02 January 2008
DA Rosenthal won't seek reelection (updated)
Via the Chronicle's Alan Bernstein:
Harris County District Attorney Chuck Rosenthal has withdrawn his name from the Republican ballot for re-election today amid pressure from his own party following last week's release of intimate emails he wrote to his personal assistant.
Rosenthal publicly had rejected the local GOP's call for him to drop his re-election plans or face the prospect of the party endorsing another Republican for the March primary.
His decision to drop out of the election was confirmed about 5:35 p.m. by Michael Wolse, the Harris County Republican Party's primary director.
Minutes earlier, Republican Jim Leitner filed paperwork to put his name on the primary ballot for district attorney.
Former Houston Police Chief C.O. Bradford is among those seeking the Democratic nomination for district attorney.
And that's the end of that. Now we'll see how Leitner matches up against Bradford.
UPDATE: Er, now we'll see how Bradford matches up against:
Harris County prosecutor Kelly Siegler, known for effective theatrical tactics in the courtroom, is set to run for district attorney as a Republican after the withdrawal of her boss, District Attorney Chuck Rosenthal.
[snip]
Prosecutors Denise Bradley, Steven St. Martin and Marc Brown expressed interest Wednesday.
Defense lawyer and former prosecutor Jim Leitner already is on the ballot, and the Republican winner will face Democrat C.O. Bradford, the former Houston police chief, in the November general election. Leitner, however, indicated he might withdraw if another Republican candidate looked to him like a top-notch prospect.
Oooookay.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 01/02/08 06:48 PM |
Cohen: "The name of this newspaper is the Houston Chronicle...."
In the January 2008 Texas Monthly, Paul Burka writes about reductions in the size of the Austin press corps. His story includes snippets of a conversation with Chronicle editor Jeff Cohen:
I called Jeff Cohen, the editor of the Chronicle, to ask him about the reduction in the paper’s coverage, including the layoffs at the Hearst bureau. “I don’t feel bad about having only six reporters covering the Capitol,” he said. “Texas Monthly only has one in Houston, the nation’s fourth-largest city. The name of this newspaper is the Houston Chronicle, not the ‘Austin Chronicle.’ We often put Austin stories on the front page in session and out of session when they relate to the leadership or they involve watchdog reporting.” A lot of political stories, he said, can be covered with local reporters, such as a recent piece on the unfulfilled promise of electric deregulation. He acknowledged the financial pressures newspapers face: “Advertisers are unsure about where to spend their dollars in a fragmented media marketplace. That will resolve itself eventually, but in the meantime there’s a pressure to cut costs.”
In the long term, my concern, like Jefferson’s, is government without newspapers. How will people in Brownsville and Harlingen and McAllen know what they’re not reading about what’s happening in state government? They won’t. How will Speaker Tom Craddick’s claims to absolute power affect legislative races around the state if the media don’t remind the public of the controversy? Beyond these questions lies another: Will there still be newspapers—or newspaper readers—in the digital age?
Jeff Cohen says yes. “Chronicle home delivery is up,” he told me. “We’ve sold more college subscriptions in Austin, College Station, and Waco in each of the last three years. As long as there are informed and educated readers, there will be a place for newspapers.
So, how much better might the Chronicle be able to cover the Houston area AND Texas if the newspaper were to shutter its expensive (and ineffectual) Washington bureau and redeploy some of the resources to local and regional coverage?
We agree with Cohen that yes, the newspaper's base is the Houston area, and that means it should focus on Houston. Most people don't pick up the Chronicle to see what its stellar D.C. bureau is reporting. But they do pick it up to see what's going on in the area (and for coupons!). And if the Chron is truly selling more subscriptions in Austin, College Station, and Waco, then it suggests the newspaper should be broadening its regional/state coverage, not cutting it.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 01/02/08 10:22 AM |
New GHCVB leader to focus on Houston's strengths
Today's Chronicle runs an L.M. Sixel Q & A with the GHCVB's new leader, Greg Ortale. Here's an excerpt:
What I really want to do is to tie our convention solicitations with the economic demographics of the city.
