03 May 2011

ABC releases newspaper circulation figures (with new methodology)

The Audit Bureau of Circulations released its latest regular report on newspaper circulation today.

The organization has reworked the rules it uses, effectively establishing a new baseline, so the numbers can't be directly compared to previous circulation numbers any longer.

The Chron was quick to post its usual press release posing as a news article in which publisher Jack Sweeney exclaims how wonderful things are at the newspaper. At least they no longer force a journalist to attach his/her name to the press release.

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 05/03/11 09:15 PM |

01 May 2011

News and views roundup (05/01/2011 edition)

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 05/01/11 10:43 PM |

28 April 2011

News and views roundup (04/28/2011 edition)

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 04/28/11 09:44 PM |

26 April 2011

News and views roundup (04/26/2011 edition)

It's a slow news week...

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 04/26/11 09:56 PM |

24 April 2011

News and views roundup (04/24/2011 edition)

We hope everyone enjoyed the Easter weekend... we certainly did. Time to catch up:

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 04/24/11 09:19 PM |

20 April 2011

Sports Authority default? No worries!

The Houston Chronicle print and e-editions (but not Chron.com) reported today that the Houston Sports Authority still runs the risk of defaulting.

Here is the lede:

The agency created to finance Houston’s professional sports stadiums soon may face a $27 million obligation that would halve its reserves and could push it closer to default (Mike Morris, "Sports Authority at risk of debt default," Houston Chronicle).

Executive Director Janis Schmees told the Chronicle that neither a missed payment nor a default should worry the "average citizen or sports fan."

Spokesman Mustafa Tameez also told the Chronicle there are no worries.

Lots of other people are quoted saying really, there are no worries. So there you go.

We understand this withheld public-interest story should make it to Chron.com sometime Thursday.

Incidentally, this is the same newspaper that just ran an editorial insisting that school boards continue to spend exorbitant amounts of money to run public notices in the newspaper (last year, HISD, Spring Branch ISD, and Cy-Fair ISD alone spent $400,000 with the Chronicle, according to Matt Bramanti's research, although he did not break out how much of that was for public notices*) . Because, you know, they're into serving the public interest and all with their journalism. *wink*

* Edited after posting to include that italicized caveat for clarity.

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 04/20/11 06:30 PM |

19 April 2011

News and views roundup (04/19/2011 edition)

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 04/19/11 12:16 PM |

18 April 2011

News and views roundup (04/18/2011 edition)

Time to get back in the game...

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 04/18/11 11:41 AM |

14 April 2011

METRO's multi-faceted approach to Park and Pillage security

Recall back in 2006 METRO Police Chief Tom Lambert finally found some state-of-the-art security for METRO's Park and Pillages. Described as a "quantum leap forward," specifics were as follows:

At the heart of the new security system are cameras that can be programmed to spot a variety of activities, from a car parked in a bus loading area to a suspicious package left near a bench. Such events will alert METRO police officers at Houston TranStar of a suspicious activity or that a crime may be in progress.

The multifaceted system also features call boxes for patrons who have an emergency or who spot suspicious activities, a public address system, and entrance gates that can be closed at a moment's notice.

Sounds great! Unless you park at the Grand Parkway Park and Pillage, because METRO made a decision a couple of years ago not to spend money on the multifaceted, quantum leap forward, state-of-the-art security system out there:

Metro is stepping up patrols of its Grand Parkway Park and Ride location after someone broke into 11 vehicles Tuesday.

The lot off of Interstate-10 is the only Park and Ride location without security cameras.[snip]

But Metro said its Grand Parkway location was the only lot without the cameras. Installing them would cost about $300,000, Gray said, because the property is leased.

"A decision was made a couple of years ago because of the expenses and whatnot, and the lease situation, we would not have cameras out there," he said.

Hmmm, "a decision was made a couple of years ago..." That rings a bell. Where have we heard that before?

Police officers are no longer manning the MAP vehicles at METRO. Lambert said he decided two years ago to move those officers to patrol duties where they are badly needed. Employees of other METRO departments, such as wrecker drivers, were moved into the MAP jobs, and Lambert said he is not rethinking that decision.

Ahhh, yes. Chief Lambert strikes again! We don't have to work too hard to guess who made the decision a couple of years ago not to install the security system. The man is a genius. Hopefully someone will recognize it and give him a promotion!

At one point in KHOU's story, I thought we were getting ready for a Raequel "9-volt" Roberts sighting:

Still, Metro wants to put the breaks-ins in perspective.

Alas, it was Super Spokesman Jerome Gray providing METRO's perspective. I'm sure those who had their cars broken into feel much better knowing METRO saved $300,000.

Posted by Anne Linehan @ 04/14/11 06:39 PM |

13 April 2011

Introducing Texas Iconoclast

Part of the reason things have been a little slow here over the last few weeks (in addition to a couple of quick trips to Europe and other intrusions of "real life") is that I've been tinkering with a new project with a few other right-bloggers.

Today, we went public with Texas Iconoclast, a review of Texas politics, media, and culture from a center-right perspective.

