31 December 2007
Less-than-world-class New Year's greetings
We'd like to take the opportunity to wish everyone a Happy New Year!
Sadly, our quirky little burg didn't manage to resurrect the world-class New Year's Eve Star event. Recall that Carol Alvarado was too "event-ed out" last year to plan what we were led to believe was going to be a huge annual event. And this year, she apparently was too depressed over term limits to be bothered with the event. The new leadership at the GHCVB apparently couldn't be bothered either -- because, you know, it's more important to advertise to the world that our little city has celebrities!
We do suspect that, even without a world-class "annual" event like a New Year's Eve Rising Star, most Houstonians will have a fine time tonight. Somehow, Houstonians always seem manage to muddle along just fine, even if our leaders occasionally have "world-class" envy.
Thanks, as always, to everyone who reads, comments, lurks, links, amuses, or otherwise contributes to the little blog community here. We're looking forward to 2008!
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 12/31/07 08:32 PM | Announcements | Technorati | Comments (7)
HISD develops K-8 schools
The Chronicle's Jennifer Radcliffe reports that HISD is transitioning some elementary and middle schools into K-8 campuses, hoping to improve academics:
Houston leaders are anxious to add more K-8 campuses but find themselves facing an uphill battle.
Parents in predominately African-American neighborhoods vocally opposed a plan to consolidate several schools in their communities into K-8 campuses, prompting the district to abandon that proposal before last month's $805 million bond election.
Administrators are still planning to expand the K-8 model to other schools, if they can sell the idea to the community.
Pilgrim and Rusk elementaries already are in the process of expanding, officials said, and HISD is slated to expand Wilson Elementary, a Montessori program, to a K-8 campus next school year. A new school planned to relieve overcrowding at Dowling Middle School might also be configured as a combined elementary and middle campus, said Karen Soehnge, HISD's chief academic officer.
HISD administrators admit they'll have to make a better sales pitch. "It's a foreign concept," Soehnge said. "It's not something all people are accustomed to."
Yet K-8 is one of the most popular models for private schools. It was also the most popular configuration for public schools 100 years ago.
By the 1960s, however, the model had given way to seventh- through ninth-grade junior highs and then sixth- through eighth-grade middle schools — configurations designed to ensure that adolescents had the academic and social opportunities needed to prepare for high school.
Struggling academic performance among today's middle schoolers is causing the pendulum to swing back toward K-8s. One of the biggest perks, educators said, is that students aren't tripped up during the disruptive year that they transition to middle school.
By staying on the same campus, kids can focus on academics, rather than being forced to re-establish themselves socially. Teachers are able to establish solid relationships with families. As a result, parents are more apt to stay involved with the campus through the middle school years, experts said.
It's a very good move. The middle schools years can be a nightmare for many students, and keeping them in a stable, familiar setting, with teachers and administrators who know them could make a big difference, both academically and developmentally. As the story notes, one drawback is that fewer electives or athletic programs would be available in the K-8, but perhaps that issue can be remedied as the program progresses. In the meantime, if these schools can help kids academically, that'll be a strong selling point for future schools.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 12/31/07 08:18 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (2)
30 December 2007
Thoughts on the Rosenthal email flap
The big local political news over the last few days (over the course of a holiday break, travel, bowl games, a server crash, end-of-year work crunch, and other assorted fun) has involved emails send by Harris County District Attorney Chuck Rosenthal to his current administrative assistant.
Here are some random thoughts on what all this means (feel free to add yours to the comments):
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 12/30/07 01:34 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (22)
Michael Berry worries about Big Brother...sometimes
This Chronicle story on new state laws that take effect in 2008 reminds me of something I meant to pass on before Christmas.
One of the new laws requires most employees of a school district to be fingerprinted for a background check. When the story first came out a couple of weeks ago, I heard Michael Berry doing a promo for his afternoon show, asking if the new law was another example of Big Brother running amok.
This from the guy who said that anyone opposed to red light cameras was obviously in favor of people running red lights.
Sheesh.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 12/30/07 11:45 AM | Houston People | Technorati | Comments (4)
Perhaps not the best person to call for the end of term limits...
(Almost former) Councilwoman Carol Alvarado continues complaining about Houston's term limits in an op-ed for today's Chronicle:
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 12/30/07 07:23 AM | Houston Politics | Technorati | Comments (10)
29 December 2007
Astrodome Hotel cheerleader resigns county position
This is welcome news (via the Chronicle's Bill Murphy):
Under pressure from County Judge Ed Emmett, Mike Surface has resigned as chairman of the Harris County Sports & Convention Corp.
Surface cited "personal and professional interests" as the reason why he was stepping down after serving nine years as chairman.
He has been a supporter of the Astrodome Redevelopment Corp.'s proposal to turn the Dome into a convention hotel — a plan Emmett has questioned.
Emmett said he felt that it would be best to get new leadership on the sports corporation's board before Commissioners Court's next discussion of the Dome proposal in January.
New leadership that is more objective, we can hope. Recall Mike Surface's surprising comments last March regarding the Astrodome Hotel boondoggle:
"From day one, we have always known that it is an option to do this as a publicly developed program," said Mike Surface, chairman of the Harris County Sports & Convention Corp., which manages Reliant Park.
[snip]
No property taxes would go toward the project in any case, he said.
If the county paid for part or all of the project, it would use hotel and sales taxes generated by the hotel complex and other Reliant Park revenue, such as concessions.
There is no way Surface could guarantee that property taxes wouldn't end up propping up this monster, a point Tom Kirkendall also emphasized last March.
Good for Judge Emmett, encouraging Surface to resign. May Surface now find productive work in the private sector, where projects actually have to, you know, show a likelihood of success before they can move forward.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 12/29/07 08:04 AM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (6)
27 December 2007
Technical difficulties
Apparently, the web host had a hard drive crash earlier, which knocked us off the web for a bit.
Unfortunately, they had to restore from a backup that wasn't exactly current, so some posts and comments have been lost. I was able to restore the posts from web feeds, but all comments past a certain point have been lost permanently, unfortunately. Sorry about that!
We may have to consider a new web host before too long, as this is annoying!
UPDATE (12-29-2007): I've added some backup redundancy via a couple of scripts we're now running via a cron job. Details are here, for anyone who is interested in a similar backup system for their own blog (recommended after our recent experience).
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 12/27/07 10:03 PM | Announcements | Technorati | Comments (8)
Two more area institutions closing down
Two Houston-area landmarks will be shutting down for good at the end of the year.
Jennifer Leahy and Lisa Gray report for the Chronicle that the Greenway Theater will be closing:
The Greenway Theatre, which has screened films in the basement of Greenway Plaza for 35 years, will close at the end of this year.
Employees say Landmark Theatres lost its lease at 5 East Greenway Plaza. Landmark, a chain that specializes in independent and foreign films, has operated the Greenway since 1994.
A board designated for patrons' reviews of offered films has turned into a makeshift memorial as people protested the closing.
Written lamentations of "We will miss you" and "NO" in bold, penciled script were posted, along with a message from a self-described 30-year patron who simply offered: "We are sorry."
Less than a dozen patrons were found in the green-walled establishment Monday evening.
[snip]
The Greenway's last screening will begin at 7:30 p.m. on New Year's Eve.
We suspect that even on Christmas Eve, the megatheater complexes with stadium seating and such probably drew more than a dozen patrons. It had to be hard for small theaters to compete.
Elsewhere inside the loop, West U's charming JMH Market will also be closing its doors for good shortly. The Chronicle's Nancy Sarnoff has the details:
[JMH Market] will go dark on Monday and likely never reopen.
The owner, who said the business has struggled financially for years, has put the 1-acre property on the market for $5.1 million.
"I'm saddened by it as much as anyone in the community," said Michael Freeman, a Memorial resident who bought a stake in the property a few years ago and later acquired the majority interest. "I put my sweat and money in it for the last three years."
JMH No. 5 has been in the same spot for more than 50 years. The country-style store has become a neighborhood hangout, where kids meet on their bikes and parents go for coffee.
Groceries have sort of become an afterthought.
That was evident late last week, when the shelves were half-stocked, the meat counter was empty and signs were posted around the store advertising 20 percent off just about everything.
It wasn't the world's greatest grocery store, but the place served some of the best burgers in town. It sounds like one last lunchtime burger run will have to take place at some point this week.
BLOGVERSATION: Mike McGuff.
(Originally posted by Kevin Whited on 12/26/07 and restored from Bloglines)
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 12/27/07 09:58 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (3)
When in doubt, go for the local
Headline on Chron.com:
U.S. home prices post steepest fall since 1991
Headline on the Houston Business Journal's website:
Study: Home prices increase in Texas markets
I'm thinking the more locally focused story would be of greater interest to most Houston-area residents.
