17 September 2006
HPD issues a red light running ticket!
KHOU-11 gives us a bit of humor today:
Sunday morning, Michael Kubosh, a bondsman in Harris County, purposely ran a red light at Elgin and Milam.
He claims that the city of Houston is being “hoodwinked by vendors” into a program that will cost the taxpayers millions of dollars.
Houston police apparently learned of Kubosh’s plan to run the red light, because he was pulled over by an HPD patrol car shortly after going through the intersection where one of the red light cameras was set up.
How in the world did HPD learn of Kubosh's plan? It was such a secret.
Isn't it good to know that HPD really can issue a red light running ticket? Maybe on weekends when Chief Hurtt is in Phoenix, Houston police officers cut loose and defy the old man.
Meanwhile, speaking of Arizona, Scottsdale-based ATS, which has Houston's red light camera contract, is experiencing booming camera business:
Ultimately, there are 350,000 signalized intersections in the United States. Tuton figures maybe 100,000 or so are candidates for photo enforcement. And each of those have up to four approaches to the intersection.
“The first thing you do is put redlight cameras in and, at some point, you can turn them on and covert them into speed enforcement and speed monitoring cameras and then later do midblock or mobile speed,” he said.
That's the future Chief Hurtt wants -- speed cameras.
And while MayorWhiteChiefHurtt won't admit the (financial) truth behind cameras, ATS's boss will:
Cities and towns across the country are under budget constraints, making the business of photo enforcement lucrative. Residents want more services with less taxes, Tuton said.
It's about generating revenue, not safety.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 09/17/06 06:48 PM |
16 September 2006
Cy-Fair's expensive Berry Center is for the children, of course
Cy Fair ISD's big, new, expensive Berry Education Support Center got a boatload of press yesterday (did someone send out a press release?), and at a cost of $73 million (oh my!) it does seem to warrant a bit of scrutiny. Here's an excerpt from KTRK-13's coverage:
Every time Alan Rankin drives by the new center, he cringes a little.
"It's not an educational facility. It's a sports center," he said. "It's a teacher conference center. They're renting it out to private for-gain venues."
[snip]
"We've grown to 91,000 students," said Kelly Durham with the Cy-Fair Independent School District. "We're the third largest school district in the state of Texas. About 10 years ago, we were about half that size."
Supporters say they built this facility because voters approved a bond referendum back in 2001. But opponents say the voters didn't know exactly what they were asked to pay for.
"What we're trying to do is promote some sort of accountability and fiscal responsibility that tax dollars need to go toward education," said Rankin.
The school district says the facility provides a venue for performances, student outreach, and teacher education that cannot be measured by its $72 million price tag.
The Berry Center is priceless! Its value is immeasurable! And as a bonus, it's for the children.
KTRH-740 recently noted the center's electric bills:
KTRH News has learned the center’s electricity bill for its first two months of operation was over $80,000.
Roy Sprague, Cy-Fair’s assistant superintendent for facilities planning and construction, says the $72.9 million facility had electricity bill of about $48,000 in June, but that the costs did drop to about $35,000 in August. The first month saw a higher cost because all the systems were being checked out, Sprague said. “In subsequent months, we’re not running the systems as much.”
Officials are working to defray costs.
Harris County Commissioner Steve Radack is one of the critics (also via KTRH):
He says there’s a big difference between money for construction and cash for ongoing operations.
“I think the residents of the Cy-Fair School District are starting to see the real costs of the Taj Mahal (Berry Center),” he told KTRH Thursday afternoon. “It’s going to cost a whole lot of money to build it, and it’s going to cost a lot of money to operate it,” Radack said.
Supporters say voters approved it, and opponents say the voters were misled. Can someone dig up the original ballot language from 2001 so we can see how the center was described and what the price tag was on it? Maybe there's a lesson in here about ballot language. As we all know, ballot language can be important.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 09/16/06 01:35 PM |
15 September 2006
Chief Hurtt rolls out "Robbery Reduction Initiative"
KHOU-11's Jeff McShan reports that Chief Hurtt has rolled out yet another program to the press fight crime:
An HPD robbery crackdown has put a special task force on Houston streets.
The dozens of lawmen and women are part of what’s being called “The Robbery Reduction Initiative.”
The idea is to have police respond to robberies before crooks have a chance to escape.
Officials made the move because they said that it is not uncommon to have 100 robberies on Friday and Saturday nights.
