Category Archives: Elsewhere in Houston

Waiting to hear about New Dome financing

Posted on July 16, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Just a reminder that the process is still in progress. Two weeks ago, the Harris County Sports and Convention Corporation presented its vision for a 194 million dollar project dubbed THE NEW DOME EXPERIENCE. It included turning the inside into … Continue reading →

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If you want your trash to be collected

Posted on July 9, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

It’s best to put your trash can where the automated pickup arm can get it. Last year, at least 9,000 trash cans in the city were left uncollected at some point, according to records kept by the city, a small … Continue reading →

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David Adickes hearts Houston

Posted on July 5, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

And he wants you to know it. Houston’s efforts at self-promotion – remember “Houston. It’s Hot!”? – have come and gone. Somehow, though, the Bayou City always looked for love in all the wrong places. Now, thanks to concrete sculptor … Continue reading →

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Here come the hotels

Posted on July 5, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Lots of downtown hotel construction going on, or about to go on. The area around the George R. Brown Convention Center is about to see a burst of hotel construction as developers plan several new projects, two of which will … Continue reading →

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The Heights yarn bomb lives again

Posted on July 4, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

This makes me happy: See here for the background. According to Marty Hajovsky, the new installation will be up through July 14th, so go check it out while you can. And if you see anyone approaching it with a sharp … Continue reading →

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Full speed ahead for Parks By You

Posted on June 30, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Excellent. Houston City Council on Wednesday approved an agreement with the Houston Parks Board to tackle the ambitious trails plan voters approved in a $166 million bond issue last November. The Bayou Greenways 2020 project fulfills a century-old vision first … Continue reading →

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Interview with Willie Loston

Posted on June 25, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Willie Loston is the Executive Director of the Harris County Sports & Convention Corporation, which is the not-for-profit company that operates and maintains the public facilities at Reliant Park, including Reliant Stadium and the Astrodome. It was the HCSCC that … Continue reading →

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More on the rejected Dome ideas

Posted on June 24, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron pays some attention to the 19 ideas that were submitted to the Harris County Sports & Convention Corporation for what to do with the Astrodome. Willie Loston, executive director of the Harris County Sports and Convention Corp., said … Continue reading →

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More on the New Dome Experience

Posted on June 22, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron’s subscription site story adds some more details to the news about the New Dome Experience. [Harris County Judge Ed] Emmett said that if the court signs off on the plan next week, it likely would ask the county … Continue reading →

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Marfreless will be back

Posted on June 22, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s an unexpected surprise. We are thrilled to announce our reopening this summer at our same 2006 Peden location in River Oaks. Although we will be under new ownership, we promise the same unique atmosphere, premium menu, friendly staff, and … Continue reading →

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What do you have against yarn?

Posted on June 21, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

This is such a shame. An International Yarn Bombing Day installation on a park trellis in the Heights was partially torn down Saturday after it was only up for a week, since June 8. The project was headed by Heights … Continue reading →

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So many Dome ideas

Posted on June 13, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

The Harris County Sports & Convention Corporation has plenty of material to work with as it prepares to make a recommendation to Commissioners Court about the Astrodome. Harris County Sports & Convention Corp. staff will spend the next week evaluating … Continue reading →

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They name the development after whatever they bulldozed in order to build it

Posted on June 13, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

The title of this post is an old joke, but what happened recently at Woodland Park is not. Nonsequiteuse explains. I was alerted to an egregious clear-cutting along Woodland Park, a City of Houston public park at the edge of … Continue reading →

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The Texans and the Rodeo will have their say on the fate of the Dome

Posted on June 12, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

There’s this little matter of their lease agreement to deal with. Five years ago, Harris County appeared on the brink of striking a deal with a group of entrepreneurs to turn the Astrodome into a 1,300-room hotel and convention center, … Continue reading →

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Astrodome-palooza

Posted on June 11, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

In case you aren’t completely full of my opining on the Astrodome and its possible fate, I was the author of a op-ed in the Sunday Chron on the subject. It’s kind of the Reader’s Digest version of the things … Continue reading →

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Big week for the Dome

Posted on June 10, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

This week things start to get real for the Astrodome. Monday is an important deadline for those who are determined to save the historic Astrodome, as private firms turn in renovation proposals to the Harris County Sports & Convention Corp. … Continue reading →

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The fault lies not with Commissioners Court

Posted on June 9, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Chron columnist Ken Hoffman fired a shot in his Sunday column. What to do with the Astrodome? It’s had its day. Let it go before it becomes even more of an embarrassing money pit. Dump the Dome! M. Meagher, Houston … Continue reading →

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What’s in a neighborhood name?

