02 June 2009
As if the city will find fault with itself
Bet you won't find this kind of road construction happening around any city officials' homes:
Jeff Helton says he hasn’t been able to sleep in weeks. His home overlooks Westheimer near Wesleyan, and for most of May, he says, a backhoe and jackhammer jolted him awake in the middle of the night.
“It’s like standing on an airport tarmac,” Helton said. “It got started right after rush hour and it would go on all night through the morning.”
The city’s Public Works Department said a contractor is replacing a 16 inch underground water line, and that the work must be done overnight to keep traffic flowing during the day.
Spokesman Alvin Wright said crews have been instructed to keep noise levels within the city’s noise ordinance, which requires any outside noise within range of a residential area after ten o’clock at night be quieter than 58 decibels or something between a normal conversation and a vacuum cleaner.
The sleep-deprived Houstonian complained to HPD and City Council, started a blog, and posted a video of the noisy construction on YouTube. Public Works spokesman Wright basically said it doesn't matter since the noisiest part of the construction is over, but on his blog, Helton says HPD has told him the contractor's permit has been pulled.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 06/02/09 06:17 PM |
Downtown Embassy Suites breaks ground
Nancy Sarnoff noted last week that the on-again, off-again downtown Embassy Suites hotel is back on-again:
Construction of the 262-suite hotel, located at 1515 Dallas Avenue at La Branch, is expected to be completed in Spring 2011.
The project was supposed to get off the ground last year, but developer Nick Massad lost his loan to build it. Massad, of Houston-based American Liberty Hospitality, secured new funding at the end of last year.
The developer also got a boost from the city when council authorized a $9.6 million tax subsidy to the project as part of an effort to spur hotel development close to the George R. Brown Convention Center.
City Council passed a resolution last October which allows a hotel developer to keep hotel occupancy taxes for seven years if it builds within four blocks of the convention center.
PREVIOUSLY: If the City subsidized just one more downtown hotel, would we be world class?
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 06/02/09 04:57 AM |
01 June 2009
Houston's budget: balanced or not?
The Chron's Bradley Olson bats the topic around with opinions from various locals. Here's a key point:
Although the mayor is right that the city has not borrowed to pay for operating expenses, Parker said, it has used debt to pay for obligations that in previous years would have been paid through the tax- and fee-supported general fund, the city’s main operating budget. In other words, the use of debt for certain expenses freed up money for the city to spend on operations.
The debt, much of it the result of borrowing to meet pension obligations, also is a primary reason the city has built up its reserves, the city controller said.
“Part of the reason we have healthy fund balances is that we borrowed the money instead of tapping the fund balance,” Parker said. “We used pension obligation bonds to meet current (pension) obligations.”
For some, the $49 million dip into the reserves is enough to declare the budget unbalanced.
“How do you justify expenditures being greater than revenue?” Councilwoman Holm asked. “How is that being fiscally responsible?”
For Lemer, the author of a 2004 ballot proposal to limit city spending, the $49 million question is moot. He argues that the city racked up a cumulative deficit of $1.5 billion from 2004 until 2008.
“That is absolutely frightening,” he said. According to his research, the main driver of that has been borrowing to keep up with costs for the city’s pension debt.
Imagine what your personal finances would look like if you handled your mortgage obligation the way Mayor White has handled the city's pension obligations.
PREVIOUSLY: Lemer on the pension fund problems
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 06/01/09 04:59 AM |
31 May 2009
Another blog slowdown
I'm heading off on a mostly internet-free adventure for a couple of weeks, so posting here is likely to be slow for a while.
We're going to turn off new registration in the forum this time, because every time we post one of these announcements, the spammers drop by. We'll turn it back on when we crank back up. It won't affect any current members.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 05/31/09 02:34 PM |
28 May 2009
State lege rebukes The Houston Way (at least on Rivercrest issue)
The Chronicle's Bradley Olson posts that the state legislature has taken action related to the Rivercrest street closing issue:
A bill that would require the city of Houston to hold a public hearing before making major modifications to roadways passed in the Texas Senate over the weekend. It lacks only the signature of Gov. Rick Perry to become law.
The legislation was prompted by the one-way closure of East and West Rivercrest Drive off Westheimer near the Sam Houston Tollway, a move by the city last May that caused an uproar in the neighboring community of Briargrove Park.
