Category Archives: Elsewhere in Houston

That $244 million projected cost overrun on the Katy Freeway expansion seems to have spooked our venerable County Commissioners’ Court. Commissioner Steve Radack sent a letter Wednesday to Art Storey, Harris County public infrastructure director, asking him to meet with … Continue reading → Continue reading →

They’ve barely begun to move dirt and already the cost estimates for the massive boondoggle-ish expansion of the Katy Freeway have been increased by 17%. That’s $244 million, for those who prefer real numbers. “We’re concerned that perhaps some of … Continue reading → Continue reading →

And now for a short break from the re-redistricting follies to catch up on some other wacky zealotry, this time up in Montgomery County, which is north of Houston. Some of you may recall the efforts of a group called … Continue reading → Continue reading →

In our last episode, the fair maiden Ekaterina Dmitritv was issued a marriage license by Fort bend County so she could wed her handsome prince, the cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko, who is currently orbiting the Earth in the International Space Station. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Okay, not really: A woman who plans to marry a Russian cosmonaut who is currently orbiting the Earth on the International Space Station has been issued a marriage license in Fort Bend County. Close enough! Yuri Malenchenko, a member of … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Real nice writeup on the Alamo Drafthouse in today’s Chron. I’ve been extremely jealous of my friends in Austin since I first heard of this place, and I’m just thrilled to pieces to have one here. Good movies, good food, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Via Eric McErlain comes this story about the status of the Eighth Wonder of the World: The vastness of the Astrodome still impresses, but little else does. The plumbing is unreliable; the AstroTurf carpet is stained and coming apart at … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The top story in today’s Chron is about a dustup over yard signs between a homeowner and the neighborhood association. The way Michael Skadden sees it, there is little difference between a sign supporting Bill White for mayor and one … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The Houston Rockets have reportedly entered “good faith negotiations” with local minority groups over the issue of splitting the new arena’s construction and operations boodle. Both sides were ordered into mediation for the second time after state District Judge John … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Over the past few months, an awful lot of people have found this post by Googling for “Marnie Rose”, the young Houston doctor who was featured on Houston Medical. Dr. Marnie Rose lost her battle to brain cancer on August … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Those of you who live in or travel to Houston will be pleased to know that Marfreless, the little watering hole often referred to as “the make-out bar” tucked into a corner of the River Oaks Shopping Center, is under … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The Rockets have lost round one in their bizarre legal battle against members of the Houston minority communities. State District Judge John Coselli issued the 15-day, temporary restraining order after about two hours in his chambers with lawyers representing the … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Back in 2000, in better financial times, the city of Houston passed a referendum to fund a new downtown basketball arena. A similar referendum had been defeated before, thanks in large part to well-funded opposition from conservatives (not to mention … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Streets here not as deadly as they seem, on page one of the Metro section of today’s Chron. Next week, a headline about how the smog isn’t so bad once you get used to it. In case you’re curious, by … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Some knuckle-draggers in Kingwood have decided that removing the word “French” from our lexicon doesn’t doesn’t express their disapproval strongly enough: Residents of a quiet, quintessentially American subdivision in Kingwood laughed about “freedom” fries and the petition to rename New … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Jumping Jehosaphat, it’s an epidemic! A man was in good condition at Memorial Hermann Hospital on Sunday evening after Webster police said his estranged wife struck him with her car. Clifton Leroy Dickerson, 29, was with a female friend about … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Here are some photos from the Planned Parenthood clinic in Houston that was recently attacked by a protester who smashed a van into the clinic’s front door. You can see from the first couple of pictures how fortified the entrance … Continue reading → Continue reading →

We’re midway through the annual Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, and this year we have some fans who’ve come a long, long way to take part in the festivities: The laugh lines around Sue-Ellen Mays’ eyes deepened as she smiled … Continue reading → Continue reading →

An abortion protester drove his van into the front entrance of the main Planned Parenthood clinic near downtown Houston yesterday, causing some damage but thankfully no injuries. Frank Lafayette Bird Jr., 61, of the 2300 block of Callie Street, was … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The Houston Metropolitan Transit Authority is $20 million poorer than it expected to be due to missed financial projections. By this time, after the Christmas shopping season, Metro officials expected the transit agency’s 1-cent sales tax to have generated $175.3 … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Not sure how useful this actually is, but this Chron article discusses some alternate scenarios to Tropical Storm Allison, which flooded out most of Houston in 2001. Apparently, we got off lighter than we had to, since the areas that … Continue reading → Continue reading →

While the City of Houston is $67 million in the hole, the County of Harris has $172 million in cash under its mattress. This, not surprisingly, has led people to grumble that the County takes in too much tax money … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Via Mark Evanier, I see that some crazy college kids in Baytown (about 30 miles east of Houston) wanted to set a world record on February 1 by gathering the most people ever wearing Groucho Marx noses and glasses in … Continue reading → Continue reading →

What does it mean when you and your dog are nearly beaned by a rooster that’s falling from the sky? In this particular case, it means a neighborhood pet has had a close encounter with a hawk. On a cold, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

In case I wasn’t concerned enough about federal and state budget shortfalls, now we know that the CIty of Houston is $67 million in the hole. There is some good news in that this number spans the 2002 and 2003 … Continue reading → Continue reading →

In 2002, Montgomery County got a $2.5 million grant from the Justice Department for the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program, an initiative aimed at easing the burden for housing illegal immigrants jailed on state or local charges. The size of … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Margaret Kidd Duncan, a kindred spirit to Houston’s semi-deposed Police Chief C.O. “BAMF” Bradford, has resigned from the Seabrook City Council in the wake of her profanity-laced tirade at various Seabrook police officers. During an afternoon news conference, a teary-eyed … Continue reading → Continue reading →

As expected, Jack Cluth is all over this story about Margaret Kidd Duncan, the now-former Mayor Pro Tem of Seabrook, and her potty mouth. Duncan was pulled over by a traffic cop and accused him of singling her out for … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Students at various area high schools are trying to organize Gay-Straight Alliances as others across the country have, but some of them are running into resistance from principals and superintendents. Debate over whether GSAs should be allowed to meet in … Continue reading → Continue reading →

People are still writing letters to the Chron to express their views on the all-important Boondocks issue. Today we hear from the Silent Majority and a fan of Geech, the comic that Boondocks replaced, who was shocked to discover that … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The Chron devotes half its lettercol today to Boondocks-related mail. Six letters, evenly divided among supporters and naysayers. This letter, responding to a prior complaint, is my favorite: Michael Watkins (Dec. 28 Viewpoints letter, “New comics are offensive”) believes that … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The Chron is doing its end of the year thing today, and I must say that their look at the silly side of 2002 was pretty darned funny. This first item is one I wish I’d known about earlier: AND … Continue reading → Continue reading →

On Monday, the Chron added two new comics, La Cucaracha, and The Boondocks. Some people don’t find them funny: As a longtime student of comic strip culture, I am appalled by the two new comics the Chronicle has decided to … Continue reading → Continue reading →

So now that we have the shiny and new Reliant Stadium for football, the Rodeo, and presumably monster truck rallies, what shall we do with the erstwhile Eighth Wonder of the World, the Astrodome? Well, State Rep. Ron Wilson has … Continue reading → Continue reading →