31 July 2008

Shhhh: Discovery Green's parking garage is leaking

When I saw this post on the Houston Press' Hair Balls blog:

I immediately thought of this bH forum thread, where one finds this comment, and this one, and this one, etc, etc...

Anyway, the Hair Balls post includes this:

So here’s our question: what’s up with the City Council member who wouldn’t speak on camera? “The sensitive nature of this issue?” Is that double-talk for “I hate the guys who backed the project so I’m going to point out every little flaw I can find and then fan the fire hoping they all go up in flames”?

No, that's double-talk for "Mayor White didn't give me permission to talk about Discovery Green's $21 million leaking parking garage." You may recall back in January, Mayor White laid down the law for councilmembers. Discovery Green is one of the mayor's signature achievements, so it's safe to guess he wouldn't appreciate the councilmember's speaking out of turn.

Posted by Anne Linehan @ 07/31/08 07:03 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (7)

30 July 2008

Houston blog talk linkpost: 07/30/08

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 07/30/08 09:12 PM | Houston Blog Talk | Technorati |

Examiner: Floodway Coalition relieved over ordinance revisions

In a story about the recently revised floodway rules, Michael Reed of the West University Examiner offers an interesting peek into the thoughts behind Ready-Fire-Aim! governance:

Property owners could not build within the floodway in Houston prior to 1985, when variances began to be granted regularly. As flooding problems grew, the city began considering lot-height restrictions and culvert requirements for large developments.

Many property owners, however, were caught by surprise when updated federal flood insurance maps were adopted, and the 2006 amendment to Chapter 19, prohibiting new construction within the city’s floodways and restricting repairs to existing homes, was adopted.

“We knew it wasn’t perfect when we passed it,” but something needed to be in place to protect people concerning mitigation, Councilwoman Melissa Noriega said of the ordinance at the July 9 session.

Those changes led to coalition lawsuits, one of which it won that has been appealed.

Successful legal challenges do sometimes have a way of bringing revisions to Ready-Fire-Aim! problems.

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 07/30/08 08:25 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (1)

...by hatchet, axe, and (chain) saw

The Upper Kirby trees are gone:

Dozens of trees along Kirby Drive between Westheimer Road and Richmond Avenue were chopped down as a part of a reconstruction project that began last week. The city of Houston has planned the expansion project to improve drainage and the flow of traffic in the Upper Kirby District.

About 90 percent of the trees along the street, most of which were planted by Trees for Houston at least 20 years ago, will be replaced with 148 smaller ones.

Residents and business owners in the area said they are not thrilled about the demolition.

Bob Martin, a certified public accountant, has had an office on Kirby Drive for 30 years.

"I have to believe there could've been another alternative than this slaughter of tearing them down," Martin said. "They could've at least transported some of them."

Martin said the demolition plan not only destroys the environment, it also ruins the aesthetically pleasing sight of Kirby Drive.

"It's just sad to see this and we're not going to see trees that look like this on Kirby," he said. "We're not going to have those archways over the street."

"I've seen them grow and I've seen this place change," resident David Crossley said. "This is unbelievable."

The Chronicle's story notes the tree destruction was done in the dead of night...for logistical purposes, of course, not to avoid public scrutiny.

Houston's "green" mayor is not quoted in these two stories.

Posted by Anne Linehan @ 07/30/08 05:12 AM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (21)

29 July 2008

No-insurance blues

Today the Houston Chronicle has this story about many Texas drivers lacking insurance. The story focuses on Austin and Travis County drivers. Many in Houston simply read this and say "duh." However, it brought to mind a little known fact that people ought to know. As anyone who drives in the Houston-Harris County metroplex knows, there are areas where officers are surprised that drivers do have insurance. Also, some insurance companies are selling coverage to unlicensed drivers. Some companies are insuring drivers who only have the Mexican consulate card. Now I don't know what happens when one of these drivers crashes and wants to file a claim. I have yet to see what the insurance company will do.

Posted by Jason @ 07/29/08 09:20 AM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (33)

28 July 2008

Houston blog talk linkpost: 07/28/08

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 07/28/08 11:06 PM | Houston Blog Talk | Technorati |

Baby steps: Chron editorial board gets name of treaty right!

Last week, the Chronicle Editorial LiveJournalists weighed in once again on the Medellin matter.

We have previously noted the Editorial LiveJournalists' lack of expertise on the intersection of constitutional law, treaty obligations, and federal/state relations in regard to the same.

It is worth noting that this time, they at least got the name of the treaty right. Baby steps!

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 07/28/08 11:00 PM | Houston Chronicle | Technorati | Comments (0)

Chron: White administration abandons density ordinance

The administration of Mayor White, who has made a mockery of due process in the Ashby high-rise matter (while still delivering for the well-heeled on their issue and blocking permits previously issued), has apparently decided to punt on a new ordinance to deal with the issue of dense developments in residential neighborhoods, and stick with an outdated driveway ordinance never designed to deal with the issue:

Last week, however, the official who has been the public face of White's administration during the controversy recommended that the city stop its work on a high-density development ordinance.

Instead, the city should continue to rely on a 60-year-old law governing where driveways connect to public streets, with additional guidelines on how the city will apply the measure to ensure that projects do not cause severe traffic congestion, said Andy Icken, a deputy public works director.

This is leadership?

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 07/28/08 10:53 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (14)

Bettencourt office functions effectively (how scandalous!)

Harris County's most popular Republican officeholder, Paul Bettencourt, comes under a bit of fire today in the Chronicle, apparently for doing an aspect of his job effectively:

Bettencourt voluntarily pursues voters to update their registrations after they move from one Harris County location to another. Using driver's license address changes and other government records in a pioneering project, his staff sends letters to such voters — about 100,000 every summer — encouraging them to update their voter registrations.

The Texas Department of Public Safety is required to give driver's license applicants a chance to register to vote. In fact, sign-ups under the so-called "motor voter law" account for 61 percent of voter registrations in Harris County annually. Another 21 percent comes from registration forms mailed to the county by voters.

A mere 13 percent of registrations comes from the 2,700 Harris County residents deputized by the county as roaming registrars or from voters signing up in person at county offices.

Bettencourt said his 35 registration employees attend an average of one civic event per day to sign up new voters or deputize new registrars. The figures show that registrations pushed by candidates, political parties and nonpartisan groups, such as the League of Women Voters, ACORN and Texans Together, are not the dominant force for expanding the voter roll, despite their sweat and intentions.

Critics say those organizations' efforts and voter registration in general would improve if Bettencourt would focus more on expanding the voter roll rather than reducing it.

"The county is not known for aggressive outreach efforts to register voters," Harris County Democratic Party Chairman Gerald Birnberg said. "It is well known for aggressive efforts to purge voter rolls."

Clearly, Harris County takes a lead role in the state for cross-checking government records to remove from the rolls voters who leave the county, are convicted of felonies, are discovered to be noncitizens (80 of those since January 2006) or die. Bettencourt said that, following state law and interpretations by the Texas Secretary of State's Office, his staff also is ahead of most of the state in using government records to challenge whether voters or registration applicants have claimed a real residential address.

The office signs up new voters, pursues changes of address, and purges the rolls of those no longer qualified to vote here. What a scandal!

