02 April 2007
And the best Texas newspaper is...
The Texas Associated Press Managing Editors held its annual meeting last weekend and handed out some awards:
The Houston Chronicle won six top honors at the Texas Associated Press Managing Editors' annual meeting over the weekend, including the Headliners Excellence in Journalism Award for its coverage of the Enron verdict.
The coverage included a special edition the day of the verdict, May 25, and extensive coverage in the next day's paper by Mary Flood, Mark Babineck, David Ivanovich, Lynn Cook, Shannon Buggs, Betty Martin, Clifford Pugh and others. The entry also won the breaking-news category among the state's largest papers.
Also winning top honors from APME was the Chronicle's Amy Biancolli, who was recognized in the comment-and-criticism category for two movie reviews and a commentary on movie ratings.
Science writer Eric Berger was honored by APME for best blog, and artists Alberto Cuadra, Ken Ellis, Robert Dibrell and Jay Carr for best infographics for their "Racing Around Reliant Park," a graphic explaining and illustrating the Houston Grand Prix.
Unfortunately for our beloved Chron, top newspaper honors, both print and online, went to the Dallas Morning News. That's a shame because the Chron has some very talented folks on staff, doing fine work; but the Chron's poor editorial leadership tends to overshadow the good.
If there was ever a town just begging for a quality daily paper...
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 04/02/07 08:27 PM |
Historic Texas Avenue
Jack Williams of KUHF-88.7 has details of a new addition to a downtown historical tour:
At one point in Houston's history, in the mid-1800's, Texas Avenue was the heart of the city, home to many of the places that Houston was built on. Deborah January-Beavers is the executive director of Scenic Houston, the non-profit organization that put the walking tour together.
"Back when Houston was being founded in the very early 1800's, this was the original dirt road that began Houston. This is where the leaders of the community, the first businesses, the first churches, the first residences, in fact are very close to Hamilton and the areas that now hold the ballpark and other businesses, all started on Texas Avenue."
Now, dozens of those historic sites are commemorated with markers that describe what once stood there, with some of the places, like Incarnate Word Academy near the ballpark, still there.
"Incarnate Word Academy has been on Texas Avenue since the mid to late 1800's and the historical marker discusses aspects of how Incarnate Word has changed since its beginnings."
The first phase of the walking tour, from Bagby to Main, was completed a few years ago. The newest leg, from Main to Hamilton, includes Christ Church Cathedral, the Federal Reserve Bank, William Penn Hotel and Annunciation Church.
It sounds very interesting, and today was the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new tour. Hopefully the Scenic Houston group will be putting more information about the walking tour online.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 04/02/07 07:43 PM |
01 April 2007
City readies "Boot the Mentally Retarded" revenue stream
The Chronicle's Melanie Markley reports that the city is proceeding with plans to tear up its lease with a local non-profit group that houses the mentally retarded, so that it can deliver their prime River Oaks real estate to local developers (and enjoy a nice revenue boost):
For more than 40 years, it has occupied a prime chunk of public real estate near River Oaks caring for, employing and housing the mentally retarded.
But now the city of Houston is planning to sell the land to the highest bidder, meaning the nonprofit Center Serving Persons with Mental Retardation has to find a new home.
The center's directors do not intend to go quietly. They have a 99-year lease signed with the city in the 1960s that required them to construct buildings and provide services for one of the city's neediest populations.
[snip]
The 99-year lease, signed in 1963 by then-Mayor Lewis Cutrer, is not valid, city lawyers argue, because the city charter limits such agreements to no more than 30 years.
[snip]
Center officials also worry that the move seriously will jeopardize the centrally located services they provide for roughly 600 Houstonians.
Most at risk, they say, are the nearly 200 adults living in a dormitory on the property. The center faces the task of building new living quarters or finding other facilities and homes that can take them.
We're thinking that it's not going to be very helpful to Mayor White's plans to run for statewide office when opposition researchers discover that he was the Houston mayor who booted mentally retarded people out on the street to help out real-estate developers (or, for that matter, that he was the Houston mayor who planned to finance his big freeway towing program partially on the backs of poor people whose cars were towed, confiscated, and sold by favored towing companies).
