15 February 2007
Chron: Judge Robert Eckels resigns
The Chronicle's Kristen Mack reports [UPDATE: see this thread] that Judge Robert Eckels has today confirmed speculation that he'd be stepping down:
County Judge Robert Eckels announced his resignation this afternoon at the annual State of the County speech
"Today, the time is right,'' Eckels said. "I had a friend who told me, 'You never become what you want to be while remaining where you are.' Harris County is moving forward, and it's time for me to do the same.''
Actually, no. The time would have been right before the last election, so voters could have picked your replacement.
Thanks for your years of service and solid conservative governance, but jeers for the way you decided to quit.
BLOGVERSATION: Lone Star Pundit, Off the Kuff.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 02/15/07 01:57 PM |
Panic Time: It's going to be cold!
KPRC-2 (and others, we're sure) reports that it's going to get cold tonight:
Cold air that has moved into southeast Texas is threatening to break record lows, KPRC Local 2 reported.
Chilly temperatures helped a few snow flurries fall near Lake Jackson on Thursday morning. [Maybe it was... Lake Effect Snow? Nah, probably not -klw]
"There were a couple of flurries that kind of moved up around the coastline," KPRC Local 2 meteorologist Anthony Yanez said.
Temperatures are expected to plummet late Thursday.
"Once the sun goes down, those temperatures are going to fall like a rock," Yanez said.
It's so tempting to put a bucket of water outside and set up a wireless webcam to broadcast here on the little blog, so reporters won't feel the need to repeat that sort of coverage.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 02/15/07 12:10 PM |
Breaking news you CAN get elsewhere (02-15-2007 edition)
The Chron.com Froot Loop Bureau is back in action today:
Two suspects led police on a chase in northwest Houston overnight, according to a morning report from KTRK (Channel 13).
Authorities gave a reporter this account: An officer tried to pull over a sport utility vehicle that had been reported stolen but the driver refused and tried to flee.
During the pursuit, the SUV crashed at the intersection of Neuens and Witte.
The suspects jumped out of the vehicle and took off on foot but were caught a short time later. No one was hurt.
It's good to cover the breaking news important to Houstonians. Nice job KTRK!
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 02/15/07 07:35 AM |
14 February 2007
Frank "Procurement Disaster" Wilson responds to Carroll Robinson
A few weeks ago, KRIV-26 reporter Isiah Carey posted a letter from Carroll Robinson to METRO. The letter was vague. While Robinson clearly seemed to be suggesting METRO was not behaving as it should be, the letter was lacking in specifics.
Today, Isiah Carey posts a response from METRO CEO Frank "Procurement Disaster" Wilson to Robinson.
Here are some choice excerpts:
We operate the METRO organization in a completely transparent manner.
The property impacts that may arise from our work on any of the METRO solutions corridors are clearly delineated in our environmental documents which are available for all to see.
Completely transparent manner? Right!
As far as "property impacts" -- we've already seen an example in the last week of Northside residents examining environmental documents closely and complaining, and then METRO PR representatives rushing out to assure the media that the impact won't be nearly as bad as the documents suggest. So, it's certainly understandable when people are suspicious of the conflicting messages that sometimes come from METRO.
That being said -- if Robinson has specific concerns about METRO's activities in the Third Ward (presumably as related to Robinson's role at TSU), then it would be helpful if he would share those concerns.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 02/14/07 11:02 AM |
13 February 2007
Northside residents hold METRO protest march
KTRK-13's Mark Garay reports that some north Houston residents marched in protest of METRO's North Main trolley plans:
A group of protestors walked from Northline Mall beginning at 9am Tuesday. They plan to continue walking to Moody Park and then to City Hall this afternoon in protest of this rail line.
The protestors say the route will hurt the north side neighborhoods and businesses. They also believe the rail line will endanger school kids. They say the ballot referendum specified Hardy Road as the rail route and they say that's what they voted for.
"They misled the community by having North Hardy on the ballot," said protestor Mario Umanzo. "Because people, when they read North Hardy, automatically comes to my mind, North Hardy not North Main."
"METRO was never really specific about what route they were going to use. They just wanted it to come north and north it's coming," said Richard Leal with ACORN.
Ambiguity and obfuscation? Surely not from METRO!
The Chronicle's Rad Sallee also reports on the protest.
UPDATE: KHOU-11's Dan Lauck also reports.
BLOGVERSATION: Lose an Eye, It's a Sport, Intermodality.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 02/13/07 10:55 PM |
Editorial LiveJournalists correct confusion over election dates
Over a week ago, we noted some errors in a Chronicle editorial about the possibility of Judge Eckels leaving office early.