It's not at all clear that a million stories like this are going to help Bettencourt's inexperienced opponent very much. Most people who deal with Bettencourt's office realize that it functions at a much higher level than most government bureaucracies, regardless of the letter beside his name or whether he evangelizes on KDAN-700 radio. Even if this is the election that breaks the Republican stranglehold on Harris County politics, one suspects it will take a mighty Dem tsunami to sweep Bettencourt out.

BLOGVERSATION: Lose an Eye, It's a Sport.

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 07/28/08 10:33 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (3)

27 July 2008

The week (or so) in news and blogs, aggregate edition

It's time to catch up on some Houston news after running around the world-class cities of San Francisco (whose 9 mph cable cars rival the speed of the Danger Train, but whose BART trains run about as fast as our cars on an uncongested freeway) and London (which went underground, because mixing cars and trains is really kind of stupid) over the last week. Here's what I found interesting in the news and on the local blogs from the last week. Please feel free to add your thoughts in the forum!

26 July 2008

Houston on a budget

Here's a great list of things to do in and around Houston that won't break the bank.

Know of some other places not on the list? Tell us in the forum!

Posted by Anne Linehan @ 07/26/08 12:47 PM | Houston Arts/Culture | Technorati | Comments (13)

The joy of riding public transportation

We've noted before that most people who say they want more mass transit are hoping other people will use it. Ninety-five percent of the driving public has no intention of giving up their personal transportation freedom.

Recently Metro's blogger Mary Sit wrote a post about mass transit etiquette:

Once on board, move to the back when more commuters step on. Let exiting commuters disembark before you step on the train. Don't stand directly in front of the train doors - stand to the side of the doors to give room for those on the train to step off. There have been many times when I've tried to exit, and there are bodies standing directly in front of the doors, leaving me little space to walk off the train and onto the platform.

More suggestions from the Los Angeles Times reporter: Don't shout, don't shove, once on-board, step away from the doors. Don't swing a huge handbag or backpack around - it could hit someone. And offer your seat to the elderly, pregnant women or disabled.

Sounds like fun! Especially when one reads the post's comments. Here's a gem:

Another suggestion is to carry some hand sanitizer with you. I was riding a train a couple of weeks ago and a man put his hand down his rear end and then proceeded to go all through the car and wipe his excrement on all the handrails. Since then I started carrying a small bottle.

Which reminds me of a comment one of the guys at the Power Line blog recently made:

One of the liberals' favorite antidotes to high gas prices is public transportation. If we would only ride buses and subways, they say, we'd barely notice $4 a gallon prices. Besides, there is something about seeing people crammed together in equal discomfort on public transportation that liberals just like.

Maybe that explains why METRO CEO Frank J. Wilson has a $12,000 per year car allowance even though he lives near a Park and Pillage.

Posted by Anne Linehan @ 07/26/08 07:21 AM | Houston Transit | Technorati | Comments (4)

25 July 2008

Well, you can't put a homeless shelter amongst the well-heeled

Yesterday's Chronicle story reporting that Houston's homeless population has declined contained this amusing exchange between Councilman James Rodriguez and Mayor White:

Despite the reported decrease, a lengthy debate around the council table showed a continuing impasse over a project that exemplifies the new approach to fighting homelessness in Houston.

Councilman James Rodriguez asked Mayor Bill White to declare that the proposed conversion of Magnolia Glen, a vacant motel in Rodriguez's East End district that would permanently house 220 homeless people, is dead. Rodriguez and many of his constituents oppose the project, saying the district has a disproportionate share of facilities that serve the homeless.

White declined, saying he hoped continued discussions between project sponsors and neighborhood leaders will lead to an agreement.

"Part of our job as leaders is to help people distinguish between the problem and the solution to the problem," the mayor said. He added that he would continue to show great deference to a district council member's views about a project in that member's district.

No, he won't. As is his style, Mayor White will do things his way. When the mayor says, "Part of our job as leaders...," what he really means is HIS job as leader is to decide solutions to problems. He's the leader of Houston; the councilman is not.

Now Councilman Rodriguez certainly can't expect any neighborhoods containing "well-heeled, civically active voters" to welcome a homeless housing project. As the Chronicle's editorial board put it a while back:

Well-heeled, civically active voters wield more influence than low-income residents who might have less time or inclination to vote and take part in civic affairs. Human nature is not easily repealed, but that's not all bad in a democracy in which politicians are supposed to consider their constituents' concerns.

That means the homeless project will stay where it is -- away from the well-heeled folks.

Posted by Anne Linehan @ 07/25/08 08:14 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (8)

24 July 2008

Issues With Houston Police Department's Marshal's Office

Isiah Carey's Insite has two posts concerning the beef between HPD Assistant Chief Vicki King and city Marshal's office.

June 17 Post
HPD isn't saying they are going to lay off the officers in the Marshal's office. They say they are going to have them reassigned. Now, many veteran officers who land a good day shift with weekends and holidays off become creatures of habit. They are very resistant to change, especially if it means losing such a sweet work schedule. Their argument (to justify their existence) is about clearing the over 1 million HPD warrants that are active.

July 23 Post
In this post, someone sent Mr. Carey an anonymous email claiming racism.

This is how "clearing warrants" works. An officer comes into contact with somebody on the streets (i.e. traffic stop, person stop, call for service, etc.). The officer checks the person (either by ID card, driver's license, or date of birth) through the local, state, and national databases looking for warrants. If the person is wanted, the warrant shows up. Now, the officer cannot arrest and haul the person to jail at that point. The officer must get confirmation of the warrant. This consists of contacting the law enforcement agency that wants the person arrested and brought to their jail. The officer (or their dispatcher) contacts the other agency and informs them they have a person who their computer says has a warrant. A representative of the warrant's originating agency goes to their file cabinet looking for the actual paper warrant. If the warrant is there, then the representative tells the officer/dispatcher that their warrant is active and they want the person in their jail. The officer is informed the warrant is "confirmed" and then the person is placed under arrest and taken to jail.

Now, in the first post, Mr. Carey asks Chief King about the 35,000 warrants cleared. However, I can promise you that the HPD Marshal's office did not locate all of these people on their own. The majority of these fugitives were arrested on other charges, or stopped on the street and checked by street officers. Someone at the Marshal's office answers the phone, gets the person's information, and goes looking for the paper copy of the warrant. I can tell you that in 2007, someone answered the phone 35,000 times and looked for 35,000 paper copies of warrants.

Now, with HPD under the gun for their manpower shortage, and for their massive overtime spending, what sense does it make for about 70 police officers to be paid to do a job that a handful of civilian clerks can do? Do people want more officers on the street? Do people want more detectives handling their cases? This seems to me, more of a case of HPD wanting to shift resources and complacent officers resisting the change to keep their nice work schedule. I can certainly understand a veteran officer not wanting to start over with a lousy shift and lousy days off. However, it's ultimately about how to best utilize police officers to serve the citizens.

Posted by Jason @ 07/24/08 01:54 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (8)

19 July 2008

The blog is going on vacation....

The blog is going on vacation over the next week....

I have travel this week (a pleasure trip and a work trip), and Anne Linehan has a number of things demanding her attention over the same time period, so it's unlikely we're going to have much time for posting.

So we're going to turn it over to ya'll for a while.... Please feel free to use this thread to discuss any Houston-area news that pops up over the next week. We just ask that you abide by the usual rules of the forum, and treat your fellow readers and commenters with the usual courtesy. Enjoy!

