27 December 2006
An alternative (and award-winning) graffiti-abatement program
We all know how Houston has decided to handle graffiti -- punish property owners who are the victims of taggers. Another way of dealing with the problem is exhibited by the Greater East End Management District:
Hansen said the district started the program in the fall of 2000 after hearing about a similar program in Cincinnati, Ohio.
"They had graffiti mobile so we bought a second-hand truck and got started," she said.
Since it began, the graffiti abatement program has gone from sending out the truck five days a week to now using it only one or 1 1/2 days a week.
"We hardly have any graffiti in the East End now," Hansen said. "If we do, we get rid of it within days."
Martin Chavez, the district constituent services manager, supervises the program, which employs one full-time painter and uses Harris County probationers sentenced to community service to help in cleaning up the graffiti.
After sites are identified, usually by call-ins from law enforcement officials or community members, Chavez's team seeks permission from the property owners to paint over the affected sites.
He said some owners are skeptical when he calls them and lets them know he wants to help them with their graffiti problem.
"This is a free program to all commercial property owners," Chavez said. "Some of them can't believe someone would come out and do this for free."
It has worked out so well, the district recently won an award:
With more than 3,800 graffiti sites now a memory because of the district's efforts, the organization was recently awarded a Quality of Life Visionary Award from the Greater Houston Partnership.
"We're very excited because we had no idea (we were nominated)," said Mary Margaret Hansen, president of the Greater East End Management District.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 12/27/06 06:36 PM |
How did all that luggage get in a dumpster?
Talk about a strange story: A dumpster full of luggage was discovered at a pet store near Bush Intercontinental:
Airline workers are trying to match 68 pieces of stolen luggage with lost claims while police search for clues into the theft of the bags that were found in a trash container outside a pet store near George Bush Intercontinental Airport.
The bags found Tuesday were from passengers of as many as nine airlines and all appeared to have been rummaged through, said Sgt. Nate McDuell, a Houston police spokesman. Authorities have not identified any suspects or a motive. They are interviewing employees of Pet City, who reported the luggage Tuesday, and people who may have handled the luggage at the airport.
McDuell said he was not aware of a theft like this involving so many pieces of luggage.
“This is certainly out of the ordinary,” said Continental Airlines spokeswoman Mary Clark. She said she had never seen anything like this happen before.
Houston-based Continental is sorting through the baggage, Clark said, matching pieces with lost claims people filed. The bags were from international and domestic flights that were scheduled within the last week or so, she said.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 12/27/06 06:16 PM |
26 December 2006
Danger Train collision
As mentioned in the forum today, the Danger Train crashed into a red light-running car this afternoon. KHOU-11 has video and a few more details:
An onboard camera captured video of a Metro rail colliding with a car near the Medical Center Tuesday morning.
A couple for Willis was on their way to the Medical Center for an appointment when the crash occurred at Fannin and Wichita, just north of the bridges on Highway 59.
Luckily, no one was hurt.
Enlightened Houstonians (including the Chron's editorial board) would no doubt suggest that the couple from Willis would have been better off riding the Danger Train to the Medical Center, instead of driving there. Never mind that in order to do so, they'd have had to drive into downtown, park, purchase a ticket, then get on the train.
Anyway, I hope the train's windshield is undamaged since Metro just spent almost $50,000 on new windshields. It would appear MetroRail windshields don't have a long lifespan.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 12/26/06 07:45 PM |
Do we need to get him a present?
Harris County Judge Robert Eckels and Houston City Councilman Michael Berry have proclaimed December 26, 2006 as Wayne Dolcefino Day. It's also Wayne's 50th birthday.
The proclamation lists Wayne's achievements while working with 13 Undercover. In the last year, 13 Undercover got $2 million back for Houston taxpayers after exposing possible fraud in the city's garbage bills. Wayne also exposed handicapped parking cheaters and a scheme to fake marriages for immigration fraud.
We're still awaiting the (shelved) Rodeo exposé that caused such a stir almost two years ago.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 12/26/06 02:14 PM |
Cross-training at the Chronicle?
Today the Chron's Middle East Bureau (did you know there is one?) has a local news story posted.
