05 September 2007
River Oaks Shopping Center is no more
KTRK-13's Mike McGuff has details of the shopping center's demise and, for the non-faint-of-heart, pictures of the before and after:
Crews began demolishing the building Tuesday around noon as supporters of historic preservation looked on and took pictures.
"I think there is a song called they tore down paradise to pave a parking lot," said area resident Tom Horan. "I think they could have saved it and remodeled it to fit their needs."
The building that was torn down once contained businesses like the Black Eyed Pea restaurant, Three Brothers Bakery and clothing stores. As the area is fully cleared, crews will begin building a national bookstore chain and parking garage.
Residents and supporters fear that the change robs the area of the original art deco architecture and design.
"It's an urban death. I feel like I am watching someone die here," said Sarah Gish of Save Our Landmarks. "It's part of our history, it's a part of our community fabric. Tearing into this part of the shopping center makes it not as historic as if this part was still standing."
Well, that might be a bit overly dramatic. Who knows -- maybe 70 years from now someone will consider the Barnes and Noble an historic landmark and fight to keep it standing!
Can we designate the trees along Metro's proposed Richmond route an historic landmark, too?
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 09/05/07 05:03 AM |
04 September 2007
Mayor White gets a big property tax reduction
Mayor White's property value went from $2.2 million last year to $1.2 million this year...because he lives in a floodplain.
[The mayor's] office said he didn’t ask for a reduction, the county just gave it to him.
Wow! That's not something you hear every day.
The other person in KHOU's story, who also lives in a floodplain, used Mayor White's appraisal reduction as an example when he was protesting his own property taxes:
Wilson didn’t get the mayor’s 32-percent discount.
Instead he got 5 percent.
“Five percent is all? That’s great,” he said. “Usually I get it raised every year 10 percent to 20 percent. I felt like I was a winner.”
Wilson estimates he’ll now save $1,200 a year in property taxes. And since FEMA just recently put hundreds of additional lots in the floodway, Wilson believes those owners have a case to lower their taxes at least as much or perhaps more.
If it works for Mayor White, who didn't even have to protest to get his appraisal reduced, it should work for regular folks. Right?
“You know if the mayor is going to get a 32-percent reduction, then everybody that’s in the floodplain should get one also,” Wilson said. “I don’t begrudge the mayor for getting that reduction, because we all pay too much in property taxes. We all should have it.”
Amen.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 09/04/07 05:01 AM |
03 September 2007
Is she a reporter, editorialist, or unfunny blogger?
We've long suggested that the Chronicle shutter its D.C. news bureau, and either rely on pooled Hearst coverage of Washington or go with wire copy. We've suggested as much because we can't really see why the local newspaper expends the resources required to maintain a bureau that rarely publishes news that isn't covered adequately by many other outlets, especially when those resources could be put to good use boosting the newspaper's local coverage or its woeful editing and headline writing.
The more we read Julie Mason's blog, the more we wonder what in the world the Chronicle is trying to accomplish with its D.C. bureau.
Mason is allegedly the newspaper's White House correspondent, which we think makes her not an opinion columnist, but a reporter. So we've long tried to understand why a reporter for a major newspaper is allowed to refer to the major newsmakers she covers on her blog with derogatory nicknames like "Bushie" (for the President of the United States) or Ciaoberto Gone-Zales (for the now-departed U.S. Attorney General). Whatever political opinion one may hold of those two men, surely most reasonable people don't think those nicknames are appropriate references by a White House beat reporter writing on her newspaper's website.
Some time ago, I emailed Chronicle reader rep James Campbell about Mason's editorializing, asking him if the Chronicle considered her a beat writer or opinion columnist (in light of her flippant and disrespectful blog references to the people she covers). Here is the response Campbell received from Alan Bernstein, then listed as National Editor for the Chronicle:
The Chronicle considers Julie Mason a beat reporter, whose reporting is usually online rather than in print as way of offering online readers a special resource and to allow her work to be read more widely. She does perform pool duty like any other White House reporter. Her column, like Clay Robison’s from Austin, appears on the news pages rather than the opinion page because she is chartered to offer insights and insider news from Washington, as opposed to, say, her personal opinion about who deserves to win the next election. Her weekly column is somewhat akin to the type of articles we run labeled “analysis.”