The legislation won't do anything to reverse that particular closure, but it does serve as a rebuke to Mayor White and the city's lack of transparency and due process on this issue. Perhaps other neighborhoods will benefit from the legislation in the future.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 05/28/09 11:46 PM |
Before interpreting legal cases, we recommend reading them carefully
We finally found a little time to read Judge Sim Lake's thorough, meticulously crafted decision on the redistricting lawsuit brought against the City of Houston by Vidal Martinez and Carroll Robinson.
If you haven't had a chance, it's really worth the read, first for historical purposes (there is some excellent background on Houston and Texas as related to the Voting Rights act) and second because it truly is a meticulously crafted, well argued refusal to stretch the Voting Rights Act and the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments beyond reasonable limits.
Unfortunately, if you read Bradley Olson's coverage for the Chronicle instead of the decision itself, you got a much different interpretation of the case:
The lawsuit argued the city was violating its own charter by refusing to redistrict and add two council districts when its population passed the 2.1 million threshhold in late 2006.
U.S. District Judge Sim Lake rejected that contention, finding the plaintiffs had failed to show the city’s charter compelled redistricting.
Two sentences, two dead-wrong assertions.
The lawsuit argued for relief under the Voting Rights Act and the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments, not the City Charter per se. And Judge Lake rejected those arguments, without the need to reach any judgment on the requirements of the City Charter itself.
Don't believe my interpretation? Fine. Here's Judge Lake, on pages 7-8 of the opinion:
The plaintiffs do not allege that they are entitled to relief based on a violation of the City Charter, nor do they ask this court to order the City to comply with its Charter. The plaintiffs' claims for relief are instead based only on alleged violations of rights secured by federal statutes and the federal Constitution.
Judge Lake rejected those claims on federal grounds, of course, dismissing the case.
Olson apparently isn't the only local journalist who didn't read the decision carefully. Ann Raber at Texas Watchdog offered this strange assessment:
Federal District Judge Sim Lake’s decision hinged on the need for an official, accurate count of the population and demographic information.
No it didn't.
When interpreting legal cases, there's really no substitute for reading extra carefully (or perhaps just reading in the first place). Otherwise, silly preventable errors can result.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 05/28/09 11:29 PM |
Westchase embraces surveillance cameras; Chron cheers
In the leadup to Memorial Day last week, Mattress Mack and other Westchase district leaders excitedly announced a "private-public partnership" to install security cameras all over their part of town:
The proposed camera system was introduced Tuesday by Houston businessman Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale and his wife, Linda, who live in an apartment at the Westside Tennis and Fitness Center, which they own. McIngvale said he became a fan of camera-surveillance technology because it quickly ended auto thefts and burglaries after he installed them at his furniture business.
“Police are stretched on their budgets, so it’s something we wanted to do as merchants,” said McIngvale, a member of the nonprofit Operation Westside Success, which is raising money for the system. “We’ve got a big economic stake in this, and it’s up to us to make our neighborhoods better.”
[snip]
James Murphy, general manager of the Westchase District, said cameras the improvement district installed on private property outside restaurants and shopping malls led to a dramatic reduction in crime.
“We have 11 cameras we’re using, and it’s fantastic,” Murphy said. “We’ve reduced parking-lot crime in those locations 70 percent on average, and in some areas more. We’re talking about auto theft, auto break-ins and robberies.”
Apparently, the cameras are not as effective at preventing arson, but maybe they'll still help catch the Gallery Furniture arsonists!
While surveillance cameras do have some merit in reducing crime in parking lots, a fair amount of research suggests that they otherwise have little impact on crime. Interestingly, that perspective does not find its way into the Chron story, which instead focuses on what the newspaper is good at: cheerleading.
If Mattress Mack wants to raise money to install cameras to help protect cars in West Houston, good for him. However, we suspect that the police force established several years ago by the district will be a greater deterrent to serious crime.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 05/28/09 09:48 PM |
METRO: Your tax dollars at work
This is METRO in action.
This is METRO applauding itself.
This is Tom Bazan's latest on METRO's declining ridership numbers:
METRO fixed-route bus boardings again experienced a huge decline of -26.02% for April 2009 over April 2008. Bus boardings for first seven months of FY 2009 is -21.83% below the same FY 2008 period. In real numbers, there were 11,298,800 fewer bus boardings this fiscal year. The fixed-route bus boardings for the Jan-Apr 2009 period are -29.43% less than the Jan-Apr 2004 period when the tram service was initiated.
The fixed-route bus boardings have DECLINED each of the past NINE months, -20%, with a net loss of -13,240,300 boardings. There have been bus boarding declines in 11 of the past 14 months.