Posted on June 7, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Keep Houston Houston has had enough of “fake” neighborhood names. “Lower Westheimer” – This does not actually exist, it’s just Montrose. Or “The Montrose” if you wish to rebel against popular linguistic conventions without going full retard. “Neartown” – This … Continue reading →

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Alexan Heights gets approved

Posted on June 5, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

The Leader News updates us on the latest news regarding the proposed development on Yale at 7th. Houston’s Planning Commission has approved Trammell Crow Residential’s replat application without variance for the site of its 360-unit Alexan Heights mid-rise luxury apartment … Continue reading →

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It’s about use, not just sentiment

Posted on June 4, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

NYT reporter Jere Longman, who hails from Houston, penned a love letter to the Astrodome after hearing about its possible impending demise. So it was despairing to hear that the vacant Astrodome might be torn down and its site paved … Continue reading →

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The townhomes are indeed coming

Posted on June 2, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

I have three things to say about this Lisa Gray column. “So the bad stuff we’re going to see today,” I asked, “it’ll be a cautionary tale for the suburbs?” I was driving west from downtown on what I thought … Continue reading →

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Houston keeps on growing

Posted on May 31, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Sounds good to me. Among large American cities, only New York added more people than Houston in the year ending July 1, 2012, according to new census figures released Thursday. In addition, the Census Bureau reported, eight of the 15 … Continue reading →

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Hooray for the hotels

Posted on May 30, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

We’re going to have a lot of people coming into town for Super Bowl LI. We’re going to have to put them somewhere. Mayor Annise Parker said Thursday that hosting the 2017 Super Bowl will be another step in Houston’s … Continue reading →

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Does the Super Bowl doom the Dome?

Posted on May 29, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

The Texican ponders what the announcement about Houston landing Super Bowl LI means for everyone’s favorite unused arena. So what does this mean for our Dome? A parking garage would be an ignoble end for the Dome, though I am … Continue reading →

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Beautifying Buffalo Bayou

Posted on May 24, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

I’m really looking forward to seeing how this winds up. The nonprofit Buffalo Bayou Partnership is overseeing $58 million in ecological restoration and enhancement to upgrade the 2.3-mile stretch between Shepherd and Sabine into a green gem with a slew … Continue reading →

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Houston gets Super Bowl LI

Posted on May 22, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

All right! NFL owners voted today to give Houston Super Bowl LI in 2017. At their spring meeting at the Hyatt Harborside, the owners voted the coveted Super Bowl L to San Francisco over South Florida. South Florida took another … Continue reading →

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Alexan Heights trying again

Posted on May 22, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

The Leader News reports that the proposed mid-rise apartment complex for Yale at 7th Street has been reworked in a way that would avoid the need for a variance. The deed restrictions involved single-family homes within the proposed complex — … Continue reading →

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Are we too hip for our own good?

Posted on May 21, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Craig Hlavaty notes Houston’s current status as the It City of the national media, and wonders if that’s necessarily a good thing for us. But with the praise and accolades, lots of Houstonians are fearful that the Bayou City will … Continue reading →

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On the Astros’ Wives Gala

Posted on May 15, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

What Nonsequiteuse says: I’m really upset that the Houston Astros have left the Houston Area Women’s Center in the lurch as far as the gala this year. I know the people and the programs that will suffer without those funds, … Continue reading →

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Memorial Park will not become the Riverwalk

Posted on May 14, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Council will vote on the proposed Uptown/Memorial TIRZ this week, which may or may not put an end to some of the wild speculation about what expanding the Uptown TIRZ boundaries to include Memorial Park may mean. Imagine you’re jogging … Continue reading →

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Five years of Discovery Green

Posted on May 13, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Five great years for a great park and an awesome city amenity. Five years after its opening, more than 1 million people annually come to stretch out on the grassy slope to take in live music and movies with the … Continue reading →

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Looking forward on Memorial Park

Posted on May 12, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Meet Shellye Arnold, the new Executive Director of the Memorial Park Conservancy. There is no doubt that it is a pivotal moment for the 89-year old-park. Decimated by the drought of 2011, Memorial Park lost thousands of trees. The conservancy … Continue reading →

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The Washington Avenue parking benefit district is now operational

Posted on May 8, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

From CultureMap: It took a while, but nearly five months after Houston City Council approved the first citywide Parking Benefit District for the Washington Avenue corridor, the meters started charging at 7 a.m. on Wednesday. The City of Houston’s Administration and Regulatory … Continue reading →

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Florida’s failure to be insane is our gain

Posted on May 7, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Good news if you’re rooting for Houston to host Super Bowl LI. Houston’s bid for Super Bowl LI received a major boost Friday when Florida lawmakers ended a 60-day legislative session without approving a plan that would have provided a … Continue reading →

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