(Originally posted by Anne Linehan on 12/26/07 and restored from Bloglines)
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 12/27/07 09:54 PM | Houston Media | Technorati | Comments (1)
23 December 2007
Holiday slowdown
There is likely to be little blogging over the next couple of days as the big holiday approaches, so...
Merry Christmas, everyone! Or, as my very inclusive compatriot said last year, "Merry Whatever Holiday You Celebrate!"
UPDATE: A Pancho Claus sighting! And Elves and More gives away 16,000 bikes!
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 12/23/07 05:58 PM | Announcements | Technorati | Comments (9)
22 December 2007
KHOU: Thieves hit HPD impound lot, caught the next night
KHOU-11's Brad Woodard reports that an HPD impound lot recently was pilfered by thieves:
The cars were brought in for any number of reasons. Some were being held as evidence. Others were awaiting seizures. Still more were awaiting the identification of their owners.
But the barbed wire and chain link fence around HPD’s Dart lot did little to intimidate the suspects who busted through and burglarized 11 vehicles over the weekend.
“They primarily stole wheels and tires from the vehicles, as well as broke into one of the buildings we had tools stored in,” Capt. Don McKinney with the HPD Auto Theft Division said.
The thieves apparently thought the pickings were so easy that they returned the next night, when Woodard reports that HPD was ready and nabbed the bad guys.
Woodard concludes:
Prior to the incident, the lot only had video surveillance at night.
“Now we have 24-hour coverage out there, so we’ll have somebody there 24-hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. In addition to that, we’re going to be enhancing our remote video surveillance,” McKinney said.
But all of that aside, many are left to wonder: If HPD can’t protect itself from burglars, who can?
That and the library copper theft vandalism were embarrassing incidents indeed for the city.
We can't help but think that Mr. Woodard will not be a favorite of Chief Hurtt's Blog for reporting this one, though!
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 12/22/07 10:52 AM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (14)
21 December 2007
KHOU: HPD is "quietly" reclassifying some homicides
Today, KHOU-11's Mark Greenblatt uncovers more on the problem HPD has had counting homicides correctly:
On Feb. 13, 2006, a fire deliberately started by someone burned through some East Houston apartments and boarding homes.
Joseph Chryar was trapped inside, and he would never make it out. His family said the truth hasn’t either.
“Of course I feel it is a cover-up,” father Joseph Chryar Sr. said. And he said it involves the Houston Police Department.
“It felt like they were trying to sweep it under the rug,” he said.
Early on, an autopsy by the Harris County Medical Examiner ruled Chryar’s death a homicide. But HPD labeled his death “dead man” and left it that way - never finding the criminal with the affinity for flame.
“It hurts me,” Chryar Sr. said. “It hurts me very deeply, because somebody needs to pay for this.”
[snip]
But now, the Defenders have discovered a quiet reversal by the Department.
Just recently, HPD took six deaths that had been off the books and reclassified them as murder. They reported those murders to the Texas Department of Public Safety and the FBI as part of their official Uniform Crime Report numbers.
The cases? Victims: Joe Green, Charles Arterburn, Henry Rusk, Augustin Canales, Xavier Hegwood and — Joseph Chryar.
Greenblatt points out another disturbing consequence of HPD's number-fudging:
the Defenders have discovered another injustice: By not labeling victims like McCoy as a homicide, HPD can actually punish his family further, along all the other families of similar victims in Houston.
The reason? It all has to do with access to something called the Crime Victims’ compensation fund.
“By golly, if criminals have rights, crime victims have rights too,” Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott said.
Abbott speaks plainly.
“We obviously want to get resources and get help to crime victims as quickly as possible,” he said.
Abbott’s office offers crime victims’ families financial help for burial services and more through something called the Crime Victims’ Compensation Fund- but not until a crime is declared.
“Once it’s established that the injury or death was because of a crime, then they are invited to apply to our crime victims’ compensation fund,” Abbott said.
But in the case the Defenders found, victims’ families couldn’t get that help because HPD hadn’t labeled their loved ones’ death a crime — leaving them out in the cold.
Remember, Chief Hurtt blasted Greenblatt's initial reporting, then outrageously refused to answer any questions about the story. Now it appears Chief Hurtt's arrogance is coming back to bite him, as his department faces a little media sunshine.
HPD needs to make it a priority to reexamine the cases Greenblatt uncovered. The victims' families need closure, and if they are owed some financial assistance, they need to be able to collect it. And Mayor White and Chief Hurtt owe all these families an apology.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 12/21/07 08:00 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (6)
Metro: Bus complaints are up and we're victims of success!
KHOU-11 tells a tale of Metro's fine customer service:
As the workday ends, the adventure begins for Veronica Young. She is not a fan of the bus system, but a passenger anyway.
“They run stupid. I hate the way they run,” said Young. "You'd rather ride a car than take a bus."
This year there are more people like her than ever before.
According to METRO's year-end report, customers are losing patience with Houston’s public transportation system.
Complaints about buses being late are up 39-percent. Complaints about bus driver behavior are up nearly 43-percent.
Metro's excuse?
"We're almost a victim of our own success,” said METRO’s Raequel Roberts. “We have a much better call system now, so the wait time is less than a minute on most calls.
“So, people realize if I do call, I will get somebody that'll take my complaint. And if you realize you're going to get somebody you're more likely to call."
"We're almost a victim of our own success." I think we've heard that before out of a Metro official -- maybe Frank Wilson. Ms. Roberts is keeping up with the talking points!
So, Metro's customer service problems are because it has a better complaint call system now? It couldn't possibly because Metro has put so much emphasis on light rail that it has shortchanged bus service, now could it?
After a wave of retirements, 310 new bus drivers were behind the wheel this year. Roland Perez is sure he's been a passenger with one of them.
"I've been on one bus where everybody had to tell (the driver) where the route was,” said Perez. “He skipped like three or four stops and went the wrong way."
Maybe there's a hint in there!
METRO tells 11 News it's looking into why complaints are up.
Metro needs to commission a study.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 12/21/07 04:53 AM | Houston Transit | Technorati | Comments (21)
20 December 2007
Alvarado: It's a cryin' shame Council is losing my talent
(Temporarily Permanently not mayor pro tem ) Carol Alvarado exited the City Council stage today in a less-than-dignified manner: She whined about term limits:
"I think communities get shortchanged," said Councilwoman Carol Alvarado, who bid farewell to her colleagues Wednesday after six years representing District I on the city's east side.
"We lose talented people," said Alvarado, who plans to file today to run for state representative in District 145, the seat vacated by Democrat Rick Noriega in his bid for the Democratic nomination for U.S. senator.
No one can say Ms. Alvarado lacks self-esteem. But she should look on the bright side -- Houston's loss is the state's gain. And she left a lasting mark on Houston, since the mayor pro tem's office will never be the same. That's called a legacy!
As for departing Councilwoman Ada Edwards, she's not going anywhere. Mayor White appointed her as his Deputy Chief of Staff for Neighborhoods:
“The city of Houston has benefited tremendously from the leadership and knowledge of Ada Edwards. We want to continue to use her skills to make Houston better,” said Mayor Bill White. “In this position, Ada will join a team helping to revitalize neighborhoods, increase affordable housing, support neighborhood organizations, schools and nonprofits that all enhance our quality of life.”
Unclear is how Ms. Edwards' stances on HPD (increasing manpower = police state!) and the homeless (they should be allowed to bathe in the libraries!) will enhance Houston's quality of life.
BLOGVERSATION: This Blog is Full of Crap, Lose an Eye, It's a Sport
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 12/20/07 07:37 PM | Houston Politics | Technorati | Comments (14)
Jeff Cohen named NPF editor of the year
Word reaches us that Chronicle editor Jeff Cohen has been named Editor of the Year by the National Press Foundation.
Here is an excerpt from the organization's announcement:
Jeff Cohen joined the Houston Chronicle in June 2002 as executive vice president and editor, overseeing the newspaper’s English and Spanish editions and its Web site, chron.com.
Under his leadership, each section of the paper has seen a marked change. There is a greater emphasis on lively, engaging writing and a tighter focus on local topical issues as well as the broad themes that define the nation’s fourth largest city. During his tenure, the features and sports sections have been recognized by their peers as among the best in the country. The newspaper, along with its accompanying Web site, has been redesigned top to bottom. It has added a sister Spanish-language weekly, La Voz, and successfully launched niche publications in fashion and health.
Cohen directed the Chronicle’s coverage of some of the biggest news events in Houston’s recent history: hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the Enron trials, the space shuttle Columbia disaster and a scandal in the police department’s DNA lab that resulted in the release from prison of three innocent men.