The tram boardings were again off -2.44% for April 2009, and the estimated tram boardings for the first seven months of FY2009 have declined -4.3%. The tram boardings have DECLINED each of the past SEVEN months as compared to the same 7-month period in FY2008. The total loss of tram boardings totals -307,800.
This is METRO applauding itself.
This is METRO's latest service "improvements."
This is local media skepticism of METRO's latest service "improvements."
This is METRO applauding itself, one and a half years behind schedule.
Your tax dollars at work.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 05/28/09 06:18 PM |
Chron.com: Where people go to die twice!
A reader alerts us to this death notice currently on Chron.com (dated May 27, 2009):
Ted Busch, a former first assistant district attorney of Harris County who had a reputation as a dedicated, demanding prosecutor, has died. He would have been 76 on the Fourth of July.
"He was a career prosecutor and smart and extremely dedicated to helping provide a quality prosecutors' office while seeing that justice was done," said friend and former colleague Bert Graham, the current first assistant DA.
Former Harris County District Attorney Carol Vance called Busch "a real pro" and "one of the most beloved and unforgettable characters to grace the halls of the DA's office."
People we respect say Busch really was a fine prosecutor for the citizens of Harris County.
They also tell us he died nearly a year ago. Here is the story that the Chronicle ran back then.
Apparently, Chron.com is not just for screaming baby photos. It is also a place where a person can die several times!
Here is a screenshot of today's Chron.com deaths page:
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 05/28/09 07:53 AM |
27 May 2009
Chron.com: Dumbed down and trashed up (cont'd)
It's almost become passé to mock the confused jumble of user party photos, journalist and reader blog content, tacky ads, and (oh yeah!) links to news stories that occupy the front page of the website of the area's newspaper of record.
Sometimes, though, content like this merits a shout-out (click here for an enlarged view):
In case the image isn't clear enough for you, the text that accompanies that featured bit of news is as follows:
Pics of screaming babies: hilarious!
Photos of other people's kids throwing fits will make you feel better about your own little devils. Take a look at some of the best temper tantrums caught on film. It's OK to laugh.
It's a good thing that the Chron.com web team scrubbed the site of all references to this little blog a while back, so the Chronsters could narrowly focus on the community's more *ahem* legitimate news and commentary.
UPDATE: KHOU.com has posted an amusing, somewhat related AP news story ("Chron.com, other newspapers consider charging fees for Web sites").
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 05/27/09 11:57 AM |
25 May 2009
METRO Solutions: $150,000 per new rail transit rider?
In a post today, blogger and blogHOUSTON commenter Neal Meyer takes apart the three-hour-commute prediction of Ray Chong, until recently one of the City of Houston's traffic bureaucrats. That's well worth reading in itself, but it gets even more interesting towards the bottom of the post:
One item that Mr. Chong's story may be more to the mark on is the assertion that public transportation's share of commuting trips will drop from 3.8 percent to 3.3 percent. One big story that has not been reported by the media concerning recent controversies surrounding eminent domain issues and cost estimates behind Metro's North and Southeast corridors is that in its FY 2010 report to Congress, the FTA is stating that spending $897 million on the North Corridor rail alignment is going to result in a mere 7,500 new riders being attracted to using transit (see page 221 of the report). The Southeast Corridor rail alignment is projected to cost $911 million and is expected to attract a mere 4,500 new riders to transit (see page 227 of the FTA report). Yes gentle readers, you read that correctly. The FTA is telling Congress that it is recommending helping Metro spend $1.8 billion to attract 12,000 new riders to rail transit, a figure that works out to spending $150,000 to attract a new rider to transit. Meanwhile, my yet to be completed FY 2008 - FY 2009 ridership numbers are indicating that Metro lost 10-20 percent of its ridership over the past year. If we continue to pursue such policies, then it is quite plausible that Houston's transit agency will end up bankrupting itself merely to substitute rail transit for bus transit, but not gaining any meaningful market share of transportation trips or doing anything to alleviate traffic congestion. Indeed according to Metro's federal enviornmental impact statements, the agency intends to cut off road lanes available to vehicle traffic along most of the routes where it wants to run rail.
That's some interesting insight into METRO and the FTA documents, and the entire post is recommended reading. Wouldn't it be great if the city had a newspaper that regularly engaged in cost/benefit analysis of such matters? Ah well, at least we got to hear from Christof Spieler and Robin Holzer in today's transit column!
