Category Archives: Elsewhere in Houston

Recycle that tree

Posted on December 28, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

We have had an artificial tree for the past few years, so this story about where and how to recycle your Christmas tree isn’t relevant to our household, but it may be to yours. There’s no good reason for a … Continue reading →

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Budget cuts coming for Rice

Posted on December 23, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

It’s going to be a tough budget year for Rice University. Rice President David Leebron set the stage for the coming year in an address to faculty this fall, warning that coping with endowment losses is one of the most … Continue reading →

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Here come the gay tourists

Posted on December 22, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The election of Annise Parker as Mayor has put Houston on the map as a travel destination for gay groups. Houston historically has not been a popular destination for gay and lesbian travelers, according to U.S. Travel Association data. Last … Continue reading →

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RIP, Laff Stop

Posted on December 21, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Rats. The Laff Stop is closed … forever. On Saturday, the legendary club — that gave rise to national names such as Sean Rouse, Brett Butler and Ralphie May — ended it’s nearly-three-decade run of comedy in Houston. In other … Continue reading →

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More on Market Square

Posted on December 19, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Back in October, we heard that the historic Market Square Park downtown was set to get a facelift. Now Nancy Sarnoff has a few details. The renovation will include an area for pets, art installations, a 9/11 Memorial garden and … Continue reading →

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Pancho Claus toy drive

Posted on December 16, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Via Stace, a message from Pancho Claus: To all my friends who have sent me well wishes and messages on my health, thank you very much. It did the heart good to know I have so many friends and supporters … Continue reading →

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Council rejects Ashby appeal

Posted on December 14, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I know, I can’t believe it, either. The Houston City Council on Wednesday eliminated the final option outside the courthouse for the developers of the Ashby high-rise to gain approval of the 23-story, mixed-use development they first sought to build … Continue reading →

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H-GAC Livable Centers Study of the Ensemble/HCC Station Area in Midtown

Posted on December 9, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Tomorrow night at 7 PM at the Trinity Episcopal Church located at 1015 Holman Street at Main (map) is a public meeting for the H-GAC Livable Centers Study of the Ensemble/HCC Station area in Midtown. You can click on the … Continue reading →

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Council to hear Ashby appeal

Posted on December 8, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Via Nancy Sarnoff, the developers of the Ashby Highrise will appeal the dismissal of their appeal of not getting everything they wanted when their project was finally approved back in August. There’s a public hearing Tuesday and a Council vote … Continue reading →

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Get well soon, Pancho Claus!

Posted on November 25, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

See you at the parade! The Houston actor best known locally as Pancho Claus still plans to make his annual holiday appearance in the Thanksgiving Day parade despite suffering a heart attack last week. Richard Reyes, who has portrayed the … Continue reading →

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Houston Women Fire Fighters Calendar

Posted on November 22, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Via Mike McGuff, the women of the Houston Fire Department have gotten in on the calendar-for-charity act, something their make colleagues have been doing for awhile. Here’s what it’s all about. Our mission is to represent the diversity, strength, and … Continue reading →

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Still more on the Heights recycling center

Posted on November 16, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

You may recall that the city had proposed selling the neighborhood recycling center on Center Street to the Admiral Linen business next door, and that this move was opposed by residents in the area. The city is still considering this … Continue reading →

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Ashby developers appeal to City Council

Posted on November 9, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

According to Nancy Sarnoff, the Buckhead folks have appealed to City Council to allow their original vision to go forward. They’ve already lost an appeal of that with the city’s General Appeals Board, and as it’s the Mayor who sets … Continue reading →

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Ashby’s developer defends his project

Posted on November 4, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Let me start by saying that I agree with Kevin Kirton, the CEO of Buckhead Investment Partners, also known as the developers of the infamous Ashby highrise, when he says that the “trip number” justification that the city used to … Continue reading →

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Our air might be cleaner than we think

Posted on November 4, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

This is a pleasant surprise. Houston, once considered the nation’s capital of dirty air, is on the verge of meeting federal limits for smog for the first time. If the numbers hold as the smog season draws to an end, … Continue reading →

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Recycling pays

Posted on October 26, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Whatever works. City leaders announced [last] Tuesday a partnership with RecycleBank, a New York-based company that rewards residents with points for the amount of recycling they put out for the city to collect. The points, akin to frequent flier miles, … Continue reading →

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Ashby developers lose appeal

Posted on October 24, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Given how long it took for the Ashby highrise developers to get their permit in the first place, I figured their appeal of the requirement that they cut back on some aspects of the project in order to get that … Continue reading →