Initially, we'll be posting a morning roundup of links (not entirely unlike what we frequently post here). There will be a separate blog with lengthier commentary. We hope to generate some good political discussion.

Please come by the new site and see what you think. (And no, it won't be displacing what we do at BH -- we'll get things cranked up here again in a few days).

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 04/13/11 10:34 PM |

12 April 2011

Blog slowdown

I meant to stick a note up a few days ago, but didn't get around to it.

The blog is going to be on a bit of a slowdown/vacation for a few more days.

Nothing major, just real life intruding on blogging a little more than usual.

Feel free to discuss any major news items in the forum, though!

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 04/12/11 09:36 AM |

08 April 2011

METRO's "Perfect Block"

Looking for something to do tomorrow? Then why not join reformed METRO critic and current METRO board member Christof Spieler at Hot Block on Holman:

METRO Board Member Christof Spieler and METRO staff to join Community Artists’ Collective, Planners Revolution and ECOTONE in staging a ‘complete street’ for a day. The idea is to help communities visualize what a sustainable, perfect block would look like, complete with infrastructure in place that would make it easy for pedestrians, motorists, bicyclists and transit riders to travel the area safely.

Sounds FUN!

Posted by Anne Linehan @ 04/08/11 06:56 PM |

04 April 2011

News and views roundup (04/04/2011 edition)

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 04/04/11 10:18 PM |

Perhaps it means that he criticized METRO once....

Although the Examiner News has done some excellent work covering METRO, this recent characterization of METRO board member Christof Spieler struck us as strange:

Spieler, the board member (and former CTC member), told the group how he — a onetime outspoken critic of Metro on his CTC blog — was able to cross the fence to the other side (Ken Fountain, Leaders try to sell ‘new Metro’ to transportation advocates, Examiner News)


That sounds great (messaging!), and while Spieler and CTC were occasionally critical of a METRO policy or proposal here and there, they also worked quite closely with METRO at times (for example, trying to help METRO gin up support for Richmond rail some years ago, as this old email from a public information request makes quite clear; there are others from Robin Holzer).

This notion that Spieler/Holzer/CTC were ever consistent outspoken critics of METRO is erroneous. Mayor Parker knew what she was getting in appointing Spieler to the METRO Board, and it wasn't an outspoken critic. In fact, advising OLD METRO on how it could improve its PR/messaging was probably good practice to be part of NEW METRO. Some agency priorities seem rather... timeless!

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 04/04/11 09:52 PM |

Chron: METRO's crowded trains, buses frustrate NCAA fans

Reporter Zain Shauk verged from from the (sub)standards established by previous Chron journos in covering METRO (most recently Mike Snyder) in a story today highly critical of the agency's ability efficiently to deal with the thousands of extra people in town for the Final Four (many of whom probably had no idea what sensible Houstonians know -- it's always best to ignore the proclamations/promises that emanate from METRO's bloated/expensive PR shop and make other arrangements if possible).

Here's Shauk's lede:

A doubly complicated commute to tonight's NCAA men's basketball championship game will test a public transit system that was already overwhelmed by Saturday's record crowds.

And here are some other snippets:

Trains were severely overloaded, thousands of fans were stranded without rides and scores found themselves suddenly left by bus drivers at an intersection on the fringe of downtown.

* * *

At light-rail platforms, most fans did not pay their fares because the large number of travelers, eager to get on the trains, overwhelmed pay stations.

* * *

Officials spent months coordinating a transportation plan for the Final Four, drafting a nearly four-inch book of maps, guides and schedules. The team's command centers at Reliant Center and the Hyatt Regency in downtown are fitted with TV screens monitoring Metro cameras, traffic patterns and the movement of private shuttles and buses.

Be sure to check out the rest of the story, because stories so critical of METRO generally do not appear in the area's cheerleader newspaper of record (this sort of writing seems to be preferred).

Of course, it's not surprising that a transit agency headed by a guy whose expertise is not transit (which he tries to portray as a strength here) and that still seems to have the OLD METRO habit of prioritizing PR above Moving People didn't actually.... move people very well during Houston's latest signature event.

Not to worry, though. We're sure all those people frustrated by NEW METRO's inability to get them around as promised were surely happy that METRO's bloated/expensive PR department was out distributing trinkets. And they were surely impressed as well when METRO's expensive new addition to its bloated PR department swung into action today (no doubt directing much energy towards the Chron's reporter, and perhaps even his editors):

Metro spokesman Jerome Gray added that many riders Saturday night were lost because they could not remember what rail stop they had boarded before the games.

Right. All the new customers were surely the problem (not the inability of a tram -- that's what they call these dinky "trains" in Amsterdam -- posing as a "mass transit system" to accommodate so many visitors, or the inability of METRO to anticipate customer needs and plan adequately).

NEW (PR REBRANDED!) METRO, same attitude and performance issues.

BLOGVERSATION: Harris County Almanac.

