31 May 2007
Brazos Bookstore hosts Senator Kerry, remembers Molly Ivins, and celebrates the "religion of no religion"
Brazos Bookstore (2421 Bissonnet) has a triple-header for H-Town's Democrats, liberals, and/or progressives and it begins tonight. I'm sure politicos of every stripe are welcome but the interest level may be highest for those who list to the left.
Thursday, May 31, 6:00 PM
What do you get when you combine California, the Beat Generation, and the 1960s? Apparently something called the "religion of no religion." Jeffrey Kripal explains it all tonight in his book ESALEN: America and the Religion of No Religion.
Friday, June 1, 12:00 -2:00 PM
It would seem that Senator Kerry is still looking for his moment. This time he--and his wife--have cast their eyes on the future and come up with a new book: THIS MOMENT ON EARTH: Today's Environmentalists and Their Vision for the Future. This is a 2-hour event, so fans will probably want to get to the store early. The book reflects their "combined intensive research with keenly observed personal experiences." I didn't see any mention of either one speaking, so it looks like this will be a signing only. I can't help but wonder how many "pioneers" showcased are recipients of Mrs. Kerry's foundations?
Saturday, June 2, 5:30-7:30 PM
Molly Ivins brought much joy and laughter to her audience. Saturday's event has been crafted to bring out the best of Molly and her friends with an open microphone, stories, and readings. The Celebration of the Life and Work of Molly Ivins festivities will include the following special guests: Lou Dubose, Molly's co-author; Charlotte McCann, publisher of the Texas Observer; Betsy Moon, Molly's "Chief of Stuff", the Chronicle's Leon Hale; and Andy and Carla Ivins. A "Special Molly Issue" of the Texas Observer will be available. There is a $10 cover charge to help defray the cost of refreshments and the bookstore asks that you bring the correct change. Since the wine and beer will be flowing, I'm sure you can expect the unexpected.
I've always enjoyed the time spent at Brazos Bookstore. The weather we've had lately--minus the rain--is perfect for a trip to the store. Brazos has a great travel section, and they have a lot of books on architecture, particularly Houston's. I think the only thing they lack is a healthy selection of conservative books and conservative author appearances; but that's my opinion. You be the judge.
Posted by Vikk Simmons @ 05/31/07 12:21 AM |
30 May 2007
Houston Press: St. Louis telemarketer tries, fails to sell Chron
In his latest Hairballs column for the Houston Press, Richard Connelly describes a call the Press got from a St. Louis-based telemarketer trying to sell subscriptions to the Houston Chronicle.
The exchange is too hilarious to capture with a fair-use quote, so just click over and scroll down a bit.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 05/30/07 10:59 PM |
Some evacuees still not working, despite boom times in Houston
The Houston Business Journal reports that the metro area continues to enjoy stunningly low unemployment:
Employment continues to increase in the Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown area, according to figures released Wednesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The area had one of the largest increases in nonfarm employment among metropolitan areas in April compared with a year ago, with 84,900 jobs, following Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington with 92,400 jobs.
Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown also had one of the largest year-over-year percentage increases in employment among large metropolitan areas of 3.5 percentage points, second only to Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale with 4.2 percentage points.
The area's unemployment rate fell to 3.8 percent in April from 4.1 percent in March.
Once upon a time, an unemployment figure of 5% was considered "full employment," meaning that Houston really is booming at the moment.
Despite the demand for labor in Houston, one group of people remains underemployed, according to an AP report:
Nineteen months after Hurricane Katrina sent evacuees from New Orleans streaming into Houston, more than 5,000 heads of households among them are still unemployed despite the city's booming economy, officials say.
The number of jobless is contributing to the sense among some Houston-area residents that the storm's victims are a drain on the city and have worn out their welcome.
[snip]
[Mayor Bill White] -- who was recently given the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award, bestowed on politicians who risk their popularity to do what they regard as the right thing -- defended the evacuees, saying: "I don't think most people want to live in trailer cities or shelters. They want to get on with their lives."
But Republican Rep. John Culberson said the evacuees should have benefits cut off if they don't get a job.