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Ashby rises again

Posted on October 21, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

It lives! The developers of the Ashby high-rise announced today they will appear before Houston’s General Appeals Board at 5 p.m. Thursday to ask that the original uses designed into 23-story high-rise be allowed. “Removing these amenities completely contradicts city … Continue reading →

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School construction update

Posted on October 14, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

As I read this story about the progress of school construction authorized by the 2007 bond referendum, it strikes me that we picked a heck of a good time to do this. Piney Point is one of about 160 campuses … Continue reading →

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Three cheers for Montrose

Posted on October 10, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Always nice to get recognition. Montrose, the central Houston community known for its diverse lifestyles, vibrant street life and stately historic homes, is being honored by the American Planning Association today as one of the country’s 10 great neighborhoods. Houston’s … Continue reading →

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Upgrading Market Square

Posted on October 7, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Market Square, the historic but largely overlooked park on the north end of downtown, is set to get a facelift. With the opening of Discovery Green and the Houston Pavilions, the south part of downtown Houston has been the center … Continue reading →

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Once and again with the Ashby Highrise

Posted on October 2, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

There was a town hall meeting on Wednesday night on the status of the Ashby Highrise at Poe Elementary School just as there had been back in 2007 when the project first came up. Given that the developers have finally … Continue reading →

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Kirby storm drain construction update

Posted on September 26, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Times are tough all over for retailers. They’re especially tough when the street you’re on is all torn up. The four-phase project to install new storm drainage along Kirby Drive started in 2004. The latest round peeled back the asphalt … Continue reading →

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So long, Savoy, soon (we hope)

Posted on September 25, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Swamplot brings an update about the impending, can’t-happen-soon-enough demolition of one of downtown’s great eyesores, the Savoy Hotel, as well as a doubly-puntastic headline. As that Hair Balls post notes, the Savoy has some historic significance, so under most circumstances … Continue reading →

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If that’s your best, your best won’t do

Posted on September 25, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

We may never actually comply with federal clean air regulations. Texas’ new plan to improve the Houston area’s famously dirty air may not meet federal limits for smog. The pollution-fighting plan that state regulators are rolling out today predicts marked … Continue reading →

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The case for neighborhood presevation in a nutshell

Posted on September 24, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

State Rep. Garnet Coleman, speaking to NPR’s Steve Inskeep about the Third Ward: As for anyone who moves into neighborhoods like the Third Ward — and integrates what had formerly been a segregated area — Coleman says the main problem … Continue reading →

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The bomb at the school, 50 years later

Posted on September 15, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Wow. I’ve been in Houston over twenty years, and I’d never heard of this. First came the explosion, ripping through the playground with a sound like every school locker on earth slamming shut at once. Then came the carnage — … Continue reading →

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Take the Washington Corridor survey

Posted on September 14, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

From the Public Works department: Washington Corridor Survey Dear Resident, The Quiet Zone program would like to hear your concerns regarding the proposed improvements presented at the 2nd public meeting on August 26, 2009. Improvements include: •Median work at TC … Continue reading →

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Mixed use development on the west side

Posted on September 5, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t know about you, but when I think about mixed-use development in Houston, I’m usually picturing it inside the Loop, or maybe in the Galleria area. But there’s no reason it can’t be farther out from the core. The … Continue reading →

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More from neoHouston on the new transit corridors ordinance

Posted on August 28, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Andrew Burleson, also known as neoHouston, was quoted in the Chron story on the new transit corridors ordinance. They only used a few words from him, however, and we all know he had more to say on the topic than … Continue reading →

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Wilshire Village Apartments…gone

Posted on August 26, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Hair Balls, Swamplot, and Robert Boyd document the final demise of the Wilshire Village Apartments. Boyd wonders what will replace them. I wonder how long the land will lie vacant, given how long some other lots have remained empty following … Continue reading →

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Sneak preview of HMNS Sugar Land facility

Posted on August 26, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

You may have heard that the Houston Museum of Natural Science will be opening a site in Sugar Land on October 3. If you’re in the are Thursday afternoon, you can get a sneak preview of it as they finish … Continue reading →

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Parker statement on Ashby highrise

Posted on August 22, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Fresh from the inbox: Statement by Annise Parker on Ashby High Rise August 22, 2009 Contact: Sue Davis, 713-392-6011, sue@suedavis.net I am disappointed with the city’s decision yesterday to grant a site development permit for the high-rise building planned for … Continue reading →

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Ashby highrise approved

Posted on August 21, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

That sound you just heard was a massive freakout in the Southampton area. More than two years after they first applied, the developers of the Ashby high-rise will receive permits for a project that generated protests and a renewed debate … Continue reading →

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