Wednesday night officers began patrolling the Greenspoint Mall area.
[snip]
Officials said it’s much needed. They said that from January 1 to July 1 of this year 6,690 robberies have been committed inside Houston’s city limits.
There were 6,151 robberies during the same time last year.
[snip]
The initiative hits Houston streets twice a week.
So if the initiative hits Houston streets twice a week, and Fridays and Saturdays are big robbery nights, why did the initiative begin on Wednesday? Wouldn't it make more sense to roll the program on Fridays AND Saturdays?
This new crimefighting by day of the week notion is pretty interesting in itself. I propose we do murders on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and we can do downtown jaywalking on Mondays. Robberies on Fridays and Saturdays. And no chases on any day of the week (of course)!
What should we do with Wednesdays? Any suggestions?
(Thanks to Matt Bramanti for alerting us to this exciting new crimefighting initiative)
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 09/15/06 11:00 PM |
14 September 2006
Checking in on Houston's world-class crime problems
Johnnie McFarland, the president of the Houston Police Patrolmen's Union, has responded to that Chronicle editorial blasting his union's billboard ads:
IN response to the Houston Chronicle's Sept. 13 editorial ["Crime scene"] that the Houston Police Patrolmen's Union used scare tactics by misstating facts, I will admit that it must have been scary for Houstonians to discover:
•The violent crime rate is rising.
•There is a shortage of police officers.
•Some calls to the Houston Emergency Center might not get answered.
•The police might not chase lawbreakers who start out as traffic violators but could possibly end up as serious felons.As for the rise in violent crime, I'm sure most Houstonians would prefer to see a rise in hubcap thefts versus murders, assaults and robberies. It gives me no comfort to know that Houstonians possibly too poor to move to safer neighborhoods and apartment complexes from the "few" violent geographic hot spots are considered "acceptable" casualties. A murder in Acres Homes should be considered just as important as one in River Oaks.
It is not an officer's or a union's job to provide residents with a false sense of security. We are sworn to our duty to protect as well as obliged to serve. The Houston Police Patrolmen's Union will continue to tell the truth.
In related news today, try as he might, Chronicle reporter Matt Stiles still can't get Mayor White to commit to a firm position on his soft-on-crime police chief's no-chase policy:
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 09/14/06 10:28 PM |
13 September 2006
Development of walkable utopia hindered by... parking regs?
The Chronicle recently ran an interesting story by Mike Snyder on efforts to transform midtown into a great, walkable, urban utopia.
So far, the results are mixed:
Midtown leaders have achieved a remarkable transformation of the area between downtown and the Museum District. They have turned a neglected wasteland into a thriving, rapidly growing community still widely regarded as Houston's best hope of creating an "urban village" where people can work, shop and enjoy themselves without having to drive.
When the Midtown Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone took effect on Jan. 1, 1995, developers were "scared to death" to invest in an area where vagrants used drugs in abandoned buildings and vacant lots were choked with weeds, said Charles LeBlanc, executive director of the Midtown TIRZ and Redevelopment Authority.
"We'd give our spiel and you'd look in people's eyes, and you could tell they thought you were crazy," LeBlanc said. "We were finally able to induce a couple of developers to give it a shot."
Those early investments have paid off. Since the TIRZ was created, Midtown's population has increased from about 500 to more than 9,500 and its tax base has grown from about $157 million to more than $800 million.
Apartments, townhomes, restaurants, bars and shops have replaced vacant lots and shuttered buildings. Distinctive street lights, landscaping, brick pavers and signs bearing the Midtown logo have helped to create a unique identity for the area.
The revitalization of Midtown, however, is far from complete.
Passengers zipping by on the MetroRail line that bisects Midtown still see boarded-up buildings and graffiti on Main Street. A vacant building where a young entrepreneur is developing a wine bar serves as bedroom and bathroom for uninvited guests. On many streets, taking a stroll still requires squeezing past others on narrow, unshaded sidewalks.
Actually, only a few pockets of the vast wasteland known as midtown have seen much of a transformation at all. In my part of midtown, there are lots of new townhouses but not much of a sense of community, and not many amenities within walking distance (my gym counts as an amenity within an easy walk, but other than that, there's a wholesale auto parts store); it's easily the worst of the last three neighborhoods I've lived in in terms of walkability and amenities despite being in the geographical "heart" of the city. But closer to downtown, along Bagby/Brazos, there has been some nice mixed-use development, which seems to draw from the neighborhood that has grown over from Montrose/Freedmen's area. That's the exception in Midtown, though, not really the rule.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 09/13/06 10:54 PM |
Editorial LiveJournalists: Gun control as panacea
Violent crime is surging in Houston. HPD is suffering from a manpower crisis. It's also in the midst of a leadership crisis, brought on by a soft-on-crime chief and the mayor who continues to support him. And we have an increased criminal element among the New Orleans evacuees who now reside in Houston.
