New adage: The wealthy wheel gets the grease.

High rise living, it's been touted as the future of inner-loop development for the City of Houston. Affordable condo units that spring up in convenient areas and allow the City Center dream to become a reality for a diverse group of residents ranging from the "creative class" to "new urbanites" who are all hip and upwardly mobile.

Just don't let them get near the rich white folks will ya?

(from Mike Snyder of the Chron)

The city of Houston will use "any appropriate power under law" to alter a planned 23-story building that would tower over single-family homes in neighborhoods near Rice University, Mayor Bill White said Wednesday.

White, in a letter to leaders of area civic clubs, said the project at 1717 Bissonnet would worsen traffic congestion on that two-lane street. For future projects, he said, city officials are working on an ordinance that would require developers to "reasonably address traffic impacts" in surrounding neighborhoods.

Neighborhood protection advocates said they hoped the mayor's comments, coupled with fierce opposition from the adjoining Southampton and Boulevard Oaks neighborhoods, would provide impetus for stronger policies to ease the impact of new developments often seen as out of scale with surrounding single-family enclaves.

City Controller Annise Parker, who previously served on the City Council and has a longtime interest in neighborhood issues, likened the city's role in regulating development to its recent strengthening of its smoking ordinance.

"There is a strong reluctance on the part of many in the community to infringe on property rights," she said. "But that tower in the middle of Southampton is going to influence every building around it, just like someone who lights a cigarette in a restaurant has an impact on the people around him."

Councilwoman Anne Clutterbuck, whose district includes the Bissonnet site as well as two other recent controversial development projects, said such disputes have become so widespread that trying to solve them individually is impractical.

"We need to look at these more comprehensively and collectively," Clutterbuck said. "It's unfortunate that we're doing them piecemeal."

Clutterbuck said she had asked White's administration to thoroughly review city ordinances to look for any regulations that might give the city leverage to require changes in the Bissonnet project.

The developers, Kevin Kirton and Matthew Morgan of Houston-based Buckhead Investment Partners, said Wednesday that they are open to discussions with city officials but intend to proceed with the project as planned. The development would include high-end apartments, shops, a restaurant and a five-story parking garage.

"We have invested an enormous amount of human and financial resources," Morgan said. "We studied all the available options."

Houston is now reaping the whirlwind that it sowed back when promises were made about development "springing up" along the Red Line for MetroRail. What happened was that developers (in the business to make money) took a look at the landscape and realized that there is more money to be made in the Rice University area than there is along the blighted Rail Line. As a result, they turned their attention there.

It wasn't supposed to be that way.

The "master plan" for Houston was SUPPOSED to include all new commercial and residential development in areas that were "blighted" (read: inhabited by the poor and unwashed). People forget that there is a strong pull toward areas that are already successful, and which have been for a long while. The Rice Village is a popular shopping and entertainment district. It makes sense that people would rather live there then somewhere Downtown or in Midtown where sufficient infrastructure is slow to develop.

The political problems that this causes are monstrous. Mayor White, on the one hand beholden to the developers and on the other relying on money from the residents in future races, has to walk a fine line in dealing with both sides. Publically he's sided with the residents in most cases, but privately? City Controller Annise Parker has the same concerns. She must court the votes (and money) of the residents, but is ultimately going to need the political clout of the Developers to get elected Mayor. Anne Clutterbuck's position is a little more secure. She needs to side with her residents, until she starts looking at higher office.

It'd be foolish to say that Houston has brought this on itself. Market forces are more at play here than any bad policy decision. Unless Houstonians are willing to accept outright zoning then this is the give and take you must accept. The upshot is that there is more economic opportunity in a City, but there is undoubtedly an opportunity cost to both options.

Currently the pro-zoning forces are marshalling support slowly as more and more "mixed use" developments infringe on single-home neighborhoods. It will be interesting to see how this plays out, and what Houston will look like in the end after the dust has settled.

Wayne V. Metro

Metro has been taking its lumps from Houston's pit-bull of late and last night was no exception.

(from Wayne Dolcefino of ABC-13)

Want to ride the bus or METRO rail for free? We'll show you how. What you're about to read won't get you in trouble. We've just discovered how you can ride free and how it's costing Houston area taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars a year.

A few months ago the public was in an uproar when they learned toll road workers got free rides on the toll road. Well, wait till you hear this one.

From a METRO commercial: "Hey, what's up? It's Jay with MTTV, METRO Television."

This is METRO's way of promoting its new Q Card, a pay in advance charge card for bus riders and rail passengers. But you can only see the video and your tax dollars at work at a METRO Ridestore. It's the video that cost you nearly $75,000 to make. The price included three mobile dressing rooms and $3,400 for the actors.

Jay makes $1,000 a day to look, as METRO scripts say, 'hip.'

"You need regular people who catch the bus to tell you how to use the bus," said passenger Donnie Smith.

"The amount of money we are spending on actors is reasonable and we are going to keep it that way," said METRO VP of Communications and Marketing George Smalley.

The production company even charged taxpayers for cell phone air time for the three-day shoot -- $150. Someone should tell them there are better cell phone plans.

(snip)

You'd think free passage would be an incentive for METRO officials to use mass transit. The METRO Blog says yes.

"A blog is a good example of new technology we want to capitalize on," said Smalley.

Writing the blog is part of Mary Sitt's $76,000 a year job at METRO.

"Even if she was just blogging, that might in itself be worth the money," said Smalley. Sitt told readers in July she was riding back to work on the train when she ran into four METRO officials, including Vice President Todd Mason and the CEO Frank Wilson.

"I happened to have my camera in my purse and snapped some photos," the blog said.

What a lucky coincidence for Sitt.

"Was that some kind of staged PR stunt and if that's the question, no it wasn't," Smalley told us. "We don't play those kind of games, Wayne."

We asked because Sitt said the pictures were taken on June 18 at 1:18pm. We looked at METRO's Q Card records and there was no record Sitt was even on the train that day or Mason or Wilson.

METRO's explanation -- maybe they just didn't swipe their Q Card and got on the train without a ticket.

"Are there instances when I'm rushing to catch a train and don't swipe my card on the reader? I'm sure there are instances," said Smalley.

FULL DISCLOSURE: It's a well known fact that this blog is not a huge fan of Metro. I don't hide that on here and I think the leadership of the organization is incompetent and does a pathetic job of handling the regions transportation needs.


Keep that in mind as I lay out the following: The most disturbing thing to me in the whole story was not any of the issues that Wayne brought up, but that Metro refused to acknowledge that there could even be a problem with them.

$76,000 for a blogger? No worries.

No record of claims? We don't care

Too much for an internal film? We like the project so shut up.

Metro's hubris is almost unbelievable when they are approached with evidence of their incompetence. If they even acknowledge it at all. That they are doing a poor job providing transportation to those that need it seems to be falling on deaf ears, that they are not in tune with regional commuting patterns is not a concern, that a smaller percentage is able to ride transit every month doesn't put a dent in their sheen of invincibility. The sad fact is, Metro doesn't care. They don't have to because they are totally unaccountable to the region they serve.


All of that being said, this is probably the biggest point of the story:

The perk on the park and ride is worth up to $1,700 a year just for one employee. It's a perk that's costing Houston taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars a year. Unless you buy METRO's logic.

"It's an existing seat," he said. "It's an empty seat."

Wayne did some digging and found out the salaries of METRO employees.
But do METRO officials need a free ride? Sixty-nine executives make more than $100,000 a year. Smalley makes $175,000. Dionne Smith spends $400 a year commuting on the bus.

"If I've got to pay, they should too," she said.

"Did anyone say at METRO, this isn't a good idea?" we asked Smalley.

"We think it's a good idea," he answered.

And now, we've learned it's not just employees. Their spouses' get free bus and rail, too -- 3,000 more people. But METRO won't show us the list.

Not that I begrudge Metro employees a free ride on public transit. Its a common employee perk that's widely used in the private sector as well. I'm ok with it until it comes to executives that are making six-figure salaries. And it appears that they aren't using the perk:

METRO's Q Card records show more than half of METRO's top managers don't use the transit system they spend money convincing us to use.

We found out what happens when you ask METRO's chairman if you have a right to know that.


"I'll be happy to get back to you on that," said Chairman Ed Wolff when we asked him if he rides.

"I'll be happy to get back to you on that," he said.

"You don't know sitting here right now? Is that a tough question?"

"No."

"So come back here and answer it," I said.

Wolff did come back to our 13 Undercover microphone, but not for long.

"They definitely should ride it," he said.

"How do we keep track of that?" we asked.

He walked away.

I often see pro-Metro (not pro-transit) activists dispute the claim that many people feel that mass transit is something they want built so others can ride it. They often say that they never have seen the proof.

I should say that I expect that canard to dissappear because proof of case is right there, but I know how people tend to ignore facts that don't prop up their arguments so I'll just wait for the next round of idiots to tell us that everyone wants to ride Metro.

And so it goes.

You know the one about unintended consequences?

A federal judge just reminded the City about it...

(from Matt Stiles of the Chron)

A federal judge on Wednesday blocked the city from enforcing its 27-year-old sign code, ruling the regulations could violate free speech protections in the First Amendment.

The ruling results from a recent challenge to the city's aggressive plan to crack down on non-permitted billboards bordering Houston, but the scope of U.S. District Judge Melinda Harmon's opinion surprised city officials.

Fearing they will lose the ability to regulate all signs citywide, not just billboards they have targeted in a five-mile ring around Houston, officials said they are considering an appeal.

"I'm disappointed," Mayor Bill White said. "I hope the court did not intend to even prevent enforcement of the sign code within the city limits."

The city could ask Harmon to reconsider her ruling, or ask the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans to narrow the injunction so it only applies to the targeted billboards in the city's extraterritorial jurisdiction, or ETJ, a five-mile ring around the city's borders.

Houston-based billboard company RTM Media sued the city after officials threatened to issue citations under the sign code to dozens of advertisers using the company's billboards in the targeted area.

That's the funny thing about the Court system. Americans LOVE the courts when they issue a ruling that serves their purpose, but when the gavel comes down on the other side of an issue they decry what they view as "judicial activism" or some other bogus charge.

Not being a Constitutional authority however I have to say that this strikes me as a reasonable conclusion:

The city code, which covers most signs, prohibits new billboards in Houston or the outer ring. But it allows those with political, religious or other noncommercial messages.

The court took issue with that distinction, citing a 14-year-old Ohio case involving the regulation of news racks, stating that the city cannot treat billboards differently based on their content.

"Noncommercial billboards are visual blights, traffic dangers and undesirable for property values for the same reason as commercial billboards," the opinion states.

The entire "free speech" rallying cry has long been an argument of convenience rather than prinicple. Humans seem to have an instinctual desire to have the freedom to speak our minds while disallowing those with opposing viewpoints the right to air theirs. Christians want to be able to display thier faith openly and vocally, but they are 'offended' when the Chronicle runs a feature on the eating habits of the Hindu, the GLBT movement wants to be able to fully express themselves in the public, but wants to muzzle opposition by having it classified as "hate speech" and various racial groups want the right to talk about how "the white man is keeping them down" (a racist statement btw) while any opposition is again catagorized as "hate speech". We have a long, tortured relationship with the 1st Amendment and the right to free speech in this Country, a right that many say doesn't really exist, never has.

That's the funny thing about "rights" and "privilages" they are very easily defined yet very simple to get mixed up.

And that's the core of the argument here it seems. The City is looking for the privilage to tell companies what type of speech they can use within its ETJ. They have the right to do this within the City Limits, a right that is granted annually by the voters. In the ETJ however those voters don't have a say in this restriction, and that's potentially the most onerus rights violation of all.

The justification given by the court is different than the points that Rorshach brought up when this issue first appeared on the radar. The lack of representation wasn't addressed here despite the fact that it remains a valid Constitutional argument. I dislike the entire thought of granting a City carte blanche within an ETJ which allows them to regulate citizens that have no say in said regulation. I also dislike billboards, but getting rid of them is a privilage. I don't want to step on the rights of those within the ETJ to do so.

As a result of all of this the City is now being forced to defend its entire sign code.

Unintentional consequences indeed.

Don't ever count out Jack Christie

Residency questions? Faugh!
Pool Citations? Humbugh!

Jack Christie is IN baby...and this time he means business....

(from Matt Stiles of the Chron)

He put his name in. He took his name out.

Now, Jack Christie is doing a political hokeypokey and turning himself around, telling voters at a campaign forum this week that he again is a candidate for Houston City Council.

Christie announced his withdrawal from the At-Large Position 5 race last week amid questions about his residency. Monday night, however, he told a small crowd at a candidate forum in Willow Meadows that he plans to campaign.

"I thought he was out of the race," said Tom Nixon, another member of the now eight-candidate field who attended the forum at Willow Meadows Baptist Church. "I was surprised that he was there."

Attempts to reach Christie on Tuesday were unsuccessful, and his campaign manager declined to discuss the issue.

His decision to re-enter the race is the latest twist in his campaign since the Houston Chronicle reported earlier this month that Christie and another candidate, Zafar Tahir, signed leases at properties inside the city to comply with Houston's residency requirements.

Both men acknowledged spending time at larger, more expensive residences outside Houston. And, to varying degrees, public records also raised questions about whether the two candidates were complying with the law.

Tahir has asserted that he is a Houstonian because he lives in a small condo near Sharpstown Center, even though his wife and two sons remain in a home near the Sugar Land Regional Airport. He has noted his longstanding civic and professional ties in the city.

They say that people get the Government they deserve. So if Houstonians vote in either Christie or Tahir* then they definitely deserve to be represented by people who have questionable stakes in the well-being of the City's residential areas.**


*Tahir probably has a better chance, because, the "non-partisan" (wink, wink) nature of the races aside, he's a Democrat in a Democratic City. Christie on the other hand is a Republican and is therefore toast.

**There's no doubt that both men have long-standing business ties to the City, but then again, its business interests that typically practice the scorched-earth development practices that are falling out of favor in Houston. There's something to be said for having ones elected officials actually have a residential stake in the areas they are representing. (my opinion)


- Thanks to Slampo for allowing me to hoist his asterisks for this post.

Running for a seat on God's Government

Town Hall meetings are often fun, entertaining events. It's a place where anyone can crash the party and pretty much make a muck-up of the whole event. That happened Tuesday night at a Northwest Houston Town Hall meeting that rapidly devolved into a shouting match over a proposed day-labor center....

(from Anne Marie Kilday of the Chron)

Opponents of illegal immigration took over a town hall meeting Tuesday night in northwest Houston, expressing their strong opposition to a proposed day labor center on Steubner-Airline Road.

About 200 people attended the meeting at Cypress Creek Christian Church, and peppered Roman Catholic Dean Sam Dunning with questions about the Church's stand on immigration.

Many in the crowd identified themselves as members of U.S. Border Watch, a local organization that has recently been protesting gatherings of day laborers seeking work on the busy road in northwest Houston.

The Cypress Creek Interfaith Coalition for Economic Development, formed to promote several economic developments proposals in the area, had proposed the creation of a day labor center.

Franklin Moore, an associate pastor at Cypress Creek Christian Church, read from the proposal for a day labor center, saying that "Organized day labor sites are unrelated to the immigration process. The immigration process is a federal issue. An organized day labor site is a community's response to the economic, safety and humanitarian issues raised by the day labor work force."

Curtis Collier, president of U.S. Border Watch, disagreed, saying the coalition statement was "false."

"The majority of people who seek employment at a street corner or a day labor site are illegal aliens," Collier said. "About 97 percent of the people are illegal aliens."

Collier said that his organization is strongly opposed to the proposed day labor center.

"The fact is, opening another day labor site is detrimental to securing the border of this nation," Collier said.

Dunning did not dispute Collier's assertion that day labor centersare places where undocumented workers seek employment.

Now, before you get all hot and bothered about "those people" (U.S. Border Watch) showing up en masse at the meeting, let me assure you that this type of thing happens almost anytime there is organized opposition to ANY measure. The key word here being organized. That implies that there is someone in the background organizing the opposition. In this case it was U.S. Border Watch, in some cases its A.C.O.R.N., the "Millions More" movement, the Federation of Islam, International A.N.S.W.E.R or any other group who is hot under the collar about this or that issue. It's just the way these things go. Sometimes they get identified in the story and sometimes not. And, no, that's not to say that there's an agenda, because I've seen A.C.O.R.N. singled out many times in the Chron when they organize a group of protestors. You only get mad at this if you don't agree with the message the group is forwarding. You shouldn't get angry at all. It also is NOT a valid reason to dismiss the (very) angry group of people hollaring at the meeting so put that out of your mind as well.


