31 October 2008
Kelley pays the Ibarra brothers
Remember a couple of weeks ago when I brought to the forefront Rick Casey's article about Lloyd Kelley and his legal math?
Well, Mr. Casey has written a follow-up article.
Mr. Kelley has paid the Ibarra brothers $115,000. Now, it doesn't stop there. The Ibarra brothers have filed a complaint with the state bar of Texas.
What a mess!
Posted by Jason @ 10/31/08 09:30 AM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (7)
30 October 2008
Chron reports on TSU plagiarism, still silent on editorial board plagiarism
The Chronicle today reported on a plagiarism accusation against a professor at Texas Southern University.
It's not at all clear why the newspaper considers this news, since it employs plagiarists on the editorial board and in the metro/state section.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/30/08 10:20 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (0)
29 October 2008
City kills largely ignored bike registration law
City Council today repealed a mostly ignored law requiring citizens to register bicycles. Here is some background on the archaic law:
The law requires owners to register their two-wheelers at a local fire station for $1 and place a little license sticker on the bike.
"This is something that I think is sporadically done," said Randy Zamora, the city's chief prosecutor. "And I think the firemen have better things to do."
Why the law was passed in 1968 remains a mystery, though city officials guess it was meant to deter theft and track stolen bicycles.
[snip]
Police officers do still occasionally write tickets for unregistered bikes, Zamora said. Since April 2006, officers have written 206 citations. The fine is only $5, but includes $67 in court costs. Zamora said he doesn't enforce the law.
"Most of the time the officer doesn't come (to testify), or we dismiss it," he said.
It would be great if even more of the city's archaic and/or ineffective laws could be repealed -- likely including some passed by this mayor, not to mention the archaic driveway ordinance currently being (mis)used to constrain the Ashby high-rise development.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/29/08 10:46 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (8)
Houston priorities: METRO over flooding
The Chron's Bradley Olson follows up on the city's plan to scale back projects because of the current credit crisis, and includes an example of the city's priorities:
The city has drawn up plans to roll back spending by around $100 million on parks, corroded water and sewer lines and other major infrastructure projects in what officials characterize as a cautious approach to the credit crisis.
[snip]
Marcotte and Issa Dadoush, who heads the city's General Services Department, said they avoided putting off projects for which design and engineering work had been completed; those that had funding or involvement from other governmental entities such as METRO; and infrastructure plans that had to be completed to comply with state or federal regulations.
Of course!
But this list didn't sit too well with some on Council:
"I am against reducing infrastructure improvements," said Councilman M.J. Khan, who noted that the city invested far too little in infrastructure in the previous decade and often paid the price when neighborhoods with poor drainage are flooded or water mains break. "I don't like when the first ax falls on infrastructure projects."
Councilman James Rodriguez said he did not understand why one neighborhood reconstruction project in his southeast Houston district was delayed, even though his constituents have been awaiting its completion for almost 10 years.
"I think it's unfair for them to have to wait any longer," he said. "I want to make sure that my district doesn't get shortchanged here. I understand we're in a financial crisis, but I want to make sure we look at alternatives."
It's a safe bet that Councilman Rodriguez's constituents aren't the "well-heeled, civically-active" types who rightfully wield more influence, as the Chronicle's editorial board likes to characterize it. They should not expect any help from the city's elites.
And the pretty train that stops running whenever there are a couple of inches of water on the tracks will continue to be a city priority, but infrastructure improvements to reduce flooding will be put on hold. That should work out well.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 10/29/08 05:10 AM | Houston Politics | Technorati | Comments (8)
27 October 2008
Chron circulation plummets; Sweeney spins himself silly
The Audit Bureau of Circulations released the latest newspaper circulation numbers today, and the results weren't pretty for the Houston Chronicle, which saw a decline of 11.66% in daily circulation. Among the 25 largest newspapers in the country, that drop was exceeded only by that of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (13.62%). The Chronicle Sunday edition did manage to click in atop the Top 25, though, with a whopping circulation decline of 15.73%!
Chron publisher and spinner Jack Sweeney said the big decline was just part of the newspaper's strategy:
Chronicle Publisher and President Jack Sweeney attributed most of the declines to strategic decisions made by the newspaper to discontinue circulation outside a 90-mile radius of downtown Houston, increase the daily newsstand price to 75 cents and eliminate advertiser-sponsored distribution. Hurricane Ike also affected circulation in coastal communities.
Matt Bramanti takes apart Sweeney's business "strategy" here.
People may not be buying the newspaper like they once did, but Chron.com is doing well, according to Sweeney:
And chron.com has seen a 20 percent jump in readers who don’t buy the Chronicle. Chron.com exceeded 90 million page views in August and spiked to 185 million in September due to Hurricane Ike coverage.
“Our journalists keep consumers of Chronicle content engaged no matter what platform they choose,” Sweeney said. “It could be our City&State section, Gloss or one of our online channels like Moms or Houston Belief.”
More likely, it would be chron.com's comic section, a popular online attraction. Or perhaps user-contributed party pics!
BLOGVERSATION: Lone Star Times, Brazosport News.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/27/08 10:27 PM | Houston Chronicle | Technorati | Comments (9)
26 October 2008
Gattis: The Opportunity City weathers all storms
Local blogger Tory Gattis has a new article posted at New Geography, "The Opportunity city weathers all storms."
While much of the information won't be new to those of us here in town, it's a nice, upbeat wrapup of Houston, post-Ike. Be sure to check it out.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/26/08 10:15 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (4)
AgendaWatch: 10/28/08
Slow week, after all. Most of the agenda is routine business, but there are three items I'd like to flag for everyone's attention. One key item was held over from last week: a series of motions related to the purchase of the new police radio system. Councilmembers Holm and Clutterbuck tagged several separate related items -- and I seem to have missed some interesting parts -- or someone did, at least... I don't remember seeing items a, c, and d. Under their new numbers:
#38: Purchase agreement with Motorola. (Initial cost is about $16 million; the maximum cost provided for is $123 million. Say what?)