Did the Chron fly the Middle East Bureau reporter in from wherever his Middle East office is to do the local reporting?
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 12/26/06 11:39 AM |
Metro makes some personnel changes
Metro's been busy at the tail-end of 2006 with some high-profile personnel moves. Here's the first announcement:
METRO Board of Directors member Louise Richman, will join METRO’s staff January 3, 2007 as its new Vice President/Chief Financial Officer.
METRO President and CEO Frank Wilson made the announcement of her hiring and resignation from the Board at today’s Board meeting.
[snip]
She will replace METRO Vice President Francis Britton, who has worked at METRO for 20 years. Britton will stay on at METRO to assist Richman’s transition into her new job, Wilson said.
A Director of Finance for the City of Bellaire since 2002, Richman is a Certified Public Accountant with more than 20 years of accounting, administrative, financial and tax experience, including senior management and policy making functions for municipal governments, not-for-profit organizations and private industry.
And here's the second announcement:
METRO’s search of candidates for three senior management positions culminated with the selection of Ms. Helen Cavazos as Vice President of Human Resources & Diversity, Mr. Arthur C. Smiley III as Vice President of Audit, and Ms. Deborah Richard as Vice President of Administrative Services.
Ms. Cavazos brings over 22 years of professional experience in all facets of Human Resources management, diversity and leadership development training. She has held senior managerial positions with the McDonald’s Corporation, the Stanford Financial Group, and Clear Channel Communications. Ms. Cavazos was the founder and owner of a management consulting company, whose major clients included McDonald’s Corporation, Shell Oil, BP, General Motors, Aero México Airlines, Baker Communications, and Houston Community College.
Mr. Smiley joined the METRO Audit Department in 1984 as an expert in financial and investment analysis with an emphasis on regulatory compliance and quality-assurance programs, as well as investment of working capital funds and pension-fund investment activities. Smiley also boasts a strong expertise in ridership statistics and estimation techniques. He is a certified public accountant, internal auditor and fraud examiner, and holds a master's degree in business administration from Columbia University and a bachelor's degree in economics from Stanford University.
Ms. Richard now heads the new Department of Administrative Services, which manages METRO’s Print Shop, Mail Room, the METRO Solutions 2 Compliance function, Strategic Recruiting, and Business Assistance. She joined METRO in 2002 as a senior staff attorney specializing in labor and employment law. Prior to joining Metro in 2002, she has worked as in-house employment counsel with private employers such as Sears and Marshall Field & Co. In 2005, she was promoted to the position of Senior Director – Compliance for the METRO Solutions 2 project.
Two thoughts: Mr. Smiley's "strong expertise" in ridership stats and estimation techniques is amusing, considering Metro's history of counting boardings, which leads to inflated ridership reporting; and notice how Metro has casually changed Metro Solutions to Metro Solutions 2. Just like that! No need to ask voters if they approve of Metro Solutions 2, as opposed to the original Metro Solutions that was voted on in 2003.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 12/26/06 08:49 AM |
25 December 2006
Feliz Navidad!
Via Chron.com (above), we're pleased to see that Pancho Claus made an appearance in Houston for Christmas. Anne Linehan had previously expressed concern that Mayor White did not include Pancho Claus in his holiday festivities.
Here's hoping everyone is enjoying the day, spirit, etc. That reminds me, I have a nice Cabernet awaiting, so that's enough blogging for a while. :)
ANNE ADDS: Pancho Claus has a website! Here's hoping the city includes him in next year's "Holiday" festivities.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 12/25/06 02:21 PM |
23 December 2006
Holiday slowdown
The big holiday weekend is finally upon us, and posting will likely be slow to nonexistent over the next few days.
Here's wishing everyone a Merry Whatever Holiday You Celebrate!
ANNE ADDS: Merry Christmas everyone!
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 12/23/06 08:06 AM |
22 December 2006
Slampo rains on the Project Row Houses parade
Crazy bloggers.
Sometimes they just can't resist providing a little... what is that word?
Perspective. Yeah, that's it. But I've gotten a little ahead of myself.