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 07/19/08 12:20 AM | Announcements | Technorati | Comments (19)

17 July 2008

Harris County candidate campaign-finance reports finally online

Over at Hair Balls, Richard Connelly notes that Harris County has finally put candidate campaign-finance reports online.

Unfortunately, the format is PDF, and not an online searchable database, but it's a start, we suppose.

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 07/17/08 10:40 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (0)

16 July 2008

Houston blog talk linkpost: 07/16/08

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 07/16/08 10:34 PM | Houston Blog Talk | Technorati |

Harvard economist lauds Houston's "urban growth machine"

Harvard economist Edward Glaeser has a fascinating op-ed in the New York Sun today (apparently a shortened version of a forthcoming City Journal article) that compares earnings and cost of living in New York and Houston and concludes that Houston has some significant strengths:

Houston's success shows that a relatively deregulated free-market city, with a powerful urban growth machine, can do a much better job of taking care of middle-income Americans than the more "progressive" big governments of the Northeast and the West Coast.

The right response to Houston's growth is not to stymie it through regulation that would make the city less affordable. It's for other areas, New York included, to cut construction costs and start beating the Sunbelt at its own game.

Isn't it interesting how so many Houston elites are in hot pursuit of the "world classness" of other cities, at precisely the time that elites in some of those cities are beginning to give Houston its due?

BLOGVERSATION: Chron Houston Politics, Lone Star Times.

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 07/16/08 10:22 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (8)

15 July 2008

Houston blog talk linkpost: 07/15/08

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 07/15/08 11:31 PM | Houston Blog Talk | Technorati |

KHOU: City deploys anti-graffiti cam

KHOU-11's Rucks Russell reports that deployment of the city's fancy new anti-graffiti cams is going slowly:

“It's a digital camera set inside a reinforced metal housing,” Eixman described of the new tool against those who create graffiti. The camera is dedicated to the sole purpose of tracking down the taggers by actually snapping photos of their faces and other ways to identify the suspects.

“Getting their pictures of what they do (is) like getting caught red0handed in the cookie jar,” said Eixman.

It is similar to an effort launched back in 2001 when a private company teamed with the Mayor's Anti-Gang Task force to demonstrate the technology. At the time, city leaders promised a greater commitment to cracking down on taggers.

Years later, though, instead of a series of cameras, there is only one.

While grateful for what he's gotten, “Oh, I'd love a lot more cameras,” said Eixman.

KHOU didn't get a comment from the Mayor's Office, but Councilmember and Sheriff candidate Adrian Garcia had this to say on the lack of follow-through:

“We want to do more, the taxpayers give us but so much money to worth [sic] with and that's what we have to be disciplined by,” said councilman Adrian Garcia.

That same discipline contributed to the lack of investment seven years ago, said Garcia. The cameras cost about $2,500 each, which means that tagging the taggers will likely continue to be a tall order in Houston.

It's not clear that these cameras are a great investment in fighting graffiti, so perhaps it's just as well that deployment is actually going slowly and results can be evaluated before adding more cams.

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 07/15/08 10:59 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (11)

Chron (syndicated) columnist criticizes Washington sports boondoggle

Here is an excerpt from a bizarre column by Chronicle "Couch Slouch" columnist Norman Chad:

To: My hometown of Washington

From: A fallen son who will not return

Re: Your new baseball stadium

So, how's that spanking-new, paid-for-by-the-people Nationals Park working out? The Nats are 12th out of 16 National League teams in home attendance in the first year of the fresh-faced, gleaming facility — your tax dollars hard at work!

Washington: First in War, First in Peace and First in Half-Filled State-of-the-Art Ballparks Funded Entirely From Public Coffers That Are Now Nearly Empty.

I first saw the retro ball yard on opening day, courtesy of ESPN. It looked like a picture postcard. Outside, the city looks like a living nightmare.

(Sure, some readers might ask: Why are you moaning about the Nationals' new park one week after moaning about the new Yankee Stadium? Because I'm tired of sports franchises feeding off the public dime and I'm tired of the public's compliance in this process. I'm tired of rich men pillaging the poor and then asking them to clean up afterward. If Nero were alive today, he'd be fiddling in a luxury suite at the Colosseum while Rome burned.)

Actually, some readers -- including this one -- might ask, why so much interest in what other cities are doing in terms of sports boondoggles, and not Houston? Isn't our city in the middle of trying to build another one, and didn't Jeff Cohen once say the name of the newspaper is the HoustonChronicle?

And while we're asking questions -- what is the purpose of a "couch slouch" column in the sports section anyway?

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 07/15/08 10:44 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (8)

14 July 2008

Houston blog talk linkpost: 07/14/08

In the never-ending quest to get our link posts just right, we're going to try it as a semi-regular aggregated listing of interesting posts from local blogs, to try to cut down on the RSS traffic generated by the individual link posts (some people have found that distracting, and it's a fair point).

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 07/14/08 11:16 PM | Houston Blog Talk | Technorati |

Mayor asks EPA for improved area emissions measurements

Last week, various media outlets reported that Mayor White asked the EPA to reconsider its methods of calculating emissions from area industry. Here is an excerpt from the Chronicle account:

Mayor Bill White on Thursday challenged the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's methods for calculating emissions from large refineries and chemical plants, saying that the approach significantly underreports the amount of pollution in Houston's skies.

White said studies show that actual emissions can be 100 times greater than EPA estimates, which are based on industry-provided data.

To produce more reliable information, the federal agency should require refineries and chemical plants to verify the accuracy of their emissions with emerging laser technology and fence-line monitors, among other steps, White said.

"Up until now, the EPA has relied on rough estimates, and the companies themselves have done the estimates," he said. "It's a simple request, but it's a very bold request. It's a request that will allow the people of Houston to know what's in their air."

The mayor said federal, state and local governments must have reliable data to make decisions regarding public health.

If what the mayor claims about the current EPA methodology is true (and we have no reason to believe it is not), then his proposal for more accurate collection of emissions data by independent parties seems eminently sensible (much more so than previous threats to engage in dubious legal wrangling over emissions). Indeed, we would suggest that gathering accurate data to measure performance is important in many different areas of public policy.

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 07/14/08 09:32 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (6)

13 July 2008

Chron D.C. bureau on top of Culberson twitter crusade (a few days late)

The New York Times ran a story today on the Congressional dustup over twitter, led in part by social media advocate (geek?) Rep. John Culberson.

That seems to have attracted the attention (finally) of the Chron's vaunted D.C. bureau, which offers a post with blockquotes from the Times story, and promises:

Let us know what you think. We'll keep you posted on the latest developments.

Really?

Since we posted about the matter five days before the big New York newspaper finally called the D.C. bureau's attention to the social-media activities of a Houston Congressman (Rep. Culberson had already been discussing the matter on twitter before that), we're thinking that the Chron D.C. bureau may not be the best way to keep up with "the latest developments." Perhaps a better choice would be the Congressman's twitter page, or local blogs?

UPDATE (07-14-08): Here is an interview with Rep. Culberson on this topic by Tim O'Brien.

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 07/13/08 11:02 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (6)

Bradford comes out of hiding, spreads the blame for the crime lab mess

Alan Bernstein's profile of Democratic Harris County District Attorney candidate Clarence Bradford (which has already generated discussion here and elsewhere) heads into almost virgin territory for this campaign, as Bernstein actually managed to entice Bradford out of hiding to talk about various scandals during his time as HPD Chief.