#38a: Rental of 2550 N. Loop for the office space for COH and Motorola personnel who will be performing the installation. ($11k+/month, $1.45/sq.ft; Motorola to pay "a proportional cost."
#38b: Legal services from Miller and Van Eaton, L.L.P.C. for legal services related to drafting interolocal agreements with Harris County and Centerpoint. Wait, we've selected our hardware, and NOW we're going to talk about inter-interoperability with Centerpoint and Harris County? ($100,000)
#38c & d: Appropriations to pay for office furniture for the Radio Communications Division at 2550 N. Loop. ($217,000 from Police and IT Department funds. 12 offices, 2 conference rooms, 6 workstations, and a break room.)
Item #33 is a contract to pay for various emergency repairs to the sewer system. Expect more of these in future years if necessary physical upgrades and replacements continue to be deferred, because the city's borrowing practices have made it vulnerable to the current market turmoil.
Item #36: Of interest to citizens who follow land use regulation in this city -- A request to set a public hearing date of November 19, 2008 (but no mention of where), to review a report on land use regulations for the areas around the three city airports. The Airport Commission published its report on October 16, and forwarded its proposed regulations. These were presented to the Council Committee on Transportation, Infrastructure, & Aviation on the 23rd, and it was recommended that they be forwarded to the full council.
It would be nice if the regulations and maps had been included in the council backup, since this will be the public's chance to comment. You know how it is: "The regulations were considered in a public hearing, and nobody objected." Well, fortunately, blogHOUSTON is here -- and the Aviation page with links to the various maps, proposed ordinance, and the regulations is here. However, you may have missed your chance ... from what I can tell, this is only to review the report -- if you wanted to give input to the regulations, you'd have to have attended the well publicized meeting of September 29th.
You do remember how well it was publicized, don't you, citizen?
Posted by Ubu Roi @ 10/26/08 09:29 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (1)
Competing priorities, election-year grandstanding stoke voter registration battle
KHOU-11's Mark Greenblatt has been reporting on voter registration issues in Harris County.
Harris County Tax Assessor-Collector and Voter Registrar Paul Bettencourt comes under fire from Greenblatt and Dem pols for allegedly over-aggressive efforts to purge voter rolls of illegitimate voters (resulting in some legitimate voters apparently being rejected). Bettencourt's past assertions of "ironclad" cases of voter fraud are also subject to criticism. What is not clear from the reporting is how the number of legitimate registrations that have been rejected compares to the number of legitimate registrations struck from voter rolls in other counties. Since we will never be able fully to remove human error from human activities, it would be helpful to know the numbers of errors made elsewhere compared to here (which might then help us to judge knowledgeably if a more systematic problem is at work, which is suggested by the reporting). These probably aren't easy numbers to gather, but they would be helpful to know.
Partisans on both sides have legitimate points. On the one hand, everyone who is eligible to vote in our elections should be able to register to do so with minimal hassle. On the other hand, it's not unreasonable to take some steps to prevent illegitimate voters from participating in our elections. With a big election at hand (underway even, since early voting has begun), we'll probably continue to see passionate arguments over these sometimes-competing priorities (maybe even in our forums -- please do try to keep it civil).
BLOGVERSATION: Lose an Eye, It's a Sport.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/26/08 09:28 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (1)
24 October 2008
Chron editorial board endorses Judge Ed Emmett
The unethical and unprofessional Chronicle editorial board endorsed Ed Emmett for county judge today.
The Chronicle editorial board probably felt it had no other choice given David Mincberg's disastrous post-Ike campaign AND the fact that editorial board member Andrea Georgsson was caught donating to Mincberg. Perhaps even the editorial board's discomfort with the resulting mess explains the typo and grammatical error in the endorsement (or perhaps that's giving them too much credit, and they just write poorly when not plagiarizing from well-written material).
We confirmed with officials from both campaigns that Georgsson was NOT present at the candidate screening described by Liz Peterson in this blog post*. That's too bad. While the Chronicle's reader rep(s) PR spinners refuse to answer questions about how the newspaper has handled the matter, it seems at the very least Georgsson should have been suspended from editorial board activity for a significant period of time AND have been asked to appear at the start of this particular screening to apologize to both candidates for effectively reducing the value of a Chronicle editorial board endorsement through her unethical and unprofessional behavior.
BLOGVERSATION: Lose an Eye, It's a Sport.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/24/08 07:58 AM | Houston Chronicle | Technorati | Comments (2)
23 October 2008
Texas Watchdog posts financial disclosures of state pols
The AP's Jay Root reports on the latest efforts from Texas Watchdog:
For years the Texas Legislature has resisted calls to publish politicians' personal financial information on the Internet. But the modern world caught up with state lawmakers when a fledgling watchdog group posted the disclosures online.
Texas Watchdog, a nonpartisan organization that uses public records to pull back the curtain on state government, obtained scanned copies of the financial disclosures for the major state officeholders and published them on their Web site Wednesday.
Before the forms were only available on paper at the state Ethics Commission in Austin.
"If the public can't easily get at these records, they don't do voters and taxpayers much good," said Trent Seibert, editor of Texas Watchdog. "Through this site, Texas residents will be able to keep a close eye on public officials and sound the alarm if they spot a conflict of interest."
The ethics commission, which collects the data, was all but barred from publishing the information on its Web site.
The story and links are here on the Texas Watchdog site.
The interactive Google map is a nice touch. Indeed, overall that's another nice bit of work from the new guys in town.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/23/08 12:46 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (5)
22 October 2008
Chron editorial board fritters away last vestiges of credibility
Over at Lone Star Times, Matt Bramanti documents the latest embarrassment for the unethical Houston Chronicle editorial board: presenting large chunks of a press release as their own work.
Bramanti concludes:
It’s a shame that the Chron’s editors celebrate education by taking another’s words and passing them off as their own. There’s a word for that.