Cohen also has embraced the digital revolution. Over the last five years, chron.com has grown into one of the top newspaper Web sites for breaking news, video features, staff and reader blogs and overall reader interaction. The site’s animated editorial cartoons have attracted national attention and made the newspaper’s cartoonist a Pulitzer Prize finalist in 2007.
Some of us who actually read the newspaper carefully on a daily basis can't help but wonder about that praise of the features and sports sections (or for that matter, the irony of praising the HPD crime lab reporting by Steve McVicker, who is no longer with the newspaper due to the latest round of layoffs); but then again, we aren't the sorts of pros who determine these sorts of awards. Under Cohen's leadership, though, there is no doubt that the newspaper has stressed its online presence (and breaking news online), and it has also reworked its Austin bureau in a sensible way -- both positives.
The awards ceremony will apparently take place in February in Washington, D.C. We hope that the weather allows the editor a good round of golf while he's in the D.C. area (on the NPF's dime!). Maybe Julie Mason can even liveblog the awards ceremony, and give her boss the sort of treatment she regularly gives other important world leaders!
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 12/20/07 09:36 AM | Houston Chronicle | Technorati | Comments (11)
19 December 2007
Good and bad news on food in Houston
K of She Eats posts about some good food news: New Midtown/Downtown eateries that don't have Tilman Fertitta's name attached.
Alison Cook posts about some bad food news: Williams Smokehouse has been destroyed by fire.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 12/19/07 08:47 AM | Houston Life | Technorati | Comments (8)
Chron.com: Sorry, no such article. Thanks for visiting!
I've mentioned before how annoying it is that the links to articles on Chron.com go dead after a week or two, and then you have to use Chron.com's frustrating search engine to find an article. I usually give up or try Google because I've had so little luck with the search flaw feature.
At the top of the Blog Watch section on the Opinion page of Chron.com is a link to a Houston Strategies post, "Houston's new air service to the world." If you click on the very first link to a Chron story about Emirates kicking off nonstop air service to Dubai, here is what pops up:
No such article.
We're sorry, but the article you requested is not currently available on Chron.com.
If it's an older article that you had bookmarked, you may be able to find it in the archives.If you got to this page from a current link on our site, then it's an error. In this case, the system has automatically detected and logged the error, but you can email help@chron.com to report additional information or if you have any questions.
Thank you for visiting Chron.com!
Nice.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 12/19/07 05:15 AM | Houston Chronicle | Technorati | Comments (4)
It's not a Pulitzer, but it's something (cont'd)
Regret the Error, a blog that keeps track of media errors and corrections, has done its year-end list of best media oopses, and has awarded the Chronicle Typo of the Year:
The Houston Chronicle, like just about every other North American media outlet, spent a lot of time reporting on Anna Nicole Smith this past year. In attempting to explain her, um, humble origins, the paper gave itself a measure of comeuppance. And that’s what makes it the typo of the year.
A photo caption in the paper read:
“When Redding, a longtime scout for Playboy, discovered Smith, the model could barely right a sentence…”
Who’s illiterate now?
We're so proud.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 12/19/07 05:00 AM | Houston Chronicle | Technorati | Comments (10)
18 December 2007
The return of the Froot Loops Bureau!
Cory Crow alerts us to this dispatch from the Chronicle's Kevin Moran, who apparently is manning the Froot Loops Desk (or should that be the Froot Loops Breakfast Nook?) this morning:
Inbound commuters should avoid the North Freeway this morning after a pickup truck caught fire near Interstate 10.
The fire was confirmed at 6:09 a.m. and traffic remained mired in the area after 7 a.m., according to Houston TranStar. Televised reports showed the pickup engulfed in flames and an attached trailer destroyed. Firefighters arrived at about 6:23 a.m. and quickly doused the blaze. Fire crews did not clear the scene until 7:35, according to TranStar.
Those televised reports go well with breakfast!
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 12/18/07 08:35 AM | Houston Chronicle | Technorati | Comments (0)
Is Harris County ready for Bill White Jr. as judge?
Friend of Bill David Mincberg hopes so:
Democrat David Mincberg called for ethics reforms in county government and a focus on environmental quality Monday as he filed papers to run for Harris County judge.
Mincberg, former chairman of the county Democratic Party, expects no significant opposition in the March primary for the job of Harris County government chief. County Judge Ed Emmett, appointed to the position this year after the resignation of Robert Eckels, faces former District Clerk Charles Bacarisse in the Republican primary.
"The public has lost confidence in Harris County's leadership, which is out of touch, indebted to big donors who 'pay to play' for county contracts and raises taxes via appraisals while pretending to cut tax rates," Mincberg said. "There is no focus on the critical issues of growth, jobs and quality of life."
Harris County residents have not lost confidence in Harris County's leadership. On the contrary, when a government focuses "on the critical issues of growth, jobs and quality of life," that's when the problems start. When government stays out of those critical issues, people and businesses thrive.
On his website Mincberg says, "The office of County Judge requires a person with great understanding of and experience in financial management and a leader with the skills necessary to implement the number of reforms and improvement so vital to Harris County's future success." Any Democrat advocating "reforms and improvement" means government heavy-handedness and regulation. We can look at Bill White's leadership in Houston as the example.
Mincberg says he wants to focus on ethics reforms, but interestingly, nowhere in the Chronicle's story does Alan Bernstein mention Mincberg's time as head of Houston's Department of Housing and Community Development, the Housing Authority of the City of Houston, and the Houston Housing Finance Corp. And on Mincberg's website, it is only briefly mentioned.
The best remedies for any ethics issues are transparency and a watchdog media. Everything possible should be made available online, and local media should thoroughly cover all local issues. When has the Chronicle ever covered Harris County politics, except in the most superficial manner? It took KTRK-13's Wayne Dolcefino to unearth Jerry Eversole's problems. And the Chronicle's Houston coverage isn't overly aggressive -- Mrs. White won't allow that.
So let's unearth details of Mincberg's tenure as the $1 per-year head of Houston's Housing Authorities. Let's see how this businessman runs things. We've heard there might some interesting tidbits if a full accounting emerged.
And if Mincberg really wants to run on a platform of ethics reform, let's find out where this Houston insider stood on the city's Yellow Cab contract, including the airport shuttle disaster that put a local company out of business; and on a long-term, no-bid airport concession contract. Give us the quotes where he came out against "big donors who 'pay to play'" for city business.
We certainly won't see that in Houston's Daily Information Source, because Mincberg's wife works for the Chronicle. We can expect nothing but glowing reviews for the Democrat candidate for Harris County Judge.
The critical issues for Harris County are public safety and public infrastructure -- roads and flooding. We don't need Bill White-lite micromanaging county residents' lives. You can bet Mayor White has already been whispering "county-wide smoking ban" in Mincberg's ear. If I recall correctly, Houston complained to the county that its lack of a smoking ban was harming Houston businesses, since smokers could go to restaurants and bars outside city limits. And just think of all the new red-light camera opportunities outside MayorWhiteChiefHurtt's reach.
Most likely Mincberg will aim to keep a low profile for now, counting on a bruising battle between Judge Emmett and Charles Bacarrise. Then with the Chronicle on his side, FOB Mincberg can run as an above-the-fray candidate, spouting soothing platitudes of "change."
In the big picture, Harris County is running just fine, as local governments go. Mincberg's idea of change will translate into regulation and stealth-taxes, à la Bill White.
CORRECTION: We are informed that David Mincberg's wife, Lainie Gordon, no longer works for the Chronicle.
ANNE ADDS: Excellent! Now there's no reason for the Chronicle not to dive into Mincberg's record as head of Houston's housing authorities.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 12/18/07 08:22 AM | Houston Politics | Technorati | Comments (4)
17 December 2007
KHOU reports one strange Eastex Freeway tale
KHOU-11 posts what can only be described as an odd story:
Valencia Lee and Latesta Onyenike were Northbound at Crosstimbers on Highway 59 when a motorcycle officer, who was supposedly escorting a funeral procession, waved them over.
Lee says he told her, “‘You on the cell phone and I'm directing traffic,’ that's all he said,” Lee, added the officer ordered her to keep her car where it was. The women said the man, who was wearing a black jacket with the word “Sheriff” on the back, then asked for the car keys.
Lee said she handed the keys over because she was afraid if she didn’t, she would wind up in jail.
But after getting her keys, the escort officer just took off, leaving Lee and Onyenike stranded on the right shoulder of the freeway.
Three hours later, a Safe-Clear Wrecker took the women and their car to a safer location off the freeway.
Then Lee called the Sheriff's Office, which dispatched a deputy and who had her towed to her apartment.
[snip]
The Harris County Sheriff's Office is trying to determine what happened and if a legitimate peace [sic] officer was involved. They are not sure if he is truly a deputy with the sheriff’s office or some other agency.
If everything happened as described, that is one strange story (including the three-hour SAFEclear response time).