"We're a charitable nation and Houston in particular has a big heart, and we have already gone way above and beyond the call of duty to help our neighbors," Culberson said. "It's time for everyone who can work to get to work."
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 05/30/07 10:48 PM |
Continental in the news
The Chronicle's Bill Hensel reports that Continental's regional carrier, Continental Express, will now be occupying all of Terminal B at Intercontinental, now that Northwest Airlines has moved to Terminal A:
Continental Airlines is taking over all the gates in Terminal B at Bush Intercontinental Airport for Continental Express.
For passengers there, it will mean fewer bus trips across the tarmac to board aircraft, Continental spokesman Dave Messing said Tuesday.
Continental was able to expand at Terminal B after Northwest Airlines, which had two gates in Terminal B, relocated to Terminal A earlier this month.
Houston Airport System spokesman Rich Fernandez said Tuesday that the change was made because Continental Express needs more room, and Northwest was willing to move.
"In a way it helps the passengers here," Fernandez said. "So it works for all parties."
Houston airport officials are looking at the possibility of further developing Terminal B in the long term. Director of Aviation Rick Vacar has said that is likely a project in a new Master Plan for the airport.
And the Houston Business Journal reports that Houston's hometown airline has gone all stylish:
Continental Airlines Inc. and carbon-offsetting nonprofit Sustainable Travel International on Wednesday announced a joint venture that will allow Continental passengers to calculate the carbon footprint of their itinerary and purchase carbon offsets from STI.
Brian Mullis, president of STI said that by late 2007 passengers will be able to buy the offsets at the point of ticket purchase, upon check-in, or online at continental.com. Mullis pegs the industry average payment at about $30 per passenger.
Boulder, Colo-based STI will use the money generated by carbon offsets to fund high-impact sustainable development projects such as reforestation, renewable energy and energy conservation. Passengers will be able to select which projects their payments will go to.
If that makes you feel better about flying the hometown airline, good for you. Then again, if you're a traveler more like me, you'll likely be dropping that $30 "carbon offset" in the airport bar. :)
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 05/30/07 10:32 PM |
Stiles: Mayor not happy about lege's red-light camera decision
The Chronicle's Matt Stiles posts that Mayor White isn't happy with the state legislature's action that requires cities to divert some red-light-camera revenues to trauma centers.
The mayor and his clever communications shop have made it kind of tough to complain about this.
If, as the mayor insists, the red-light cameras are all about safety and not at all about revenue, then it's hard to object to the diversion of some revenue to specific public safety/health purposes.
Then again, if the objection is that the legislature shouldn't be usurping "local control" by imposing "mandates," the mayor might have to reconsider his own notion of regulating emissions in other cities using Houston's nuisance ordinances.
It must get tricky sometimes for the mayor's communications department to keep these competing rhetorical flourishes straight!
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 05/30/07 09:27 PM |
The return of the frogs
Houston, you asked for it: Frogs! a sequel exhibition opens Friday for a full summer run. This city is frog-crazy, and that's probably a good thing given all the recent rain. Any chance of peace and quiet at my end of the pond evaporated with the ever-increasing, onslaught of a non-stop frog chorus. Big frogs, little frogs, bull frogs, and teenie-tiny lime green frogs greet me. I step, a frog leaps. Even my goofy cocker spaniel has given up his beloved rock hunting for water-drenched splash-a-frog chases. The Houston Museum of Natural Science (HMNS) discovered the amphibians' popularity during the Frogs! A Chorus of Colors exhibition. I'm sure I'm one of many who lamented the end of the exhibit. By the time I found a free weekend, I was too late. If you're a fellow procrastinator, you're in luck. HMNS is bringing back the frogs--and then some. New frogs to the exhibit include Clown Treefrogs and the Strawberry Poison Dart frog. With the new exhibit running from June 1 through September 03, 2007, you'll have all summer to get your fill of the amphibians.
Posted by Vikk Simmons @ 05/30/07 10:50 AM |
28 May 2007
Catching up on all sorts of things
I've returned to Houston after a successful (but sometimes soggy) camping/canoe trip to a bloglines folder full of interesting Houston news and such that I missed while unplugged.