Backtrack to December 17, when the New York Times ran a fawning feature on Houston's Project Row Houses.
Not to be outdone, the Editorial LiveJournalists swung into action for the Chronicle's December 20 edition:
The Third Ward, and the whole city, got an early Christmas gift this month when City Council approved a $975,000 grant to Project Row Houses. The "zero interest performance-based loan,"as it's called, allows founder Rick Lowe and his staff to add 16 low-income rental units to their nonprofit complex.
The project's swath of Holman Street "may be the most impressive and visionary public art project in the country," the New York Times declared on Sunday. But the project's import is hardly news to the 150 artists who have worked from its restored shotgun house/studios, or the 40 young mothers who have moved toward self-sufficiency in the project's affordable-housing units. It's also little surprise to the ever-rippling circles of Third Ward residents and other Houstonians who've been nourished by visits to the place.
While practically gushing over the "zero interest performance-based loan" (known to some as a giveaway -- and an interesting priority for Mayor White and his Council), the Editorial LiveJournalists neglected one very interesting bit of news that did not escape the notice of Houston's best blogger, Slampo:
And somehow, in its giddy celebration of Project Row Houses’ big score at City Hall, the Chronicle failed to note a somewhat discouraging word about the project that was buried back in the newspaper a month ago. That was the “news” that Project Row House’s longtime financial director, Lajuanda Malone, had pleaded guilty to felony theft of more than $200,000 from the nonprofit and was tagged, as the paper put it in an uncharacteristically raffish turn of phrase, with “10 years in the state penitentiary” (is there not more than one?).
That's surely interesting! And Slampo has more. More perspective, if you will. A needed perspective on this story that's curiously missing from any MSM outlet in town.
It's good that sometimes lowly bloggers can supply some of that, even if they don't reside in the ideal state of one James Howard Gibbons.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 12/22/06 10:49 PM |
Channel 2 is getting serious!
The Chronicle's David Barron reports that KPRC-2 is planning to "get serious about sports" ... by chasing longtime Houston sports guy Steve Mark. Because, you know, chasing guys has been so effective at getting channel 2 out of the ratings cellar in the past (see Roberts, Craig).
Anyway, Chron columnist and blogger Richard Justice smacks around Channel 2's news director a bit:
"We're going to get serious about sports," Channel 2's news director Skip Valet tells David Barron, who speculates this might mean airing more features outside the traditional sports block. Uh, Skip, just between us, it's this kind of thinking that has your ratings where they now are. If you didn't already know that sports is an important part of your news coverage, you maybe should have, well, found another line of work. Here's how you improve your sportscast: (1) give sports a bigger chunk of your newscast; (2) spend more money. For instance, if the Texans play a game, you might consider sending a reporter. I know this is a far-fetched notion to you, but these times call for a novel approach. Sure, a flight to Jacksonville will cost maybe $140. Go for it, Skip! And if you can't spring to go see the Texans don't tell a newspaper reporter that it's because the NFL is restricting your access. You weren't going before the NFL changed it's rules. Don't be a martyr, Skip. That dog won't hunt. Trust me on this, Skip. Sports is like politics. It's local. And in this town, it's not complicated: Astros, Texans, Rockets, Dynamo, UH, Rice, UT, A&M and high schools. Stick to the basics, Skip. You'll thank me for it later.
Burn! (btw, please don't shoot the messenger Skip -- we're just excerpting and linking)
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 12/22/06 10:16 PM |
Embarrassing, much?
Earlier, KTRK-13's Deborah Wrigley reported that graffiti vandals tagged HPD's Montrose substation and police cars:
The graffiti fight turned very personal for police officers Thursday night. Vandals targeted among other things, an HPD storefront and police cars. Now, the department is vowing not to get mad, but just get those responsible arrested.
It happened at the Neartown police storefront on Westheimer near Montrose. It was tagged with illegible writing and symbols. Two police cars were marked up as well.
[snip]
"We saw them when they were running away and we ran behind them," said Rouge Restaurant Chef Aldo El-Sharif. "They were too fast for us."
Overnight though, there was no thrill of the chase. No one was at the police storefront. It's no longer open around the clock. Sia Ravari donated the building for use as a place for patrol officers to work out of.
