10 December 2007
Hurtt's blog goes on the offensive against KPRC journalist
Back in September, KHOU-11's Jeff McShan reported (and to our knowledge, no city officials disputed) the following:
Sources tell 11 News that Mayor Bill White, and Police Chief Harold Hurtt came up with the idea to use drones -- unmanned flying machines -- to help with traffic mobility.
They could also be used for police tactical situations. Like the SWAT incident at NASA in April.
Executive Assistant Chief Martha Montalva [sic] confirmed the department is close to making it happen.
“And what's important and what needs to get out there is we are doing this in cooperation and assistance with the FAA,” said Montalva.[sic]
In November, KPRC-2's Stephen Dean got wind of the fact that HPD was planning a secret test of the drones -- and forced HPD into a hasty press conference because of his reporting:
Houston police cars were surrounding the land with a roadblock in place to check each of the dignitaries arriving for the invitation-only event. The invitation spelled out, "NO MEDIA ALLOWED."
HPD Chief Harold Hurtt attended, along with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and dozens of officers from various police agencies in the Houston area. Few of the guests would comment as they left the test site.
News Chopper 2 had a Local 2 Investigates team following the aircraft for more than one hour as it circled overhead. Its wings spanned 10 feet and it circled at an altitude of 1,500 feet. Operators from a private firm called Insitu, Inc. manned remote controls from inside the fleet of black trucks as the guests watched a live feed from the high-powered camera aboard the 40-pound aircraft.
"I wasn't ready to publicize this," Executive Assistant Police Chief Martha Montalvo said. She and other department leaders hastily organized a news conference when they realized Local 2 Investigates had captured the entire event on camera.
"We still haven't even decided how we were going to go forward on this task, so it seemed premature to me to announce this to the media," Montalvo said. "But since, obviously, the media found out about it, then I don't see any reason why just not go forward with what we have so far."
Montalvo told reporters the unmanned aircraft would be used for "mobility" or traffic issues, evacuations during storms, homeland security, search and rescue, and also "tactical." She admitted that could include covert police actions and she said she was not ruling out someday using the drones for writing traffic tickets.
A large number of the officers at the test site were assigned to the department's ticket-writing Radar Task Force. Capt. Tom Runyan insisted they were only there to provide "site security," even though KPRC cameras spotted those officers heavily participating in the test flight.
In two followup reports (here and here), Dean noted that the testing raised air traffic concerns.
None of Dean's characterizations seems farfetched or unfair, in light of what he and competitor Jeff McShan have documented.
Chief Hurtt's ghostblogger might beg to differ, though.
In today's post on Chief Hurtt's blog, the ghostblogger provides "FACTS to Correct Erroneous Allegations" from Dean, who "has alleged or insinuated the following things..." about HPD's drone testing. What is most interesting about the list of "things" is that they rely on no direct quotes from Dean's reporting. Rather, the ghostblogger creatively interprets the "things" that Mr. Dean has allegedly insinuated, and then goes on to rebut what is made to seem like a wild, off-the-mark accusation. It's a fairly crude effort to smear Dean's reporting.
Chief Hurtt's ghostblogger may want to be a little more judicious. The blog's last effort to smear a journalist (and an award-winning one at that) backfired.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 12/10/07 11:16 PM |
Is its news, opinion, or what?
Chron.com's recent tendency to mix opinion columns with the regular news stream was on display in the metro/state section again today.
Austin Bureau Chief Clay Robison's column, "Appointing Wilson could be a battle," appears in the regular online metro/state news section with just that title (and no indication that it is opinion or analysis). But, the same column also appears in the Columnists sidebar in the same section.
So, how are online readers to know whether the Austin Bureau Chief's column is opinion or news (and what of this "firewall" between news and opinion that we sometimes hear about)?
Good questions.
Of course, those questions have long been raised by the Chronicle's odd practice of having the head of its Austin NEWS bureau moonlight as an OPINION columnist. Even some Chronsters have confided to us privately that he ought to be doing one or the other. But apparently the Really Important People at the Chronicle feel differently.