Yes there is. In addition, it's lazy and unprofessional.
In recent weeks, the Chron editorial board has been caught donating money to political candidates, has refused to answer questions about the ethical transgressions, and just when you think their credibility really can't decline any further, they prove that it can by plagiarizing from a press release.
This is not the sort of behavior one would expect from professionals at a major daily newspaper (although since columnist Rick Casey once plagiarized with no repercussions, one can understand why some writers at the newspaper wouldn't worry that much about it, especially Jeff Cohen's pets).
We can't help but wonder -- if these "professionals" can't even manage to craft original words for two editorials* per daily edition, why shouldn't the editorial page simply be terminated and the resources redistributed through the newsroom?
Bramanti has an email out to the Chron's reader representative(s) about this, and so do I. Since said reader representatives refuse to answer my emails or approve my comments to their blog, I'm not holding my breath waiting for a response. But I'll post it if they surprise me.
* On occasion, the editorial page still runs those insipid "Another Voice" reprints from other newspapers in place of a house editorial. Maybe they could just start posting press releases too?
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/22/08 11:48 AM | Houston Chronicle | Technorati | Comments (5)
21 October 2008
Chron: Great HPD beard controversy almost resolved?
Remember the controversy over MayorWhiteChiefHurtt's odd beard policy?
Apparently, the matter is creeping to some resolution, according to the Chronicle's Bradley Olson:
Houston appears to be on the brink of a settlement with four black officers who filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the city in November to fight the police department's no-beard policy, city officials said today.
For those who may not remember, one rationale the city had laid out for fighting the suit is that police officers, as part of their duties as first responders, must be able to wear gas masks. Because some masks cannot seal onto a person's face if they have facial hair, beards were deemed a security risk.The four officers had sued the city, saying the policy was discriminatory because shaving exacerbates a skin condition that disproportionately affects black men.
Police Chief Harold Hurtt quietly revised the policy last week to make an exception for those who have a medical condition that prevents them from wearing a mask or respirator, according to a department memo obtained by The Houston Chronicle.
There's more in the blog post.
Why in the world this policy was such a priority for MayorWhiteChiefHurtt -- at a time of increased crime, police department understaffing, and scandals involving homicide reporting and the crime lab -- remains a complete mystery.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/21/08 09:22 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (1)
20 October 2008
Local reporters win Lone Star Emmys
The Lone Star Emmys were announced over the weekend, and Mark Greenblatt was honored for his outstanding reporting on HPD, "Hiding Homicide."
Recall that Chief Hurtt's ghost blogger(s) tried to smear Greenblatt and his reporting on this topic. Apparently, professionals in journalism felt differently about it.
Other local award winners (as per the Lone Star Emmy site) are posted below. Congrats to all!
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/20/08 10:06 PM | Houston Media | Technorati | Comments (1)
Magidson on the state of the Harris County DA Office
Over the weekend, the Chronicle ran an op-ed by acting Harris County DA Ken Magidson on the state of the office as elections for a permanent replacement get underway.
A Harris County Lawyer speaks highly of Magidson's leadership, as have others. He seems to have been the right guy for the job at a difficult time.
It's a shame his name isn't on the ballot, instead of two candidates who are unqualified for the office.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/20/08 09:38 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (1)
KHOU fantasizes: If only Houston had more downtown hotels....
Last week, KHOU-11's Lee McGuire ran this bit of (erroneous) editorializing posing as a news story:
One of the most commonly-heard complaints about the City of Houston is that there are not enough quality hotels downtown.
It’s one of the main reasons the city has not landed many major conventions at the sprawling George R. Brown Convention Center. The only hotel directly adjacent to the GRB is the Hilton Americas, which is routinely sold out during large conventions.
To help solve the problem, the Houston City Council has passed a plan that would offer tax incentives to developers that plan to build three-star-or-higher hotels within walking distance of the GRB. Under the deal, the City would effectively advance the developers part of the hotel/motel tax collections that the hotel would be expected to eventually bring in.
Point 1: Had McGuire added, "one of the most commonly-heard complaints from people who hope to benefit from hotel expansion downtown" the statement would have been much more accurate. Seriously, when is the last time any visitor to Houston complained that there weren't enough quality hotels downtown?
Point 2: Houston has excellent facilities. The reason Houston does not land as many major conventions as some delusional Houtopians would prefer is that Houston is not and will probably never be a top-tier travel destination of the sort that DOES lure major conventions. We can do okay as a second-tier convention city with top-notch facilities, but the really top-notch convention cities have us beaten in some ways that we can't address easily (certainly not by enriching consultants and developers with an interest in building more hotels).
And finally, for some interesting facts (and less editorializing), we turn to the Chronicle's Nancy Sarnoff:
Demand for hotel rooms nationwide is expected to fall for the next two years, according to a report from PKF Consulting.
With the slowdown in the national economy, combined with negative effects from airline capacity cutbacks, the firm is forecasting a 0.2 percent decline in lodging demand this year, followed by a loss of 1.1 percent in 2009.
It would be the first time since 1988 that the U.S. lodging industry would experience two consecutive years of decline in demand, the report said, citing Smith Travel Research.
This comes at a time when some developers are unable to get financing for new projects — a problem expected to linger into 2009.
Houston hotel occupancy has been flat this year, at 68 percent through August.
But Hurricane Ike should give September and October a boost.
Those displaced by the storm and recovery workers have filled area hotels. And the Federal Emergency Management Agency recently said it will continue to pay for rooms for qualified Hurricane Ike victims until Nov. 1.
Still, the industry won't start to turn around until 2010, when PKF predicts a 2.2 percent increase in demand, followed by another 3.1 percent gain in 2011.
No quotes from John Keeling glossing over it all? That's unusual for local media.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/20/08 09:16 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (8)
19 October 2008
AgendaWatch: Tuesday 10/21/08
Is it just me, or have the last month's-worth of agendas had more interesting material than the rest of the year combined? Is it something in the air? Or is it that everyone's overdosed on the political campaigns, and tuning out the news? That would make it a good time to pass a bunch of ordinances, wouldn't it?