Her blog is a "special" resource, all right -- with the sort of fare we expect to find on Wonkette or Firedoglake, rather than the blog of a beat reporter who covers the White House professionally (if only for a second-tier newspaper). The Chronicle's Austin bureau runs a very good blog that supplements the bureau's news coverage, and Matt Stiles (with occasional co-bloggers) does the same for the City Hall beat -- without flippant and disrespectful references to the newsmakers they cover. It's not clear why their approach (with a cleaner break between reporting and editorializing) does not apply to Ms. Mason and her blog.
ANNE LINEHAN ADDS: We are often told that journalism is best handled by the professionals. If that's the case, where did Julie Mason's professionalism go? And why would we depend upon her for White House news and analysis, when we know from her blog that she's a liberal journalist harboring deep animosity toward the Bush Adminstration?
It colors everything she writes.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 09/03/07 05:53 PM |
Surprise! Chron facts are wrong in HISD story (updated!)
The Chronicle's HISD reporting is still as stunningly incompetent as ever, with the latest example being today's story on how HISD discriminates through uniform requirements. It is a textbook example (sorry!) of the new MSM meme, "the narrative was right, but the facts were wrong."
Here's Sarah Viren's narrative:
A Chronicle review of dress codes within the state's largest school district found that high schools that have bucked the uniform trend are, on average, whiter and more affluent than those with stricter dress standards, state numbers show.
And here are her facts:
Of the nine high schools still without standardized dress requirements, four are majority white, a rarity in HISD overall, which is about 90 percent minority. Of the more than 20 with some form of uniform dress, only one campus — Lamar — is majority white.
Except that Viren's facts are flat out wrong. She summarizes her facts, but doesn't provide the reader with the actual data. In the comments to Viren's story, HISD spokesman Terry Abbott provides the data Viren didn't:
The premise of the story – that many of the HISD high schools that do not require students to wear uniforms are majority white – is wrong.
The story claims: “Of the nine high schools still without standardized dress requirements, four are majority white ... .” This claim is false. Of the nine high schools without standardized dress in HISD, only one of them – the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts – is “majority white.”
Here are the demographic breakdowns of those nine schools:
• Bellaire High School – 43% white, 41% black and Hispanic
• Carnegie Vanguard High School – 43% white, 54% black and Hispanic
• Challenge Early College High School – 25% white, 68% black and Hispanic
• Eastwood Academy – 2% white, 98% black and Hispanic
• HSPVA – 56% white, 40% black and Hispanic
• Madison High School -- .4% white, 99% black and Hispanic
• Liberty High School – 0% white, 99% black and Hispanic
• Westside High School – 33% white, 57% black and Hispanic
• Worthing High School -- .7% white, 99% black and HispanicOnly one of the nine schools – HSPVA – is majority white. The other eight are not majority white, and seven of the eight have a majority of minority students. This is a very substantial error that invalidates the premise of the story.
The story also claims: “Of the more than 20 with some form of uniform dress, only one campus — Lamar — is majority white.”
This claim is also false. Lamar High School’s student population is 61 percent black and Hispanic and only 34 percent white. Clearly, Lamar is not “majority white”, as the story claimed.
Woopsie! It would seem Viren is confused about the difference between a majority and a plurality. And then there's the problem with her "facts," which undermines the premise of her story.
What an embarrassment! Although, the Chron isn't often embarrassed by its bad reporting, and certainly not when it involves HISD.
UPDATE: That was fast! The Chron has now revised Viren's "facts" paragraph. Here's the original version:
Of the nine high schools still without standardized dress requirements, four are majority white, a rarity in HISD overall, which is about 90 percent minority. Of the more than 20 with some form of uniform dress, only one campus — Lamar — is majority white.
And here's the new version:
Of the nine high schools still without standardized dress requirements, whites make up the largest single ethnic group in three schools — a rarity in HISD overall, which is about 90 percent minority — and in one of them, HSPVA, whites are in the majority. Of the more than 20 with some form of uniform dress, only one campus — Lamar — has whites making up the largest single ethnic group.
And there's an editor's note at the end of the story:
Editor's note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly described four HISD schools without standardized dress requirements as having white students in the majority. Of the nine high schools without standardized dress requirements, whites make up the largest single ethnic group in three schools, and in one of them whites are in the majority.
And tomorrow there'll probably be a small correction on the bottom of Page 2.
