven forbid Houstonians actually use their feet to WALK in a park!
RELATED COVERAGE: KTRK-13.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 06/12/07 10:23 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (12)
11 June 2007
Maybe the Q-Card system could also solve Houston's crime problem?
In his Move It column today, the Chronicle's Rad Sallee (or, as Chron.com misspells it today, Rod Sallee) runs a reader comment on the Danger Train's "honor system" method of fare collection:
Jerry Ritcheson thinks he knows how Metro's light rail boardings have doubled since 2004, while revenue from the ticket vending machines has hardly changed.
"The Metro cops DO NOT enforce the ticketing of those who don't pay," he wrote in an e-mail. "Until they put turnstiles in, the practice will continue."
Metro says spot checks show that the rate of cheating is around 1 percent, but that can be tough for an observer to believe. You can ride the train a great many times before seeing anyone's ticket being checked.
Like so many other things, though, the long-awaited Q Card fare system should change that when it comes out later in the summer.
Huh?
Unless the Q Card system miraculously causes the appearance of secured platform access via turnstiles, it's hard to see how the Danger Train's "honor system" of fare collection is going to change much at all when/if the Q Card system ever becomes functional.
UPDATE: Rad Sallee emails to note that what he meant was that the Q Card should provide a better way to count paid boardings, not that it would necessarily cut down on unpaid boardings.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 06/11/07 11:00 PM | Houston Transit | Technorati | Comments (6)
New KILT-610 lineup to debut tomorrow
The Chronicle's David Barron reports that sports talk station KILT-610 has settled on a new lineup after recent turnover:
Marc Vandermeer and Andre Ware, the Texans radio network's play by play tandem, will expand their partnership to weekdays as hosts of KILT's (610 AM) morning show beginning Tuesday, the station announced today.
The new morning show will air from 6 to 11 a.m., followed by the syndicated Jim Rome show from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and the new afternoon team of Rich Lord and Matt Jackson from 2 to 6 p.m. Adam Wexler will continue as the evening host from 6 to 10 p.m., to be joined by a co-host to be named later.
The shakeup was necessitated by the departure of longtime morning show host John Granato, who will join the reformatted KILE (1560 AM) later this year, and co-host Lance Zierlein's decision not to accept a contract extension while exploring his career options.
Presumably, Zierlein will eventually be moving across to join Granato on KILE-1560 to reestablish their successful morning partnership.
KILT obviously benefits from the Rome show, but it may be hard for those new morning and afternoon lineups to hold an audience.
BLOGVERSATION: Mike McGuff.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 06/11/07 09:25 PM | Houston Media | Technorati | Comments (2)
10 June 2007
Taking away a reason to pay that red-light camera ticket
There was a really interesting development relating to red light cameras that almost flew under the radar, except for the eagle eye of blogHOUSTON friends Mike Jones and Rorschach. Here it is:
I think the Mayor is in for a surprise, if he'd let the passed bill be read over by legal eagles.
[snip]
(h) A local authority or the person with which the local
authority contracts for the administration and enforcement of a
photographic traffic signal enforcement system may not provide
information about a civil penalty imposed under this chapter to a
credit bureau, as defined by Section 392.001, Finance Code.
Emphasis added.
As Rorschach noted in the forum, "that's gonna leave a mark!"
Indeed, because as we noted back in June of 2005, HPD Assistant Chief Martha Montalvo made it clear the city was counting on that to encourage payment:
It says, in fact, right on the citation that it's a "civil penalty" and won't affect your insurance rates and will not be reported or appear on your driving record.
So if they don't pay?
"We're asking the vendor to go with a collection agency if you will," says HPD Asst. Chief Martha Montalvo.
This is a very big deal, especially coupled with the revenue limitations that were also imposed, as Kevin noted a couple of weekends ago.
No wonder Mayor White isn't happy!
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 06/10/07 08:15 AM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (23)
Sales tax revenue up for Houston, Metro...again!
via the Houston Business Journal:
The City of Houston received $35 million, up 4.15 percent from $33.6 million in 2006, while the Metropolitan Transit Authority received $36.9 million, up 9.16 percent from last year.
Maybe the Mecom Fountain can now be repaired?
Maybe Metro can find a way to fix the card readers right outside the Lee P. Brown building?
