Category Archives: Elsewhere in Houston

Trouble with the trees

Posted on September 28, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

The drought gets more expensive for the city of Houston. The drought is about to claim yet more of Houston’s green – this time $4.5 million in tax dollars to remove trees that have died of thirst. Houston’s driest year … Continue reading →

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Trader Joe’s makes its move

Posted on September 21, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Alabama Theater, here they come. Trader Joe’s is officially considering the historic Alabama Theatre for its first Houston outpost. The proposal is on the agenda for this week’s meeting of the Houston Archaeological and Historical Commission, which would have to … Continue reading →

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Mayor extends burn ban in parks

Posted on September 16, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: Mayor Parker Extends Parks Burn Ban to Include Smoking Mayor Annise Parker today signed an executive order extending the City’s temporary burn ban to include smoking in City parks.  The smoking ban applies to lighted cigars, cigarettes, … Continue reading →

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City may ban smoking in parks

Posted on September 14, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Um, yeah. Mayor Annise Parker said she is considering banning smoking in the city’s 380 parks because of the fire dangers presented by discarded cigarettes. “This drought is a crisis situation,” Parker said.  ”I am leaning toward a ban on smoking cigarettes, … Continue reading →

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Our education gap

Posted on September 14, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Apparently, we have one in Houston. The Houston area doesn’t have enough educated workers to fill all the jobs that local industry creates, according to a study released today by the Brookings Institution. That education gap, in turn, pushes up … Continue reading →

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Car charging stations coming this week

Posted on September 12, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Cool. Houston became the first major U.S. city to announce an electric vehicle charging network in November with the launch of NRG Energy subsidiary eVgo. Now it’s finally getting the chargers to match the announcement. A number of electric car owners signed … Continue reading →

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New park protection rules

Posted on September 10, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

From the Mayor’s office: People Protecting Our Parks Mayor Annise Parker Announces New Fire Safety Campaign for City Parks Mayor Annise Parker, the Houston Parks and Recreation Department (HPARD) and the Houston Fire Department (HFD) announced People Protecting Our Parks, a new … Continue reading →

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Baby steps on water conservation

Posted on September 10, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

I found this story about businesses finding ways to conserve water to be strange. I expected to hear about innovation and maybe new technology, but what I got was stuff like this: The 5-star Four Seasons Hotel recently began furnishing … Continue reading →

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The toll on the trees

Posted on September 6, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

CultureMap: Houston, a city long defined by its gigantic live oak trees and lush landscaping, is changing for the worse as the relentless, thrashing sun has taken a toll on all things green and growing. The ongoing drought, which is … Continue reading →

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Cameras everywhere

Posted on August 13, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Red light cameras get all the attention, but there are a lot more cameras in Houston. This story about the city’s network of surveillance cameras that have been installed by the Mayor’s Office of Public Safety and Homeland Security gives … Continue reading →

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Trader Joe’s to the Alabama Bookstop?

Posted on August 6, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Maybe. Trader Joe’s is eyeing the old Alabama Theatre on Shepherd and West Alabama, according to a source familiar with the situation. Earlier this year, the grocer said it planned to open stores in Houston and Dallas. Specific locations were … Continue reading →

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Old neighborhoods, new faces

Posted on July 31, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Really interesting story about the changing faces of a couple of Houston’s historically African-American neighborhoods. There are now almost as many Latino residents as African-Americans in Independence Heights. At the same time, there are fewer African-American children there and in … Continue reading →

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We’re #9!

Posted on July 23, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

The ninth greenest metro area, at least in terms of “green” jobs, according to a Brookings study. Houston’s “clean” or “green” economy is ranked 9th among the nation’s 100 largest metropolitan areas, according to a new report from the Brookings … Continue reading →

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More on directing density

Posted on July 19, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

We know that the city’s Planning Department is prepping a draft ordinance that would add some restrictions to highrise construction in parts of the city outside designated areas. Here’s the Chron story about it. The proposed ordinance was written in … Continue reading →

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Directing density

Posted on July 12, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

This looks interesting. A new draft ordinance prepared by the city’s planning department aims to make it tougher to build tall buildings next to single-family homes. The proposal is called the High Density Ordinance, but many of its restrictions would … Continue reading →

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That’s what I call double parking

Posted on July 7, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Did you know that there were hydraulic parking lifts in use in Houston? I didn’t. District D Councilwoman Wanda Adams, who represents Midtown, attached an amendment to the city budget passed last month that requires the planning department to craft … Continue reading →

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We’re number 16!