So here we go for this week. Note especially items #15, 24, 31, 39, and 41:
Item #2: $120,000 for outside litigation support. The City of Houston wants AT&T to move some facilities that are in the city right-of-way, at their expense, to permit flood control improvements. AT&T wants the city to pay. They’ve been arguing in various courts for two years now; AT&T lost in federal court, is still pending in state district court, and is now trying Harris County Civil Court.
Item #3: Proposal to pay a citizen a $165,000 settlement for a negligent city employee who ran a red light in his street sweeper, and hit a pedestrian downtown. Apparently he was not caught in doing this by a red light camera.
Item #5: Appoint two independent appraisers to evaluate 19 acres located at Lockwood and Buffalo Bayou for sale. It used to be a sewage treatment plant. I hope the buyers realize that the city didn’t take up the shallow concrete pits and metal pipes, but merely buried them under a few feet of dirt. Therefore, any foundation work for a building is going to be even more problematic than normal for something on the banks of the bayou.
Item #15: Now that we’ve approved purchase of a new police radio system, we need somewhere to put all the people responsible for installing it – both city and contract personnel. The location will be 2550 North Loop West, the term, five years, the cost $773,182. Five years to install new police radios seems a bit long. The option for a five-year renewal is downright disturbing.
Posted by Ubu Roi @ 10/19/08 07:23 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (1)
October sales tax allocations, and city finances
I meant to get this posted last weekend when Tom Bazan emailed a heads up, but life intervened...
Anyway, the October sales tax allocation to the City of Houston and to METRO stands in contrast to that of previous months. The city's allocation dropped more than two percent over the previous year, and METRO's was nearly flat. Previous months have seen sizable increases in the allocations, thus keeping the coffers of both entities flush.
In other news this week, Mayor White and Controller Annise Parker are looking at ways to "shore up" the city's finances:
Houston could delay spending on as much as $200 million in public infrastructure projects in the coming years to shore up city finances in the wake of the deepening credit crisis, Mayor Bill White and City Controller Annise Parker announced Thursday.
The city also plans to wait out the storm in credit markets by temporarily liquidating some of its investments to avoid borrowing at excessively high interest rates.
"There is not a crisis in our city finances," White said. "We don't want to be reacting to circumstances after the fact. We don't want to be telling our citizens that we didn't notice there was a recession coming down the pike and, therefore, we have to raise taxes in order to meet an obligation that we did not defer."
In the short term, the city will be able to avoid the draconian measures — such as layoffs or across-the-board budget cuts — already put in place by local and state governments across the country, he said.
But city departments are combing through their budgets, looking for projects that will have to be delayed. Much of the work expected to be delayed will come from planned water and sewer line rehabilitation projects, White said. Other examples include holding off construction on a new health department building and an overpass on Mykawa Road in southeast Houston.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 10/19/08 05:45 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (3)
17 October 2008
It seems like the Ibarra brothers can't get a break...
First the Ibarra brothers sue Harris County and win. Now they are suing their former lawyer Lloyd Kelley over expenses they (the brothers) claim are excessive and shouldn't have to pay. One of those expenses is $20,000 to Quanell X. Mr. Kelley claims (and Mr. X concurs) the money is for "jury consultation." Yet, Rick Casey's article says:
(Randy) Sorrels says Kelley told the brothers the payment to Quanell X was for organizing a demonstration march.
KTRK's Jessica Willey did a story about the Quanell X fee. She got a rather defensive Mr. X. Did he get $20,000 to organize a protest and pack the courtroom with supporters? Were any of those in attendance paid to be there? It appears that community activists get paid pretty well.
Reading Ruth Rendon's article is enough to make one want to get a law license. That way anyone can get "crazy paid," as the rappers put it. Look at this "legal math":
The brothers received a $1.7 million settlement earlier this year. Kelley asked the court for $2.2 million in legal fees but was awarded $1.4 million.
Kelley said he had $300,000 in expenses, but a judge approved a reimbursement of only $51,000.
The lawsuit says Kelley filed paperwork with the court showing $130,000 in expenses, not $300,000. The lawsuit filed says Kelley distributed $400,000 to each brother but has refused to distribute the remaining $900,000 of the settlement.
Kelley has submitted a letter to the brothers asking for $256,311 for expenses "over $120,000 more than originally disclosed to either the plaintiffs or the court."
If the Ibarras' allegations are true, the justice system (both criminal and civil) is really sticking it to them! Got to love lawyers!!!
Posted by Jason @ 10/17/08 09:20 AM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (13)
16 October 2008
As economy slows, METRO approves fare increase
KTRK-13 reports that METRO's well-publicized* fare increase was approved today:
Beginning next month, you will need a little extra change to ride METRO. For the first time in 14 years, the transit authority board has voted to raise the base fare.
It is up a quarter from $1.00 to $1.25. Prices go up from there. People who ride farther will see higher increases, as much as a dollar in some cases. Even though the move is unpopular with some riders, METRO board members consider the hike a necessity.
Remember the 2003 referendum that promised a 50% increase in bus service?
Instead, METRO bus riders get a fare increase and reduced service (err, service "improvements").
BLOGVERSATION: Lose an Eye, It's a Sport.
* There were public hearings right after the hurricane, when METRO services weren't operating, after all.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/16/08 10:14 PM | Houston Transit | Technorati | Comments (11)
HISD superintendent blasts Chron editorial board
The Chronicle published a letter from HISD superintendent Abe Saavedra today. Here's the start:
On Oct. 8, the Chronicle published an editorial that gave an incomplete — and thus misleading — account of the steps that the Houston Independent School District is taking to make up instructional time lost due to Hurricane Ike.
Incomplete and misleading? The unethical Chronicle editorial board? Shocking!