BLOGVERSATION: Lose an Eye, It's a Sport.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 12/10/07 10:24 PM |
09 December 2007
This could be part of the problem
What's the size of the copper theft division at HPD? KHOU-11's Lee McGuire tells us:
Just two police officers.
“It’s very difficult for us to keep up. 250 cases [per month], two people. You don’t have to be a genius to know that two people can’t keep up with 250 cases,” said Captain Ceaser Moore. He runs Houston’s crackdown on copper theft.
And for comparison, Houston’s elected officials are looking a bit longingly at Dallas. They have one sergeant, and 4 officers on scrap metal theft. That’s for a city with 12 scrapyards.
Houston, meanwhile, has one sergeant, one officer, and 115 scrapyards.
Council members Toni Lawrence and Adrian Garcia say they’d like Houston police to increase the number of officers on scrap metal patrol. But HPD is already short a thousand officers.
September 2004 is when this little blog first noted HPD's looming manpower shortage. Not much has improved since then.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 12/09/07 07:05 PM |
City still frustrated with municipal courts technology "upgrade"
The Chronicle's Alexis Grant reports that the city's fancy new municipal courts technology still isn't working properly:
City officials, at their wit's end with the company they hired to turn municipal courts into an electronic operation, this week threatened to sue unless the company fixes problems with the $10 million system.
Aside from causing headaches for city officials overseeing the transition, the flawed system has resulted in longer waits for the thousands of residents, lawyers and bail bondsmen who navigate the courts each day, and frustration for those who work there.
The city is giving Maximus Inc. until Thursday to provide a plan for making its work meet expectations.
"We said, 'It's really up to you Maximus. You tell us how you're going to keep Houston as a long-term client, how you're going to satisfy all your requirements, or we're going to declare you in default," said Richard Lewis, the city's director of information technology.
Repeated calls to Maximus for comment this week were not returned. In the past, spokeswoman Rachael Rowland has said the company was working to fix system bugs.
The computer upgrade, a goal of city officials since the late '90s, was supposed to be completed within a year and a half after the City Council approved the contract in April 2003. More than four years later, it still is not working properly.
These sorts of problems contribute to our skepticism when the same municipal officials promise to form public-private partnerships for ambitious aims like "Bridging the [Alleged] Digital Divide."
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 12/09/07 05:04 PM |
08 December 2007
O' Come All Ye Faithful (readers, commenters, critics, etc)
It's well past time for a blogHOUSTON gathering.
We missed having an anniversary get together, so we'll just have an omnibus Merry Christmas/Holidays/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa/2007/Anniversary celebration.
If you're reading this, please feel free to join us at Byzantio on West Gray on Saturday afternoon, December 15.
We'll get underway about 3:00 pm and carry on as usual. We may retire across the street to Barnaby's for dinner if anyone is interested.
If you're a reader, blogger, commenter, pol, journalist, critic, friend, or just really like Greek bars, please feel free to drop by and say hello.
And if we don't get a chance to say so in person -- As always, thanks to everyone who helps keep the blog fun for us!
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 12/08/07 05:01 PM |
Original Otto's barbeque up for sale; land to be redeveloped
The Houston Business Journal reports that the original Otto's Barbeque on Memorial is going to be sold for real-estate development, along with the adjacent shopping center that includes Biba's:
The storied Otto's Bar B Que & Hamburgers restaurant, known to be favored by former President George Bush, will be demolished to make way for the sale of the high-profile Memorial Drive land.
Otto's owners June and Marcus Sofka have listed the 1.3-acre tract for sale with Cushman & Wakefield of Texas Inc.
An adjacent 17,000-square-foot shopping center, which is also owned by the Sofkas, is part of the sales package. The center includes a nail salon, a cleaners, a barber shop and Biba's Greek Pizza.
Cushman & Wakefield broker Dave Cook says he is currently taking offers on the land and hopes to get a deal done soon.
The Chronicle's Allan Turner adds that the venerable barbeque shop will continue to operate for a while, perhaps until a deal is completed:
A veritable stampede of cattle has been served up as burgers and brisket at Otto's since the restaurant's founder, Otto Sofka, grilled that first burger at his family's grocery 56 years ago. Otto's wife, Annie, their son, Marcus, Marcus's wife, June, and three of their seven children all have pulled duty at the business.