What really peaked my interest in this story however was the following blurb from Roman Catholic Dean Sam Dunning:

One man asked Dunning how he would minister to the family of an Arizona police officer who was killed Monday by an illegal immigrant.

Dunning said that his father was a police officer and a three-term sheriff.

"I resent the implication that because I support immigration reform, I am soft on crime," he responded.

Because, as we all know, when running for office with the Almighty its of critical importance that you be a "Law and Order" candidate.

Of words and meaning.

Behold the power of a word:

The Interior Department and deepwater leases...

(from (of course) Mrs. White)

In 1998 and 1999, U.S. Interior Department officials incompetently botched leases aimed at encouraging oil companies to venture into deeper waters in the Gulf of Mexico. For years afterward, department officials kept mum about the mistake, which allowed oil companies to avoid paying fair royalties on assets owned by the taxpayers.

Compounding the error, senior officials of the Interior Department's Minerals Management Service inexplicably and improperly ordered a halt to audits and investigations that had turned up evidence that oil companies had shortchanged the government by $30 million dollars.

The original error on the leases has cost taxpayers an estimated $1.3 billion in royalties that high energy prices should have triggered. However, as the companies invested hundreds of millions of dollars into deep-water exploration based on the absence of price triggers, there is little expectation that the Interior Department can recover what has been lost. A deal is a deal.

However, that principle should apply in spades when oil companies do not scrupulously follow the terms of their government lease agreements and shortchange the taxpayers.

The argument that Mrs. White is forwarding is false. If one is to believe that Big Oil "shortchanged" the Gov't approximately $30 Million dollars then one has to show that the Oil companies were dishonest in their dealings when negotiating the leases.

There is NO evidence that this happened.

Oh sure, there are conspiracy theorists for everything. And it could be the case that the Bush administration had people in the Gov't that were overly-sympathetic to the lease wants of Big Oil. I'll listen to the latter argument, and can even see its merits.

Especially when you consider this:

The offshore industry has a history of paying less than it should, only to pay up when government auditors detected the error — if it was, in fact, an error. Interior Department Inspector General Earl Devaney told the U.S. House last week that the department was rife with "managerial irresponsibility and lack of accountability."

Given those circumstances, the administration is adding fuel to the fire by reducing the number of auditors, including award-winning civil servants such as Maxwell, who had recovered hundreds of millions in unpaid royalties that went to build highways and pay for government services.

Clearly the problem here lies with the U.S. Department of the Interior. Again, I'm willing to listen to complaints about there shortcomings because they are visible and widespread. Poor management and organization is almost a prerequisite for any Governmental bueracracy in the news these days.

But to try and blame the oil companies for trying to pay the least amount of taxes possible is not only dishonest, its silly. As is acting as if, through the act of signing favorable agreements, the companies have somehow 'short changed' taxpayers. But, with one word, Mrs. White has done that in a wrong-headed editorial that props up false arguements and then tears them down in the same paragraph.

It's beyond doubt that the agreements written by the Department of the Interior were flawed. The onus for that should lie squarely on the shoulders of the Government. It's the responsibility of the American citizen voter (and sadly, non-citizen voters in today's environment) to decide who will be the best overseer of those agreements. Knee-jerk reactions such as blaming Oil companies for trying to make the best deal do nothing but encourage legislators who have decided to punish companies for being successful. First its talk of short changing, next it turns into a windfall profits tax. We've all seen where that footpath leads....


Oh, BTW: I wonder if the Chron would so readily accept paying increased taxes on their downtown property should the Texas Comptroller state that they are underappraised? (as She did with Houston apartments)


Somehow I doubt "short changed the taxpayer" would be in the defense.

There are no more steroids in America

After all the time and money spent on this crackdown how could there be?

(By Dane Schiller and Richard Stewart of the Chron)

A Pearland couple accused of cranking out at least 50,000 steroid pills an hour from a covert, home-based factory were among those arrested by federal agents who Monday announced the results of a nationwide crackdown on the performance-enhancing drug.

Authorities contend that throughout Kenneth Hebert's home were four industrial pill presses and supplies used to make the steroids from materials acquired from China.

The raw anabolic supplies arrived in the mail, were converted to injectable steroids as well as pills, and later distributed by the U.S. mail and private courier services, authorities said.

"It is alleged he was an importer and distributor of anabolic steroids throughout the United States," said Michael Dellacorte, a Drug Enforcement Administration agent.

(snip)

Steroids have been on the public's mind for the last few years, with numerous instances of the performance-enhancing drugs being used by everyone from professional athletes to high school students.

Authorities would not say whether they have identified anyone who used steroids produced at Hebert's home.

In addition to the Houston area, arrests have been made in New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Connecticut, California, Maryland and Missouri, according to the Justice Department.

The cases are not all part of the same conspiracy, but all have ties to China, where the materials were said to have been produced in rogue laboratories.

The Pearland-handled anabolic steroids — part of a family of compounds that include the male hormone testosterone that can pump up muscles but bring on a host of life-threatening ailments — were often packaged to look as if they were produced by a legitimate manufacturer and pushed on the Web under such names as Phalco Labs and Texstar Lab.

There will be the usual chest-thumping and flag-waving about how this is a "major victory" in the so-called war on drugs, but at the end of the day this is just a small roadbump in the superhighway that is the drug culture of the United States. It's like a second prohibition, only so far there's been no public outcry as there was with alcohol. That's changing however as more and more aging baby-boomers are struggling to find the fountain of youth. What we are learning is that Hgh and certain anabolics can, when used properly under the supervision of a physician, help with the anti-aging process. That's kind of the unspoken "truth" about performance enhancers.

The second "truth" is that this will effect the gym-rat and the lower level user, but NOT the big name athletes that are using steroids or other enhancers at record levels. We are finding out that the rabbit hole is deeper than we thought when it comes to performance enhancers, as the "list" grows longer and longer by the day. I've long maintained that the only people caught taking steroids are those that are too dumb to pass a test.

The testing, as administered by the World Anti Doping Agency and its affiliates, is a joke, the security procedures and labs are politicized and worthless, and the sole goal of the doping agnecies seems to be to find more and more drug "cheats" to increase their funding, instead of ensuring that "justice" is meted out.

Add to that the ridiculous mantra of "its for the kids" and you have a policy that's looking more and more like a failure every day. If it were REALLY "for the kids" as people say then there'd be moves to regulate and control the release of pharmaceutical grade drugs to adults who, with the advice and consent of their physician, choose to take products that studies are increasingly showing to be beneficial when it comes to longevity and well-being. A legitimate Doctor will not prescribe steroids to High School kids, a street dealer has no such qualms.


Finally, lets be real clear here, I'm not advocating the use of illegal performance enhancing drugs. Steroids are currently illegal unless they are prescibed by a physician for a very limited number of symptoms. I have never taken steroids, nor will I unless my Doctor says its necessary or if they become legalized for well-being and health. I don't think High School children should use them, and I don't believe they should be used by many College athletes either. But when we shift the discussion to consenting adults, many of which are making Millions of dollars per year?

Forgive me if I can't get all worked up into an emotional lather over the issue.


It's time to have a serious review of the "War on Drugs". Possibly before we lose half a generation to prison.

How much is that doggy on the street?

Harris County wants to ban side of road dog sales.

I'm all for this...

(from Salathia Bryant of the Chron)

Harris County Commissioners Court is poised today to consider banning roadside sales of live animals in unincorporated areas of the county in hopes of reducing pet overpopulation.

The ban is supported by officials of the local pit bull task force, which includes county and city officials from law enforcement and animal welfare groups.

Colleen Hodges, spokeswoman for the county's Veterinary Public Health, said enforcement of the ban would begin Oct. 1.

Harris County officials lobbied the Legislature for the authority to enact such a ban during this year's legislative session.

Hodges said roadside animal sales has been an issue throughout unincorporated areas, with vendors typically selling from their vehicles or makeshift pens set up on weekends. She said some purchasers have bought sick animals from parking lots and public rights-of-way only to return to find the seller gone.

"It's in every precinct along major roads," she said. "It's bad for everybody's health. ... It's going to be enforced right away. We are going to start writing tickets just like we do for dogs running at large."

The article goes on to state that the City already has such a ban in place and it seems to be working. Not only is this good for the pet population, but its good for the dogs as well. I don't know how many times the wife and I have driven down FM 1960 and seen a crate of puppies baking in the sun on a hot day. If you want to breed and sell dogs, get yourself licensed and put a website, let people come visit the kennels and see the conditions in which you keep your dog.


If you're against that then you probably shouldn't be selling them in the first place.

Still no love for the HISD bond issue....

If this keeps up the thing could actually fail....

Houston's black community leaders don't like bond issue...

They're not getting their fair share it seems:

(from Cynthia Leonor Garza of the Chron)

A coalition of black political, religious and community leaders vowed Sunday to campaign against the Houston school district's $805 million bond referendum if HISD leaders insist on going forward with the November election without major changes.

More than a dozen leaders — including NAACP officials, state lawmakers, U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee and the Rev. Bill Lawson — criticized the Houston Independent School District for insensitivity to the black community, whose input was not sought in shaping the bond package that would build 24 schools and renovate 134 others.

They called on HISD leaders to put off the vote until May, after everyone has had a chance to have their say.

Most of their comments were directed at Superintendent Abelardo Saavedra, who last week conceded he erred by waiting too long to discuss his plans with the community.

HISD's last bond measure, an $808.6 million measure, won voter approval in 2002 because then-Superintendent Rod Paige listened to constituents before acting, said state Rep. Senfronia Thompson, D-Houston.

Saavedra was "short-sighted" in not consulting with those "who are at a better vantage point of knowing the needs of their areas," Thompson said.

Thompson and others said Sunday that HISD's plan shortchanges renovations at some of their neighborhood schools and unfairly targets some for closure.

School district spokesman Terry Abbott said HISD has no plans to rescind the bond referendum. The proposal continues to pick up support from some in the black community, including state Rep. Borris Miles, D-Houston, he said.

Abbott said changes to the referendum were already made last week as a result of talks with the community. Future changes are possible since the language on the ballot is a general proposal and does not list specific projects, he said.

Somewhere I've already seen what will be the rallying cry for the supporters: "If you don't do this HISD will fall behind!!!!"

Because of this I still think the referendum will pass, and voters will convince themselves that they've got NOTHING to pay for. It's a bond after all, and our education system doesn't teach personal or Government finance. Which makes for the perfect vicious cycle. Don't teach voters about finance, then tell them to "trust you" when it comes to financial matters.


Great system.

Texas Wine Fridays

Just a quick reminder today that this Saturday is the Montgomery Texas Food and Wine Trail.


This is also an "unofficial" BTC event if you're so inclined.


If not just come out and drink some wine.

Salud!

Texas Football Fridays

OUCH!

(By Terrance Harris of the Chron)

Texas A&M's flaws had been buried under that undefeated record through three games.

But facing a Miami team full of big, fast and athletic players, all of the Aggies' cracks came to the surface Thursday night.

The 20th-ranked Aggies were overwhelmed by the unranked but favored Hurricanes 34-17 in front of 44,622 at the Orange Bowl and a national ESPN audience.

Now A&M heads into Big 12 play next week against Baylor with a heap of questions that aren't limited to an ineffective passing game.

"We will see what we are made of now," said A&M coach Dennis Franchione. "The exhibition season is over."

Perhaps the Aggies could use another tuneup or two.

The final score says the Aggies (3-1) lost by 17 points, but that's misleading.

They trailed 31-0 at the end of third quarter when the game was effectively over.

During the competitive portions of the game, the Hurricanes were too fast, too physical and too strong for A&M.

Oh yeah, and Richard Justice is just now figuring out what I said before the season...

Coach Fran: G'bye.


As for the "other" games of local interest....

Texas 53 Rice 24 - Texas is more talented, bigger, faster, and stronger. Still, they won't run away and hide until late because this years Longhorns are soft and their Offense is not of Division I College sophistication.

UH 45 Colo St. 35 - UH should win this, but I'm still not a believer in Coach Briles' defense. The offense is showing improvement every week, but that defense needs something.

The State strikes back...

I'm not sure what game the State Comptroller is playing here...

(from Bill Murphy and Jennifer Radcliffe of the Chron)

Houston-area business owners said Thursday that some area commercial real estate owners could be forced out of business if the state comptroller's office requires the Harris County Appraisal District to value some properties sharply higher.

Houston also could become a less attractive place to do business if commercial and apartment appraisals began rising by 25 percent a year to correct what the comptroller's office says has been two years of undervaluing such properties within the boundaries of the Houston Independent School District, the businessmen said.

"If apartment owners were asked to pay 25 percent higher property taxes, in addition to the new business tax that goes into effect next year, you'll see some apartments closing down and going into foreclosure," said Stacy Hunt, regional partner of Greystar Real Estate Partners, which owns several apartment complexes and manages another 80 in the Houston area.

HCAD officials and Harris County Tax Assessor-Collector Paul Bettencourt dispute the comptroller's findings, which were released earlier this week. They say the comptroller's methodology is flawed because it does not account for property owners who got their appraisals lowered through appeals based on arguments that similar properties had lower valuations.

A record 333,814 commercial, apartment and residential property owners protested appraisals this year, said Guy Griscom, the appraisal district's assistant chief appraiser.

The HCAD has been raising values on commercial properties and apartment complexes about 15 percent annually, district officials said. Using the comptroller's methodology would require them to boost those property values by about 25 percent a year, they said.

"The comptroller stands by the property value study and the methodology that was used," said R.J. DeSilva, spokesman for Comptroller Susan Combs.

You might find a key here:

More tax revenue at HISD likely would translate into less funding from the state, Garrett said.

The Republican-led State Government oversaw the largest budget in State History and the largest tax increase since Anne Richards last session. Their targets however have typically been small and medium sized businesses, and unpopular business owners such as developers.

This move is obviously a move by the Austin leadership to try and brunt the criticism that they don't take education funding seriously. Whether it works or not remains to be seen.



(It probably also doesn't hurt that Combs gets in a shot at Bettancourt, a Republican who is almost a folk hero to the base and has been rumored to be considering bigger things)

Happy (belated) birthday to BlogHouston!!!

Houston's best media and political on-line coffee shop turned three yesterday

They're so cute at that age...

We weren't quite sure how our city-specific, LA Examiner-like follow-up to the successful Chronically Biased project would fare, but we at least had in mind a web project that we thought would be fun and different.

It's definitely been fun! That it continues to generate interest among the city's pols, journalists, bloggers, and our wonderful commenters is even more gratifying. Whether you agree with our posts or not, we're pleased when Houstonians take more of an interest in our great city. That's sort of the point of it all.

That and having a drink with our net friends! We'll definitely be planning a birthday celebration in the near future.

The View from Mrs. White's Ivory Tower.

Never before has a report of the obvious pulled so many experts from the sidelines. Mrs. White weighs in today on increased commute times with a slap-dash editorial that's a clear reflection of their transit policy leaked to the public in 2002.

Every day, according to recent figures compiled by the Houston District of the Texas Department of Transportation, 5 million Houston-area residents, operating 4 million vehicles, drive 80 million miles over 9,908 land miles of highways. Every year, the district spends between $600 million and $1 billion constructing and reconstructing highways in this six-county region.

The result? Each year, Houston-area residents spend longer and longer stalled in traffic.

According to the Texas Transportation Institute's 2007 Urban Mobility Report, Houston-area commuters spent 56 hours during 2005 sitting in traffic. The institute, based at Texas A&M University, ranked Houston the seventh most congested city, behind Los Angeles (72 hours a year in traffic jams), San Francisco-Oakland, Washington, Atlanta, Dallas-Fort Worth and San Diego.

(snip)

The numbers tell the story: Houston and Texas cannot build their way out of congestion, or even hold their own in the battle against traffic congestion. Even with gasoline headed for $3 per gallon, this region's congestion grew.

Mass transit will not soon and probably will never replace the passenger car (occupied only by the driver) as Houston's primary commuting vehicle. However, without robust investment in rapid transit and intercity trains, Houstonians and other urban Texans will have no alternative but to spend longer and longer sitting in their stalled cars: more than an entire work week per year.

The tax-, toll- and rail transit-hating conservatives will be listening to talk radio. Liberal drivers who want transit for others will be listening to NPR.

