31 March 2008
Tuna mercury levels exceed federal guidelines in some Houston restaurants
Houston sushi fans may be interested in this news from the Chronicle's David Ellison:
Samples of bluefin tuna purchased recently from six Houston-area restaurants had mercury levels above federal guidelines, according to laboratory tests performed for the Houston Chronicle. An additional five showed mercury levels just below the federal standard.
What does that mean to sushi lovers in Houston? That depends on whom you talk to and how much you eat.
Experts and doctors are divided on the health effects of eating fish with high levels of mercury, or even what constitutes a dangerous level of contamination.
"I'm a toxicologist," said Ernest D. Lykissa, co-owner of ExperTox, the laboratory that performed the tests for the Chronicle last month. "I was a connoisseur of sushi. I don't eat tuna anymore after this study."
Others, including the seafood industry, argue that exceeding the Food and Drug Administration's 1 part per million guideline for methyl mercury in seafood does not put a person in danger of toxicity.
So, bluefin tuna sushi fans, what say you? Does this news change your dining plans at all, or do you find the risks overblown? Leave us a comment.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 03/31/08 10:24 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (17)
Mobility Response Team in action early this morning!
I ran across a few members of Mayor White's "Mobility Response Team" on their cute little scooters this morning, and managed to get a photo:
THAT is world class!
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 03/31/08 09:57 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (8)
FTA forces METRO to get realistic about new lines' cost
Rad Sallee's Move It! column is devoted to the news that METRO has been given approval to go ahead with preliminary work on the North and Southeast lines.
However, the Federal Transit Administration also told METRO their cost projections needed to be updated...dramatically:
The Federal Transit Administration, using data provided by Metro, said in its letters that the estimated cost of the North line, which would run 5.5 miles from north of downtown to Northline Mall, has risen to $677 million, from $276 million. The Southeast Line, 6.8 miles from downtown to Palm Center, has risen to $664 million, from $158 million, the FTA said.
By comparison, the 7.5-mile Main Street line cost $324 million and needs $104 million in new rail cars and improvements.
The FTA also sent a review of Metro's proposals that attributes the increases largely to the higher costs of light rail than BRT, which uses special buses running on guideways. The increases also reflect light rail's higher ridership projections, extended through 2030, which would require 29 new rail cars and other infrastructure.
Then there are the rising costs of fuel, labor and construction materials. Although Metro's estimates assume 3.5 percent annual inflation, the FTA reviews describe this as optimistic and say Metro should "refine and update" its figures.
Wow! That's quite the underestimating!
You may recall what METRO asked for in the original 2003 referendum:
1. Metro wants to issue $640 million in bonds to accelerate construction of the next 22 miles of light rail on five segments. These would open between 2008 and 2012. Metro says the bond issue will not result in a tax increase. State law does not allow the transit authority to raise its 1-cent sales tax.
Shoot, that won't even cover one line now. But that's how taxpayers have been stuck with these boondoggle rail systems -- wildly underestimated costs, and as Sallee notes toward the end of his column:
But just remember that transit, unlike some toll roads, loses money. Little if any of this would come from profits from transit service itself.
It's all taxpayer-funded.
Also in Sallee's column is a breakdown of METRO's resources. And since there are no funding guarantees from the FTA, METRO's resources are critical.
What a waste of money. METRO would better serve residents of Houston and surrounding communities by focusing on bus service.
UPDATE: As noted in the forum, Neal Meyer has written a post about the new cost projections. Neal crunches the numbers and discovers that METRO Solutions light rail will now cost $4 billion!
BLOGVERSATION: Lose an Eye, It's a Sport, Off the Kuff, Houston Strategies.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 03/31/08 05:13 AM | Houston Transit | Technorati | Comments (10)
30 March 2008
Queen Sheila may not like this video footage
Houstonians are very familiar with Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee's love of TV cameras.
KHOU-11 posts a story that probably isn't going to be among Queen Sheila's favorite videos, though. Here's an excerpt (but be sure to click over to watch the actual video):
On the campus of Texas Southern University was a Democratic Senate District convention unlike the others being held across the state.Democrats together, but yet still divided over who should be the Democratic presidential nominee.
And never more was that more apparent than when longtime Houston Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee took the stage.
A majority of the crowd showed its support for Barack Obama by shouting his name and booing the congresswoman, letting her know what they thought of her allegiance to Hillary Clinton.
That's not the sort of behavior the Queen expects from her subjects!
BLOGVERSATION: Greg's Opinion.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 03/30/08 09:26 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (9)
Medellin Take Two: Editorial LiveJournalists fail to cite nonexistent treaty
The Editorial LiveJournalists opined earlier in the week on the recent Supreme Court decision in Medellin v. Texas.
Unlike the last time they wrote about the matter, they didn't seem to create any new treaties this time.
Baby steps!
Today, the Chronicle runs an op-ed by Texas solicitor general Ted Cruz in defense of the decision. He didn't create any new treaties either.
The full text of the Medellin v. Texas decision is available here (registration required).
BLOGVERSATION: Life at the Harris County Criminal Justice Center.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 03/30/08 08:56 PM | Houston Chronicle | Technorati | Comments (0)
It's surprising Chief Lambert didn't come down and Taser her!
Carolyn Wright writes a letter to the Chronicle about her recent experience on METRO's transit backbone:
On March 12, I had a court appearance at 9 a.m. At Fannin South station, I tried to purchase a ticket for Metro's rail. None of the four ticket machines were working. No attendant was on duty and no instructions were posted.
On the trip downtown, a Metro policeman began collecting tickets. I tried to explain that I had no ticket because the machines weren't working. He became very offensive. He said in an extremely hateful tone, "We have passed at least 10 ticket machines since Fannin South — you should have gotten off the train, purchased a ticket and boarded the next train!" I told him I had no idea about this procedure — this was only the second time I had ridden, and no instructions were posted anywhere.
At the next stop, he told me and another woman to get off the train. He began talking very loudly and belligerently. He said he was only giving us a "warning" but threatened that this "better not happen again."
This situation might explain why Metro gets a bad reputation. People traveling by train on an occasional basis have no way of knowing the "rules"! Instructions of what to do should be posted somewhere around the ticket machines.
CAROLYN WRIGHT
Kemah
Neither customer service nor transparency are strengths of METRO.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 03/30/08 08:36 PM | Houston Transit | Technorati | Comments (6)
28 March 2008
Rosenthal, attorney fined over deleted emails
Various media outlets have reported on the latest (and perhaps the last) bad news for former Harris County DA Chuck Rosenthal. Here is an excerpt from the Chronicle:
A federal judge ordered former Harris County District Attorney Chuck Rosenthal to pay nearly $19,000 in sanctions after finding him in contempt of court for deleting more than 2,500 e-mails that had been subpoenaed for a federal civil rights lawsuit.
Additionally on Friday, U.S. District Judge Kenneth Hoyt ordered Scott Durfee, general counsel for the district attorney's office, to pay $5,000 in sanctions after finding Durfee failed to appropriately act or advise Rosenthal on the matter.
Both Rosenthal and Durfee have until April 30 to pay their respective fines, according to the judge's order, released late Friday.
[snip]In blistering and scathing language, Hoyt's court order rebukes Rosenthal for "knowingly" violating the Oct. 31 subpoena seeking his e-mails.
"The court finds several areas of contradictions and misrepresentations that render (Rosenthal's) testimony unreliable and incredible. Moreover, the court views his conduct as venomous and hostile to the judicial process," Hoyt wrote.
[snip]
"There is no evidence that Rosenthal's computer memory space was threatened by additional e-mails or that, in fact, it was short of space. Hence, these reasons — all implausible inconsistencies — defy the law of common sense," Hoyt wrote.
Rosenthal's conduct also showed "an intentional willfulness" to disobey the law, Hoyt concluded.
The actual punishment doesn't seem as harsh as the language.
The Harris County GOP must be relieved about now that Rosenthal won't be on the ballot this fall.
BLOGVERSATION: Life at the Harris County Criminal Justice Center, Defending People.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 03/28/08 11:31 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (3)
Bridging the wireless internet gap (WIG)
The Editorial LiveJournalists weighed in today with an editorial celebrating Mayor White's wifi bubbles (with an odd digression on "technology overload").
Cory Crow gives the editorial a serious treatment here, but we're kind of partial to this comment on Chron.com from MousePotato:
Ah, okay. Thanks for explaining that. And thank you, Houston, for finally acknowledging the truth about poverty. It isn’t caused by a lack of education, or affordable healthcare. It isn’t about opportunity or saying no to drugs. It isn’t about indiscriminate breeding and generations on welfare. It’s about the wireless Internet gap, or “wig” as it’s known on the streets.
I recall being a young country mouse, moving to Houston with my city mouse cousin and marveling at all the technology. In my home our computers were all connected by clumsy wires. I remember thinking “if only I had wireless Internet access, all of my problems would be solved!” Alas, the road to hell is paved with CAT5 cable. It was a daily struggle for we poor folk. We knew wiggy was holding us down. We had to ask ourselves “do I need a DHCP server or do we go static? Can I trust the rich man’s switch to properly route packets?” My server was my castle, but I never felt safe. I couldn’t trust the SpyCops, so I installed metal bars over each open port. Sometimes I got so angry I wanted to shout “GD America!” Of course I did not. My web cam was on and I was the spiritual advisor to all my cats. I was afraid I might damage their political careers.
I watched my children go to school with their cell phones and mp3 players, faces burning with shame that they needed two different devices. I watched the news on my big screen TV while yearning for a plasma set.
I was a proud mouse, though, and I never took charity. Not even from the many wealthy Nigerians who were begging to share their country’s apparently infinite riches with me. When I became frustrated, I recalled the words of the blessed Dr. King when he said “I have a dream that one day BRI traffic and WEP traffic can come together on the same subnet without conflict.” I remembered Gandhi bravely refusing to check his email. I was inspired.
And now my patience has paid off. As God is my witness I will never go coax again!
Amen!
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 03/28/08 10:35 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (2)
What's a cartoon worth to you?
Matt Bramanti reports that Chronicle cartoonist Nick Anderson's efforts to raise money for the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists by auctioning his illustrations on e-bay aren't drawing much interest.
Strike that -- as of this evening, the auction hasn't generated a single bid.
At least in Houston, there are other options to raise cash.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 03/28/08 09:54 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (3)
Chron.com: dumbed down and trashed up (cont'd.)
Jennifer Ringwald (of Houston's best cover band) posts this observation about Chron.com:
Of 12 headlines on the Houston Chronicle homepage, 3 concerned strippers. Doesn't that seem oddly balanced? This is actually preferable to yesterday, when the main article was about which Spring colors were expected to be hot. I guess I need to find another place to get my daily Dear Abby.
Hard news isn't exactly the focus of Chron.com these days.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 03/28/08 09:40 PM | Houston Chronicle | Technorati | Comments (0)
Carol Alvarado, METRO consultant
The Chron's Carolyn Feibel put up a great blog post on the Houston Politics blog today. It's not a long post -- six paragraphs -- but since the subject of the post is Carol Alvarado, it's just chock full of good stuff:
Carol Alvarado really did look kind of relieved today, after two of her former employees at City Hall reached a plea deal today in an embezzlement case.
"The plea agreements validate what I said two years ago, that I neither authorized or condoned this illegal activity," Alvarado said. "I'm glad to see there will be a repayment of sorts to the taxpayers. This has been going on for two years, and I'm glad we're able to finally move on."
The judge ordered the two employees to pay back the city and to apologize to Alvarado.
"I will gladly accept that apology," she said. "I feel like individuals broke my trust and took advantage of the system we had in place for the pro tem office and betrayed me and the taxpayers of Houston."