There's not time to do it all justice, but here are a few items that caught my eye.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 05/28/07 10:41 PM |
27 May 2007
Chron criticizes HPD again for Taser usage
What's HPD to do? The Chronicle thinks police officers shoot too many people, so Chief Hurtt convinced Council to buy Tasers. Now the Chronicle's Roma Khanna writes, disapprovingly, that HPD is using the stun guns too often on mentally ill people:
More than 120 encounters between Houston police and people with mental illness ended with officers using their Tasers to control troubled suspects in the grips of a mental crisis, according to a Houston Chronicle review of more than 1,000 incidents since December 2004.
In many cases, officers were forewarned they were about to encounter someone with mental health issues — yet almost never did officers call on colleagues specially trained to deal with the mentally ill to calm a volatile episode, according to police reports.
Most of the people officers stunned with their Tasers carried no weapon. Fewer than one in four were later convicted of a crime.
Some had committed violent crimes, threatened others or harmed themselves. But most were people who failed to follow officers' orders in the fog of their mental confusion, records show.
I didn't see a link to the records, but I'd be interested to know if that's what the records really say or if that's the Chronicle's interpretation.
We were skeptical when Council gave HPD $5 million to purchase the Tasers instead of investing in manpower, but we sure didn't see any critical pieces in the Chronicle. In fact, the only local news outlet to look into the effectiveness of Tasers was the Houston Press, so it seems highly unfair for the Chron to castigate HPD for shootings, then turn around and castigate HPD for what it uses as a less-lethal alternative. Exactly how would the folks at 801 Texas Avenue have Houston police officers do their jobs?
UPDATE: The AP has picked up the story which means there are multiple entries on Google News, and Drudge has the story linked on his homepage as well.
BLOGVERSATION: Cigars, Donuts, and Coffee
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 05/27/07 06:04 PM |
Happy Memorial Day -- Metro celebrates with service "improvements"
It's been at least a couple of weeks since Metro last "improved" bus service, so it must be time for some more "improving"...starting today!
METRO Service Adjustments
Sunday, May 27, 2007METRO is implementing the following route and schedule modifications to provide more efficient service. Following is a list of planned changes that may affect your daily travel.
1 Hospital
Weekdays – Add 11:19 a.m. and 1:07 p.m. northbound and 10:25 a.m. and 12:13 p.m. southbound trips between the VA Hospital and Downtown to match ridership demand.2 Bellaire
Saturdays & Sundays – Extend the route to State Highway 6 to match weekday service.
7 days/week – Adjust trip times for more reliable service.8 South Main
7 days/week – Separate the South Main portion of this route from the 8 Yale. Discontinue service between Wheeler Station and the Downtown Transit Center. This route will now end at Wheeler Station. Separating the Yale and South Main routes will lead to an improvement in reliability and on time performance.8 Yale
7 days/week – This route will be renumbered the 66 Yale, and will be separated from the 8 South Main. Discontinue service between Downtown Transit Center and Wheeler Station. This route will now end at Gray and Smith. Separating the Yale and South Main routes will lead to an improvement in reliability and on time performance. Adjust trip times for more reliable service.33 Post Oak
7 days/week – Adjust trip times for more reliable service.46 Gessner
7 days/week – Adjust trip times for more reliable service.50 Heights
Weekdays – To optimize ridership, adjust times of freeway trips. Eliminate the 6:29, 6:47, 6:59, and 7:17 a.m. eastbound trips, and the 4:50, 5:05, 5:35, and 5:50 p.m. westbound trips.Create a 6:50 a.m. eastbound trip, originating from the Hollister branch, and a 7:05 a.m. eastbound trip, originating from the Rosslyn branch.
Create a 4:55 p.m. westbound trip to the Rosslyn branch, change the 5:05 p.m. westbound trip to serve the Hollister Branch, and add a 5:10 p.m. westbound trip to the Rosslyn Branch (local-not via freeway).