We're the energy capital so it makes sense to go after the energy conventions.
It's the same with the Medical Center.
There are literally hundreds, if not thousands, of meetings.
Secondly, because we are a global city I want to go after international meetings and symposia and conferences. Why shouldn't the international AIDS conference be in Houston?
The third is really to position Houston as an international tourist destination.
Q: Are you building relationships with people in the Medical Center and NASA and the engineering industries who have the ties to bring conventions and meetings to Houston?
A: Some of them already exist and some are yet to be built. We're moving in that direction.
He also says there aren't enough hotel rooms in downtown for mid-range conventions that require between 2,500 and 5,000 rooms. Hopefully that's not an invitation for a government entity to build a hotel...again.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 01/02/08 07:51 AM |
31 December 2007
Less-than-world-class New Year's greetings
We'd like to take the opportunity to wish everyone a Happy New Year!
Sadly, our quirky little burg didn't manage to resurrect the world-class New Year's Eve Star event. Recall that Carol Alvarado was too "event-ed out" last year to plan what we were led to believe was going to be a huge annual event. And this year, she apparently was too depressed over term limits to be bothered with the event. The new leadership at the GHCVB apparently couldn't be bothered either -- because, you know, it's more important to advertise to the world that our little city has celebrities!
We do suspect that, even without a world-class "annual" event like a New Year's Eve Rising Star, most Houstonians will have a fine time tonight. Somehow, Houstonians always seem manage to muddle along just fine, even if our leaders occasionally have "world-class" envy.
Thanks, as always, to everyone who reads, comments, lurks, links, amuses, or otherwise contributes to the little blog community here. We're looking forward to 2008!
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 12/31/07 08:32 PM |
HISD develops K-8 schools
The Chronicle's Jennifer Radcliffe reports that HISD is transitioning some elementary and middle schools into K-8 campuses, hoping to improve academics:
Houston leaders are anxious to add more K-8 campuses but find themselves facing an uphill battle.
Parents in predominately African-American neighborhoods vocally opposed a plan to consolidate several schools in their communities into K-8 campuses, prompting the district to abandon that proposal before last month's $805 million bond election.
Administrators are still planning to expand the K-8 model to other schools, if they can sell the idea to the community.
Pilgrim and Rusk elementaries already are in the process of expanding, officials said, and HISD is slated to expand Wilson Elementary, a Montessori program, to a K-8 campus next school year. A new school planned to relieve overcrowding at Dowling Middle School might also be configured as a combined elementary and middle campus, said Karen Soehnge, HISD's chief academic officer.
HISD administrators admit they'll have to make a better sales pitch. "It's a foreign concept," Soehnge said. "It's not something all people are accustomed to."
Yet K-8 is one of the most popular models for private schools. It was also the most popular configuration for public schools 100 years ago.
By the 1960s, however, the model had given way to seventh- through ninth-grade junior highs and then sixth- through eighth-grade middle schools — configurations designed to ensure that adolescents had the academic and social opportunities needed to prepare for high school.
Struggling academic performance among today's middle schoolers is causing the pendulum to swing back toward K-8s. One of the biggest perks, educators said, is that students aren't tripped up during the disruptive year that they transition to middle school.
By staying on the same campus, kids can focus on academics, rather than being forced to re-establish themselves socially. Teachers are able to establish solid relationships with families. As a result, parents are more apt to stay involved with the campus through the middle school years, experts said.
It's a very good move. The middle schools years can be a nightmare for many students, and keeping them in a stable, familiar setting, with teachers and administrators who know them could make a big difference, both academically and developmentally. As the story notes, one drawback is that fewer electives or athletic programs would be available in the K-8, but perhaps that issue can be remedied as the program progresses. In the meantime, if these schools can help kids academically, that'll be a strong selling point for future schools.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 12/31/07 08:18 PM |
30 December 2007
Thoughts on the Rosenthal email flap
The big local political news over the last few days (over the course of a holiday break, travel, bowl games, a server crash, end-of-year work crunch, and other assorted fun) has involved emails send by Harris County District Attorney Chuck Rosenthal to his current administrative assistant.