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 12/17/07 11:21 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (11)
Are government failures contributing to support for Horn?
Over the weekend, the Chronicle's Mike Snyder posted an interesting, balanced look at reactions to the Joe Horn case. Here is an excerpt:
He had the thief in his sights, but chose not to take the shot. More than a decade later, Bill Thomas of Kemah still agonizes over that decision.
"That night still lives in my mind like it was yesterday," Thomas said, recalling the evening when he confronted a man he saw breaking into a van in the parking lot of a San Antonio motel.
Like Joe Horn of Pasadena, who some consider a hero for fatally shooting two men who broke into his neighbor's house Nov. 14, Thomas was defending someone else's property. Horn pulled the trigger of his shotgun three times; Thomas lowered his weapon, only to learn later that the thief he allowed to flee into the night may have gone on to rob a convenience store and kill a clerk.
Like many others who have publicly expressed support for Horn's actions, Thomas is frustrated. Frustrated because police, he says, have all but shrugged off burglaries of his home and his truck. Frustrated because the nation's porous borders make it possible for illegal immigrants such as the men Horn shot to prey on hard-working Americans.
This sense that private citizens must step in to do the job they believe their government is failing to do is a key factor driving the surge of public support for Horn, according to interviews with academic experts and a review of hundreds of comments on news articles, letters to the editor and radio talk-show conversations.
The rest of the story is here.
Various media outlets have reported that the Pasadena Police Department presented its findings in the case to the Harris County District Attorney's office today.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 12/17/07 10:21 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (19)
16 December 2007
Confusion over Power to Choose website
Earlier in the week, KPRC-2's Amy Davis reported that the fine engine used to search for electricity providers had been pulled from the state's Power To Choose website:
When Local 2 Investigates checked out the Web site, we noticed the site was not only more difficult to navigate, but some posted rates for electricity are flat out wrong.
The posted rate for Spark Energy is 9.8 cents on the "Power to Choose." At Spark Energy's Web site, the rate is 10.8 cents.
Out of 50 rates we checked at random, we found 11, 22 percent, incorrect.
"Now what's happening is they're even making it harder for us to find the cheapest price," said Cobarruvias.
When we tried clicking on the link for Green Mountain Energy, we were actually sent to Hudson Energy's Web site. We clicked on StarTex Power and we ended up at Green Mountain.
"Our enrollments have gone down close to 40 percent," said Marcie Zlotnik, the owner of StarTex Power.
The only thing that Zlotnik said has changed in that time period is the "Power To Choose" Web site. She said the biggest change is that consumers can no longer search for providers by typing in their ZIP code. The site now wants to know a consumers' Transmission and Delivery Service Provider or TDSP.
"ZIP code is easy," said Zlotnik. "Everybody knows their ZIP code. TDSP, they first have to understand what does that mean and second of all, who is it?"
In Houston, by the way, the TDSP is CenterPoint Energy. But the average consumer does not know that.
By phone, PUC Commissioner Barry Smitherman said the Commission decided to cancel the contract with the vendor who maintained the Web site when it discovered the vendor giving some electric providers an unfair advantage over others.
But Cobarruvias said that excuse doesn’t work with him.
"You don't wake up in the morning and find out that your contract ended. You know this in advance," he said.
"We just want the site back up the way that it was," said Zlotnik.
Local 2 Investigates called the PUC late last week about the problems we discovered in its Web site. About an hour and a half before our broadcast, a PUC spokesperson called us and said the PUC was able to add the ZIP code search to the site again.
Smitherman told us other changes to the site are coming in the next few weeks. The state Legislature gives the PUC $750,000 tax dollars a year to use for consumer education.
Later, the Chronicle's Tom Fowler and Loren Steffy posted a story with an error that has yet to be corrected:
Marcie Zlotnik, president of Houston-based electric retailer StarTex Power, said her company's business has fallen by 70 percent this month, which she attributes to the changes in the Web site.
"The Power to Choose Web site is embedded in everything we do in this market," Zlotnik said. "I can think of no more valuable tool that we have to educate and encourage people to switch."
In the comments section of the story, a spokesperson for StarTex power posts a correction:
We read with interest the article authored by Mr. Tom Fowler and Loren Steffy, Consumer Web site loses juice.
The article highlighted the issues facing the market due to the changes made to the Power To Choose website. As stated in the article, this website has been instrumental in assisting consumers with their decision to choose a new electricity provider.
We wish to clarify a point made in the article that is unclear as stated.
The article states that "Marcie Zlotnik, president of Houston-based electric retailer StarTex Power, said her company's business has fallen by 70 percent this month, which she attributes to the changes in the Web site."
Our business has not fallen by 70 percent this month. This should have stated that we have experienced a 70 percent decline in the number of new customers choosing StarTex Power through the Power to Choose website so far in the month of December.
Respectfully submitted,
Steve Madden
StarTex Power
Sr. VP, Supply
Apparently, the Chronicle Editorial LiveJournalists didn't pay attention to the comment, because they repeated the error in their typically muddled editorial on the topic today:
The change may already be hampering some consumers in their quest to sign up for new electric service. Marcie Zlotnik, president of Houston-based electric retailer StarTex Power, said her company's business has fallen by 70 percent this month, which she attributes to the changes in the Web site.
As the spokesperson pointed out, that's not quite right.
Further, as local blogger John Cobarruvias (who was cited in the KPRC-2 story) notes, something doesn't quite add up with the PUC's explanation of the changes to the website, which in its previous configuration was highly useful and merely provided links to individual power providers. In addition, the Editorial LiveJournalists seem somewhat confused as to how the website worked in its previous configuration. That's hardly surprising, as we suspect the Editorial LiveJournalists probably never used it to shop for electric providers. (Our request for reader rep Steve Jetton to answer this question by polling the Editorial Board members on their current choice of electric provider seems likely to be ignored -- he and the Editorial LiveJournalists are very busy after all).
The City of Houston maintains a similar electric provider website. While it is less useful than the state's original site, it does seem better than the state's current effort.
UPDATE (12-18-2007): The Chronicle posts a correction today:
Houston-based electric retailer StarTex Power has seen a 70 percent drop this month in the number of new customers referred from the state-sponsored Power to Choose Web site. A story on Page D1 Friday was not clear about how StarTex business was affected by changes in the Web site.
Note that the correction does not reference the editorial that made the same error. It is not clear why the newspaper is so reluctant to correct errors on the editorial page.
BLOGVERSATION: NewsWatch: Energy.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 12/16/07 06:38 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (2)
KPRC: Limited access to critical technology hampers HPD
Last week, KPRC-2's Stephen Dean uncovered more problems within HPD with this story on the police department's failure to provide most homicide investigators with access to computer programs and databases which are critical in the first hours of an investigation:
The officers told KPRC Local 2 Investigates that they are routinely locked out of three of the most fundamental crime-fighting computer systems they need to track down killers and kidnappers. They said access to those programs has only been granted to a handful of homicide squad employees and those people are often off-duty or unavailable when seconds count.
Smaller departments often access these basic programs from most investigators' desktop computers, but HPD homicide investigators said they have been required to wait in line for crime analysts, employees who are not officers, to handle the duties for them because of department policy.
"Small cities, small departments don't have those obstacles," Wiseman said. "The fourth-largest city in the country does; it's no wonder we have problems."
Wiseman said there is "a problem in management."
That's a HUGE understatement.
HPD has limited access to its computer link with the Texas Department of Public Safety, which can allow officers instant access to driver's license photographs of suspects. HPD acknowledged it only allowed 11 employees access to those photos, even though DPS officials told KPRC it would cost nothing to add access for every single detective.
But that's not all:
The second issue involves police computer searches known as "skip tracing." The department admitted it only had seven employees with access to those programs from the homicide squad.
Skip tracing pinpoints addresses, relatives, registered automobiles and other information about potential suspects. HPD officers told KPRC Local 2 Investigates they would sometimes have to wait for others to access those databases during kidnapping investigations.
The third technology hang-up involves accessing crime reports from the Harris County Sheriff's Office. Officers said they could not access routine crime reports or crime analysis from that neighboring jurisdiction, even though sheriff's office employees can access that data from HPD.
[snip]
Just like the DPS driver's license photos, a linkup to the Harris County sheriff's office computer would cost nothing, according to city and county officials.
Dirden insisted, "That may be the case, but it's not an issue that has jeopardized public safety."
The homicide squad chief is fairly new in his command and admitted he learned about some of these technology hang-ups from KPRC Local 2 Investigates.
It is inexcusable that HPD's homicide investigators do not have every possible resource available to them in the course of an investigation. The incompetence of HPD's leadership is just mind-boggling, especially as we add this to Mark Greenblatt's reporting on how HPD flat out misreports homicide numbers.