But other than that, the narrative is still good, you know -- the facts just needed a little tweaking.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 09/03/07 10:42 AM |
02 September 2007
Twelve million dollars for replacement water meters and parts
City Council agendas are often tough to translate (links to explanatory information would be most welcome), so I'm curious if this agenda item says what I think it says:
33. RECOMMENDATION from Finance & Administration Department to adopt award to BADGER METER, INC - $8,630,476.00, HD SUPPLY WATERWORKS - $1,130,125.00, AQUA‑METRIC SALES COMPANY - $1,370,908.00 and MACAULAY CONTROLS COMPANY - $1,037,529.00 for Water Meters and Water Meter Replacement Parts for Department of Public Works & Engineering - 5 Years - $12,169,038.00 - Enterprise Funds
TAGGED BY COUNCIL MEMBERS GARCIA and JOHNSON
This was Item 8 on Agenda of August 29, 2007
I think this is related to the city's disastrous attempt to automate water meter reading, but please correct me if I've got this wrong.
Is the city still spending money on parts for the cutting-edge meters that have performed so poorly? Or is this going toward the more dependable, old-style meters?
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 09/02/07 03:48 PM |
Rick Casey returns (and with Houston material even!)
A few Chronicle folks tipped us off to the fact that columnist Rick Casey has been prowling the building at 801 Texas Avenue, and that he would soon be returning to column duty.
Today, he's officially back. Here's the announcement:
Editor's note: Rick Casey has returned from sabbatical and his column will appear Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Lisa Falkenberg's column will appear in this space Tuesdays and Thursdays, and Lisa Gray's column moves to the Star section later this month.
Today's column takes a look at the 2009 mayoral race. In Houston, not San Antonio, even! So that's sort of a promising return.
BLOGVERSATION: Slampo's Place.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 09/02/07 09:07 AM |
Grand Parkway Segment C generates opposition
The Grand Parkway continues to stir up opposition -- this time in Fort Bend and Brazoria Counties. Last week, a public meeting was held to solicit input for Segment C, "a 26-mile four-lane controlled access toll road with intermittent frontage roads from US 59 (Southwest Freeway) to SH 288 through Fort Bend and Brazoria Counties."
Folks in that area are not in favor of the project (via the Fort Bend Herald-Coaster):
But the vast majority of residents and others who attended Thursday's meeting said they never want to see the 26-mile, four-lane, controlled-access highway built. Many who spoke during the public hearing were critical of the project, with some using the "no toll, no road" slogan in opposition to the highway, which would be a toll road.
Some of the main reasons cited for the opposition:
€ The highway is being expanded for traffic that does not exist.
€ The project is too costly, and money used for the highway could be better spent elsewhere.
€ The highway could damage quality of life for people who live near construction sites.
€ Noise will increase and air quality will decline.
€ The project is essentially a way for developers to make money and for politicians to profit.
€ Plus numerous environment issues.
Patrons were each given three minutes to talk, and more than a dozen people spoke while others had a chance to give written comments. Only two people spoke in direct support of the project.
These concerns are similar to the concerns Spring/Tomball residents have regarding the F-2 segment that I have blogged about previously: it would be environmentally devastating; developers are the main beneficiaries at the expense of local residents and business owners; and, up here in the Spring area, many people would lose their property for the unnecessary road.
Few if any in the audience agreed with Gornet's assessment. Jesse Cuellar of Richmond won the loudest cheers after he spoke. He was concerned about - among other things - environmental issues, water runoff, property values and quality of life. Cuellar said he thinks the reasons given for the project amount to a lie - and that it is being built for entities with commercial interests.
Jerry Carpenter of Greatwood said before the meeting that he was against the project because he didn't think it would alleviate traffic problems and that the project is being done to benefit developers - and he's upset that the project would be so close to Brazos Bend State Park.
People from special interest groups were there, including Brandt Mannchen, chairman of the air quality committee for the Sierra Club's Houston region, who shared his environmental concerns. Robin Holzer, chairwoman of the board of the Houston-based Citizens' Transportation Coalition, said the project is a bad use of transportation money.
Oh look, Robin Holzer found a transportation project she's against. Honestly, if Robin wants to see a bad use of transportation money, she should look at the billions Metro wants to waste on rail transit that will do nothing to alleviate congestion, but will do lots to increase it, and will enrich developers.
I wish the folks who will be affected by Segment C all the luck in the world fighting the Grand Parkway Association and TxDOT.
And I would like to know where the three gentlemen running for Harris County judge stand on the issue of the F-2 segment.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 09/02/07 08:46 AM |
01 September 2007
Chron headline writers strike again (cont'd)
Here's the headline on a recent Chronicle story:
Here are the first two paragraphs of the story:
A Crosby physician collected about $1 million from insurance companies after a series of fires over the past 10 years destroyed three of his homes, an expensive sports car and his office, authorities said.