Here are some random thoughts on what all this means (feel free to add yours to the comments):
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 12/30/07 01:34 PM |
Michael Berry worries about Big Brother...sometimes
This Chronicle story on new state laws that take effect in 2008 reminds me of something I meant to pass on before Christmas.
One of the new laws requires most employees of a school district to be fingerprinted for a background check. When the story first came out a couple of weeks ago, I heard Michael Berry doing a promo for his afternoon show, asking if the new law was another example of Big Brother running amok.
This from the guy who said that anyone opposed to red light cameras was obviously in favor of people running red lights.
Sheesh.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 12/30/07 11:45 AM |
Perhaps not the best person to call for the end of term limits...
(Almost former) Councilwoman Carol Alvarado continues complaining about Houston's term limits in an op-ed for today's Chronicle:
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 12/30/07 07:23 AM |
29 December 2007
Astrodome Hotel cheerleader resigns county position
This is welcome news (via the Chronicle's Bill Murphy):
Under pressure from County Judge Ed Emmett, Mike Surface has resigned as chairman of the Harris County Sports & Convention Corp.
Surface cited "personal and professional interests" as the reason why he was stepping down after serving nine years as chairman.
He has been a supporter of the Astrodome Redevelopment Corp.'s proposal to turn the Dome into a convention hotel — a plan Emmett has questioned.
Emmett said he felt that it would be best to get new leadership on the sports corporation's board before Commissioners Court's next discussion of the Dome proposal in January.
New leadership that is more objective, we can hope. Recall Mike Surface's surprising comments last March regarding the Astrodome Hotel boondoggle:
"From day one, we have always known that it is an option to do this as a publicly developed program," said Mike Surface, chairman of the Harris County Sports & Convention Corp., which manages Reliant Park.
[snip]
No property taxes would go toward the project in any case, he said.
If the county paid for part or all of the project, it would use hotel and sales taxes generated by the hotel complex and other Reliant Park revenue, such as concessions.
There is no way Surface could guarantee that property taxes wouldn't end up propping up this monster, a point Tom Kirkendall also emphasized last March.
Good for Judge Emmett, encouraging Surface to resign. May Surface now find productive work in the private sector, where projects actually have to, you know, show a likelihood of success before they can move forward.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 12/29/07 08:04 AM |
27 December 2007
Technical difficulties
Apparently, the web host had a hard drive crash earlier, which knocked us off the web for a bit.
Unfortunately, they had to restore from a backup that wasn't exactly current, so some posts and comments have been lost. I was able to restore the posts from web feeds, but all comments past a certain point have been lost permanently, unfortunately. Sorry about that!
We may have to consider a new web host before too long, as this is annoying!
UPDATE (12-29-2007): I've added some backup redundancy via a couple of scripts we're now running via a cron job. Details are here, for anyone who is interested in a similar backup system for their own blog (recommended after our recent experience).
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 12/27/07 10:03 PM |
Two more area institutions closing down
Two Houston-area landmarks will be shutting down for good at the end of the year.
Jennifer Leahy and Lisa Gray report for the Chronicle that the Greenway Theater will be closing:
The Greenway Theatre, which has screened films in the basement of Greenway Plaza for 35 years, will close at the end of this year.
Employees say Landmark Theatres lost its lease at 5 East Greenway Plaza. Landmark, a chain that specializes in independent and foreign films, has operated the Greenway since 1994.
A board designated for patrons' reviews of offered films has turned into a makeshift memorial as people protested the closing.
Written lamentations of "We will miss you" and "NO" in bold, penciled script were posted, along with a message from a self-described 30-year patron who simply offered: "We are sorry."
Less than a dozen patrons were found in the green-walled establishment Monday evening.
[snip]
The Greenway's last screening will begin at 7:30 p.m. on New Year's Eve.
We suspect that even on Christmas Eve, the megatheater complexes with stadium seating and such probably drew more than a dozen patrons. It had to be hard for small theaters to compete.