Alvarado, who is working as METRO consultant now, also took some questions on the just announced news that the planned East Side light rail line will stop six blocks short of the Magnolia Transit Center. Now the city and the agency are scrambling for federal money to try to build a bridge for the light rail over the train tracks that block it.
"I think everybody's going to have to pitch in, the city certainly, but talking to Congressman Gene Green, he's going to be working on securing some federal funding and we also have support from the Greater Rail Task Force," Alvardo said.
Egads.
Regarding the illegal activity of her staffers, the complaint was that her managerial ineptitude contributed to an atmosphere that allowed the illegal activity to occur. As Kevin Whited noted at the height of the scandal:
Alvarado's lack of oversight and inattention to detail seem to have allowed $130,000 of the people's money to be stolen. That's not the same as Alvarado stealing the money herself, and nobody is making that accusation against her. However, it does call into question her personnel-judgment and fiscal-management skills.
If she feels vindicated, then she doesn't grasp what the real problem was. That's not encouraging, but it is predictable.
As for the revelation that she's working for METRO, what kind of a consultant is she? Is it anything like this? Will she stay on as a consultant after she's elected to Rick Noriega's old seat?
And she really was serious when she said term limits have deprived Houston of her greatness. She's still telling Mayor White what to do, as evidenced by her matter-of-fact statement that the city will "certainly" have to pitch in to get that bridge built.
BLOGVERSATION: TBIFOC.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 03/28/08 07:18 PM | Houston Politics | Technorati | Comments (9)
A rail impasse
The Chron's Rad Sallee notes there seems to be a bit of a problem with METRO's East End light rail line:
Metro board chairman David Wolff said Thursday that the roadblock is the former Houston Belt & Terminal Railway tracks, now owned by Union Pacific Railroad. The crossing, on Harrisburg between 65th and Oldham, is familiar to motorists and pedestrians delayed by freight trains.
Wolff said Metro had considered crossing the double tracks at street level.
"But it doesn't seem the railroad is too enthusiastic about that."
Metro spokeswoman Sandra Salazar later said UP would not agree to share its right of way with Metro trains.
UP officials could not be reached for comment, but the railroad often has cited the dangers of mixing freight operations with street traffic and pedestrians.
A Danger Train and a freight train...hard to figure out why Union Pacific is queasy about that pairing.
Sallee asked METRO why this problem was just now coming to light. METRO's answer is classic METRO:
Metro has been planning the line almost since voters approved it in a 2003 referendum. Asked why the issue is surfacing now, Salazar said Metro initially hoped to obtain permission from the railroad for a street-level crossing.
In 2003, when Metro changed its plans from light rail to Bus Rapid Transit, thinking that was necessary to qualify for federal funding, the issue was moot because the buses would cross the tracks with other street traffic.
"The issue became critical again in 2007 when we changed back to light rail," Salazar said.
Because METRO's plans are ever-changing! But METRO chairman David Wolff has a plan -- Houston taxpayers will help bail out the transit agency:
Wolff said he hoped the city of Houston would build an overpass at the tracks. That may enable Metro to extend the line to the transit center within two to four years after its scheduled completion in 2012. Until then, he said, Metro would bridge the gap with a bus shuttle.
An overpass for street traffic is recommended in the Texas Department of Transportation's Houston Region Freight Rail Study, which estimates the cost at $14 million.
However, the study does not mention light rail sharing the crossing, which could require a longer and stronger span, raising the cost sharply.
That's no problem for METRO -- it's flush these days.
Wolff said he thought the city will build an overpass "at some point" and added, "We'd rather go over the bridge with the city than build our own bridge."
Frank Michel, spokesman for Mayor Bill White, said the city and Metro have not discussed an overpass yet, nor is funding for such a project in the city's current five-year capital improvement plan. "But shortly, we are going to start a major mobility study and we could consider a grade separation at that point," Michel said.
There's hope!
And then the most revealing part of the story is one sentence toward the end:
Wolff revealed the possible change after Thursday's monthly board meeting.
That's the METRO-way. Just ask Tom Bazan.
BLOGVERSATION: Lose an Eye, It's a Sport, Intermodality, Houston Politics.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 03/28/08 04:52 AM | Houston Transit | Technorati | Comments (9)
26 March 2008
HPD sweeps reduce crime; Council responds with convenience store rules
Various media outlets have reported on HPD's recent success in reducing crime in the Denver Harbor area. Here's an excerpt from the Chronicle's reporting on the topic:
Crime has dropped almost 30 percent overall in Denver Harbor after a two-month Houston police overtime program that sent seven additional patrol officers to the area, authorities said today.
The largest decline was a 50 percent reduction in home burglaries in that east Houston neighborhood during the first two months of 2008, compared with the same period last year, officials said.
Aggravated assaults and car burglaries also saw significant drops — 23 percent and 27 percent, respectively, police said.
The actual crime numbers accounting for the reductions were not immediately available.
[snip]
Gene Smith, the principal of Eliot Elementary School in Denver Harbor, said he has noticed a change since the program began.
"The police force is always around the campus," Smith said. "Whenever I need them, they are just one call away."
HPD officials said they will maintain an overtime police presence in Denver Harbor even after the conclusion of the program.
Let's hope they can find the resources to do so.
In another story, KHOU-11's Lee McGuire reports on another successful reduction in crime:
For six weeks, these bike patrol officers have come to know this neighborhood in ways cops in cars, can’t. In that time, property crime here has dropped by more than one-third.
“After several weeks of addressing it, it’s a totally different, it looks like a totally different community and the citizens are out walking their dogs and kids are out playing,” HPD Lt. Randy Wallace said. “It makes a tremendous difference on the overall quality of life.”
This is Operation Green Sweep: Houston Police on bikes and horses, not responding to crime — but hunting for it.
Crime statistics for one Montrose-area neighborhood indicate auto theft is down 16 percent; car break-ins are down 38 percent; and burglary is down 57 percent.
[snip]
Since green sweep started, police have warned or cited more than 350 people. Ten more were arrested for felonies, and 80 people they stopped had warrants out for their arrest.
The money for this, nearly half a million dollars, comes out of the police overtime budget. But here’s the problem: “We’re understaffed right now and have been understaffed for quite a while, just like the rest of the department,” Lt. Wallace said.
There aren’t enough horses or bike patrol officers to cover more than two areas:
[snip]
... [F]or all its successes, this program won’t last forever. The funding runs out on June 30.
Lesson One: Strategic deployment of police resources can make a difference in crime.
Lesson Two: Manpower and funding issues limit the effectiveness of these approaches.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 03/26/08 10:47 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (13)
KHOU: Beware street scammers
KHOU-11's Jeff McShan reports on the scam artists who beg on Houston's busy streets:
On my way to work, I often pass by a veteran named James, who’s always in his wheelchair on North Shepherd.
A friend of mine said at the end of the day, James wheels himself a few blocks away, climbs out of his chair and walks.
Apparently one driver learned the hard way.
“He said, ‘I know you can walk,’” James recalled. “I said, ‘what does that mean?’ – ‘well, some people think you are misrepresenting yourself.’
“Well, I can’t stand up for five to six hours out there,” James said.
James says the Veterans Administration pays for his rent, and he is in good health.
“I am not sick,” he said. “Everything on there is true.”
All he needs, he said, is just some extra cash.
A few miles away on West Dallas, 11 News cameras followed a seemingly blind man named Nathan trying to cross a busy street.
Nathan is well known around here, but not by everybody. He walks out in front of cars, hoping they’ll stop and help him. When they do, he asks for money.
Once he gets to the other side though, he walks back the other way. And he gets frustrated when nobody stops.
“It’s not very common that you would have a blind person running around aimlessly,” Dave, a motorist who would only give his first name, said. He said after he stopped, he became suspicious and decided to talk to a deputy who ended up giving Nathan a lecture.
The police around here know Nathan too.
Nathan quickly moved on.
Houston Mayor Bill White says we should not give hand outs to people begging on our streets, and that abstaining from it will force them to get the real help they need from professionals at places, such as the Star of Hope.
But people like Nathan and James apparently don’t need a place to stay or mental health care.
They’re smart: They know about human nature.
I don't know that I'd call a (seemingly) blind man playing in traffic smart.
Regardless, neither these scammers nor "independent" Chronicle contractors should be in the middle of busy streets doing what they do.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 03/26/08 10:19 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (4)
25 March 2008
Clarence Bradford sighting!
Clarence Bradford, the Democratic candidate for District Attorney who has seemingly been in a witness protection program since announcing his candidacy, has been sighted!
Chronicle diarist Lisa Falkenberg actually secured a quote from him on the topic of a public defender's office:
"It promotes fairness and justice, period," said former Houston Police Chief C.O. Bradford, Democrat for district attorney.[snip]
Bradford, who will face Lykos or Siegler in the general election for DA, said Harris County needs a system similar to other large jurisdictions, where the judge "is not involved in the type of defense the defendant gets."
"There has been a tendency to accept the principle of locking everybody up and throwing away the key is the answer," Bradford said. "That has failed."
What a great opportunity for the Chronicle to ask Clarence Bradford about his role in mismanaging HPD's crime lab! Too bad it was a missed opportunity. But perhaps there will be another Clarence Bradford sighting before the general election, and the intrepid local media will get around to asking him more questions.
BLOGVERSATION: Life at the Harris County Criminal Justice Center.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 03/25/08 10:40 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (0)
Houston Housing Authority strikes again (cont'd.)
Last week, I posted about the Houston Housing Authority, which is dead set on charging 61 tenants (or forcing them to pay third parties) about $3,400 each to regain access to their material possessions, now sealed inside the Bellerive Apartments after a fire. The money is needed for asbestos abatement; otherwise, the Authority says it is too hazardous to let tenants back into the property.
A point of contention (which even drew a rare response from the local Hearst daily) was that I had confused the HHA with the City of Houston's Housing and Community Development Department. Technically that's correct, although it's an easy mistake to make, when one considers that the HHA board is appointed by the Mayor.
That is a point which did not escape the tenants of Bellerive either, as today they showed up en masse at the city council meeting to appeal to Mayor White and the council. From KHOU:
Last week, the displaced residents said they wanted their things back, but they just can’t afford the $3,400 price. That’s what the Houston Housing Authority says it will cost to clean each of the estimated 61 contaminated units.
“If they don’t want to clean it, let us get our equipment out. That’s all we’re asking,” tenant Fred Anderson said.
I wish KHOU had been a little more precise in either the prior article or this one, as they seem to contradict each other on a key point: What is the $3,400 supposed to clean? The tenants' possessions, or the units themselves? Given that a TV station has to place a premium on words, they might simply be saying "61 contaminated units" as a shorthand for "the tenants' possessions in 61 contaminated units."
Either way, the Mayor was quick to make all the politically correct sounds without actually committing to do anything. The council may be a bit more action-oriented.
Councilmembers were discussing whether to hold a special staff meeting to try to come up with a solution that will both protect the city and meet the tenants’ concerns.
One option is having the tenants sign some sort of waiver before retrieving their things.
Yet another sign that the HHA (not a city department) is not all that independent if the council can "suggest" that their staff meet with...whom, exactly? Housing and Community Development? The city's Legal Department? The HHA almost has to have its own legal staff, which means the City and the not-a-city-department could end up having a difference of opinion in that meeting. Ironically it could end up with the HHA's legal staff trying to protect the city and the City Legal Department trying to convince them to compromise.
Side issue worth noting: the council can only suggest, not order. All departments are under the direct control of the Mayor, and the HHA board, as previously noted, is appointed by the Mayor. In the end, everyone can posture, but only one posture matters, and that's Bill White's.