Dr. David Mark McClellan, 53, was charged Wednesday with felony insurance fraud in connection with one of the fires.
Memo to Chron headline writers and editors: What is newsworthy about the story is not that a physician collected $1 million in insurance. Rather, the news is that he has been charged for felony insurance fraud related to the payouts. A better headline would have been, "Crosby physician charged with felony insurance fraud / Collected $1 million in claims over 10 years".
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 09/01/07 05:28 PM |
Comcast: Prices are heading up
The Chronicle's David Kaplan reports that Comcast is boosting its prices:
The cable bill for Houston-area Comcast customers will soon go up an average of 6.1 percent, the company announced Friday.
Exactly how much more customers will pay depends on the cable services received. Comcast's phone and high-speed Internet rates are not going up.
Starting in October, Comcast's standard cable bill will increase $3, from $44.99 to $47.99, the company said. Digital Classic, its most popular digital package, will jump $5 to $60.99 from $55.99.
Customers will be given information about their particular rate increases when they get their September bills.
A portion of the increase in the cost of digital service will be offset by the fact the digital converter box monthly rental fee is being dropped from $7 to $3.99, the company said.
How Comcastic!
BLOGVERSATION: By the Bayou.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 09/01/07 05:00 PM |
Task force: Burden on victims to reduce convenience store crime
Mayor White's task force on convenience-store crime issued recommendations this week for addressing the issue. Unsurprisingly, recommendations put the burden of reducing convenience store crime mostly on the victims of the crime.
Here's is an excerpt from the Chronicle's reporting:
Mayor Bill White's Task Force on Convenience Store Security has recommended that shop owners take steps to deter crime at their businesses such as improving video surveillance and clearing clutter from windows.
The 38-member task force, comprised of city officials, the Houston Police Department and convenience store owners, announced the recommendations at a City Hall press conference today. The group had met for eight months.
[snip]
The task force is recommending that the city establish ordinances that require minimum standards for the number of video surveillance cameras and the type of lighting to be used. Other recommendations call for clearing clutter from windows to make crime more visible and minimizing the amount of cash on hand at all times.
And KPRC-2:
The group spent eight months researching and evaluating ways to increase safety. They recommended that the Houston Police Department establish a convenience store robbery unit to increase police presence and monitor crime.
Storeowners were also recommended to take a few steps to protect themselves.
"I am requesting, and directing, city employees to work with members of council and stakeholders in drafting ordinances which cover the cash drop boxes, surveillance cameras, silent alarm systems and store lighting," White said.
"Those little things should communicate that it is not convenient to rob stores, and it should be inconvenient for anyone thinking to do so," Councilman Adrian Garcia said.
Of course HPD needs to increase its police presence. But with HPD's manpower problems -- a problem left to the current administration by Lee Brown, but one exacerbated by the White administration's early indifference to the issue -- reallocating existing police resources to convenience store crime means depriving other crime units of needed resources, which will have an impact on their effectiveness.
So, Mayor White's solution is to push the problem off on the victims of convenience store crime, with the political cover of a task-force recommendation.
And to correct KPRC-2 -- the task force isn't talking about "recommendations" for the victims of crime (convenience store owners), but rather it is talking about the city enacting ordinances to force certain behavior from those victims of crime.
As Chau Nguyen and Jeff McShan report for KHOU-11, one convenience store owner sees the gambit for exactly what it is:
But in a business where storeowners like Carol Chang claim to make money by nickels and dimes, she thinks forcing a store to install security will cost them their business.
“A lot people think convenience stores make a lot of money, but the truth is when you start a business then you find out what happened,” said Chang.
We're told requirements will vary depending on the store's location. The higher the crime in the area, the more security measures they'll need.
“We'll have a timeline where they would have to have those in place in the future,” said Houston Assistant Police Chief John Trevino.
Ms. Chang is right, but Mayor White and his compliant Council want to be seen as doing something about convenience-store crime. With HPD's manpower shortage and ineffective leadership at the very top, their version of "doing something" is to push more of the burden onto the victims of crime. It's just another variant of Chief Hurtt's earlier advice on crime.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 09/01/07 04:49 PM |
Dolcefino wraps up Sports Authority series
KTRK-13's Wayne Dolcefino has wrapped up his series of stories on the Sports Authority.
Here's a link to the report that ran on Thursday night.
Here's a link to the report that ran on Friday night.