Elsewhere inside the loop, West U's charming JMH Market will also be closing its doors for good shortly. The Chronicle's Nancy Sarnoff has the details:
[JMH Market] will go dark on Monday and likely never reopen.
The owner, who said the business has struggled financially for years, has put the 1-acre property on the market for $5.1 million.
"I'm saddened by it as much as anyone in the community," said Michael Freeman, a Memorial resident who bought a stake in the property a few years ago and later acquired the majority interest. "I put my sweat and money in it for the last three years."
JMH No. 5 has been in the same spot for more than 50 years. The country-style store has become a neighborhood hangout, where kids meet on their bikes and parents go for coffee.
Groceries have sort of become an afterthought.
That was evident late last week, when the shelves were half-stocked, the meat counter was empty and signs were posted around the store advertising 20 percent off just about everything.
It wasn't the world's greatest grocery store, but the place served some of the best burgers in town. It sounds like one last lunchtime burger run will have to take place at some point this week.
BLOGVERSATION: Mike McGuff.
(Originally posted by Kevin Whited on 12/26/07 and restored from Bloglines)
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 12/27/07 09:58 PM |
When in doubt, go for the local
Headline on Chron.com:
U.S. home prices post steepest fall since 1991
Headline on the Houston Business Journal's website:
Study: Home prices increase in Texas markets
I'm thinking the more locally focused story would be of greater interest to most Houston-area residents.
(Originally posted by Anne Linehan on 12/26/07 and restored from Bloglines)
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 12/27/07 09:54 PM |
23 December 2007
Holiday slowdown
There is likely to be little blogging over the next couple of days as the big holiday approaches, so...
Merry Christmas, everyone! Or, as my very inclusive compatriot said last year, "Merry Whatever Holiday You Celebrate!"
UPDATE: A Pancho Claus sighting! And Elves and More gives away 16,000 bikes!
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 12/23/07 05:58 PM |
22 December 2007
KHOU: Thieves hit HPD impound lot, caught the next night
KHOU-11's Brad Woodard reports that an HPD impound lot recently was pilfered by thieves:
The cars were brought in for any number of reasons. Some were being held as evidence. Others were awaiting seizures. Still more were awaiting the identification of their owners.
But the barbed wire and chain link fence around HPD’s Dart lot did little to intimidate the suspects who busted through and burglarized 11 vehicles over the weekend.
“They primarily stole wheels and tires from the vehicles, as well as broke into one of the buildings we had tools stored in,” Capt. Don McKinney with the HPD Auto Theft Division said.
The thieves apparently thought the pickings were so easy that they returned the next night, when Woodard reports that HPD was ready and nabbed the bad guys.
Woodard concludes:
Prior to the incident, the lot only had video surveillance at night.
“Now we have 24-hour coverage out there, so we’ll have somebody there 24-hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. In addition to that, we’re going to be enhancing our remote video surveillance,” McKinney said.
But all of that aside, many are left to wonder: If HPD can’t protect itself from burglars, who can?
That and the library copper theft vandalism were embarrassing incidents indeed for the city.
We can't help but think that Mr. Woodard will not be a favorite of Chief Hurtt's Blog for reporting this one, though!
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 12/22/07 10:52 AM |
21 December 2007
KHOU: HPD is "quietly" reclassifying some homicides
Today, KHOU-11's Mark Greenblatt uncovers more on the problem HPD has had counting homicides correctly:
On Feb. 13, 2006, a fire deliberately started by someone burned through some East Houston apartments and boarding homes.
Joseph Chryar was trapped inside, and he would never make it out. His family said the truth hasn’t either.
“Of course I feel it is a cover-up,” father Joseph Chryar Sr. said. And he said it involves the Houston Police Department.
“It felt like they were trying to sweep it under the rug,” he said.
Early on, an autopsy by the Harris County Medical Examiner ruled Chryar’s death a homicide. But HPD labeled his death “dead man” and left it that way - never finding the criminal with the affinity for flame.
“It hurts me,” Chryar Sr. said. “It hurts me very deeply, because somebody needs to pay for this.”
[snip]
But now, the Defenders have discovered a quiet reversal by the Department.