Meanwhile, I still want to know exactly who is going to be doing the cleaning, and how they got selected for the job. Then I want to know why the HHA apparently never anticipated this problem, especially if they knew in advance (as they must have) that the building had asbestos.
Posted by Ubu Roi @ 03/25/08 10:04 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (5)
24 March 2008
Mayor White continues digital bridge building!
The Chronicle's early coverage of Mayor White's big wifi announcement today was disappointing:
Houston is aiming to turn Earthlink's lemons into the city's lemonade.
The company had to pay the city $5 million after defaulting on a contract to build a citywide wireless network last year. Today, Mayor Bill White announced the city will use about $3.5 million of that money to build 10 wifi network "bubbles" in low-income parts of Houston to give residents Internet access they otherwise would do without.
The long-term possibility, White said, is that the areas between the bubbles could eventually be included, providing access across the city.
No mention of the digital divide? That's no good.
KHOU-11 had much more fanfare beginning with the headline:
Bridging the digital divide in Houston
And just to drive the point home, here's the magic quote (in bold):
Even while he eats lunch at the Breakfast Club, Glenn Phillips is never far from his laptop.
"It's my Day-Timer, notebook, account file, everything," Phillips said.
But accessing free Internet service in Houston isn't always so simple.
"In the past, I would have to pull up to an office building that I thought might have wi-fi to get online, before I had a phone card," Phillips said.
In some parts of Houston, that will soon change.
Mayor Bill White, along with the Houston Public Libary, launched the city's first wireless empowered community access network.
"It's about how we bridge that digital divide," White said.
The first one is in the Gulfton area, but the goal is to provide free high-speed Internet access to 10 other low-income neighborhoods.
If you just repeat that phrase often enough, eventually it should make good fodder for the next, bigger campaign!
The second most entertaining aspect of KHOU's story is the fact that the Breakfast Klub offers free wifi, happily bridging the digital divide for its customers without Mayor White's help.
BLOGVERSATION: Lose an Eye, It's a Sport, Off the Kuff.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 03/24/08 11:54 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (13)
Copper thieves target phone lines
KHOU-11's Leigh Frillici provides an update on the latest brazen area copper thievery:
Last week, copper thieves climbed up telephone poles and took the wire. Leaving an entire neighborhood without phone service.
After 11 News first reported the thefts, the phone company quickly got out there, replaced all the stolen wire, and restored phone service. Thing is, the thieves have done it again.
Katie Stillwell's journal traces her daily life and you can track her phone troubles there are well.
After having lost her phone service because of copper thieves, the phone started ringing again on Feb. 28. But that was just the beginning of her phone problems
Phone service went down again on Monday, and according to her journal her last call came in at 11:29 a.m. on March 17.
And Stillwell is not the only AT&T customer experiencing problems
The phone company said that the lines along Westmount Houston have been cut three times. Cutting service to about 1,000 people.
The phone company believes thieves are after the copper in the wires. This time, someone stole about 400 feet of the cable.
Maybe Council could pass an ordinance requiring the phone company to maintain surveillance cameras on its phone lines (extending the convenience-store camera ordinance logic)?
UPDATE: Er, I missed Anne Linehan's earlier post on the topic (traveling). Sorry for the repeat!
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 03/24/08 10:57 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (9)
Houston's Church of the Holy Cheeto
On what must have been a very slow news day last week, KTRK-13 reported the following important religious news:
A couple of years ago, the youth director at Memorial Drive United Methodist Church in Houston was snacking in the church youth offices when he noticed an odd-shaped Cheeto. Upon further inspection, Steve Cragg determined he could see a familiar image of Jesus in the shape of the cheese curl.
One of the church youth named the item in question 'Cheesus.'
'Cheesus' has remained on a bookcase in Cragg's office since its discovery.
"I do not think that God makes Cheetos that look like Jesus or creates images of Himself on screen doors. I do know that God reveals Himself to us in a zillion different ways," Cragg said. "Seeing the image of Christ in a Cheeto means that I was able to imagine it. God's creation is full of signs and things that can and do remind us of Him."
Some time ago, local self-help preacher Joel Osteen devoted several sermons to healthy eating and reducing one's intake of processed, packaged foods. People might have to rethink that otherwise sound advice in light of the Cheesus revelation!
BLOGVERSATION: Half Empty.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 03/24/08 10:51 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (3)
23 March 2008
Shutter the D.C. bureau (cont'd)
Kudos to Banjo Jones and the Brazosport News for picking up an absolute gem from Politico -- it seems that some of the D.C. press corps are ... bored:
[S]enioritis is common in the final months of any eight-year administration. But this year, said reporters, the historically important and just plain exciting presidential race, coupled with the minimalist agenda of an unpopular president, has led to overall Bush fatigue that outranks the waning days of the Clinton administration.
“You can’t attribute it all to the presidential campaign,” said Julie Mason, White House correspondent for the Houston Chronicle. “[Bush’s] rhetoric is so exhausted. He rarely makes any news. It’s rarely worth anyone’s time to cover him like we used to.”
In addition to covering the president, Mason often chronicled the White House press corps in photos on her blog. But now, Mason said, “I don’t do it as much because there’s nobody here.”
“You hear a lot of grumbling here from people who are stuck in the White House and not getting out on the campaign,” Mason added.
It must be tough getting up to go to work in the morning knowing that you're unlikely to add to your blog photo collection of your White House press corps mates.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 03/23/08 11:24 PM | Houston Chronicle | Technorati | Comments (1)
22 March 2008
Habitat for Humanity NWHC benefits from San Felipe teardown
Recycling on a massive scale (via Bellaire Examiner):
Friday was a green day for Houston. It was the day a developer announced it would let volunteers salvage what they could from a major teardown rather than just raze it, thereby diverting tons of ruined building materials from a landfill.
As student volunteers from Mount Ida College carried out armloads of wood flooring, high-end office furniture, plumbing fixtures, ceiling tiles and doors from the 1960s era office building at 7703 San Felipe, Lee Schnell, executive director of Habitat for Humanity of Northwest Harris County, was admiring the planks of tongue-and-groove redwood siding that sheath the 100,000-square-foot low-rise complex.
Habitat NWHC has about two months to salvage what it can, inside and out, for its ReStore before Cherry Demolition comes in to salvage the buildings’ steel framing and concrete parking areas for two more months. After that, Azorim, a Boymelgreen Holdings development company, begins construction of its LEED-certified condominium project.
[snip]
Habitat for Humanity NWHC has deconstructed homes in Houston and one other commercial project at a local retirement community, but nothing on this scale. This deconstruction project is Houston’s largest, the partners said.
Schnell said the goal is to recycle 75 percent of building materials from the interior and exterior. Habitat has rented storage space to handle the volume of material it will funnel through its ReStore, which is located on state Highway 249 near the intersection of Bammel North. The store is a first stop for many homebuilders and remodelers because its sells building materials at a discount. Many of the items being salvaged, such as cabinets and wood moldings, will be sold almost as soon as they are unloaded from the truck, he said.
BLOGVERSATION: San Felipe Condominiums: Two New Towers in Memorial (Swamplot)
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 03/22/08 11:15 AM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (4)
Discovery Green nears completion
KTRK-13's Deborah Wrigley notes that opening day for Houston's new Discovery Green is April 13:
For more than a year it's been taking shape across from the George R. Brown Convention Center. Land has been transformed into a lure to get more people back to a downtown that's been hard to populate on weekends and at night. It's called Discovery Green, but nearly everyone we asked had no idea what it is.
Prepare to hear a lot about Discovery Green as it prepares to bring a new look to the downtown area. It's no sprawling Central Park, but it includes some of its features, from open spaces to a concert stage. Besides the entertainment, there's the chance for outdoor recreation.
Susanne Theis, Director of Programming for Discovery Green, explained, "We wanted this to be a place where people came together that is more of an active park."
A couple of weeks ago, the Chron's Lisa Gray wrote a nice column exploring the dynamics of a successful park:
"Urban parks are hard to get right," admits Guy Hagstette, president of the nonprofit Discovery Green Conservancy. "It's not just 'If you build it, they will come.'"
Hagstette understands that lesson deeply. In 1986, he and two other young architects won the national competition to design Sesquicentennial Park, which now curls along the banks of Buffalo Bayou next to the Wortham Center. The park is beautiful and well-maintained but eerie: Hardly anyone but the occasional homeless person goes there.
Market Square Park, ringed by restaurants and close to office buildings, suffers the same problem. Jones Plaza comes alive when there's a band on its stage; but when there's no music, which is most of the time, the park feels weird, like a theater without a show.
For help, Hagstette turned to Project for Public Spaces, a nonprofit urban planning and design group founded to carry out the ideas of William H. Whyte, one of the sharpest observers of urban life. While working with the New York City Planning Commission in 1969, Whyte wondered which of the city's new public spaces were working well and why. To find out, he began watching the places and talking to people, even using time-lapse photos to observe "schmoozing patterns, the rituals of street encounters." His conclusions about public spaces were the kind that seem to crystallize something you already knew:
• "What attracts people most, it would appear, is other people."
• "So-called 'undesirables' are not the problem. It is the measures taken to combat them that are the problem. ... The best way to handle the problem of undesirables is to make the place attractive to everybody else."
• "If you want to seed a place with activity, put out food."
Project for Public Spaces argues that to be successful, a big urban park like Discovery Green needs to pack in activities that will attract lots of different kinds of people, because those people will attract other people. A park with people in it is an interesting place to be.
I am looking forward to checking out the park when it opens, but park and city officials had better take the problem of "undesirables" seriously. Downtown and midtown public spaces have been quite the magnet for the homeless, with police doing an occasional crackdown. Park officials don't want to be forced to rename the park.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 03/22/08 07:43 AM | Houston Life | Technorati | Comments (5)
21 March 2008
METRO blogger interviews METRO chief for new METRO talk show
METRO's blogger announced that the transit agency has launched a new "talk show" which will air on Houston's public access channel. Mary Sit says, "It's a new way for us to communicate with you." The first guest was (drumroll) METRO President Frank J. "Procurement Disaster" Wilson.
Here are some (rapidly scribbled) notes from the interview:
-- New Baytown service: There is no cost to METRO. County pays all costs, and Wilson said this area really needs to be a part of METRO's service area. (Contrast that with folks who DO pay into METRO but get no service whatsoever.)
-- METRO needs consent agreements with City of Houston to proceed with rail lines, and Mayor White wants one consent agreement to cover all five lines. Wilson says he wants one consent agreement to cover all of METRO Solutions.
-- METRO will be launching a new bus service to IAH. Cost will be $15 and will run every thirty minutes between IAH and the Downtown Transit Center. (See here for an entertaining look at a past experience with an IAH Express Bus Route.)
-- New "signature bus service" called Quick Line is a precursor to light rail, as buses will provide quicker service and be able to go through traffic signals. UH OH!!
-- Q Card: Standard usage at other transit agencies is 2-10%. In the first two months of METRO's Q Card program, usage is 44%. (Visit Laurence Simon for an alternative view of the Q Card program.)
-- What is METRO CEO's biggest challenge? "We need more time."
-- METRO is "committed to remaking the face of Houston."
-- "Growth is great, but must be managed."
-- Frank thinks pretty highly of himself -- he told Mary Sit twice that he was a very special guest to have on her new show, and after he talked on and on, he said that she hadn't asked him certain questions, but he'd answer them anyway.
Were there any other unasked questions? Why yes! Mary Sit didn't ask him about his "rich experience in both the public and private sectors," and she didn't ask him about his $1,000 per month car allowance.