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 06/10/07 07:42 AM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (10)
09 June 2007
The Chron's Me-Me
We all know children are self-centered, and in my house when one of the kids gets particularly so, we call him Me-Me.
Now we discover the Chronicle has its own Me-Me: Kristin Finan, who has launched a video-blog (or vlog as she calls it) that's all about...Kristin:
Now, a little about me and why I'm so excited about this vlog:
Somewhere over the past three years I became an unofficial ambassador for Houston.
I didn't intend for it to happen. It's just that everywhere I went I found myself trying to counter the stereotypes and explain to people -- some of whom were native Houstonians -- what a vibrant, cool, diverse and fun city Houston is.
As a Chronicle features reporter, I'm lucky, because discovering interesting people and places in Houston is part of my job description. Since joining the staff in 2004, I've written about lots of things, from a local taping of MTV's My Super Sweet 16 to a drug and alcohol center that sustains itself through banana bread to what it's like to try out for the Houston Roller Derby League. I also chronicled my travels down the coast in an RV and hung out at South Padre for Spring Break in a blog: Hit the Road.
Starting today, I'm taking my love of Houston to a new medium as we kick off the Chronicle's first daily vlog: Kristin 2 Go.
Needless to say, Kristin is pretty high on Kristin. The only thing she left off her resume was her impersonation of a Katrina evacuee.
As Banjo Jones points out, the Chronicle needs to find a new way to reach consumers, what with diminishing newspaper circulation numbers which have resulted in declining ad revenue. Banjo casts his gimlet eye toward Chron.com's video efforts in a post titled, "They've given the kids camcorders."
Don't miss it.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 06/09/07 11:31 AM | Houston Chronicle | Technorati | Comments (21)
08 June 2007
Local author Judson Roberts celebrates release of new book
I thought we’d give Brazos Bookstore (2421 Bissonnet) another try because one of Houston’s own, Judson Roberts, has a signing there next week. Mr. Roberts is an interesting fellow. A former police officer, federal agent, prosecutor, and private investigator, he is now author of the Viking Strongbow Saga series published by HarperCollins for young adults. His latest book, second in the series, is Dragons from the Sea. How did Mr. Roberts cultivate an interest in ninth-century Viking history? Well, it seems he may be a “distant descendant” of a Viking leader by the name of Rolf or Hrolf.
Next Thursday, June 14, 2007 at 7:00 p.m. Brazos Bookstore launches the release of Dragons from the Sea. Roberts will be there in full Viking dress and talk about Vikings. (What else?) Sounds like a fun event. (If you can’t make it next week for some reason, you can catch up with Judson Roberts when he does a signing at River Oaks Bookstore (3270 Westheimer) on Thursday, June 21 from 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.)
The reviews have been good. If you want to read a bit of Viking Warrior or Dragons from the Sea, click here. You may find that these Viking stories will satisfy adult as well as teen readers.
Posted by Vikk Simmons @ 06/08/07 11:10 AM | Houston Arts/Culture | Technorati | Comments (3)
07 June 2007
WaPo: Continental uses internet as customer-service focus group
An excellent story by Del Quentin Wilber in today's Washington Post highlights how Houston-based Continental Airlines has made the internet an important part of its customer-service strategy:
Since being assigned to monitor Flyertalk, http://www.airliners.net and blogs on various Web sites, [Continental rep Scott] O'Leary has solved dozes of problems that irritate road warriors. He has posted more than 500 comments in the past year alone on Flyertalk, most answering questions, shooting down rampant rumors or highlighting a change in the airline's frequent-flier program.
"These are free focus groups," O'Leary said. "Every airline executive in his right mind is reading Flyertalk and other sites. If it is bothering these customers, it is probably bothering others who don't post on the sites."
Using the chat rooms and internal customer-complaint databases, O'Leary has easily spotted problems that sparked debates in the online forums. He has closely tracked discussions on how passengers prefer to print their boarding passes, the timing of the airline's automated upgrade system and the cost of premium wines offered at its exclusive airport clubs.
Most of the issues would appear relatively minor to the average flier, but O'Leary said he can't let them fester in today's competitive environment.
"The easy stuff is done," he said. "We are down to these finite details: the printing of individual boarding passes versus printing all boarding passes."