Just recently, HPD took six deaths that had been off the books and reclassified them as murder. They reported those murders to the Texas Department of Public Safety and the FBI as part of their official Uniform Crime Report numbers.
The cases? Victims: Joe Green, Charles Arterburn, Henry Rusk, Augustin Canales, Xavier Hegwood and — Joseph Chryar.
Greenblatt points out another disturbing consequence of HPD's number-fudging:
the Defenders have discovered another injustice: By not labeling victims like McCoy as a homicide, HPD can actually punish his family further, along all the other families of similar victims in Houston.
The reason? It all has to do with access to something called the Crime Victims’ compensation fund.
“By golly, if criminals have rights, crime victims have rights too,” Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott said.
Abbott speaks plainly.
“We obviously want to get resources and get help to crime victims as quickly as possible,” he said.
Abbott’s office offers crime victims’ families financial help for burial services and more through something called the Crime Victims’ Compensation Fund- but not until a crime is declared.
“Once it’s established that the injury or death was because of a crime, then they are invited to apply to our crime victims’ compensation fund,” Abbott said.
But in the case the Defenders found, victims’ families couldn’t get that help because HPD hadn’t labeled their loved ones’ death a crime — leaving them out in the cold.
Remember, Chief Hurtt blasted Greenblatt's initial reporting, then outrageously refused to answer any questions about the story. Now it appears Chief Hurtt's arrogance is coming back to bite him, as his department faces a little media sunshine.
HPD needs to make it a priority to reexamine the cases Greenblatt uncovered. The victims' families need closure, and if they are owed some financial assistance, they need to be able to collect it. And Mayor White and Chief Hurtt owe all these families an apology.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 12/21/07 08:00 PM |
Metro: Bus complaints are up and we're victims of success!
KHOU-11 tells a tale of Metro's fine customer service:
As the workday ends, the adventure begins for Veronica Young. She is not a fan of the bus system, but a passenger anyway.
“They run stupid. I hate the way they run,” said Young. "You'd rather ride a car than take a bus."
This year there are more people like her than ever before.
According to METRO's year-end report, customers are losing patience with Houston’s public transportation system.
Complaints about buses being late are up 39-percent. Complaints about bus driver behavior are up nearly 43-percent.
Metro's excuse?
"We're almost a victim of our own success,” said METRO’s Raequel Roberts. “We have a much better call system now, so the wait time is less than a minute on most calls.
“So, people realize if I do call, I will get somebody that'll take my complaint. And if you realize you're going to get somebody you're more likely to call."
"We're almost a victim of our own success." I think we've heard that before out of a Metro official -- maybe Frank Wilson. Ms. Roberts is keeping up with the talking points!
So, Metro's customer service problems are because it has a better complaint call system now? It couldn't possibly because Metro has put so much emphasis on light rail that it has shortchanged bus service, now could it?
After a wave of retirements, 310 new bus drivers were behind the wheel this year. Roland Perez is sure he's been a passenger with one of them.
"I've been on one bus where everybody had to tell (the driver) where the route was,” said Perez. “He skipped like three or four stops and went the wrong way."
Maybe there's a hint in there!
METRO tells 11 News it's looking into why complaints are up.
Metro needs to commission a study.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 12/21/07 04:53 AM |
20 December 2007
Alvarado: It's a cryin' shame Council is losing my talent
(Temporarily Permanently not mayor pro tem ) Carol Alvarado exited the City Council stage today in a less-than-dignified manner: She whined about term limits:
"I think communities get shortchanged," said Councilwoman Carol Alvarado, who bid farewell to her colleagues Wednesday after six years representing District I on the city's east side.
"We lose talented people," said Alvarado, who plans to file today to run for state representative in District 145, the seat vacated by Democrat Rick Noriega in his bid for the Democratic nomination for U.S. senator.
No one can say Ms. Alvarado lacks self-esteem. But she should look on the bright side -- Houston's loss is the state's gain. And she left a lasting mark on Houston, since the mayor pro tem's office will never be the same. That's called a legacy!