Posted on July 6, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

In a list of green cities. The Bayou City placed 16th in the newly released U.S. and Canada Green City Index, a study conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit on behalf of Siemens. The study, released at the 2011 Aspen … Continue reading →

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You don’t look a day over 170, Houston

Posted on July 5, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Lisa Gray has a question and a request. How do you celebrate Houston’s 175th birthday? It’s a surprisingly hard question. How do you salute the longevity and stability of a place that prides itself on change? How do you sum … Continue reading →

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RIP, Arabia Shrine Center

Posted on July 3, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Swamplot noted that a demolition permit had been pulled for the Arabia Shrine Center on Braeswood near Kirby. Nancy Sarnoff tells us what is to come once the buildings have been razed. Three years after an apartment developer bought the … Continue reading →

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The Midtown arts deal

Posted on June 28, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

I have three things to say about this. A nonprofit group plans to build a community arts complex in Midtown with the help of up to $6 million in reimbursements from the city. The Houston City Council this week approved … Continue reading →

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The Sundance Theater deal

Posted on June 25, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

When Sundance Theaters announced it would take the place of the Angelika downtown, everyone was happy. The deal that their landlord is getting to make way for them is not quite as joy-inducing. Sundance Cinemas negotiated a lease earlier this … Continue reading →

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Seeing the city the Segway way

Posted on June 18, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

A Segway tour of downtown Houston sounds like a great idea. The tour, led by Apollo Scooters proprietor Matthew Creede, is the first to exploit the scenic secrets of the city’s heart. Similar tours are offered in San Antonio, Austin … Continue reading →

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Since we’ve been speaking of drainage

Posted on June 15, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Meanwhile, over in Washington Heights, Ainbinder is doing a commissioning a study of streets and drainage. It’s their second study, as apparently they didn’t like what the first one told them. Go read They Are Building A Wal-Mart On My … Continue reading →

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Studewood highrise update

Posted on June 11, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Swamplot and Prime Property give us a look at what is to come for that six-story mixed-use building that’s currently under construction on Studewood just north of 11th. Well, what may come, as Swamplot’s choose-your-own-adventure photo spread indicates. I figured … Continue reading →

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If fixing the streets is easy, then tell us how to do it

Posted on May 25, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Lisa Gray writes about a guy who thinks Houston’s streets could be much more user friendly if only we tried a little harder to make them be. “Houston’s streets behave like alleys,” Nathan Norris shouted to the 20 or so … Continue reading →

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The abandoned buildings of downtown

Posted on May 15, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

I thought this Chron story about the vacant buildings downtown and the nuisances they cause was useful, but it left me with one question: What, if anything, can the city do to force the issue? The city has the occasional … Continue reading →

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More on the city’s convention center spinoff proposal

Posted on May 9, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

This press release from the Mayor’s office about the proposed spinoff of the city’s convention business hit my inbox this afternoon: Mayor Annise Parker today recommended consolidation of the city’s Convention & Entertainment Facilities Department (CEFD) into the Houston Convention … Continue reading →

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Downtown living

Posted on May 9, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

There are two things about this Chron story about the residential population of downtown that I find curious. Twenty-five years after the residential development of downtown Houston began in earnest, fewer than 4,500 people reside in the city’s central core, … Continue reading →

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Heights Wal-Mart public meeting reminder

Posted on May 2, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: Responsible Urban Development for Houston [RUDH] Announces their next: PUBLIC MEETING: TUESDAY MAY 3RD, 2011 AT 6:30 PM The Council on Alcohol and Drugs 303 Jackson Hill Street, Houston, Texas 77007 Regarding: Heights Wal-Mart Project and the … Continue reading →

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New development planned for West Gray

Posted on April 30, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

From Prime Property: West Gray may soon get a lot busier. Developers are proposing multi-story apartment complexes on two sites just a short distance apart along the largely retail roadway, which runs from River Oaks to downtown. Both developers are … Continue reading →

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Public meeting with updates on Wal-Mart

Posted on April 27, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

From RUDH: PUBLIC MEETING: SEE YOU THERE! Join RUDH and receive updates about the Yale Street bridge, the Bass Street connection and TxDOTs role in ensuring the safety of West End residents, the City’s plan for re-routing 18-wheelers onto Heights … Continue reading →

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Discovery Green, America’s coolest park

Posted on April 21, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

From CultureMap: Travel + Leisure searched around the country for the best, the most exciting and the coolest city parks for their April issue, and Central Park didn’t make the cut — but Houston’s Discovery Green did. Just three years old — and … Continue reading →

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Why demolishing the Dome would be so expensive

Posted on April 6, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

This Chron story is primarily about what a bunch of notable people would like to see happen to the Astrodome. That isn’t terribly interesting to me, but it did contain this tidbit, which answers a question I’ve wondered about and … Continue reading →

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Sundance Cinema to replace Angelika

Posted on April 2, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Downtown is once again safe for arthouse movies. From the Mayor’s office: Mayor Annise Parker and David Cordish, Chairman of the Cordish Companies, have announced that Robert Redford’s Sundance Cinema will open in Bayou Place in the heart of Houston’s … Continue reading →

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