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/16/08 09:41 PM | Houston Chronicle | Technorati | Comments (1)
15 October 2008
Good times with Lee P. Brown!
While recovering from last weekend's backpacking trip, we missed a gem that appeared on the Chronicle's (ethically challenged) editorial page from none other than Lee P. Brown, the former mayor/police chief responsible for so many of Houston's problems.
The cost to maintain the nation's police, judicial and corrections system costs American taxpayers some $204 billion annually.
Costs ... cost?
The temporary drop in the crime rate that has occurred in the past couple of years is not likely to become permanent.
Temporary declines are... temporary?
Deep stuff! Thank you, former Mayor Brown, for a fun flashback to Houston's recent past. And thank you, term limits, for putting an end to it before he could do further harm to the city.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/15/08 08:31 PM | Houston People | Technorati | Comments (4)
Finally: Houston to upgrade emergency radio system
More than four years after the city learned it needed to upgrade its emergency radio system, and after several news stories questioning the lack of attention to the problem, Mayor White is finally ready to get the project underway:
Houston is poised to build a $107 million emergency radio system that will allow police, fire and rescue officials to communicate with one another in large-scale catastrophes.
The long-awaited update comes more than seven years after the struggles of first responders to communicate after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks drew national attention. The City Council could approve Mayor Bill White's contract with Motorola as soon as next week.
"This will make our law enforcement and public works emergency functions much more reliable as we grow in the future," White said Tuesday. "If we had done nothing, police or fire ran the risk of getting the equivalent of a busy signal over the next decade."
The contract will mean more than 10,000 new field radios for police, firefighters, emergency medical technicians and utility workers. It will be the largest single purchase of equipment in Houston's history. The goal is to phase in the project, which will operate on a 700 MHz system, over the next four years, said Richard Lewis, the city's director for Information Technology.
Oh dear. Will Richard Lewis be overseeing the project?
The Chron's story reminds readers that Harris County's emergency radio system was upgraded years ago:
Harris County, which operates on an 800 MHz frequency, has been interoperable within its own system for years, said Steve Jennings, chief information officer for the county's Information Technology Center.
A series of upgrades through 2005 cost $41 million. Excluding the city of Houston, the county's nearly 20-year-old public safety radio system is one of the largest in the country, boasting 35,000 radios from 600 agencies and departments within about 230 jurisdictions, Jennings said.
The county has purchased 2,000 radios since April that can operate on both the 700 MHz and 800 MHz frequencies, he said. Another 8,000 radios will be converted to work on both frequencies by next June.
All radios should be capable of operating on both frequencies by 2012 or 2013, he added.
Harris County may not have all the trinkets Houston does, but it does know how to take care of the necessities.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 10/15/08 04:48 AM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (7)
14 October 2008
City: Pay your red-light ticket or we won't let you reregister your car
According to the Chronicle, the city has been searching for a way to get everyone to pay up:
City officials hope to step up enforcement of Houston's red-light cameras by getting the state to deny vehicle registration renewal to drivers who do not pay up after repeated warnings.
A quarter of the drivers nabbed by the cameras have never paid the $75 citation. The result, officials said, is more than $7 million owed to city and state coffers.
Under a plan before the City Council this week, the city will work with the Texas Department of Transportation to place a "hold" on vehicle registration renewals until motorists' red-light penalties are paid. If approved, the plan could take effect before the end of the year.
"There are no consequences for not paying," admitted Joseph Fenninger, the chief financial officer for the Houston Police Department. The proposed arrangement will finally give the red-light camera program some "teeth," he said.
Under state law, the city cannot issue an arrest warrant for an unpaid red-light camera violation. What's more, Fenninger said, the violation does not go on a motorist's driving record, since it is an administrative violation, not a criminal one.
The municipal courts also will use the "hold" process to enforce other traffic violations, such as speeding or running a stop sign. The court issues some 11,000 such "failure-to-appear" warrants per month.
It's hard to see how this could go wrong, you know, with the outstanding way the city's new municipal courts' computer system is working:
Paul Bettencourt, the Harris County Tax Assessor, says the city needs to move cautiously before using registration holds as an enforcement tool. His office handles vehicle registration on behalf of TxDOT.
"There are a significant number of technical things that have to happen first," Bettencourt said. "We've given the city a long list of items to consider, and we have not heard back."
The city must make sure its violations data is accurate and updated, and matches information kept by TxDOT, he said.
"Otherwise you send thousands of people on merry-go-round trips," he said.
Bettencourt referred to the problems the municipal courts have had in recent years with an inadequate computer system.
"It's still something I want to see they have fixed," he said. "If I don't think the data's correct, I won't do it. I'll tell TxDOT not to do it."
When there's an oops, will the city reimburse for lost wages, and other expenses related to drivers' having to clear things up?
MayorWhiteChiefHurtt knew it was implementing a system that had no teeth. The city made this decision so as to get the cameras up and running (and generating revenue) as fast as possible, with as few hurdles as possible. Now the city wants to get the state involved in enforcement; however, the state tells us in ads that we are being good Texans when we register our vehicles on time. So now MayorWhiteChiefHurtt want to throw the problem THEY created onto the state's plate, and get the state to finish enforcing the city's revenue stream.
The state should say no, but don't hold your breath.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 10/14/08 05:02 AM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (14)
13 October 2008
What do METRO, Diana Ross, and an elephant all have in common?
Starting today, you'll see a giant elephant with sunglasses standing on the rail.
At least, you'll see this image in brochures on our buses and trains - and later this week, on posters at our Park & Ride lots and various shopping centers around town.
It's all part of our new anti-terrorism campaign that tells an important message without creating fear.
"We were looking for a way to get the terrorism message across but not be scary and intimidating to people," said Sydney Veeder, account executive and copywriter for the campaign. "We wanted something very eye-catching, above and beyond the normal visual. An elephant stands out a little bit on a rail platform."
The message is simple: If you see something, say something!
On the radio, you'll hear 60-second spots in both English and Spanish. The English spot features a Motown tune with lyrics penned by Veeder.