"We're short on police right now and they close at night, so that's what happened," he told us.
MayorWhiteChiefHurtt's press shop can spin Houston's surging crime any way they want, but it's not hard for the average person on the street to figure out there's a crime problem when police substations and vehicles are vandalized with impunity, despite the best crimefighting efforts of... a chef, and only a chef.
KHOU-11's Doug Miller reports that HPD quickly cleaned up the mess, putting the effort well under the ten days allowed by the new graffiti ordinance. That's actually pretty impressive. I gave up trying to get the city to come and remove graffiti from several Midtown traffic signals earlier this year after several months of complaints to 311 and elsewhere, and finally painted over them myself. It's good to know that some graffiti vandalism will embarrass the city into cleanup.
As one of our commenters points out, the local Hearst daily didn't actually bother to report this story. Perhaps the new city desk editor wasn't watching his television and that one got by him?
UPDATE: The Chronicle finally covered the incident.
BLOGVERSATION: Lone Star Times.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 12/22/06 09:47 PM |
Meet the TSU 3
Thanks to a blogHOUSTON reader for forwarding this amazing, in-depth story from Diverse Education magazine about the maddening saga of TSU and Priscilla Slade.
Did you know that three TSU students did most of the work, unearthing details of (alleged) payoffs, (alleged) conflicts of interest, and (alleged) corruption? I didn't. They also paid a heavy price for their investigative efforts, and subsequent insistence on accountability and change.
It's unclear if any local media was ever contacted by the three students with this story; if they were and chose not to look into it, shame on them. This is a prime example of where a watchdog media was needed.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 12/22/06 06:14 AM |
Fixing Transtar's growing pains
KUHF-88.7 reports that as Transtar's mission continues to increase beyond just keeping an eye on Houston traffic, the agency will double the size of its office space:
As part of the expansion, the county's 9-1-1 system will move to Transtar. This does not affect the city's 9-1-1 system that is housed in the Houston emergency center. Whaley says the expansion will also help them operate better during natural disasters.
"one of the things we found during Rita was that we had lots of people over here and it was standing room only. So we decided to ask for federal funds to help on That part of it. So we'll combine all those projects into one and the county public infrastructure department will be in charge of it."
Because of the evacuation issues Houston faces, the federal Government is chipping in $6 million for that part of the expansion. The county contributes about $25 million for the expansion. Transtar sits on state property. Whaley explains the building is maintained by the county and the city helps with the operation.
[snip]
Whaley says about 70,000 square feet of space will be added, more than doubling the size of the current size of the building. The county hired the architects this week to Draw up a plan. Whaley estimates it'll take two to three years to complete the project.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 12/22/06 05:51 AM |
21 December 2006
METRO announces Westpark corridor alternatives
The Chronicle's Matt Stiles reports on the METRO Solutions Westpark corridor routes unveiled today by the transit organization:
At Metro's regular monthly board meeting, officials unveiled three recommended routes for the western segment of the planned University Line, none of which include the segment of Richmond that runs through the neighborhood just inside the West Loop.
[snip]
One of the three westward routes would divert south to Westpark at Greenway Plaza. Another makes a similar move at Cummins. The third would divert the line south at Montrose to the Southwest Freeway and then to Westpark. The latter option was a response to Culberson's objection to any significant rail presence on Richmond, Metro board chairman Davis Wolff said.
All would end at the Hillcroft Transit Center.
With the Lampson/Appropriations wishful thinking now totally off the table, METRO seems to be hedging its bets somewhat with at least one option that Rep. Culberson can support. It will be interesting to see what the response is from the Congressman.
PREVIOUSLY: METRO to announce Westpark METRO Solutions alternatives.
BLOGVERSATION: Houston Strategies.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 12/21/06 01:21 PM |
Breaking coverage you CAN get elsewhere
The local Hearst daily reports on a morning fire near downtown:
A two-alarm blaze destroyed a strip mall just south of downtown early this morning, according to televised reports.
Firefighters had a difficult time finding the source of the inferno, but with help from additional fire crews, the blaze at Blodgett and Crawford was extinguished.