As we've noted before, this quasi-governmental body fulfilled its purpose some time ago. It's time to shut it down.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 09/01/07 04:14 PM |
Breathe easier, Houston bar patrons
Houston's bar patrons can breathe a little easier today, as the smoking ban expands to bars:
Smokers will have fewer places to light up beginning Saturday when a new, stricter citywide smoking ban goes into effect, KPRC Local 2 reported.
The smoking ban for the city of Houston will expand to bars on Sept. 1.
The current law prohibits smoking in some indoor workplaces, including restaurants, but smoking is allowed in bars and the bar sections of restaurants.
Enforcement is virtually nonexistent (since that would cost the city money), so it will be interesting to see if all bars and patrons comply with the ordinance, or if any incidents result from nonsmokers confronting violators.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 09/01/07 04:04 PM |
30 August 2007
Accident on Spur 527 death ramp!
There was an accident on the Spur 527 Death Ramp earlier this evening. Here are a couple of (bad) photos from my cell phone:
Of course, as TXDOT's PR representatives love to say, there's nothing wrong with the ramp.
Nothing to see. Move along. Unless your 527 merge turns out badly and you must be towed.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 08/30/07 08:30 PM |
Dolcefino and the Sports Authority - Part 3
Part 3 of Wayne Dolcefino's investigation of the Sports Authority gave us a glimpse of internal board members' emails and their unflattering portrayal of Billy Burge.
The story really has to be read to be believed, but some of the "highlights" include Burge's effort to get his niece hired to a $40,000-per-year position; Burge's getting a personalized love song written for his wife by someone who hoped to get future Sports Authority business; the Toyota Center garage that has cost taxpayers over a million dollars; and a ridiculous lack of public meetings (what a shocker!).
All this from a quasi-governmental agency that has access to taxpayer money, with little oversight, and no accountability. It's everything that's wrong with government, wrapped up in one nice little package. And Billy Burge is the bow on top.
In Part 4 tonight, Dolcefino hints that tax dollars might already have been used toward a soccer stadium -- another shocker!
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 08/30/07 07:36 PM |
29 August 2007
METRO promises a lovely world of crape myrtles; Chron applauds
On August 15, the Chronicle ran a letter from Robert McClain, who owns a business on Richmond and opposes rail on that street. Here is the letter in its entirety:
LIKE many in the coalition who oppose a Richmond rail line, I supported the 2003 referendum in which Houstonians voted for a commuter rail system on Westpark, connecting to the suburbs and supposedly to take cars off of our freeways. Now the Metropolitan Transit Authority has ignored the will of voters and converted the original plan to an "urban" system which reduces mobility. Metro proposes adding 50 new traffic lights along this rail alignment.
On peak days, 60,000 cars cross Richmond Avenue at Kirby, Shepherd and Buffalo Speedway. Yet Metro's own study said a Richmond line will create unacceptable congestion at 31 intersections - in short, expect near gridlock.
As for clean air, it will only be worse with thousands of cars jammed along Richmond Avenue intersections and increased commuter traffic on the Southwest Freeway.
The Main Street line has not removed any cars from our roads. Even the Environmental Protection Agency rejected Houston's application for pollution credits, concluding that the rail line did not reduce auto traffic.
After five years of construction, the loss of hundreds of mature trees, increased flooding, relocation of countless utility, phone and water lines, here is the punchline: It will most likely not even be rail. As in the other "rail" corridors that have been approved, it will be rubber-tired, diesel-powered, glorified buses going down a dedicated lane of traffic. It was just another "switch and bait."
Why not spend our tax dollars in ways that would really improve traffic mobility. Improve the bus service and get cars off the freeways with commuter rail; help preserve the quality of life of the entire city.
Although most of McClain's points are pretty solid, his assertion that the Richmond line will "most likely not even be rail" is an overstatement. All indications are that METRO intends that corridor to be rail, although technically it is still considering other options.
While it is not unusual for the erratic Chronicle letters editor to run letters that sometimes overstate matters (or that sometimes are just wrong), it is unusual for a Chronicle columnist to devote a significant portion of a column to debunking a reader letter. Nonetheless, that's how Chron transportation columnist Rad Sallee chose to lead his column on Monday:
Similar suspicions were raised by others who, like McClain, oppose Metro putting the route on Richmond. Metro officials emphatically deny any retreat from their light rail commitment.
"That's the wildest rumor and untruth that I've heard in a long, long time," said president and CEO Frank Wilson.
"There never has been any question that the University Corridor will be light rail," board chairman David Wolff said Thursday.
Metro spokeswoman Sandra Salazar said analysis in the voluminous Draft Environmental Impact Statement, or DEIS, for the line justifies light rail as cost-effective.
