08 June 2010
KPRC on UHD's inaugural party expenses
KPRC-2'S STEPHEN DEAN reports that the new president of the University of Houston-Downtown has generated controversy after spending public -- not private -- money on a big weekend celebration of his arrival.
Dean reports that when new president William Flores was pressed on repaying the money with private funds, Flores said "that's our intent" but declined to provide a time frame for the repayment.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 06/08/10 08:25 AM |
Can we retire the "rail as game changer" meme?
A RECENT CHRONICLE ARTICLE described the construction of light-rail on the near northside as a potential "game-changer" in terms of development (sadly, the Chron tradition of uncritical cheerleading for METRO rail seems now to have spread from the newspaper's METRO and urban-affairs desks to infect the real-estate desk).
Barry Klein offered an astute response in the comments section:
How is it that a Walgreens relocating from part of Fulton that will be rail served to settle on a part that remains auto-friendly is a sign of rail's positive impact.
Two years ago this reporter found almost two dozen businesses in the CBD that closed during the rail (and road) construction.... Since Metro is on the verge of a $4 billion expansion program why not do an in depth story today on the businesses that were in that corridor, how many remain, how many jobs were gained or lost, and how many of the new businesses are sites where an earlier business folded since rail construction started in 2001?
Indeed.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 06/08/10 08:13 AM |
07 June 2010
Chron: Houston Marathon adopts lottery system for registration
THE CHRONICLE reports that the Houston Marathon will be adopting a lottery system for registration.
This sentence appeared in an early version of the story:
The races have sold out for the past five years despite a growing number of participants.
A Chron.com commenter posted as follows (prompting a correction):
I'm not sure you're clear on the meaning of the word "despite".
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 06/07/10 07:40 PM |
Chron: Progress on city's new radio system lagging
THE CHRONICLE'S JAME PINKERTON reports that the City of Houston still lacks an FCC license for its ambitious public safety radio makeover.
A city official assures us that the project -- which dates to 2003 -- remains on schedule, although critics question the city's progress.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 06/07/10 10:33 AM |
KTRK, Chron report on METRO's safety record
NEARLY TWO WEEKS AGO, KTRK-13's Wayne Dolcefino had an interesting story on METRO bus drivers regularly blitzing through red lights.
Today, Chron.com follows up* with a more comprehensive analysis of accidents, citations, and breakdowns involving METRO buses last year. The report also notes the dismal on-time performance of the buses, which is almost certainly even worse than METRO admits (since really late buses are simply not counted).
* The story appeared in Sunday print editions, but was held from Chron.com until today.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 06/07/10 08:13 AM |
Chron investigation: Offshore accidents bring few penalties
CHRONICLE REPORTERS Lise Olsen and Eric Nalder have posted an interesting story today that analyzes offshore accidents investigated by the Minerals Management Service as well as other public documents in recent years, and draws some interesting conclusions.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 06/07/10 07:43 AM |
05 June 2010
Gag order issued on double-jeopardy case
IN THURSDAY'S CHRONICLE, BRIAN ROGERS reported on double-jeopardy arguments surrounding the case of a man now being tried for arson after previously being acquitted of a capital murder charge related to the fire that killed his daughter.
Today, Rogers reports that Harris County prosecutors asked for -- and received -- a gag order on the trial (a reaction that seems a little extreme to this layman).
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 06/05/10 12:50 PM |
04 June 2010
Justice dupes the Chron.com editor/aggregator
THE FRONT PAGE OF CHRON.COM is touting the news that UH could be invited to join the Big 12 conference soon.
Unfortunately, they are linking to a tongue-in-cheek post from unstable sports columnist Richard Justice.
There's no imminent Big 12 invitation. The poor editor (or maybe aggregator is a better term) of the online version of America's Worst Big City Daily just got duped (by taking one unstable sports columnist seriously). Doh!
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 06/04/10 11:08 AM |
More parking meters coming soon
KHOU-11 reports that the City will be adding more parking meters around town, starting this fall:
The areas for the meters are east of downtown near the Museum District, Hermann Park, the Arts Warehouse District and possibly Washington Avenue.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 06/04/10 08:40 AM |
Ultimately meaningless "Buy America" theater
THE CHRON HOUSTON POLITICS BLOG posts the latest on METRO's ongoing "Buy America" problems.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 06/04/10 08:04 AM |
03 June 2010
The "new" METRO sure sounds a lot like the old METRO
METRO'S bloated PR department has lashed out at the Houston Press over Paul Knight's fine print story about the rogue agency's behavior in recent years. The Press posts the METRO letter and Knight's capable rebuttal here.