The Chronicle's Editorial LiveJournalists, though, have a handle on the problem:
Whatever the causes, more crimes are being committed with illicit guns. Keeping those guns from illegal re-sellers, straw buyers or convicted felons must be a national priority. Two rational steps include requiring gun-show dealers to conduct buyer background checks and limiting the number of gun purchases to one per person per month.
Here's a thought -- more crimes are being committed in Houston by criminals! How about we boost HPD staffing, and empower our officers to go after the bad guys (instead of banning our officers from giving chase). And if Chief Hurtt isn't the leader for the task, how about we arrange for him to remain in Phoenix permanently after one of his weekends there and we find a chief of police who will take on the bad guys.
BLOGVERSATION: Isolated Desolation, Live from the (upper) Texas Gulf Coast.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 09/13/06 10:02 PM |
Chron helps "counter the religious right"
Today the Chronicle found a "study" that fits in nicely with the standard thinking at 801 Texas Ave.:
Public school students don't need to go to church on Sunday for a strong dose of religion — in some cases, according to a new study, they merely show up for class.
A yearlong investigation by the Austin-based Texas Freedom Network found that the majority of Bible courses offered as electives in the state's high schools are devotional and sectarian in nature and not academic, as required by a host of rulings from the U.S. Supreme Court on down.
[snip]
The 76-page report, titled "Reading, Writing and Religion: Teaching the Bible in Texas Public Schools," is one of the most ambitious looks so far at Bible courses that have sprouted in the nation's public high schools.
The report was a joint effort by Mark Chancey, a biblical studies professor at Southern Methodist University, and the Education Fund of the Texas Freedom Network, a group that works to counter the religious right. The report was endorsed by at least eight mostly religion scholars from around the country.
Phew! Where to begin?
First off, the Texas Freedom Network is a liberal special interest group -- something the Austin bureau's Lisa Sandberg failed to mention. Second, Mark Chancey has been "studying" this for a while now, so it's doubtful he's just an objective professor without a preconceived idea as to what his "study" would find. Third, since when is it neutral journalism for a reporter to say that the Texas Freedom Network is "a group that works to counter the religious right"? That statement comes straight from the TFN's website.
Imagine if Focus on the Family had released a study that said the sex education curriculum encourages students to have sex. Do you think Lisa Sandberg and the Chronicle's editors would give it the serious, glowing treatment the TFN "study" was given today? Of course not. Would Sandberg state that Focus on the Family is a group that works to counter the radical anti-Christian left? Yeah, right.
And what's with the last part of that bolded paragraph: "The report was endorsed by at least eight mostly religion scholars..." Say what?
MORE: Reading, Writing and Religion (Texas Freedom Network)
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 09/13/06 07:53 PM |
Senator arrested?
KHOU-11 reports that a man was arrested for tossing an egg at City Council today:
The Houston City Council meeting was anything but routine Wednesday, after an egg was thrown over Mayor Bill White’s head.
It hit the wall.
The incident occured during discussion of the proposed airport shuttle contract.
We don't much like the shameful shuttle deal either, but we don't condone tossing eggs at Yellow Cab's lackeys on Council.
From KHOU's report, it looks like the arrested party was none other than Senator Robert Horton, whose public comments we've been recording and posting to YouTube of late. This one ought to be a great additon to YouTube if the Muni channel shows it.
Sen. Horton has had previous egg incidents during the Council sessions.
Sensible leaders would ban such individuals from council chambers after repeated criminal acts, but our elected officials seem to fear a lawsuit. It's more of the soft-on-crime attitude that just seems to radiate from downtown these days.
UPDATE (09-14-2006): Matt Stiles and Alexis Grant cover the story for the Chronicle.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 09/13/06 12:11 PM |
12 September 2006
What Yellow Cab wants, Yellow Cab usually gets
City Council is set to reward a major Houston political player (Yellow Cab company) tomorrow, as the long-delayed shared-ride airport shuttle contract is scheduled again to come to a vote (items 40a and 40b on the agenda).