Given the (low) quality of the answers, one can certainly understand why Bradford's handlers prefer him hiding from the press.

Here are some sidebar comments on Bradford's notion of responsibility:

"Anytime something goes wrong in the police department the chief is responsible. If the toilet doesn't flush in the police building, the chief has to take responsibility for that. That's part of the job"

"9/11 happened when President Bush was president. I don't blame the president for 9/11 happening because he was president at the time, OK? Things happen"

Things happen, yes. But as the Bromwich reports made clear, life-and-death things happened with the HPD crime lab during Bradford's watch, and Bradford was part of the problem.

Bradford, though, admits that he hasn't read those reports -- reports for which area government spent millions so we could try finally to fix the problems of the crime lab -- and that he doesn't plan to:

The former chief, however, said he had no intention of reading all of the reports on the two-year, $5.3 million investigation of the crime lab by a team led by Michael Bromwich, a former U.S. Justice Department inspector.

Asked why, Bradford replied: "Because I was part of the process (of the investigation). I am familiar with the reports; I have read the summary of all of them."

The reports repeatedly fault HPD's "chain of command" for lax oversight. Bradford said he disagrees with some of the conclusions.

Any candidate for Harris County District Attorney who has pledged NOT to read more than a summary of the Bromwich reports on the crime lab should be disqualified from pursuing the office. That's just an astounding, damning, admission.

Moving on from the responsibility theme, Bradford does have in mind who's really to blame for mismanagement of the crime lab:

"What I should have done — which I didn't see until this all blew up — I should have at least annually gotten independent audits of the crime lab, as opposed to relying on, like the two previous chiefs had done, this particular supervisor ... stating the crime lab met all the federal standards," he said. "So, yes, that's when I dropped the ball. I relied too heavily on the people with the science and biology degrees."

The experts let Clarence the Delegator down! Oh, and so did the other member of Houston's Dynamic Duo at the time:

Bradford, 52, said he was unable to increase lab staffing because of tight budgets dictated by Lanier's successor, Lee Brown — whose law enforcement consulting company, Brown Group International, has employed him since his retirement.

So, this man who won't be capable of trying major cases in court because of lack of experience and has said -- in this profile even -- that as District Attorney, he will be a major public voice and manager rather than a prosecutor -- wasn't able to persuade Lee Brown, Council, or the public that perhaps funding to deal with some known issues at the crime lab would be a good idea? That seems like a guy who isn't likely to be a persuasive public-facing District Attorney either.

But he wants voters to know he's learned from the ordeal:

Bradford, with degrees in criminal justice, public administration and law as well as training by the FBI National Academy and the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, considers the lab failures a plus for him now: "I am able to learn from those and move forward. ... That makes me more prepared to go in and deal with organizational issues such as these."

Defendants whose evidence was mangled as the leaders ultimately responsible for the Crime Lab fiddled, so to speak, will surely be pleased to know there's a silver lining to the mess.

Good for Bernstein for finally getting Bradford to answer some of these important questions. We suspect, given some of these disastrous answers, that we may not see Bradford answering many more press inquiries in the near future.

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 07/13/08 10:48 PM | Houston Politics | Technorati | Comments (1)

Klein ISD faces lawsuit over bond election

The Klein ISD bond election is being challenged in court, and the Chron's Kim Jackson has details:

Klein school district resident Fred Blanton has filed a lawsuit contesting the results of the school district’s May 10 school bond election because of several incidents that occurred at various voting locations on Election Day.

He said the incidents violated the Texas Election Code.

In his suit, filed in state district court June 19, Blanton said those “mistakes and possible fraud” could have affected the outcome of the election. The election results should be declared void, Blanton said, and a new bond election called Nov. 4.

Blanton’s lawsuit focuses on an incident at the Brill Elementary School polling site. He said the election judge, assistant judge and election clerk assigned to that location, Precinct 109, left the polling location at 7:45 p.m. on May 10 without one of the “Judge’s Boot Controllers,” a device that records votes cast on the eSlate voting machines used in the election. After realizing that the controller was missing after arriving at the district’s central tallying location, the lawsuit states, one of the election judges returned to Brill Elementary with a police escort to retrieve the device.

By that point, Blanton said, the device had been left unattended and unsecured for “several hours.” The final vote count at the Brill location was 622 for the bond referendum and 248 against. He said no other voting location demonstrated such a large margin of victory.

The violations Blanton’s lawsuit alleges at the remaining 13 voting locations related to gaps and mistakes in the records that are required to be kept by those assigned to oversee each site.

Klein voters approved the $646.9 million bond referendum in a close election, with 4,732 voting for the measure and 4,420 against, according to information posted on the Klein ISD Web site.

Fred Blanton's lawsuit addresses problems at voting locations that included numbers of votes not matching signatures, and chain of custody issues. Klein ISD's response was:

“In response to the extent that the matters he describes are true, nothing individually or collectively rises as the basis for overturning the election,” Feldman said.

Regardless of how the lawsuit turns out, all has not been smoothed over in the district. Voters outside of Klein High are not happy with the district's leadership and direction, something officials might want to keep in mind when board members come up for reelection.

Posted by Anne Linehan @ 07/13/08 05:08 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (2)

Chronicle's Alan Bernstein (didn't miss) History (Corrected)

Late Precinct 7 Constable A.B. Chambers with Constable May Walker in 2005

Today Alan Bernstein penned this nice little puff piece about Democratic DA Candidate Clarence Bradford. Click here to read the story for yourself. However, here's one small problem with his story:

The county never has elected an African-American to a law enforcement job.

I guess Mr. Bernstein forgot that in 1973, Harris County voters elected A. B. Chambers as Constable of Precinct 7. Constable Chambers is the first black, Constable in Harris County.

In 2001, voters elected Perry Wooten as Precinct 7 Constable. However, he wound up on trial and a convicted felon (remember "racism, sexism, all kind of isms!").

In 2004, voters elected May Walker, the first black, female Constable in Harris County.

So Mr. Bernstein, just why would you overlook this tiny fact?

KEVIN WHITED ADDS: In a forum comment and in an email, Mr. Bernstein points out that countywide, no African-American has been elected to a law-enforcement job, the point he was trying to make with the line in question. We regret the misunderstanding.

Regardless, I think the information about African-American law enforcement pioneers in Harris County adds value to the conversation, even though their election took place in parts of the county rather than countywide.

Posted by Jason @ 07/13/08 11:11 AM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (10)

12 July 2008

Skateboarders and loft residents not living in perfect harmony

According to the Chron's Michelle Casady, all is not well in the lofts near the city's new skatepark:

Even on a rainy Wednesday afternoon, kids and parents were lined up and waiting for the Lee and Joe Jamail Skatepark to reopen. Across the street, through a parking lot and behind a gate, residents of the Sabine Street Lofts were hoping the weather would grant them a reprieve.

Since the 30,000-square-foot park alongside Buffalo Bayou opened June 1, an average of 320 people have skated its ramps and concrete bowls every day.

Lofts residents say the skaters also have tagged city property, left behind soda cans and snack-food trash and even trespassed onto loft property to skate in the parking garage.

Topping their complaints is illegal parking on the Sabine Street bridge, which they say constricts the route they use into and out of the complex.