Today, the Chronicle issued a correction:
An editorial in the Feb. 4 Chronicle misidentified election dates to replace officials who resign. The city of Houston will hold an election to replace former City Councilwoman Shelley Sekula-Gibbs on May 12. If County Judge Robert Eckels resigns in the coming months, voters will choose a candidate to fill his unexpired term in November 2008.
It's not clear why the correction took so long, but better late than never!
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 02/13/07 08:07 AM |
12 February 2007
City to take up pressing issue of cabbie exams
The Chronicle's Matt Stiles reports that Council will take up a proposal that would require an exam of taxi drivers:
One of many proposed changes to the city's "vehicles for hire" ordinance under consideration would resurrect a previously required exam for drivers. The test would quiz their knowledge of Houston's streets and the city rules that govern their trade.
"The cab industry has grown so much that many of the drivers are not familiar with Houston, and that's the majority of the complaints we get," said Tina Paez, a deputy director the city's Finance and Administration Department. "It's just to make sure that they are familiar with the streets and know where they are taking people."
When I first saw the headline, my only question was whether Yellow Cab was pushing this measure (since it would not pass if the company was opposed, but will almost certainly pass if the company is pushing it -- recall that Council just last year put a firm out of business at Yellow Cab's request). Stiles answered that question in his concluding sentence:
Rugg of Yellow Cab said that overall, the changes would benefit the city. "This will give the passenger, or the riding public, a better experience."
What Yellow Cab wants, Yellow Cab usually gets from the City of Houston. The measure may get delayed for a week so some councilmembers can preen and Yellow Cab can fine tune, but it will almost certainly move forward.
RELATED COVERAGE: KHOU-11.
BLOGVERSATION: Houstonist, Fireballs, Lightning Bolts, and Hell Storms.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 02/12/07 09:37 PM |
City of Houston Agenda 2-13-07
As noted by Matt Stiles in the Chronicle's City Watch Blog, I review the council agendas each week for items of interest and post here. The reason he said I do this "occasionally" is because last September, I suspended these reviews owing to time pressure, and only resumed doing them last week. To save time, I no longer post the entire agenda, but cherry-pick the most interesting or potentially controversial items. Sometimes I'll select items that aren't necessarily controversial, but point out directions or trends in our government, as I do tonight with the first item. Certainly, I might miss the significance of some seemingly minor item this way; if you notice something, bring it to my attention in the comments and I'll endeavor to update the article prior to the meeting.
A big thanks to Matt for acknowledging my prior work, and kudos to the Chronicle (of which we are often critical, here at blogHOUSTON) both for creating the City Watch Blog and allowing him to do that.
Once again, readers are cautioned that I delete what I judge to be extraneous text, and often paraphrase in order to make the legalese a lot more readable. Such deletions may accidentally result in a key omission; if you wish to read the original text, please follow this link to the currently posted agenda. Here's hoping Matt's efforts will cause the full backup to the agendas to become available to everyone in the future. Until then, we'll just have to review it for you, so onward below the fold, fellow citizens!
Posted by Ubu Roi @ 02/12/07 09:27 PM |
Comparing and contrasting two "official" blogs about Houston
Today, Chron.com launched its City Hall blog.
Three contributors have put up seven posts, and have been interacting with commenters.
There is no financial incentive for the Chron.com bloggers to post, as the blog is sort of an unpaid adjunct to their actual reporting jobs at the Chronicle (although it's undoubtedly a smart career move to jump on the online reporting bandwagon early).
So far, the bloggers have covered several local political issues.
Contrast that with METRO's Sit and Spin blog.
That blog recently celebrated its one-month anniversary with a statistical update (19 whopping posts -- roughly one per workday!) and complaints about commenters.
As noted previously, the Sit and Spin blogger is paid $76,622/year plus benefits for what so far has been a one-post-per-workday pace. Previously, I estimated that taxpayers were effectively paying $320/post. However, if you divide Ms. Sit's salary by 12 (the number of months in a year) and then divide by 19 (her posts for the first month), taxpayers paid roughly $336/post during Ms. Sit's first month.
Substantively, we've been treated to rehashed press releases, features-type stories on employees who are thrifty lunchers, admonitions to be kind, and the like.
The Chron.com crew seem to be delivering much more value (and substance). I say give 'em a raise!
BLOGVERSATION: Lone Star Times, Greg's Opinion, Lose an Eye, It's a Sport, On Message, The Opinionated Marketers, TBIFOC.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 02/12/07 08:39 PM |
Chron: Knife fight at Main Street Station!