A pattern is clearly emerging of a police chief who is much more interested in surveilling Houstonians, rather than doing what it takes to keep Houstonians safe (not to mention, alive!), and of a mayor who tacitly approves of said police chief.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 12/16/07 05:56 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (5)
14 December 2007
KHOU's Neil Frank to retire in 2008
Last week, Mike McGuff informed that former KTRK-13 meteorologist Gene Norman appeared to be headed back to Houston for a top job.
Today, the Chronicle's David Barron confirms that Norman has been tapped as the replacement for none other than a retiring Neil Frank on KHOU-11:
Neil Frank, KHOU's (Channel 11) chief meteorologist since 1987 and the former director of the National Hurricane Center, will retire from the station in 2008 and will be succeeded by former KTRK (Channel 13) meteorologist Gene Norman, Channel 11 officials said this afternoon.
Norman, who recently resigned as chief meteorologist at WGCL in Atlanta, that city's CBS affiliate, will join Channel 11 on Jan. 28, president and general manager Susan McEldoon said.
"Gene is being hired to eventually replace Doc (Frank), who will be retiring later in 2008," McEldoon said. "We don't have a specific date yet, but we want this overlapping time so there can be a smooth transition."
Norman, a former NASA scientist who worked at Channel 13 in the middle to late 1990s before going to Atlanta in 2000, has won four local Emmys and three awards from the Associated Press broadcasters for his weather coverage in Georgia.
Frank, who came to Channel 11 in 1987 from the hurricane center in Miami, will be remembered for ushering in a new era for Houston TV forecasters, said Ann Hodges, the retired longtime television critic for the Chronicle.
"He had such a high profile from his job in Florida, and he was the authority on hurricanes, so goodness knows there was no better place for him to be," Hodges said. "After he arrived, you never again saw weathermen coming out in funny costumes and dong [sic] silly things as they used to do. They had to have credentials. So he changed things in Houston for the better."
Will Neil Frank stick around for one more hurricane season? If not, who will inspire Ken Hoffman's meteorologist commentary?
BLOGVERSATION: Mike McGuff, TBIFOC, Lose an Eye, It's a Sport.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 12/14/07 11:40 AM | Houston Media | Technorati | Comments (11)
13 December 2007
Texans fan makes political statement on NFL Network
Houston Texans receiver Andre Johnson caught a fourth quarter touchdown pass, and ran to the fans in the end zone to celebrate.
One fan was prepared to make a political statement, as the following screenshot reveals:
Houstonians can be pretty funny.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 12/13/07 09:53 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (8)
Chron metro columnists report on Alice puppy, obsess over Joe Horn
Yesterday, Chronicle metro columnist Rick Casey posted what was basically a rewrite of various stories from the Alice (TX) Echo News Journal on an odd fight over a puppy. Now, Casey did credit the Echo News Journal, which is an improvement over his past plagiarizing of other newspapers. But it's not entirely clear why the Chronicle employs an alleged hotshot metro columnist to rewrite stories from small Texas newspapers (instead of shaking up things locally).
On the other hand, metro columnist Lisa Falkenberg has certainly gone local, at least regarding the Joe Horn matter (we have not yet been treated to her father's opinion on the matter, which would be extra-local, but we digress). Of course, with three (of her last four) columns on the Joe Horn matter, she quite possibly has moved from appropriately local to obsessive. That seems to be the opinion of our friends at Lose an Eye, It's a Sport and Chelsea Hotel Number Two, and we're inclined to agree.
Surely there are more compelling stories in the metro area.
Anyway, we've not really discussed the Joe Horn affair, so feel free to offer your thoughts on the matter in the forum if you're so inclined. Or Rick Casey, puppies, and Alice, TX, if you prefer. Consider it an open-comments invitation on those two topics!
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 12/13/07 09:46 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (16)
Stiles: Councilmembers preparing for Controller run?
In two interesting blog posts today, the Chronicle's Matt Stiles speculates that certain councilmembers may have begun positioning themselves for a possible City Controller run.
Wouldn't it be nice if these so-called public servants, instead of "positioning" themselves for future political offices, concentrated on doing the best job possible in their current jobs, for their constituents and for the City of Houston?
There I go, being naïve. Sorry.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 12/13/07 09:10 PM | Houston Politics | Technorati | Comments (3)
Question about the "Baby Grace" murder case
Commenter Filio Scotia asked if we would post this query:
[T]the Riley Ann Sawyers "Baby Grace" murder case has ended up in Galveston, where a grand jury has indicted the little girl's mother and stepfather on capital murder charges.
Excuse me, but didn't this crime happen in Harris County? This "alleged" murder was committed in the suburb of Spring, in north Harris County. According to my understanding of such matters, that makes it a Harris County case, under the jurisdiction of the Harris District Courts.
It doesn't matter where the body was disposed of and found. Unless the law has been changed, it's where the crime was committed and the complainant died that determines jurisdiction for prosecution.
Anybody care to tackle this one?
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 12/13/07 08:59 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (13)
HouStoned interviews Proletariat owner
HouStoned Rocks posts a followup interview with Denise Ramos, who is shutting down her business (The Proletariat) to make way for METRO's Westpark Richmond rail line.
It's an interesting read.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 12/13/07 08:52 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (1)
Alvarado: new ordinance will make no difference, but who cares?
Councilwoman Carol Alvarado today led City Council in addressing an issue of critical importance to Houstonians: taxi cab emissions (via KHOU-11):
[...]city leaders want new taxi cabs to be more eco friendly.
“We understand that’s not going to take care of our clean air problems, but we all have to do our part,” said Councilmember Carol Alvarado.
Under a proposed taxi cab ordinance, staring next year cab drivers applying for a new permit must drive either a hybrid or a four cylinder cab.
Cab drivers stood in unison as they voiced their opposition.
Their united opposition was to no avail. Today Council passed the ordinance with a "grandfather" provision for current cab drivers.
The whole thing is reminiscent of this: An unserious City Council tackling unserious issues.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 12/13/07 06:10 PM | Houston Politics | Technorati | Comments (16)
12 December 2007
Chron: Fountain hit with detergent or "other soap stuff"
The Chronicle's Kevin Moran reports that Mecom Fountain got soaped earlier:
People driving by the historic Mecom Fountain might have mistaken it for a bubble machine this morning because someone dumped detergent or some other soap stuff in the water overnight.
The fountain was expected to be shut down and checked for possible soap containers, then restarted after city workers treat the water with an anti-foaming agent, said Estella Espinosa, spokeswoman for the Houston Parks and Recreation department.
Whatever was added to the water is not expected to harm the fountain, located at the intersection of Main and Montrose, Espinosa said.
Dumping "some other soap stuff" in the fountain is at least less harmful than ripping out all the lights and copper wiring.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 12/12/07 10:51 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (6)
MLK parade decision comes down to coin flip
KPRC-2 reports that the battle of the competing MLK Day parades has seemingly been decided, at least for 2008:
A flip of a coin determined which of two competing groups will get to hold their Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade in downtown Houston in 2008, KPRC Local 2 reported.
The Black Heritage Society and MLK Parade Foundation both applied for a permit to hold their parade at 10 a.m. on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. A city rule forbids more than one parade from being held in downtown Houston per day.
Representatives from both groups met at City Hall on Wednesday afternoon. The Black Heritage Society picked heads and won.
"We won't go away, not as long as I'm alive," said Ovide Duncantell with the Black Heritage Society. "I've got about 25, 30, maybe 50 more years."
Charles Stamps with the MLK Parade Foundation said he will file for a permit for his group's parade to still go on at 10 a.m.
"Actually, there are no losers," Stamps said. "There's still going to be two parades. The city ordinance allows for four parades; we only applied for one of them.
Laurence Simon has the best proposal we've seen for resolving this annual fight. Or at least making it more entertaining.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 12/12/07 10:39 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (13)
Management districts take on graffiti abatement
The Chronicle's Seshadri Kumar reports that management districts are taking on a bigger role in graffiti abatement:
Gangs and graffiti have a new adversary to reckon with — management districts.
As part of their mission to enhance safety, mobility and the business environment, Houston area management districts have taken a more aggressive role — and are spending more money — to combat graffiti with abatement programs.
Last year, the Brays Oaks Management District contracted with the Greater East End Management District's graffiti abatement program to eliminate tagging within its boundaries.
The Greater Sharpstown Management District has followed suit, signing a three-month contract with the Greater East End District's graffiti abatement program to inspect its southwest Houston area two days a week, identify graffiti and remove it October through December.
Graffiti was removed from 221 public, business and private properties in October and 121 sites in November, said Steve Pittman, communications director for the Sharpstown district.