"I just think when they build something as large as that, that has such a huge impact on the community, there should be a public hearing process, but there wasn't one," said Dee Carpenter, who has lived in the lofts for four years. "No one ever checked to see if parking was going to be an issue, and it has been."

[snip]

Carpenter said some residents have discussed moving.

"There's some people here who are like, 'Hey, my lease is up in June, July, August. We'll see where we are then, but we might move,' " she said.

This seems to conflict with a local advocacy group's promise of an idyllic world if only the city would build a skatepark (via Swamplot):

If you want to get the kids off the streets, get them to quit tearing up your ledges and your rails, and put them some place where they can actually have some fun and stay out of trouble, a place where families can come hang out — there’s a real need for it in a city this big.

Just hanging out, and having fun. The loft residents are probably being unreasonable.

Posted by Anne Linehan @ 07/12/08 08:38 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (8)

Editorial LiveJournalists tackle...office distractions

It would seem MeMo was in charge of today's inexplicable editorial offering:

Feeling distracted? Plagued by constant interruptions? Can't concentrate on the job? Drowning in a flood of data and stimulae?

Now it can be known: You're not alone. According to the New York-based consulting firm Basex, the typical American office worker spends no more than three minutes on task before being interrupted. Many U.S. workers — those in the news media, for instance — would give much to have three uninterrupted minutes.

The distractions stem from e-mails, calls, visitors, colleagues dropping by to chat, the temptation to visit YouTube or another amusing Web site. Added to those are environmental noise from construction, traffic, air handlers, and seemingly omnipresent radios and televisions.

Basex reports that such distractions waste 28 percent of a worker's shift, costing businesses $650 billion a year.

So Chron employees waste 28 percent of their work time? This explains many things at 801 Texas Avenue.

Posted by Anne Linehan @ 07/12/08 08:51 AM | Houston Chronicle | Technorati | Comments (7)

10 July 2008

HouStoned is not long for this world (HouStoned)

The Houston Press blog HouStoned will soon be getting a name change and a bigger dose of Rich Connelly (HouStoned).

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 07/10/08 10:22 PM | Houston Blog Talk | Technorati |

Houston speed traps (Bayou City Madman)

I.J. Reilly describes "what happens when a 'business-minded' mayor remodels a major metropolitan police force after the stellar examples of Roscoe P. Coltrane and Boss Hogg" (Bayou City Madman).

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 07/10/08 10:12 PM | Houston Blog Talk | Technorati |

METRO: Why waste the brain cells?

This week's "Move It!" column in the Chronicle concluded with more useless filler than usual:

It's hard to get answers to some perfectly reasonable questions.

"I was wondering," writes Joel Santos Shepherd, "if Metro is denied federal funding to build a few of their next light rail lines, will they still continue with construction of the East End line, since they had planned to pay for that one out-of-pocket anyway?"

That a reasonable inference, but in such dire straits, Metro may re-evaluate its overall plan, compare the five planned lines against each other for costs and benefits, and rank them by priority. We asked, of course.

"Why speculate on something that likely won't happen? Waste of brain cells," Metro spokeswoman Raequel Roberts said. "Plus, the variations on the question are endless."

It's always nice when public representatives blow off legitimate questions from the public about the organization they represent.

One Chron.com commenter did have a nice response, though:

Perfect.

"Why waste the brain cells", needs to be adopted as Metro's Mission Statement. It is the attitude. Might as well be the logo. HAHAHA

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 07/10/08 10:01 PM | Houston Transit | Technorati | Comments (5)

ULI CHF panel on Houston's future (+Metro North LRT) (Houston Strategies)

Tory Gattis discusses the estimated cost of METRO's North light rail line ($116 million per mile... and $34K of capital investment per daily boarder ... $68K per daily round trip passenger"), and asks readers, "Does this sounds reasonable?" (Houston Strategies).

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 07/10/08 09:51 PM | Houston Blog Talk | Technorati |

'Controll'ing the candidates (ABC13 Political Blog)

Miya Shay breaks down the potential candidates for City Controller (ABC13 Political Blog).

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 07/10/08 07:39 AM | Houston Blog Talk | Technorati |

Stephanie Guadian and KTRK part ways (Matt Lavine's Left Field News)

Matt Lavine posts that weekend anchor Stephanie Guadian has left KTRK-13 (Matt Lavine's Left Field News).

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 07/10/08 07:36 AM | Houston Blog Talk | Technorati |

09 July 2008

Sylvia Garcia's amazing turnaround (HCSO Blog)

Did local media inquiries prompt Sylvia Garcia's turnaround on contract deputies at Commissioner's Court (HCSO Blog)?

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 07/09/08 11:41 PM | Houston Blog Talk | Technorati |

Timing is everything (Lose an Eye, It's a Sport)

Cory Crow is suspicious of the timing of the Chron Austin bureau's feel-good dispatch on Sen. Whitmire (Lose an Eye, It's a Sport).

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 07/09/08 11:38 PM | Houston Blog Talk | Technorati |

Meyers challenges slumlord-Rep. Vo on knowledge of apartment problems

In a press release yesterday, the Greg Meyers campaign challenged Slumlord-Rep. Hubert Vo's assertions that he didn't know about the significant problems at his apartments until recent publicity:

Lawsuits on file at the Harris County Courthouse reveal a startling pattern of management neglect, inadequate safety, physical intimidation, racial discrimination and retaliation at apartment complexes owned by State Rep. Hubert Vo.

These lawsuits directly contradict Rep. Vo’s previous claims to not have known about conditions at his apartment complexes prior to being confronted by city inspectors and recent media scrutiny. The lawsuits cover a period from 1996 to 2007 and were all confidentially
settled out of court by Rep. Vo.

The page goes on to describe details of the lawsuits, as well as PDFs of the legal filings.

Texas Monthly's Paul Burka notes that Vo's reputation as a slumlord has become the major issue in the race, although he still thinks Vo is the favorite to win.

PREVIOUSLY: Slumlord-Rep. Vo: I hope voters won't hold this against me, Slumlord-Rep. Vo cleans up his act, Stiles: Slumlord-Rep. Vo urged HPD to ease up on his slums, The serial slumlord saga continues, State Rep. Vo is a serial slumlord, Hubert Vo's "next step toward positive change": ridding himself of slumlord status!.

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 07/09/08 11:09 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (0)

Gray: "In his personal life, [Mincberg]'s a teardown kind of guy"

The Chronicle's Lisa Gray expands on a topic covered on local blogs previously in a column about David Mincberg's plans to tear down an architecturally interesting home on his property:

David Mincberg, the Democratic candidate for county judge, promises that if elected to Harris County's top job, he'll do everything possible to save the Astrodome. But in his personal life, he's a teardown kind of guy.

In April, Mincberg bought an architecturally significant house at 6040 Glen Cove, a few blocks east of Memorial Park, with plans to raze it and build a new house for his family.

The Harris County Appraisal District values the house and its land at $2.8 million, an impressive price for a teardown even in this gilded age. (Mincberg has appealed the appraisal.) But the 1.3-acre property, complete with a turtle pond and ravine, is a significant trophy, and it lies in a neighborhood that's a magnet for expensive new development.

[snip]

Mincberg doesn't think that his razing the house will faze voters. ``The public sees an enormous disparity between the Astrodome and a house,'' he says.