"I thought of Diana Ross and the Supremes and the sense of empowerment against outside forces that can't be controlled. That fit in perfectly with anti-terrorism," said Veeder, pictured on the right.
Motown, Diana Ross and the Supremes, and a sunglasses-wearing elephant fit in perfectly with METRO's anti-terrorism message?
That's our tax dollars at work.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 10/13/08 06:40 PM | Houston Transit | Technorati | Comments (6)
12 October 2008
METRO PD: We can't police bus stops, but we've got sharpshooters and a bomb robot!
Last week, METRO's expensive blogger profiled the transit agency's elite counterterror unit. We've written before about Chief Lambert's questionable policing priorities, but Mary Sit's post provides even more fodder:
They are METRO's elite force - a group of police officers who are part of our Special Operations Rescue Team (S.O.R.T.), a highly-skilled force that trains weekly. To the left is Rick Hernandez, S.O.R.T. team leader [looking super-tough in a picture--ed.].
Every Tuesday, they attend a briefing. One week, it may be a hostage at a daycare center. Another week, it may be a bomb on the rail line.
These are mock situations the S.O.R.T. team re-enacts as if they are real-life dramas. They include barricaded suspects, terrorism threats and hostage situations.
As one member suits up - or "kits" another - placing a heavy flak vest over someone's head and tightening it with Velcro belts, there's no chitchat. It's silent as each officer concentrates on the mission ahead. When kitted up correctly with everything in place, the officer signals with a "thumbs up" sign.
Impressed yet? There's more:
The equipment and uniforms for the S.O.R.T. team include headsets and microphones so sensitive that one member can speak in a voice just above a whisper to another, describing the situation. Knee pads and elbow pads are de rigueur.
"We're in one position a long time - two hours minimum," explained Randolph Foster, 17 years at METRO and six years on S.O.R.T. "One time (in a drill), we waited from 3 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., waiting to get word to go take the suspect out."
Wait, we're not done:
Team leader Rick Hernandez, five years on S.O.R.T. and 10 years with MPD, called himself "an adrenaline junkie" who enjoys stepping beyond the routine.
"It's definitely not something your average run-of-the-mill police officer does," said Hernandez.
Two operators on S.O.R.T. are the designated snipers, who usually observe with binoculars and the scope on their rifles what is happening and report to the command center.
"We have to be perfect," said Bobby Croft, a S.O.R.T. sniper. "You only have one shot, and it's the first shot that counts." Croft, who uses a Remington 40XS-308 caliber rifle, said he's never had to shoot in a real-life situation.
And the icing on the cake:
In addition to S.O.R.T., we had our bomb robot on display in the lobby. Jimmy Meeks, one of two bomb technicians at METRO, explained that the robot is kept on a special METRO truck and can reach any location on the rail within 10 to 15 minutes - or 25 to 30 minutes in the city of Houston.
A bomb robot! Awesome!
It's worth recalling that METRO PD admits it cannot adequately police bus stops, and has even reminded riders that they can carry a gun if they have a concealed carry permit.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 10/12/08 08:02 AM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (19)
Mayor White fights for a roofing revenue stream
Post-Ike, Mayor White wants all roofers to register with the city:
Mayor Bill White's plan to require roofers to register with the city and show proof of insurance before they can begin work on thousands of Ike-damaged homes ran into a storm of opposition at the City Council table Wednesday.
Council members were almost unanimous in their objections to the measure, prompting White at times to grow visibly frustrated and raise his voice as he reiterated a need to "protect consumers."
"This will end up penalizing only the legitimate roofers," Councilwoman Anne Clutterbuck said. She said "the bad guys" simply will continue to flout the rules.
[snip]
The new ordinance would require companies to register as roofers before they can obtain permits to do any work. The process would cost $75 and take about 15 minutes, city officials said.
Questions: If/when it passes, does all repair work have to come to a halt until companies register? Who's going to drive around the city enforcing the registration requirement? What recourse do Houstonians have if they used a roofer who didn't register/pay?
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 10/12/08 06:41 AM | Hurricane Stuff | Technorati | Comments (7)
The county judge race
Here are a couple of stories from last week highlighting the current state of the county judge race:
The Examiner's Michael Reed gives us a detailed account of a recent debate, and the Chronicle's Liz Austin Peterson analyzes Mincberg's uphill battle. Chron-story bonus: a Bob Stein-sighting!
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 10/12/08 06:25 AM | Houston Politics | Technorati | Comments (0)
09 October 2008
Texas Watchdog/KPRC-2: Dead people voting in Harris County!
KPRC-2 reports on an interesting case of apparent voter fraud in Harris County:
The push to register voters for this year's presidential election is breaking records.
More than 1.9 million people are registered to vote in Harris County alone.
But how many of the people listed on the voter roll are actually eligible to cast a ballot?
Investigative reporter Amy Davis shows you how hundreds of voters could sway this year's election -- voters who are not even alive.
"All-in-all, a great person, a great woman, just a wonderful person" is how Alexis Guidry described her mother to Local 2 Investigates.
"As far back as I can remember, they've always voted in the election," Guidry said of her parents.
The March 2008 Primary was no exception. Voting records show Alexis' mom, Gloria Guidry, cast her ballot in person near her South Houston home.
"It was just very shocking, a little unsettling," said Alexis Guidry.
It's unsettling because Gloria Guidry died of cancer 10 months before the March Primary.
"She'd be very upset," Guidry said when asked what her mom would think.
Trent Seibert, of Texas Watchdog, says you should be too.
"This is really disquieting. It's concerning. It's worrisome," said Seibert.
He heads up the non-partisan news group on the web.
Texas Watchdog compared Harris County's voter registration roll with the Social Security death index and found more than 4,000 matches -- registered voters that, it appears, are already dead.
The full Texas Watchdog report is here. That's another nice piece of work by the new guys in town!