Graffiti hasn't seemed like much of a priority to MayorWhiteChiefHurtt, so it's good (we suppose) that some quasi-governmental bodies are trying to pick up the slack.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 12/12/07 10:23 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (5)
11 December 2007
Owner to shutter Proletariat in anticipation of METROrail
HouStoned Rocks reports that the owner of a Richmond music bar is shuttering the place in anticipation of the coming light rail fun:
Proletariat owner Denise Ramos emailed the Press this morning with a statement that she is closing the popular local venue in February due to Metro’s plans to build a light-rail line on Richmond Avenue, which the local transportation agency has said will be completed by 2012. “I truly feel that this whole light-rail issue is going to get very messy, and I have no interest in spending any of my energy or my staff’s time in dealing with that,” says Ramos, who plans to close the club February 3.
Obviously, Denise Ramos does not read the Chronicle or METRO's blog, or she would have seen the multiple press releases stories describing how METRO's new construction "storefronts" will mitigate any such problems!
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 12/11/07 11:59 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (19)
Update on missing minister and a previous post
I recall a previous post that talked about the case of the missing minister whose car was found by Deputy Constables. The deputies arrested one of the occupants while releasing the other. I recall this post roasted the police over the coals. I recall this post was ready to crucify the officers involved without knowing the real facts of the story. What the poster didn't know (and police did) was that this minister has a history of drug and prostitution arrests. This minister was meeting a prostitute who set him up to be robbed and his car taken. The man the deputies arrested was one of the robbers. The passenger that was released, turns out, had nothing to do with the original robbery! So it looks as if the police did a good job in solving this one. I hope all the second-guessing readers out there will read the news coverage here, and here.
Posted by Jason @ 12/11/07 11:48 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (6)
Spivak: Chron reporter borrows without attribution (updated)
HouStoned's Todd Spivak noticed something interesting in Todd Ackerman's story about salt and nutrition in today's Chronicle:
Here is reporter Todd Ackerman putting salt into context:
“Suspicions about salt are not new. In 2,500 B.C., physicians in China warned patients that if they used too much, their ‘pulse’ would harden. Today, doctors say…”
For grins, I punched “salt 2500 bc china” into Google. A bunch of stuff came up, including the reporter’s source. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 1997 ran a story in its FDA Consumer magazine that reads as follows:
“Scientists’ suspicions about salt are not new. As Jeffrey Cutler, M.D., director of the Clinical Applications and Prevention Program, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, points out, physicians in China back in 2,500 B.C. warned patients that if they used too much salt in their food, their ‘pulse’ would harden.”
The language in the FDA report – which is not cited in the Chronicle story – is almost identical to Ackerman’s. I’m no expert, but I don’t think that’s plagiarism. Just lazy journalism.
It seems fairly clear that Ackerman "borrowed" parts of Alexandra Greeley's writing (which was in an article in an FDA magazine, not an FDA report) without attribution. Whether you want to call it plagiarism is up to you.
UPDATE: Matt Bramanti finds additional instances of apparent "borrowing" without attribution.
BLOGVERSATION: Lose an Eye, It's a Sport, She Eats, Lone Star Times.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 12/11/07 11:37 PM | Houston Chronicle | Technorati | Comments (4)
10 December 2007
Hurtt's blog goes on the offensive against KPRC journalist
Back in September, KHOU-11's Jeff McShan reported (and to our knowledge, no city officials disputed) the following:
Sources tell 11 News that Mayor Bill White, and Police Chief Harold Hurtt came up with the idea to use drones -- unmanned flying machines -- to help with traffic mobility.
They could also be used for police tactical situations. Like the SWAT incident at NASA in April.
Executive Assistant Chief Martha Montalva [sic] confirmed the department is close to making it happen.
“And what's important and what needs to get out there is we are doing this in cooperation and assistance with the FAA,” said Montalva.[sic]
In November, KPRC-2's Stephen Dean got wind of the fact that HPD was planning a secret test of the drones -- and forced HPD into a hasty press conference because of his reporting:
Houston police cars were surrounding the land with a roadblock in place to check each of the dignitaries arriving for the invitation-only event. The invitation spelled out, "NO MEDIA ALLOWED."
HPD Chief Harold Hurtt attended, along with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and dozens of officers from various police agencies in the Houston area. Few of the guests would comment as they left the test site.
News Chopper 2 had a Local 2 Investigates team following the aircraft for more than one hour as it circled overhead. Its wings spanned 10 feet and it circled at an altitude of 1,500 feet. Operators from a private firm called Insitu, Inc. manned remote controls from inside the fleet of black trucks as the guests watched a live feed from the high-powered camera aboard the 40-pound aircraft.
"I wasn't ready to publicize this," Executive Assistant Police Chief Martha Montalvo said. She and other department leaders hastily organized a news conference when they realized Local 2 Investigates had captured the entire event on camera.
"We still haven't even decided how we were going to go forward on this task, so it seemed premature to me to announce this to the media," Montalvo said. "But since, obviously, the media found out about it, then I don't see any reason why just not go forward with what we have so far."
Montalvo told reporters the unmanned aircraft would be used for "mobility" or traffic issues, evacuations during storms, homeland security, search and rescue, and also "tactical." She admitted that could include covert police actions and she said she was not ruling out someday using the drones for writing traffic tickets.
A large number of the officers at the test site were assigned to the department's ticket-writing Radar Task Force. Capt. Tom Runyan insisted they were only there to provide "site security," even though KPRC cameras spotted those officers heavily participating in the test flight.
In two followup reports (here and here), Dean noted that the testing raised air traffic concerns.
None of Dean's characterizations seems farfetched or unfair, in light of what he and competitor Jeff McShan have documented.
Chief Hurtt's ghostblogger might beg to differ, though.
In today's post on Chief Hurtt's blog, the ghostblogger provides "FACTS to Correct Erroneous Allegations" from Dean, who "has alleged or insinuated the following things..." about HPD's drone testing. What is most interesting about the list of "things" is that they rely on no direct quotes from Dean's reporting. Rather, the ghostblogger creatively interprets the "things" that Mr. Dean has allegedly insinuated, and then goes on to rebut what is made to seem like a wild, off-the-mark accusation. It's a fairly crude effort to smear Dean's reporting.
Chief Hurtt's ghostblogger may want to be a little more judicious. The blog's last effort to smear a journalist (and an award-winning one at that) backfired.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 12/10/07 11:16 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (5)
Is its news, opinion, or what?
Chron.com's recent tendency to mix opinion columns with the regular news stream was on display in the metro/state section again today.
Austin Bureau Chief Clay Robison's column, "Appointing Wilson could be a battle," appears in the regular online metro/state news section with just that title (and no indication that it is opinion or analysis). But, the same column also appears in the Columnists sidebar in the same section.
So, how are online readers to know whether the Austin Bureau Chief's column is opinion or news (and what of this "firewall" between news and opinion that we sometimes hear about)?
Good questions.
Of course, those questions have long been raised by the Chronicle's odd practice of having the head of its Austin NEWS bureau moonlight as an OPINION columnist. Even some Chronsters have confided to us privately that he ought to be doing one or the other. But apparently the Really Important People at the Chronicle feel differently.
BLOGVERSATION: Lose an Eye, It's a Sport.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 12/10/07 10:24 PM | Houston Chronicle | Technorati | Comments (5)
09 December 2007
This could be part of the problem
What's the size of the copper theft division at HPD? KHOU-11's Lee McGuire tells us:
Just two police officers.
“It’s very difficult for us to keep up. 250 cases [per month], two people. You don’t have to be a genius to know that two people can’t keep up with 250 cases,” said Captain Ceaser Moore. He runs Houston’s crackdown on copper theft.
And for comparison, Houston’s elected officials are looking a bit longingly at Dallas. They have one sergeant, and 4 officers on scrap metal theft. That’s for a city with 12 scrapyards.
Houston, meanwhile, has one sergeant, one officer, and 115 scrapyards.
Council members Toni Lawrence and Adrian Garcia say they’d like Houston police to increase the number of officers on scrap metal patrol. But HPD is already short a thousand officers.
September 2004 is when this little blog first noted HPD's looming manpower shortage. Not much has improved since then.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 12/09/07 07:05 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (14)
City still frustrated with municipal courts technology "upgrade"
The Chronicle's Alexis Grant reports that the city's fancy new municipal courts technology still isn't working properly:
City officials, at their wit's end with the company they hired to turn municipal courts into an electronic operation, this week threatened to sue unless the company fixes problems with the $10 million system.
Aside from causing headaches for city officials overseeing the transition, the flawed system has resulted in longer waits for the thousands of residents, lawyers and bail bondsmen who navigate the courts each day, and frustration for those who work there.
The city is giving Maximus Inc. until Thursday to provide a plan for making its work meet expectations.