But it was kind of hard for her to get a word in edge-wise.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 03/21/08 09:31 AM | Houston Transit | Technorati | Comments (1)
Chron.com: dumbed down and trashed up (cont'd.)
Geez. I stopped going to the Chron.com homepage because it's such a mess, but Cory Crow bravely continues sacrificing his brain cells and spots this.
As the Chron's reader rep admits, it's all about "traffic spikes."
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 03/21/08 07:39 AM | Houston Chronicle | Technorati | Comments (3)
20 March 2008
Copper thievery continues
HPD needs a task force and an acronym:
Last week, copper thieves climbed up telephone poles and took the wire. Leaving an entire neighborhood without phone service.
After 11 News first reported the thefts, the phone company quickly got out there, replaced all the stolen wire, and restored phone service. Thing is, the thieves have done it again. [snip]
[snip]
The phone company said that the lines along Westmount Houston have been cut three times. Cutting service to about 1,000 people.
The phone company believes thieves are after the copper in the wires. This time, someone stole about 400 feet of the cable.
AT&T wouldn’t say what the value of the stolen cable is, but did say there's a greater cost to customers.
Customers who in times of emergency can't even call 911. So, crews were working around the clock to patch things up -- for a third time.
It sounds as if it's time for another HPD Copper Crime Sweep.
PREVIOUSLY: If you see a copper thief, be sure to call HPD, Copper thieves shut down downtown library
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 03/20/08 07:54 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (5)
19 March 2008
Houston Housing Authority strikes again
Well, they're at it again, the one department that continues to embarrass the city only somewhat less than the HPD Crime Lab. This time, the Houston Housing Authority is holding hostage all the remaining worldly possessions of several elderly immigrants, for the "best" of reasons, of course.
Back in November, the Bellerive apartments had a four-alarm fire, which destroyed several units and left 200 homeless. From the KHOU article, dated 11/27/07, the day of the fire:
More than a dozen Red Cross Caseworkers met Tuesday with elderly residents displaced by Monday’s four-alarm apartment fire... The Houston Housing Authority has placed the residents in hotels and is providing meals for them. About 150 rooms are occupied by these residents at the Hilton in southwest Houston.
Well, here it is months later, and I have to ask if they are still in hotel rooms or if they've found other places to stay, because the apartments aren't repaired yet. In fact, the building hasn't even been cleared of the tenants' possessions -- unless it's been by thieves. The KHOU report was somewhat light on details, like exactly how many residents are affected, but obviously repairs are nowhere near beginning, since HHA isn't letting some or all of the tenants back in to retrieve their clothes and personal items four months after the blaze. Why?
Asbestos, it says.
Abatement of the units and cleaning of all the items has to be done before they can be returned to their owners. The HHA insists that since the items belong to the tenants, the tenants have to pay to have their stuff cleaned. "But wait," you say, "why isn't the landlord responsible? Or the landlord's insurer? Aren't they responsible for such costs?"
Ah, therein lies the rub. You see, the Houston Housing Authority is the landlord, and, as mentioned in today's report, it blames the tenants for not having the money to get their goods back:
The money would pay for the asbestos cleanup, which is required to salvage their personal belongings left inside. Housing officials say that could cost up to $3,400 per unit.. "People would normally have renter's insurance. The fact of the matter is the Housing Authority's insurance does not cover tenant's content,” said Horace Allison, the housing authority’s vice president.
As I said, the tenants are elderly, and some are immigrants. KHOU only found those to interview today, although from the November article it is clear that the residents were, ah, largely multi-cultural. However, the text of the article posted on the website cuts off just before what I found to be the most interesting part of the televised report.
UPDATE: Reader El Capitan notes a glaring mistake in this article: the HHA is not directly a part of the city. Its board is appointed by the Mayor, but it is not a part of the City of Houston's Housing and Comunity Develompent Department
From the Chron:
Both agencies provide housing to low- and moderate-income families, but they do this through different programs and services. Both receive most of their funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and both have experienced considerable conflict and controversy.
I suppose that at least the Chronicle appreciated the chance for a little payback, given the number of times we have criticised them in the past. Of course we don't have all those layers of editors -- but I think our readers are sharper.
Posted by Ubu Roi @ 03/19/08 11:34 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (8)
MayorWhiteChiefHurtt duck questions on HPD family-violence policy
In this week's Houston Press, Rich Connelly details another example of our city's fine leadership on crime:
Texas Observer recently took a look at the Houston Police Department's method of handling family-violence calls and came away decidedly unimpressed.
HPD officers, TO said, are not required — as officers in other agencies often are — to seek arrest warrants for alleged abusers who have fled the scene. Instead they just tell the victims to, essentially, be careful out there.HPD Chief Harold Hurtt, who loudly proclaims domestic violence to be a priority, wouldn't talk with TO or with us, and the office of Mayor White — another loud proclaimer of the priority of fighting domestic violence — referred us to HPD.
Instead, the department spokesman was forced to talk substantively about the policy (or, rather, the lack thereof) and the department's manpower shortage.
Strange, but we think of that as MayorWhiteChiefHurtt's job -- especially since this is a pet issue (at least in speeches, sometimes).
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 03/19/08 10:40 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (3)
At least one area crime lab isn't a fiasco...
KHOU-11's Shern-Min Chow reports on one area crime lab that (unlike HPD's crime lab) isn't making news for all the wrong reasons:
The Harris County crime lab is recognized as one of the top labs in the state.
Mike Sutton ran the FBI’s Houston crime scene unit. Often he sent his evidence to a Houston lab.
“I could take it to them — I was certain I would get it back done right in a timely manner,” the 35-year federal agent said.
Not HPD’s beleaguered crime lab, but one a few miles away you probably don’t even know exists.
Harris County has a combined medical examiner and forensics lab that is the largest in Texas after the Department of Public Safety’s state lab.
“It’s one of the top labs in Texas and perhaps even in the U.S.,” Sutton said.
So what is Harris County doing right? Self-policing, certification and state-of-the-art equipment, kind of like on TV.
Like any successful program, you have to be willing to pay for it. Since 2003, Harris County has upped the budget from $10 million to $18 million dollars, nearly doubling the staff to nearly 200 employees.
Mayor White and other municipal leaders balked at even paying for the Bromwich investigation into the problems at the HPD Crime Lab, so we're not holding our breath for a serious commitment of resources to fix its problems. There are trinkets to be pursued, after all.
A Harris County Lawyer had this amusing reaction to the story:
It's worth noting that in all of the DNA scandals caused by the HPD Lab, that Harris County's Lab never ran into the same problems.
Then again, Clarence Bradford wasn't ever the head of the Harris County Lab.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 03/19/08 10:08 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (0)
18 March 2008
Kotkin: Lone Star Rising
A publicist for The American, a journal of ideas affiliated with the American Enterprise Institute, passes along an article about Houston ("Lone Star Rising") by Joel Kotkin in the latest issue. Here's an excerpt that captures Kotkin's thrust:
Given these trends, it seems likely that the next great American city will emerge from the ranks of the opportunity cities. The ultimate winner will come from those that keep up with the infrastructure needed to accommodate their growth. They also will have to deal with issues of education, crime, and creating a skilled workforce— issues that are important anywhere, of course, but can be particularly challenging in a rapidly growing metropolis.
Perhaps the key factor that will influence the rise of the next great American city is the ability to fit into the global economy. An opportunity city with only modest links overseas can certainly grow rapidly, but only an urban center with powerful ties to global commerce is likely to achieve greatness.
Opportunity Cities- U.S.This may be where the case for Houston’s emergence is strongest. From its inception, Houston has been oriented to markets outside the country, first through its exports of timber and cotton and later as a major oil port. Trade and the global connections of the energy industry have also paced the development of internationally minded banks, business-service firms, hotels, and specialized shopping areas. An indicator of Houston’s international reach: it now ranks third among U.S. cities, behind Los Angeles and New York, in the number of consulates located there.
Houston's willingness and ability to assimilate all sorts of people -- along with relatively cheap real estate (in real terms, but also in terms of minimally obtrusive development restrictions) that provides plenty of opportunities for entrepreneurs (think of southwest Houston's "Chinatown" or the shops that dot Harwin) and international links via the port and a mostly well-managed international airport with plenty of capacity -- are certainly strengths in an age of global economic competition. So, too, is what has long been a prevailing sentiment/ethos against the sorts of restrictions and government heavy-handedness that choke growth and entrepreneurialism.
And over time, Houston has mostly scored well with one of Kotkin's keys: "Keep[ing] up with the infrastructure needed to accommodate... growth." The question is, are we keeping up well enough now? A city that becomes a murder capital because its leaders ignore for too long a manpower shortage in the police department is failing in terms of keeping up with public safety infrastructure. A city that ignores deteriorating public works infrastructure and flood/drainage improvements may be asking for trouble in this geographical area, in a time of growth. And an area that sinks so much of its public revenues into expensive trinkets like at-grade light rail (which transports few people), unnecessary convention hotels, and various sports facilities may find those commitments hinder the ability to fund the sorts of infrastructure improvements that Kotkin says will be needed for future growth.
These are just a few of the interesting questions raised directly or indirectly by Kotkin's piece. Please offer your thoughts in the comments.
BLOGVERSATION: Houston Strategies, Houston's Clear Thinkers, Off the Kuff, Lose an Eye, It's a Sport.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 03/18/08 09:02 AM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (10)
17 March 2008
The "rich experience" of METRO's Frank J. Wilson
If you've nothing else to do Thursday morning, you can go hear METRO President Frank "Procurement Disaster" Wilson talk about the future of mobility:
Frank Wilson, our March guest, will speak about the upcoming plans METRO has to take Houston into the next decade. With METRO making headlines throughout the entire City of Houston, the Starbucks Breakfast Speaker Series is a great time to get the information straight from the top. With rich experience in both the public and private sectors, Mr. Wilson will describe how commuting to Downtown Houston and mobility for the entire region will be transformed by infrastructure investments that go beyond rail and bus.
As Houston continues its dramatic growth, how can mobility improve without adding more lanes of roadway and worsening air pollution? Answers to these questions and others about METRO’s $2 billion expansion program will be addressed.
Houston Downtown Alliance invites all to submit questions to Mr. Wilson at downtownhouston.org.
The actual email address to submit questions is: SpeakerSeries@downtownhouston.org
As for the first bolded part, that's pretty interesting wording: "rich experience in the public and private sectors." Let's take a look back at Wilson's "rich experience" in the public sector:
[...]the Commission found that the procurement unfolded against the backdrop of events and circumstances that evidence the taint of multiple conflicts of interest. On one level, then-NJDOT Commissioner Frank J. Wilson engaged in private-sector employment discussions with companies doing business with the state, including two with corporate links to the procurement, one of which hired Wilson. Though he signed a letter purportedly recusing himself from the procurement process at the time, an examination of the full record suggests he violated the terms of that recusal at a critical stage in the vendor-selection process.
And let's recall Wilson's "rich experience" at hiring cronies to well-paying consultant positions:
Mr. Wilson stipulated in the contract he awarded to Mr. Russo that he would make $1 million over the first two years of his employment with Metro, at a rate of $300 per hour. The contract was amended this past April, where Mr. Wilson bumped up Russo's pay by $10 per hour and increased the contract ceiling to $1.1 million.
So what have Mr. Wilson and Mr. Russo done to earn such pay? Mr. Wilson and Mr. Russo have been together for a very long time, indeed Mr. Russo has been following Mr. Wilson around even before the people up in New Jersey salted them up before sending them down to Houston, much as Mr. Wilson's predecessor Shirley Delibero was before him.