Reader Vernon Guy passes along a Chronicle story about a slashing that took place on the Main Street Square Danger Train station earlier:
A man was taken to Ben Taub General Hospital after being slashed in a fight about 2 p.m. today at MetroRail's Main Street Square Station in downtown Houston.
"Two males got into an argument on the platform, and one pulled a box cutter," said Metro spokeswoman Raequel Roberts. "Then they took the fight across the tracks to the sidewalk."
[snip]
Northbound rail service was suspended and passengers were taken across the site by a "bus bridge" as Houston and Metro police investigated, Roberts said. Southbound service was not affected, she said.
I wonder if they were hobos? In any case, it doesn't seem very world class.
If only Chief Lambert had a few insecurity cameras deployed... then maybe we could have all watched!
RELATED COVERAGE: KTRK-13, KHOU-11.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 02/12/07 03:20 PM |
Chron.com launches city government blog
It's now official -- Chron.com has launched NewsWatch: City Hall, a blog about city government.
City Hall reporter Matt Stiles will be the main blogger, and he writes that Chronicle colleagues Alexis Grant and Kristen Mack will also be posting from time to time.
We've been clamoring for a blog from the Chronicle city desk for a long time now, so this is a nice Monday morning surprise!
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 02/12/07 07:50 AM |
11 February 2007
A brief walk
Last week, a citizen complained to me that it was difficult for him to get to a city office by using the bus. The recent changes in service had moved the only bus route serving the area over by one major street, resulting in a lengthy walk for an elderly man like himself, who had breathing problems. That bothered me, a lot. After all, bus service and other mass transit is most commonly used for social engineering, enhancing property values and developers' profits getting people from point A to point B, because they can't afford a car or can't drive, but still need to travel around the city. This means college students, the elderly, and the poor. If the service can't get these people to where they need to go, what good is it?
With that in mind, I started reviewing the distances from the nearest bus stop to various sites that might be visited by people without a car. The results were interesting. For those of us who have forgotten the details, a mile is 5,280 feet, so a tenth of a mile is 528 feet. It doesn't sound bad to say that a stop is a tenth of a mile away, since that's only a little over 500 feet. But it's a distance that may be walked by elderly or infirm people, in the case of the clinics and Multi-Service Centers listed below, and certain city offices. It seems odd that in many cases, the nearest stop is located some distance away from what would be the most logical stopping point for bus riders.
Head below the fold for the results of this entirely unscientific review of Metro's "convenience factor."
Posted by Ubu Roi @ 02/11/07 08:06 PM |
Light rail stray current raises concerns in San Francisco
Don Gallagher posts a San Francisco story of some local interest to the MET Yahoo Group. Here's a snippet from the reporting from San Francisco's CBS television affiliate:
Help is on the way for residents of a San Francisco neighborhood, as a CBS 5 investigation gets results. The question: Whether Muni's light rail lines could be the cause of damaged water pipes in the West Portal area. Muni now says the investigation has prompted them to take action.
Here’s what Muni spokeswoman Maggie Lynch had to say just days ago, talking about the phenomenon known as 'stray current': "We’ve had rail for 100 years and never heard of it," Lynch said.
Stray current that our experts said might be responsible for corroding water pipes. It’s something we wanted to ask her more questions about, but Lynch cut the interview short and walked out on us.
Now Muni is changing its tune: "Yes, Muni does know about stray current," engineer Bill Neilson told us.
Why the flip-flop? Neilsen said it was miscommunication. "To that I would say we're sorry that we came across as not being aware of stray current," he said.
This all sounds a little familiar. Recall that just a few months ago, METRO trotted out its (non-engineer) spokeswoman Raequel Roberts to respond to a story on stray current by KHOU-11 (Houston's CBS affiliate). She downplayed the problem, making reference to a nine-volt battery. Since then, METRO apparently has installed additional stray-current monitors, and apparently still does not have the problem under control.
Tom Bazan has kept the pressure on METRO for full disclosure of its stray current issues (and corrective action), although the organization has frequently stonewalled his efforts.
RELATED: SF muni blamed for leaking underground water pipes (KPIX-5), Stray current archives (bH).
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 02/11/07 02:13 PM |
Shocker: Northsiders complain METRO deceived them
Earlier this week, the Chronicle's Rad Sallee reported that northside business owners and residents are complaining that METRO has not been forthcoming about its plans for the North line:
Several business owners on North Main and Fulton said Thursday that the Metropolitan Transit Authority misled them about how much land it will condemn to build its North Bus Rapid Transit line.