52 Hirsch/Scott
Weekdays – Adjust trip times for more reliable service.65 Bissonnet
7 days/week – Adjust trip times for more reliable service.82 Westheimer
Weekdays – Add 3:05, 4:39 and 7:45 p.m. westbound trips and 6:23 a.m. and 3:48 p.m. eastbound trips between Downtown and West Oaks Mall to match ridership demand.88 Hobby
Weekdays – Add a 4:38 a.m. northbound trip to match ridership demand.163 Fondren Express
7 days/week – Adjust trip times for more reliable service.214 Northwest Station Park & Ride
Weekdays – Eliminate 7:55 and 8:05 a.m. inbound peak direction trips, and the 7:11 and 7:19 a.m. outbound reverse peak direction trips to reflect ridership shift to the Cypress Park & Ride route.217 Cypress Park & Ride
Weekdays – Relocate lot from temporary HP facility to the new permanent facility located at US 290 & Skinner Road (summer 2007). Add a 5:42 a.m. inbound, and a 7:05 p.m. outbound trip to match ridership demand. Adjust trip times for more reliable service.265 West Bellfort Park & Ride
Weekdays – To improve travel time and on time performance, the “A” and “B” outbound afternoon peak service will be modified. The “A” route will stop at outbound stops along Congress, and on Smith between Congress & Dallas. The “B” route will stop along Smith between McKinney & Holman.
More reliable AND improved! We've been tracking Metro's "improvements" for a couple of years now; do you think there'll ever come a time when Metro will get bus service reliable and improved?
COMPLETELY UNRELATED: Metro's +$70,000/year blogger draws our attention to bus yoga. Really.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 05/27/07 07:32 AM |
26 May 2007
Surprise! Gas prices are up.
Memorial Weekend brings the usual passel of articles and reports about high gas prices and consumer spending. The Chronicle is no different. Having spent $45.00 at the pump yesterday the high prices mentioned are no real shocker, although I admit to having an epiphany when I realized the dollar amount had doubled in a couple of years. This was followed by a moment of thankfulness that I no longer have to make the roundtrip 80-mile trek to work three times a week.
As a travel writer with a book still available and a signing on the horizon, I’m happy to read that Americans are saying the high prices won’t keep them off the highway; but a closer look at my own recent habits makes me question the veracity of the headline. I have elderly parents and act as their caregiver. It’s a 110 mile roundtrip. To conserve gas, I’m spending more nights and combining visits. I plot my routes and schedule my errands so the stops are incorporated along the way. I considered a hybrid car until I learned of the battery replacement cost and decided to wait until the cars had more mass market distribution under their hoods before I made the plunge.
What I really wish is that I could get my simple brain around the reasons for the high prices. Refinery costs, power outages, and higher demand seem to be the familiar refrain. Eventually this will be followed by a report of some oil company posting higher-than-ever profits. I don’t know enough about the industry to judge whether the reasons given for the high prices are flip, easy to give answers and the articles the result of lazy journalism or whether they are a true reflection of what is going on. Today’s article struck me as one more throw-away with predictable content. And don’t get me started on those blasted summer electricity bills….
Posted by Vikk Simmons @ 05/26/07 12:51 PM |
Council Agenda for May 30
It's been a while since I've looked at a City Council agenda, but thanks to Tom Bazan, I saw that the latest one has quite a few interesting items in it.
First is something that caught Tom's eye:
4. RECOMMENDATION from Director Building Services Department for approval of final contract amount of $2,429,031.86 and acceptance of work on contract with CARRERA CONSTRUCTION, INC for Sylvester Turner Park fka West Little York Park, WBS F-504B02-0002-4 - 21.20% over the original contract amount - DISTRICT A - LAWRENCE
Twenty-one percent over budget! Love how government operates. Instead of telling a contractor that they have to work within the accepted contract, and any cost overruns have to be eaten by the contractor, the city gives them more money. Any contractor that accepts city work should be expected to do its own homework to determine if a contract is reasonable when it is approved and accepted. Now imagine the cost overruns for Metro's rail lines and the Dynamo's soccer stadium.