So, by all means, soak up Wilson's "rich experience" as he talks about "investments that go beyond bus and rail." He knows of what he speaks!
RELATED: METRO CEO to Speak at Starbucks Breakfast Series (METRO's blog)
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 03/17/08 06:47 PM | Houston Transit | Technorati | Comments (2)
This has "revenue stream" written all over it
The Chron's Jennifer Radcliffe notes that a certain mayor who is fond of revenue streams is interested in West U.'s possible school zone cell phone ban:
Houston-area officials are watching West University Place as elected officials there consider banning cell phones in the school zone near the community's lone elementary campus.
The move would put the affluent suburb on the map as the first Houston-area municipality to take a stand against drivers talking on their phones as children travel to and from school. The community is following in the footsteps of Dallas and several North Texas suburbs that have recently approved bans.
"We'll be watching with interest to see what happens," said Linda Clarke, director of education and special projects for Houston Mayor Bill White. "We'll certainly be looking and wanting to know more about it."
I'll bet! The revenue possibilities are exciting.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 03/17/08 05:02 PM | Houston Politics | Technorati | Comments (15)
16 March 2008
Kirkendall tracks Skilling appeal (updated)
Local blog readers surely know that area attorney Tom Kirkendall's blog frequently offers an alternative perspective on business risk and the criminalization of business, resisting the easy populist critiques that grace so many newspaper pages.
Although he has recently been on a reduced blogging schedule, Kirkendall over the last week and a half has had some excellent blog posts (here, here, and here) on Jeffrey Skilling's appeal to the Fifth Circuit, even going so far as to obtain and post legal documents from the proceedings.
Indeed, it appears that one Chronicle reporter is even making use of Kirkendall's research (without any attribution or even a thank you, as far as we know):
The Chronicle's Kristen Hays, who is the only mainstream media reporter who I know of following this story, has an article on the Skilling brief here (the Chronicle story links to the copy of the Skilling supplemental brief that I bookmarked in Adobe Acrobat to facilitate ease of review; the Skilling supplemental brief on file with the Fifth Circuit is not bookmarked).
It's good that the Chronicle reporter is reading Kirkendall (and getting an alternative perspective on the matter), but the reporter really should be obtaining these primary documents herself, and not simply downloading and posting the ones that Kirkendall obtains (and modifies for easier reading). Even if they're not as important as party pics!
UPDATE (03-17-2008): Chronicle business editor Laura Goldberg emails that reporter Kristen Hays received the PDF copy of the Skilling brief via email from a defense attorney in another Enron case at 6:58 pm Friday, and that it was later posted online with the accompanying story. Goldberg further asserts that the reporter did not see Kirkendall's posting on the matter until Saturday.
UPDATE 2 (03-17-2008): I thanked Goldberg for her clarification, but also suggested that the Chronicle might want to track down the official Fifth Circuit PDF post-haste, as the bookmarking (which is not as comprehensive in the official PDF available from the Fifth Circuit clerk) suggests the PDF posted by the Chronicle is almost certainly the one modified by Kirkendall. In any case, journalists should obtain and work with official, primary documents whenever possible. Had Kirkendall inadvertently changed the brief substantively with Adobe Acrobat, it could have been embarrassing for the newspaper to be working from that copy and not the official one available from the Fifth Circuit clerk.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 03/16/08 10:44 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (1)
They may not have a Pulitzer, but they have their own awards!
In this week's Houston Press, Rich Connelly mocks the local Hearst daily for its full-page ads trumpeting the awards it gave its own people:
The Houston Chronicle offered up a full-page house ad March 7 honoring their award-winning journalists.
"We're Making Headlines, and Much More, For You! Award-Winning Journalism in Print & Online" blared the headline, over a collection of mugshots of the winners.
Winners of the paper's in-house contest, that is. Not the chain-wide Hearst contest, just a competition among the Chronsters. Including Peer Awards, voted by fellow employees.
This all seems one step above reporting on this year's Secret Santa operation, but the Chron thought it deserved a full page of space so readers could "join us in giving this year's recipients a big round of applause."
And so, the four people who put together the gardening blog, we salute you. And are grateful for the opportunity to read about your award.
This is certainly mock-worthy, but in my view it's not nearly as mock-worthy as the statement by the reader rep that party pictures are more important than news on the organization's website.
But that's just my opinion -- what do readers think?
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 03/16/08 10:15 PM | Houston Chronicle | Technorati | Comments (2)
KTRK's Dolcefino continues looking into Harris County land deals
Last week, KTRK-13's Wayne Dolcefino continued his look into some suspicious Harris County land deals.
This story looks at how Michael Surface, David Blumhardt, and others figured in some really convenient (and profitable) wheeling and dealing for a property to replace Commissioner El Franco Lee's Annex A.
This story looks at another deal by the same cast of characters and a former city councilmember -- one Louis Macey. If that name rings a bell, that would be because Mayor White and most of his Council recently rushed through another profitable deal for Mr. Macey related to a possible soccer stadium for the Dynamo.
Finally, this story wraps up the series by asking if taxpayers got the winning hand out of at least nine deals involving some of the people now indicted by the FBI on other dealings.
The Chronicle also put out a story by Chase Davis on this topic. We're not sure if Davis is continuing an earlier practice of stalking the Undercover Man, but it's nice to see Harris County dealings getting some scrutiny in any case.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 03/16/08 10:03 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (18)
Chron reader rep: Online party pics much more important than actual news!
Here's a telling exchange between a Chronicle reader and the newspaper's little-seen reader representative:
READER: Do Chron editors read this column for suggestions/input? I would just like to mention that I do not enjoy the "party reports" that are featured on the front page. It seems that every day, or several times a day, the headlining online news is a picture of people in bars. I would like to see more news stories features, with articles written by your writers, rather than photo albums of barflies.
READER REP: Sorry, that's not going to happen. Whenever chron.com features one of those party reports, the traffic spikes like crazy. You appear to be one of the few readers that doesn't care for that coverage.
The second-rate newspaper frequently provides intelligent people with all sorts of reasons to mock it, but that crystal-clear statement of the local Hearst daily's online journalistic priorities ranks among the best.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 03/16/08 09:27 PM | Houston Chronicle | Technorati | Comments (1)
Pedestrians on freeways
Back in January we discussed the problem of pedestrians who run across freeways, and the terrible outcome that often follows. It's hard to fathom why anyone would do something so dangerous.
This morning, Chron.com carried a story by Dane Schiller and Lise Olsen about the problem. Their story includes statistics, interviews with experts, and a look at the effects on drivers who have hit someone through no fault of their own.
A Houston Chronicle analysis of Houston Police Department reports from 2005 through 2007 shows that 84 people were killed while walking along or across the city's freeways and access roads.
Although pedestrians are dying on the freeway at a rate of about two per month, only a few incidents capture attention, such as the motorcycle officer hit while issuing a ticket or the 12-year-old who was killed, police said, while playing a traffic-dodging game.
Some crossers died seeking shortcuts. Their deaths left some drivers haunted for years.
[snip]
Over the past three years, most of those killed were men trying to cross highways at night, according to the analysis. About half died on the weekend. Four were children or teens; four were over 70. Their average age was around 40.
Based on an inspection of stretches of highways with multiple deaths, many victims try to cross where the roadways are level with feeder roads.
And this afternoon there's a new story on Chron.com -- a pedestrian was killed on the North Freeway today at about 2 p.m.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 03/16/08 03:24 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (4)
14 March 2008
Antone's "neighborhood" prototype opens with wrong neighborhood name
The Chronicle runs some free PR for the company that now owns Ninfa's on Navigation and Antone's:
LEGACY Restaurants may be a new Houston company, but its businesses are familiar to almost everyone in town: Ninfa's on Navigation and Antone's.
That's why, as the company goes about making its mark on the two — creating a whole new concept based on the original Antone's, while freshening the menu and making other minor changes at Ninfa's — it is striving to maintain the character of the two local icons.
Ninfa's on Navigation, in particular, is a beloved landmark that is much like it was when it opened in 1973, so "the whole trick is to preserve and enhance it without changing it," said Chris Harter, Legacy's president and CEO.
With Antone's, the goal will be to modernize it while bringing back its original vision.
Some Houstonians can recall the original Antone's Import Co. on Taft near downtown. When Jalal Antone opened in 1962, he stocked it with gourmet Mediterranean imports. It was like a mini Central Market.
The original store is gone and the four Antone's sites that Legacy owns, to varying degrees, are less like gourmet markets and more like sandwich shops.
To return it to its gourmet market roots, Harter, former president of Chicago-based Levy Restaurants, hired chefs Philippe Schmit and Alex Padilla to come up with a fast-casual Mediterranean market-themed concept.
Schmit, who was the creative force behind Bistro Moderne, is Legacy's executive chef and culinary director. Padilla, developer of three restaurants in California, is its corporate chef.
The prototype, which opens Friday, is Antone's Market & River Oaks Cafe at 2311 W. Alabama. All future Antone's will match that format, but their names will vary to reflect the neighborhood.
That all sounds very exciting and well researched and focus-grouped and all, except for one minor matter: 2311 W. Alabama is not in River Oaks, but in Upper Kirby.
But hey, why let facts get in the way of good "neighborhood" marketing?
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 03/14/08 11:34 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (7)
Councilmembers beg kids not to paint things; KPRC reports graffiti "crackdown"
KPRC-2 is reporting that the city of Houston is "cracking down" on graffiti:
The city of Houston is cracking down on graffiti during spring break, KPRC Local 2 reported Friday.
Houston police will be out in full force to make sure there is no vandalism.
There is normally an increase of graffiti during spring break, officials said.
"Please enjoy spring break," city councilwoman Sue Lovell said. "Please use your talents in a productive way. Please don't go about our city putting graffiti on buildings without permission that will cost us millions of dollars."
Councilman James Rodriguez warned students that painting graffiti is a crime.
"Read a book. Get a sketchpad if you feel the need to draw," he said. "Definitely do not go out and vandalize public property. It's a serious offense and we're going to be out there in full force this week enforcing our laws."
A "crackdown" is two councilmembers begging kids not to paint things?
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 03/14/08 10:18 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (2)
Nothing like a decisive opening editorial paragraph...
The Chronicle Editorial Board, which is tasked with producing a whopping two editorials per day, came up with this winner of an opening paragraph today:
If Houston's air is to be cleaned and made safe to breathe, industry and government must work together. In some instances industry and government are working together, but toward the opposite end.
And that incoherence would be the intelligent reader's cue to stop reading.
Do any sections of the Chronicle have editors these days?
(Hat tip to Cory Crow for spotting this latest Chronsense).
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 03/14/08 10:12 PM | Houston Chronicle | Technorati | Comments (3)
12 March 2008
Chron: Perry close to naming Magidson as Harris County DA (updated)
Earlier today, the Chronicle's Allan Turner and Peggy O'Hare reported that Gov. Rick Perry was close to naming an interim Harris County District Attorney.
Tonight, Alan Bernstein and Clay Robison are reporting a name, along with the hard-hitting "news analysis" you expect from Houston's leading information source:
Gov. Rick Perry plans to name Kenneth Magidson, an assistant U.S. attorney in Houston, as the new Harris County district attorney, once he gets approval from the U.S. Department of Justice, a source close to the process said today.
It wasn't known when that approval would be received.
Magidson was waiting to get an assurance from the Justice Department that he would get his job back after a district attorney is elected in November, the source said.
Magidson would not comment about the appointment today.
He would succeed Chuck Rosenthal, who resigned under pressure earlier this year amid a controversy over e-mails sent on his county computer.
Magidson, 59, was a Harris County assistant district attorney in the early 1980s and became an assistant U.S. attorney in Houston by 1985. His wife Anita is a former administrator of a state felony court.