Last summer, for example, a Flyertalker complained about security procedures for Continental's elite travelers transferring from an international flight to a domestic one at the carrier's hub in Houston. The traveler could not understand why there was not a separate security line for elite fliers as there is in the main terminal.
O'Leary, who meets with Flyertalkers about once every three months at impromptu gatherings all over the country, investigated and found out that nobody had thought to put an EliteAccess blue carpet in the security area in the international section or designate a line for the special fliers. Within days, it was set up.
In another instance, he waded into the charged debate over who can get exit rows, a perk generally reserved for those with some sort of elite status. O'Leary discovered that there was no consistent policy at the airline. After initially deciding to allow only the top fliers to reserve those seats, he noticed fliers with lesser status complaining on Flyertalk. The policy was amended to include those fliers, too -- a direct result of feedback on the site, O'Leary said.
Flyertalkers generally agreed that they enjoyed having O'Leary on their forum because he doesn't overwhelm them with company propaganda and usually answers their questions. They said O'Leary's background as an airline fanatic gives him credibility because "he has been through as many airports and delays as the rest of us," said Richard Baum, a frequent visitor to Flyertalk.
More companies and organizations should be looking at Continental's use of the internet (as a customer-service focus group of sorts) to improve the customer experience (and, presumably, customer loyalty, and ultimately the bottom line).
Indeed, we can think of one local organization that could learn quite a bit from Continental's approach.
RELATED CONVERSATION: FlyerTalk.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 06/07/07 10:34 AM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (2)
HCRP threatens to sue over city's delayed financial report
KPRC-2 reported last night on the Harris County Republican Party's threat of legal action if the city continues to shirk its financial reporting duties:
Houston Mayor Bill White is under scrutiny concerning last year's city budget report, KPRC Local 2 reported Wednesday.
The chairman of the Harris County Republican party wants to know why city leaders are already looking ahead to next year's budget when last year's report still has not been released.
Party officials said it's taxpayer money and it's time residents knew how their money was spent in 2006. But they said the mayor's office has still not completed an audit of the annual financial statement.
[snip]
There is nearly a four-month-long grace period after the October deadline.
But the city missed that and is now in violation of local code.
[snip]
The mayor said Houstonians should expect to see results soon.
"It's going to be out any day now. Not in response to the letter, but in response to me and the controller saying repeatedly, 'We need to get this thing wrapped up.' And that was an estimate that was given some days ago before I saw this letter," White said.
Spin, spin, spin.
The fact is, the report is way overdue, and the mayor and controller are ultimately responsible.
It's unfortunate that anyone has to threaten to sue to obtain public information that should have already been released.
BLOGVERSATION: Isiah Carey's Insite.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 06/07/07 09:44 AM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (3)
Chron profiles The Insite
We've long been fans of KRIV-26 reporter Isiah Carey's blog, The Insite.
However, you know you've finally made it when you attract the attention of the uber-hipsters in the Chronicle's entertainment section, which profiles Carey and his blog today.
Congrats to Carey for the well-deserved attention!
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 06/07/07 08:03 AM | Houston Media | Technorati | Comments (5)
06 June 2007
What's new in kitty litter?
Yesterday a rather large photo of a cat standing on his hind legs and pawing at the air appeared next to a headline with poorly-spelled words on the front page of the Chron's business section. I tend to gravitate toward animal photos but a headline reading "I'M IN UR NEWSPAPER WRITIN MAH COLUM" is a guaranteed stopper. As I read Dwight Silverman's piece about the latest cat photo fad called LOLcats (Silverman's prime example is I Can Has Cheezburger? ), I thought the article had more of a lifestyle approach with its pop culture slant. It's a fairly long article, but if you're a cat-lover (or cat-hater), have some time, and appreciate the style of humor found in the Bad Cat and Bad Dog books you'll enjoy the info and the many links Silverman provided.
The end of the article may leave readers who blog with a bit of blogger-envy. The Cheezburger site opened for business in January and now "gets between 350,000 and 500,000 page views a day" and submissions of "300-500 LOLcat images a day." Now that's growth. How you'd translate this ability to generate a "subculture, complete with its own conventions and subgenres" into a viable business model is an unanswered question. Maybe blogHOUSTON should start up a companion site called Houston Cats on Holiday or maybe Cats on Holiday--Houston. In the meantime, I'm left realizing that I now not only have to figure out all this texting language but also something known as "kitty pidgin."