Most of the units in the building were vacant. No one was injured, but crews remain at the scene as they clean up the area and investigate the cause.
It's good that the local newspaper really covers its own back yard!
Or at least deploys people to watch the television news and write about what they see on the tube that is related to their own back yard.
In possibly related news, the Chronicle reader representative notes that as of yesterday, the city desk has a new acting editor who will shortly have the "acting" removed from his title. In only his second day with that new title, he already seems to be pushing the journalistic envelope with cutting-edge coverage of the city via television news. Maybe tomorrow, we'll get coverage of what they're talking about on the city's radio stations! After all, Jeff Cohen promises they're going to "rethink the City & State section from front to back."
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 12/21/06 10:14 AM |
Chief Hurtt defends HPD's Tasers
Chief Hurtt is trying to do Taser damage control, so to speak, as there are now calls from several lawmakers to limit their use (via the Chronicle):
"My legislative intent is to come up with a real policy that will protect police and citizens," Coleman said. "Clearly, there's a disproportionate use of Tasers not only in the city of Houston but in the country in general."
Coleman maintained that current policies on Tasers in Houston and other places are too loose, allowing use of the devices in particular against mentally ill people when stunning is not justified.
White called for a study after the city received repeated complaints that Tasers are used disproportionately on blacks.
The call was prompted in part by the Nov. 14 use of a Taser on Houston Texans lineman Fred Weary after police said he "became verbally combative and extremely argumentative" during a traffic stop.
Weary, 29, denied any wrongdoing and a judge later dismissed charges of resisting arrest. Hurtt defended his department's Taser-use policy.
Chief Hurtt is not taking this lying down:
If Coleman files a bill that would ban Taser use, Hurtt said he will fight it "by going up and making my position known at the state level."
Unless the hearings happen on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday. Is the chief back from Phoenix on Mondays? Just to be safe, Rep. Coleman is advised to hold hearings midweek.
Hurtt said he plans to commission a study of the department's use of Tasers since it began in December 2004 "as soon as possible."
The department is trying to identify researchers at universities who have studied Taser use.
"We want to make sure that we have people with the appropriate expertise," Hurtt said.
We know someone who is an expert on almost everything: Bob Stein! He'd be perfect for the chief's Taser study.
One last point: about a year and a half ago, there was discussion of a federal Taser study in which Houston was going to participate. Does anyone recall hearing anything further on that study?
RELATED: KTRK-13
BLOGVERSATION: Cigars...donuts...and coffee, TBIFOC.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 12/21/06 06:01 AM |
20 December 2006
METRO to announce Westpark METRO Solutions alternatives
METRO has posted the following meeting agenda to its website:
Agenda
Metropolitan Transit Authority
Board Of Directors
Thursday, December 21, 2006 - 10:00 A.M.
1900 Main - Board Room - 2nd Floor1. Approval of the Minutes of the Board Meeting of November 16, 2006
2. Public Comments
3. President & CEO's Business Report
4. Approval of a short list of University Line AlternativesExecutive Session: Pursuant to TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE §551.071(2), 551.072, 551.074, 551.076, 551.087 the Board will consult with its attorneys on legal matters in which the attorneys’ duties are governed by the State Bar (Code of Conduct) and will deliberate, in accordance with the above statues, real estate matters, personnel matters, security devices and economic development negotiations.
5. Other matters as may come before the Board.
Presumably, METRO has now narrowed the possible routes it is considering for the Westpark leg of METRO Solutions.
Will it include an alternative that Rep. John Culberson (aka the guy who will still deliver METRO's funding -- or not) can support? We'll find out tomorrow.
BLOGVERSATION: Off the Kuff.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 12/20/06 08:20 AM |
19 December 2006
Houston crime outpaces national, regional levels
The Chronicle's Rosanna Ruiz today reports that statistics back up what most Houstonians know to be true about Houston's surge in crime (unless they've been listening to the spin coming from MayorWhiteChiefHurtt):
Violent crime in Houston increased at nearly twice the national level for the first half of this year, compared with the same period last year, a preliminary FBI report indicates.