[snip]
Several owners said they had not spoken with Metro recently about its plans but were concerned after seeing their properties listed in the thick environmental statement released Dec. 29 as among those to be acquired.
The statement was a hurdle Metro had to clear to qualify for 50 percent federal funding of the $275 million, 5.4-mile line. On Aug. 23 the Metro board approved the route, from the University of Houston-Downtown to Northline Mall.
Metro spokeswoman Sandra Salazar said the actual number of properties needed will probably be much smaller than the 114 entire parcels and 85 partial ones listed in the document.
Actual, probably -- who really knows? The METRO modus operandi all too often seems to be obfuscation and ambiguity in pursuit of the "world class" preferences of real-estate developers and other special interests. Why expect any specificity or accountability, ever, from the organization?
One of METRO's biggest blog boosters had an illuminating (if naive) bit about the Westpark Line in a recent post:
Here’s what you need to know about Gulfton and the University Line:
- Gulfton has the highest population density in the Houston region. East of Greenway Plaza, there are more people along Richmond than along Westpark. West of Greenway, there are more people along Westpark. A 1 mile circle around the corner of Westpark and Chimney Rock takes in 34,000 people. The same sized circle at Richmond and Chimney Rock takes in 24,000. Moreover, the population at Westpark is poorer — median income of 29,000 vs. median income of 40,000 at Richmond — so a larger percentage would use transit.
- All three options for the University Line west of Main run right alongside Gulfton, within walking distance of huge apartment complexes.
- METRO isn’t showing any stops in Gulfton.
The last point, obviously, makes little sense. But we can change it.
It makes perfect sense, if you view the Westpark Line from the perspective of real-estate developers, "world class" utopians, architects who hope to benefit from expensive development along the rail line, and other special interests who may not want "those Gulfton people" sharing the fancy, world-class rail line so easily with the really cool kids.
But no, if viewed from the perspective of the largely poor, transit-dependent masses of the Gulfton area -- whose votes certainly were critical in passing the 2003 referendum -- it doesn't make much sense at all. As far as the notion "we can change it" -- good luck! Maybe two bloggers who have regularly corresponded with METRO on how to sell its Richmond plans in light of significant opposition have more pull with the organization than normal people.
Interestingly, plans for the Uptown line are proceeding apace, with very little conversation about the impact along the anticipated route. Given the heavy traffic congestion already in the Galleria area, one suspects the Uptown district isn't too keen on more Main Street style transit that steals traffic lanes, causes accidents, and worsens congestion. Will large portions of that route be elevated in response? What will that do the expense? It's hard to find those answers on METRO's website, but surely the real-estate developers have it mostly figured out. After all, real-estate development is an important component of transit policy in the Houston area -- seemingly more important to some people than mobility.
UPDATE (02-12-2007): Rad Sallee posts additional information relevant to the Northside story in today's Move It column, writing that space concerns limited his earlier reporting. A Chron.com transit blog might be handy for those sorts of matters!
BLOGVERSATION: Off the Kuff.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 02/11/07 01:37 PM |
10 February 2007
House/Senate, Illinois/Ohio, Boehner/Beoner, who can keep it straight?
Earlier this week, the Chronicle ran a "Washington Notebook" with this tidbit:
Senate foes swap barbs at Press Club
They come from worlds apart: Sen. Edward Kennedy, iconic liberal and a millionaire's son from Massachusetts, and Rep. John Boehner, crusty conservative and a tavern-owner's son from Ohio.
"The Kennedy family had Camelot," Boehner said over dinner in a ballroom the other night. "We had Camel cigarettes."
They also stand miles apart over the war in Iraq.
But they managed to come together for one glamorous night of mockery: the annual congressional dinner of the Washington Press Club Foundation.
The problem with the headline, as noted in this correction (not to mention the first sentence of the blurb), is that Boehner is not a member of the Senate.
What is the Chronicle's problem with this guy, anyway? A few months ago, the Editorial LiveJournalists got the state the guy represents AND his last name wrong.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 02/10/07 03:32 PM |
Isiah Carey continues to keep city officials on their toes
Isiah Carey posted two fine stories this week for KRIV-26 that can definitely be filed under the "watchdog media" heading.
First, he looked into possible payment discrepancies to a company the city's IT department uses to procure computers and other technology materials. Carey obtained an internal city memo that said there are "serious issues" with the company in question and that the "controller's office is ready to take legal action" against the company based on audits that suggest there have been "advance payments and over charges." The company said any financial discrepancies will be resolved.
