Category Archives: Elsewhere in Houston

Eric and Lisa make some good points in the comments to my post about Steve Olafson, the Chron reporter who was fired for running a weblog on the side. While I remain sympathetic to Olafson and think the Chron was … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Ginger has discovered what happened to the Chron reporter who ran a blog on the side until said blog was discovered and reported to his boss: He’s been fired. It’s a damn shame. I can understand the complaints, and I … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Local anti-smut crusader Geneva Kirk Brooks died yesterday after a bout with lymphoma. Normally, when I link to an obituary, it’s because I liked or was impressed by the deceased. That’s not the case here, though I will say in … Continue reading → Continue reading →

From today’s Chron, some really disturbing allegations about what goes on at the city pound. In the interest of not upsetting those with more delicate constitutions, I’m going to put the quote behind the “More…” link. Days like this, you … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Ginger points to this story about a Houston Chronicle reporter who ran a blog on the side under a pseudonym. He was eventually outed and ordered to shut his site down by the Chron‘s new managing editor, Jeff Cohen. For … Continue reading → Continue reading →

A total of ten people have contracted the West Nile Virus so far in the Houston area. I’ve been told that the virus has been discovered in our neighborhood as well – they’ve found dead birds which were contaminated. I … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Houston does well in bid for Olympics, at least according to this Chron article. Sounds like the number of facilities we already have in place helped to impress the USOC. Best news in the article: “We talked at length about … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The USOC will be in town this weekend as part of its process to determine which US city will submit a bid for the 2012 Games. The locals will try to dazzle them with technology in hopes of enhancing Houston’s … Continue reading → Continue reading →

For the second time in two years, the Houston Press has had an article about an inner-city resident complaining about the noise of a nearby bar or restaurant. This time, the complainer lives in a downtown loft; previously, the complainer … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The University of Texas Medical Branch here in Houston is apologizing for the actions of a former employee who may have sold donated body parts for profit, and for accidentally mixing up the ashes of cremated bodies: Federal agents are … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The University of Houston is apparently going to disregard a court order that allowed an anti-abortion group to display large photos of dead fetuses in the heavily trafficked Butler Plaza area. U.S. District Judge Ewing Werlein Jr. ruled last week … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Even the Chron takes a shot at the NYT for the Houston hit piece. The Chron is routinely derided for its Houston cheerleading, but they got it right in this piece. I like they way they wrapped it up, too: … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The Houston City Council followed through on its intentions to outlaw dumpster diving as well as “aggressive panhandling” downtown. Continue reading →

The Chron‘s least useful columnist cops to laziness in a correction in today’s paper regarding his uncritical belief in the Valentine Foundation, which Houston Press readers knew is run by convicted grifter Whitney Broach. Thanks to Kevin for helping to … Continue reading → Continue reading →

NYT Hatchet Job Update Chron columnist Ken Hoffman gets a little snarky without actually crossing over into scorn. Well, Texas is a friendly state, after all. Larry has been keeping track of local bloggers’ responses to this piece of shinola. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Proving that Houstonians harbor no ill will towards New York no matter what the Times and its retread writers say about us, the predicted post-9/11 baby boom will soon generate more of us. Continue reading →

Larry vents his formidable spleen at this tiresome article about Houston’s soul, or spirit, or spunkiness, or whatever theme former Houston Press writer Randall Patterson’s editor asked him to write about. Ginger has her say as well. The first clue … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Ginger notes that the Chron‘s least useful columnist Thom Marshall has written in praise of the Valentine Foundation, the charitable organization headed by onetime would-be womb-renter Whitney Broach. She’s not sure whether he disagress with the Houston Press report that … Continue reading → Continue reading →

TS Allison one year later It’s hard to read about the effects of Tropical Storm Allison one year after. I was actually out of town during the worst of it, so I’m still awed by the pictures and stories of … Continue reading → Continue reading →

My dad, who spent 14 years as a judge in New York City, sent me the following feedback on my post about Houston’s proposed anti-panhandling ordinance: I think that stats will verify that most [homeless people] are substance abusers or … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Larry wants to know what I think about this story about a proposed City Council ordinance to prohibit “Dumpster diving”, “aggressive panhandling”, and sleeping on city sidewalks during daytime hours. I wish I had a good answer to this. My … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Chron readers fire back at Bill Coulter for his obnoxious editorial in yesterday’s paper. Note to Stanley Kurtz: The letter writers were all a heck of lot nicer than Coulter was. (I am resisting the urge to add “Nyah nyah … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Missed this last week – the Conroe production of The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas will be staged after all. Chalk up another triumph for Art. Continue reading →

The cast of a Conroe production of The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas is moving forward on plans to stage it elsewhere. Co-authors Peter Masterson and Larry L. King have given them public support, with Masterson promising to make a … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The director and almost all of the cast of a Conroe production of “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas” have quit after the theater’s board of directors demanded that they trim naughty words out of the script. There were also … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Virginia Postrel has a recent column in the NYT about how a lack of land use restrictions leads to cheaper housing. I live in the capital of cheap and easy land, so I won’t dispute the notion that making it … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The Astrohall Exhibition Building has hosted its last event and is scheduled to meet the wrecking ball on May 1. A new exhibition hall has been built on the complex that includes Reliant Park. The old site is being cleared … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Some time ago I wrote about the hapless Chief of Police in West University Place and his suspension for having surfed to smut sites on the Web. Seems the loss of pay is the least of his worries, as the … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The new 55 MPH speed limit signs are continuing to go up, despite the request of the Harris County attorney to suspend implementation. Now we’re waiting on a ruling from the state, which seems to be saying “we can go … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The Harris County attorney is asking the TNRCC to reconsider implementing the 55 MPH speed limit, saying that a new study claims it will not achieve its touted air quality improvements. While I’m not surprised to see that an array … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Rep. Tom DeLay has decided that he doesn’t fanatically oppose commuter rail after all. He now supports extended the Metro light rail line out into the lower Fort Bend towns “if the residents want it”. Mighty decent of you, big … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The chief of police in West University Place, a small incorporated city within Houston, will be docked two weeks’ pay for surfing naughty web sites at work. That’s $3000 in pay that he’ll be forfeiting. What really makes that hurt … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Salon tries again to capture Houston’s mood in the post-Enron collapse. While this article is a lot closer to reality than their cringe-worthy first attempt, it still felt off to me. I don’t deny that the free-market deregulation worship that … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The Compaq Houston Marathon was this morning. Thanks to the rail construction on Main Street, the race was rerouted to pass within a block of my house. Tiffany and I got up early to join our neighbors and cheer the … Continue reading → Continue reading →