Here's hoping Mayor White rethinks this one. He can surely find some other ways to generate revenue.
RELATED COVERAGE: Associated Press.
BLOGVERSATION: Slampo's Place, Off the Kuff, Red Ink: Texas, Lone Star Times, Lose an Eye, It's a Sport.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 04/01/07 09:38 PM |
Sixel: SEIU's imported lawbreakers not catching any breaks
The Chronicle's L.M. Sixel had an interesting story last week that took a closer look at the treatment of law-breaking protestors who were shipped in by SEIU last year:
Last month, a Harris County criminal courts judge gave six out-of-state protesters found guilty of blocking an intersection a choice: spend seven days in jail and pay a $2,000 fine or serve probation this summer in Houston.
The protesters opted for the fine and the jail time, which they had already served when they were initially arrested.
After that sentence, the next group, which blocked the intersection near the Galleria in November, opted for a plea deal, $250 each in court costs and credit for their two days in jail.
Other groups also accepted the plea deals, and the last group, which took over the conference room at Transwestern's Galleria-area offices, is scheduled to go before a judge next month.
"The state took a hard stance, a very unreasonable one," said Christian Capitaine, a criminal lawyer with Capitaine, Shellist and Warren who was hired by the SEIU to represent the protesters.
Capitaine, a former Harris County prosecutor himself, said the county wouldn't even offer the protesters deferred adjudication, which allows offenders who successfully complete their sentences to have the charges wiped from their records.
Good.
Breaking the law should have consequences, and organizations that ship in outsiders to make trouble in our city ought to know that it doesn't go over very well.
There's a bit more on the sausage-making aspects of the matter:
Ted Wilson, chief of the professional development bureau for the Harris County District Attorney's Office, said he and representatives of the Police Department made it clear in a meeting with two SEIU officials the day before the downtown protests that they'd be facing a class B misdemeanor if they blocked a road.
The union officials, who laid out their civil disobedience plans, were seeking less onerous class C misdemeanors and traffic-like tickets as the only penalty, said Wilson, who oversees the misdemeanor division and is the point man on protests.
Prosecutors rejected the request and suggested the union warn the protesters of the consequences.
"That's the price you pay," he said. "We did exactly what we said we'd do. Why should people get on a plane from Wisconsin or Illinois with the intent and purpose to violate our laws here and get a break?"
Exactly.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 04/01/07 08:59 PM |
Taggers vandalize Ervan Chew Park
KTRK-13 reports on Houston's ongoing gang activity, in the heart of the Montrose area:
Residents living around a Montrose area park, the scene of a deadly gang fight, want something done to stop gang graffiti.
We're told on Thursday night, a resident saw what he says were several gang members spray-painting graffiti on public property in Chew Park. That's where 15-year-old Gabriel Granillo was killed last June. Seventeen-year-old Ashley Benton is awaiting trial for that murder. Residents are calling for something to be done."I think if they put more lighting up or put little lights up on the sidewalk, then it will deter a lot of crime activity," said Allen Cole, who lives near the park.
I snapped some photos of the latest graffiti over the weekend. The Flickr set can be viewed by clicking the photo above. One resident I talked to in the park told me the problem had improved somewhat, before this latest round. It's likely the same taggers who hit this park also hit the bridges over the Southwest Freeway on an almost nightly basis.
It's a shame that Houston cannot increase police patrols in these known hotspots, but unfortunately the manpower shortage means the manpower we do have must be concentrated on more "serious" crimes. And so these little crimes build to bigger crimes (as the broken windows policing advocates would contend, anyway).
RELATED: Teen killed in broad daylight in Montrose-area Park.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 04/01/07 04:24 PM |
The new definition of "free"
Remember how Houston's wifi was to "be free to city government, as well as Houstonians who bring their own laptops to select hotspots, such as large parks"?