The second story he did was about the gambling junket a city employee planned while on city time, using city resources. The employee works in the Code Enforcement department which is a part of the Public Works department. When Carey sought a comment from PW spokesman Wes Johnson, Carey says Johnson suggested he should be pursuing more newsworthy stories, such as the astronaut arrested in Florida, or the "good things Mayor White is doing for the city of Houston."
On his blog (a must read for those wanting to keep up with local news and events), Carey added more:
On Wednesday the p-r guys for the public works department tried to kill the story by contacting a news manager. They said it wasn't worth broadcasting. Luckily, at FOX I have great managers who stick by the reporters. Anyway, one of the p-r reps told me it wasn't that big of a deal. He admitted the workers broke city policy but he says it didn't add up to much - dollar wise. I reminded this p-r guy that in the past he has always said to me the public works department can't waste one dime of the taxpayer's money. But now that p-r guy is saying the amount the employees wasted wasn't a big deal!
Good work, Isiah!
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 02/10/07 09:54 AM |
08 February 2007
Midtown: Houston's new skid row
The Chronicle's Jennifer Friedberg reports from a neighborhood meeting in Midtown:
Something needs to be done about a vacant lot that has become a hang out for the homeless in Midtown, a local resident told the Midtown Management District board at its Wednesday night meeting.
Lisa Rimmer-Iglesias who lives near the intersection of Austin and Webster streets said she is concerned about the land bordered by Webster, Austin, La Branch and Gray streets.
There is "a lot of trash, a lot of homeless, a lot of drugs and its looking pretty shoddy," she told the board.
She said she has called the police to report the property, but would like to see some action from the district.
That's not the only vacant lot that has become a vagrant campground. Unfortunately, there are vacant lots and public spaces all over Midtown that have become Houston's version of skid row -- and nobody really seems to care.
Some cities are lucky enough to have police chiefs and leaders that take a different, "broken-windows" approach to such problems. Other cities have police chiefs whose solutions to such problems are acronyms and flights to Phoenix on the weekends.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 02/08/07 10:01 PM |
A little bad news to go with the financial ratings boost
The city got some good financial news at the end of last week -- a boost in its financial rating -- but there was this ominous tidbit tucked away at the end of Matt Stiles' story for the Chronicle:
The Moody's assessment also includes "challenges" that could negatively affect the city's position, including large long-term liabilities in the pension funds and a pending legal challenge of the revenue-cap measure.
Many Houstonians are probably under the mistaken impression that the problems with the municipal employees pension fund were solved some time ago. In reality, the massive long-term liability was reduced slightly -- and then Mayor White promptly moved on to other priorities. Unfortunately, the long-term problem remains, and will no doubt be revisited after Bill White has moved on and Houston has a new mayor.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 02/08/07 09:48 PM |
Dynamo "quietly" squeezing city officials for playpen
The Houston Dynamo are trying to squeeze city officials for a nice, taxpayer-subsidized playpen.
That's certainly "olds" rather than news, but the Chronicle's recent characterization of the team's latest demands of city officials struck us as interesting:
Shouts of "goal!" could replace "fore!" at the venerable Gus Wortham golf course under a plan to provide a permanent home for the Dynamo soccer team and keep it in Houston.
City officials quietly have been looking into converting the old East End course into a soccer-oriented youth facility, which the Dynamo is requesting along with its own stadium as a condition for staying.
Quietly? If it's such a great idea, why are city officials sneaking around? Let's get the proposal out there and have a look at it.
When such taxpayer-subsidized boondoggles are in the offing, the public deserves more from its elected officials than skulking around and backroom dealmaking.
Somehow, reporters Lori Rodriguez and Matt Stiles did track down this bit of information:
Andy Icken, planning and development director with the city's Public Works and Engineering Department, said the city's goal is to present a package to the Dynamo within a month in hopes of keeping the team from moving to the suburbs.
"We have been investigating a broad range of opportunities," said Icken, who has briefed Mayor Bill White on the effort. "We haven't really put pen to paper yet, as far as the economics and how we would pay for all this."
Oh.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 02/08/07 09:36 PM |
Breaking news you CAN get elsewhere (02-07/02-08 edition)
(Chron.com Froot Loop Bureau, photo courtesy Matt Bramanti)
The Chron.com Froot Loop bureau has been hard at work watching the morning news with breakfast over the last couple of days!
The intrepid Chron.com Froot Loop desk effectively posted four rewrites of stories seen on KTRK-13 (here, here, here, and here).
The Chronicle's so-called partner television station KHOU-11 must be very impressed by that.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 02/08/07 09:22 PM |
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