The "news" in this editorial is not that Mrs. White is pro-rail. We know that. We've known that since they made a decision to slant their media coverage on rail making them a non-player in the debate. As a matter of fact, until Rad Sallee took over as the transportation beat writer, the Chron's transit coverage was slowly devolving into a National laughingstock. Salee is a capable reporter who seems to be willing to cover the good, and the bad, regarding the Metro solutions plan.

What I take issue with in this editorial is the catagorization of all Houstonians into two (narrowly defined) groups.

Do I think there are "tax-, toll- and rail transit-hating conservatives" out there? You bet I do. I count some of them among my friends. Just because we disagree on transit doesn't mean that we don't get along.

Are there "Liberal drivers who want transit for others"? You bet. I count a few of those among my friends. Sadly, most of them don't like me because I'm not solidly behind the (D) party line.


What Mrs. White overlooks is the fact that there are also transportation supporters that are not shills for METRO. A good many of the transit discussion I have are not about no transportation, but about doing transportation the right way in a City that is as geographically spread out as is Houston.

In other words: You don't have to be a liberal to see the need for a strong, multi-faceted public transportation plan in Houston. As a fiscal conservative I see infrastructure development as the top priority of local government. If you don't understand what I mean by that then take a look at this post by Houston area attorney (and underappreciated blogger) Tom Kirkendall...

Sort of makes you wonder what would happen if even a portion of that $1 billion were invested in something that Houston really needs, such as improvements to flood control and traffic hotspots? My sense is that such an investment would dramatically lessen the risk that citizens would lose their lives or suffer property loss in the event of heavy rains (which occur with some regularity around here) or a traffic accident. Thus, we aren't as safe as we could be, but our local governmental officials have seen to it that we are as comfortable as reasonably possible while being entertained. Gotta love those priorities.

What Houston needs right now, more than anything, is a Civic leader to stand up and take the lead on infrastructure development. Houston doesn't need another sports stadium or muni wi-fi, or an expanded convention center or any of the trappings that we are being led to believe.

Houston needs infrastructure repair and development, a multi-modal transit plan that centers on circulator bus routes that move from population center to population center (yes, you can include rail in that reasonably if you try hard enough) and a no-nonsense Chief of Police who prefers to live IN Houston, who is part of the community, and understands that crime is solved by enforcement and deployment rather than by acronymns and cameras.

In short: Give me more steak and less sizzle.


That beats the heck out of making derisive statements designed to generate readership doesn't it?


It's also the debate the region needs. NOT the endless "do nothing" vs. "spend away" dreck that we get today from Houston's unimaginative leadership.

Responsibility and the blogosphere.

There's a brewhaha brewing in Paris.

Over the rights of anonymous bloggers to speak their minds:

An unlikely Internet frontier is Paris, Texas, population 26,490, where a defamation lawsuit filed by the local hospital against a critical anonymous blogger is testing the bounds of Internet privacy, First Amendment freedom of speech and whistle-blower rights.

A state district judge has told lawyers for the hospital and the blogger that he plans within a week to order a Dallas Internet service provider to release the blogger's name. The blogger's lawyer, James Rodgers of Paris, said Tuesday he will appeal to preserve the man's anonymity and right to speak without fear of retaliation.

Rodgers said the core question in the legal battle is whether a plaintiff in a lawsuit can "strip" a blogger of anonymity merely by filing a lawsuit. Without some higher standard to prove a lawsuit has merit, he said, defamation lawsuits could have a chilling effect on Internet free speech.

"Anybody could file a lawsuit and say, 'I feel like I've been defamed. Give me the name,' " Rodgers said.

But there is little case law in Texas or nationally to give judges a standard for when to expose anonymous postings on the Internet.

"Right now it's a very murky area of the law," Rodgers said this week.

(snip)

The blogger's lawyer said he is studying how to appeal to the 6th Court of Appeals in Texarkana or to file a lawsuit in federal court. He said he also hopes groups that deal with free speech and Internet privacy issues will get involved.

Rodgers said the question is not whether a plaintiff in a defamation lawsuit should be able to get the name of an anonymous blogger, but "what hoops they have to jump through" before violating the blogger's free speech rights.

The number of corporate and political lawsuits around the country against "John Doe" bloggers has been growing dramatically since 2000, said University of Florida law professor Lyrissa Barnett Lidsky, an expert on these types of lawsuits.

Lidsky, a Texas native and graduate of the University of Texas law school, said most Internet libel lawsuits are brought to "chill the speech of bloggers," though some involve genuine defamation.

"It is evolving. You're seeing courts struggling to accommodate different interests," Lidsky said. "On the one hand, you do have a right to speak anonymously. On the other hand, you do not have the right to defame people."

As a blogger who used to post under a psuedonym (Sedosi) and who now posts under my own name I'm sympathetic to the blogger's desire to keep their name out of the public eye. Then again I'm also sympathetic to the argument that bloggers should not have free run to make blank allegations against any entity they find themselves at odds with.

Like any public medium, sometimes I think blogging toes the line between legit criticism and outright sensationalism. I try to keep my blog firmly centered on the side of legitimacy but I know that my sarcasm sometimes creeps into the realm of meanness. It's something that I fight on a post by post basis.

Even worse than mean-spritedness however is outright lies. There are plenty of those that are told in the blogosphere for a variety of reasons.

Ditzy blondes for PeTA

First Pamela Anderson-Lee-Rock-whatever and now Batgirl...

(From David Barron of the Chron)

Actress Alicia Silverstone's latest role is that of a glisteningly vegetarian Venus, emerging unclothed from a swimming pool to promote People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals' goveg.com campaign in a TV ad premiering today in Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth.

"I'm Alicia Silverstone, and I'm a vegetarian," Silverstone says.

She's also naked, as evidenced by a brief flash of dorsal nudity about six seconds into the 30-second spot, which will air about two dozen times this week on the Food Network, Lifetime and E!.

PETA spokesman Michael McGraw said Houston and D-FW were chosen for the rollout of the Silverstone ad, directed by music video director Dave Meyers, because they annually rank near the top of the Men's Fitness magazine list of the nation's fattest cities.

"PETA encourages people to go vegetarian for just a week and see how they feel," McGraw said.

"Our new campaign underscores how being vegetarian does your body good, and Alicia looks incredible in this ad. She is proof positive that nothing is better for your body than going vegetarian."

OK, but I'm still not giving up my steak. I don't care if Ms. Silverstone showed up at my front door I'm not changing my diet for any starlet, star, personality, celebrity or other hanger-on of the Hollywood set.

You are, of course, welcome to forgo eating meat if you like at any time. I could really care less. Just do it because YOU want to and not because some B-list actor with a dodgy movie resume was implied to be nekkid on your TV.

You could give up meat right then and there, embrace ALL of the causes that she tells you to embrace and she STILL wouldn't spit in your mouth if you were dying of thirst. I'm sorry, that's just the truth.

2008: The "Republican" problem.

The Houston Chronicle runs a story today that outlines the potential impact of all the new school bond referendums on property tax "relief". It also provides an interesting insight as to the problems Republicans are going to have in the 2008 elections:

(from Bill Murphy and Jennifer Radcliffe)

When state lawmakers passed school finance reform last year, Gov. Rick Perry and other supporters promised the changes would give tax relief to beleaguered property owners.

But some local homeowners slated to see their school property tax rates cut by a third by next year could end up with much smaller savings if voters pass a slew of costly bond packages on the Nov. 6 ballot.

"They're doing it because they smell blood in the water, like sharks," said Bruce Slover, a 53-year-old engineer who lives in the Cypress-Fairbanks school district. "I can guarantee you, there's going to be a number of them I'm going to vote against. We're taxed out. We've got tax fatigue, bond fatigue."

Loading the ballot with big bond packages — most Harris County voters will be asked to approve more than $1 billion in local issues and almost $10 billion in state bonds — greatly increases the risk some might not pass, Harris County Tax Assessor-Collector Paul Bettencourt said.

"This slate of bonds definitely rattles conservatives' cages," he said. "This could be a low-turnout election. But it might be the anti-bond vote like never before."

(snip)

And the state hopes to issue a whopping $9.75 billion in bonds for highway improvements, a cancer research institute, maintenance, construction and major equipment purchases.

"It's going to be bond mania," said Houston Independent School District trustee Greg Meyers, who cast the lone dissenting vote against putting HISD's bond package on the ballot. "Folks like HISD are taking advantage, in my opinion, of the situation."

While county and port officials plan to issue their bonds without increasing property tax rates, other entities are calling for rate hikes.

Spring Branch ISD's bond, for example, could increase the tax rate by as much as 9.75 cents per $100 of assessed value. A 9.75-cent tax rate boost would cost an additional $156 for the owner of a $200,000 home with the standard homeowner's exemption. HISD's bond package is expected to raise the district's property tax rate about 3 cents over two years.

As it stands now, it appears as if the HISD bond is on shaky footing and I'd argue that the presence of the Berry Center puts the Cy-Fair bond on even more tenuous terra firma. Both of these are facing issues before the final draft language has even been released.

There are some however who desperately want these bonds passed. Namely the school lobbies and the teacher's unions. Why this poses a problem for the Republicans is because they were very successful in knocking down "voucher" Republicans in the last election. Like it or not Republicans, but more and more voters are deciding that education takes a back seat to tax cuts.

Especially tax cuts that seems likely to not materialize. Ironically, its going to be one of Perry's biggest re-election hammers (the etheral $2000 property tax savings) that could be the un-doing of many Republicans in next-years' election. This is especially true when you consider the fact that virtually all Texans aren't going to experience anything more than miniscule, temprorary tax relief on their next tax bill, a property tax bill which will show 2008's projected tax as being higher than what they paid before the "cut" in most cases due to appraisal creep.

Add that to the retirement and rumored retirement of several key Republican State Legislators and the Democrats are growing giddy in anticipation of retaking leadership positions for the first time since Ann Richards.

Can the Democrats do it?

If they run strong candidates and Republicans continue to shoot themselves in the foot then yes. They'll run up against a strong Republican movement that this time is trying to keep the sheep in the fold, but with candidates such as John Cornyn doing nothing to inspire the base and the Presidential mess looking more and more like a Democratic landslide every day.....


We could be witnessing a power shift in Texas.

A Franchise Tax update...

Or....

The great Republican tax mess of 2006...

(by Janet Elliot of the Chron)

For 200,000 businesses that have never paid the state franchise tax, now is the time to start planning.

With the expanded tax going into effect Jan. 1, Comptroller Susan Combs on Monday sought public comment on new rules, which she published in the Texas Register. The rules are expected to be adopted in December.

"It is important for all franchise taxpayers, especially those who will be required to report franchise tax for the first time, to review these proposed rules," Combs said.

But business groups say that many owners are just now becoming aware of the tax, passed by the Legislature during a special session in 2006 to meet a court deadline on school finance.

The tax applies to limited partnerships, such as law firms and real estate partnerships. It also applies to some large corporations, including Dell, that structured their Texas operations as limited partnerships to avoid the existing franchise tax.

The tax is expected to bring in about $3.4 billion extra per year to help subsidize local school property tax relief.

Businesses with $10 million or less in total revenue may choose to follow a fixed formula or calculate the tax on their margin. Companies with total revenue greater than $10 million must pay tax on their margin.

Businesses have three ways of calculating their margin and can choose the one that offers them the lowest tax base: total revenue (based on 2007 federal income tax reporting) minus cost of goods sold; total revenue minus compensation; or 70 percent of total revenue.

(snip)

Will Newton, executive director of the National Federation of Independent Business, said his organization is finding many surprised businesspeople when it speaks about the tax at Rotary Clubs and local chambers.

"People are getting angrier and angrier about what the Legislature has done," he said, adding that an entire year's tax will come due next spring. Newton's group was unsuccessful earlier this year in persuading lawmakers to exempt businesses with gross revenue up to $1 million.

Large corporations that pay the bulk of the existing franchise tax are expected to be winners under the new tax because of cuts in the tax rate and their expected gains as school districts cut property taxes.

In effect, what Rick Perry and the Republican controlled Legislature have done is shift the Franchise tax burden from Big Corporations to medium-sized and small businesses. Business that was previously exempt from the tax.

Oh, and as is typical with new tax revenues, the off-sets are not turning out as advertised...

about 10 percent of districts, including San Antonio, San Marcos and Galena Park, are seeking voter approval to exceed the maximum tax rate allowed by the Legislature.

"The real question is ... whether businesses will wind up with the property tax relief they thought they were going to have," said Bill Allaway, president of the Texas Taxpayers and Research Association, a business group.

So now Texas has been saddled with the largest new tax increase in recent history while residents and businesses won't see the property tax reductions that they were promised by leadership.


This was all done by the State Republican Party mind you. State Democrats (for the most part) giggled as Republicans ran it through. Sure they made some noise about "looking out for the little guy" but most of their objections centered around the fact that the new tax wasn't high enough. The Democrats will campaign that the tax is bad, and that the way to 'fix' it is to make it worse.


This only makes sense in politics.

Mayor White vs. the little guy. (part IV)

He's at it again...This time Mayor White is going after the small businesses that buy billboard space.

(from Matt Stiles of the Chron)

Motorists driving on Highway 6 south near Bissonnet may notice something peculiar in the skyline — a large, purple billboard advertising Nooky's Erotic Bakery: "Naughty Cakes for Nice Occasions."

The city isn't buying.

Last month, its top attorney told Nooky's and dozens of other companies that their billboards were illegal — not because of the content, but because of the location — and threatened them with $500-a-day fines for violating Houston's sign code.

This effort, which applies to billboards in a five-mile zone just outside Houston's limits, represents a different strategy for the city: enforcing the rules against those who use illegal billboards, and not just the media companies that own them.

"We ought to be concerned about this issue because the city has a longstanding policy of attempting to cut down on visual blight," said Jim Moriarty, a Houston lawyer helping the city's billboard enforcement efforts on a pro bono basis.

Today, Moriarty is scheduled to meet with RTM Media, the company that sold space to Nooky's and scores of other advertisers, to discuss the city's crackdown.

Mayor Bill White and Moriarty say RTM has ignored a city code prohibiting such billboards in Houston's extra-territorial jurisdiction, a five-mile band around the city. To date, the city has issued more than 2,100 municipal citations against one of RTM's officers, according to court records.

"I knew that they had been ignoring citations, but there will be a day of reckoning," White said.

(snip)

In court filings and other documents, the company takes issue with the city's position that it has the authority to regulate billboards along highways in its extraterritorial jurisdiction.

The company says that power rests with the Texas Department of Transportation, despite a state law passed earlier this year clarifying the city's authority.

TxDOT declined to comment Monday.

According to its lawsuit, RTM does not believe the city can require its customers to obtain permits, as it claims the city is doing by focusing on advertisers.

"If the city persists in citing RTM's advertisers, it means that virtually every organization advertising on a billboard in the City of Houston is, and has been, in violation of the Houston Sign Code," according to a letter Williams sent City Attorney Arturo Michel.

The company has asked a federal court judge to stop the city from enforcing the code against its advertisers. A hearing is scheduled for Thursday.

Moriarty dismissed the company's arguments, saying the company is "all atwitter" trying to protect a profitable business he said is illegal.

"The very fact that we do not allow commercial billboards is what makes them valuable, because they've decided to build them whether they are against the law or not," he said. "That adds to the value."

(snip)

The letters sent by the city came as a surprise to some of the advertisers, which include law firms, real estate brokers and Web sites.

Kevin Morgan, who owns Eskimo Hut, a drive-though convenience store that sells frozen daiquiris, said he plans to keep his sign up.

He said he cannot afford other types of advertising.

"This avenue is my lifeline in trying to advertise my business," he said.

David Daugherty, who owns Ducky's Car Wash on FM 1960 east of Stuebner Airline, said he would try to get out of his contract with RTM.

Daugherty said he did not know his sign violated the law. He also said the company pressured him to sign the deal a day before the city's letter arrived.

This isn't the first time Mayor White has addressed a problem by going after small businesses rather than the criminals or the big corporate interests. This is becoming more of a pattern than an exception....

1. Identify the problem.
2. Find the weakest link in the chain.
3. Enact ordinances, or use pro bono legal teams to go after target.


It doesn't matter that, in most cases so far, the targets are the victims of the crime themselves. I'm not suggesting that the advertisers are "victims" in the pure sense of the word, but often they avail themselves of the opportunity because its the only outlet they have that's both available, and affordable. I'm also betting that most of them had no idea that the space they were leasing was counter to City regulations.

