31 July 2008

Shhhh: Discovery Green's parking garage is leaking

When I saw this post on the Houston Press' Hair Balls blog:

I immediately thought of this bH forum thread, where one finds this comment, and this one, and this one, etc, etc...

Anyway, the Hair Balls post includes this:

So here’s our question: what’s up with the City Council member who wouldn’t speak on camera? “The sensitive nature of this issue?” Is that double-talk for “I hate the guys who backed the project so I’m going to point out every little flaw I can find and then fan the fire hoping they all go up in flames”?

No, that's double-talk for "Mayor White didn't give me permission to talk about Discovery Green's $21 million leaking parking garage." You may recall back in January, Mayor White laid down the law for councilmembers. Discovery Green is one of the mayor's signature achievements, so it's safe to guess he wouldn't appreciate the councilmember's speaking out of turn.

Posted by Anne Linehan @ 07/31/08 07:03 PM |

30 July 2008

Houston blog talk linkpost: 07/30/08

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 07/30/08 09:12 PM |

Examiner: Floodway Coalition relieved over ordinance revisions

In a story about the recently revised floodway rules, Michael Reed of the West University Examiner offers an interesting peek into the thoughts behind Ready-Fire-Aim! governance:

Property owners could not build within the floodway in Houston prior to 1985, when variances began to be granted regularly. As flooding problems grew, the city began considering lot-height restrictions and culvert requirements for large developments.

Many property owners, however, were caught by surprise when updated federal flood insurance maps were adopted, and the 2006 amendment to Chapter 19, prohibiting new construction within the city’s floodways and restricting repairs to existing homes, was adopted.

“We knew it wasn’t perfect when we passed it,” but something needed to be in place to protect people concerning mitigation, Councilwoman Melissa Noriega said of the ordinance at the July 9 session.

Those changes led to coalition lawsuits, one of which it won that has been appealed.

Successful legal challenges do sometimes have a way of bringing revisions to Ready-Fire-Aim! problems.

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 07/30/08 08:25 PM |

...by hatchet, axe, and (chain) saw

The Upper Kirby trees are gone:

Dozens of trees along Kirby Drive between Westheimer Road and Richmond Avenue were chopped down as a part of a reconstruction project that began last week. The city of Houston has planned the expansion project to improve drainage and the flow of traffic in the Upper Kirby District.

About 90 percent of the trees along the street, most of which were planted by Trees for Houston at least 20 years ago, will be replaced with 148 smaller ones.

Residents and business owners in the area said they are not thrilled about the demolition.

Bob Martin, a certified public accountant, has had an office on Kirby Drive for 30 years.

"I have to believe there could've been another alternative than this slaughter of tearing them down," Martin said. "They could've at least transported some of them."

Martin said the demolition plan not only destroys the environment, it also ruins the aesthetically pleasing sight of Kirby Drive.

"It's just sad to see this and we're not going to see trees that look like this on Kirby," he said. "We're not going to have those archways over the street."

"I've seen them grow and I've seen this place change," resident David Crossley said. "This is unbelievable."

The Chronicle's story notes the tree destruction was done in the dead of night...for logistical purposes, of course, not to avoid public scrutiny.

Houston's "green" mayor is not quoted in these two stories.

Posted by Anne Linehan @ 07/30/08 05:12 AM |

29 July 2008

No-insurance blues

Today the Houston Chronicle has this story about many Texas drivers lacking insurance. The story focuses on Austin and Travis County drivers. Many in Houston simply read this and say "duh." However, it brought to mind a little known fact that people ought to know. As anyone who drives in the Houston-Harris County metroplex knows, there are areas where officers are surprised that drivers do have insurance. Also, some insurance companies are selling coverage to unlicensed drivers. Some companies are insuring drivers who only have the Mexican consulate card. Now I don't know what happens when one of these drivers crashes and wants to file a claim. I have yet to see what the insurance company will do.

Posted by Jason @ 07/29/08 09:20 AM |

28 July 2008

Houston blog talk linkpost: 07/28/08

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 07/28/08 11:06 PM |

Baby steps: Chron editorial board gets name of treaty right!

Last week, the Chronicle Editorial LiveJournalists weighed in once again on the Medellin matter.

We have previously noted the Editorial LiveJournalists' lack of expertise on the intersection of constitutional law, treaty obligations, and federal/state relations in regard to the same.

It is worth noting that this time, they at least got the name of the treaty right. Baby steps!