"This is very hard work," June Sofka explained after handling a noontime shift at the hamburger grill. "It's a 24/7 job mentally and physically."
Sofka said her husband, now 68, rises daily at 4 a.m. to toss wood into the barbecue pit.
Retirement was a big factor in the couple's decision to hang up the barbecue brush.
"We just want to enjoy a few years before the good Lord calls us," she said. "We want to spend some time with our grandchildren — we have 13 — and maybe travel a little."
Sofka said the property has been listed with a commercial real estate broker, but is uncertain when the restaurant will close. "We've had some bids," she said, "but nothing's final."
I was never the biggest fan of Otto's barbeque, but they make some fine burgers. The franchised stores will keep the tradition alive to some extent, one supposes, and there is another Biba's (One's a Meal) on West Gray, but it's still a little sad to see Houston dining institutions meet their end. Better grab a last burger or two while you still can!
BLOGVERSATION: Swamplot, Off the Kuff.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 12/08/07 03:28 PM |
Chron journalist blogs a little religion
Last week Julie Mason focused her razor-sharp wit on President Bush and his relationship with God:
Phew! A few weeks ago, the blog noted with some alarm that the President of America had pretty much ceased going to church and instead was just doing massive bike rides every Sunday. Crisis of faith? Annoyed by the strangely pointed homilies? Not really. The first lady was traveling a lot, and for some reason he only goes to church when she's around.
Last week we noted the president was, in fact, back among the historic pews of St. John's, but we wanted to wait. Was it a one-off, or was he really back with God? It now appears he's back. Today's pool report is from Ken Herman of Cox Newspapers, who went to church with Bush and noted that the Rev. Luis Leon read from Romans12:11-14:
Including the hint of a theme we shall try to develop deeper into this pool report. "Let us live honorably as in the day, not in reveling and drunkenness," we are taught...
Hmm. Really? Tithing also came up during today's sermon. Unclear if the president and first lady give any money to the church, but much like the federal government, it's budget time at St.John's:
"Please submit your cards "as soon as possible," says Rev. Leon, "so we can prepare a sober budget for our parish."
Which brings us back to today's attempted pool-report theme, which is sobriety and why it's good for you.
After church, the president went for a 90-minute bike ride at the Beltsville Secret Service training facility. We feel nothing but relief. Church and a bike ride: Bush is right with Jesus again, and Sundays are BACK. Hallelujah.
I'm guessing matters of Christian faith are mysterious to Ms. Mason.
It seems fitting to add Matt Bramanti's refrain: "that’s the kind of valuable news and analysis you can only find in Houston’s leading information source."
It's certainly different from the type of journalism we used to get from, say, Steve McVicker.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 12/08/07 09:07 AM |
07 December 2007
Visibility?
It's 10:15 pm.
Does KTRK-13's Tim Heller stand-in really have to tell us the current visibility? Or worse, to LEAD with it?
It's night. I guarantee, I can't see 8 miles. Or whatever it was he just said the visibility is.
UPDATE: Dave Ward just reported someone is stealing bales of hay from a farm in Sevier County, Tennessee.
It seems like kind of an erratic night at KTRK.
UPDATE 2: I should note that the first part is meant to be tongue in cheek. I do realize that pilots and boaters might find such info useful, even at night. I was just amused that it was such an emphasis.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 12/07/07 10:20 PM |
06 December 2007
Jay Wall to discuss CompStat at HPRA meeting Friday
The Houston Property Rights Association emails that Jay Wall will be the featured speaker at Friday's regular lunch meeting:
This Friday noon the HPRA speaker is Jay Wall, who will tell us about the CompStat – Comparative Statistics - Policing system. This is the system which was developed in New York City, and has been used to great effect for crime reduction in NYC, Boston, Chicago, and several other cities. He will also discuss the obstacles he and his associates have encountered in trying to get it implemented in Houston.