"We said, 'It's really up to you Maximus. You tell us how you're going to keep Houston as a long-term client, how you're going to satisfy all your requirements, or we're going to declare you in default," said Richard Lewis, the city's director of information technology.
Repeated calls to Maximus for comment this week were not returned. In the past, spokeswoman Rachael Rowland has said the company was working to fix system bugs.
The computer upgrade, a goal of city officials since the late '90s, was supposed to be completed within a year and a half after the City Council approved the contract in April 2003. More than four years later, it still is not working properly.
These sorts of problems contribute to our skepticism when the same municipal officials promise to form public-private partnerships for ambitious aims like "Bridging the [Alleged] Digital Divide."
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 12/09/07 05:04 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (3)
08 December 2007
O' Come All Ye Faithful (readers, commenters, critics, etc)
It's well past time for a blogHOUSTON gathering.
We missed having an anniversary get together, so we'll just have an omnibus Merry Christmas/Holidays/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa/2007/Anniversary celebration.
If you're reading this, please feel free to join us at Byzantio on West Gray on Saturday afternoon, December 15.
We'll get underway about 3:00 pm and carry on as usual. We may retire across the street to Barnaby's for dinner if anyone is interested.
If you're a reader, blogger, commenter, pol, journalist, critic, friend, or just really like Greek bars, please feel free to drop by and say hello.
And if we don't get a chance to say so in person -- As always, thanks to everyone who helps keep the blog fun for us!
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 12/08/07 05:01 PM | Announcements | Technorati | Comments (15)
Original Otto's barbeque up for sale; land to be redeveloped
The Houston Business Journal reports that the original Otto's Barbeque on Memorial is going to be sold for real-estate development, along with the adjacent shopping center that includes Biba's:
The storied Otto's Bar B Que & Hamburgers restaurant, known to be favored by former President George Bush, will be demolished to make way for the sale of the high-profile Memorial Drive land.
Otto's owners June and Marcus Sofka have listed the 1.3-acre tract for sale with Cushman & Wakefield of Texas Inc.
An adjacent 17,000-square-foot shopping center, which is also owned by the Sofkas, is part of the sales package. The center includes a nail salon, a cleaners, a barber shop and Biba's Greek Pizza.
Cushman & Wakefield broker Dave Cook says he is currently taking offers on the land and hopes to get a deal done soon.
The Chronicle's Allan Turner adds that the venerable barbeque shop will continue to operate for a while, perhaps until a deal is completed:
A veritable stampede of cattle has been served up as burgers and brisket at Otto's since the restaurant's founder, Otto Sofka, grilled that first burger at his family's grocery 56 years ago. Otto's wife, Annie, their son, Marcus, Marcus's wife, June, and three of their seven children all have pulled duty at the business.
"This is very hard work," June Sofka explained after handling a noontime shift at the hamburger grill. "It's a 24/7 job mentally and physically."
Sofka said her husband, now 68, rises daily at 4 a.m. to toss wood into the barbecue pit.
Retirement was a big factor in the couple's decision to hang up the barbecue brush.
"We just want to enjoy a few years before the good Lord calls us," she said. "We want to spend some time with our grandchildren — we have 13 — and maybe travel a little."
Sofka said the property has been listed with a commercial real estate broker, but is uncertain when the restaurant will close. "We've had some bids," she said, "but nothing's final."
I was never the biggest fan of Otto's barbeque, but they make some fine burgers. The franchised stores will keep the tradition alive to some extent, one supposes, and there is another Biba's (One's a Meal) on West Gray, but it's still a little sad to see Houston dining institutions meet their end. Better grab a last burger or two while you still can!
BLOGVERSATION: Swamplot, Off the Kuff.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 12/08/07 03:28 PM | Houston Life | Technorati | Comments (10)
Chron journalist blogs a little religion
Last week Julie Mason focused her razor-sharp wit on President Bush and his relationship with God:
Phew! A few weeks ago, the blog noted with some alarm that the President of America had pretty much ceased going to church and instead was just doing massive bike rides every Sunday. Crisis of faith? Annoyed by the strangely pointed homilies? Not really. The first lady was traveling a lot, and for some reason he only goes to church when she's around.
Last week we noted the president was, in fact, back among the historic pews of St. John's, but we wanted to wait. Was it a one-off, or was he really back with God? It now appears he's back. Today's pool report is from Ken Herman of Cox Newspapers, who went to church with Bush and noted that the Rev. Luis Leon read from Romans12:11-14:
Including the hint of a theme we shall try to develop deeper into this pool report. "Let us live honorably as in the day, not in reveling and drunkenness," we are taught...
Hmm. Really? Tithing also came up during today's sermon. Unclear if the president and first lady give any money to the church, but much like the federal government, it's budget time at St.John's:
"Please submit your cards "as soon as possible," says Rev. Leon, "so we can prepare a sober budget for our parish."
Which brings us back to today's attempted pool-report theme, which is sobriety and why it's good for you.
After church, the president went for a 90-minute bike ride at the Beltsville Secret Service training facility. We feel nothing but relief. Church and a bike ride: Bush is right with Jesus again, and Sundays are BACK. Hallelujah.
I'm guessing matters of Christian faith are mysterious to Ms. Mason.
It seems fitting to add Matt Bramanti's refrain: "that’s the kind of valuable news and analysis you can only find in Houston’s leading information source."
It's certainly different from the type of journalism we used to get from, say, Steve McVicker.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 12/08/07 09:07 AM | Houston Chronicle | Technorati | Comments (5)
07 December 2007
Visibility?
It's 10:15 pm.
Does KTRK-13's Tim Heller stand-in really have to tell us the current visibility? Or worse, to LEAD with it?
It's night. I guarantee, I can't see 8 miles. Or whatever it was he just said the visibility is.
UPDATE: Dave Ward just reported someone is stealing bales of hay from a farm in Sevier County, Tennessee.
It seems like kind of an erratic night at KTRK.
UPDATE 2: I should note that the first part is meant to be tongue in cheek. I do realize that pilots and boaters might find such info useful, even at night. I was just amused that it was such an emphasis.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 12/07/07 10:20 PM | Houston Media | Technorati | Comments (7)
06 December 2007
Jay Wall to discuss CompStat at HPRA meeting Friday
The Houston Property Rights Association emails that Jay Wall will be the featured speaker at Friday's regular lunch meeting:
This Friday noon the HPRA speaker is Jay Wall, who will tell us about the CompStat – Comparative Statistics - Policing system. This is the system which was developed in New York City, and has been used to great effect for crime reduction in NYC, Boston, Chicago, and several other cities. He will also discuss the obstacles he and his associates have encountered in trying to get it implemented in Houston.
PUBLIC INVITED: $16 Courtyard Restaurant, 1885 St. James Place Friday noon, December 7, 2007
(directions: The Courtyard is south of San Felipe, west of Yorktown, and east of Chimney Rock.)
The meeting starts at noon. The $16 lunch is optional.
We have previously linked to several op-eds by Wall and associates on Houston policing. His talk should be informative.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 12/06/07 10:49 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (0)
City: Teens weren't taking calls at HEC; Whoops, yes they were!
A little over a week ago, Mayor White reacted angrily to ads from a municipal employees labor union criticizing the City of Houston for allegedly employing low-paid teenagers as call-takers at the Houston Emergency Center. Here's an excerpt from a report by KHOU-11's Leigh Frillici at the time:
The commercial says this:
“Unfortunately, the City of Houston is using kids to answer your 911 calls.”
It’s a scary-sounding scenario. But is it true? Are teenagers really working at the emergency call center?
“I have talked to people who worked at the HEC Center, and yes … (teenagers) are there,” said Jere Talley, Senior HR Specialist with the City of Houston.
But the mayor is mad about the ad.
“There are high school students who are working as a part of the HEC Center, but they are not taking 911 emergency calls,” Mayor Bill White said.
Not so fast. As KRIV-26's Isiah Carey posted to his blog earlier, teenagers were indeed taking emergency calls at one point:
The man Mayor Bill White appointed to head Houston's Emergency Center apparently doesn't know who's answering calls at the city's 911 headquarters. It was Monday when David Cutler ... the director of HEC, maintained high school students never answered 911 emergency calls as part of a co-op program. This came after HOPE, the city workers union, ran radio ads making the claims. A former 911 center supervisor is heard in the commercial saying he supervised high school students who answered 911 calls. Those life or death type emergency calls. But Cutler in a video taped interview said it never happened. He said the union was misleading the public. Today, we find out Cutler was wrong. There were at least 4 teenagers - high school students - answering 911 emergency calls according to the Mayor's office. I asked spokesperson Joe Laud how could the head of HEC not know who's answering 911 calls. Laud didn't have an answer but told me they only learned of the student's actions after the tv interview with the Insite.