The Astrodome, he notes, is a beloved, publicly owned icon in a highly visible part of Houston. He fondly remembers watching baseball there as a boy. ``We have to explore every conceivable option to preserve it,'' he says.

At some point, the expensive albatross known as the Astrodome is going to need to be destroyed. Nobody wants to say it, but that's the most likely scenario. As for Mincberg's home -- it's his property, and if he wants to tear down an architecturally significant home to replace it with a McMansion, that's certainly his right. But Gray's contrast of his rationales in each case is interesting, as is her conclusion:

Mincberg says he hoped his family could live in the Crispin house. But he says previous owners neglected the house, and that it's been flooded.

During the option period, Mincberg had it inspected twice. He says his inspectors found termites, foundation troubles, mechanical problems, ``you name it'' - major problems he says render the house unlivable. But instead of leaving those problems to some other buyer, he closed the deal, with plans to tear the house down and build something new on its lot.

Historic buildings often suffer structural infirmities. And fixing them doesn't come cheap. But TLC has revived many an abused old building - and revived a piece of its city's history along with it.

From what I could tell, the Glen Cove house isn't an extreme case. According to Harris County tax appraisers, the house's condition is ``above average.'' Termites may have chewed some of the house's trim, but it's hard to see how they could hurt a steel frame. And the house certainly looks solid, both from the street and in photos that the previous owner used to market it.

I asked Mincberg to share the inspectors' report with me. He declined.

I trust he'd be more transparent in his dealings with the Astrodome.

Does running government "like a business" include transparency? Hmm, that's refreshing to know.

Previously, Swamplot and Lose an Eye commented on Gray's current subject matter.

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 07/09/08 10:53 PM | Houston People | Technorati | Comments (0)

For All To See

Today, the Houston Chronicle has posted the 2007 salaries of just about every public servant in the Houston-Harris County metroplex. The Chronicle asks "are your tax dollars well spent." I wonder if the chronicle is referring to the elected officials, the head of entities like Metro, HISD, HCTRA, etc. Or, is that clerk who made a little over $19,000 last year an example of wasting tax money in their eyes?

Posted by Jason @ 07/09/08 07:26 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (29)

08 July 2008

My life as of July 8, 2008 (Lou Minatti)

We're happy to see the return of this local blogger (Lou Minatti).

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 07/08/08 11:13 PM | Houston Blog Talk | Technorati |

How long will the public information position last at the District Attorney's office (Isiah Carey's Insite)?

Isiah Carey spoke to Clarence Bradford (a rare sighting!) today about the DA's new public information office, and Bradford is uncertain if he'll keep it if elected, because he views the DA's role as one of public information (Isiah Carey's Insite).

That comes as news to people who wish Candidate Bradford would receive and answer any number of questions about his role (mis)managing the HPD Crime Lab.

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 07/08/08 10:55 PM | Houston Blog Talk | Technorati |

A good man (LatHCCJC)

A Harris County Lawyer comments on blogger and lawyer Mark Bennett (Life at the Harris County Criminal Justice Center).

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 07/08/08 10:49 PM | Houston Blog Talk | Technorati |

Culberson criticizes Dem effort to stifle member web communications (updated)

Earlier today, Rep. John Culberson's blog alerted us to an attempt by the Democratic House leadership to stifle various forms of electronic communication by members. Here's a statement from the Republican leadership, via the blog:

Millions of Americans today utilize free, unregulated and uncensored websites like YouTube on a daily basis to not only obtain information from their elected leaders about what’s going on in their government, but to also give feedback and easily share that information with others. The advent of new media technology has empowered American citizens with real-time information about the policy debates and actions being undertaken by Congress. This has increasingly forced Congress to become more transparent and made it easier for American citizens to hold their elected leaders accountable.

The Committee on House Administration is considering a new rule that could bring this trend to a screeching halt. The Committee is considering the adoption of new rules that would require outside websites such as YouTube to comply with House regulations before Members of Congress could post videos on them. Under the proposal, the House Administration Committee would develop a list of "approved" websites, and Members of Congress could post content only such websites. The rule has been proposed by the Democratic chairman of the Commission on Mailing Standards, Rep. Michael Capuano (D-MA), and is being considered for adoption by the Committee on House Administration, chaired by Rep. Robert Brady (D-PA). A copy of Rep. Capuano's letter is available at http://gopleader.gov/UploadedFiles/Capuano_letter.PDF.

If the proposed rule is adopted, the free flow of information over the Internet between Americans and their representatives will be significantly curtailed. Americans who currently use free websites like YouTube to obtain uncensored daily information about congressional policy debates will instead be forced to go to websites "approved" by the House Administration Committee in order to continue getting such information. This would amount to new government censorship of the Internet, by a panel of federal officials that is neither neutral nor independent.

As noted previously, Culberson has actively embraced twitter and other web communication technology, and as one might expect, he has been blasting away on twitter at the effort by the Democratic House leadership to stifle such communications.

While we can understand why the Democratic House leadership might want to limit its exposure to the public right now, as web geeks we kind of like the fact that some elected officials have embraced... well, web geekery... to communicate with constituents.

Shouldn't we be encouraging more such freewheeling interaction with constituents, not discouraging it?

If you feel strongly about this matter, one way or the other, let Rep. Culberson know on his twitter page. You'll probably even get a response -- at least for now.

UPDATE: For balance, we offer this take on the controversy.

UPDATE (07-09-2008): And here's a counterpoint to the point directly above. We also noticed that Rep. Culberson commented on the post:

Heres how the House leadership will use this rule to control where and what I say and even exercise influence over your website/blog etc

If the Ds rule change were in effect today, before I could post this, your website/blog would have to be preapproved as complying with House rules, my post would require a disclaimer that it was "produced by a House office for official purposes," and the CONTENT of my post would have to be preapproved by the House Franking Committee as complying with "existing content rules and regulations."

This is a violation of your First Amendment rights and mine, and is an outrageous attempt by House leadership to stifle and control you and me. If Rs were in charge I would be just as outraged - forget the party label - I do not want the federal gov't/House of Representatives certifying your website or the content of my posts. I am writing this post personally, in my official capacity, so it would fall precisely under their new rule and you and I would both be in violation unless we subjected ourselves and my words to their prior approval/editing.

I am always ready to admit I am wrong but I am an attorney and this is what the letter means.

This is a story worth following because I am going to continue to vigorously exercise my First Amendment rights on every social media outlet I can reach. It is my right as an American and my duty as a representative.

thanks

John Culberson

It's worth noting that this sort of immediate response might not be allowed under a strict interpretation of the rules that are being proposed. And that's unfortunate.

UPDATE 2 (07-09-2008): The good folks at The Sunlight Foundation, who are advocates for openness, transparency, and accountability in government (as we are as well!), have come down solidly against unnecessary restrictions on web communications. They have also started a new campaign, Let Our Congress Tweet.

For some of us, this is about principles (of transparency and openness), not personalities or parties.

UPDATE (07-10-2008): Rep. Culberson offers this very thoughtful response to a highly critical blog post. Local hyperpartisans who hate Rep. Culberson and are working to elect his opponent probably won't find it reasonable or thoughtful, and that's too bad. As some less strident local bloggers have pointed out, openness and transparency in government (without the need for a House committee to approve content or websites) ought to be common goals.