Ignorance certainly isn't a defense, but it sure makes prosecution easier. So does the lack of deep pockets to fight what is essentially a bottemless legal reserve. I guess that's the price of "beautification"? What's the livlihood of a few peons when there's points to be earned for a future run a the Governor's mansion right?



The good news is Houston will be "beautified". The bad news is it appears the decision has been made to achieve this goal to the detriment of the small business owner.


You'd think, if the City was on as solid legal footing as advertised, there'd be a better way.

Robert Jordan: 1949-2007

The Wheel of Time turns....

(from Bruce Smith of the AP)

Author Robert Jordan, whose "Wheel of Time" series of fantasy novels sold millions of copies, died Sunday of a rare blood disease. He was 58.

Jordan, whose real name was James Oliver Rigney Jr., was born and lived in this southern city most of his life. He died at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston of complications from primary amyloidosis with cardiomyopathy, his personal assistant, Maria Simons, said Monday. The blood disease caused the walls of Rigney's heart to thicken.

He wrote a trilogy of historical novels set in Charleston under the pen name Reagan O'Neal in the early 1980s. Then he turned his attention to fantasy and the first volume in his Wheel of Time epic, "The Eye of the World," was published in 1990 under the name Robert Jordan.

I was a WoTtie. A little late coming to the party maybe but a WoTtie nevertheless. I just finished book seven and am going to purchase book eight soon. Supposedly there were two books left in the series. Rumor is that Mr. Rigney had transcribed notes that an "army of writers" are going to work to get into book form to finish the series for the readers as per the authors wishes.


You see....a good author knows the ending before he writes the first word.


RIP Mr. Jordan. May the Light guide you.

More fun from the Residency files.

The Houston Residency wars are going viral throughout the Houston blogosphere.

In case you're not paying attention, the count is Matt Stiles: 1, Residentially challenged candidates: 0.

Here's a primer:

The Chronicle is flip-flopping

(from Kuff)

It's funny, but in searching the Chron's archives about the 2003 race for articles about District F, I only found this one having to do with Khan's residency - it went unmentioned in other stories. I should also note that though the Chron endorsed a candidate who didn't make the runoff for the November election, they backed Khan over McConn in the runoff, never mentioning the residency question in doing so. Why they're suddenly so concerned about it now, I couldn't say.

Residency doesn't matter..

(from Texas Liberal)

With 15 council seats, six-year term limits and terrible voter turnout, the process is not serious. You can’t keep track of it all and the prevailing view of limited government on Council makes sure that little effort is made to address many of the larger problems we have in Houston.

I’ve always felt that any competent person could hold most elected offices. I’m pretty sure that if tomorrow your basic decent public-minded citizen was flown to, say, Bangor, Maine, and appointed to Bangor City Council, they would do a good job.

Within a few months they would be up to speed on the history and workings of Bangor. (The above picture is of Bangor. It looks like a nice place.)

In an effort to get to know these people, blogger Charles Kuffner interviews Houston Council candidates and makes the interviews available to anyone who is interested. I’m sure his questions are good.

What I’d like to learn about Houston City Council candidates is what type of crowd did they hang out with in high school? What books do they read? If any. Do they consider themselves more rigid or more flexible in their personal thought process? What is their overall political philosophy summed up in as few words as possible? Who did they support for President in 2004?

I’d like to have a sense of who the candidates are in a larger sense and how they would lead.

Specific issues can be a type of quicksand when you have many candidates and a term-limited musical chairs council. You’ll never get the full truth and by the time these people reach Council they can simply tell you that circumstances have changed.

Look! Over here! There's another Republican to look at!

(Greg's Opinion)

Matt Stiles gets his scalp ... congrats, Matt. Ironically, I'd have put money on Zaf being the one who lost the most with Matt's two-day residence-a-thon. Little did I know that Jack "Where's" Christie would just give up so easily.

Wonder when our itrepid paper will carry it's Residency Crusade over to State Senator Kyle Janek's house ... in Austin. For a part-time gig in the lege, that sure is a big house (with a rather spacious game room). Considering he's already sold his home in the district, maybe a little equal-opportunity outrage ought to apply. Or does the Chronicle not bother with such intricacies when it's an incumbent we're talking about?

As for At-Large 5 ... interesting fall-out. Advantage Jo-Jo, but I'm suddenly a bit more interested in Marlon Barabin.

Hey, you know, that's actually some good reporting.

(from Houtopia - Kier Murray)

The current candidate for the At-Large #5 seat who would seem to benefit from what's transpired over the last few days would be Tom Nixon, who is now the lone Republican in a multi-candidate field. If he can consolidate the GOP citywide vote, he would be in a strong position to make a runoff, likely against Jolanda Jones, who is hoping to take the lion's share of the African American vote.

We are far from "pollyannish", but requiring a candidate for City Council to actually reside inside the city limits strikes us as completely reasonable. Way to go Matt. Once again, you've distinguished yourself as one of the best things going at the Chronicle.

Houston, nice place to visit but even our City Council doesn't live here.

(from the Wartime Consigliere)

Here's where it gets really funny, according to the news reports. The two trying to fool voters -- something White will let them do -- are Jack Christie and Zaf Tahir. We all remember Jack as a very unpopular Republican on the State Board of Education. He wasn't really very conservative. He lives in Bunker Hill in a big house and has several addresses at this point. Then, there's Tahir. He's the mayor's guy. He really lives in Fort Bend County.


This is all very cozy.


We can only hope White will have the courage to act here, even though he's behind Tahir.


We don't have much of a city government in Houston. But folks do deserve to have people on City Council who live here. Kind of hard to promote the city and solve it's problems when you don't think enough of it to sleep over.


But then again, we are talking about city government.

So...is this a HUGE issue? Well, no. Not on its own anyway. Part of the reason is because the electorate in the City elections don't care. Because of the small turnouts that you see in the municipal elections what's more important than ANYTHING else is the political machinery behind the candidate.

Zafir Tahir can stand to stay in the race because he's a part of the Bill White machine. M.J. Kahn has the power of incumbancy and has played the role of good little soldier in our strong Mayor form of Gov't. It doesn't matter because there are people like Texas Liberal who think that who someone voted for in the last Presidential election actually means something in a municipal election. (read: party affiliation in a supposedly non-partisan election trumps all).


As it stands now I'm going to side with Charles Kuffner. This issue is really not a front burner issue for me but it wouldn't hurt if a candidate added "tightening the residency requirements" to their TO DO IF ELECTED list.


If that doesn't work I'm running for Mayor of Shiner. (They can pay me in Oat Sodas)

A band-aid on a cancer

Kudos and back-slapping all around as Mrs. White praises Congress for "bailing out" the mess that is the Federal Student Loan System....

The bill will increase the maximum Pell Grant, aid that goes to the neediest students, from $4,300 to $5,400 per year and will expand eligibility to more middle-income students. It will also reduce interest rates on federally backed student loans over the next four years to 3.4 percent, a 50 percent reduction.

Taxpayers, particularly those concerned by the excesses in the college loan industry, will be happy to learn the measure will be funded by slashing subsidies to tuition lenders rather than through increased appropriations.

The College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007 promises to reduce the cost of college borrowing and curb private-sector abuses such as lender kickbacks to college financial aid officers. It is a neat piece of work that awaits President Bush's signature.

Woo-hoo. Except that this legislation doesn't do anything to address the needs of the students that were potentially hurt by the fraud that was being routinely practiced at schools. It doesn't do anything to help those who are already paying higher interest rates due to poorly crafted legislation that balanced out the plan on the backs of students, while increasing subsidies to lenders.

It doesn't really do any of that. It just puts a band-aid on the cancer and gives incumbents an election bullet point.


Blah.

Welcome to the workplace "Generation Y"

Don't let the proverbial door hit ya...

(from Lisa Osburn of the Melborne News Service via the Chron)

Sporting their “princess” T-shirts and $100 sneakers, members of Generation Y grew up hearing they could conquer the world.
Many of their parents started them on that journey with laptop computers, vehicles, cell phones, high-speed Internet connections and MP3 players.

But the next step of life — entering the workforce — can be a tricky one for the babies of the 1980s and ‘90s, career experts say.

“They come in with very high expectations,” said Tim Irwin, a corporate psychologist and author. “Their parents have told them from the moment they were born that they were special. These Gen Y’ers believe it. The thought of having to pay dues for a long time to get into a corner office is kind of jarring to them.”

That sense of entitlement needs to be left at home, said Nicholas Aretakis, a career coach specializing in college students, recent grads and twentysomethings. He wrote No More Ramen: The 20-something’s Real World Survival Guide.

“They don’t like having normal and meetings. They get frustrated with getting the less glamorous assignments and more menial tasks," he said. "Most of them are really surprised that you don't get much vacation time."

When reading this I'm reminded of the "Slacker X" articles that were very prevelent in the late 90's. As Generation X hit the workforce a negative perception spread that we were all slackers, that we had poor grooming habits, couldn't structure a sentance properly etc. All of that was stereotyping and untrue of course, but it became a popular myth that was gradually enforced by movies such as Reality Bites, Singles, etc.


Really though, doesn't this sound like pretty much EVERY first time employee:

"The students here definitely do not have the drive," Jones said. "They have never been held to a standard. When they enter the work force, there is surprise that deadlines must be met. They think we are going to be an extended family. We are not. That is a very hard issue for them to get over."

The thing to remember with stories like these is that they aren't an accurate reflection of reality. A reality where the American worker has the highest productivity in the world. It should also be noted that EVERY generation that has followed the Baby Boomer generation has had to enter the workforce in the face of overwhelming resistence. As the Boomer's slink towards retirement you'd think that Gen Y and the Millenials would catch a break.

Sorry folks. Welcome to the wonderful world that is Gen X.

One more thing: Stories like this have it backwards. I say the people to admire are the ones who are NOT willing to sacrifice all for the company. Do your job, meet your deadlines, and try to spend as much time away from the office (and by extension with your friends and family) as possible.

It's the "new" American Way.

Texas Wine Fridays

A slight departure from the norm today....


Want to taste a bunch of Texas Wines?

You can, here in the Houston area at the Montgomery Wine and Food Trail September 22 from 11 until 9...

Up to 20 Texas wineries will bring their products for the public to sample. Confirmed Wineries to date include, Bernhardt Winery, Bell Mountain Vineyards, Chisholm Trail Winery, Circle S Vineyards, Fall Creek Vineyards, Flat Creek Estate, Haak Vineyards and Winery, Landon Winery, Messina Hof Winery and Resort, Pleasant Hill Winery, Wichita Falls Vineyards & Winery, Wimberley Valley Winery-Spring. Attendees desiring to sample the wines will be able to purchase a wine tasting packet, which will include tasting tickets, and a Commemorative engraved wine glass. All of the Texas wineries present will have wine by the bottle available for purchase on site. In addition to Texas wines, there will be specialty beers also available for tasting and purchasing in our Beer Garden Area.



Purchase a wine tasting packet at: ($15.)
Western Winery - 202 McCown, in-town.

Brookshire Bros, also in-town.

Any Amegy Bank in Montgomery County

presales thru Sept 20th, so get yours today.



Don't forget to come stomp some grapes at our "GRAPE STOMP" which will be located across from the main stage. You can stomp for only a dollar and if you like purchase a T-shirt and plant your Little Foot Prints on

them!!



There will be demonstrations throughout the day such as wine pairing and cooking with spirits by outstanding local chefs and sponsored by Bill Gammage and Flagstone Grill. A highlight of last years event was Andy Commacho with Ice Occasions and his spectacular ice carvings performed to the delight of young and young-at-heart alike!



There will also be a myriad of Texas artisans demonstrating and selling their wares, as well as the official "Go Texan" specialty foods and items. In addition to the food offered by local restaurants, there will be fun festival foods for everyone to enjoy.



Children will have loads of fun in the supervised children's area with a variety of inflatables, a petting zoo, camel rides and pixs with the camel, hair and face painting and more.



Live music will be performed throughout the day on our main stage with notable native Texan, Ezra Charles and the Works headlining the event.



The Montgomery Industrial Development Corporation will partially underwrite this event. A portion of the proceeds will benefit the redevelopment and preservation of Montgomery's Historic area. Other major sponsors include KSTAR Radio, Texas Department of Agriculture, Woodforest National Bank, Amegy Bank of Texas, First Bank of Conroe, Republic Title and The Courier.


Montgomery is located just five miles west of Lake Conroe at Highway 105 and FM 149.

FREE Shuttle Parking - Take the guesswork out of the place to park your car. Montgomery ISD is kind enough to allow us to use the Downtown Elementary School for this event. 100 East Eva St. Montgomery, TX 77356, turn right off SH 105 on C.B.Stewart St., then left on Clepper St. The rear lot is where the shuttle is operating, overflow parking in front of school, walk around back for the shuttle, or stroll on over to the festival! Volunteer parking details on 'Map' page.

Special accommodations available for those of limited mobility with advance notice.

For information, send an email to info@montgomerywinetrail.com

The wife and I plan to be there and this could be a good BTC meet-up as well. (If you're interesting in joining*)






*Except that the BTC isn't really an organization so to speak, but more of a drinking club that occasionally talks about transportation.

Texas Football Fridays

There's a full schedule of College Football games in Texas this weekend, but the wife and I will heading out to Rice Stadium on Saturday to watch Texas Tech lay a whuppin' on Rice...

I don't expect to see a close game. What I also don't expect to see is anything like this....

(from Terrence Harris of the Chron)

Former Texas Tech receiver Rodney Blackshear mostly remembers the 1991 season for what could have been.

A broken leg in the season opener robbed the Houston native of four games and put a damper on the remainder of his senior season that began with preseason All-American expectations.

But if there was a moment from 1991 that brings a smile to Blackshear's face, it was the final game of his college career against University of Houston back home in front of his friends and family. That included his father, who saw him play for Tech in person for the first time.

Both teams combined for nearly 100 points. It was an offensive explosion by Red Raiders' standards of the early 1990s but just a day at the office for the Raiders of the new millennium.

And Blackshear was a big part of it, setting a Tech single-game yards per catch record (50.2 yards) after catching touchdown passes of 95 and 80 yards.

"I ended up having the game of my career," said Blackshear, who had five catches for 251 yards in the Raiders' 52-46 victory. "That was the perfect way to end my college career with my family there and being back home so that was pretty exciting."

In those days, Tech played in Houston each year, either against Houston at the Astrodome or the Owls at Rice Stadium. The Raiders haven't played a regular-season game in Houston since the breakup of the Southwest Conference in 1995. They played in bowls after the 2000 and 2003 seasons.

But the Raiders return to Houston, a place where they focus heavily in recruiting and have a large alumni base, on Saturday to play the Owls at Rice Stadium.

Note to the Chron sports writers....


The Southwest conference is long gone. Please stop brining it up every weekend. The M.O.B. won't bring it up, and I'm guessing that will be the furthest thing on the minds of most fans. Rice fans will be worried about the future of their program, and Tech fans will be wondering how good the current years' version of their team will be. (prediction, still not good enough to beat the big three.)

Still, this should be a showcase of Tech's offense, so the game promises to be fun, albeit one sided. Rice Stadium is STILL the best stadium in Houston in which to watch Football.


Predictions: (Key games)

USC 27 Nebraska 14

I still think that USC is going to lose a game this year, I just don't think this will be the one. Still, Nebraska has a stiff defense, it's their offense I have no faith in. Watch for USC to have a short field due to turnovers all day long.


Boston College 10 Ga. Tech 31

How good is Georgia Tech? I'm predicting they are the best team in the ACC. They should prove it here against a real Boston College team.


Arkansas 21 Alabama 28

I think new Alabama coach Nick Saban gets a big early season home upset here. Alabama won't challenge in the SEC, but they should qualify for a good bowl.


Florida 35 Tennessee 17

Since Michigan crapped out Tennessee is the most overrated team in the top 25. Flordia (oddly enough the mot overrated team in the top 10) will prove that this weekend.



Texas 63 UCF 10

Big XII vs. C-USA....no contest. Even though UCF gets the first sell out in school history.


UL Monroe 27 Texas A&M 37

The howls for Coach Fran's job intensify after aTm looks sloppy at home (again) vs. inferior competition.