We are still unclear why the City of Houston should be in the subsidized housing business, but it's a priority of Mayor White, so next up are items 39 through 45:
39. ORDINANCE approving and authorizing agreement between the City of Houston, WHITNEY COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION and TEJANO CENTER FOR COMMUNITY CONCERNS to provide a second lien construction loan of Federal “HOME” Funds in the amount of $700,000.00 for eligible costs in connection with the construction of ten (10) affordable homes - DISTRICT H - GARCIA
40. ORDINANCE approving and authorizing agreement between the City of Houston, WHITNEY COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION and AVENUE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION to provide a second lien construction loan of Federal “HOME” Funds in the amount of $700,000.00 for eligible costs in connection with the construction of ten (10) affordable homes - DISTRICT H - GARCIA
41. ORDINANCE approving and authorizing agreement between the City of Houston, WHITNEY COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION and GUIDING LIGHT COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION to provide a second lien construction loan of Federal “HOME” Funds in the amount of $420,000.00 for eligible costs in connection with the construction of six (6) affordable homes - DISTRICT D - EDWARDS
42. ORDINANCE approving and authorizing agreement between the City of Houston, WHITNEY COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION and RE-WARD THIRD WARD to provide a second lien construction loan of Federal “HOME” Funds in the amount of $700,000.00 for eligible costs in connection with the construction of ten (10) affordable homes - DISTRICTS D ‑ EDWARDS and I ‑ ALVARADO
43. ORDINANCE approving and authorizing agreement between the City of Houston, WHITNEY COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION and ACRES HOMES COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION to provide a second lien construction loan of Federal “HOME” Funds in the amount of $700,000.00 for eligible costs in connection with the construction of ten (10) affordable homes - DISTRICT B - JOHNSON
44. ORDINANCE approving and authorizing agreement between the City of Houston, WHITNEY COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION and MACSC AND HOUSING, INC to provide a second lien construction loan of Federal “HOME” Funds in the amount of $210,000.00 for eligible costs in connection with the construction of three (3) affordable homes - DISTRICT D ‑ EDWARDS
45. ORDINANCE approving and authorizing an agreement between the City of Houston, UNITY BANK and HOLMES COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION to provide a second lien construction loan of Federal “HOME” Funds in the amount of $700,000.00 for eligible costs in connection with the construction of ten (10) affordable homes - DISTRICT D - EDWARDS
The HOME webpage states that "participating jurisdictions (PJs) match 25 cents of every dollar in program funds mobilizes community resources in support of affordable housing." Maybe someone can explain which entity will be paying the matching dollars -- City of Houston (taxpayers), or the partner group listed in each entry.
Finally there's this entry:
60. RECOMMENDATION for supplemental allocation of the following funds for Professional Civic Art and Conservation Administration Services Contract for the Houston Arts Alliance:
· $183,000.00 - Fire Consolidated Construction Fund
· $467,500.00 - W&S System Consolidated Construction Fund
· $369,000.00 - Police Consolidated Construction Fund
· $161,250.00 - Public Library Consolidated Construction Fund
· $187,800.00 - Parks Consolidated Construction Fund
· $140,000.00 - Public Health Consolidated Construction Fund
DISTRICTS B ‑ JOHNSON; D - EDWARDS; G - HOLM; H - GARCIA and I - ALVARADO
TAGGED BY COUNCIL MEMBER WISEMAN
This was Item 3 on Agenda of May 16, 2007
Ultimately the recommendation will pass, but we love that Addie Wiseman asks questions about agenda items.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 05/26/07 08:14 AM |
Mayor White's JFK award acceptance speech
As you know, Mayor White recently accepted a JFK Profile in Courage award for his Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. The city has now posted the text of his acceptance speech:
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 05/26/07 07:21 AM |
24 May 2007
Have a bloomin' buggy weekend at BUGStravaganza!
