Tag Archives: Houston

Commuter rail along US 90A

Posted on August 26, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s an update on a piece of the 2003 Metro Solutions referendum that has been largely quiescent till now, the proposed commuter rail line from the Fannin South station to Fort Bend County. Though efforts soon stalled after a 2003 … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

More on the red light camera Council vote

Posted on August 25, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The fuller version of the Chron story addresses the question about whether the petition drive was lawful or not according to the city’s charter. “It is your absolute sworn duty to place this on the ballot,” [Mayor Annise] Parker told … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 18 Comments

There’s supporters, and then there’s “supporters”

Posted on August 25, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

This Chron story is about “supporters and opponents” of the “Heights” Wal-Mart debuting their webpages. See if you can spot the problem with this: The opponents, led by a group of concerned citizens who began organizing around a Facebook website … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , | 12 Comments

More on the new school lunches

Posted on August 25, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron published a Sunday story about the changes to school lunches that we can expect this year. Among the items debuting on Houston-area school lunch menus this academic year: yams, Brussels sprouts, acorn squash, edamame and bok choy. Sushi, … Continue reading →

Posted in Food, glorious food | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Red light camera petitions certified

Posted on August 24, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

They made it just under the wire. A petition to ban red light cameras in Houston has been certified by the city secretary, making it all but certain that voters will decide in November whether the 70 devices at intersections … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Public meeting regarding Koehler Street Development

Posted on August 23, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: Public Meeting Regarding Koehler Street Development Mayor Annise Parker Cordially invites you to attend A public meeting regarding the Koehler Street Development Wednesday, August 25, 2010 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. George R. Brown Convention Center 1001 … Continue reading →

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What your kids have to look forward to in the cafeteria this year

Posted on August 23, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Today is the first day of school for HISD and other districts around the state. Among other things, this means a whole bunch of kids will be eating school food at least some of the time again. For HISD at … Continue reading →

Posted in Food, glorious food | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

The KTRU rally

Posted on August 22, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The Houston Press, which has largely owned this story, reports from today’s rally to save KTRU. Early this afternoon, protesters met at Valhalla, Rice’s on-campus pub, to make signs and t-shirts for the protest before marching as a group to … Continue reading →

Posted in Music | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

CultureMap previews the Wal-Mart

Posted on August 22, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Some interesting stuff here. Restaurants and stores on Heights Boulevard, along with new pathways and landscaping on the boulevard’s esplanade, will be part of Ainbinder Company’s Walmart-anchored retail development in the Inner Loop of Houston, the developer of the project … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Regent Square update

Posted on August 22, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I drive down Allen Parkway several times a week, and I’ve been wondering when the Regent Square site, which has been vacant since the old Allen House was demolished in October of 2007, will begin construction. Ralph Bivins provides an … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

KTRU rally

Posted on August 21, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

For those who are into that sort of thing. Join us in a peaceful, non-violent protest to Save KTRU this Sunday, 2:00 pm at Rice University, in the Academic quad in front of the statue of William Marsh Rice. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Music | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Chron opines on Renew Houston

Posted on August 21, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

This is a pretty fair take on it. Given Houston’s history of flooded streets, businesses and homes over the past decade, the Chronicle agrees with the aims of Renew Houston, the organization of engineers that is backing the proposition. What … Continue reading →

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Market Square reopening next week

Posted on August 21, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Market Square Park downtown, which began a renovation in February, will reopen next weekend. The Market Square Park downtown will officially reopen on Aug. 28, with performances by the John Evans Band and singer-songwriter Andrew Karnavas. The renovated park — … Continue reading →

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The summer of Wal-Mart continues

Posted on August 20, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

As long as I’m mentioning new signs, here’s another that’s popped up recently: Pardon the flash; I was in a bit of a rush and didn’t have a chance to go back and take another shot. The Stop Heights Wal-Mart … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Signs, signs, everywhere there’s signs

Posted on August 19, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I mentioned there were pro-preservation ordinance signs out there, so I thought I’d show what they look like: The link is to http://www.preservehouston.org/, the Houston Historic Districts Coalition. It’s a busy little website, especially in contrast to the Responsible Historic … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Term limits referendum not adopted by Council

Posted on August 18, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

This is a bit of a surprise. The Houston City Council today surprised Mayor Annise Parker and rejected a proposal to change the terms to which city officials are elected from three, two-year terms to two, four-year terms. The seven … Continue reading →

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Reactions to the KTRU sale

Posted on August 18, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Unsurprisingly, the Rice community is not happy. “We are totally opposed to the sale,” said Joey Yang, a junior at Rice and program director of the station, which relies upon student and community volunteers for its eclectic music programming. “This … Continue reading →

Posted in Music | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

UH buys KTRU

Posted on August 17, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve never been a regular listener of KTRU, but as a Rice partisan and someone who thinks radio in general is too bland, this is a bit of a shock. The University of Houston is planning to buy the radio … Continue reading →

Posted in Music | Tagged , , , , , | 10 Comments

The preservationists make their case

Posted on August 17, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Ramona Davis of the Greater Houston Preservation Alliance has a long and detailed op-ed in the Sunday paper that makes the case for the new preservation ordinance currently working its way through Council. Here’s a sample of the bullet points: … Continue reading →

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Is it worth it to just tinker at the edges?