UH 42 Tulane 37

The Cougar's defense can't stop a good High School offense, much less a marginal FBS College one. Still, they are better than Tulane


Texas Tech 77 Rice 3

I didn't say it was going to be pretty.

Here we go again....

Here we go again. Is O.J Simpson a sports collectible thief?


(From Kathleen Hennessy of the AP via the Chron)

Investigators questioned O.J. Simpson and named him a suspect today in a break-in at a casino hotel room involving sports memorabilia.

The break-in was reported at the Palace Station casino late Thursday night, police spokesman Jose Montoya said. He said investigators determined the break-in involved sports collectibles.

"When they talked to him, Simpson made the comment that he believed the memorabilia was his," Montoya said. "We're getting conflicting stories from the two sides."

Simpson was released after he and several associates were questioned, but he is considered a suspect in the case, Montoya said. He is believed to be in Las Vegas.

"We don't believe he's going anywhere," he said.

The Heisman Trophy winner, ex-NFL star and actor lives near Miami and has been a tabloid staple since his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ron Goldman were killed in 1994. Simpson was acquitted of murder charges, but a jury later held him liable for the killings in a wrongful death lawsuit.

Simpson has had to auction off his sports collectibles, including his Heisman Trophy, to pay some of the $33.5 million judgment awarded to the Goldman family.

Uh-huh.

Houston is a bad sports town. Exhibit A.

OK, this is bad...

While most of the Houston Texans tailgaters sweated it out in Reliant Stadium parking lots Sunday, a number of savvy fans revved up their team-spirit engines in cool, air-conditioned comfort.

Before the shootout with the Kansas City Chiefs, 900 fans checked in at the Texans' vast practice bubble, transformed into party central on home game days. Welcome to the Lone Star Club, where ticket holders of all ages chowed down at the ultimate tailgate party, a swank pre-game diversion priced at $95 per person.

Among team loyalists were season-ticket holders Elaine and Wally Dworaczyk and family, who eschewed the September heat and humidity for a little pre-game cool comfort. "Awesome," Elaine said when asked her take on the scene.

"It's tailgating on a different level," said son Zach.

"I feel like it's cheating," said daughter-in-law Brandy Dworaczyk, loving the climate control.

The family has had plenty of experience with authentic, outdoor tailgating. Wally's brother, Ed Dworaczyk, won 2005 H-E-B Houston Texans Tailgater of the Year honors.

This was the Dworaczyks' first time at the Lone Star Club, where Cordúa Catering (of Churrascos fame) whips up a different menu each game day. Made-to-order omelets, buffet spreads of egg and sausage dishes, a carving station and a vast array of desserts were just part of the offerings Sunday. Chef Brian Doherty, overseeing the feast, reported that the game-day crowd can run as high as 2,300.

The price of admission includes the Cordúa buffet, beer, wine, mimosas and soft drinks. Anything stronger and it's on your own tab. Add autograph opportunities with Texans cheerleaders to the mix.

That's bad. Remember my Word Search?

That is Bad bathed in bad after falling into a cold vat of bad after being exposed to Michael Berry radio programming for 48 hours while reading a book on management by Carol Alvarado and speaking with Dr. Slade about fiscal management.

It's Shag Nasty, Castrato, Gauche, and a Weapon of mass dunderheadedness coupled with a David Carr snap decision made after reading a a John McClain column that called for a player to get injured in its fundamental wrongness.

That the Chron's best funeral crasher decided to honor it as some ideal while Houston's Professional Football Team were playing the team with some of the best tailgating fans in the NFL makes it just that much worse.

Eating a pre-game meal indoors and calling it tailgating is akin to reading a romance novel in an airplane restroom and claiming you're a member of the mile high club. You may fool yourself (and society writers obviously) but you'll have street cred at the level of Karl Rove.

TSU: We had a drinker with a spending problem

$100,000.

That's the amount of the bar tab that TSU paid for former President Priscilla Slade.

(from Brian Rogers of the Chron)

Ousted TSU President Priscilla Slade racked up a $100,000 bar tab at Scott Gertner's Skybar and Grille during her tenure and stuck Texas Southern University with the bill, prosecutors said Wednesday.

TSU routinely paid for $100 bottles of wine for Slade and drinks for her friends and staff, despite a prohibition at that time on state monies being spent on alcohol, Assistant District Attorney Donna Goode said.

Slade's former executive assistant, Erica Vallier, said that the rules for purchasing have since changed, but at the time, Slade told her not to worry about the prohibition. She said her boss drank bottles of Far Niente with her friends and staff at expensive bars, such as the Four Seasons bar and the Skybar.

And the defense is reeling:

The defense wanted to talk about the investigators' tactics, and prosecutors wanted to talk about Slade's inauguration expenses and where the money came from.

Out of the presence of the jury, Goode asked the judge for permission to tell jurors about her accusation of Slade siphoning money from the TSU Foundation.

Goode told Thomas that Slade and her staff reclassified accounts to ''suck money out of the school's foundation."

(snip)

Slade's defense attorney battled back from Vallier's testimony that seemed to keep him on the ropes.

Mike DeGeurin spent Wednesday morning stumbling through cross-examination of Vallier on details related to her years traveling, dining and drinking with Slade.

He also tried to draw a distinction between state funds given to TSU and local funds, or the money raised by tuition and concessions.

Taking a different tack, he spent the afternoon grilling Vallier about her part in the spending scandal that rocked the cash-strapped school.

"Have you been threatened with prosecution?" DeGeurin asked. After referring to her grand jury testimony, she said she was told she could be indicted.

Vallier said she did not want to be charged with a crime.

If a gifted cross-examiner such as DeGuerin is struggling you know that Slade is up to her ruined liver in the proverbial muck. It's just a matter of time now.

Houston City Government ethics (a primer)

You may not have heard the tale of the airport concessions contract before now but, now that Humberto is taking a hard right it might be something you want to pay attention to.

(from Carolyn Feibel and Matt Stiles of the Chron)

Mayor Bill White said Wednesday he was confident he had the votes to extend a multimillion-dollar airport concession contract, despite a one-week delay forced by a councilwoman who said the deal should have been competitively bid.

"Open it up, let's have a competition," Councilwoman Anne Clutterbuck said. "If, indeed, this is the best deal we can get for the city, then the process will show it."

Clutterbuck used a tag, a parliamentary rule that allows council members to delay any measure for any reason, to hold off a vote Wednesday.

If approved, the contract extension would allow JDDA Concession Management, owned by local businessman Jason Yoo, to retain management of the food courts in Terminal C at George Bush Intercontinental Airport until 2016.

The concession contract, scheduled to expire next June, has not been put out to bid since 1990. The original agreement has been amended three times.

White remained firm Wednesday that extending the contract, rather than bidding, would give the city a better deal. An extension also would bypass a potentially lengthy and rancorous bid process.

(snip)

In the past two years, Yoo, his wife or his brother have donated at least $30,000 to the campaigns of eight council members. Donations to White totaling $11,260 extend back to 2003.

Councilman Peter Brown, who accepted at least $5,500 in campaign money from Yoo, supports the contract extension.

"We've got to get Terminal C fixed up," he said. "I don't think we have the luxury to go back to the drawing board on this."

Some council members were disturbed that the contract was not reviewed by either the Budget and Fiscal Affairs committee or the Transportation, Infrastructure and Aviation committee. The latter committee is chaired by Michael Berry, whose wife works at the law firm that is handling the JDDA contract. Berry did not return calls Wednesday.

(snip)

Council members who asked the administration to review Yoo's concerns include: Michael Berry (who accepted $6,000 in Yoo-related donations), Ron Green ($5,000), Jarvis Johnson ($3,000), and M.J. Khan ($4,000). Other council members who took money from Yoo include Toni Lawrence ($2,000), Peter Brown ($5,500), Pam Holm ($3,500) and Clutterbuck ($1,000).

Clutterbuck and Holm said they strongly oppose the contract extension. Clutterbuck is considering returning Yoo's donation. Holm said the money would not influence her.

A longtime local political observer said he was sympathetic with those who wanted to avoid another "food fight."

"It's been big and ugly in the past because there's a heck of a lot of money involved," said Joe Householder of Public Strategies, a business consulting firm.

"I can see where the mayor and administration are going in saying, 'Let's avoid that and get a nice deal that gives us some more money, that maybe we could not have gotten in a public fight,' " Householder said.

"But, at the same time, open public processes are designed to be messy. If you don't want to have debate, then don't be in politics."

Yes, that's the same Joe Householder who's thespin doctor spokesperson for Carol Alvarado, a fact omitted in the Chron story that should be illuminated. If for no other reason than Ms. Alvarado will have a vote on this and what her PR guy says in public should be fully disclosed. Outside of that however, Stiles has done a great job on his blog illuminating the extent of Yoo's financial influence. Something the blog has allowed him to do on many occassions.


As for the meat of the story this has about as rotten an appearance as you can get. You've got a politically active donor whose contract is scheduled to be renewed in a manner that circumvents the open bid process that is being backed by politicians who have received (in some cases) several thousand dollars of campaign contributions from said donor. If this was in the private sector the same politicians would be demanding the District Attorney file various and sundry corruption charges against all parties.

Alas, this is politics, and as Slampo notes it's a small piece in a big pie of corruption and graft that occurs at every level of politics on both sides of the aise, no matter how much more "ethical" partisan banner-wavers portray their chosen party to be.

On another level, this will be interesting to watch because its another potential speed bump on Mayor White's glorious ride to Austin and the (soon to be newly renovated) Governor's mansion. Add this to the Center Serving Person's with Mental Retardation kerfluffle and any potential competitor to Mayor Bill will have a LOT of material with which to launch damaging attacks.


OTHER EYES:

BlogHouston: Running the City like a (family) business

Channel 13 Local Politics Blog: Airport Concessions: Jason Yoo wants, Jason Yoo gets

NewsWatch: City Hall: Paying and Playing

Slampo: Money for nuthin', Chicks for free (Possibly, Although highly unlikely)

Mrs. White: Bill, Bill? You get back down here and fix this mess now!....don't know what you're thinking doing something like this, and here I am at the house cleaning up your messes and sweeping your dust under the rug all in an attempt to help you AND THIS IS THE THANKS I GET!?!?!?!?!

I'm not overweight, kilos are underweight.

Whether the news that the standard for the kilogram is shrinking could be either good news or bad news for you depending on your fitness goals...

(From Jamey Keaten of the AP via Yahoo! news)

The 118-year-old cylinder that is the international prototype for the metric mass, kept tightly under lock and key outside Paris, is mysteriously losing weight — if ever so slightly. Physicist Richard Davis of the International Bureau of Weights and Measures in Sevres, southwest of Paris, says the reference kilo appears to have lost 50 micrograms compared with the average of dozens of copies.

"The mystery is that they were all made of the same material, and many were made at the same time and kept under the same conditions, and yet the masses among them are slowly drifting apart," he said. "We don't really have a good hypothesis for it."

The kilogram's uncertainty could affect even countries that don't use the metric system — it is the ultimate weight standard for the U.S. customary system, where it equals 2.2 pounds. For scientists, the inconstant metric constant is a nuisance, threatening calculation of things like electricity generation.

(snip)

Of all the world's kilograms, only the one in Sevres really counts. It is kept in a triple-locked safe at a chateau and rarely sees the light of day — mostly for comparison with other cylinders shipped in periodically from around the world.

"It's not clear whether the original has become lighter, or the national prototypes have become heavier," said Michael Borys, a senior researcher with Germany's national measures institute in Braunschweig. "But by definition, only the original represents exactly a kilogram."

The kilogram's fluctuation shows how technological progress is leaving science's most basic measurements in its dust. The cylinder was high-tech for its day in 1889 when cast from a platinum and iridium alloy, measuring 1.54 inches in diameter and height.

(snip)

Many measurements have undergone makeovers over the years. The meter was once defined as roughly the distance between scratches on a bar, a far cry from today's high-tech standard involving the distance that light travels in a vacuum.

One of the leading alternatives for a 21st-century kilogram is a sphere made out of a Silicon-28 isotope crystal, which would involve a single type of atom and have a fixed mass.

"We could obviously use a better definition," Davis said.

See, I haven't gained weight, it just takes more kilograms to account for me.

Wither the howls of racism?

Anytime the issue of border security of immigration is brought up there arises a siren song of RACISM! that springs up from the usual suspects. Inevitably, the ONLY people that are RACIST! are Republicans. On the other side of the aisle, when speaking of immigration, the Bloggers O' the Right often sound a protectionist alarm with a lot focusing on our culture and something vaguely defined as "the Strength of America".

So it was with much interest that I monitored the Internet today to find a reaction to the Democrat led push in the Senate to block Mexican trucks.

Was this racist?

*crickets chirping*

Was our culture at risk?

*Nope, but our free market was*


All of which makes me wonder if anyone has really thought through this illegal immigration issue or if their views are fluid and unctuous similar to their outrage?


I've said it once and I'll say it again: The immigration policy in this Nation should be centered around the idea that we want MORE of those that are coming in to enter legally, and LESS to come in illegally.

When it comes to commerce if there can be assurances that the trucks in question are meeting minimum safety requirements then what grounds do we have to keep them out?

Other than pandering to the labor unions for votes I mean?



Keep this selective outrage in mind the next time you hear someone banging the racist podium when it comes to immigration.

A quick question...

Part of the problem with the subprime mortgage mess was people overreaching to get into homes they can't afford.

So why are some people still trying to get people into homes they can't afford?

(from Mike Snyder of the Chron)

Houston's homeownership rate was the lowest among Texas' five most populous cities last year and lagged far behind the national rate, the U.S. Census Bureau reported today.

Houston's 2006 rate, 46.5 percent, increased only slightly from 44 percent in 2000 despite the widespread availability of home loans during those years. The current crisis in the subprime mortgage industry, which has tightened access to credit and increased foreclosures, is likely to hamper the city's efforts to help more of its residents become homeowners, analysts said.

(snip)

For years, Houston officials have tried to increase homeownership through down-payment assistance programs and other initiatives, based on the idea that homeownership promotes neighborhood stability and reduces crime and blight.

(snip)

Houston's large immigrant and minority populations are a likely factor in its relatively low homeownership rate, since these groups often lack sufficient assets to buy a home, said Karl Eschbach, associate director of the Texas State Data Center at the University of Texas at San Antonio.

(snip)

Another factor, Eschbach said, is that housing costs in Houston are somewhat high relative to its median income, even though the city's home prices are lower than those in many other large U.S. cities.

The median monthly housing cost for Houston homeowners with mortgages, the Census Bureau said, was $1,351 last year, lower than Dallas ($1,407) and Austin ($1,535) but higher than San Antonio ($1,120) and Fort Worth ($1,333).

The median household income in Houston was $39,682, the fourth-lowest among Texas' five most populous cities. Austin's median income, $47,212, was the highest; Dallas, at $38,276, had the lowest median income.

So what if the prevailing attitude about homeownership was wrong?

Defending the taco trucks.

I freely admit to being a fan of taco truck vittles. There are four very good examples of the type in my immediate neighborhood. I guess that's why some of the defense they are using against stricter health standards dismayed me a little.

(From James Pinkerton and Cynthia Garza of the Chron)

State Rep. Dwayne Bohac says he was protecting the public's health when he co-authored two new state laws to tighten regulation of taco wagons in Houston and Harris County.

But more than 60 Hispanic owners of mobile taquerias have challenged the new state laws in federal court, contending they are more about racial intolerance than food safety. Their attorney says there has not been a single report of someone getting sick from eating at a taco wagon.

"Certain legislators don't like these Hispanic-run businesses in their neighborhoods — they think they're too low class," said Houston attorney David Mestemaker, who is representing the taco truck owners suing the city, county and state over the new regulations.

Today, the Houston City Council is scheduled to vote on incorporating the new laws into existing city health regulations dating to 1999 that govern mobile food units.

It is Houston's version of a sometimes divisive dispute that has pitted mostly immigrant food vendors against established neighborhoods in Austin, suburban New Orleans and other cities around the nation. Places such as Dallas, with strict zoning laws, do not allow mobile taquerias inside city limits except at construction sites.

Charges the new laws are racially motivated are ''absurd," said Bohac, a Houston Republican, who co-authored the legislation with Democrat Kevin Bailey.

Maybe I'm just reading this wrong, but is their argument that nothing needs to be done because nothing has happened yet? Are the vendors really going to bat with the "nothing to see here" defense?