The definition of free is $2.5 million over five years:
24. ORDINANCE relating to proposed Citywide Wireless Network; approving and authorizing two contracts between the City and EARTHLINK, INC for 1) a Wireless Broadband Network License Agreement and 2) a Wireless Services Agreement; providing a maximum contract amount - 5 Years - $2,500,000.00 - Central Service Revolving Fund
Hat tip: Tom Bazan
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 04/01/07 07:36 AM |
31 March 2007
There's still a glimmer of hope for the Astroworld boondoggle
Because really stupid ideas can often count on government to step in when the private money steps aside:
The county may consider picking up some costs of transforming the Reliant Astrodome into a luxury hotel or doing the $450 million redevelopment itself if a private effort to carry out the project falls through, a top official said Friday.
County officials remain hopeful that the company will obtain financing and go forward with the renovation. But some officials are weighing whether the county should partly finance it or take it over if Astrodome Redevelopment gives up or needs help with financing."From day one, we have always known that it is an option to do this as a publicly developed program," said Mike Surface, chairman of the Harris County Sports & Convention Corp., which manages Reliant Park. "If I'm looking out for Reliant Park's interests, I would say, 'County, you should think about doing this.' "
No property taxes would go toward the project in any case, he said.
If the county paid for part or all of the project, it would use hotel and sales taxes generated by the hotel complex and other Reliant Park revenue, such as concessions.
From day one they have known it was an option for the county? That detail sure stayed under the radar.
No property taxes will be used? Sure. 'Til the other taxes prove inadequate to keep up with the boondoggle's funding needs.
And did I read that third bolded part correctly? Since I'm unaware of a hotel complex currently at Reliant Park, is Mike Surface saying the (as yet unbuilt) hotel will fund the (building of the) hotel? How exactly does that work?
But a feasibility study concluded the hotel will be profitable, and the county would be wise to invest in the project to make it happen, he said.
Let's see that feasibility study.
County Commissioner Steve Radack has said, however, that he does not think the project makes sense and will oppose any county participation.
We can only hope the rest of the commissioners agree with Radack, because this project has DISASTER written all over it.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 03/31/07 08:02 PM |
The media turned on David Carr?
On Friday, the Chronicle Entertainment section ran a story on former Texans quarterback David Carr with the following strange assertion:
Back then, no one could have predicted the level of anti-Carr sentiment that "started really percolating" after the 2004 loss to the Cleveland Browns.When fans poured beer on Carr's family in their Reliant Stadium suite, things hit an all-time low. Their love affair was over.
As was the media's. Newspaper columnists called him "an albatross." Television reporters seemed disgusted in post-game interviews.
Huh?
Fans did turn on David Carr at some point, but the media never seemed that hard on him, even at the end. And by all accounts, Carr was very professional and helpful with the media, which probably partly explains the cordial coverage he usually received.
But that's just my opinion. Does anyone think the local media ever truly turned on David Carr, over all those years of sub par play?
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 03/31/07 03:57 PM |
Houston Press' Spivak recognized for investigative reporting
Banjo Jones notes that Houston Press reporter Todd Spivak was recently recognized by Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE) for his investigative work on METRO.
Here's the mention from IRE's website:
Todd Spivak of the Houston Press for “Run Over by Metro.” This alternative weekly’s investigation into the Metropolitan Transit Authority in Houston looked at fatalities and serious injuries caused by the public bus system. It found that the agency rejected the safety recommendations of its own investigators, hounded victims to settle accidents and misrepresented its accident statistics.
Spivak's 2006 article is available here. Here's a quick excerpt:
The Houston Press has spent the last four months independently investigating Metro's bus operations. It took an appeal to the Attorney General of Texas's Open Records Division to open up Metro's records. In examining thousands of public documents and interviewing more than a dozen recent survivors of Metro accidents and families whose relatives were killed by Metro buses, the Press found repeated instances of the following:
• Metro rejecting the safety recommendations of its own investigators
• Metro offering bus accident victims much lower amounts to settle cases than what was recommended by its own claims committee
• Metro hounding victims to settle their cases, even approaching them to sign settlement forms as they lay in their hospital beds
• Metro not offering any form of apology to victims even when their bus drivers caused the accidents
• Metro creatively interpreting accident statistics in ways that enable it to misrepresent the actual number of bus crashes occurring each year
• Metro taking no responsibility for accidents incurred by First Transit, a private subcontractor that operates one-sixth of Metro's buses and consistently posts a higher accident rate.