In the past, some left-leaning bloggers have asserted there is no need for positive voter identification at polls and have criticized local officials for allegedly being too aggressive in purging voter rolls.
Texas Watchdog and KPRC-2 just cast quite a bit of doubt on both assertions.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/09/08 11:37 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (18)
07 October 2008
Chron editorialist gets early start on endorsements
The Harris County Clerk's website has new campaign finance filings posted (which we like!).
David Mincberg's latest report (PDF download) is interesting. If a person clicks onto page 18, the name Andrea Georgsson turns up. Georgsson gave Mr. Mincberg $250.
Georgsson lists her occupation as "writer" for none other than the Houston Chronicle.
That's not untrue, but more specifically, she is on the editorial board for the newspaper (readers may recall she is a passionate advocate for abortion and leftover adoption).
Presumably, she will participate in the editorial board's interviews of both candidates for Harris County Judge, and will help determine the editorial board's endorsement. It is thought that she writes many of the editorials on county affairs for the board, although it is impossible to know with certainty since they are unsigned.
Do you think Georgsson will recuse herself from the process, since she already is openly supporting a candidate? Do you think she'll let the candidates and her fellow editorial board members know of her donation (err, we guess we pre-empted her)? Do you think the Chronicle should allow its editorial board members to support candidates in partisan elections, even though editorial board members are charged with screening those candidates for the public?
It doesn't seem like a very good idea to me, and many news organizations have rules against such behavior. This afternoon, I emailed old reader rep Steve Jetton and new reader rep Jim Newkirk about this discovery, and asked about the Chronicle policy and how it intended to proceed with the screening/endorsement process for Harris County Judge. This evening, Jetton emailed that "We're looking into the situation."
One should hope so. The question is, what will the newspaper DO about the situation.
Incidentally, Georgsson also gave $250 to Barack Obama's campaign a few months ago.
UPDATE (10/12/08): Rorschach notes another possible ethical lapse by Georgsson. The Chronicle editorial board's credibility is really suffering. Perhaps one day soon the reader rep(s) will be done "looking into the situation" and the newspaper will announce some plan to deal with the problem.
UPDATE (10/13/08): The Chronicle reader representative(s) continue to ignore repeated email followups from me asking what steps are being taken to restore integrity to their candidate endorsement process. It is a bizarre thing for a newspaper to have a reader representative charged with interacting with readers and for said reader representative to refuse to answer substantive questions about the newspaper.
UPDATE (10/14/08): The Chronicle's Steve Jetton finally answered repeated email queries with this non-substantive response:
A Chronicle editorial writer made political campaign contributions that she regrets. We’ve dealt with it internally and appreciate your concern.
I KNOW she made contributions, as we pointed out. Apparently, the Chronicle has gone into the bunker, and doesn't intend to tell readers what it has done to try to restore its credibility.
Therefore, we can only conclude that readers should ignore the Chronicle's unethical and deceptive editorial board on any musings it might offer on candidates or county politics, since it is impossible to regard the board as a fair, uninvolved commentator on such matters.
BLOGVERSATION: Unca Darrell (and more), Brazosport News, Red Ink: Texas, Lose an Eye, It's a Sport, Lone Star Times (and more), Hair Balls.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/07/08 09:50 PM | Houston Chronicle | Technorati | Comments (24)
Quick, someone alert David Mincberg
Houston's traffic signals are up and running:
The last traffic light without power in Houston was near Brock Park in the city's far northeastern corner on Monday.
The signals at Brock Park and Tidwell still were dark as of 4 p.m., but crews were working on them, city officials said.
The other 2,426 intersections in Houston now have working red, yellow and green light cycles. So far, the city has spent an estimated $6.31 million fixing the signals — including costs for equipment, overtime and the hiring of more than 120 contract workers, according to Michael Marcotte, director of Public Works and Engineering.
Mincberg can get off his best buddy's back.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 10/07/08 06:46 PM | Houston Politics | Technorati | Comments (4)
06 October 2008
One million trees for Houston!
Houston Mayor Bill White said the city would plant 1 million trees in the Houston area within the next five years.
White joined with the Houston Parks Department, Trees for Houston, the Texas Department of Transportation, Houston's Quality of Life Coalition, the Greater Houston Partnership and others to kick off the program.
[snip]
The planting will start on Dec. 1 with 41 streets receiving trees.
Wayside Drive, Clay Road and South Dairy Ashford will be planted first.
The mayor also encouraged citizens to replant trees in their own yards and communities.
He also asked local businesses to give employees the gift of trees this holiday season, which he said will last a lot longer than a turkey.
The corporate community can also participate in the Gift of Trees program, in which companies can donate esplanade trees on behalf of clients, customers and employees. Visit www.treesforhouston.org for more information.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 10/06/08 06:41 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (12)
METRO's advantage: tax dollars
In today's Move It! column (one of the last?), Rad Sallee talks about how Wall Street's problems affect local transportation entities. Here are a couple of excerpts:
County Judge Ed Emmett said the toll road authority has more than $800 million in the bank and, if necessary, could build two long-awaited projects, the northeast quadrant of the Sam Houston Tollway and the Hardy Toll Road extension to downtown, with that money alone. Both projects will break ground soon, he said.
And:
Metro has one advantage over the other two agencies: Its main revenue source is a 1-cent sales tax that rises with inflation and is based on a variety of goods, not just motor fuel or toll road use. The agency has collected $520 million from the sales tax in the past 12 months and has cash reserves of $134 million.
At present, Metro is "pretty much a cash business," said Wilson. Compared to its 2008 budget of about $800 million, he noted, current debt is $143 million.
But the debt will increase sharply next year when construction of five light rail lines and the rest of the Metro Solutions plan get under way.
[snip]
Under a 2003 transit referendum, no more than $640 million in bonds may be issued for Metro Solutions.
To cover the remaining cost — and some estimate the total well over $3 billion — it will need 50 percent federal funding and probably substantial help from private companies seeking joint developments with Metro around transit facilities.