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 04/04/11 06:51 PM |

31 March 2011

News and views roundup (03/31/2011 edition)

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 03/31/11 09:18 PM |

30 March 2011

Mayor to HFD: Decide between job cuts or pension plan underfunding

Mayor Annise Parker, who was not shy during the last mayoral campaign about criticizing what she strongly suggested were unsustainable fiscal policies by her predecessor (and in fact probably won because she convinced voters she was the most fiscally sound candidate in a weak field), has now decided that some unsustainable fiscal policies aren't so bad after all.

According to a report by Chris Moran in today's Chronicle, Mayor Parker hopes to fund police and fire pensions by some $14 million less than the city's obligation to the plans. The administration contends that the savings could also help the city avoid layoffs of hundreds of firefighters at HFD next year.

Moran included some good observations from a local expert on public pensions:

Paying less than the actuarially determined commitment is a recipe for future disaster, warned John Diamond, a public finance expert at the Baker Institute for Public Policy at Rice University who blogs about pensions and other fiscal matters.

"If you don't pay it now, you're just going to have to pay more later. Basically, they are kicking the can down the road so politically they look good," Diamond said.

Parker is trying to honor a commitment to public safety while looking for massive cuts in a $1.9 billion budget, nearly two-thirds of which is spent on the police and fire departments.

Diamond acknowledged the second-year mayor had inherited a problem that's "too hard … for someone to solve without dooming their political careers."

Generally, it seems that Dem leaders are the ones having the most trouble making these hard choices. Republican governors in Wisconsin, Ohio, and New Jersey have seemed willing to tackle these sorts of problems. (UPDATE: Gov. Cuomo seems a refreshing exception).

Ultimately, the state of Texas may have to deal with the public pension problems as municipalities continue to kick the can down the road (as Diamond put it). In the state of California, a strong move is afoot to put significant state/local pension reform before voters (UPDATE: More on this from the WSJ's excellent columnist Daniel Henninger). As underfunded local and state pension obligations become more problematic here, Texas may have to consider similar measures.

UPDATE: See Professor Diamond's most recent post on muni pension problems.

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 03/30/11 10:04 PM |

29 March 2011

News and views roundup (03/29/2011 edition)

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 03/29/11 09:57 PM |

28 March 2011

News and views roundup (03/28/2011 edition)

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 03/28/11 09:57 PM |

27 March 2011

Repeat: Channel 2 finds MAP workers not working while on the clock

FIve months after catching METRO MAP workers not working, KPRC-2's Stephen Dean decided to revisit the issue, and AGAIN found MAP workers not working:

METRO Motorist Assistance Program employees started arriving to shoot pool, play dominoes, watch television and socialize while rush hour was under way as Local 2 Investigates tracked them over the past three weeks.

Some workers arrived before 6 p.m. on some evenings, and the entire group avoided helping a single stranded motorist for the entire time until their shift ended at 9 p.m.

"Unacceptable," said METRO Chief Executive Officer George Greanias upon learning of the nightly routine from Local 2 Investigates. "The fact that some employees, based on your news report at least, seem to feel that on duty time is to be spent recreating, when in fact that's not the case, is extremely troubling."

These revelations don't even shock anymore. We expect them. It's a given that METRO wastes our money. It's taxpayer money and there's so much of of it floating around, who cares if a few MAP employees don't work their entire shift?

METRO was dysfunctional and arrogant under Frank "Procurement Disaster" Wilson. The roots are still the same even as George Greanias fights an uphill battle to change the OLD METRO. An integrity-less culture festered for so many years, it's just standard operating procedure at METRO.

Here's one employee's response to KPRC when asked about it: ""We always come in and turn our paperwork in at this time," he said.

And here's the response of another employee: "Well, that's the way we do it, close the lane at 8 o'clock and 9 o'clock you go back home. That's it."

That's the way we've always done it. The mantra of every successful company, right?

And Greanias' reaction?

He insisted that action was taken after the Local 2 Investigates report in October to keep closer watch over MAP workers, but he admitted it may not have gone far enough. "I'm not going to commit a ton more of METRO resources to policing people, when what I want are adults who will do the job that they tell us they're committed to do," said Greanias.

There are a couple of glaring problems here (besides Greanias' misdirected irritation). First, does METRO have a clear job expectation? Because the MAP employees think it's a part of their job to knock off working a few hours early. If the job expectation IS clear, then METRO has a problem with the MAP employees, and the supervisors who are allowing this to happen. And if the supervisors are allowing this to happen, then Greanias should also look further up the food chain. Who knows what other stink bombs are just waiting to explode?

By the way, METRO's MAP page says, "It's safe!

Don't worry about who will assist you. M.A.P. vehicles are staffed with experienced uniformed METRO Police officers and Harris County Sheriff's Department deputies."

But in Stephen Dean's story last fall we learned:

Police officers are no longer manning the MAP vehicles at METRO. Lambert said he decided two years ago to move those officers to patrol duties where they are badly needed. Employees of other METRO departments, such as wrecker drivers, were moved into the MAP jobs, and Lambert said he is not rethinking that decision.

METRO's bloated PR department should update that page.

It was Tom Lambert who removed security personnel from Park and Rides and turned them into Park and Pillages. We can see why METRO promoted him!

Posted by Anne Linehan @ 03/27/11 09:33 AM |

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