The cool thing about being a writer is that you get to ferret out things that interest you. I had visited Houston’s Museum of Natural Science a number of times over the years but it wasn’t until I toured the entire facility as part of the research for a travel book that I discovered the museum’s quirky bug zoo. What a fun place. Anyone who's been to Houston for more than a nanosecond has run into some segment of our bug population. The museum simply expands the experience. While most visitors get caught up in the rainforest experience of the Cockrell Butterfly Center, the Insect Zoo with its many weird creatures is even more fascinating. I don't know if I'd call them "crowd-pleasers," but the infamous Madagascar Hissing Roaches clearly get top billing.
The Cockrell Butterfly Center, the Brown Hall of Entomology, and the Insect Zoo have been closed for major renovations. Memorial Weekend 2007 marks their re-opening with brand new state-of-the-art interactive exhibits that bring the insect world to life, while displays of preserved specimens of rare butterflies, beetles, and moths show off some of the most jewel-like tones and intricate patterns found in the insect world. The butterfly rainforest habitat also provides amazing opportunities for the amateur digital photographer. Be sure to wear something colorful and bright. Hawaiian-style shirts tease and tempt butterflies to land on your shoulder, your head, even your hands. On my last trip to the center I even managed to photo-capture the resident iguana as he basked in the sun on the stairway’s railing.
BUGStravaganza! opens Friday, May 25 from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm with a performance by the Houston Ballet butterfly dancers, face painting, and even butterfly origami. Saturday, May 26 from 11:00 – 4:00 pm, the on-going Bug Fest features a Bug Chef, roach races, a Stump the Entomologist quiz and more. Rachel Carson fans will enjoy Sunday’s (May 27) A Sense of Wonder from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm with the Rachel Carson Tribute, Bugs on Wheels, snacks and more. And if you heard about the recent Cash for Roaches program, the museum promises an update about Houston's favorite insect-sons during the weekend celebration. (You have to wonder: Just who captured and sold their roach buddies to the museum?)
With the unusually cool spring-like weather we’ve been having, anyone with a slightly green thumb and a curiosity about butterflies will find the butterfly garden plants interesting. Be sure and pick up one of the quick guides to local butterfly-attracting garden plants to help you plan your own butterfly habitat. In fact, this weekend might be the perfect time for such a backyard enterprise. Most nurseries stock the many local butterfly-attracting plants such as Milkweed, Butterfly Weed, and Lantana. If your visit to BUGStravaganza! ignites your gardening fever and you'd like to extend the experience, take a drive out to The Arbor Gate and explore their offerings. Native plants, garden art, cottage gardens, and a multitude of herbs will delight your senses; your garden and your creativity will flourish. Have a great weekend.
UPDATE Friday, May 25, 2007: Apparently Eileen McClelland at the Chronicle caught the same bug this weekend. You can read her article "Think of it as Beetlemania" in today's section E. You'll also find food editor Peggy Grodinsky's short interview with David Temple, the Houston Museum of Natural Science's "in-house bug chef," who swears dry-roasted scorpions taste like pork rinds. You may not want to eat any more broccoli, though, once you find out 3 1/2 ounces may have up to 60 aphids mixed in with your greens. For film buffs, the same page has a list of 10 bug-infested films put together by writer Andrew Dansby. Good eating!
Posted by Vikk Simmons @ 05/24/07 12:37 PM |
Radio silence (or something like that)
It's time for my annual Memorial Day Weekend float/camping trip, so I'll be mostly unplugged from the net for a few days and definitely not posting here (although I probably can't resist checking email with my smartphone every once in a while).
Here's wishing everyone a great Memorial Day weekend. :)
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 05/24/07 08:54 AM |
Hurtt responds to Chron op-ed
Last weekend, the Chronicle ran a letter from Chief Hurtt responding to the most recent op-ed from Alan Helfman, Jay Wall and William A. Wolff. In the letter, Chief Hurtt takes exception with their notion that crime statistical analysis should be a much higher priority within HPD, then goes on to argue that crime statistic analysis already IS a high priority within HPD.
We've reproduced the letter below the [Read More] link, as the Chron archives are not always the most searchable.
This part in particular caught my eye:
Despite a recent reduction of more than 600 officers due to retirement as well as an unprecedented influx of new residents, the officers, civilians and managers of our department have actually reduced the likelihood that a Houstonian will be a victim of serious crime.