PUBLIC INVITED: $16 Courtyard Restaurant, 1885 St. James Place Friday noon, December 7, 2007
(directions: The Courtyard is south of San Felipe, west of Yorktown, and east of Chimney Rock.)
The meeting starts at noon. The $16 lunch is optional.
We have previously linked to several op-eds by Wall and associates on Houston policing. His talk should be informative.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 12/06/07 10:49 PM |
City: Teens weren't taking calls at HEC; Whoops, yes they were!
A little over a week ago, Mayor White reacted angrily to ads from a municipal employees labor union criticizing the City of Houston for allegedly employing low-paid teenagers as call-takers at the Houston Emergency Center. Here's an excerpt from a report by KHOU-11's Leigh Frillici at the time:
The commercial says this:
“Unfortunately, the City of Houston is using kids to answer your 911 calls.”
It’s a scary-sounding scenario. But is it true? Are teenagers really working at the emergency call center?
“I have talked to people who worked at the HEC Center, and yes … (teenagers) are there,” said Jere Talley, Senior HR Specialist with the City of Houston.
But the mayor is mad about the ad.
“There are high school students who are working as a part of the HEC Center, but they are not taking 911 emergency calls,” Mayor Bill White said.
Not so fast. As KRIV-26's Isiah Carey posted to his blog earlier, teenagers were indeed taking emergency calls at one point:
The man Mayor Bill White appointed to head Houston's Emergency Center apparently doesn't know who's answering calls at the city's 911 headquarters. It was Monday when David Cutler ... the director of HEC, maintained high school students never answered 911 emergency calls as part of a co-op program. This came after HOPE, the city workers union, ran radio ads making the claims. A former 911 center supervisor is heard in the commercial saying he supervised high school students who answered 911 calls. Those life or death type emergency calls. But Cutler in a video taped interview said it never happened. He said the union was misleading the public. Today, we find out Cutler was wrong. There were at least 4 teenagers - high school students - answering 911 emergency calls according to the Mayor's office. I asked spokesperson Joe Laud how could the head of HEC not know who's answering 911 calls. Laud didn't have an answer but told me they only learned of the student's actions after the tv interview with the Insite.
It sounds like some municipal communications specialists may have gotten ahead of the facts in their rapid response to the HOPE ads (dare we call them "talking points"), and wound up embarrassing their Mayor and themselves.
The Chronicle's L.M. Sixel has more about this issue here.
BLOGVERSATION: Off the Kuff.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 12/06/07 10:22 PM |
Maybe HPD already has this crime on camera?
A man goes missing on Monday. The family files a missing person complaint with HPD that day.
Tuesday night, Precinct 5 constables find the vehicle in an apartment complex. There are two juveniles inside, the car smells of marijuana, and it turns out one of them is wanted on an outstanding felony warrant. HPD is alerted, because of the missing persons report. The professional law officers of Precinct 5 and HPD spring into action, concerned that the vehicle's owner might have been kidnapped and/or murdered.
Well, actually, no, they didn't. In a story that's weak on chronological narrative (so I'll spare you most of the meandering), the Chronicle reports that Precinct 5 arrested one of them on the felony warrant, then asked HPD if it wanted to interview either juvenile that night. HPD said they'd get to it later. Neither suspect will say how they came to be in the car of a missing man. Precinct 5 apparently couldn't figure out what to do, so they called the man's wife at the apartment to see if she knew them. Of course she didn't -- meaning that the second teen is probably guilty of trespass of a vehicle. (Didn't some woman get tasered on camera for that recently?)
So what do the bright boys of Precinct 5 do? They release the boy, then decide to leave the car for the missing man's wife to drive home -- over her protests. Fortunately, Precinct 5 Captain Michael Coleman had a series of explanations for why his men will not be starring in the next episode of CSI.
About releasing the second teen:
"There was no report of a stolen car," Coleman said. "It was a missing-persons case at that point. We had nothing to charge him with." ... Police know where to find the juvenile who was let go, he said.
About the car:
"HPD didn't want to put a hold on the car, so we didn't."
But have no fear, HPD is now on the case:
Officer Gabe Ortiz, an HPD spokesman, said today that a missing-persons case investigator was expected to interview the one youth still in custody at the Harris County Jail today and talk to other witnesses as well.