What I find interesting is Sallee's characterization of the one-cent sales tax as an "advantage." HCTRA collects its revenues from tolls, and whether or not one agrees with toll roads, drivers make a decision to pay the toll and fund HCTRA. With METRO, EVERYONE within the taxing jurisdiction forks over money, when most of the taxpayers never even use the agency's services. Advantage: METRO. Screwed: taxpayers.
Of course, we know METRO funds itself through tax dollars, not through fare collection. Its (overall) transit offerings are so pathetic, it could never live off fares. Someday, perhaps a local pol will take on METRO, start standing up for those of us who get nothing as METRO takes our money, and put a dent in METRO's entitlement mentality. I can dream!
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 10/06/08 06:29 PM | Houston Transit | Technorati | Comments (2)
05 October 2008
DPW to city: Please give us $3.5 million more for water meters, and we PROMISE results by 2012
Nevermind that the original project was supposed to cost $50 million and be completed in 2003. Then in 2006, it was guesstimated the project would cost $75 million and be completed in 2008.
So, here we are in 2008, and the Department of Public Works wants another $3.5 million:
Now, the Department of Public Works and Engineering is asking for another $3.5 million even as officials acknowledge that more than 200,000 of the devices installed by a Washington-based vendor have had to be replaced. The city has more than 400,000 water customers.
City officials originally projected the automated system would pay for itself by 2003; they now say it will not reach that point until 2012.
Mindful of past problems the city has had implementing new technology and software systems — some of which led them to take legal action against the contractor — the City Council tabled a vote on the $3.5 million request Wednesday.
[snip]
Public Works spokesman Alvin Wright said many of the water meter devices the city bought broke due to "water intrusion on a mass scale.
"At the time of the original implementation, the application of this technology in a water utility was brand new," he said, noting that Houston was the first city to implement an automated in-ground water meter system. "The industry has advanced significantly since that time with several generations of the product having come and gone."
Brilliant. New in-ground technology being used in Houston.
Wright said the department will recoup that amount and an additional $1.4 million in savings by 2012 and begin saving $4.5 million a year after that. Most of that is expected to come from needing fewer workers to manually record monthly water usage from meters.
Really! They promise this time!! What can possibly go wrong?
Last time we voted on this, we were told the technology had improved," Councilwoman Anne Clutterbuck said Wednesday, calling the number of devices that failed "staggering."
"We need to know has it truly improved and is the failure rate down to something that is reasonable."
There'll be lots of happy-talk and assurances, plus the argument that it's too late (and too costly) to go back to the old system, and council will vote yes. And in another year or so, we'll see another story about how DPW needs another few million to make it work, along with a new target date for savings.
Typical government.
Ubu Roi adds: I have never been a fan of this project from the start. It was rushed into by managers who wanted to look good to the previous administration, regardless of the cost, which they wouldn't be (and aren't) around to bear. As I've written before, here and elsewhere, the original projections were unrealistic, the technology untested, the application unprecedented, and the plan was completely flawed. Everything since then has been B'rer Rabbit trying to fight the Tar Baby.
(continued below the fold)
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 10/05/08 06:27 AM | Houston Politics | Technorati | Comments (2)
03 October 2008
It's buyout time at the Chronicle!
A friend recently alerted us that buyouts were being finalized this week at the Chronicle
Apparently, today is the day for some of the announcements. We presume this blog post from Julie Mason is related (and the Chron's D.C. bureau just got a little more serious).
John Wilburn, most recently the Chron's managing editor, takes over as Opinion Director. Steve Jetton takes over as Outlook editor. David Langworthy slides into an editorial writing position. Jim Newkirk takes over as reader rep (and will apparently retain his gigs as budget czar and high school liaison).
That's what we are hearing so far. If you have any other interesting Chron buyout tidbits, feel free to pass them along in the comments (or anonymously here if you prefer).
Here's hoping these moves improve what had become simply a dreadful editorial page -- one that recently confused the date of 9/11 and the name of the Harris County Sheriff (calling him Tommy Thompson, and refusing to correct the mistake). We can't say we'll miss the Editorial Journals of one James Howard Gibbons -- or his editorials in an erroneous state. But if he decides he misses the opinion game, we still have his diary space at the ready!
UPDATE: We hear that Rad Sallee has taken the buyout. Will METRO have a position for him?
UPDATE (10/09/08): Per Media Bistro, Mason didn't get the buyout and Bennett Roth of the D.C. bureau was also laid off.
UPDATE (10/12/08): Another source says Mason and Roth were offered the buyout. Maybe at some point the newspaper will issue a press release and clear it all up.
BLOGVERSATION: Lone Star Times (and here), Unca Darrell.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/03/08 06:27 PM | Houston Chronicle | Technorati | Comments (2)
01 October 2008
Texas Watchdog posts Council financial info online
Texas Watchdog, which announced a few weeks ago that it was looking into city ethics info that was supposed to be public but wasn't, has now posted Council financial disclosures (which are also required to be public, although there is no online requirement) to its website. Here is an excerpt from the group's press release:
Almost nothing has been written concerning this treasure trove of information about our city leaders. And little wonder. Although these documents are public, city officials choose not to put them online, and that makes this important information less available to voters, taxpayers and residents.
“These are public records, but city officials certainly don’t break a sweat making them easy to get,” says Trent Seibert, editor of Texas Watchdog. “They sit in a file and can be examined during business hours - but that’s when most folks are working. In a time when everyone has access to the Internet through the public library, this is downright silly.”
The law requires these documents to be public, but doesn’t say that they need to be placed online.
[snip]
”We urge the city to put this information online, but in the meantime, we’ll do it so the folks at City Hall can see how easy it is,” Seibert said. “As the city makes important decisions about the budget, it’s important to see what financial interests the city council and the mayor have.”
This page has links to the disclosure info for the mayor and every member of council.
How's that little bit of civic journalism from the new guys in town?
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/01/08 11:37 AM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (3)
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