So what's the basis for doubt? That same environmental statement, according to three of the opponents.
Let's take a look.
•Bus Rapid Transit, or BRT for short, is one of four transit options examined in the DEIS. The BRT buses look somewhat like trains and would run in a guideway that Metro says is exactly like the one for rail tracks.
"Why is BRT-Convertible being seriously studied at this late date?" asks Afton Oaks resident Ted Richardson.
First, it's not as if Metro were slipping that option in at the last minute. A brief search turned up slide presentations from March and June 2006 that include BRT among the choices to be evaluated, and it was, no doubt, considered even earlier.
Why is it still one of the options? Because the evaluation process required for federal funding is still going on. If Metro wants light rail instead of BRT, it needs to justify the added expense, and the DEIS analysis is part of that case.
Including BRT also is a prudent hedge, because if the cost/benefit numbers turn out to not justify light rail, they might at least support BRT.
[snip]
There are things in the DEIS that do raise questions — and some, such as the 197 median trees to be removed, that raise major concern. Also, its ridership forecasts show only a modest advantage for light rail over BRT, given rail's considerably higher cost.
But evidence for a bait and switch on the mode of transit seems slim to zero.
At this point, nobody knows that outcome.
Evidence of an intentional "bait and switch" is slim at this point. However, Sallee concedes that "[i]ncluding BRT ... is a prudent hedge." That would seem to be evidence that BRT is an option on the table. So, while Chronicle letter writer McClain may have overstated his case, he's not completely out in left field to suggest that the Richmond-rail folks could get stuck with BRT, just like the people in other corridors who thought they were getting light rail (and not BRT) as a result of the 2003 vote.
Surely METRO appreciated a Chron columnist putting a Chron letter writer in his proper place, though. How dare the public question METRO!
Here is some of Sallee's other METRO promotional work from the last week:
Q: Some who live or work along Richmond fear that the actual number of trees lost will be much larger than 197 when you add trees on each side of the street to those in the median. What's the real total?
A [from METRO "tree guy" Burt Ballanfant]: I don't know the actual number, but it will be less than the one in the DEIS report because we're very much committed to transplanting and replacing trees.
Q: A lot of people will see the loss of mature oaks as a huge negative. Two sets of tracks and boarding platforms take up space, and the trains need room overhead for the power line. How can you avoid taking out a lot of trees?
A: Some will have to be removed, but with others you may be able to go in and have professional pruning done so the wires can go underneath them. A lot of trees may need to be picked up and moved 10 or 20 feet, but they will stay in the corridor to keep the feeling of greenery and shade and beauty.
Q: We're talking about live oaks, with deep roots and massive trunks. How can you transplant those?
A: Some may be too big to move, but trees larger than you might think can be transplanted. I have two live oaks in front of my house that came from the parking lot in front of Saks Fifth Avenue, and they're probably 12 inches (in diameter).
Q: Oaks take years to reach maturity. What will the street look like at first?
A: We'll be planting different species. In some places you may have to use something like crape myrtle, and in others you may need a tree like a pine that will grow vertically rather than widely. The thrust of this is to make sure that when rail is built along the Richmond-Westpark corridor, it is more attractive after we're done than it was to begin with.
Lovely Oak Trees along Richmond,
via my Flickr account
Here's one more snippet from Sallee's work this week, the conclusion to his story on METRO's recent public comment session:
Robin Holzer said that despite their differences, "many on both sides share the same concerns" but are separated by "a difference of trust."
Holzer urged Metro, in moving forward, "to work with neighborhoods and involve us in the planning."
Sedlak said Metro would.
The first quote from Holzer (who does not live or own a business on Richmond) is nonsensical. Seriously, if anyone can parse it intelligibly, please do so in the comments.
It's the sort of quote a journalist works in when he wants to quote a certain person, and wants to conclude his story a certain way.
And Sallee has been doing that sort of thing enough lately that we can't help but wonder if he is capable of covering this issue objectively. It wouldn't be the first time such questions have been raised about the Chronicle's ability to cover METRO objectively.
BLOGVERSATION: Lose an Eye, It's a Sport (and here).
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 08/29/07 10:25 PM |
Dolcefino and the Sports Authority - Part 2
The second part of Wayne Dolcefino's look at the Houston Sports Authority aired last night.
Last night's topic was the Rockets' expensive, money-losing parking garage. Here's an excerpt:
Toyota Center in the heart of downtown is home to a chunk of the huge debt we have because we have built sports stadiums across our city. But we didn't just build a stadium for Les Alexander and his teams.