He has a Northern accent and frequently comes across as nonchalant.
That little bit of useless editorializing suggests that he didn't return some self-important reporter's phone call at some point in the past (maybe even from one of the reporters who wrote this story!).
That possibility alone is enough for us to be optimistic about this appointment!
UPDATE (03-14-2008): KHOU-11 just sent out an email news blast that Gov. Perry has officially named Magidson to the post. As of 11:23 am, the lead story on Chron.com is a promo for a Lost chat.
BLOGVERSATION: Life at the Harris County Criminal Justice Center.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 03/12/08 09:04 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (4)
Working hard to find that local angle
KHOU-11's Leigh Frillici drew the short straw in the newsroom today:
Finding high-price call girls in Houston
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 03/12/08 07:33 PM | Houston Media | Technorati | Comments (9)
New home for HPD's Mounted Patrol
Not everyone is happy with the new location currently under construction for HPD's Mounted Patrol (via KHOU-11):
When they’re not on patrol, the 37 horses in HPD’s Mounted Patrol unit live in Memorial Park.
The area is cramped says Lt. Randy Wallace.
It’s also muddy, there’s no grass, and there isn’t much for the horses to do.
“What we have here is just the bare basics,” said Lt. Wallace.
It is three acres surrounded by heavy traffic, but very close to some of the parks the horses patrol.
The new, $7 million facility will have 46 stalls.
It’s five times larger with room to run.
The catch is it’s in the county, not the city.
Crews are already clearing the land along Little York and it was only when this work started that Frank Watson noticed. He opposes the new location. “For four years now they knew about it but they didn’t tell us about it.”
The new patrol headquarters is technically just outside Houston city limits—so the city didn’t have to hold a public hearing.
“And it will cripple any kind of economic growth we have in mind,” said Watson.
I'm not sure I understand why having the Mounted Patrol as a neighbor would cripple surrounding growth, but regardless, there are benefits to choosing a county location -- fewer building restrictions, and the land was probably cheaper. Plus, the horses clearly need a better home.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 03/12/08 06:00 AM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (15)
Harris County posts restaurant inspections online
Following up on what the city of Houston did a year or so ago (thanks to some prodding by KHOU-11), KHOU reports Harris County will now be posting health department restaurant inspections online as well:
Now you can find the reports on the almost 6,300 retail food establishments in unincorporated Harris County and the 20 smaller cities in which HCPHES conducts food inspections.
Each restaurant is inspected one to six times a year.
Dr. Herminia Palacio, Executive Director of HCPHES, said, “While an inspection is simply a snapshot of the conditions of a food establishment at a particular point in time, we are excited about bringing this capability to Harris County residents. This new service will help them make informed choices about a food establishment prior to dining there.”
Here’s how it works “0” means no violations
Each violation is worth a number of demerits.
So, the higher your score, the more problems or violations a restaurant has.
The county says a score of more than 20 is a problem. “If the situation is really bad we have the ability to go get a court injunction or to commence the process of either suspending or revoking the permit of an establishment,” said one county worker.
Here's the link to the county's page where you can search inspections.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 03/12/08 05:09 AM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (0)
11 March 2008
Danger Train art
METRO would like to invite you to view art for its future light rail lines:
Artistic themes designed to represent neighborhoods around Metro's future light rail stations will remain on display for public comment through March 18.
Metro has chosen artists for the project, similar to the art on the Red Line boarding platforms, and last year exhibited some of their ideas for initial comment. The artists have refined their proposals and the results have been on display since Feb. 28 at each corridor's office, said Metropolitan Transit Authority spokeswoman Sandra Salazar. "Evenings with the Artists" also are scheduled at each office:
•North: 2613 Fulton, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. tonight.
•Southeast: Palm Center, 5330 Griggs. 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday.
•Uptown: Hilton Houston Post Oak, 2001 Post Oak Blvd., 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday.
•East End: 6215 Harrisburg, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. tonight.
An artist's rendering of a Danger Train crash would be most appropriate.
UPDATE: As commenter "Buffalo" Bob Speedway notes, the linked photo above is of the one fatality that has ocurred on the light rail line. That was not intentional, and I do apologize.
RELATED: METRO Solutions Public Art Program hosts evenings with the artists (METRO press release)
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 03/11/08 07:02 PM | Houston Arts/Culture | Technorati | Comments (13)
Doctor Councilwoman Congresswoman goes to Washington (cont'd)
Matt Bramanti spots an interesting post about the excellent (albeit brief) D.C. adventure of Doctor-former-Congresswoman Shelley Sekula Gibbs on Politico's Shenanigan's blog. This part amused us:
Here's a nice example of Gibbs' style: She left a message for a staffer to return the call of “Doctor Councilwoman Congresswoman Shelley Sekula Gibbs.”“Few Members of Congress, over the course of long careers, have been able to completely alienate their colleagues and to absolutely make a mockery of their own service, something she accomplished in a couple of weeks," riffed the insider.
Here on the little blog, we started referring to her with the title "Doctor-[Political Office]" some time ago, as a way of gently mocking the fact that she frequently liked to remind Council colleagues of her medical degree with public putdowns such as, "Well, you didn't go to medical school, so you might not know [details about some topic]."
We think maybe she didn't understand that the multiple titles were meant as a joke.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 03/11/08 08:43 AM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (7)
A new ordinance will put an end to convenience store crime
This weekend's news included the sad story of a convenience store owner who was murdered in northwest Houston:
Family and friends hung red and white carnations on the door of the Independence Heights store that Moses operated for about 35 years.
"He gave his heart and soul to this community," said Moses' 23-year-old grandson Cris Moses. "He could have turned his back on this community many times and he didn't."
Known as "Mr. Joe" to the community, Moses was a giving man and a devout member of the Bella Vista Baptist Church, Cris Moses said.
"If you needed groceries, money, prayers, he gave it to you," he said. "He gave you whatever he could."
Independence Heights Civic Club President John Branch, 47, said Moses supported his community and would have given anyone the shirt off his back.
"It was just a senseless killing of a neighborhood hero," Branch said.
Yesterday, a Houston City Council committee sprung into action, approving a new ordinance:
On Monday, the Houston City Council Public Safety committee took the next step in getting a new law on the books.
“I think this is a great opportunity. It’s going to resolve a lot of problems,” said Councilmember Adrian Garcia.
The ordinance requires every convenience store owner to register their business. The process would be free and each worker must go through safety training. There must also be at least two color surveillance cameras inside the store.
The key word is visibility.
That’s something, police say, that wasn’t evident in Moses’ shop.
They say that in addition to blurred windows, the surveillance cameras weren’t working on Saturday.
Would working cameras have made a difference? No one knows, but they could have helped.
Psssst, Councilman Garcia! You know what would really resolve a lot of problems? More Houston police officers!
How many times have we seen camera footage on the evening news of a robbery taking place in a convenience store? Do the bad guys look as though they are afraid of the cameras? Nooooo. Cameras are reactionary. Cameras can help identify a bad guy after the crime has already occurred.
A visible police presence, with routine patrols, on the other hand, is a deterrent.
The city really should focus on making the job of being a Houston police officer more inviting. The signing bonus was a step in the right direction, but how about addressing the starting pay gap, and making sure requirements are common sense: Can former military folks without a college degree sign up? Is the no-facial-hair policy really necessary?
It's all about priorities.
BLOGVERSATION: Lose an Eye, It's a Sport.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 03/11/08 05:21 AM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (10)
10 March 2008
Chron: Train driver who smashed bicyclist had permission
The Chronicle's Rad Sallee has the following update today on that bicyclist who was rammed by a Danger Train that ran a stop signal:
The driver of a light rail train that struck a cyclist in the Texas Medical Center had received permission to pass with caution through a track signal that warns not to proceed, according to documents on the Feb. 8 accident.
[snip]
Metro previously said the accident was preventable and that the train operator received a five-day suspension and 40 hours of retraining. Metro also released a video that shows the train moving forward while a horizontal bar signal, similar to a red light for motorists, is visible ahead.
The police report quotes Granderson: "I was told to go through the horizontal bar, and as I was passing the crosswalk, a lady on a bicycle rolled out in front of me."
A report on her disciplinary action confirms that Granderson "had been given authorization to pass horizontal bar signals as needed, due to an existing emergency situation."
Metro has said there was an earlier accident on the line that had delayed Granderson's train and others.
"She sounded her gong and proceeded southbound," the report says. "A bicyclist entered the path of the train and Operator Granderson was unable to stop short of making contact."
Since the accident, it says, she has been "counseled regarding the importance of proceeding cautiously" when authorized to go through a bar signal.
Training reports as late as Feb. 22 grade her as satisfactorily performing supervised runs on the line.
That column raises at least as many questions as it answers.
At a newspaper with editors, an editor might have insisted that the following questions actually be answered:
1) Did the earlier accident on the line cause signal malfunctions that contributed to this accident? 2) Did the earlier accident on the line lead METRO to disregard safety in order to try to "make up" for delays? 3) WHO gave the train operator the order to go through the horizontal stop signal? 4) Were any personnel assigned to stations and traffic intersections to help train operators monitor potential safety issues with the train disregarding the horizontal stop signals? 5) Do the safety issues raised by this preventable accident caution against building even more at-grade rail lines in the middle of busy pedestrian/traffic corridors?
Sadly, the Chronicle doesn't seem to have any editors these days, and reporters rarely venture into territory that might be critical of METRO, so those questions went unanswered in this column.
We looked to the METRO blog today hoping to see some elaboration/spin on these issues, but instead, METRO's expensive blogger has a features-style post about a thirteen-year-old who really likes METRO.
Dwight Silverman should sign that kid up as a featured Chron transit blogger. He'd be a perfect (uncritical) fit for the local Hearst daily and its featured blogger stable!
BLOGVERSATION: Lose an Eye, It's a Sport.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 03/10/08 09:46 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (9)
Stiles v. HCC: Public information throwdown '08!
Chron reporter Matt Stiles recently blogged about HCC and its stonewalling of his public information requests.
Today, he blogs about the latest excuses for the stonewalling from the HCC IT people, and concludes:
This is a common excuse from governmental agencies who resist releasing aggregate data electronically. Surely the folks at the county, HISD and the city of Houston -- who have released this information before -- had to "join tables, write complex queries and subroutines, test the output and extract the data into spreadsheets or flat files."
They just seemed to get it done about 68 hours faster than HCC.
He also follows up with an informative reply to some reader comments.
If HCC thinks they're going to get over on this reporter, they're almost certainly going to learn otherwise.
The question is, why are they trying to get over on anyone? It's the public's information.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 03/10/08 08:43 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (0)
Houston told to repay $15 million in housing funds
The Chronicle's Mike Snyder reported over the weekend that Houston will have to repay at least $15 million in federal housing funds, one of the highest repayments ever demanded of a local agency:
The required repayment, either from local funds or future federal allocations, could rise as high as $25 million depending on the outcome of an ongoing review, the Department of Housing and Urban Development said. Even the minimum amount would be among the highest repayments HUD has ever demanded from local governments receiving its funds, a HUD spokesman said Friday.
The demand covers spending in all three of the major HUD programs that help the city provide housing and neighborhood improvement services ranging from down-payment assistance for working-class home buyers to repairs of houses occupied by the poor and elderly.
All of the questioned expenditures occurred before December 2004, when Mayor Bill White replaced the director of the city's Housing and Community Development Department and pledged reforms in the long-troubled agency, city and HUD officials said.
"This has nothing to do with the current situation," said Richard Celli, the department's current director. "These are problems that happened years ago."