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 07/28/08 11:00 PM |

Chron: White administration abandons density ordinance

The administration of Mayor White, who has made a mockery of due process in the Ashby high-rise matter (while still delivering for the well-heeled on their issue and blocking permits previously issued), has apparently decided to punt on a new ordinance to deal with the issue of dense developments in residential neighborhoods, and stick with an outdated driveway ordinance never designed to deal with the issue:

Last week, however, the official who has been the public face of White's administration during the controversy recommended that the city stop its work on a high-density development ordinance.

Instead, the city should continue to rely on a 60-year-old law governing where driveways connect to public streets, with additional guidelines on how the city will apply the measure to ensure that projects do not cause severe traffic congestion, said Andy Icken, a deputy public works director.

This is leadership?

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 07/28/08 10:53 PM |

Bettencourt office functions effectively (how scandalous!)

Harris County's most popular Republican officeholder, Paul Bettencourt, comes under a bit of fire today in the Chronicle, apparently for doing an aspect of his job effectively:

Bettencourt voluntarily pursues voters to update their registrations after they move from one Harris County location to another. Using driver's license address changes and other government records in a pioneering project, his staff sends letters to such voters — about 100,000 every summer — encouraging them to update their voter registrations.

The Texas Department of Public Safety is required to give driver's license applicants a chance to register to vote. In fact, sign-ups under the so-called "motor voter law" account for 61 percent of voter registrations in Harris County annually. Another 21 percent comes from registration forms mailed to the county by voters.

A mere 13 percent of registrations comes from the 2,700 Harris County residents deputized by the county as roaming registrars or from voters signing up in person at county offices.

Bettencourt said his 35 registration employees attend an average of one civic event per day to sign up new voters or deputize new registrars. The figures show that registrations pushed by candidates, political parties and nonpartisan groups, such as the League of Women Voters, ACORN and Texans Together, are not the dominant force for expanding the voter roll, despite their sweat and intentions.

Critics say those organizations' efforts and voter registration in general would improve if Bettencourt would focus more on expanding the voter roll rather than reducing it.

"The county is not known for aggressive outreach efforts to register voters," Harris County Democratic Party Chairman Gerald Birnberg said. "It is well known for aggressive efforts to purge voter rolls."

Clearly, Harris County takes a lead role in the state for cross-checking government records to remove from the rolls voters who leave the county, are convicted of felonies, are discovered to be noncitizens (80 of those since January 2006) or die. Bettencourt said that, following state law and interpretations by the Texas Secretary of State's Office, his staff also is ahead of most of the state in using government records to challenge whether voters or registration applicants have claimed a real residential address.

The office signs up new voters, pursues changes of address, and purges the rolls of those no longer qualified to vote here. What a scandal!

It's not at all clear that a million stories like this are going to help Bettencourt's inexperienced opponent very much. Most people who deal with Bettencourt's office realize that it functions at a much higher level than most government bureaucracies, regardless of the letter beside his name or whether he evangelizes on KDAN-700 radio. Even if this is the election that breaks the Republican stranglehold on Harris County politics, one suspects it will take a mighty Dem tsunami to sweep Bettencourt out.

BLOGVERSATION: Lose an Eye, It's a Sport.

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 07/28/08 10:33 PM |

27 July 2008

The week (or so) in news and blogs, aggregate edition

It's time to catch up on some Houston news after running around the world-class cities of San Francisco (whose 9 mph cable cars rival the speed of the Danger Train, but whose BART trains run about as fast as our cars on an uncongested freeway) and London (which went underground, because mixing cars and trains is really kind of stupid) over the last week. Here's what I found interesting in the news and on the local blogs from the last week. Please feel free to add your thoughts in the forum!

[Read More]

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 07/27/08 09:27 PM |

26 July 2008

Houston on a budget

Here's a great list of things to do in and around Houston that won't break the bank.

Know of some other places not on the list? Tell us in the forum!

Posted by Anne Linehan @ 07/26/08 12:47 PM |

The joy of riding public transportation

We've noted before that most people who say they want more mass transit are hoping other people will use it. Ninety-five percent of the driving public has no intention of giving up their personal transportation freedom.

Recently Metro's blogger Mary Sit wrote a post about mass transit etiquette:

Once on board, move to the back when more commuters step on. Let exiting commuters disembark before you step on the train. Don't stand directly in front of the train doors - stand to the side of the doors to give room for those on the train to step off. There have been many times when I've tried to exit, and there are bodies standing directly in front of the doors, leaving me little space to walk off the train and onto the platform.