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 07/08/08 10:32 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (2)

Arrogance of power, John Whitmire edition

Gary Scharrer of the Chron's Austin bureau reports on a California activist who's doing the work that once was done by watchdog reporter types:

A California disabled veteran who spends six days a week sifting through campaign finance reports has filed complaints against 10 Texas legislators and 15 judges with the Texas Ethics Commission, ranging from failing to identify campaign donors to using campaign money for personal use.

One of the complaints takes aim at state Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, for dipping into his massive campaign chest for $165,061 worth of Houston Astros, Texans and Rockets tickets — expenses the veteran says personally benefit the senator.

"Does every voter get a free ticket to the ballgame?" wonders Dave Palmer, who filed the complaint. "It's a wonder that the Astros don't ask him to call balls and strikes."

In his campaign finance report, Whitmire says the expense was necessary for "constituent entertainment."

Politics is big business, of course, and our politicians have grown very accustomed to the same sorts of perks that many top business executives enjoy.

Besides, Sen. Whitmire told the Chronicle that watchdogs shouldn't be so worried about his political bidness:

"It's a total non-issue by some character out in California, so I don't care what he thinks," Whitmire said Monday when the commission received Palmer's complaints.

As one sarcastic Chron.com commenter wrote, "Ah, the voice of a public servant."

It's not clear that the sports expenditures actually amount to an ethics violation, but there is a clear violation detailed later in the report:

Palmer's complaint against Whitmire also accuses the senator of not fully identifying major campaign contributors by not including the donor's occupation and employer. The requirement became law in 2003 for those who contributed at least $500. Whitmire has failed to fully identify more than 250 supporters whose contributions amounted to more than $400,000, Palmer said.

Whitmire said he was unaware of the requirement and will instruct the person who prepares his reports to amend them.

Wait a second, we thought he didn't care about these alleged non-issues raised by a Californian?

BLOGVERSATION: Lose an Eye, It's a Sport.

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 07/08/08 10:07 PM | Houston People | Technorati | Comments (0)

Chronicle strikes out... again (HCSO Blog)

The Editorial LiveJournalists "missed the real issue [here], which is County law enforcement is not underfunded as much as it is mismanaged" (HCSO Blog).

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 07/08/08 09:54 PM | Houston Blog Talk | Technorati |

Clutterbuck: Your bad! (Chron Houston Politics)

Carolyn Feibel posts that Councilmember Anne Clutterbuck got a little testy with some colleagues today (Chron Houston Politics).

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 07/08/08 09:35 PM | Houston Blog Talk | Technorati |

Closed: Bob's Steak and Chop House Houston (Cleverley's Blog)

Bob's Steak and Chop House in the Galleria area exists no longer (Cleverley's Blog).

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 07/08/08 09:34 PM | Houston Blog Talk | Technorati |

The offensive, insensitive email (Bayou City Madman)

I.J. Reilly reposts the Houston-Barbie email that nearly all of us received at some point, but that has now been deemed offensive and insensitive (Bayou City Madman).

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 07/08/08 08:25 AM | Houston Blog Talk | Technorati |

The sheriff promises to talk to me! (On the Beat with Mary Benton)

KPRC-2 reporter Mary Benton posts about her difficulties getting Sheriff Tommy Thomas to talk to her (On the Beat with Mary Benton).

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 07/08/08 07:48 AM | Houston Blog Talk | Technorati |

07 July 2008

We don't need no stinkin' good news (Unca Darrell)

The Editorial LiveJournalists try international politics again. Unca Darrell comments on their misadventure (Unca Darrell).

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 07/07/08 11:26 PM | Houston Blog Talk | Technorati |

Caffeinated WiFi: Inversion Coffee (Chron TechBlog)

Dwight Silverman reviews Inversion Coffee on Montrose (Chron TechBlog).

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 07/07/08 11:23 PM | Houston Blog Talk | Technorati |

Residents living near the airport.... (Lose an Eye, It's a Sport)

Cory Crow comments on the latest erosion of property rights in Houston (Lose an Eye, It's a Sport).

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 07/07/08 11:21 PM | Houston Blog Talk | Technorati |

Chron metro/state diarist tackles energy security

Just before the Fourth, Chronicle metro/state diarist Lisa Falkenberg decided to step outside her area of expertise to tackle the more complicated subject of energy security -- or, to be more precise, the superiority of her own knowledge of that subject when compared to our state's candidates for U.S. Senate (because most Falkenberg columns do revolve around Falkenberg, after all).

Here are some excerpts from a metro/state column -- COLUMN -- that really did appear in the newspaper of record in the energy capital of the world:

Chronicle discovers contract deputies...again (HCSO Blog)

The HCSO Blog argues that in the Chron's umpteenth story on the Sheriff's contract deputy program, the reporter "missed the real issue..." (HCSO Blog).

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 07/07/08 08:26 AM | Houston Blog Talk | Technorati |

The Floodway Ordinance - Grinding the legislative sausage (Fireballs, Lightning Bolts, and Hell Storms)

The Mighty Wizard praises Mayor White and Council for revisiting the floodway ordinance mess, despite the ongoing Ready-Fire-Aim! process (Fireballs, Lightning Bolts, and Hell Storms).

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 07/07/08 08:21 AM | Houston Blog Talk | Technorati |

Doing commuter rail right by 2012 (Houston Strategies)

Tory Gattis is so wowed by Christof Spieler's pretty maps that he's changed his mind on commuter rail (Houston Strategies).

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 07/07/08 08:16 AM | Houston Blog Talk | Technorati |

Emmett finding boundaries (The County Seat)

The County Seat comments on Judge Emmett and the limitations of his office (The County Seat).

In related news, David Mincberg finally has come up with some issues (well, if you count promises to manage Harris County like a business as an "issue" anyway).

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 07/07/08 08:14 AM | Houston Blog Talk | Technorati |

Houston apartments: Crime, crime, crime (Chron Houston Politics)

Matt Stiles posts that a Council committee will be getting a briefing on the apartment safety ordinance this week (Chron Houston Politics).

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 07/07/08 08:08 AM | Houston Blog Talk | Technorati |

Mrs. White jumps on her moral high horse (Lose an Eye, It's a Sport)

The Chron editorial board finally has found someone it thinks is guilty of a crime (Lose an Eye, It's a Sport).

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 07/07/08 08:06 AM | Houston Blog Talk | Technorati |

06 July 2008

Klein ISD's new high school

Houston Community Newspapers has details of Klein ISD's newly approved fifth high school:

Director of Capital Projects for KISD Don Blue said, “Klein ISD, in our Conceptual Design Competition for the new high school, stipulated that the campus should be a place of learning, where we would indeed find the opportunity for excellence in all aspects of education. The school will be organized into small, learning communities and will reflect the German heritage and agricultural history of the Klein community.”

Each small learning community will have its own distinct identity and administrative area. Students will only leave their communities for fine arts, athletics or certain elective courses.

Blue said the architects were directed to incorporate the concepts of the Collaborative for High Performance Schools into their design.

“We wanted the campus to be open to the Klein community, yet secure,” he said. “We also asked the architects to give us a campus that is adaptable to changes, is durable, a good value and a building that is attractive — a building that (actually) looks like it is a place of education.”

Construction on High School #5 is expected to begin in January of 2009 and be completed in April of 2011.