For those not in the know, here's a quick rundown of the "racist" regulations:

The state laws, which took effect Sept. 1, require mobile food units in the county to be inspected for cleanliness every 24 hours at a commissary, and mandates that wastewater and kitchen grease be properly disposed. The daily inspections are already required by Houston's existing ordinance but they are often ignored, city officials acknowledge.

There's also some requirements regarding hot water and basic sanitation. But the bulk of this is to ensure that grease and wastewater are not being thrown down the storm drain, that employees have the ability to wash their hands, and that the vehicles are practicing the same cleanliness standards that traditional restaurants are forced to practice.

This is not about race, as some would have you believe, its about getting a taco that hasn't been prepared by an employee that didn't wash their hands after going to the bathroom because their wasn't a sink available. (or required to be available.) Never mind that most of these "taco trucks" are, by definition, supposed to be mobile. There's one by my house that just completed building a permanent deck. I can promise you that taco truck hasn't moved in months. I'm guessing that they have probably installed a water system and have a method for disposing of their grease to be able to do that, but do you really think that all of them do?

And this argument (by Carol Alvarado) is just asinine:

Councilwoman Carol Alvarado said she's inclined to support the ordinance, but has reservations. She said she wants to ensure the regulations don't target only one segment of a popular and growing industry.

"In a way, it's going after Latino-owned mobile food vendors, and it seems like it's been focused on taco trucks," Alvarado said, who noted there are plenty of mobile food trucks in Houston that sell everything from barbecue to seafood to hotdogs.

There's no evidence of that claim, since the law specifically mentions ALL mobile food vendors, so you would have to include the other food trucks as well. Yes, for those of you that are keeping score, that's the race card played out of suit. Ms. Alvarado is making that a cottage industry, trying desperately to build support in the Hispanic community to make up for her foibles in public office.

Casting aside the red herring of race, the argument that "no one has gotten sick" is just a non-starter. Using other examples way out of scale, there was no massive bridge collapse before Minnesota, but don't we wish we had done soemthing before hand? Using the "it hasn't happened yet" card to try and circumvent people following basic sanitation policies is disengenuous at best.

One last thing. You can make want you want to of the fact that Carol Alvarado was the leading supporter of tougher grease trap restrictions for brick and morter restaurants...

(from Matt Stiles Chron blog)

The City Council could vote as early as today on an ordinance requiring restaurants, car washes and other maintenance facilities to clean their grease traps four times a year, pass yearly city inspections and obtain a $50 city permit annually. The mandate would go hand in hand with the city's efforts to educate its residents about how to properly discard grease.

"It will certainly lessen the overflows and the spills and the damage that it does to our sewer system," said Councilwoman Carol Alvarado, who chairs the council's Environmental and Public Health Committee.

I wonder what's different?

These people actually make Comcast look good.

It's no secret that I'm not a huge fan of Houston's new cable provider Comcast.

Because of this I was pretty happy when I got the flyer announcing that AT&T U-verse was now available in my neighborhood.

Fiber Optic cable. No extra charge for HD converters, PIP channel surfing, no drag when changing channels, and a DVR that's programmable by Internet (including, my Blackjack). I was pumped. Until, that is, I decided to try and sign up....

You'd think that AT&T would be wanting to make this as easy as possible for current customers to sign up. You'd be wrong about this, but I can see where you might get that idea.

Here's the rub. AT&T, in their infinite wisdom, has decided to bundle the U-verse TV service with its wireless Internet service. I'm sure someone thought: "Hey, since one of our main selling points is updating via the Internet, let's bundle them together! We can then charge more!" I'm sure said middle manager got a nice bonus, a promotion and a corner office for that idea. I'm also sure that this is the reason corporate America is in the sorry state that its in.

Not realizing the fun that I had in store, I ventured to the U-verse site to find my package deal and sign up. No problem so far...except that, when I tried to order, I was told (very politely) that there was a problem with the system and would I mind calling the 1-888 number if the problem persists? The problem persisted, so I dialed.

The #1 sign you know you're in trouble when calling a customer service line:

The first option isn't for "new customers" its for "existing customers that are experiencing problems".

That the warning bells didn't start clanging immediately I can only attribute to my excitement of finally ridding myself of Comcast. So I waited......and waited....and then..(phone ringing)

"Hello this is (name deleted to protect the identity of someone who was placed in a no-win situation by their superiors) thank you for calling AT&T U-verse how may I help you?"


What you see quoted below is a pretty close approximation of the resulting telephone call....(there may be a few "the's" and "it's" omitted etc. but what you read is pretty much what I heard)

Me: Hello, I was hoping to sign up for the U-verse? I tried on-line but the system was down, it said to call this number.

ATT: I can help you with that sir, which package were you interested in?

Me: Well, you see, I already have AT&T wireless so I was curious if there was an option that you could get that doesn't have the Internet bundled in?

ATT: Well sir, when you order on-line you can remove the Internet option.

Me: Uh, OK, but the Internet ordering system sent me here so you can't do that?

ATT: No sir, the more cutomizable packages are on-line.

Me: So my best bet is to check back on-line in a bit and then I can see prices without the Internet bundle correct?

ATT: Well, the price will stay the same.

Me: Is there a different rate available for the U-verse TV if I already have AT&T wireless Internet?

ATT: No sir, its priced as a bundle. You can remove the internet but the price doesn't change.

Me: But I already have AT&T wireless internet, so if the price doesn't come down then I'm paying for the same thing twice?

ATT: Yes sir, but you get a free AT&T wireless router.

Me: I just paid $80 bucks for a wireless router from AT&T. I'm set up and ready to go. Do you mean to tell me there's nothing in place for existing customers?

ATT: It's all a bundle sir. When you go on-line you can remove the Internet option.

Me: But I'm still going to be charged for it?

ATT: Yes sir.

Me: Why would I want to be charged for something that I already have?

ATT: It works best with AT&T wireless Internet sir.

Me: Yes, as I've told you, I already have AT&T wireless Internet. I just want to add the U-verse to the service I have without being charged twice for Internet.

ATT: You can't. When you order you can remove the Internet, but the price won't change.

Me: Why would I want to do that?

ATT: Well, one of the features is using your new AT&T wireless service to program the DVR.

Me: I already.... uh, nevermind. I'll just stick with what I have until they get a better roll out.

ATT: Well sir, the specials will be ending soon, then we'll be back to pricing our DSL service at full price.

Me: *click*

So I'll be watching my Comcast cable for a little bit longer.

Taking back 9/11

Wouldn't it be nice to have something like this take the place of partisan politics as a memorial to 9/11....

(By Alexandra Marks for Yahoo! news)

On Sept. 11, Jacob Sundberg of San Antonio has pledged to make eye contact and smile at everyone he meets. Kaitlin Ulrich will bring goody baskets to the police and fire departments in and around Philadelphia. And 100 volunteers from New York – 9/11 firefighters and family members among them – are going to Groesbeck, Texas, to rebuild a house destroyed by a tornado last December.

This is a minute sampling of the hundreds of thousands of people who have pledged to memorialize those killed on 9/11 by doing something good for others.

The heroic acts of all those killed trying to save others that September morning has spawned a growing grass-roots movement. The goal is to ensure that future generations remember not just the horror of the attacks, but also the extraordinary outpouring of humanity during the days, weeks, and months that followed.

"It was the worst possible day imaginable, and in some ways, a remarkable day, too, in the way in which people responded," says David Paine, cofounder of myGoodDeed.org. "We need to rekindle the way we came together in the spirit of 9/11: It would be almost as much a tragedy to lose that lesson."

Sept. 11 has inspired dozens of philanthropic efforts – from groups dedicated to building memorials to foundations designed to improve education in the Middle East. But myGoodDeed has a more universal goal: to turn 9/11 into a day dedicated to doing good – from small, simple things like Lisa Scheive's pledge to help stranded turtles cross the road in Pompano Beach, Fla., to lifesaving efforts, such as John Feal's decision in New York to donate one of his kidneys to help a seriously ill 9/11 worker.

The idea has been endorsed by members of Congress, and at myGoodDeed's urging, President Bush for the first time this year included a call for volunteering in his annual 9/11 proclamation.

It sure beats the heck out of this...

(from Michelle Middlestadt of the Chron)

Texas members of Congress parsed the testimony of Gen. David Petraeus on Monday for the facts they wanted: Republicans focused on successes of the military buildup, Democrats on the Iraqi government's failure to achieve political reforms crucial to stability.

The closely watched testimony by Petraeus, the commanding general in Iraq, and Ambassador Ryan Crocker appeared to do little, if anything, to shift the positions of the state's two GOP senators and the five Republican and four Democratic House members from the Houston area.

or this...

(From Amy Westfeldt of the AP via the Chron)

Presidential politics and the health of ground zero workers loomed over the anniversary of the terrorist attacks this year, perhaps more than any other Sept. 11.

(snip)

In New York, firefighters will share the stage with former mayor Rudy Giuliani, who many victims' families and firefighters said should not speak because he is running for president.

Giuliani has made his performance in the months after the 2001 terrorist attacks the cornerstone of his campaign, but said last week that his appearance wasn't intended to be political.

"I was there when it happened and I've been there every year since then. If I didn't, it would be extremely unusual. As a personal matter, I wouldn't be able to live with myself," Giuliani said Friday.

Democratic Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, seeking her own party's presidential nomination, also planned to attend ceremonies at ground zero.

So just keep all that in mind the next time someone tells you that the "best" use of your limited donation funds would be to give them to politicians who do nothing more with them than finance political campaigns and hire staffs to create soundbytes.

I'm suggesting a different memorial for 9/11:

Star of Hope

The Center Serving Persons with Mental Retardation

American Humane Association


Just to name a few....

Beware studies

that seem to show one political ideology is superior to another...

(From Marlowe Hood via Yahoo! news)

The brain neurons of liberals and conservatives fire differently when confronted with tough choices, suggesting that some political divides may be hard-wired, according a study released Sunday.

Aristotle may have been more on the mark than he realised when he said that man is by nature a political animal. Dozens of previous studies have established a strong link between political persuasion and certain personality traits. Conservatives tend to crave order and structure in their lives, and are more consistent in the way they make decisions. Liberals, by contrast, show a higher tolerance for ambiguity and complexity, and adapt more easily to unexpected circumstances.

The affinity between political views and "cognitive style" has also been shown to be heritable, handed down from parents to children, said the study, published in the British journal Nature Neuroscience. Intrigued by these correlations, New York University political scientist David Amodio and colleagues decided to find out if the brains of liberals and conservatives reacted differently to the same stimuli.

A group of 43 right-handed subjects were asked to perform a series of computer tests designed to evaluate their unrehearsed response to cues urging them to break a well-established routine. "People often drive home from work on the same route, day after day, such that it becomes habitual and doesn't involve much thinking," Amodio explained by way of comparison in an e-mail.

"But occasionally there is road work, or perhaps an animal crosses the road, and you need to break out of your habitual response in order to deal with this new information."

Using electroencephalographs, which measure neuronal impulses, the researchers examined activity in a part of the brain -- the anterior cingulate cortex -- that is strongly linked with the self-regulatory process of conflict monitoring. The match-up was unmistakable: respondents who had described themselves as liberals showed "significantly greater conflict-related neural activity" when the hypothetical situation called for an unscheduled break in routine.

Because you have to take the good with the bad.

(from Eileen Alt Powell of the AP via the Chron)

Graduate students seem to be pulling out their credit cards more often to pay for school expenses — a trend that worries financial experts.

A study released recently by Nellie Mae, a company based in Braintree, Mass., that provides education financing for college students, found that more than nine in 10 graduate students had at least one credit card in the 2006-07 academic year. Their average outstanding balance was $8,612, up 10 percent from the $7,831 average balance when the study last was done in 2003.

While most say they try to make at least the minimum payment every month, just 20 percent pay off their cards in full, so students' balances continue to grow.

One reason graduate students carry a lot of debt is that they've been building on the $3,500 in card debt they carried when they completed their undergraduate studies, said Marie O'Malley, a spokeswoman for Nellie Mae, which is a division of the SLM Corp., also known as Sallie Mae. And graduate students typically are eligible for fewer grants and scholarships than undergraduates, making them more dependent on their own financing.

More than 94 percent of the students used their credit cards for school-related expenses, especially the purchase of textbooks, school supplies and transportation. Nearly one-third used their cards for tuition costs, and more than one-third used them to cover college fees.

So, if you take these two studies and juxtapose them with the study that says liberals are more educated then you reach the following, rather unflattering, conclusion:


"Liberals are more likely to be able to handle the challenges they face from their poor fiscal discipline due to their superior ability to change their routine to dodge collections agency calls."


Uh-Huh.

Peace pipe not included

I like this story about the recently restored Tee-Pee Motel...

(by Monica Rohr of the AP via the Chron)

A bit of American history — quirky and curious, but history nonetheless — huddles next to old Highway 59, past the tractor dealers and the rice mills, just before a green sign that proclaims Wharton's population of 9,237.

It's easy to miss. But it is there, just around the bend: a row of 10 freshly painted, sand-colored tepees.

The Tee Pee Motel, a throwback to the 1940s and '50s, is one of just a handful of tepee-themed lodges left in the country.

For years, however, Wharton's Tee Pee Motel was little more than eleven gutted shells engulfed by a tangle of overgrown weeds and a broken sign that once beckoned guests with neon lights and an image of an American Indian chief.

Then, a diesel mechanic named Bryon Woods won $49 million in the Texas lottery in July 2003.

Four months later, Woods and his wife, Barbara, were driving by the ruins of the Tee Pee Motel, about 50 miles southwest of Houston, when Barbara Woods piped up.

"I want to stay there. Let's buy it and renovate it."

Barbara Woods had dreamed of staying in the Tee Pee Motel ever since she was a little girl. And now, she was an adult with nearly $50 million to spend.

After waffling for a few months, Bryon Woods gave in. He bought the 10-acre property for $60,000 — and spent the next two years and $1.6 million sweeping away the cobwebs and debris, remodeling, painting and fixing the neon sign.

I've driven past this motel several times on my way out of town, but I probably haven't been through Wharton in at least two years. Up until now I had no idea that this was even re-opened. All I could find in the Chron was this two-year old story about the sale, with no follow-up on the buyer or the renovation.

That's a missed opportunity. Especially from the "Star" section, which has been sailing without a compass of late.

How big a political force?

The Chron's R.G. Ratcliffe is not making friends with his most recent article on the Netroots support for Rick Noriega.

(from the Chron)

The left-leaning political blogosphere is lined up almost completely with Houston's Rick Noriega over San Antonio's Mikal Watts in the battle for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate. The question is whether it will do Noriega much good.

Noriega and Watts are battling for the right to take on Republican U.S. Sen. John Cornyn in next year's general election. Their primary battle has become the first real test of the organizing ability of the netroots in Texas.

Texas' progressive bloggers in June launched a Draft Noriega movement on the Internet that was organized around a 7,000-person e-mail list that Richard Morrison of Sugar Land had gathered during his unsuccessful 2004 challenge to the re-election of then-U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay.

The draft movement was so closely timed to Noriega's announcement of the formation of a Senate exploratory committee that it appeared to be a coordinated effort — something the bloggers deny.

Then, Watts announced that 800 donors had given him $1.1 million in June to supplement the $3.8 million of his own money that he had put into the primary race.

As a counter move, the pro-Noriega bloggers in July publicly set a goal of raising money for him from 800 donors in a month. When that did not occur, they moved the goal post to the end of the quarter on Sept. 30. As of Thursday, they had raised $53,897 from 692 supporters.

For those of you not keeping score, the total money pledged by the Netroots movement is 20% of the total money that Watts announced he has raised from 800 people. Not that money is everything in politics (it's not) but it sure goes a long way. A long way to determining the amount of advertising one can purchase to "get out" the message. The fact that Noriega's message is more compelling than Watts message could not be important if Watts is able to outspend Noriega 20-1. In short, Noriega needs some serious political backing, and he needs it now.

To my way of thinking, that's a far bigger point in the story than this:

But then Noriega returned home and told the Texas Broadcasters Association that the blogs are as destructive a force in democracy as talk radio.

"We've seen talk radio become an organizing tool for the die-hard right, while liberals are credited with turning the blogosphere into a political weapon. Each of those media has a targeted demographic group and works them into an ideological lather," Noriega said.

"This, I believe, is damaging to the political culture in this country."

Noriega spokesman James Aldrete said Noriega was not criticizing all politically active blogs, just those that engage in the "politics of division." Aldrete said Noriega believes talk radio and some bloggers would rather keep the country divided than find solutions to problems.