BLOGVERSATION: Lose an Eye, It's a Sport.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 05/25/09 10:24 PM |
What Memorial Day means to the Chronicle editors
Unca Darrell has the sorry details of the Chronicle's Memorial Day editorial. Here's a taste:
The Chronicle simply does not share the intense love of country and respect for our military that most Americans feel. Patriotism exists in vestigial form at the Chronicle, but it is always expressed in qualified and conditional ways, with the head turned away. One imagines their saying to a beloved on an anniversary, "This is the day for expressing affection, and that's fine, but you could afford to lose a few pounds."
As we have witnessed countless times before, the Chronicle editors are incapable of honoring the meaning behind almost any holiday. Their own agenda must take precedence.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 05/25/09 12:01 PM |
24 May 2009
HPD Officer in critical condition
Authorities said Officer Lloyd Morrison stopped to investigate a wreck at about 3 a.m. at 45th and Cullen streets along with a fire crew, when one of the vehicles involved in the crash slammed into his patrol car.
Investigators said Morrison then exited his car and was checking on the people in the vehicle when another car ran into his patrol car, pinning him between the vehicle and a fire truck.
The fire department was able to pull him from between his vehicle and the fire truck by lifting his car off of him, police said.
Officer Morrison is a familiar face amongst officers who worked drunk driving task forces or simply brought drunk drivers to the HPD intox station in downtown Houston. When I worked nights, I brought in many drunk drivers for whom Officer Morrison conducted breathalyzer tests. He always seemed to be in a good mood, despite the chaotic running down the halls, completing paperwork, filing charges, etc. I was always glad to see Lloyd working intox because I knew my job just got easier. We wish Lloyd a speedy recovery!
Police the two drivers are accused of drunken driving and are expected to be charged with DWI when they are released from the hospital. [sic]
A better charge would be intoxication assault!
Posted by Jason @ 05/24/09 10:41 PM |
More on Richard Vacar's hasty departure (updated)
We noted last week that eyebrows were raised when Richard Vacar hastily retired as head of the Houston Airport system. Today, the Chron's Bradley Olson has more, and it appears the non-profit agency Vacar created could have been the problem:
The genesis of the Houston Airport System Development Corp. came in 2000, when City Council authorized the city aviation department to assist a company making a bid to manage 13 airports in Mexico. Under the “technical services” agreement, the city would be reimbursed for the time aviation employees spent on international development at a rate of 1.8 times the actual costs, plus expenses.
The idea behind the development corporation was that money eventually would flow into city coffers, and airport employees would add cosmopolitan élan to their résumés by consulting for other airport systems around the world.
But little money has made its way into the city treasury . Houston airport officials said they could not provide details last week on how much time employees have spent on HASDC activities, how much money the city has been reimbursed, or even how many employees have performed work for the corporation.
Vacar said he believed there had been between $60,000 and $70,000 transferred to city airport operations from HASDC and stressed it would be much more in the future.
From Olson's previous story, we learned of the city-approved agency:
Under a 2000 agreement in which City Council authorized the consulting activities, employees in the aviation department are allowed to do work for HAS Development Corp., and the city is reimbursed 1.8 times the cost of the employees’ time, plus expenses. A percentage of revenues generated annually is given to the city, board member Dionel Aviles said, although he declined to say how much.
According to 2006 and 2007 financial forms filed with the Internal Revenue Service, HASDC took in a little more than $1.1 million each year.
“It’s a very good concept,” Aviles said. “It will benefit the city of Houston in the long run.… Eventually, as these contracts take shape in other airports, they will accumulate a lot of money that will go back to the city of Houston.”
So ... we have a non-profit, quasi-governmental agency that's been flying under the radar, promising big financial rewards for the city sometime in the (distant) future. It's interesting to note that in nine years of existence, this appears to be the first time the agency is receiving any scrutiny.
KEVIN WHITED ADDS: The Chronicle's lazy plagiarist of a metro columnist (Rick Casey) writes that he and Olson both tried to get Mayor White to tell them why he effectively fired Vacar, but that White wouldn't. Unbelievably, Casey leaves it at that, basically whining that White wouldn't write his column for him and that may lead to rumors. John Kass or Mike Royko this is not.
In fact, one wonders how much longer the salary of this Jeff Cohen pet can be justified, in light of all the layoffs of real journalists who actually contribute something to the newspaper. The fact that a column on this explosive comment generated only ten (!) comments says a great deal.
Also, Rich Connelly emails that he posted about the Houston Airport System's international dealings back in March, and that the organization was not forthcoming about its finances back then.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 05/24/09 01:39 PM |
23 May 2009
Mayor White gets first-hand look at Safe Clear
In a story that can only make one laugh, Mayor Bill White's daughter's car was towed as a result of his own program.