Further to the bolded portion above, it's worth noting again METRO CEO Frank "Procurement Disaster" Wilson's recent assertion that the organization operates "in a completely transparent manner." Right!
Who knows, further scrutiny of METRO could pay more dividends for local journalists, especially given Wilson's past ethical issues and the recent news that METRO will be moving forward with public-private partnerships.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 03/31/07 02:45 PM |
Coming soon to city coffers: The heavy trash revenue stream!
The Chronicle's Seshdri Kumar reports that Mayor White and his Council will soon be imposing yet another fee on Houston residents:
The city of Houston is likely to propose a $3 or $4 a month fee for recycling and heavy trash collection from city residents, Houston Councilman At Large Ronald Green, told a meeting of the Alief Super Neighborhood Council on Tuesday night.
[snip]
The city's solid waste task force has been meeting for the last six months and will present its recommendations at a special council meeting on April 2, Green said.
The city does not currently charge residents a garbage collection fee; instead, it pays for the service through tax revenues.
[snip]
Green said the method of collecting the fee has not yet been determined but most likely it be done through residents' water bills. Also, the frequency of heavy trash collection may be reduced, he said.
Once the task force actually does the political heavy lifting of advocating new revenues, we're sure the Mayor and his staff will have useful proposals for extracting the money from residents efficiently. They're pretty good at creating new revenue streams.
We're not really sure how well the "Houston: More fees for fewer services!" and "Houston: Murders per 100,000 residents weren't THAT high on my watch!" themes are going to play when Mayor White eventually runs for statewide political office, though.
BLOGVERSATION: Slampo's Place, NewsWatch: City Hall.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 03/31/07 01:51 PM |
Every day's a honeymoon when hardly anybody pays attention
The Chronicle's Bill Murphy wrote about new Harris County Judge Ed Emmett's "honeymoon period" a few days ago:
Like anybody who has ever attended Commissioners Court, new County Judge Ed Emmett is finding out that its meetings typically are bereft of Patrick Henry-like debate.
Democracy, Harris County-style, often consists of the county judge paging through a 30-page agenda, reading the names of county departments. If no court member objects to any items listed beneath a department heading, the court passes the whole agenda with no discussion.
Midway through reading the department names this week, Emmett glanced up. "Is it always going to be this easy?"
Neither the Commissioners Court nor Harris County operations get much scrutiny at all from the Chronicle or other local press, so chances are it will remain that easy for the foreseeable future.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 03/31/07 01:34 PM |
30 March 2007
HBJ: Deadlines pass on Astrodome redevelopment
Tom Kirkendall calls attention to an update from the Houston Business Journal on the grand plans to redevelop the Astrodome:
The developer endorsed by Harris County to transform the Astrodome into a 1,000-room destination hotel complex has missed two deadlines to show suitable proof of a financial partner for the $450 million project.
An August 2006 letter of intent signed by the county and Astrodome Redevelopment Corp. outlined various milestones to be met in the process.
When proof of funding did not meet the specified December 2006 deadline, the county granted an extension to March 1.
Scott Hanson, president with Astrodome Redevelopment, found a New York bank interested in backing the mammoth development. County officials were not satisfied with the commitment as presented.
The Harris County Sports & Convention Corp., as overseer of the Astrodome for the county, wants confirmation that the bank will finance the deal as it goes forward, contingent on certain conditions being met throughout the process.
[snip]
Hanson is confident he will be able to provide the county with a more firm commitment from his backer. He says the New York bank has asked for updates on a feasibility study and construction costs.
That work is in progress, he says, and the financing milestone will be met in a few more weeks.
Says Hanson: "It's happening. It's just a timing issue. Sometimes the wheels don't turn as fast as we'd like them to."
Like Kirkendall, we've been dubious about this particular project from the start, and fearful that it will turn into an expensive boondoggle. The best news may be that not much has been happening at all.
PREVIOUSLY: What to do with the Astrodome?, Why the Astrodome Hotel is a terrible idea, The demolition of the Dome?, The Astrodome hotel boondoggle, Astrodome convention center proposal creeps forward.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 03/30/07 08:11 AM |
29 March 2007
Any day above ground in Houston IS a good one!