Even if that is the case, the blogs right now are on Noriega's side. No pro-Watts blogs could be found on the Internet other than his own campaign Web site. And only a few blog commentators have been defending Watts.

Watts spokeswoman Kim Devlin said Watts is not concerned about the imbalance in blog coverage.

"Blogs are just one place some Texans will get information about our campaign," Devlin said. "We're speaking to many, many audiences of Texans in the many, many places where they get their information. Ours will never be a one-dimensional campaign."

It's this point, that Noriega supposedly said something that goes against his strongest (his only?) supporters, that's creating a lot of back and forth among the true believers. In response to having outed his political base, Noriega's campaign manager offered up the following:

Rick’s speech had two messages - both expounding on his theme of “We the people.” The first was a warning of the downsides to narrow casting, which provides an environment, if not handled responsibly, that encourages division over discussion and makes solving problems more difficult. This is what Bush, Cornyn, Rove, talk radio and the right wing blogosphere have done on a consistent basis, and we must be
vigilant not to fall in the same traps. What Jason didn’t share with R.G., or at least what got left out of the article, was Rick’s lead up to what got quoted, where he called out Cornyn for playing up wedge issues like flag burning, Justice Sunday and immigration, while remaining silent on the fact that over 3.700 of our men and women in uniform have paid the ultimate sacrifice for a misguided war.

That’s not an attack on blogs, that’s an attack on what Bush, Rove, and Cornyn have done to bring down the level of political discussion today. And frankly, the only comment Watt’s campaign should be making is “AMEN.”

For those keeping score, it's not the blogs in support of Noriega that are wrong, its pretty much everyone else. You know, those that are trying to drive a "wedge" in among the American people. (i.e. those that aren't a member of the so-called "Draft Noriega" movement.) It's Hillary's "vast Right-Wing conspiracy" all over again, only this time, with bandwidth.

This article comes on the heels of a negative story and editorial from the Chron regarding Watts, and a negative Rick Casey column about BOTH their chances. Add to this an honest (and frustrated) column by Austin Bureau Chief and left-leaning columnist Clay Roberson regarding Democratic mis-steps in Statewide elections and you have a lot of kindling added to the timber pile that is the InterLeft right now. Judging from recent history that pile could sponteneously combust at any second:

But Where's The Dress?
The State of Texas seems to have wasted half-a-million dollars on a fake letter written by illegal immigrant Davy Crockett. Although we all know the story of Davy and his friends seeking sanctuary at the Alamo, it seems the letter written on the day Mexican forces were set to enforce Mexican immigration laws had "...better grammar, better punctuation than Davy Crockett had ever used." Thus, it seems the dude couldn't handle English or Spanish. Chingao!

Because as we all know....the way to win the hearts and minds of Texas voters, is to belittle the historical heroes of the Texas revolution. (never mind that he's re-writing facts while he does it.....Just sayin')With rhetoric like that, is it any wonder Noriega is trying to distance himself?

That's the real story within this story, the fringe nature of many of the politically motivated bloggers in the blogosphere. It's more relevent to look at how tiny of a fraction of voters that blogs touch, and whether candidates should spend much money reaching out to them at all. That Noriega said something that could easily by spun away (ironically enough, by pulling the divisive 'partisan' card)with a statement and an interview or two. Remember, there's nothing that political bloggers crave more than signs of legitimacy from their candidates. Even if those signs can only deliver around 692 votes in an elections that's going to be decided by thousands.

My five daily readers will surely be sad to know that I have no delusions of grandeur. My influence in politics can be summed up in one word: bupkus. As for the rest of the "Netroots" movement I'll believe in its legitimacy when "blogger press" credentials are handed out to anything more than house organs. When the Democrats or Republicans offer press credentials to someone who's guaranteed to not write up flowery, breathless reviews of their conventions, when they have someone from the center or other side on bloggers row; then will I believe that they view blogs as something more than useful idiots who will parrot the party line.



OTHER EYES:

Paul Burka: Don't put it in writing. (Break the rules the way they "used to in Texas", with a handshake and a knife in the back)


Chron: Tx Politics: Oh my! Bloggers have thin skins (Only when you trounce on their sense of self importance)

Eye on Williamson: No denying it now, bloggers are a political FORCE in Texas. (Note to bloggers, The Chronicle ran front page stories on Ron Paul today. Let's keep this in perspective)

Texas Football Fridays - The weekend ahead.

It was good to see some real football played last night wasn't it? I mean, football that meant something and wasn't just a field goal fest and an hour watching guys who would either be in Canada or playing Arena ball by the start of the season. There was also a heck of an offensive display in the College game last night, in case you missed it.

Looking ahead to the weekend there are several games of local import to keep your mind off of the I-10 shutdown. Let's talk about the local NFL team however.

Kansas City @ Houston (-3)

After all of the hype and bad talk radio we finally get to see what the "new" Texans can do compared to the old Texans.

My prediction? Don't be booking your vacation time for a playoff run.

Tom Kirkendall penned a good pre-season overview of the Texans problems, and I would suggest that as a good place to start.

Here are some additional tidbits:

1. Long a weak point, three of the starting five offensive linemen in 2007 are the same as they were in 2002.

What this means is that in five years the Texans have done little to upgrade the teams most glaring weakness. I'm not going to say that Fred Weary, Steve McKinney and Chester Pitts are bad players, I'm just not sure if, as a unit, they have what it takes to be a top-flight O-line. They may each need better players on the line then the Texans currently possess.

2. The Defensive Backfield is weak.

Outside of Dunta Robinson, I'm not sure if there is NFL quality talent in that backfield. Add to that Dunta's questionable emotional state right now and even the oft-criticized (in Houston anyway) Damon Huard could make swiss cheese out of the Texans Defense.

3. Especially if the Defensive Line doesn't start getting some pressure.

There was a little talk this week about the Babin for Boulware trade, and while that trade probably helped the anemic backfield (see item #2) it sent packing over 1/2 the pressure that the Texans placed on the opposing Quarterbacks this year. If Mario Williams doesn't get in the opposing teams backfield and disrupt plays on a regular basis this year, then it will be time to hand the "bust" tag on him. It's make or break for Super Mario.

I'm leaning toward "break" because, after watching him play for a year, its very clear to me that he has ZERO explosion off of the ball. He may run the fastest 40 time EVER for a defensive lineman, but how many times does a OL run the 40? That's the most overrated stat in football.

Saying all of that I still think the Texans have some positives, Andre Johnson is developing into one of the best WR in the NFL and the Linebacking corps are solid. There ARE things to build on with this team, but I still think they are building.

7-9 this year, maybe 8-8 if things fall right.

If Schaub and Green are busts or get injured then it will get ugly fast.

Texas Wine Fridays - Comfort Cellars

It's been a while since I've made a post about a Texas Winery. I've been meaning too but these posts take me a while to create, and other news stories have come up. So I'm thinking about making this a Friday ritual. Texas Wine Friday's if you will. I've pretty much given an overview of Texas wines in the past. I thought It'd be a good idea to talk about specific Texas Wineries going forward. It should be noted that I am NOT a trained wine sommelier, I don't pretend to know a lot about wine other than what I personally like. Also, what I like may not be what you like. Therein lies the joy in visiting wineries.

On my last wine post I promised to talk about Comfort Cellars in Comfort, Texas, so here we go.

Comfort Texas is a typical small Texas town. It's got a feed store, a cafe, and a host of quirky little Mom and Pop businesses that are worth at least an afternoon to explore. I'd place Comfort Cellars in the "quirky" department without hestitation. Their primary tasting room is located just after the Intersection of Hwy 27 and Hwy 87 in the middle of Comfort. It's a converted residential structure with the prodcution barn built adjacent. Tasting at the winery is free.

I've long maintained that almost every winery in Texas has something that you might want to try, and might even find enjoyable. One thing I try not to do is sugar coat what I feel a winery doesn't do well. In the case of Comfort Cellars I suggest you steer clear of their dry wines. They offer a 2002 Pinot Noir and a 2002 Cabernet that I found zero enjoyment in. The wines tasted unfinished, too minerally and didn't strike me as good examples of the type. When you go to Comfort Cellars, go there with your eyes wide open.

That being said, I did enjoy some of the sweeter varietals that Comfort offered. Sweet wine and Texas go hand in hand. As some of the more "serious" winemakers in Texas gain a foothold, its important not to miss the boutique Vinters who aren't afraid to stub convention in the toe and chart their own course. Comfort Cellars Raisin wine and their Jalapeno wine are perfect examples of this.

The Raisin wine is named after the owners dog, Raisin. It's a sweet wine that would be better catagorized as a "dessert" wine that's got a LOT of sherry in its flavor. This is a wine that I would gladly serve at the end of a meal as either a cordial, or with dessert, it would especially complement one of those molten chocolate cakes that are currently popular.

The Jalapeno wine is spicy. Suprisingly spicy. It's got a little sweetness on the back end that dulls the jalapeno just a little, but what this wine really did was get me thinking about cooking up a pot of Cuban-style black beans and rice, with the beans cooked in the wine. Shortly after we got home, we tried that. Yeah, it was everything I thought it would be and more. This wine also might be good to sip while eating vanilla ice cream. I haven't tried that one yet however.

Here's a listing of the remainder of Comfort's wine selection and some of my tasting notes that I made in the tasting room:

Chenin Blanc - Dry, a little shallow but drinkable. Lacks complexity and depth, flat finish.

Comfort Blush - Sweet. Good wine for a hot summer day. Surprisingly not as sweet as the nose would suggest.

White Zin - Sweet. Typical example of the type. Very shallow, very approachable. A wine for those who don't like wine.

Comfort Gold - Sweet. My favorite of the rest. Would pair nicely with a sharp cheddar or blue cheese.

Sweet Rojo - Semi-sweet. A blend of Muscat and Merlot. Decent table wine for a Bar-B-Q etc. There are better examples in Texas, but this one is passable.

Orange Chardonnay - Sweet. Definite Orange character. Although I'm not a big fan of flavored wines this one was drinkable. Not overpoweringly orangish.


Comfort Cellars also has a line of locally made, artisinal soaps and other gifts available for purchase in their gift shop.


Overall I give Comfort a two-glass rating out of five. They have some hits, a few more misses on the wine side. Their tasting is free, but the pour is a little light, the staff friendly and their tasting room is well thought out.


Salud!

The continuing public evolution of a bad idea.

The Astrodome Redevelopment Company is back at it:

(from Bill Murphy of the Chron)

Entrepreneurs looking to turn the iconic Astrodome into an upscale convention hotel have scrapped a "best of historic Texas" theme for a more modern, streamlined look.

A faux Texas courthouse and other features that played on the state's past are out. Plans now call for including a section of the Dome's seats, part of the diamond and an overall contemporary design that plays up the building's cutting-edge nature when it opened in 1965.

"We're going to have rides. There could be air rides that take you off the ground and make you say, 'Wow,' " said Scott Hanson, president of Astrodome Redevelopment Co., the firm hoping to transform the Dome. "We're going to have a few of those. They would be easy-going rides that would show off the venue."

(snip)

Astrodome Redevelopment still has hurdles to clear before it begins work. Willie Loston, director of the Harris County Sports and Convention Corp., which oversees Reliant Park, will update the Commissioners Court on the company's progress in executive session Tuesday.

The court's approval is needed before work could begin. And Astrodome Redevelopment needs to work out revenue sharing and parking deals with the Houston Texans and the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, the major tenants of Reliant Park.

But Hanson and Astrodome Redevelopment's chief executive, John Clanton, said the company is making progress and hopes to begin work on the interior as early as next April.

Hanson previously said the company had obtained financing for the $450 million project. But he and Clanton publicly announced the lender, Deutsche Bank, for the first time Thursday.

The Texas Historical Commission recently approved the company's renovation plans, qualifying it for a federal historic rehabilitation tax credit, Clanton said.

The tax credit was integral to Astrodome Redevelopment's financing application. As much as $350 million of the work on the $450 million project may qualify for the tax credit, which could be worth $70 million to Astrodome Redevelopment, Clanton said.

Well, at least now we know who's behind the financing. There's a lot of "chatter" around about how "Deutsche Bank knows best" and that the plan must be a good one because they've agreed to underwrite it. Well, yes and no. Without having access to the specifics of the loan I can almost guarantee that the collatoral for the loan is fairly high. I'm guessing that the loan execs at Deutsche Bank are considering this a calculated risk. At the worst, they could end up as the primary owners of some prime real estate, and probably some other collateral. At best, the construction is completed and they get their investment plus interest. So remember kids, securing credit does not signify that an idea is a success. It just means that you were able to offer up enough collateral to make the loan worthwhile.

And then, there's this:

Hanson said he was convinced that the Dome hotel would be heavily booked.

I'd be curious to know what data he's basing that assumption on. Is it the less than 50% booking rates of the Hilton Americas? Is it the low booking rates of other Houston hotels? Or does he just think that this is going to be so gosh-darn neat that everyone will want to play?

Still, at the end of the day this is being sold as a 100% private investment, and if that's true then I've got no qualms with people throwing their money away on speculation. If they want to renovate and can find the private funds to do it? Good by me. I still think its a bad idea, but people have the right to waste their money.

What concerns me is that there are already requests for public funding for "little things", which makes me wonder how long it will be until they come to the public looking for a little 'leg up' to get things moving. Private entities are allowed to be stupid, I don't expect my Government to throw my tax money down their rabbit holes. We've gone down enough of those already.

File this under the "get a room" files.

KTRK reporter and political blogger Miya Shay bats her big browns at Nick Lampson's new Director of Communications....

It seems he's one of DC's 50 most beautiful people according to DC information source The Hill.

For those of you not in the "know" about Mr. Kinkaid here's a little "primer" on him:

For the 24-year-old deputy communications director to Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.), rock climbing is not just a way to spend the day outdoors — it’s an adrenaline rush and a mental challenge. Conquering the mountain gives him a great feeling of accomplishment. The Durham native has rock-climbed all over the country, but his favorite mountains are the Appalachians in North Carolina.

The fit, full-lipped Aquarius is not just a mountain man. He loves to cook — seafood in particular — but never the same dish. He is just as comfortable in a dive bar drinking beer as he is enjoying a super-expensive bottle of champagne. One of his favorite dates, in fact, was a day of rock climbing, followed by a ballet presentation at the Kennedy Center and dessert at Morton’s.

Wow. An academic who's also a jock, in touch with the environment, can cook, and is really "in touch" with the common man at a dive bar (never mind that the "common" man would never refer to his neighborhood bar as a "dive". details, details). He's like Grizzly Adams, but sans beard, with a manicure, a $200 haircut, spa treatments and an undying love for the arts.

I do have "one" small nagging of doubt about this however....

Can you really take seriously a most beautiful list containing this Congressperson?

No question that wealth, posh homes and a loving family have helped smooth the rough edges of life.

I mean, really now.


Oh, in case you're curious:

Democrats: 33
Republicans: 14
No affiliation: 3

Not only are Republicans meaner, more prone to scandal, against children, they are also (for the most part) ugly.

Sucks to be them.


Welcome to Houston Mr. Kinkaid, please ignore the drool coming from the female (and some of the male) press corp's mouths.

Finis

Luciano Pavar0tti has died. He was 71.

(from Allessandra Rizzo of the AP via the Chron)

Luciano Pavarotti, whose vibrant high C's and ebullient showmanship made him the most beloved and celebrated tenor since Caruso and one of the few opera singers to win crossover fame as a popular superstar, died Thursday. He was 71.

His manager, Terri Robson, told The Associated Press in an e-mailed statement that Pavarotti died at his home in Modena, Italy, at 5 a.m. local time. Pavarotti had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer last year and underwent further treatment in August.

"The Maestro fought a long, tough battle against the pancreatic cancer which eventually took his life. In fitting with the approach that characterised his life and work, he remained positive until finally succumbing to the last stages of his illness," the statement said.

For serious fans, the unforced beauty and thrilling urgency of Pavarotti's voice made him the ideal interpreter of the Italian lyric repertory, especially in the 1960s and '70s when he first achieved stardom.

For millions more, his charismatic performances of standards like Nessun Dorma from Puccini's Turandot came to represent what opera is all about.

Just in case you don't know what they are talking about:

Nessun Dorma:



Thank you Pavarotti.

Chron headline writers have a sense of humor after all. (UPDATED)

Judging from this anyway...