"They're still following up on it," Ortiz said.
In other words, it's still a routine missing persons case. Granted, even I wouldn't report it as a murder (where's the body?), but there's obviously no sense of urgency. Of course, if a body is ever found, no evidence from the vehicle will be admissible. Three words: "chain of custody." CSI, these guys aren't. (Insert your own snarky comment about the HPD lab and/or Safe Clear here...)
Chief Hurtt's probably checking the feed from those red-light cameras right now. I feel so much better, knowing that we can count on the fine professionals at the constable's offices to pick up the slack for our undermanned (and unable-to-count) Houston Police Department.
UPDATE: Please see this post.
Posted by Ubu Roi @ 12/06/07 02:45 PM |
Chris Baker at the Laff Spot
Former KTRH-740 talker Chris Baker is going to be part of the opening comedy act at the Laff Spot-Willowbrook this weekend, for O'Brien and Valdez.
They're set to go from from December 6 (tonight) through December 9 (Sunday).
More information is available from the Laff Spot website.
I'm likely to hit the early Friday show, so any blogHOUSTONians who wander in should feel free to say hello!
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 12/06/07 01:39 PM |
05 December 2007
Mayor White undeterred in bridge-building efforts
As we've known for a while, citywide Wi-Fi is dead. But not to fear -- "the dream" behind citywide Wi-Fi lives on! Alexis Grant reports for the Chronicle:
The city of Houston's wireless network deal with EarthLink is not officially in the gutter, but city officials already are making plans to take over at least one of the components of the project.
They are planning to use part of the $5 million penalty fee that EarthLink paid in September to finance a "digital inclusion" program intended to help students and the elderly in low-income neighborhoods access the Internet.
"One of the goals of the WiFi plan was to bridge the digital divide, and because of the city's good contract, we have substantial money to invest in that," Mayor Bill White said Tuesday.
EarthLink paid the $5 million penalty for missing a deadline to begin building the project earlier this year.
Under plans being drawn up by the city, $3.5 million of that penalty fee would go toward creating free, WiFi hotspots in 10 neighborhoods and helping residents there acquire equipment and training to use the Internet, said Richard Lewis, the city's director of information technology.
Those neighborhoods have not been chosen, he said, but the first should see access nodes by March. He said he hoped corporations will come forward with money or equipment to supplement city funds.
Here we thought that Lee Brown's SimDesk boondoggle had already "bridged the digital divide" (since he promised it would).
But it seems that a "divide" was never very well defined, and somewhat resistant to bridging!
Still, if it can be bridged, we imagine that Mayor White, with his steely resolve, is just the man to do it. For he has a dream!
Seemingly important details -- like how the city will pay for these "free" Wi-Fi hotspot "bridges" after they are built with part of the $5 million, or even what the operating expenses might be -- are not addressed by the Chronicle.
BLOGVERSATION: Lose an Eye, It's a Sport, Off the Kuff.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 12/05/07 10:56 PM |
FTA withdraws plan approval after METRO BRT/LRT switch
The Chronicle's Mike Snyder reports that METRO's light rail plans have run into problems:
An unexpected demand for additional justification for two planned Houston light rail lines raises doubts about Metro's relationship with a federal agency it is counting on for funding, Metro President Frank Wilson said Tuesday.
A letter from Sherry Little, deputy administrator of the Federal Transit Administration, withdraws that agency's approval of preliminary engineering studies and other elements of rail lines planned for the North and Southeast corridors.
The letter, which Wilson said arrived Friday, said Metro must do additional environmental studies, including public hearings, before it can acquire land and start construction. It said Metro's October decision to build light rail in all five of its transit corridors, rather than bus rapid transit that could be converted to rail in four of them, requires the extra information and review.
Wilson said Metro already had provided almost all of the requested information and can quickly generate the rest. He said, however, that the letter's content and tone suggest that the healthy working relationship the two agencies have enjoyed may be deteriorating.
"There is a very hard edge to this letter," Wilson said. "They're acting as if light rail transit is a whole different planet" from bus rapid transit, when "the only real difference is the vehicle."