KEVIN WHITED ADDS: Laurence Simon's take resonated with me. :)
Posted by Vikk Simmons @ 06/06/07 11:51 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (10)
Liar, liar pants on fire!
Finally dropped by my post office box and found a flyer from the Houston Storyteller’s Guild. If you get a kick out of storytellers trying to best one another when it comes to telling a whale of a tale, you’ll probably enjoy the 2007 Best of the Best LIARS’ Concert. Featured storytellers include Jay Stalley, Sheila Phillips, Dan Gibson, James Ford, Donna Ingram, Darlene Dufour, and Leslie Bule. The concert is Saturday, June 9 at 7:00 p.m. and will be held at Houston Baptist University’s Mabee Theatre (7502 Fondren Rd.). For tickets call 281.775.9318.
Posted by Vikk Simmons @ 06/06/07 03:54 PM | Houston Arts/Culture | Technorati | Comments (0)
Breaking news you CAN get elsewhere (06-06-2007 edition)
The Chron.com Froot Loops bureau makes an appearance today:
Police are investigating three shootings that occurred early this morning across the Houston area, according to KTRK (Channel 13).
Authorities gave a reporter this account: The first shooting happened in east Houston. A man shot his wife in the knee at their home on Uvalde and Audrey. The woman was taken to the hospital in stable condition. Police believe the shooting was accidental.
The second incident occurred in northwest Houston. A man found another man with a gunshot wound to his calf in a convenience store parking lot on Antoine and Breen.
The man was rushed to the hospital and police are still investigating how he got shot.
A third shooting sent one man to the hospital with three gunshot wounds in east Houston. Police said that a man found another individual breaking into his vehicle on Avenue H and Wayside and confronted the man with a gun.
A scuffle ensued and the vehicle's owner shot the man twice in the leg and once in the stomach. His condition was unknown.
Hmm, well, maybe after the Chronnies have their Froot Loops and check all the TV reports, they can follow up on these "unknowns" and do some actual journalism.
UPDATE: How about that link and one-liner from the Chron's Texas Politics blog? I don't think those folks are sitting around watching the Austin TV news and reporting on it. Actually, the merging of the Chron and Express-News bureaus in Austin really seems to have given the reporting a boost.
BLOGVERSATION: Lose an Eye, It's a Sport.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 06/06/07 06:11 AM | Houston Chronicle | Technorati | Comments (0)
05 June 2007
We're #2!
The Chronicle's Rosanna Ruiz reports that the FBI has released official crime figures detailing Houston's surge in murders in 2006:
Houston's homicide rate surpassed Dallas' in 2006 for the first time in more than a decade and is now the second-highest among the nation's largest cities, according to figures released Monday by the FBI.
Houstonians were killed at a rate of 18.2 per 100,000 residents last year, a number that had gone unmatched since 1995 when the FBI began posting crime statistics online. Dallas' homicide rate was higher than Houston's in all of the previous 11 years.
The two cities' homicide rates were almost identical last year. But Houston's rate increased nearly 12 percent as Dallas' rate declined more than 8 percent. Houston has seen an uptick in homicides since more than 100,000 Louisiana residents fled to the city after Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
Only Philadelphia now has a higher homicide rate than Houston on the list of the nation's 10 largest cities. San Antonio ranks seventh on the list, while Dallas is fifth.
Recall back at the start of the year, when the Chronicle's Peggy O'Hare wrote the following:
In 2006, the Houston Police Department recorded 379 homicides as of Dec. 31, a 13.5 percent increase from the 334 homicides recorded in 2005. The 2006 total is the highest since 1994, when 419 homicides were reported in the city.
It was the second consecutive year for a steep jump, although the increase was not nearly as alarming as the 23 percent rise in homicides seen at the end of 2005.
Despite the upward trend, Houston's homicide rate per 100,000 residents hardly changed at all. That number increased from 16.33 in 2005 to 17.24 in 2006.
Apparently, the FBI didn't use the population figures preferred by O'Hare (and the White administration's communications team), partly explaining the disparity (but not O'Hare's editorializing).
We do wish the Chronicle could decide how it wants to interpret numbers that can only be considered bad.