More suggestions from the Los Angeles Times reporter: Don't shout, don't shove, once on-board, step away from the doors. Don't swing a huge handbag or backpack around - it could hit someone. And offer your seat to the elderly, pregnant women or disabled.

Sounds like fun! Especially when one reads the post's comments. Here's a gem:

Another suggestion is to carry some hand sanitizer with you. I was riding a train a couple of weeks ago and a man put his hand down his rear end and then proceeded to go all through the car and wipe his excrement on all the handrails. Since then I started carrying a small bottle.

Which reminds me of a comment one of the guys at the Power Line blog recently made:

One of the liberals' favorite antidotes to high gas prices is public transportation. If we would only ride buses and subways, they say, we'd barely notice $4 a gallon prices. Besides, there is something about seeing people crammed together in equal discomfort on public transportation that liberals just like.

Maybe that explains why METRO CEO Frank J. Wilson has a $12,000 per year car allowance even though he lives near a Park and Pillage.

Posted by Anne Linehan @ 07/26/08 07:21 AM |

25 July 2008

Well, you can't put a homeless shelter amongst the well-heeled

Yesterday's Chronicle story reporting that Houston's homeless population has declined contained this amusing exchange between Councilman James Rodriguez and Mayor White:

Despite the reported decrease, a lengthy debate around the council table showed a continuing impasse over a project that exemplifies the new approach to fighting homelessness in Houston.

Councilman James Rodriguez asked Mayor Bill White to declare that the proposed conversion of Magnolia Glen, a vacant motel in Rodriguez's East End district that would permanently house 220 homeless people, is dead. Rodriguez and many of his constituents oppose the project, saying the district has a disproportionate share of facilities that serve the homeless.

White declined, saying he hoped continued discussions between project sponsors and neighborhood leaders will lead to an agreement.

"Part of our job as leaders is to help people distinguish between the problem and the solution to the problem," the mayor said. He added that he would continue to show great deference to a district council member's views about a project in that member's district.

No, he won't. As is his style, Mayor White will do things his way. When the mayor says, "Part of our job as leaders...," what he really means is HIS job as leader is to decide solutions to problems. He's the leader of Houston; the councilman is not.

Now Councilman Rodriguez certainly can't expect any neighborhoods containing "well-heeled, civically active voters" to welcome a homeless housing project. As the Chronicle's editorial board put it a while back:

Well-heeled, civically active voters wield more influence than low-income residents who might have less time or inclination to vote and take part in civic affairs. Human nature is not easily repealed, but that's not all bad in a democracy in which politicians are supposed to consider their constituents' concerns.

That means the homeless project will stay where it is -- away from the well-heeled folks.

Posted by Anne Linehan @ 07/25/08 08:14 PM |

24 July 2008

Issues With Houston Police Department's Marshal's Office

Isiah Carey's Insite has two posts concerning the beef between HPD Assistant Chief Vicki King and city Marshal's office.

June 17 Post
HPD isn't saying they are going to lay off the officers in the Marshal's office. They say they are going to have them reassigned. Now, many veteran officers who land a good day shift with weekends and holidays off become creatures of habit. They are very resistant to change, especially if it means losing such a sweet work schedule. Their argument (to justify their existence) is about clearing the over 1 million HPD warrants that are active.

July 23 Post
In this post, someone sent Mr. Carey an anonymous email claiming racism.

This is how "clearing warrants" works. An officer comes into contact with somebody on the streets (i.e. traffic stop, person stop, call for service, etc.). The officer checks the person (either by ID card, driver's license, or date of birth) through the local, state, and national databases looking for warrants. If the person is wanted, the warrant shows up. Now, the officer cannot arrest and haul the person to jail at that point. The officer must get confirmation of the warrant. This consists of contacting the law enforcement agency that wants the person arrested and brought to their jail. The officer (or their dispatcher) contacts the other agency and informs them they have a person who their computer says has a warrant. A representative of the warrant's originating agency goes to their file cabinet looking for the actual paper warrant. If the warrant is there, then the representative tells the officer/dispatcher that their warrant is active and they want the person in their jail. The officer is informed the warrant is "confirmed" and then the person is placed under arrest and taken to jail.