One supposes it depends on how one defines serious. As the Chronicle reported a little over a week ago, crime declined statewide in Texas last year, but rose in Houston, and murders actually surged in Houston. Chief Hurtt's spokesman didn't have a comment then, and now the Chief's reaction is... denial? Maybe HPD really does need to improve its statistical analysis!
In any case, we sense the Chief is trying to be much more visible of late, what with this op-ed, a rare Saturday press availability, and whispers emanating from downtown that he loves Houston and really doesn't depart for Arizona every weekend. It's almost as if someone has realized a crime problem and an absentee police chief probably won't help in winning statewide election. The problem is, a bumbling-but-present police chief may not help either.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 05/24/07 08:51 AM |
23 May 2007
Things not intended
The mayor is back today with a new letter released to the city employees (and one presumes, the Chronicle) about his plans to continue underfunding the civilian employee pensions.
May 23, 2007
To: City of Houston employees
From: Mayor Bill WhiteYou probably have been following the public discussion in recent days of the City of Houston Municipal Employees Pension Plan (HMEPS). I know that it can be complicated and I appreciate and understand your concern about pensions benefits. So, let me share some simple facts with you.
The municipal employees' pension plan is healthier than it has been in years, as are the pension plans for Police and Fire. Keeping pension benefits secure is a very important issue for me -- today and tomorrow.
As we negotiate with the HMEPS Board, I do not intend for you to lose any benefit you have earned.
In 2004 we agreed with the HMEPS Board to make a schedule of substantial annual contributions. Those agreed upon contributions were $66 million in Fiscal Year 2005, $69 million in FY ’06 and $72 million in FY ’07. That equates to about 15.8% of City payroll.
Prior to the agreement, from 2001 through 2003, the City’s contribution was 10% of payroll. During Fiscal 2004, also before the agreement was reached, it was 14.7%. So, under the agreement we have increased both the annual dollar amounts and the percentage of payroll contributed to the pension fund.
In addition, I offered and the Pension Board accepted a $300 million interest-bearing note secured by a lien on one of the most valuable buildings in Houston, the Hilton Americas Hotel. We have fulfilled those obligations.
Both parties agreed that we would discuss the City’s contribution beginning July 1, 2007, after we had evaluated the progress we made since 2004 in reducing the unfunded liability of the pension fund. Since the changes in 2004, we have cut the unfunded liability in half. That's real progress in three years. We expect to come to an agreement soon that continues this kind of progress and makes your pension fund even more secure.
Meanwhile, I repeat, municipal pensions are secure. I am dedicated to keeping them that way.
Bill White,
Mayor
I find this statement the most interesting: "I do not intend for you to lose any benefit you have earned." (Emphasis added.)
My first reaction is that he intends to be in the governor's mansion before the pension goes broke, so he can shed crocodile tears and claim he did everything he could to save the program. The second thing that occurs to me is that his definition of "lose" as applied to city employees doesn't appear to include "be forced to give up what we were promised." Given his earlier statements about offering the "option" of retirement packages with less money, and that I can't imagine anyone volunteering to accept less, his definition of "lose" seems at odds with "keep," as in promises, and "obey," as in the law that dictates the city's contribution.
Thoughts and comments?
Posted by Ubu Roi @ 05/23/07 03:13 PM |
22 May 2007
Stiles on keeping those transparent government entities transparent
The Chronicle's Matt Stiles blogs about his efforts to pry public information out of HPD, and his fallback method when the usual procedures don't work quite right:
Around the same time, I made an open-records request to the Houston Police Department for images and videos captured in six of these citations. An official in the open-records unit replied 10 business days later:
Pursuant to your request, before the requested information can be distributed, advance payment is required. A minimum research charge of $250 (2hrs x $125) has been established. You must pay in the form of a cashier's check or money order; made out to American Traffic Solutions, Inc.
Say what? The city's open-records billing policy follows state law, which sets the price for research/labor time at $15 per hour, not $125. And why was I being asked to pay the contractor, not the city?