Posted on August 17, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I mostly feel the same way as the Chron about term limits and the proposal from the Term Limits Commission to alter them. [T]he logic in limiting city officials to three two-year terms, with the necessity for virtually nonstop campaigning … Continue reading →

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The revised red light camera study

Posted on August 16, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Last week, when I wrote about the anti-red light camera folks turning in their petition signatures, I noted that the Chron story referenced an update to the January 2009 study about the effect of cameras on the collision rate at … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , | 13 Comments

Trustees still dithering about replacing Davila

Posted on August 14, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Still no action from the HISD Board of Trustees regarding Diana Davila’s open seat. Trustee Larry Marshall called for holding an election in November but his motion failed 3-5, mostly along racial lines. The board plans to screen possible appointees … Continue reading →

Posted in School days | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Dynamo “Your Name Here” Stadium

Posted on August 14, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

In a conversation with the Chron, Tim Leiweke, the president of Dynamo co-owner AEG, discusses the next big item on their to-do list: The naming rights is the next task at hand and it will be a hot priority, but … Continue reading →

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Renew Houston proposition officially on the ballot

Posted on August 13, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

City Council voted to put the Renew Houston referendum on the ballot Wednesday. Details about how much the drainage fee it calls for will be, and other aspects of it are still to be worked out by the city before … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , | 8 Comments

The residency referendum

Posted on August 12, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

As we know, Houston will get two more City Council districts after the 2010 Census is completed. To allow potential candidates sufficient time to adjust to the new map, Council will put a charter amendment on the ballot that reduces … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Red light camera opponents turn in their petitions

Posted on August 11, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I was beginning to wonder if the anti-red light camera crowd was ever going to turn in their petition signatures, as it’s starting too get a little late in the game. They made their move on Monday, submitting 30,000 petition … Continue reading →

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The city of Houston’s social media guidelines

Posted on August 9, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I received the following email from Justin Concepcion, who manages social media for Mayor Parker’s office, in response to the questions I asked in this post about how the city of Houston handles social media: We are in the process … Continue reading →

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Social media guidelines in San Antonio

Posted on August 9, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Interesting. There’s no standard policy or set of procedures governing how public entities or their employees should use social networking sites. Agencies are in various stages of evaluating what constitutes proper online conduct. Bexar County is writing a social media … Continue reading →

Posted in Websurfing | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

What will the HISD board do with its open seat?

Posted on August 8, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

HISD Trustee Diana Davila announced her intention to resign on July 16. That became official on the 30th. The HISD Board of Trustees has the option of appointing someone to replace her, or to call a special election. So far, … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010, Election 2011 | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

H-GAC Transportation Survey

Posted on August 5, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Make your preferences known. This is a brief survey about funding for roadway and transit improvements. For decades our community relied on state and federal dollars to supplement local dollars that are used to grow and maintain the region’s Transportation … Continue reading →

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Dynamo Stadium coming along

Posted on August 4, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

A very brief update from the Chron: Tim Leiweke, the president of Dynamo co-owner AEG, told the Chronicle that the Dynamo’s negotiations for a new stadium are completed for the most part and that he expects to break ground at … Continue reading →

Posted in Other sports | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

ReNew Houston officially makes the ballot

Posted on August 3, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

From their press release: The ReNew Houston Campaign is pleased to announce it has met state requirements for qualified signatures from registered Houston voters to call for a charter amendment to create a dedicated funding source to improve and renew … Continue reading →

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Ready or not, here comes Wal-Mart

Posted on July 31, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

It’s a done deal. Wal-Mart has placed 16 acres of land in the Washington Avenue corridor under contract, company spokeswoman Kellie Duhr confirmed Thursday. The deal comes two days after concerned Heights-area residents voiced their opposition to the project to … Continue reading →

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Metro gets record of decision for University line

Posted on July 31, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Very good news. Metro has received word that final approval has been given concerning the environmental review process for the University light-rail line. “Houston clearly needs the University Line as an East-West transit artery,” said George Greanias, action president and … Continue reading →

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