You built the Toyota Center parking garage next door. And if you want to see your tax dollars going down the drain, just enter there. You know how much money the Toyota garage has lost since it opened in 2003? We found it lost $1.2 million.
"We have a situation where the sports authority collects very little of the revenue, yet pays the lion's share of expenses," said CPA Bob Martin.
The Rockets pay the expenses and keep all the money made on game days, but you pay expenses to operate the garage the rest of the time -- a virtually empty garage.
"We've been unable during the day to get anybody to park there," said Billy Burge with the Houston Sports Authority.
Look at the receipts on one day, they totaled just $14.00. But under the lease, the sports authority inked with the Rockets, the garage has to stay open and staffed, even for a handful of Rockets executives to park there.
Dolcefino promises he'll have more on the Sports Authority tonight.
Why does this entity still exist?
BLOGVERSATION: Lose an Eye, It's a Sport.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 08/29/07 08:39 AM |
Houston hurries to add more red light cameras before new law takes effect
With little fanfare, the city is adding 20 more red light cameras, possibly to beat a deadline, even though the city has already installed the 50 cameras it said would be initially installed (via the Chronicle's Matt Stiles):
Houston police quietly have moved to install new red-light cameras at 20 intersections already monitored by the system, allowing citations for motorists traveling in the opposite direction, officials confirmed Tuesday.
The 20 new cameras are expected to start working Friday. Motorists caught by the new cameras would be issued warnings during a month-long grace period ending in October, police said.
The move to add more cameras, which had not been publicly disclosed, appears to conflict with the terms of a contract the City Council approved in 2006 with American Traffic Solutions Inc., the private company that installs and monitors the cameras.
That agreement includes payment arrangements with the company for a total of 50 intersection "approaches," or cameras monitoring specific directions at a location.
But department officials said Tuesday that they long had planned to increase the number of cameras at some locations, and they denied the contract limited that total to 50 intersections.
"These are different approaches at those same intersections," said Executive Assistant Chief Martha Montalvo, who supervises the program.
And now, let's highlight some fine Martha Montalvo quotes:
Montalvo said the decision to add the new cameras had nothing to do with a new state law, which takes effect Saturday, that could require some cities to do engineering studies at new locations.
Of course not!
She also dismissed a common complaint that the new cameras were intended to generate more revenue, even as the new law requires that a portion of the fines go to a regional trauma center fund.
"This is not about revenue," she said. "This is about changing the behavior and public safety."
Of course not!
Montalvo said late Tuesday that she was not aware of any briefings to council members about the new cameras.
Of course not!
But she said Police Chief Harold Hurtt had planned to make an announcement later this week.
Before he leaves town for the weekend?
Montalvo has in the past said expanding to more sites was possible, but only after the department hired someone to study the effectiveness of the current cameras at reducing crashes.
Montalvo said Tuesday she had not arranged for such a study, but that one was still planned.
Sure.
We know it's about revenue. The city needs to recoup some of the money it'll be losing thanks to the new state law. If it was about safety and changing behavior, the city would have lengthened yellow light times.
It'd be fun to put red light cameras to a vote -- not before Council, but before the citizens of Houston.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 08/29/07 05:21 AM |
28 August 2007
Earthlink cuts jobs, has no comment on delayed Wi-Fi buildout
Earthlink, the company chosen by the city of Houston to build out its citywide Wi-Fi system, has made official massive job cuts that have been rumored for a while:
Internet service provider EarthLink announced a plan today to cut 900 jobs, or about half its work force, and close four offices as part of a restructuring plan aimed at reducing operating costs.
The restructuring by the company, which has a contract to build a city-wide wireless network in Houston, will begin immediately and be completed by the end of the year, said Rolla P. Huff, the Atlanta-based company's president and chief executive. More cuts could be announced before the year's end, he said.
[snip]
There was no immediate word on how the restructuring would affect the Houston project, which has been stalled for months.
The company declined to comment on deals with specific cities, but EarthLink spokesman Jerry Grasso said they plan to discuss with each city where they are doing business the need for the city government to serve as the company's primary customer. Houston's contract is already based around that model.
"We will be talking to each city on an individual basis to discuss the needed changes in our new business model, which includes them stepping up to some sort of anchor tenancy agreement," he said.