Now, in the first post, Mr. Carey asks Chief King about the 35,000 warrants cleared. However, I can promise you that the HPD Marshal's office did not locate all of these people on their own. The majority of these fugitives were arrested on other charges, or stopped on the street and checked by street officers. Someone at the Marshal's office answers the phone, gets the person's information, and goes looking for the paper copy of the warrant. I can tell you that in 2007, someone answered the phone 35,000 times and looked for 35,000 paper copies of warrants.

Now, with HPD under the gun for their manpower shortage, and for their massive overtime spending, what sense does it make for about 70 police officers to be paid to do a job that a handful of civilian clerks can do? Do people want more officers on the street? Do people want more detectives handling their cases? This seems to me, more of a case of HPD wanting to shift resources and complacent officers resisting the change to keep their nice work schedule. I can certainly understand a veteran officer not wanting to start over with a lousy shift and lousy days off. However, it's ultimately about how to best utilize police officers to serve the citizens.

Posted by Jason @ 07/24/08 01:54 PM |

19 July 2008

The blog is going on vacation....

The blog is going on vacation over the next week....

I have travel this week (a pleasure trip and a work trip), and Anne Linehan has a number of things demanding her attention over the same time period, so it's unlikely we're going to have much time for posting.

So we're going to turn it over to ya'll for a while.... Please feel free to use this thread to discuss any Houston-area news that pops up over the next week. We just ask that you abide by the usual rules of the forum, and treat your fellow readers and commenters with the usual courtesy. Enjoy!

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 07/19/08 12:20 AM |

17 July 2008

Harris County candidate campaign-finance reports finally online

Over at Hair Balls, Richard Connelly notes that Harris County has finally put candidate campaign-finance reports online.

Unfortunately, the format is PDF, and not an online searchable database, but it's a start, we suppose.

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 07/17/08 10:40 PM |

16 July 2008

Houston blog talk linkpost: 07/16/08

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 07/16/08 10:34 PM |

Harvard economist lauds Houston's "urban growth machine"

Harvard economist Edward Glaeser has a fascinating op-ed in the New York Sun today (apparently a shortened version of a forthcoming City Journal article) that compares earnings and cost of living in New York and Houston and concludes that Houston has some significant strengths:

Houston's success shows that a relatively deregulated free-market city, with a powerful urban growth machine, can do a much better job of taking care of middle-income Americans than the more "progressive" big governments of the Northeast and the West Coast.

The right response to Houston's growth is not to stymie it through regulation that would make the city less affordable. It's for other areas, New York included, to cut construction costs and start beating the Sunbelt at its own game.

Isn't it interesting how so many Houston elites are in hot pursuit of the "world classness" of other cities, at precisely the time that elites in some of those cities are beginning to give Houston its due?

BLOGVERSATION: Chron Houston Politics, Lone Star Times.

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 07/16/08 10:22 PM |

15 July 2008

Houston blog talk linkpost: 07/15/08

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 07/15/08 11:31 PM |

KHOU: City deploys anti-graffiti cam

KHOU-11's Rucks Russell reports that deployment of the city's fancy new anti-graffiti cams is going slowly:

“It's a digital camera set inside a reinforced metal housing,” Eixman described of the new tool against those who create graffiti. The camera is dedicated to the sole purpose of tracking down the taggers by actually snapping photos of their faces and other ways to identify the suspects.

“Getting their pictures of what they do (is) like getting caught red0handed in the cookie jar,” said Eixman.

It is similar to an effort launched back in 2001 when a private company teamed with the Mayor's Anti-Gang Task force to demonstrate the technology. At the time, city leaders promised a greater commitment to cracking down on taggers.

Years later, though, instead of a series of cameras, there is only one.

While grateful for what he's gotten, “Oh, I'd love a lot more cameras,” said Eixman.

KHOU didn't get a comment from the Mayor's Office, but Councilmember and Sheriff candidate Adrian Garcia had this to say on the lack of follow-through:

“We want to do more, the taxpayers give us but so much money to worth [sic] with and that's what we have to be disciplined by,” said councilman Adrian Garcia.

That same discipline contributed to the lack of investment seven years ago, said Garcia. The cameras cost about $2,500 each, which means that tagging the taggers will likely continue to be a tall order in Houston.

It's not clear that these cameras are a great investment in fighting graffiti, so perhaps it's just as well that deployment is actually going slowly and results can be evaluated before adding more cams.

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 07/15/08 10:59 PM |

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