As for departing Councilwoman Ada Edwards, she's not going anywhere. Mayor White appointed her as his Deputy Chief of Staff for Neighborhoods:
“The city of Houston has benefited tremendously from the leadership and knowledge of Ada Edwards. We want to continue to use her skills to make Houston better,” said Mayor Bill White. “In this position, Ada will join a team helping to revitalize neighborhoods, increase affordable housing, support neighborhood organizations, schools and nonprofits that all enhance our quality of life.”
Unclear is how Ms. Edwards' stances on HPD (increasing manpower = police state!) and the homeless (they should be allowed to bathe in the libraries!) will enhance Houston's quality of life.
BLOGVERSATION: This Blog is Full of Crap, Lose an Eye, It's a Sport
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 12/20/07 07:37 PM |
Jeff Cohen named NPF editor of the year
Word reaches us that Chronicle editor Jeff Cohen has been named Editor of the Year by the National Press Foundation.
Here is an excerpt from the organization's announcement:
Jeff Cohen joined the Houston Chronicle in June 2002 as executive vice president and editor, overseeing the newspaper’s English and Spanish editions and its Web site, chron.com.
Under his leadership, each section of the paper has seen a marked change. There is a greater emphasis on lively, engaging writing and a tighter focus on local topical issues as well as the broad themes that define the nation’s fourth largest city. During his tenure, the features and sports sections have been recognized by their peers as among the best in the country. The newspaper, along with its accompanying Web site, has been redesigned top to bottom. It has added a sister Spanish-language weekly, La Voz, and successfully launched niche publications in fashion and health.
Cohen directed the Chronicle’s coverage of some of the biggest news events in Houston’s recent history: hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the Enron trials, the space shuttle Columbia disaster and a scandal in the police department’s DNA lab that resulted in the release from prison of three innocent men.
Cohen also has embraced the digital revolution. Over the last five years, chron.com has grown into one of the top newspaper Web sites for breaking news, video features, staff and reader blogs and overall reader interaction. The site’s animated editorial cartoons have attracted national attention and made the newspaper’s cartoonist a Pulitzer Prize finalist in 2007.
Some of us who actually read the newspaper carefully on a daily basis can't help but wonder about that praise of the features and sports sections (or for that matter, the irony of praising the HPD crime lab reporting by Steve McVicker, who is no longer with the newspaper due to the latest round of layoffs); but then again, we aren't the sorts of pros who determine these sorts of awards. Under Cohen's leadership, though, there is no doubt that the newspaper has stressed its online presence (and breaking news online), and it has also reworked its Austin bureau in a sensible way -- both positives.
The awards ceremony will apparently take place in February in Washington, D.C. We hope that the weather allows the editor a good round of golf while he's in the D.C. area (on the NPF's dime!). Maybe Julie Mason can even liveblog the awards ceremony, and give her boss the sort of treatment she regularly gives other important world leaders!
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 12/20/07 09:36 AM |
19 December 2007
Good and bad news on food in Houston
K of She Eats posts about some good food news: New Midtown/Downtown eateries that don't have Tilman Fertitta's name attached.
Alison Cook posts about some bad food news: Williams Smokehouse has been destroyed by fire.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 12/19/07 08:47 AM |
Chron.com: Sorry, no such article. Thanks for visiting!
I've mentioned before how annoying it is that the links to articles on Chron.com go dead after a week or two, and then you have to use Chron.com's frustrating search engine to find an article. I usually give up or try Google because I've had so little luck with the search flaw feature.
At the top of the Blog Watch section on the Opinion page of Chron.com is a link to a Houston Strategies post, "Houston's new air service to the world." If you click on the very first link to a Chron story about Emirates kicking off nonstop air service to Dubai, here is what pops up:
No such article.
We're sorry, but the article you requested is not currently available on Chron.com.
If it's an older article that you had bookmarked, you may be able to find it in the archives.If you got to this page from a current link on our site, then it's an error. In this case, the system has automatically detected and logged the error, but you can email [email protected] to report additional information or if you have any questions.
Thank you for visiting Chron.com!
Nice.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 12/19/07 05:15 AM |
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