As noted previously, Earthlink has not yet started the Wi-Fi buildout in Houston that should have begun months ago. The Chronicle's Dwight Silverman posted yesterday that the project had been "inexplicably delayed." However, there seems to be a ready explanation: Earthlink has discovered that it's going to be very difficult to turn a profit on the project, and is now trying to sort out its options, which likely include abandoning the project altogether or asking the city of Houston to increase its anchor tenancy fees.
A story in the Chicago Tribune reports that Chicago and its eminently sensible mayor have opted not to pursue the Earthlink Wi-Fi boondoggle there:
As envisioned in early 2006, Chicago was expected to become one of the first big cities in the country to blanket its streets and neighborhoods with a wireless Internet signal that would allow residents access to the Web in their homes and wherever they traveled in the city.
But technology is advancing and the cost of online access for consumers is declining so dramatically that Chicago has other avenues to promote more use of the Internet. As a result, the Wi-Fi deal lost luster when negotiations bogged down, according to sources close to the matter.
Chicago officials had intended that the city would offer infrastructure, but no cash, to a carrier that would use its own funds to build the network here. EarthLink and AT&T Inc. submitted proposals to the city, but after months of negotiations the parties were unable to reach agreement.
The companies sought a commitment from Chicago to be an "anchor tenant," agreeing to pay to use the Wi-Fi network to support city services, but the city declined.
[snip]
A few years ago when San Francisco, Philadelphia, Houston and other cities jumped into Wi-Fi, officials thought paying less than $20 a month to get a high-speed Internet connection anywhere in the city would find a lot of takers. They also thought advertising could support citywide free connections.
Results on both scores have been generally disappointing. In Lompoc, Calif., which activated its $2 million Wi-Fi network almost a year ago, the city signed up fewer than 500 users out of a population of more than 40,000.
"There's a serious dose of reality, much needed, that has come into play after all the hype last year about free, ad-driven Wi-Fi," said Craig Settles, a wireless business strategist and consultant based in Oakland.
Doses of reality can be helpful.
UPDATE: The Chronicle posts a story by Alexis Grant on this topic, although there's not much more in the way of details than there was in the AP copy.
UPDATE (2007-08-29): KHOU-11's Lee McGuire reports that Mayor White has cut a deal with Earthlink. They get to postpone the buildout, for which they currently do not have financing, and the city gets $5 million.
BLOGVERSATION: Lose an Eye, It's a Sport, High Tech Texan, TBIFOC, Business Unusual.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 08/28/07 10:30 PM |
27 August 2007
Shut down the Sports Authority (cont'd)
On tonight's 10pm broadcast, KTRK-13's Wayne Dolcefino took a closer look at the Houston Sports Authority's nice suite at Minute Maid Park.
It looks as if Dolcefino has more interesting reports lined up for the rest of the week.
We'll suggest once again that it's time to shut down the Sports Authority, which has fulfilled its purpose of constructing three major new sports facilities and serves no useful public purpose today.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 08/27/07 11:04 PM |
Editorial board's rash of problems threatens to erode public confidence *
On Sunday, the Chronicle ran an editorial on NASA that was rife with errors. NASA's Johnson Space Center Director Mike Coats issued a same-day press release detailing some of those errors. Chron.com commenters have pointed out the errors. At least one emailer pointed out the errors to the Chron brain trust (and blind copied me). Clearly, the Chronicle has been made aware of the errors.
Nevertheless, as Matt Bramanti notes on Lone Star Times, the Chronicle has yet to issue a correction or to run the response from Mike Coats.
While we agree wtih Bramanti's criticism of the editorial board's disregard for truth, it's not exactly the first time it's happened. This month, even. Here's a nice line from an August 18 editorial:
Michigan University's College of Aviation, in conjunction with OBAP, has partnered with five historically black colleges to create aviation fellowships and scholarships for minority students.
There are two significant problems with that line. First, Michigan's flagship comprehensive state university refers to itself as the University of Michigan, not Michigan University. Second, and much more problematic, the University of Michigan does not have a College of Aviation. The editorial should have referred to Western Michigan University, which has a well regarded College of Aviation and participates in the program described by the editorial.
I informed relevant Chronicle staffers of this error when the editorial appeared, and the response was that the editorial was written by a part-time writer, and that it was referred to that writer for correction. Maybe the writer hasn't come back to work, because the error still has not been corrected.
It's not clear why Jeff Cohen's editorial board doesn't promptly publish corrections when errors are pointed out. Then again, Cohen is the same diminutive editor who let his old friend Rick Casey engage in plagiarism with no repercussions shortly after moving to the Chronicle, so maybe it's not that surprising. It's certainly not world-class journalism, though.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 08/27/07 09:38 PM |
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