Rushing to the scene of the burning Gallery Furniture warehouse Thursday as a passenger in his daughter Elena’s Prius, White had her park in the emergency lane near the Tidwell exit ramp, from which they both jogged a block to the scene.
“After thanking the firefighters and consoling employees, we ran back to the car,” he said. “It had just been towed.
Is this the same Prius his daughter was driving when she was arrested for drunk driving?
Perhaps they ought to get rid of that Prius. It seems to be a trouble magnet.
Posted by Jason @ 05/23/09 01:16 AM |
22 May 2009
Introducing local fire photos
While on the scene of this fire that made the news, there were many people taking pictures with their cell phone cameras. I ran into a Houston Firefighter taking pictures. He told me of his web site where they post photographs of fires they have battled. The Houston Fire Department did an outstanding job on Cook Road. One fireman got injured. He had blood running down his face from a cut on his forehead. He got it wiped up and went straight back to his post.
Anyhow, for local pictures of scenes made by HFD go here and enjoy the photographs!
Posted by Jason @ 05/22/09 12:16 AM |
20 May 2009
Blog vacation
Memorial Day weekend is quickly approaching, and that means the little blog is going on vacation for a few days, as some of us are headed out of town and some of us just like a break here and there.
You might still see a post or two, but probably not, so feel free to treat this as an open-comments thread to discuss Houston-area stuff while we're away (within the usual guidelines about flame ways and such, please).
And thanks again for being part of our little online community!
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 05/20/09 10:03 AM |
18 May 2009
KHOU: Dump truck flattens (occupied) wheelchair
KHOU-11 reports on a grisly accident in south Houston:
A man trying to cross Old Spanish Trail in his wheelchair was hit by a dump truck Monday afternoon.
It happened around 2 p.m. at the Almeda intersection near the VA Hospital.
Arthur Williams, 50, was badly injured and was rushed to Ben Taub Hospital by ambulance.
Police say the driver of the dump truck was rear ended at the intersection near Old Spanish Trail and Almeda. A police officer who was investigating the accident told the drivers to go through the intersection and pull into a nearby gas station.
According to investigators, the driver of the dump truck had a green light.
Williams was in a non-motorized wheelchair. He was caught in the middle of the street when the light for oncoming traffic turned green, according to witnesses.
”I don’t think that the dump truck could see that he was there,” said Donna Brown. “I was looking from over there and I was saying ‘oh my God, he needs to make it across the street.’ From the height of the dump truck, I don’t think the driver saw where he was.”
Crazy.
What is even scarier than the text of the report is the photo of the flattened wheelchair on KPRC-2's website.
We wish the victim a full and speedy recovery.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 05/18/09 10:45 PM |
Favorite headline of the day
One doesn't see a headline like this every day, even in the big city:
Everyone can use a helping hand from time to time.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 05/18/09 10:31 PM |
17 May 2009
Powerful head of Houston Airport System abruptly "retires"
On Friday, KTRK-13's Miya Shay posted news that Richard Vacar, the powerful head of the Houston Airport System, had retired, effective the day before.
Bradley Olson followed up with a lengthy story on the "retirement" for the Chronicle, although there remain more questions than answers about the abrupt departure:
While his reason for leaving remained unclear Friday, several City Hall employees and officials focused on his role leading the Houston Airport System Development Corp., a nonprofit tied to a web of companies that run operations and construction projects at airports in Ecuador and Costa Rica, as well as facilitating training in Houston of Chinese airport officials. In 2005, a cooperative agreement also was announced with the West African nation of Senegal.
White and Vacar were known to get along poorly, according to several officials close to both men, although few expected their relationship to lead Vacar to leave.
This does not have the look or feel of a voluntary retirement of a powerful agency head (especially since HAS staff seemed to have no clue it was coming). Rather, it has the look and feel of someone being pushed out, for reasons that remain unclear.
Perhaps Vacar and Mayor White got crosswise on some issue, like the Costa Rican airport discussions or the revenue expected to accrue to HAS (and not the City of Houston proper) from various deals that Vacar has overseen (with little scrutiny). Perhaps there is some sort of scandal that is about to emerge, and the housecleaning is beginning well in advance. The lack of transparency so far isn't very helpful.
We hope the city's watchdog journalists continue to look into the matter. HAS is a fairly big, quasi-public player in the city, and the citizenry deserves better answers about suspiciously abrupt personnel changes. For that matter, we could probably benefit from a closer look at the organization's dealings over the last decade or so.
BLOGVERSATION: Houblog.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 05/17/09 09:19 PM |
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