BLOGVERSATION: Isiah Carey's Insite.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 06/05/07 11:24 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (5)
Local reporter's book soon to be a Carrey movie
The Chronicle's Louis Parks reports that a local reporter's book is about to be made into a movie starring Jim Carrey:
Jim Carrey is set to play true-life Texas con man and escape artist Steven Russell in the film I Love You Phillip Morris. Russell, a convicted embezzler, repeatedly broke out of Texas jails to rejoin his lover, Morris.
The news, reported Monday in Variety, was of special interest to Houston Chronicle news reporter Steve McVicker, who wrote the book I Love You Phillip Morris: A True Story of Life, Love, & Prison Breaks (Miramax Books, $22).
McVicker, who covered Russell's 1980s-'90s escapades while a reporter at the Houston Press, knew about as much of the details of the film deal as most authors after Hollywood has purchased their books.
"I don't know who has been signed or what," he said Monday. "All I know is what's in Variety."
The announcement didn't catch him completely by surprise. "The producer called over the weekend to make sure they spelled my name correctly," he joked.
The main thing is getting the name right on the royalty checks!
Congratulations to McVicker, whose book ought to get quite a bit of attention when the movie is released.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 06/05/07 10:53 PM | Houston People | Technorati | Comments (1)
04 June 2007
METRO in the news
The Chronicle's Rad Sallee reports on preliminary findings from the panel asked to look into METRO's problems last month with routing trains onto the same track:
Although a final report may be weeks away, Reginald Mason, Metro's chief safety officer, presented preliminary findings to the Metro board last week.
Besides having more control staff at TranStar, the panel suggested installing an "audible alarm" there to sound when a switch is in a dangerous position. The situation is displayed visually now but might not be noticed in time to prevent an accident.
The panel also found Metro's light rail rules are unclear in assigning safety responsibilities, leading to confusion among those involved in the incident.
"It was very unclear who had control of the mainline operations," Mason said, referring to the train operator and her superiors, the maintenance staff or the controllers at TranStar.
The panel said the MetroRail rule book should be revised "to ensure clear responsibility and accountability," and Metro should hold daily meetings among personnel of the three rail divisions to coordinate their activities safely.
Since the incident, Metro has begun retraining its light rail operators and conducting all track maintenance at night, after the line shuts down, president and CEO Frank Wilson said. For several months, the agency has been installing signals that show rail operators the position of a switch long before the train is close enough for observation of the switch itself.
It sounds as if METRO is taking these incidents seriously, despite John Sedlak's spin a few weeks ago.
In a separate story, Sallee reports good and bad news for METRO. The good news is that Danger Train collisions are down:
[B]oth bus and rail accidents are tracking far below the levels needed to reach Metro's "goal" for the year in both categories.
It may seem odd to have a collision goal of anything but zero, but you have to be realistic.
Yes, when you build rail at street level in an already congested corridor, you have to expect problems. It's nice to see METRO finally accepting reality. Or being "realistic," as Sallee put it.
The bad news, as reported by Sallee, is that paid system ridership is declining (or flat, at best). METRO critic Tom Bazan makes an appearance in the story, causing METRO's PR staff to swing into action:
Finally, regular Metro critic Tom Bazan asked the board how its statistics could show revenue from MetroRail ticket vending machines remaining flat from 2004 to 2007 while rail boardings doubled.
Bazan said he thinks most of the increase in rail boardings increase came from bus riders who now transfer to rail because their old bus routes were altered to connect with it.
Metro spokeswoman Raequel Roberts said it doesn't make sense that a bus system with declining ridership would generate enough transfers to cause a doubling of rail riders.
TVM receipts don't tell the whole story, she said, since many MetroRail riders use time-activated and stored-value cards.
"We are still studying what is going on," Roberts said.
We're sure they'll get right to the bottom of it.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 06/04/07 11:08 PM | Houston Transit | Technorati | Comments (9)
03 June 2007
Astrodome redevelopment group feels like it complied with financing deadline
The Chronicle's Bill Murphy reports that the group hoping to remake the Astrodome into a convention center hotel/destination contends it met a (relaxed) deadline to show it can obtain financing:
A company that aims to turn the Reliant Astrodome into an upscale convention hotel met a Friday deadline for showing that it is on track to obtain financing for the $450 million project, the company's president said.