To recap previous posts, the shared-ride shuttle concept is designed as alternative transportation between airports and homes/businesses. The cost will be less than taxis, because vans will transport multiple users at any given time. For several years now, there has been such a van service between airports and a handful of fixed locations (mainly hotels), and the market has supported more than one company. At DFW, four companies offer shared-ride shuttle service.
Here's where it gets interesting.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 09/12/06 11:12 PM |
Editorial LiveJournalists blast union for exercising speech rights
The Chronicle's Editorial LiveJournalists are very upset today that a local police union would have the audacity to exercise First Amendment rights to criticize Mayor White's embattled, bumbling police chief:
Instead of serving the citizens of Houston, the union is engaged in a fear-mongering campaign that will damage the image of the city, frighten visitors and unnecessarily alarm residents and suburban neighbors.
The city's image will be harmed by talking to Houstonians about rising violent crime, the problem-plagued dispatch center, the manpower shortage, and the soft-on-crime police chief's no-chase policy (and not by the problems themselves)?
A newspaper editorial board actually thinks we shouldn't be discussing such important issues because said discussion might harm the city's image?
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 09/12/06 10:00 PM |
Houston still depends on old emergency radio system
KHOU-11 revisits a topic it first brought to light in early 2005 -- HPD's aging radio system. A year and a half ago, KHOU discovered a 2003 taxpayer-funded city study that concluded the radio system Houston's emergency personnel are using is outdated and unreliable. As a bonus, an outspoken former HPD officer is featured in the story.
Here's the conclusion of that 2005 story:
Nearly a year and a half ago the SWISS report suggested a solution: That Houston fast track its move to a new digital radio system, like ones already online in Harris County and many other cities. But the city has failed to even seek bids on the design of that new system.
It would appear that nothing much has changed since then. Jeff McShan has more:
This is a problem we’ve been tracking for more than a year.
Exactly five 5-years after 9/11 the Houston police department is acutely aware that should an attack happen here, communication would be a problem.
In its new monthly in-house publication, the department admits there are limitations with its police radio system, largely due to the age of the equipment.
Replacing the system, going from analog to digital, which would require new equipment department-wide, would cost approximately $150-to-160 million.
That’s money it doesn’t have, but will have to find soon.
According to HPD, “By 2013, our current system, with wide band frequencies, will most likely be discontinued”.
[snip]
The last time it bought any new radios was back in 1990 for the National Republican Convention.
The city has been collecting record tax revenue, is sitting on a surplus, and has created numerous new revenue streams/taxes. There is simply no excuse for this serious safety issue to have been left unaddressed. To top it off, check out Harris County's situation:
Ironically, while HPD finds itself in a tough spot. Harris County, in some cases, is leading the nation in law enforcement communication.
The county system is so impressive it was recently featured in 911 Magazine.
The sheriff’s department is already on a digital system and has the ability to talk with dozens of other agencies in our area, something HPD is sorely lacking.
The department has 20 mobile command stations so that in case of a disaster it can send these units out like it did during the Columbia tragedy.
Their equipment enabled NASA, the FBI, FEMA, the EPA, and the U.S. Navy dive team to talk with each other.
Each mobile unit has up to six source of redundant power with multiple generators on board. They are all equipped with satellite phones and wireless network systems and the ability to take over 911 if needed.
Harris County's system can take over 911 calls?? How embarrassing for MayorWhiteChiefHurtt.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 09/12/06 06:01 AM |
11 September 2006
Corsicana's police chief dislikes police unions, loves Chief Hurtt
Chief Hurtt is really scrambling for support.
There's a letter in today's Chronicle from G.M. Cox, the president of the Texas Police Chiefs Association and the chief of police in Corsicana (just south of Dallas). Mr. Cox wants Houstonians to know that they have nothing to worry about, and that the criticism of Chief Hurtt is all just a mean union ploy. Here's an excerpt:
A popular strategy widely used by police labor unions is to attempt to discredit competent leadership through the use of employee surveys designed to be votes of no confidence for the chief and command staffs.An experienced police union organizer in Texas has said that the issue "is power, not wages, benefits. If you have power, you can get the other."
Hopefully, Houstonians won't be intimidated or deterred by the unfounded criticisms being leveled at Chief Hurtt by the police labor unions.