The Chronicle's Ken Hoffman got to tag along with some British travel writers visiting Houston as part of a promotional effort by the Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau, and recounts the adventure here. Here's a sampling:
Hopefully they'll have a Texas-size terrific time and return to their newspapers and magazines and write glowing stories that will entice readers to come here on their next vacations.
I tagged along with the British travel writers for breakfast at the Alden Hotel. One of them showed me her favorite souvenir — a bright-purple cowboy hat.
I had to tell her, "Unless it's Halloween, or you're a member of the Village People, I don't think many Houstonians wear a hat like that."
Sm@rt@ss!
Houston's Museum of Funeral History even makes an appearance. Be honest now -- did YOU know we had such a museum?
What are some of your favorite "off the beaten path" Houston places you take visitors, when you want them to get a good sense of life in the city?
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 03/29/07 09:27 AM |
28 March 2007
Better to laugh than.... well, just better to laugh
METRO Is Full Of Crap posts a very useful PSA.
The sad thing is, there's some truth to all the bullet points.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 03/28/07 11:05 PM |
Murders surging (again); Lambert downplays danger
Various media outlets are reporting that a man was shot to death on a METRO bus earlier today.
Here are some key excerpts from Kevin Moran's reporting on Chron.com:
A man was shot to death today on a Metropolitan Transit Authority bus in west Houston after he apparently got into an argument with a man he may have touched or bumped while trying to get off the bus.
The alleged gunman was in custody and a passenger was taken to a hospital complaining of chest pains after the incident, which occurred about 11:30 a.m. on the 82 Westheimer route on Westheimer between Wilcrest and Kirkwood, said Metro spokeswoman Rosio Torres.
[snip]
Authorities estimate some 30 people were on the bus. "This is a rare occurrence,'' said Metro Police Chief Tom Lambert. He noted that Metro carries 330,000 passengers daily on 1,300 buses.
Homicide detectives arrived at the scene shortly after 1:30 p.m. Some witnesses were taken in a separate bus to give statements to police.
Observation #1: METRO spokesperson Raequel Roberts should never, ever let Chief Lambert speak to the press without supervision. The implication that METRO carries a lot of passengers daily without many deaths probably isn't very reassuring to the family of the man who was killed, to riders on the bus, or to anyone really.
Observation #2: Homicide detectives arrived two hours after the shooting? That isn't very reassuring either.
On the topic of murder and mayhem, KTRH-740 just noted that this murder was Houston's eleventh since Friday. The Mayor's PR operation is really going to be earning its keep if it figures out a way to spin this one. Or maybe they've figured out there is no good way to spin it, and that's why we keep hearing comments instead from Councilmember Adrian Garcia.
BLOGVERSATION: Lone Star Times, On Message, The American Thinker.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 03/28/07 04:17 PM |
Safeway tries to remake Randalls
The Chronicle's David Kaplan writes about Safeway's big remodel of Randalls stores, after years of neglect since the California grocer acquired the chain:
Just a few years ago, some loyal customers were writing Randalls off, blaming new owner Safeway for discontinuing several of their favorite brands and cutting back on service. Its local market share fell dramatically.
Randalls is launching a comeback with a new game plan called the "lifestyle" remodel, which brings in more fresh and gourmet foods, organics and other features and gives stores a more pleasing look.
Since the lifestyle concept debuted at a Houston Randalls in 2004, it's been taken up a few notches.
For example, the Montrose location's big nut bar has 40 varieties of nuts and six machines, which allow customers to make nut butter.
It's the first Randalls nut bar in Texas.
It has a redesigned produce section, five aisles of organic foods and an expanded wine section with a full-time wine steward.
"If people were ever disenchanted from years past, come back and see us. I think they'll be very pleased," Steve Frisby, president of Randalls, said.
I gave up on the Montrose-area Randalls some time ago because it seemed like Safeway had just let the store go to hell (frankly). Has anyone tried out the newly redesigned Montrose store? Or any others in the area?