Nationwide, robberies were up by almost 10 percent, killings increased 1.4 percent and aggravated assaults increased 1.2 percent, while rapes decreased less than 0.1 percent. Overall, violent crime increased in all four regions of the country from January to June this year, compared with the same period last year.Violent crimes, including killings and rapes, rose by 5.9 percent in Houston, the report indicates, compared with 3.7 percent nationwide. Killings in Houston during that period rose by a staggering 28 percent — from 158 last year to 202 this year. Rapes, aggravated assaults and property crimes all remained at about the same level.
Elsewhere in Texas, violent crimes in Dallas, El Paso and Lubbock remained about the same.
As both Cory Crow and Laurence Simon point out, there are multiple factors that help to explain this surge in crime: HPD's lack of manpower (that came about from politicians ignoring what was a looming problem for years), the Katrina influx, a rise in organized gang activity (possibly with Latin American ties), questionable management of the police department by the Mayor's handpicked soft-on-crime police chief (who retreats to Phoenix on weekends), declining morale in the department as a result of Chief Hurtt's management, and Houston's growing population.
If Mayor White is seriously considering running for statewide elected office in Texas (and most people think he is), it's baffling that he hasn't taken more of a hands-on, activist approach to Houston's crime problems, starting with sending his bumbling, ineffective police chief back to Arizona fulltime and installing a police chief that both he and the rank and file can work with to tackle the problem. It's not too late for him to take that approach, we suppose, although other priorities and gimmicks (SAFEclear, citywide wifi, red-light cameras, electric provider choice websites, don't-give-to-the-homeless campaigns, affordable housing partnerships, the downtown park, etc) always seem to rank higher.
BLOGVERSATION: Professors R-Squared.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 12/19/06 11:34 AM |
18 December 2006
White's campaign rhetoric, reality diverge on HPD staffing
The Chronicle's Matt Stiles checks in on HPD's efforts to boost its manpower.
Unsurprisingly, he finds that Mayor White's political rhetoric during the last campaign season doesn't match reality:
Mayor Bill White's sales pitch to voters for his city ballot propositions this fall came in part with a simple pledge: Vote yes, and "put more police on patrol."
"Criminals, get packing," he warned in one television spot, complete with moving police cruisers and flashing lights. "We're coming at you with more."
The reality, though, is more complex.
[snip]
White and Chief Harold Hurtt say they are aware of the challenges, and they are trying to accelerate recruiting while spending hefty sums on police overtime to keep the streets safe.
That effort, however, won't directly be funded by voters' approval of White's propositions.
It's true that a large portion of the bond money authorized Nov. 7 is devoted to public safety, among other city purposes, but it will go toward capital improvements, not hiring. That's a distinction lost in White's campaign commercials, though he's been clear with the City Council.
This is nice reporting, but it might have had more impact had voters seen it on October 17 instead of December 17.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 12/18/06 10:57 PM |
17 December 2006
Lampson can't land Appropriations appointment
The Chronicle's Michelle Mittelstadt reported last week that Rep. Nick Lampson was not rewarded with a seat on the House Appropriations Committee:
Nick Lampson, who earned bragging rights for Democrats by claiming the seat once held by Republican powerbroker Tom DeLay of Sugar Land, lost a three-way Texas derby for an Appropriations Committee seat.
The job is a political plum because it permits members to steer millions of dollars in federal funds to their home districts and determine the spending of billions more.
Pelosi's hand-picked Democratic Steering Committee chose for the seat Ciro Rodriguez, the former congressman from San Antonio who thrilled his party with a come-from-behind runoff victory Tuesday over 14-year Republican incumbent Henry Bonilla.
Pelosi's move can be interpreted as bolstering the Texas Democrat with the better chance of being re-elected in 2008. That's Rodriguez, not Lampson.
Before the decision, speculation had surfaced that if Lampson were appointed to Appropriations, he might push to fund the Richmond METRO light-rail option opposed by Rep. John Culberson. That always seemed more like METRO wishful thinking than reality, but this news should put such speculation to rest.
BLOGVERSATION: Perry vs World.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 12/17/06 10:46 PM |
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