Hmm, well, thanks Chief Cox for that helpful info. I'm sure the fine people of Corsicana appreciate your keeping such a close eye on Houston public affairs, and we sure appreciate people who don't live in Houston nonetheless telling us what we should think here.
Unbelievable.
Maybe for his next fan letter, Chief Hurtt can get one of his buddies in Phoenix to write in and say that the way he did things in Phoenix will be really good for Houston!
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 09/11/06 10:10 PM |
Best Chron Eye of 2006?
Matt Bramanti was the first to alert us today to a new Chron Eye for the Death Row Killer Guy, the latest installment of the local Hearst daily's semi-regular effort to redeem death row killers awaiting execution.
The typical Chron Eye formula, readers may recall, has three parts: 1) reporter points out some "redeeming" quality of the death row killer guy; 2) reporter points out some bad aspect of the death row killer guy's childhood; and 3) reporter calls into question some aspect of the justice system's treatment of the death row killer guy (with a bonus if the HPD crime lab or Chron "bad guy" Chuck Rosenthal can somehow be criticized).
Today's Chron Eye goes for the hat trick. Here's the "redeeming" quality:
"I live every day with what happened, and I regret what happened," he said. "How much remorse does society want me to show?"
Hmm, three brutal murders involving beatings with a meat hammer? Just a guess, but I'm thinking society feels like a lethal injection is just about right.
Here's the childhood angle:
Matchett was raised early on by his paternal grandparents in the East Texas town of Madisonville. His teenage mother lived in nearby Midway, and he rarely saw his father. After his mother, Annie Robinson, married, Matchett went to live with her in Grand Prairie near Dallas.
At 13, Matchett began to hang out on the streets and run errands for drug dealers and prostitutes. The bottom really fell out of his life when his 11-year-old sister was raped. Matchett said he blamed himself for not being around to protect her.
"It was the worst time of my life," Matchett said.
And finally, the reporter questions the criminal justice system:
Roy E. Greenwood, an Austin lawyer appointed to represent Matchett in the Huntsville cases, said he remains puzzled about Matchett's guilty plea. He said Matchett should have been able to argue in court that he killed Anderson in self-defense, but was prohibited by the plea.
"Why he (Davis) pled him guilty and blew off all these legal issues never made sense to me," Greenwood said. "You just don't give up with plea of guilty."
Matchett, whose federal and state appeals all were denied, also faulted his trial attorneys for not presenting mitigating evidence for jurors to consider a lesser punishment. He also claimed that court-appointed appellate attorneys botched his appeals.
There's an added celebrity bonus in this Chron Eye:
Anti-death penalty groups and activists, including French actress Bridget Bardot, have latched onto Matchett's case.
French actress? THAT is world class!
This death row killer guy is scheduled for departure from the living on Tuesday.
Thanks to Rosanna Ruiz for a top-notch edition of the Chron Eye for the Death Row Killer guy. That is probably the best one so far in 2006!
BLOGVERSATION: TBIFOC.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 09/11/06 09:46 PM |
Urban Socrates adds to Third-Ward rail debate
Houston's expert on everything (including bicycling) makes an appearance today in Rad Sallee's Chronicle coverage of the debate over the rail alignment in the Third Ward:
All three routes that the Metropolitan Transit Authority is studying for the eastern segment of its planned University line pass through the Third Ward, whose residents have long been wary of gentrification.Rice University professor Bob Stein recalls bicycling through the area and seeing signs saying, "My home is not for sale." In the 2003 transit referendum that authorized MetroRail expansion, 43 percent of Third Ward voters turned out, but just 52 percent approved the measure.
Bicylist Stein had to be quite a sight pushing the pedals through the Third Ward while pondering policy issues, almost a contemporary urban Socrates! The signs to which he refers were widespread in the years after the rail referendum, but one sees far fewer of them today. My notion was always that they were a response to speculative developers who were attemping to buy whole blocks of property for expensive townhouse development, and not rail per se, but I am no urban Socrates.
Our amusement at bicyclist Stein's latest appearance aside, Sallee's piece is a good update on the state of affairs in the Third Ward, and well worth reading. It is interesting that METRO not-so-subtly seems to be suggesting to Third-Ward residents that the Westpark/Richmond imbroglio further west could mean no rail for them. Interestingly, METRO didn't tell voters in 2003 that adhering to the Westpark alignment in the METRO Solutions plan could mean no rail through the Third Ward to UH and Texas Southern.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 09/11/06 09:04 AM |
10 September 2006
Council committee to review chase policy
The Chronicle today ran a front-page story by Matt Stiles on Chief Hurtt's temporarily suspended chase policy. The headline at the top of the Chron.com page (and in the Chron email newsletter) reads as follows:
Funny, but quite a few people (other than our soft-on-crime police chief) think that nabbing criminals actually enhances public safety!