And as an aside for you wine lovers -- would you be inclined to use the Randall's wine steward, as opposed to the smart folks at Spec's (or some of the other local shops that specialize in wine)?
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 03/28/07 11:07 AM |
27 March 2007
The Professors talk Harris County politics
The Professors R-Squared speculate that municipal housing guru and Friend of Bill David Mincberg will be the Democratic nominee for Harris County Judge in 2008, and they warn the Harris County GOP that they'd best get their act together countywide.
There's all sorts of good stuff in their post (unless your name is Jared Woodfill, and then you quite likely don't think it's good stuff at all).
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 03/27/07 07:58 AM |
26 March 2007
Rodeo-related boardings just one measure of transit-system health
METRO's Sit and Spin blog recently posted about the light-rail trolley's record ridership during this year's rodeo:
On Thursday, March 15, we had the highest, single-day number of passenger boardings in METRORail's history - 64,448 passengers.
Of those passenger boardings, an estimated 18,367 were going to or from the rodeo. Of the 20 highest single-day ridership totals, 11 are associated with the rodeo.
A "boarding" is every time someone boards the train. The same person can board multiple times.
On rodeo days, METRORail carried 922,872 boardings this year, a 14 percent increase over last year. Although some of this spike in ridership was due to factors other than the rodeo, there's no doubt that we carried significantly more passengers during the rodeo this year than last year.
The Chronicle has kept a close eye on METRO's rodeo-related ridership as well. There was this story in February (sans link because it has now expired):
Metro set a weekday record Tuesday with 56,388 passenger boardings on MetroRail.
Many of the passengers were attending opening night of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.
Tuesday was the highest, single-day weekday total in MetroRail's history, surpassing last Friday's single-day weekday total of 54,193 passenger boardings, according to Metro.
And today, Rad Sallee noted the boarding record set on March 15 that was described on the Sit and Spin blog.
Meanwhile, Tom Bazan recently received METRO's latest boarding and paid-fare information, via public information request, and those figures tell somewhat of a different story -- one of declining fare revenue (which presumably means that across the system, fewer people are paying to ride METRO mass transit vehicles, despite all the forced transfers onto the tram to boost its "boardings" statistics). Media outlets don't always give those numbers a close look, even though they are a better indicator of the transit system's overall health and utilization than light-rail trolley boardings.
Here's the Excel spreadsheet that Bazan received from METRO, for anyone who wants to pore over the details. Please feel free to leave your analysis in the forum.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 03/26/07 10:43 PM |
But what about his moonlighting as an opinion columnist?
Bob Richter, the public editor for Hearst's San Antonio newspaper (the Express-News), wrote about the merger of the Austin bureaus of the Chronicle and Express-News this weekend. Richter's (good corporate) take is that even though competition has been reduced, the advantages of the larger bureau outweigh the drawbacks:
"The large size of the bureau and our combined experience give us opportunities for coverage that we may not otherwise have had," bureau chief Clay Robison says, noting he's put two reporters, R.G. Ratcliffe and Lisa Sandberg, on the Texas Youth Commission story, which "wouldn't have been possible with a smaller bureau."
"Things are going smoothly," says Peggy Fikac, his deputy and chief of the Express-News bureau until the merger. "We're all rowing in the same direction, so that's pretty cool."
Richter does not address why Robison continues to act both as bureau chief (in charge of hard news coverage) and opinion columnist (delivering lefty fare reliably). The bureau merger seemingly would have been a good opportunity to make Robison choose one or the other, or simply to designate him as a columnist and reward Fikac with the bureau chief position for her good work running the Express-News Austin bureau previously.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 03/26/07 09:53 PM |
25 March 2007
Bloody weekend
KRIV-26's Isiah Carey posts that it was a deadly weekend in Houston.
Carey apparently received six email blasts from HPD (so far) this weekend notifying local media of murders.
Unfortunately, blogHOUSTON doesn't receive those handy emails from HPD, which ignores our requests to be added to their email list. Oh well. What public official really wants citizens to know about the current state of crime in our city?
So, any guesses as to how Mayor White's press people will spin this weekend of murder and mayhem? Or will they just ignore it?
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 03/25/07 10:44 PM |
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