Apparently, the difference is somewhat more significant, or the technical experts in the FTA wouldn't have asked for better documentation.
Just because the newspaper of record in Houston frequently rhapsodizes over METRO press releases and pretty graphs from transit organizations that merely advocate for community involvement (*wink*) doesn't mean the people in D.C. who actually approve the funding for these boondoggles are similarly pliant. That seems to have piqued Mr. Wilson!
In reality, METRO's zig from light rail for all corridors (as promised in the 2003 referendum), then zag to bus rapid transit for some corridors (nowhere mentioned in the 2003 referendum, but favored by the feds), then zig back to light rail for all corridors has created these difficulties, as the FTA letter makes clear -- although if we are to believe Christof Spieler, who is quoted once again in the article (and who, admittedly, does produce very pretty graphs), this is no big deal.
Unsurprisingly, no critics of METRO's light rail operations and policymaking are cited by Snyder.
UPDATE (12-06-2007): As Michelle Mittelstadt's story in today's Chronicle makes clear, METRO has only itself to blame for the possible delay to its construction plans:
Before Metro's board voted in October to rework its plan for new rapid transit lines, the agency's president was warned by the Federal Transit Administration that such a change could result in delays and force a return to the drawing board, federal officials said Wednesday.
That message was repeated with far greater detail when Metropolitan Transit Authority President Frank Wilson met with FTA officials in Washington on Nov. 14, FTA Associate Administrator Wes Irvin said.
"There was no blindsiding from this agency to Houston Metro," Irvin said.
Wilson said this week that the FTA's decision to withdraw its preliminary engineering approval for rail lines planned for the North and Southeast corridors, officially outlined in a letter to Metro on Friday, came as a shock.
Frank "Procurement Disaster" Wilson was not entirely forthcoming with the truth. How... shocking!
BLOGVERSATION: Lose an Eye, It's a Sport, TBIFOC.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 12/05/07 10:38 PM |
What Tilman wants...
KTRK-13's Miya Shay posts some interesting news and documents on her blog:
You may remember that a few years ago, the Downtown Aquarium leased portions of an old Houston Fire Dept. land to build the entertainment complex. Now the Aquarium, owned by Landry's Restaurants, Inc., is looking to lease the old Fire Alarm Building property. According to City Council documents, Landry's wanted to redevelop the land back in 2003 but it couldn't reach an agreement with the City. The City tried to sell the land, but couldn't get the money it was looking for. Now, the City wants to enter into a lease agreement that would be effective through 2041! According to the City Council documents, Landry's rent would go from $150,000 a year to $250,000 a year.
Shay notes that the proposal was tagged at Council today, but we suspect that Tilman will get what he wants (with the approval of some media outlets). He usually does.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 12/05/07 06:05 PM |
Owning the (hyper)local story
Chron.com posts this breaking news:
Smoke could be seen above the buildings near the Majestic Theater at Main and Preston early this afternoon.
Firefighters were arriving at the scene around 12:40 p.m. Smoke could be seen coming from behind Deans Easy Credit and Clothing at 316 Main, according to one eyewitness. Diners at Mia Bella Trattoria were being evacuated.
No further information was immediately available.
That was posted at 1:23 pm.
I guess nobody was available to WALK the few blocks from the Chron building to the news scene, interview a public official, and call the information back into the mothership.
But it's nice to know the news team could see smoke out of their windows at 801 Texas Avenue!
Some days, we actually miss the Froot Loops recaps of TV reporters on the scene of breaking news.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 12/05/07 02:36 PM |
Adventures in Chron headline writing (cont'd)
Yesterday, Chron.com posted an AP story about a recent urban walkability study, and supplied the following headline:
That really wasn't consistent with the story, but Chron headline writing is frequently an adventure, so it wasn't that surprising.