Stiles' analysis of HPD chase data lends support to critics of Chief Hurtt's policy:
Police Chief Harold Hurtt's proposal, set for a hearing Monday at City Hall, would restrict his officers from engaging in lengthy pursuits when a fleeing motorist's only known crime is a Class C misdemeanor, such as a traffic violation.
That was the reason officers gave for almost half the chases recorded in the past year and a half. Yet when those chases ended and suspects were questioned, 40 percent said they fled to avoid arrest for felonies, drug possession or driving while intoxicated, according to a department database obtained by the Houston Chronicle.
The statistics, detailing 1,045 chases since January 2005, could lend support to those who argue that pursuits are necessary to get wrongdoers off the streets — and that limiting them gives criminals a green light to bolt.
Previously, local media reported that the Houston Police Patrolmen's Union recently took out several billboard advertisements warning visitors to Houston of the current crime situation. Anne Marie Kilday's reporting for the Chronicle describes the billboards:
The billboards, which are being posted just outside the Houston city limits, state: "A rising crime rate, an undermanned police force, a dysfunctional dispatch center and a 'no chase, no catch policy.' Nowhere else but Houston." The sign is billed as: "A public service announcement from the Houston Policeman Patrolmen's Union."
Johnnie McFarland, president of the HPPU, vigorously defended each point on the sign posted Friday. Three identical signs will be erected Monday, McFarland said.
Needless to say, the HPD brass wasn't happy with the advertising.
City Council's Public Safety Committee will hold hearings on Chief Hurtt's temporarily suspended chase policy Monday morning. According to Stiles, Mayor White remains noncommittal on the policy. It seems strange for Houston's mayor not to have an opinion on important matters of public safety.
RELATED COVERAGE: KTRK-13.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 09/10/06 11:38 PM |
TSU removes Slade from classroom
On Friday, the Chronicle's Matthew Tresaugue reported that Texas Southern University has decided against allowing disgraced former president Priscilla Slade to teach classes, and has begun the process of attempting to revoke her tenure.
That sounds like a sensible move. Sensible, and a little familiar...
RELATED COVERAGE: AP.
BLOGVERSATION: Houston's Clear Thinkers.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 09/10/06 11:28 PM |
Editorial LiveJournalists focus on very important issue
This weekend, the Chronicle Editorial LiveJournalists opined on the following important matter:
Now in his third and final term on council, Berry risked raising the hackles of a good chunk of the electorate by describing cat owners as "un-American" and proposing an ordinance to allow diners to bring their dogs onto restaurants' outdoor patios.
According to Berry, no invitation will be issued to feline owners. "Cats are not cool," Berry told Chronicle columnist Ken Hoffman. "They don't belong in restaurants or near people food. Cats aren't even good pets. You don't own a cat; a cat owns you."
While the councilman's comments might have been tongue-in-cheek, he'll find those words will make plenty of cat fanciers bare their claws.
The Editorial LiveJournalists do not discuss the substance of Councilmember Berry's proposal, but instead ramble on about his wife's potential bid for a Council seat that has not opened.
It's a little sad that the Editorial LiveJournalists couldn't figure out that Councilmember Berry's comments about cats to the Chronicle's fine humorist (Ken Hoffman) were very tongue-in-cheek. Councilmember Berry is a pretty funny guy, as anyone who listens to his radio show or who has heard him speak knows. It's also pretty funny that the same editorial board that seems to go out of its way to offend a good chunk of its Harris County audience nonetheless sees fit to lecture Councilmember Berry on potentially "raising the hackles of a good chunk of the electorate."
Hoffman ran this followup from Councilmember Berry today:
Call off the dogs — or should I say the cat lovers? I've heard from lots of people who were upset that I insulted their beloved cat Fifi by calling cat lovers un-American. I was being facetious. I now see why politicians speak in PC. People need to lighten up. I joke with my friends about their cats, they joke with me about my dogs. It's just a joke — a flippant, lighthearted jest about cat owners from a proud dog owner.