Hmmmm, who WAS the director when the mismanagement ocurred? Who was mayor?
KHOU-11's Mark Greenblatt notes another aspect of this whole, long, drawn out mess:
And what's more, in 2004, the city promised the feds it would re-inspect and fix potentially shoddy work at thousands of other homes where work had taken place.
So what's happened in the last four years? Of 2,200 hundred homes, only 760 have been inspected again.
And it turns out one in nine homeowners have literally died, while waiting to get help.
In fact, the backlog of those who need new repairs has grown so long, the city simply stopped taking in applications, back in 2006.
And now, the federal government is giving the city of Houston 45 days to forward a detailed plan to accomplish those re-inspections. The feds are also demanding the city return millions of dollars that was to be spent on home improvement programs.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 03/10/08 07:51 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (7)
09 March 2008
John Keeling: Lazy local media's favorite "expert"
Cory Crow notes that hotel development shill consultant John Keeling has made yet another appearance in the local media, this time in a Chronicle column by Nancy Sarnoff:
Every major convention city has at least three 1,000-room hotels, Keeling said.
"A 1,200-room hotel by itself basically put Houston in the game. Houston is not in position to win the game until they get at least another 1,000-room hotel," he said.
Back to Crow:
Reports like this are paid to drive excitement for the project. The analysts are always encouraged to present the best case scenario. I've previously outlined the tendencies of Keeling's estimates to be on the high side and I don't see any reason that this will change now. As a matter of fact, a search of the Chron archives reveals a pattern of overly optimistic predictions from Keeling as well as a misidentification of several trends pertaining to downtown.
An expert like John Keeling, who has a history of overestimating in his estimates, is hardly proof of case when Millions of Dollars are on the line.
It's well past time that the local media stop citing Keeling uncritically, and start doing some homework.
It's beyond lazy for professional writers with access to tools like Lexis/Nexis and Chronicle archive search tools that actually work nevertheless to refrain from simple research into the accuracy of Mr. Keeling's past projections. If hobby bloggers can do it, surely the pros can give it a try.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 03/09/08 10:23 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (3)
Klein ISD moves forward with $647 million bond election
Klein ISD's board has approved the $647 million bond proposal that includes razing and rebuilding Klein High School:
If approved by voters, the $646.9 million bond issue would address district needs in five areas.
The bulk of the bond package, $345.9 million, would go toward the construction of three new elementary schools, one early childhood/pre-kindergarten center, two intermediate schools and one high school on Spring-Cypress Road; the purchase of four sites for new schools; the construction of a 700-seat classroom addition at Klein Oak and a 500-seat addition at Klein Collins high schools; the construction of a multi-purpose center, which would be used as an agricultural center and for staff development purposes; an addition to the Klein Instructional Center; the construction of transportable buildings; the addition of a south transportation center; and the purchase of new buses.
About $256.7 million will go toward campus renovation projects including the estimated $130 million Klein High School reconstruction project.
Several buildings will be demolished and rebuilt at that site, while the fine arts, choir, pavilion, and natatorium buildings remain intact. The funding will also go toward the reconstruction of the Klein Annex next to the Klein High School campus; upgrades and renovations to campus athletic facilities, including Klein Forest High School; and repairs and upgrades the heating, ventilation and air conditioning, plumbing, roofing, electrical systems, lighting and flooring at several campuses.
The $38.2 million designated for technology will fund new equipment to accommodate increased enrollment and student access to technology, equipment needed to continue the district's technology baseline standard initiative and the replacement of outdated technology equipment.
Another $6.1 million will purchase new security cameras, replace outdated security equipment and install fire alarms in district facilities.
Only about half the bond money will go toward new schools -- the most critical need for Klein ISD right now.
Also, the ill-advised "laptops for all high school students" lives on. Parents need to be allowed to opt out if they will be responsible for repair and/or replacement costs.
And while many local school districts have programs that allow parents online access to their children's attendance and grades, Klein ISD does not. Cy-Fair ISD, Tomball ISD, Humble ISD, Spring ISD all have this capability, but Klein has not invested in this technology. Instead, Klein parents must wait for progress reports and report cards to come home to find out how students are doing. This becomes especially problematic as students enter high school and start planning for college. This type of program would be a much better use of technology dollars than laptops for all high school students.
Now the district will put all its effort into getting out a YES vote; the bond referendum will be on May 10.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 03/09/08 04:22 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (8)
07 March 2008
Froot Loops Bureau helps out Chron sports section
We've wondered what happened to the Chronicle Froot Loops Bureau, which used to rewrite breaking local news seen on television in the mornings and post it to Chron.com.
It appears that the Froot Loops Bureau may have shifted to the sports section.
Yesterday, a reader passed along a New York Times story that reported the IRS was looking into a Houston-area gym as part of the Clemens steroid/HGH investigation. I furled the story, predicting that a Chron rewrite would probably appear shortly.
That prediction was only half-right. A version of the story by "Chronicle News Services" did indeed appear. However, the Froot Loops Bureau apparently couldn't even be bothered to rewrite it, instead changing a handful of words and otherwise directly ripping about half the story from the New York Times.
Weak.
At least the New York newspapers are keeping us up to speed on some of the local angles to this story. Now what is the name of the local Hearst daily again?
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 03/07/08 05:33 PM | Houston Chronicle | Technorati | Comments (2)
City uses eminent domain to acquire land for a "pocket park"
According to a story by the Chron's Mike Snyder, the city is using eminent domain to claim a parcel of land in order "to develop a small 'pocket park' on the edge of a large, upscale redevelopment project."
Originally the owners of the land were negotiating with Wulfe & Co., which wanted to buy the land to go along with its BLVD Place development, but soon after those negotiations fell through, the city filed condemnation proceedings to acquire the land. Uptown District President John Breeding assures that the land will be used to benefit the public and not Wulfe & Co.
Actually, he was offended at the suggestion that this was done for the benefit of Ed Wulfe's company.
Joe Turner, the city's parks and recreation director, acknowledged that it is rare for the city to use its eminent domain authority to acquire land for parks. But in this case, Turner said, the action was justified.
"We have a shortage of parks in that area, and the Uptown District has done a good job of maintaining parks," Turner said.
Gray, the Collinses' attorney, agreed that the area needs more parks. The location of this small park, however, will primarily benefit Wulfe and his customers, so the developer should bear the costs rather than relying on a publicly funded agency to do so, Gray said.
So a shortage of parks = justification for eminent domain proceedings. Wait until Metro gets wind of this.
KEVIN WHITED ADDS (03-09-2008): Chronicle metro/state columnist Rick Casey isn't terribly bothered by this latest example of the city trying to stick it to the little guy. Then again, it's hardly shocking that the Chronicle's resident plagiarist doesn't have a problem with property being taken without proper credit/value.
BLOGVERSATION: Lose an Eye, It's a Sport, Lone Star Times, Houston Politics.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 03/07/08 04:49 AM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (12)
06 March 2008
Diligent HCAD civil servants find tax break for Mayor (Part 2)
In this week's Houston Press, Rich Connelly has an update on that big reduction Mayor White received on his home's tax assessment:
Here's the scenario so far: Houstonian Tim Hebert first noticed the reduction late last year; when he asked the Harris County Appraisal District the reason for the drop, he was told new flood plain maps had lessened the value of White's home.
When we looked into it (see Hair Balls, February 21) HCAD told us the new floodplain map had nothing to do with it, and the agency had simply discovered that White's home had been overvalued.
Then the Houston Chronicle followed up, and HCAD said...it was a matter of the new floodplain map. And White was just one of thousands of Houstonians who would eventually see such beneficial reductions.
Sounds perfectly clear.
We called HCAD again, just to see what the Answer of the Day would be. We can't say we were too surprised to find out it's back to "the new floodplain map had nothing to do with it."
The current explanation, which still stands as we go to press (we make no guarantees beyond that): White's home value was reduced because it was in a floodplain, but it's in the floodplain under both the old and new maps. It is only a coincidence that the assessment was reduced at the same time the new map was issued, says HCAD's Jason Cunningham.
"The floodplain is an issue that has always existed [on White's property]," he said.
The new flood maps, he said, will affect other homeowners whose houses are all suddenly within the 100-year floodplain, and those assessments will be reduced. Eventually.
As we noted in the previous column, there's no evidence that White himself did anything to get the favorable adjustment.
If you think HCAD handled the account any differently, or quicker, than it would for any other resident who might be living in a seriously overvalued home, then you're just a cynical sort and we feel sorry for you.
We've yet to receive any uplifting stories from citizens who have received similar treatment, but we'll repeat our call for such stories (send your story to publiustx-at-gmail.com).
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 03/06/08 10:26 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (5)
Just a coincidence?
The city of Houston buys six blocks of land at an inflated price, using property tax money and water/sewer funds to pay off political insiders.
Dallas will have snow... in March.
Coincidence? Yes. Hell is only supposed to freeze over when something unusual happens.
Oh, three other minor notes -- first, don't look for the article about this fine example of public cronyism planning on the front of the Chron's website. The link's already disappeared.
Second, look at the raw URL for the story linked above: www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/sports/5596697.html
Gee, that's an interesting editorial choice, isn't it?
And third, just FYI, this Bloomberg news article appeared on the Chron's website today: Houston Borrowing Costs Skyrocket.
Banks and brokers built the market for auction-rate bonds by marketing the debt to investors as safe, cash-like securities and to municipal borrowers as a low-cost source of financing. Until mid-February, banks supported prices by bidding for bonds that went unsold, preventing auctions they ran from failing.
"There's always a shiny new deal, and the banks make money every time they participate," said Houston City Councilwoman Anne Clutterbuck, head of the council's budget and fiscal affairs committee. The city's borrowing costs rose by $3 million a month in February when rates on some of its debt soared to 7.8 percent from 4.25 percent. "It's going to put pressure on us as we prepare our budget."
You can also find the same article here, on Bloomberg's site.
Hinky financing and shady deals. Don't worry, it's just business as usual downtown.
Posted by Ubu Roi @ 03/06/08 11:06 AM | Houston Politics | Technorati | Comments (3)
05 March 2008
County settles civil rights case
The big elections overshadowed an interesting bit of news from county government that Bill Murphy reported for the Chronicle earlier this week:
Harris County commissioners voted unanimously Monday morning to pay $1.7 million to settle a lawsuit that led to the resignation of District Attorney Chuck Rosenthal.
After an emergency, closed-door meeting, commissioners agreed to settle with Sean Carlos Ibarra, 37, and Erik Adam Ibarra, 28, two brothers who claim that they were wrongfully arrested by sheriff's deputies, whom they photographed and videotaped during a 2002 drug raid at their neighbor's home. Because of a subpoena filed in that lawsuit, Rosenthal's personal, romantic e-mails to his secretary surfaced.
The settlement comes as the sheriff's deputies were scheduled to testify this week in the Ibarra's civil trial in U.S. District Judge Kenneth Hoyt's court. The Ibarras were seeking $5 million in damages for the alleged civil rights violation.
[snip]
The Ibarras' lawyers made the offer over the weekend — before Monday's scheduled testimony from deputies involved in the case, said County Judge Ed Emmett.
[snip]
Emmett said, ``The rational thing to do was to accept this settlement offer. Sometimes you make the best deal you can and move on. It allows the sheriff's office to get back to being the sheriff's office.''
One suspects that Chuck Rosenthal wishes the deal had come just a few weeks earlier.
The entire fiasco has certainly provided an enlightening -- albeit expensive -- look into county government. Here's hoping that the local media will remain interested in covering county affairs, even in the absence of titillating legal action.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 03/05/08 10:54 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (15)
Better wait a few days before trying the recipes (cont'd)
As we've noted several times before, it's always good to wait a few days (for corrections) before trying any recipe that appears in the Chronicle.