It sounds like some municipal communications specialists may have gotten ahead of the facts in their rapid response to the HOPE ads (dare we call them "talking points"), and wound up embarrassing their Mayor and themselves.
The Chronicle's L.M. Sixel has more about this issue here.
BLOGVERSATION: Off the Kuff.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 12/06/07 10:22 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (3)
Maybe HPD already has this crime on camera?
A man goes missing on Monday. The family files a missing person complaint with HPD that day.
Tuesday night, Precinct 5 constables find the vehicle in an apartment complex. There are two juveniles inside, the car smells of marijuana, and it turns out one of them is wanted on an outstanding felony warrant. HPD is alerted, because of the missing persons report. The professional law officers of Precinct 5 and HPD spring into action, concerned that the vehicle's owner might have been kidnapped and/or murdered.
Well, actually, no, they didn't. In a story that's weak on chronological narrative (so I'll spare you most of the meandering), the Chronicle reports that Precinct 5 arrested one of them on the felony warrant, then asked HPD if it wanted to interview either juvenile that night. HPD said they'd get to it later. Neither suspect will say how they came to be in the car of a missing man. Precinct 5 apparently couldn't figure out what to do, so they called the man's wife at the apartment to see if she knew them. Of course she didn't -- meaning that the second teen is probably guilty of trespass of a vehicle. (Didn't some woman get tasered on camera for that recently?)
So what do the bright boys of Precinct 5 do? They release the boy, then decide to leave the car for the missing man's wife to drive home -- over her protests. Fortunately, Precinct 5 Captain Michael Coleman had a series of explanations for why his men will not be starring in the next episode of CSI.
About releasing the second teen:
"There was no report of a stolen car," Coleman said. "It was a missing-persons case at that point. We had nothing to charge him with." ... Police know where to find the juvenile who was let go, he said.
About the car:
"HPD didn't want to put a hold on the car, so we didn't."
But have no fear, HPD is now on the case:
Officer Gabe Ortiz, an HPD spokesman, said today that a missing-persons case investigator was expected to interview the one youth still in custody at the Harris County Jail today and talk to other witnesses as well.
"They're still following up on it," Ortiz said.
In other words, it's still a routine missing persons case. Granted, even I wouldn't report it as a murder (where's the body?), but there's obviously no sense of urgency. Of course, if a body is ever found, no evidence from the vehicle will be admissible. Three words: "chain of custody." CSI, these guys aren't. (Insert your own snarky comment about the HPD lab and/or Safe Clear here...)
Chief Hurtt's probably checking the feed from those red-light cameras right now. I feel so much better, knowing that we can count on the fine professionals at the constable's offices to pick up the slack for our undermanned (and unable-to-count) Houston Police Department.
UPDATE: Please see this post.
Posted by Ubu Roi @ 12/06/07 02:45 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (35)
Chris Baker at the Laff Spot
Former KTRH-740 talker Chris Baker is going to be part of the opening comedy act at the Laff Spot-Willowbrook this weekend, for O'Brien and Valdez.
They're set to go from from December 6 (tonight) through December 9 (Sunday).
More information is available from the Laff Spot website.
I'm likely to hit the early Friday show, so any blogHOUSTONians who wander in should feel free to say hello!
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 12/06/07 01:39 PM | Houston People | Technorati | Comments (7)
05 December 2007
Mayor White undeterred in bridge-building efforts
As we've known for a while, citywide Wi-Fi is dead. But not to fear -- "the dream" behind citywide Wi-Fi lives on! Alexis Grant reports for the Chronicle:
The city of Houston's wireless network deal with EarthLink is not officially in the gutter, but city officials already are making plans to take over at least one of the components of the project.
They are planning to use part of the $5 million penalty fee that EarthLink paid in September to finance a "digital inclusion" program intended to help students and the elderly in low-income neighborhoods access the Internet.
"One of the goals of the WiFi plan was to bridge the digital divide, and because of the city's good contract, we have substantial money to invest in that," Mayor Bill White said Tuesday.
EarthLink paid the $5 million penalty for missing a deadline to begin building the project earlier this year.
Under plans being drawn up by the city, $3.5 million of that penalty fee would go toward creating free, WiFi hotspots in 10 neighborhoods and helping residents there acquire equipment and training to use the Internet, said Richard Lewis, the city's director of information technology.
Those neighborhoods have not been chosen, he said, but the first should see access nodes by March. He said he hoped corporations will come forward with money or equipment to supplement city funds.
Here we thought that Lee Brown's SimDesk boondoggle had already "bridged the digital divide" (since he promised it would).
But it seems that a "divide" was never very well defined, and somewhat resistant to bridging!
Still, if it can be bridged, we imagine that Mayor White, with his steely resolve, is just the man to do it. For he has a dream!
Seemingly important details -- like how the city will pay for these "free" Wi-Fi hotspot "bridges" after they are built with part of the $5 million, or even what the operating expenses might be -- are not addressed by the Chronicle.
BLOGVERSATION: Lose an Eye, It's a Sport, Off the Kuff.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 12/05/07 10:56 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (17)
FTA withdraws plan approval after METRO BRT/LRT switch
The Chronicle's Mike Snyder reports that METRO's light rail plans have run into problems:
An unexpected demand for additional justification for two planned Houston light rail lines raises doubts about Metro's relationship with a federal agency it is counting on for funding, Metro President Frank Wilson said Tuesday.
A letter from Sherry Little, deputy administrator of the Federal Transit Administration, withdraws that agency's approval of preliminary engineering studies and other elements of rail lines planned for the North and Southeast corridors.
The letter, which Wilson said arrived Friday, said Metro must do additional environmental studies, including public hearings, before it can acquire land and start construction. It said Metro's October decision to build light rail in all five of its transit corridors, rather than bus rapid transit that could be converted to rail in four of them, requires the extra information and review.
Wilson said Metro already had provided almost all of the requested information and can quickly generate the rest. He said, however, that the letter's content and tone suggest that the healthy working relationship the two agencies have enjoyed may be deteriorating.
"There is a very hard edge to this letter," Wilson said. "They're acting as if light rail transit is a whole different planet" from bus rapid transit, when "the only real difference is the vehicle."
Apparently, the difference is somewhat more significant, or the technical experts in the FTA wouldn't have asked for better documentation.
Just because the newspaper of record in Houston frequently rhapsodizes over METRO press releases and pretty graphs from transit organizations that merely advocate for community involvement (*wink*) doesn't mean the people in D.C. who actually approve the funding for these boondoggles are similarly pliant. That seems to have piqued Mr. Wilson!
In reality, METRO's zig from light rail for all corridors (as promised in the 2003 referendum), then zag to bus rapid transit for some corridors (nowhere mentioned in the 2003 referendum, but favored by the feds), then zig back to light rail for all corridors has created these difficulties, as the FTA letter makes clear -- although if we are to believe Christof Spieler, who is quoted once again in the article (and who, admittedly, does produce very pretty graphs), this is no big deal.
Unsurprisingly, no critics of METRO's light rail operations and policymaking are cited by Snyder.
UPDATE (12-06-2007): As Michelle Mittelstadt's story in today's Chronicle makes clear, METRO has only itself to blame for the possible delay to its construction plans:
Before Metro's board voted in October to rework its plan for new rapid transit lines, the agency's president was warned by the Federal Transit Administration that such a change could result in delays and force a return to the drawing board, federal officials said Wednesday.
That message was repeated with far greater detail when Metropolitan Transit Authority President Frank Wilson met with FTA officials in Washington on Nov. 14, FTA Associate Administrator Wes Irvin said.
"There was no blindsiding from this agency to Houston Metro," Irvin said.
Wilson said this week that the FTA's decision to withdraw its preliminary engineering approval for rail lines planned for the North and Southeast corridors, officially outlined in a letter to Metro on Friday, came as a shock.
Frank "Procurement Disaster" Wilson was not entirely forthcoming with the truth. How... shocking!
BLOGVERSATION: Lose an Eye, It's a Sport, TBIFOC.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 12/05/07 10:38 PM | Houston Transit | Technorati | Comments (9)
What Tilman wants...
KTRK-13's Miya Shay posts some interesting news and documents on her blog:
You may remember that a few years ago, the Downtown Aquarium leased portions of an old Houston Fire Dept. land to build the entertainment complex. Now the Aquarium, owned by Landry's Restaurants, Inc., is looking to lease the old Fire Alarm Building property. According to City Council documents, Landry's wanted to redevelop the land back in 2003 but it couldn't reach an agreement with the City. The City tried to sell the land, but couldn't get the money it was looking for. Now, the City wants to enter into a lease agreement that would be effective through 2041! According to the City Council documents, Landry's rent would go from $150,000 a year to $250,000 a year.
Shay notes that the proposal was tagged at Council today, but we suspect that Tilman will get what he wants (with the approval of