We can't help but wonder if the Chron's new media-criticism department will jump into the fray!
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 06/03/10 09:45 PM |
The Apple Dumpling Gang
CORY CROW highlights (lowlights?) the latest odd editorializing from America's Worst Big City Daily.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 06/03/10 09:24 PM |
Major property-use restrictions tagged for one week
YESTERDAY, THE CHRONICLE reported that Council would consider temporarily tightening the city's property-use regulations, "long maligned as overly deferential to developers" (as the Chron lede characterized* the matter). The "temporary" tightening would go into effect while Councilmember Sue Lovell (er, Council) crafts permanent tightening.
The Chron's Houston Politics blog reports that Council tagged the proposal temporarily to tighten property-use regulations. In that post, we also hear from a dissenter who believes the move is hurting her ability to sell her property. Maybe in the next update, we'll even hear from some groups like the Houston Property Rights Association or Houstonians for Responsible Growth. Surely more sources, more diversity, and more debate beat obfuscation, no? In the meantime, maybe the "temporary" tightening could be postponed permanently while the debate ensues.
* As Cory Crow rightly notes, some special interests have long maligned the rules, but criticism of a growth culture that has served Houston well over the years is not as universal as this lede would make it seem.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 06/03/10 08:45 AM |
A Gulf Coast PSA
SWAMPLOT calls our attention to the news that any tar balls found along Texas shores at this point are almost certainly not from BP's ongoing offshore environmental disaster.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 06/03/10 08:23 AM |
02 June 2010
Obfuscation
CLEAR THINKER TOM KIRKENDALL comments on a New York Times piece on the government tactic of obfuscation, which frequently is used to hide/obscure the true cost of promises made today for benefits tomorrow.
Kirkendall cites the massive unfunded pension liability and METRO's precarious financial condition as local examples of the dynamic at work. One might as easily add METRO's characterization of a hush-money settlement as transparency or the City of Houston spearheading a preemptive revenue-cap lawsuit in a jurisdiction perceived as friendly to its cause as additional examples.
The problem can be even worse in communities where the newspaper of record is frequently more of a cheerleader for the establishment doing the obfuscating than a watchdog for the public paying the bills.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 06/02/10 08:36 PM |
The drainage tax is back (update)
AS UBU ROI notes in the comments, the City's drainage fee is back. Or a big tax increase (as Bill King notes at the end of the story). Or whatever euphemism one prefers for a massive new revenue stream proposal.
Interestingly, Mayor Annise Parker says she supports the program, while at the same time maintaining her distance.
UPDATE: Ubu Roi posts much more about the return of the drainage tax.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 06/02/10 08:18 PM |
CM Sullivan: "A sneaky way to do business"
KPRC-2 reports on the City's shameful efforts to defend the recent water-rate hike by way of a pre-emptive lawsuit away from Houston:
Former Harris County Tax Assessor-Collector Paul Bettencourt said he takes issue with the increase and the lawsuit the city of Houston filed against itself in Travis County.
The mayor said the rate validation suit was a preemptive measure to preserve this move.
[snip]
"Seems like a sneaky way to do business, to run off and try it in another jurisdiction," [Councilmember Mike] Sullivan said.
Incidentally, the assessment in KPRC's story that "apartment owners and their tenants will take the biggest hit" is inaccurate, as previously discussed.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 06/02/10 08:34 AM |
Transparently secret hush money! (updated)
THE CHRON.COM HEADLINE on the "new" METRO settlement with Lloyd Kelley is succinct:
How's that for transparency and accountability?
Reporter Renee C. Lee did determine that METRO will be paying Kelley's legal fees with your money.
UPDATE: A state judge approved the settlement today, which will pay Lloyd Kelley $40,000 in legal fees (hush money).
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 06/02/10 08:23 AM |
01 June 2010
METRO announces settlement of Kelley lawsuit
METRO announces today that its board has authorized a settlement of the Lloyd Kelley lawsuit.
The press release does not indicate how much hush money will be transferred from taxpayers, but METRO does assure that the settlement will help to restore public trust in the agency (again, not kidding!).
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 06/01/10 05:36 PM |
Train wreck
THE HOUSTON PRESS ran a fine piece by Paul Knight last week with a title that's perfect:
Train Wreck: How Metro and its president Frank Wilson got so far off track
It's a comprehensive look at METRO, its evolution from bus-heavy to rail-envious, and all the various characters, controversies, cheerleading (Chron), watchdogging (other media), and nontransparency along the way.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 06/01/10 03:58 PM |
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