As for the ordinance, that's not a joke. I suspect very few restaurants will allow dogs on their patios, but there should be a place for that in the marketplace. For those like you who disagree, don't go to those restaurants. I wish people would stop imposing their will on restaurants and let the marketplace decide issues like this. We need less government intrusion into areas where the marketplace is the best guide.
The ordinance isn't a joke, but as noted previously, it is a questionable priority. And it's strange for Councilmember Berry to be extolling the virtues of freedom in the restaurant market even as he talks about Houston not being ready for multiple companies to compete in the shared-ride airport shuttle market.
BLOGVERSATION: TBIFOC, Off the Kuff.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 09/10/06 10:15 PM |
Councilmember's spouse considers political run
The Chronicle's Kristen Mack has an interesting quote from Professor Richard Murray in a politics column that discusses the possibility of Councilmember Michael Berry's wife Nandy running for Shelley Sekula-Gibbs' seat should it come open:
"It's easier to run if your husband is leaving council than to serve at the same time," said University of Houston political scientist Richard Murray. "Generally, voters want council members to be independent. There will be suspicion if you have a husband-and-wife team that they will be voting together."
Professor Murray is not identified by Mack as a sometime Democratic political advisor and pollster.
Speaking of keeping it in the family, however, Professor Murray's commentary on the potential Berry/Berry Council tandem sounds a lot like his son Keir Murray's perspective:
Mrs. Berry may well be a fine person and a potentially great public servant, but if she wants to run for City Council she needs to wait until her husband's term is up at the end of next year. One person per nuclear family at a time serving on a major elective body is enough, thank you. If she wants to run, she should run in November to replace her husband, not in May, so they can office together through the end of the year.
It is difficult to imagine, that over the course of even an abbreviated campaign season, other candidates to replace Sekula-Gibbs won't make an issue of this nepotism.
It's not clear how it would be nepotism if the voters of Houston (not her husband) chose Nandy Berry to serve on Council with her husband (however unlikely that possibility seems), but it is clear that the Murray family doesn't think much of the idea.
Maybe Bob Stein was off riding his bike and so Mack had to turn to the other go-to Democrat for political commentary in town.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 09/10/06 05:59 PM |
While the Chron librarian is fixing some spelling errors...
The Chronicle reader representative today describes the Chronicle's efforts to make sure a name is spelled right in the newspaper archives:
We've misspelled the name of Beyoncé's dad a lot. We did it again recently, prompting this missive from Melissa Aguilar, assistant managing editor of the Features Department: "Mathew Knowles spells his name with one t ... It's wrong in today's Star section. It's a name that we see all the time, so let's all memorize it."
Curious about just how many times we've misspelled it, I asked the ever reliable Chronicle librarian Sherry Adams. She found that, "we've spelled it Matthew about 26 times, or almost a quarter of the time when we've used his name. I've corrected 26 stories dated from Nov. 11, 1990 (a pre-Destiny's Child feature about the Knowles' Christmas celebration) to July 31, 2006. We've run 77 stories with it spelled correctly, dated from Aug. 24, 1997 to Sept. 5, 2006."
The newspaper still hasn't corrected this editorial that misspelled Warren Buffett's name repeatedly. Erroneous editorial page items seem to take much longer to correct than other errors.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 09/10/06 08:36 AM |
Protesting Metro's Harrisburg transit plan
Not all East End folks are thrilled with Metro's plan to put a (don't say) Bus Rapid Transit line down Harrisburg (via KRIV-26):
Residents and business owners from Harrisburg Blvd. and from the East End voiced their opinion during a protest against Metro's plan to build a Guideway which would be used by Bus Rapid Transit and eventually by light rail. The protest was directed to reach East End leaders and Councilwoman Carol Alvarado and Mayor Bill White about the issue.
Business owners say there is much more opposition to Metro's plan.
P.C. Gonzalez, spokesman for the Harrisburg East End Committee and manager of "Gonzalez Income Tax Service", said that, if the guideway is built, it will seriously hurt one of the main Hispanic business communities of Houston. Gonzalez said that every business owner on the block is scared to death about it, and that the BRT will split the Harrisburg commercial corridor in two.
What it could be the future of Harrisburg Boulevard is already showing. There are already empty lots and boarded-up buildings on Main Street south of downtown.
Now why wouldn't East End folks be excited about this? Or this?
As for the protest:
The protest took place this morning before Councilwoman Carol Alvarado's annual State of District I Breakfast.
There really is a "State" event for every single government entity.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 09/10/06 05:15 AM |
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