Category Archives: Elsewhere in Houston

Oh, how it always gives me joy to see David Adickes in the news. You’d never mistake her for Sam Houston or Stephen F. Austin. Both of those Texas heroes – or at least their concrete likenesses, as rendered by … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Here’s an update on where we stand in the deployment of a citywide WiFi network. The City of Houston is already gathering bids for a downtown network, with eventual expansion elsewhere. As envisioned now, it would be free for city … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Matt sent me this link to solicit my reaction. It’s not just one, two, three strikes you’re out at the old softball game in Feld Park. Belting one over the fence will do it, too. Home runs are outs in … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The saga of the Frech Spiderman has come to an end in Houston. A Houston judge ordered the man known as the “French Spiderman” to pay a $2,000 fine after he pleaded guilty today to criminal trespass, according to KHOU. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Some breaking news here: I just got a phone call from Melissa Noriega, who tells me that students from Stephen F. Austin High School have walked out of classes and are moving through downtown, possibly towards the immigration court, though … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Spring is here, and that means is home tour time. The Woodland Heights Civic Association is first out of the box with this weekend’s tour, the group’s major fundraiser. The event also will mark the neighborhood’s 99th birthday. “We live … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Tory has a long piece on the eventual fate of the Woodlands, whose non-annexation treaty with Houston expires in 2011. There’s pros and cons to its absorption by Houston; assuming that Conroe doesn’t beat us to the punch, it’ll be … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Remember Debutant, the local blogger whose sister was a college classmate of mine and who recently had a stem cell transplant to treat Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia that is Philadelphia Chromosome positive? There’s a blood drive being held for her today: … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Christus-Saint Joseph’s Hospital has found a buyer. Christus Health Gulf Coast and Health Care Partners of America signed the agreement Thursday, nine months after the 119-year-old Catholic hospital was put up for sale because Christus didn’t have the money to … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Here’s an update and overview on Houston’s project to install a citywide WiFi network. The updated technology would cost Houstonians half of what they pay today for Internet access, Richard Lewis, the city’s director of information technology, told members of … Continue reading → Continue reading →

More stuff that happened while I was out…Houston 1836 is no more, Houston Dynamo takes its place. The team officially gave its 1836 name the boot and announced it will build its brand around Dynamo during an unveiling ceremony at … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Chevron will be moving some employees into the office building I once worked in downtown, across the street from the former Enron building they bought in 2004. Almost two years after buying the 40-story downtown tower built for Enron, Chevron … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Umm, okay. Elyse Lanier, the city’s former first lady and an unabashed booster of Houston, was appointed today as a commissioner on the Port Authority of Houston. Lanier replaces Cheryl Thompson-Draper, who resigned last month after being accused of uttering … Continue reading → Continue reading →

This is going to be happening right near where I work. A property near Reliant Center that for years housed big-box retailers like Target and Garden Ridge has changed hands and will be redeveloped into an urban apartment project. Fidelis … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I’ve noted before the development of a downtown park/retail/entertainment area, to be called Houston Pavilions. The Chron now reports that it will contain a big music venue as a key component. A proposed $200 million real estate project near the … Continue reading → Continue reading →

How much do I love stories about David Adickes, famed local sculptor of giant Presidential heads? Enough so that two of my friends were kind enough to forward me that link (thanks, Ellen and Erica!). Texas sculptor David Adickes looms … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Housing slowdown? Not in Houston. There were about 48,000 housing starts in the Houston area last year, up 18 percent from 2004, according to consulting firm Metrostudy. New-home sales haven’t been tallied yet, but they typically follow the number of … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Last month, I posted about a study done by the Galveston-Houston Association for Smog Prevention (GHASP), which contended that the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) did a poor job of enforcement when chemical plants and refineries violate air pollution … Continue reading → Continue reading →

It started with the demolition of the American Rice silos on Studemont at Washington a decade ago, which gave rise to the construction of townhomes, apartments, and some retail space on the southernmost strip of Studemont, between Allen Parkway and … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Looks like the Astroworld auction was a smashing success. With about 500 people vying for AstroWorld mementos, participants were paying $300 and $400 for small directional signs that bore only the names of AstroWorld rides. Houstonian Robert Thomas wowed the … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I find the whole “America’s Fattest City” thing to be silly and pointless, and yet I am compelled to blog about it. Houston has been downsized from No. 1 to No. 5 on Men’s Fitness magazine’s annual list of the … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Just as a reminder, the AstroWorld auction begins this Friday. Bring your checkbook, and make sure you’ve got a big enough balance in it. The park already tested the waters by putting some of the memorabilia up for sale on … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I feel it is my duty to inform you that much of AstroWorld is for sale via auction, with bidding to take place January 6-8 starting at 9 AM Friday at the now-former park’s Kirby Drive location. What you might … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I like a good article about the future of growth in Harris County as much as the next guy, but I’m a little bugged by this one. I’ll tell you why after the usual excerpt: Over the next 30 years, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Why is it that polluters have such an easy time of it? They can always count on a little help from their friends in the Legislature. The majority of Houston-area lawmakers in the Texas House voted against legislation intended to … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The Galveston-Houston Association for Smog Prevention, also known as GHASP, has something to tell you. From their press release: When chemical plants and refineries violate air pollution regulations, they can count on light fines from Texas environmental officials, according to … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Here’s another story about another possible model for a possibly profitable Astrodome hotel/convention center. Grapevine, a small city on Dallas’ outskirts, is home to one of the Dome’s distant spawn, the Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center. And this hotel … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Metroblogging Houston has a trove of interesting factoids about our fair city, all taken from City-Data.com. Check it out. Continue reading →

Via Houstonist, the city-within-the-city of West University Place is following in Houston’s footsteps by doing a study to see if a municipal Wi-Fi network would be a good idea for them. Council members asked [City Manager Michael] Ross to negotiate … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Tomorrow is Lights in the Heights, the best free holiday event in town. Organizers are expecting in excess of 10,000 people for the 18th edition of Lights in the Heights, the Woodland Heights Civic Association’s annual holiday street party. Festivities … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Is it just me, or does anyone else get a mental image of Henry the Chickenhawk trying to devour Foghorn Leghorn when they read this? CONROE – City officials took preliminary steps Thursday to extend the city’s boundaries into The … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Former Houstonian (and soon to be proud daddy) Rob of Get Donkey! seems to have reacquired his blogging groove, and to prove it, he’s finally gotten around to posting his photos from the David Adickes sculpture studio when he and … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Conroe is still thinking about ways to get people to visit their downtown area. Consultant Roger Brooks told city officials that the key to revitalizing a downtown area is to find a niche and brand it. That means finding what’s … Continue reading → Continue reading →

You know that any story that refers to “the French Spider-Man” is going to be worth reading, right? The man known as the French “Spiderman” was foiled in his attempt to scale a downtown high-rise just moments after he dashed … Continue reading → Continue reading →