Here's something from today's corrections that helps make the point:
A recipe for Fish in Leaves on Page F4 of today's Flavor section contains an error. It should call for 1 pound, 10 ounces of tilapia fillets.
Happy cooking (once you've checked the corrections)!
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 03/05/08 10:37 PM | Houston Chronicle | Technorati | Comments (3)
Casey: Dem attention was great fun!
Chronicle metro/state columnist and resident plagiarist Rick Casey had an interesting admission in today's column:
Over the past two weeks, Texas Democrats have been wooed as never before.
Hillary and Barack have pressed their charms on us by air and by land and by cyberspace.
They've phoned us relentlessly, thrown gigantic parties for us, knocked on our doors.
They've sent scores of their friends to ask for our hands on their behalf.
They've done everything but send us flowers.
We never really doubted Mr. Casey's partisan preferences.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 03/05/08 10:09 PM | Houston Chronicle | Technorati | Comments (0)
04 March 2008
Thoughts on tonight's elections and election coverage (please contribute!)
For us political junkies, tonight's elections and local election coverage continue to be gripping.
Most of it anyway. KHOU-11 just threw it over to Len Cannon, who proceeded to discuss Chronicle editorial page cartoonist Nick Anderson's latest doodlings.
Really compelling political analysis there, KHOU. Enough of the cartoons -- Back to KTRK-13...
Feel free to add your own observations on tonight's elections and election coverage in the comments.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 03/04/08 10:01 PM | Houston Media | Technorati | Comments (19)
Is Quanell the Tenth the new Bob Stein?
Remember when Rice professor and bicyclist Bob Stein used to turn up in the local media all the time, as an expert on everything?
Although he's not really an expert on everything, Quanell the Tenth also seems to turn up all the time in media reports, for reasons that have never been entirely clear. A bemused reader passed along this latest instance from a Chronicle story:
Led by community activist Quanell X, residents of a southwest Houston apartment complex began a grass-roots search Sunday to catch a serial rapist.
Raina Williams, 34, said she wishes someone would come forward with information that would lead to the arrest of the suspect, who police believe has attacked at least four women since September.
"It will be nice if he is caught because it's scary, very scary. Sometimes you don't have a person to meet you at the bus stop," said Williams, who lives with her 11-year-old daughter, 22-year-old sister and her sister's 2-year-old daughter.
Houston police have said they believe the same man has sexually assaulted three women in the 9300 block of Dairy View and one in the 9400 block of Dairy Ashford. They believe the man lives in the area.
Quanell, who along with four other men passed out fliers with composite sketches of the suspect Sunday, said the community wants police and area apartment complexes to increase security. "And we are saying to the rapist, it would be wise if you turn yourself in because if you don't, when the community catches you, we will whip your rusty, raggedy behind," Quanell said.
Allrighty then!
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 03/04/08 08:18 AM | Houston People | Technorati | Comments (8)
03 March 2008
Sometimes, the headline is your cue to stop reading
Here's an actual headline from today's Chronicle editorial page:
No sacred cows: Complaints about no Tejano headliner seem thin, but rodeo officials should not lightly dismiss them
The logic within the editorial was no better than the logic of the headline (or should we say, it was equally contradictory).
Would it be too much to ask of professional writers employed to produce two opinions per day actually to have opinions? Pick one: "Complaints about no Tejano headliner don't have merit" -- or, "Complaints about no Tejano headliner do have merit." Then run with it.
BLOGVERSATION: Lose an Eye, It's a Sport.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 03/03/08 10:32 PM | Houston Chronicle | Technorati | Comments (2)
Redefining semantics: Bacarisse charges fail to stick
The last week of campaigning for Harris County Judge before tomorrow's primary has seen a flurry of proclamations emanating from one of the campaigns, and surprisingly enough, a bit of effort from the local media to do some fact-checking.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 03/03/08 10:17 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (0)
02 March 2008
Parker: "Soccer stadium debate needs clarity"
As Charles Kuffner notes, City Controller Annise Parker is now among those of us with questions about Mayor White's effort to push through the Dynamo soccer stadium boondoggle with little public scrutiny:
City Controller Annise Parker wants clarity in discussing public funding of the proposed Dynamo soccer stadium.
The city is attempting to acquire a six-block tract east of downtown through a combined purchase and land swap. That tract may be offered to the Houston Dynamo as a site for their proposed stadium. The city has previously participated in the downtown baseball and basketball venues so this is not unprecedented. If the city does not complete a Dynamo deal, the tract would be held until a use is determined.
“My first concern is for the land acquisition. While there has been public speculation about the use of the land, the request for council action identifies no specific public purpose. That is backward public policy,” the controller stated. “The city is not in the land speculation business. Council should know for what purpose the land will be used.”
Mayor Bill White favors using money from the Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone (TIRZ) located just east of downtown to cover the purchase of five of the six blocks. When a TIRZ is created the city agrees to return to the zone any growth in property taxes resulting from increased development. In turn, the TIRZ can borrow against those dollars for infrastructure improvements or use those dollars for enhanced street lights, sidewalks, landscaping and other public improvements.
“TIRZ dollars are property taxes. This is a legitimate use of TIRZ monies, but to say there will be no public dollars, or tax dollars, used for this purchase is simply inaccurate,” she said.
The sixth block will be acquired through a land swap using water and sewer ratepayer dollars. “I am concerned about the use of public utility revenues to help make this deal possible. Our water and sewer customers should not be helping to subsidize a professional sports facility, no matter how much we want it," the controller said.
BLOGVERSATION: Houblog.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 03/02/08 07:37 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (40)
Hurtt: Keep yourself safe
Last Friday, Chief Hurtt kicked off the city's March on Crime campaign:
Houston police today launched the city's March on Crime campaign, aiming to make citizens more aware this month of what they can do to reduce crime and violence in their neighborhoods.
In its 24th year, the campaign is coupled this month with HPD's "Keep Houston Safe" program, which includes taking mobile command posts into neighborhoods, adding more patrols and recruiting citizens and business owners to pay more attention to what is going on around their homes and shopping areas, Hurtt said.
"Citizens sign pledges that they will help us prevent crime by being alert themselves and also taking extra initiatives to protect their homes and property," Hurrt said today. "This is a full-court press by citizens to keep Houston safe."
Feel free to supply your own punchline in the comments.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 03/02/08 07:20 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (7)
No Mayor White riding to the rescue?
Not all Houston residents can count on Mayor White to intervene when a developer proposes building a high-density project (via the Chronicle):
A San Antonio developer of low-income, multi-family apartments has plans to build a $26 million complex with 252 one- to four-bedroom units on South Gessner, between West Bellfort and McGee Lane, using $13 million in tax credits and private funding.
Some southwest Houston residents, however, are opposing the plans to build Costa del Rey, citing the approximately 96 apartments already saturating the 3-mile radius of the proposed site with tenants who place a heavy burden on area schools, law enforcement and infrastructure.
[snip]
Elaine Gascamp, president of the Super Neighborhood No. 36 and the city's Super Neighborhood Alliance, and director on the Brays Oaks Management District, said the area is Houston's second-highest in density only to Greenspoint.
She said the new proposal would place the complex in one of the area's most densely populated neighborhoods — on South Gessner across from Welch Middle School and adjacent to Mount Olive Baptist Church.
Gascamp said she was not mollified by NRP's assurances that Costa del Rey would only accept qualified professionals and others who earned near the $27,000 to $47,000 mark, since area schools are already at capacity and local police are stretched to deal with the existing population.
These South Gessner residents must be an example of the "low-income residents who might have less time or inclination to vote and take part in civic affairs" that the Chronicle editors described when they defended Mayor White against charges of favoritism in the Ashby high rise brouhaha. They shouldn't hold their breath that Mayor White will provide any assistance.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 03/02/08 12:40 PM | Houston Politics | Technorati | Comments (6)
01 March 2008
Dynamo: We want our share of the taxpayer-funded stadium pie
The Dynamo are getting more brazen in their demand for a publicly-financed stadium. In a Chronicle story about Oscar De La Hoya buying into the Houston soccer team, the ending paragraphs are key:
AEG is hoping the infusion investment from Brener and particularly De La Hoya will help reach a favorable agreement with the city for the construction of a soccer stadium just east of U.S. 59 and downtown. AEG reiterated its commitment to finance much of the project but wants the city to contribute a significant share toward the building of the $70 million to $90 million facility.
White has been reluctant to commit public money for the proposed project, although he recently said if the city does commit public funds, it will do so cautiously.
De La Hoya said he and Brener are prepared to invest "substantial" amounts of money into the project but want more support from the city.
"We just don't want to be at an economic disadvantage to other teams in the market," said Leiweke. "We don’t want to be the only fools who privatize the stadium. “Whether it’s the league or the other teams in town, we just want to be competitive.”
The fools are the taxpayers, of course, which is why Mayor White has spent the past couple of years keeping negotiations quiet, refusing to tell the public what's going on.
So let's visit the archives again, to see how the Dynamo and Mayor White have moved the goalposts:
This is from November 20, 2007:
White is seeking a deal that would not require the city to contribute public money. While AEG's proposal calls for the company to bear most of the construction costs, it still would require the city to provide millions of dollars in needed infrastructure improvements, city and team officials said.
This is from January 9, 2008:
"It's not going to be done the way it was done with other stadiums, where the taxpayers picked up the tab," said White said.
And this is from January 14, 2008:
Mayor Bill White said he doesn't want public funds used for the actual stadium construction.
And here's Oliver Luck from way back in 2005:
And among the first promises [newly named club president Oliver] Luck announced was a most important one that every sports fan should note: A soccer-specific stadium here would not be financed like every other sports mansion on the local landscape.
Financing will not be another tax burden on citizens.
As the old joke goes, how can you tell when a pol is lying? His lips are moving. Except that this joke won't hurt the politicians, only the taxpayers who get to foot the bill.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 03/01/08 12:49 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (3)
High Tech Texan: City sends out RFI on muni wi-fi network
Remember back when Mayor White first announced his municipal wi-fi initiative with great fanfare, media cheerleading, and a general feeling of the utopia that would result from our mayor taking such decisive steps to bridge the "digital divide" (oh, and to get the City of Houston free -- at the time -- use of the wifi network)?
Utopia sort of landed with a thud after Earthlink backed out of the arrangement, concluding that a payout to the city of several million dollars was better than actually trying to make the deal work financially.
But the effort to bridge the "digital divide" and make Houston world-class apparently continues. Michael Garfield reports on his High Tech Texan blog that the city has quietly sent out an RFI to potential vendors:
Just when we thought the City of Houston learned its lesson from trying to unwire the city from the tangled cables of the Internet, it looks as if they are giving it another try.
Less than six months removed from the unraveling of the Earthlink deal, the City's Digital Houston Initiative has released a Request for Information/Interest to prepare for a competitive solicitation to expand the current municipal wireless network. This RFI was released without the fanfare of the original muni-wireless RFP back in February 2006.
The details are posted on the blog. Garfield also asks,
Do we really need a citywide network with more Hotspots popping up at affordable costs or even free access (i.e. AT&T/Starbucks)? Are consumers and businesses willing to pay for not-so-speedy access?
Good questions.
As I suggested in Garfield's comments, I suspect the only way that a private firm can make this workable is if the City of Houston signs on as an "anchor tenant" (meaning it wouldn't actually pay to construct and maintain the system, but it would pay significant amounts of money on an annual basis to use it).
Still, some people will be happy to know that The Dream lives on!
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 03/01/08 09:30 AM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (9)
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