“When the school opens in August of 2011, it will open as a temporary Klein High School for two years, while the existing Klein High School is being substantially renovated and reconstructed,” Blue said. “It will house the entire Klein High School population, approximately 3,500 students.”

As we have discussed repeatedly, this high school will do NOTHING to relieve district overcrowding until 2013 at the earliest, thanks to the Klein ISD board's shortsighted decision to rebuild Klein High. By then, district residents will have already voted on another bond to fund construction of at least one more high school, to make up for their incredibly poor planning.

Posted by Anne Linehan @ 07/06/08 10:38 AM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (5)

Mayor White's post-holiday crime-viewing bike ride

KHOU-11 posts a short blurb describing what Mayor White did yesterday:

Local leaders got a closer look at some of Houston’s troubled neighborhoods Saturday.

Mayor Bill White and HPD officers went on a bike ride through the East End to check out areas where residents have reported gang activity.

The mayor said the ride will help him and police better understand the problems in the area and come up with solutions.

There's no mention of Chief Hurtt, but it is a holiday weekend. Maybe when the chief gets back, Mayor White can give him a briefing on the problems and the solutions.

PREVIOUSLY: Mayor White's Ride Alongs; Mayor White rides in police car, says crime will go down; A hands-on kind of mayor

Posted by Anne Linehan @ 07/06/08 07:23 AM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (2)

03 July 2008

Happy Fourth!

Here's wishing everyone a very happy Fourth of July weekend.

Happy Birthday, America!

ANNE ADDS: If you live in unincorporated Harris County, be sure to thumb your nose at the Chron killjoys. Klein Oak Band is running the Fireworks Warehouse on FM 2920, west of I-45 and across from Spring Tabernacle, as a fundraiser. If you live in far north Harris County, drop by, say hi, and spend some money. I'll be working 'til 2 this afternoon.

Happy Independence Day!

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 07/03/08 10:17 PM | Announcements | Technorati | Comments (4)

02 July 2008

Editorial LiveJournalists: License renewal office NOT the ideal state!

One of the Editorial LiveJournalists apparently descended from the sheltered offices of 801 Texas Avenue to discover that in-person license renewals are inconvenient and inefficient:

Texans can renew their driver's license online, and change the address on the license online. But for no obvious reason, the department won't let Texans do both if their license has expired. Those with an expired license and a new address must go to one of the department's crowded, poorly maintained offices.

At the office on Dacoma Street, visitors are met with a dysfunctional bureaucracy that combines the horrifying absurdity of a Franz Kafka story with the cruel indifference of the Soviet bureaucracy before it crumbled. First, one must wait in line for an application. Then applicants must fill it out standing up or squatting on the floor, because there aren't enough chairs, and using the office's broad counters is prohibited. Tantalizingly, DPS officials withhold the purpose of this policy.

After a torturous wait of a couple of hours or more, applicants are called by number to stand in a second slow-moving line before getting their applications processed. At the rear of the second line is a small sign stating "No cell phones beyond this point."

I had to go to the Dacoma office a few weeks ago. While it was slow and inefficient (like many bureaucracies! Imagine how splendid it would be if there were a Department of Government Healthcare!), it actually wasn't as bad as I expected (total wait was slightly over an hour), and in my experience it didn't approach "the horrifying absurdity of a Franz Kafka story with the cruel indifference of the Soviet bureaucracy before it crumbled."

We think we know which Editorial LiveJournalist didn't qualify for online renewal, though. Check out this Editorial LiveJournal by Mr. Gibbons that we mocked way back in 2005:

The presiding judge of Houston's municipal courts, Berta Mejia, announced that police officers will soon be coming around and arresting those who failed to appear in court or pay the fines for their traffic tickets. As police and court officials are making their list of delinquents, I suggest they check it twice.

Last week as I was driving downtown I was pulled over by a Houston police officer. He said there was an arrest warrant issued for the driver of a car with my license plates. It was a mistake, perhaps a clerical error. I receive few tickets and have none outstanding. The officer allowed me to go.

Before I drove off I asked the officer if he could do something to prevent me from being stopped again. He said no, there was nothing he could do. It was up to me to straighten it out.

I called Judge Mejia's office, but an official said that mistaken warrants were not her department. There was nothing the judge could do. I was referred to the office of the chief clerk, but my call was neither answered nor, after I left a voice mail, returned.

An operator at the city's 311 help line confirmed that there was no warrant in my name or in the name of anyone driving a car with my plates.

The city computer showed an old ticket had been paid, leaving a balance due of zero. The operator said she could not withdraw or dismiss a warrant because none existed.

So there it was. There was nothing anyone could do.

I have not used the adjective "Kafka-esque" since the Nixon administration, but it's always there, ready and waiting, if I should need it.

Like when an Editorial LiveJournalist must descend from the Chron mothership to go renew a license in person. The DPS office must be cowering in fear about now!

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 07/02/08 09:47 PM | Houston Chronicle | Technorati | Comments (10)

01 July 2008

Is Mayor White ready for state politics? (PoliSci@UST)

The profs say the mayor has some work to do yet -- but there's plenty of time (PoliSci@UST).

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 07/01/08 09:37 PM | Houston Blog Talk | Technorati |

The public trial and conviction of Joe Horn (Lose an Eye, It's a Sport)

Cory Crow discusses the Chron's discussion of the Joe Horn matter (Lose an Eye, It's a Sport).

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 07/01/08 09:34 PM | Houston Blog Talk | Technorati |

Harris County grand jury on target (Brent's Blog)

Brent Clanton discusses the Joe Horn matter (Brent's Blog).

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 07/01/08 09:30 PM | Houston Blog Talk | Technorati |

Not right, but not a crime (Defending People)

Mark Bennett discusses the Joe Horn matter (Defending People).

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 07/01/08 09:29 PM | Houston Blog Talk | Technorati |

City launches new campaign finance tools (Chron Houston Politics)

Matt Stiles posts about improvements to the city's campaign finance reporting system (Chron Houston Politics).

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 07/01/08 09:20 PM | Houston Blog Talk | Technorati |

Ten jinxed Houston restaurant locations (Eating Our Words)

John Nova Lomax has a list (Eating our Words).

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 07/01/08 09:17 PM | Houston Blog Talk | Technorati |

TMC to start Park and Ride service

Texas Medical Center employees will soon have a new transit option according to KHOU-11:

“Soon, Texas Medical Center employees could come to this AMC theater parking lot in Sugar Land, leave their cars and hop on a bus for a ride.”

“I’m definitely excited,” employee Dionne Flynn said. “I’m waiting for it to actually start working.”

Flynn and her fiancé work at the Medical Center and hope to take the park-and-ride.

Like so many employees surveyed, they say something’s got to give. and it isn’t gas prices. Eighty-one percent of employees said yes, and they’re about to get it: bus rides from fort bend county to the medical center.

“And it’s like door-to-door service,” park-and-rider user Percy Patel said. “I can’t ask for more, right?”

Sugar Land is the first proposed location, but the system will grow—paid for by the Medical Center’s parking garages. Spaces no longer used by employees will bring in more money. That’ll subsidize bus costs, and riders will shell out a few dollars.

“It’s a win-win situation,” Patel said.

There's no mention of Metro's "transit backbone."

Posted by Anne Linehan @ 07/01/08 04:58 AM | Houston Transit | Technorati | Comments (12)

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