Astrodome Redevelopment Co. missed a deadline three months ago to show it had preliminary approval for financing, but the county extended the deadline to Friday.
"We felt like we complied" with the deadline, Astrodome Redevelopment president Scott Hanson said. "We submitted a package with our financing."
That doesn't sound terribly inspiring.
It's difficult to imagine that any group will be able to secure 100% private financing for such a risky endeavor, but we'll see.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 06/03/07 09:57 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (1)
Montalvo strikes again!
KHOU-11's Mark Greenblatt reports on the latest gaffe by HPD's frequently entertaining assistant police chief Martha Montalvo:
So what did HPD have to say [about crime reporting questions]? They said they are doing everything correctly, because they have been checked out by outside agencies.
And that’s not all.
11 News: “Has the FBI audited you?”
HPD Asst. Chief Martha Montalvo: “I believe the last time I was told we were audited was is in 2001, and I believe 2006 or 2007; the early part of 2007.”
In fact, city police also claimed in a statement that, “HPD ... passes frequent audits by the Federal Bureau of Investigation for their … crime reporting procedures.”
So everything must be OK, right?
Wrong. An e-mail from the FBI to 11 News said HPD’s claims about those audits is “incorrect.”
11 News: “How do you explain if the FBI says that’s not true?”
MM: “I have no explanation for that. That’s what I was told.”
And what about HPD’S other claims?
“We’ve been audited by DPS in 2004, 2001, 2002,” Asst. Chief Montalvo had said at a public meeting.
The Texas Department of Public Safety said in the last six years they have done zero audits of HPD.
But 11 News Investigates has discovered that the Houston Police Department may have an even bigger problem on their hands: Experts say the very way the department gathers and counts many crime stats is all wrong and may be giving Houstonians a false picture of just how safe the city is.
Whoops!
There's more in Greenblatt's reporting on the controversy over HPD's crime statistics reporting.
HPD pushed back hard after Greenblatt's original reports a few weeks ago, but it would seem Greenblatt is sticking by his reporting.
It might be nice to hear from Chief Hurtt on the matter, but we suspect he was probably hard to reach in Arizona this weekend (even though he wants some local reporters to know he REALLY LOVES Houston).
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 06/03/07 09:48 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (3)
Not a bad gig...
Last week, the Chronicle's Rad Sallee reported that METRO has extended the contract of CEO Frank "Procurement Disaster" Wilson:
The Metropolitan Transit Authority board approved a two-year contract extension Thursday for president and CEO Frank Wilson, which would keep him in Houston through May 2012, to build the next five transit lines.
[snip]
"We recognize that we've got a lot of work to do, and we want to keep it on schedule," Wolff said. "We want to have the same CEO here to do it, and he wants to be here."
[snip]
The board resolution described Wilson's performance as "exemplary" and said that during his tenure, Metro has increased ridership, purchased fuel at bargain prices, revised fares and adopted a "smart card" payment system.
Overall METRO paid rider revenues continue to decline, a fact that Tom Bazan documents monthly by sharing the results of his public information requests to METRO.
As far as Frank Wilson wanting to be here -- let's just hope he doesn't negotiate himself an even more lucrative job with METRO contractors, as he (allegedly) did with contractors while he was head of New Jersey's NJDOT, according to this damning report (pdf) that the Chronicle didn't think was terribly important back when Lucas Wall covered the METRO beat and Wilson was hired in Houston.
UPDATE: Laurence Simon posts on the Smart Card system.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 06/03/07 09:21 PM | Houston Transit | Technorati | Comments (2)
Build your local news dream team
Earlier in the week, Chronicle columnist Ken Hoffman held a mock draft for his local news "dream team."
Today, he commented on some reader letters related to the same.
So, who would be on your local news "dream team?"
Would you imitate Hoffman in building your franchise around a news anchor whose hobbies are laughing and shopping?
Let us know in the comments.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 06/03/07 08:15 PM | Houston Media | Technorati | Comments (10)
ADVERTISING
DISCLAIMER
All content © 2004-09, blogHOUSTON and the respective authors.
blogHOUSTON.net is powered by Nucleus.
Site design and Nucleus customization are by Kevin Whited.