(from Kristen Mack and Jennifer Radcliffe of the Chron)

The races for four open Houston City Council seats will be crowded on the November ballot, but there were no major surprises Wednesday, the deadline for local candidates to file for the general election.

Seven candidates will vie for two open seats on the Houston Independent School District board of trustees.

Mayor Bill White, who is running for a third and final term, will face minor opposition from Amanda Ulman and perennial candidate Outlaw Josey Wales IV.

For those of you who don't pay attention to local politics (and, judging by the past voter counts, many of you don't) here's a little rundown on Mayor White's competition....

The Outlaw Josey Wales IV is a professional wrestling promoter and Andrea is a committed communist who hangs out with Anthony Dutrow.


The headline?

Mayor draws two challengers for his office

Uh-huh.


OTHER EYES:

BlogHouston: A salute to perennial losing candidate guy

Off the Kuff: The filing deadline aproacheth

Chron: City Hall: 33 and counting.


UPDATE: the "Link Banner" on the front page has changed:

•Mayor draws two minor challengers for his office

As of 3:10PM however the headline on the actual article is still unchanged.

The vultures are circling Muni Wi-Fi.

Mrs. White...

It sounded almost too good to be true: affordable, reliable wireless Internet access anywhere in Houston. An outside company would invest $50 million in the system. The only cost to taxpayers, other than the private company's use of city right of way, would be charges for city employees' use of the wireless network.

In April, Houston City Council approved a contract with Earthlink to provide citywide wireless Internet access. Last week, however, Earthlink announced it was laying off 900 workers, half of its work force, including the executive who was overseeing the Houston project.

Earthlink will have to pay Houston $5 million for not executing the agreement in a timely manner. Mayor Bill White said the city might invest that money in expanded wireless access at libraries and other public spaces.

Earthlink reserves the right — and has nine months — to find partners to share the capital costs of the Houston Wi-Fi project. But doubts that the company will ever perform on the contract loom large.

Earthlink executives are re-evaluating the company's business model for municipal wireless Internet access. A spokesman said the company wants each city where it does business to be the primary customer for citywide Wi-Fi. Houston's contract already calls for the city to pay $2.5 million over five years for use of the network. Earthlink should explain why it is not performing in the city that ostensibly is the model for its new business plan.

Actually, no, they shouldn't explain. They paid the $5 Million dollar penalty which satisfied the terms of the contract. Whatever their reasons may be, they can now keep them internal should they so desire.

Dwight Silverman

With Houston's citywide Wi-Fi project delayed for at least 9 months while EarthLink gets its financial act together, it's good to keep in mind that public, wireless Internet access is already available.

Dwight (as is his custom) goes on to provide a very thorough rundown of some of the Wi-Fi options available to consumers absent the Muni Wi-Fi dome that's increasingly looking like it will not materialize. I'll just say you should click on it and read. While Dwight and I disagree on the value of a Municipal Wi-Fi system and its relative place in the heirarchy of Municipal needs, he still provides a good overview.

Michael Lidtke of the AP:

A year ago, it seemed like just about every major U.S. city was drawing up ambitious plans to build wireless Internet networks so more people, both rich and poor, could have online access wherever they wanted. Now, economics is blurring the Utopian vision as city leaders and the companies proposing to build the Wi-Fi networks haggle over whether the projects make financial sense.

The problem came into sharper focus this week as once-ballyhooed projects in San Francisco and Chicago unraveled while another high-profile deal in Houston neared a breaking point.

"Cities and companies are rethinking the models that they are adopting," said Esme Vos, founder of MuniWireless.com, a Web site that tracks trends in the industry. "It's all about economics and risk-sharing now."

(snip)

The second thoughts about municipal Wi-Fi revolve around questions about whether the networks will generate enough revenue to justify the multimillion-dollar investments to build and maintain them.

EarthLink Inc., an Internet service provider that had been one of the chief evangelists in the crusade to blanket cities with Wi-Fi, has decided it can no longer afford to foot the bill by itself as the Atlanta-based company tries to bounce back from $46 million in losses during the first half of this year.

"We will not devote any new capital to the old municipal Wi-Fi model that has us taking all the risks," Rolla Huff, EarthLink's chief executive, told analysts during a Wednesday conference call. "In my judgment, that model is simply unworkable."

TANSTAAFL.

You'll see this bandied about quite often when people are debating the merits of Muni Wi-Fi.

True.

Poor little Lynn Wyatt.

How is she ever going to survive?

(from Chron society reporter and funeral crasher Shelby Hodge)

Jet-setting socialite and arts patron Lynn Wyatt has taken a house in the south of France for 30 years. But for the second year in a row, the woman who has topped Houston and international best-dressed lists opted out of her traditional summer residence abroad.

The reason - the indictment of her husband, Oscar, the idiosyncratic oilman facing fraud and conspiracy charges, accused of paying illegal surcharges on Iraqi crude shipments. Oscar Wyatt's trial begins today in federal court in New York.

"We didn't rent the villa because I didn't want to be removed from Oscar that much,'' Wyatt said in a telephone interview from her River Oaks residence. "Even though I knew he could come over there, it wasn't the place for me to be either. So I was staying close to home. I was coming back and forth."

The decision to cancel the lease on Villa Mauresque in Cap Ferrat may mark the end of an era. The lavish birthday party she hosted there each July for three decades made society headlines around the world. The dazzling array of stars combined with European and New York elite in attendance made her invitation one of the most coveted of the season.

"Everything has its right time, you know," she said. "And this was the time to stay closer to home. And all those 30 years that I was in the villa, it was the time to do that."

(snip)

Through the decades, Wyatt, perfectly coiffed and beautifully dressed, graced the pages of Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, Town & Country and W (the high-fashion/social magazine of Fairchild Publications). She attended exclusive events ranging from Metropolitan Museum of Art galas in New York to Academy Awards parties in Los Angeles, her high-profile status lending international social cachet to hometown Houston.

A similar impeccable personal presentation is expected when she joins Oscar Wyatt in New York for the duration of his trial. "I'm going to be there, but I'm not going to be in court all the time," she said. "If I'm not in the courtroom, I'll be there when he comes back to the hotel. ... I'll be there to support him."

Federal prosecutors contend that Oscar Wyatt illegally paid millions of dollars to Saddam Hussein's government in exchange for lucrative oil-export contracts under the United Nations' oil-for-food program.

The Wyatts hold otherwise, and Lynn takes no heed of those who would criticize her husband. "People are going to think what they think anyway," she said, "and I don't pay any attention to that."

(snip)

"She has been truly incredible," said close friend Pat Breen, who has served on both the Houston Grand Opera and Houston Ballet boards with Wyatt. "To me, you would never know anything was wrong on the outside. But I'm sure in quiet moments, I'm sure she's very reflective and probably sad."

"I think she's done very well. She's continued with her life," Breen added. "She's continued with her service in all the different things she's been involved in. She has been very admirable."

Wyatt is going forward with plans to chair the Trees of Hope gala in mid-November, an event celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Star of Hope homeless mission. A founding member of the Princess Grace Foundation, she will be one of several individuals honored at its 25th-anniversary gala in New York in October.

"I've got responsibilities here," she said. "Life goes on, and I feel like my responsibilities are very important to me."

No summer in the South of France? Having to spend (some) of her time at trial?

Is there no JUSTICE in this world?

Loren Steffy reminds us that there is a crime that Oscar Wyatt is charged with.

Never let it be said that Shelby Hodge let a little thing like alleged fraud and money laundering get in the way of a good ol' tug at the heart strings. At lest she hasn't attempted to crash the trial. (yet)



Other Eyes:

Slampo: Survival of the Richest.

With "representation" like this....

Who needs enemies.

James Campbell is a little out of touch...

(from his About:Chron blog - only slightly more reguarly updated now)

Reader 1:

I am offended by your photo of gay men kissing on page A3 of today's paper. Why would I encourage my grandchildren to read newspapers containing this material? I skipped all of page A3. hope I did not miss anything important.

Reader 2:



Your publishing of a photograph of two homosexual men kissing , `Iowa puts halt on gay marriage,' will show to Americans how disgusting and repulsive homosexuality is. This is not Hollywood-style homosexuality with glamorous starlets or assumed homosexuals such as Rosie O' Donald, but real life homosexuals. Gay marriage is only mocking marriage between a man and a woman.


Just a random thought, but I've never received a complaint about us publishing a photo of a man and woman kissing. But isn't diversity showing the full spectrum of life in this country? An Iowa judge's decision to allow same-sex marriage, albeit short-lived, was an important one. The photo illustrated a happy couple after receiving a marriage license. What's wrong with that?

I replied on his blog that to him and I there seems to be nothing wrong with the Chron running a photo of two men kissing. To the readers who took the time to write in however, there seems to be something wrong with it.

James may not agree with that something, he may not like that something even, but the fact that he refuses to even acknowledge that there is something in the minds of (what I assume to be a large portion of) readers that is offensive probably speaks more to his inability to properly address reader concerns than it does show the ignorance of the reader.

I know that the latter is what he was going for, and he might be right. I'm just curious as to how the "reader's rep" is unable to even entertain reader's objections that are not in line with the editorial position of his employer?

I'm not asking him to agree with them, just to understand their position.

"To Represent" so to speak.

So, what'd I miss???

Let's see what I missed during my weekend away:

1. Bacarisse is IN....Crap, for $133K and change I might think about running for Harris County Clerk.

My platform:

A. I'm an accountant so I know a little bit about payment processing.
B. I took a class on records retention in College which means that the records will be indexed correctly. (This alone makes me more qualified than most candidates)
C. I'll be sure to keep Orland Sanchez on task and not chasing down rabbit holes designed to aid his eternal quest for higher office.
D. I'll run the clerk's office in the apolitical manner it deserves.

So "draft" me and (if you stroke my ego enough) maybe I'll be encouraged to run.


2. Rick Casey's back!!!!

Poorly thought-out, lightly-researched and untimely writing STILL has a place in the Houston market!!! *Phew*

3. Comcast is raising prices...

That didn't take long now did it? Let's see: Less channels and a higher price....time to make a change.

4. You Cannot Smoke!!!

No comment on how the State is planning on replacing all of that tobacco revenue.

5. You too can be a "special enforcer" for the HPD.

Just open up a convenience store and away you go. The "Mayor White" school of governing: pass more and more responsibility for public safety onto private entities while continuing to suck more and more revenue from them.

This all works, of course, until people start to wonder where all of said revenue is going.




Fun stuff.

The Lose an Eye football week in review.

One thing I did do in Austin was watch a LOT of football. (at a sports bar, on sixth street).
Here are my (totally worthless) thoughts about the "big" games of the week:

1. Appalachian St. 34 - Michigan 32.

Ugh. As a Michigan fan this was probably the worst weekend I've ever had from a College Football perspective. That I had to watch the end of this at an Austin sports bar made it even worse. I was laughed at, called a loser, had someone attempt to steal my Michigan hat and stomp on it,(the bar kicked that person out) and was called all kinds of names by those ever-classy UT fans. One fan asked me if I was going to stop pulling for Michigan and start rooting for someone else now. What? That may be the way that UT fans do it, front-running and then abandoning their team, but I've ALWAYS been a Michigan fan back as far as I can remember, and I'll always be a Michigan fan no matter what the win/loss record or WHO they lose to.

Was the loss bad? You bet. It was as embarrassing a loss as I can remember. On a positive note it could be the straw that breaks the camels back in regards to Lloyd Carr being replaced. I've been on the "fire Lloyd" bandwagon for around 4 years now.

So all is not lost. The season however, is toast.


2. Texas 21 - Arkansas St. 13.

I wonder if the fair-weather UT fan above is ready to abandon his 'Horns after this stinker? Needless to say the mood at the 40 Acres was somber Saturday and Sunday. I went to the LBJ library on Sunday and passed by the practice field. The 'horns were practicing and a big "practice closed to the public" sign was hanging on the fence. Next week is TCU. The Horn's better be prepared.

3. Oregon 48 - UH 27.

So begins the post-Kevin Kolb era in Cougar football. The more things change the more they stay the same. Turnovers have always been a problem for the undisciplined Coogs. This year is no different. It'd also be nice to see the team field a defense could stop a Championship sub-division team, much less a good Bowl sub-division team. Until they prove differently UH is going to remain just on the outside of the National conversation. They've gotten all of the free press they can from Briles' "no playbook" offense, now they have to start winning some games against good-non CUSA teams if they want to be taken seriously.

Quick: name a good team from a major conference that the Cougars have beaten since Briles took over.

4. Nicholls State 16 - Rice 14.

In my pre-season write up I had Rice at 4 wins. That might be 4 too many.


Quick hitters:

Tech 49 - SMU 9: Mike Leach's offense does good again versus lesser competition, can he beat the big boys? (prediction: no)

Oklahoma 79 - UNT 10: How in the world did they ever score 10? Stoops could have pulled students out of the stands and still beaten this team by 30. Welcome to College ball coach Dodge.

LSU 45 - MSU 0: The best defense in College football doesn't do anything to convince me otherwise. The offense will hit its stride.

aTm 38 - Montana St 7: Solid opening effort by the Ags. Wait until the schedule stiffens to see how good they really are.

USC 38 - Idaho 10: Not the thrashing that some predicted, but the Men of Troy did enough to keep that #1 ranking. How about that catch?

Cal 45 - Tennessee 31: Cal wins the battle of the two most overrated teams in the top 25 not named Michigan or Florida State thus ensuring that the 'hype' surrounding their matchup with USC will continue on ESPN ad nauseum.

Clemson 24 - Florida St 18: Bowden Bowl VIII may be the last of its kind if Bobby Bowden doesn't have better assistants this time around. It can't get much more painfully obvious that he's not involved AT ALL with the coaching. Look up "figurehead" in the dictionary.

Back from Austin (some thoughts)

Well, I'm back. (with apologies to Tolkien for riffing his line.)

Two things always strike me about Austin when I spend time there. One, you walk where you need to go in Austin for the most part. This is because the downtown area is so compact. Two, things are slower in Austin, including the drivers. Not that I minded. After living in the hectic, rush-around world of Houston I actually enjoy getting to spend some time living life at a less frenetic pace. It's also a nice way to burn off all of the calories from all of the food that you eat while there.

Here are some of the things we did while there, my thoughts on them, and how I think they relate to Houston....

1. The Texas State Capitol - If you're not proud to be a citizen of Texas, then you haven't spent any time at all in the State Capitol, you haven't stood in the rotunda and looked up at the big star, and you haven't seen the flag hanging in the House chamber. Sure, you might disagree with the politics of the current leadership, but Texas has survived worse in the past and it will get through these rough times.

2. The Round Rock Express - The season is over now, but next year, if you're growing weary of Major League baseball and all of its faults, do yourself a favor and go check out one of the games in the farm system. Yes we had to endure the travesty that is Jason Lane, but watching the entire staff get out on the field to fix the damage caused by a two hour rain delay, and watching the fans cheer them on so they could see baseball, reminded us how engrained in our society baseball really is. (unfortunately, the cupboard is really THAT bare and the Express lost. No matter.)

3. Eat at Kerbey Lane. - Cheap plug I know, but if you want real food that best illustrates what Austin is, then stop by Kerbey Lane and chow down. I recommend the seasonal specials.

4. Saturday Breakfast at the Austin Farmers Market. - Houston is getting there, but if you REALLY want to enjoy a Saturday morning, head over to the Austin version of the farmer's market and feast on chocolate, root beer, breakfast tacos, tamales, empenadas, and a host of baked goods, quiches and other goodies. Get a Jim-Jim's Water ice from Jim-jim, plop down at one of the camping tables under the tent, and listen to the live music of the day while laughing at the LaRouche Democrats peddling their literature.

5. Sixth street and the smoking ban. - I mention this because Houston is currently thrashing its way through its own smoking ban with much complaining. In Austin, there's enough of a bar community to get through the ban with most bars remaining unscathed. What I noticed was that the smokers would get up, go outside and light up, then come back in when finished and there drinks (and tables) would still be there waiting for them. I'm not sure if this unwritten civility rule will establish itself in Houston, but I'm betting that it won't. Especially with the propensity of Houston clubs to collect high door charges to ensure a minimum profitability. Add to that the fact that the Houston music scene isn't very strong, and I think you have a recipe for club disaster here. On the bright side, Carol Alvarado has a Mayoral campaign success story to counterbalance all of those nagging negatives.