HPD's understaffed and overworked open-records office told me that American Traffic Solutions had set that price. I didn't think that was legal, so I complained to Mayor White's press office, as I often do when I get resistance from city departments, and the police backed off the higher price.
This was in mid-March. But the department didn't release the photos until late Friday: 55 working days after my original request.
Stiles is persistent, and knows how to work the system to get information for his newspaper (and the public, ultimately). It's unfortunate that public entities like HPD and METRO sometimes frustrate the dissemination of public information, and that it takes such persistence.
In any case, kudos to Stiles (and the city's other journalists) who manage to dig up all the good stuff that serves as conversation fodder here and elsewhere. It's not always the easiest thing to do.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 05/22/07 08:49 AM |
Dolcefino questions "private" security deals of some HPD commanders
Last night, KTRK-13's Wayne Dolcefino ran an investigative story on the "private" security operations being run by HPD commanders, sometimes from within the department during working hours.
Here's a teaser:
Houston police headquarters is rocked by an internal investigation. The focus - lucrative security deals of some of HPD's top commanders.
Are some of the city's top cops worried about an extra payday while you're paying them to worry about protecting your family?
Since our investigation began, one HPD captain has resigned his security jobs making him tens of thousands of dollars more than the city was already paying him. He's one of the HPD brass under fire for blurring the badge.
The full story is here.
The second part of the story will air tonight on KTRK.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 05/22/07 08:19 AM |
21 May 2007
METRO: Danger Trains on collision course
Various media outlets reported today that two different times this month, switching mistakes put Danger Trains on collision courses with each other.
Here's Rad Sallee for the Chronicle:
Two MetroRail trains carrying passengers in the Texas Medical Center area came within half a mile of a possible head-on collision earlier this month, Metro officials said today.
The two trains were going in opposite directions on the same track because of a switching error, and employees involved have been disciplined, Metro officials said today.
Both trains were stopped — one at the Dryden Station and one at the TMC Transit Center — on May 9 when Metro controllers at the Houston TranStar traffic center learned of the error and ordered them to hold their positions, said David Feeley, Metro senior vice president of operations.
[snip]
John Sedlak, executive vice president, said this was the first time since the Metropolitan Transit Authority's light rail line opened Jan. 1, 2004, that trains were running in opposite directions on the same track without supervisors' knowledge.
Less than a week later, on May 15, a second such incident occurred at the south end of the 7.5-mile line as rail cars were being linked into 2-car trains for the evening rush hour.
Scary.
Some of the comments on Chron.com are entertaining, however.
From KTRK-13's reporting:
There was almost trouble on the METRO Light Rail tracks as trains loaded with passengers accidently switched to the wrong track. And it happened more than one time.
It's a mistake METRO wants to correct because trains on the wrong tracks put people's lives in danger.
What happened on the track May 9 is described by METRO in one sentence.
"Mistakes were made in this situation," says John Sedlak of METRO.
Does anyone else get the sense that the person who wrote the KTRK copy recently watched A Few Good Men?
From KHOU-11's reporting:
Light rail riders never knew the danger they faced. 11 News has learned METRO has put trains on the wrong tracks twice in the last two weeks, which could have caused head‑on collisions.
[snip]
“Mistakes were made in this situation,” said John Sedlak, METRO Vice President. But the riding public was never in danger, he added.
It seems undeniable that the riding public was in some danger -- unless, of course, you're a professional METRO spinner.
BLOGVERSATION: MIFOC, Lone Star Times.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 05/21/07 11:01 PM |
South Zone champs -- Spring Klein Red Sox!!
I have been fairly out of the loop for the past couple of months due to my younger son's baseball season. He's on the Spring Klein Red Sox (11 and under, USSSA Level A ball). Between practices, games, and tournaments, we've been busy!
And it all paid off this weekend as they won the South Zone State Tournament for their age level! It was wild and nerve-wracking, but they went all the way on Sunday, playing their hearts out, and winning three games in a row to become champions.
Next up, the state tournament in Cedar Hill, which takes place on June 1-3. We are all excited, exhausted, and so proud of the boys!
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 05/21/07 07:11 PM |
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