However, sometime after Chelsea Hotel Number Two and Lose an Eye, It's a Sport skewered the story, it got a new headline and subheadline:
D.C. the top city in walkability; Tampa, not so much
The Houston area ranks No. 21 on the list with Sugar Land Town Square
It's worth noting that the Houston area finished 21st out of the 30 largest Metro areas analyzed (helpful context), and that Sugar Land's Town Square apparently counted in the Houston area's favor (illustrating that this wasn't really a survey of urban walkability, but a survey of walkable places in metro areas including suburbs).
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 12/05/07 01:35 PM |
Noriega: Grease bags are silly, but so what?!
KHOU-11 reports that Mayor White and his Council have signed off one of the silliest proposals to reach Council during his administration -- the plan to distribute 15,000 "fat trapper" bags to select residents.
“Sometimes solutions are simple, but it’s easy to make fun of this one,” said Council Member Melissa Noriega before voting ‘yes.’ “We should not just dismiss it because it’s silly. It’s an important issue that concerns a lot of neighborhoods and it’s a reasonable way to address it.”
Wrong!
You should have dismissed it precisely because it was silly.
Voting yes for a proposal you admit is silly is... even sillier.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 12/05/07 01:04 PM |
More on public-private Grand Parkway proposal
Following-up on yesterday's post about the county considering an unsolicited proposal to complete the Grand Parkway as a public-private partnership, here's Bill Murphy's latest reporting:
In other business, the court authorized employees to study an unsolicited offer for the county to enter a public-private partnership to build and operate the 197-mile Grand Parkway as a toll road.
County Judge Ed Emmett said he would like the county to control the road and have its profits benefit the region rather than the rest of the state.
Studying the plan put forward by Grand Parkway Constructors is prudent, but should not be taken as support for the concept, he said.
The Texas Department of Transportation has the final say over who builds and controls the Grand Parkway, the outermost ring around Houston. Grand Parkway Constructors' principals are Williams Brothers Construction and Dannenbaum Engineering.
We already know where Judge Emmett stands on the Grand Parkway. How it gets done is another matter.
Charles Bacarrise, who will be running against Emmett in the Republican primary for county judge, has sent along his reaction to the "Grand Parkway Constructors" proposal:
NO public private partnerships needs to be used in our region when the Harris County Toll Road Authority is sitting on a $700 million-plus cash reserve, with over $360 million in annual revenue income — and that’s BEFORE the $60 million Emmett toll tax increase went into effect in September. Second, the project presents an obvious conflict of interest based on the parties involved. Engineer Jim Dannenbaum and Doug Pitcock, CEO of Williams Bros, are major contributors to every member of commissioners court. Now they come to this body and ask them to give them an annuity? If I were county judge, I would lead the fight to reject this outright.
The "Constructors" proposal does raise eyebrows.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 12/05/07 05:00 AM |
04 December 2007
Continental and IAH test paperless boarding
The Chronicle's Bill Hensel Jr. reports that Continental Airlines and Bush Intercontinental Airport are beginning to test paperless boarding passes today:
Some Continental Airlines' passengers leaving Houston will be the first in the nation to board flights without waving a paper boarding pass, as long as they have a cell phone handy.
A unique new check-in procedure using cell phones or personal digital assistants as boarding passes is being unveiled by Continental Airlines and the Transportation Security Administration at George Bush Intercontinental Airport today.
The three-month pilot program involves technology using encrypted bar codes on mobile device screens, something not being used anywhere else in the world, TSA official Melvin Carraway said.
"We have been in favor of this for a long time and had fairly consistent dialogue with TSA on our desire to do this," said Mark Bergsrud, a senior vice president for Houston-based Continental. "We were ready technically and we are pretty nimble with our ability to develop software and test it."
Carraway said the TSA, which has had a problem with people trying to use fraudulent paper boarding passes in the past, is confident the technology can't be cracked.
While the technology geek in me likes the idea of paperless boarding passes for the sake of convenience, I'm not entirely reassured by TSA's statement that the technology is invulnerable in terms of security (after all, this would be the same TSA that is ever vigilant against the threat of 5 ounces of shampoo making it into the airport, but that fares less well in stopping bombmaking materials during TSA security test runs). Still, I'm looking forward to giving the new system a try.
If anyone gets a chance to test it, please let us know about the experience!
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 12/04/07 10:59 AM |
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