Category Archives: Houston

Equality, Houston, Houston Politics

HERO Opponents Beg Texas Supreme Court For Repetitive Action

Leave a comment

Apparently the opponents of the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance cannot take “yes” for an answer.  Even after Mayor Annise Parker already agreed that HERO will not be enforced until all matters are settled in court, the anti-equality group is not satisfied in the least.  Here’s the Houston Chronicle’s Mike Morris with more…

Opponents of Houston’s equal rights ordinance have asked the Texas Supreme Court to force the city secretary to certify the signatures on a petition they submitted seeking to trigger a repeal referendum on the law.

Houston’s 14th Court of Appeals denied a similar request on Aug. 15, ruling that the emergency writ of mandamus would have the same result as a favorable ruling in the pending lawsuit opponents filed against the city earlier this month. The plaintiffs, the judges wrote, could appeal after a ruling comes down at the trial court level.

Trial in that case is set for Jan. 19.

The new filing with the Supreme Court, turned in late Tuesday, is similar to the group of conservative pastors and activists’ previous requests. It seeks to have the court force the city to suspend enforcement of the ordinance, to put the ordinance to another vote of the City Council and, if the council does not repeal it, to put the issue before voters.

The case already scheduled for January is seeking a writ of mandamus— a court-ordered directive for the signatures to be certified, and therefore require a referendum.  But the filing to the Texas Supreme Court asks for virtually the same thing, though both sides know the January trial is already pending.

Some may wonder… if the Mayor and the City are already giving HERO haters what they want by suspending enforcement of the ordinance, why is it necessary to keep crying for a court-ordered suspension?  It’s proving to be not only a waste of time for our court system, but as Off the Kuff points out, is surely costing a mountain in legal fees.

The simple answer?  Because politics.

For one thing, the recently ousted Jared Woodfill needs something to do, or else he risks losing all relevance with the political elite.  Parker’s decision to preemptively suspend the law is a special thorn in the opponent’s side because it denies them any possible political win.  If the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance is not in effect, they don’t get to shout from the rooftops that their court order was able to suspend it.  So instead they’re trying for the next best thing… a milk-toast version of victory via paper.  In order to give their cause any hope, they are desperate for something to cling to.

It’s true that anything could happen with the Texas Supreme Court.  They may choose to take the case and push HERO to a referendum.  But even in that event, supporters are the law are ready for the fight… whether it takes place today, in January or years down the line.

See Texpatriate for more analysis on this, including a better explanation of the actual legalese.

Houston, Houston Politics

The ‘Parkstrodome’? Emmett’s New Astrodome Vision

Leave a comment

The flaming hot discussion surrounding Houston’s best known and most neglected landmark was re-kindled today, with Harris County Judge Ed Emmett wielding both match and poker.  Speaking from within the world-famous structure, Emmett unveiled his thoughts on how to utilize the site.  Here’s an excerpt from the ‘proposal’…

Harris County Judge Ed Emmett announced a proposal this afternoon to convert the Harris County Domed Stadium- known worldwide as The Astrodome- into the world’s largest indoor park and recreation center.  Emmett unveiled his proposal from the floor of the Dome, which he described as a realization of Judge Roy Hofheinz’s “vision of the future”.

I believe it is time to put forth a new vision for the future of the Dome.” Emmett said.  “With that in mind, I am suggesting that we explore the concept of creating an indoor park and recreation area inside the Dome for the people of Harris County.”

Kiah Collier of the Houston Chronicle attended Judge Emmet’s press conference, and has a few more details…

Among potential attractions Emmett said he could envision at the domed stadium were a large open green for festivals and other community gatherings, general exercise facilities, an amphitheater, a pavilion for music and other events, and special educational facilities for children, even museums. The Dome also could house permanent or temporary sports facilities, such as an archery range or horseshoe pits, he said.

The term envision here is especially apt, as Judge Emmett offered little in the way of monetary support or statistics for today’s press conference– only that he is exploring the idea with all stakeholders.  Basically, this is nowhere near the level of an actual proposal yet.  We’re still a very long way from creating a ‘Parkstrodome‘ here.

But as ideas go, this one has merit and seems well worth exploration. If Harris County could turn the Astrodome into the world’s largest indoor park, it has potential to become not only a great resource for area citizens, but a fantastic hub for tourists as well.  Still, the eternal question remains… who is willing to pay for it?  Will Houston-area business leaders step up to the plate the way they have done for projects like Discovery Green?    For this latest idea to be feasible, that’s what it’s going to take.

Houston and Harris County have a rare opportunity with the Astrodome.  It’s one of the most well-known structures in the state of Texas, and has enough historical/sentimental significance to justify virtually any public, or semi-public use we could assign to it. Though true that the Dome is currently in a rough state, there is still great potential to create a site worthy of its stature.  Let’s not waste this opportunity.

 

Houston

No More ‘Daily’ for University of Houston’s Newspaper

Leave a comment

Yesterday for the 87th time, the Houston metropolitan area’s largest institution of higher education began a new school year.  Some traditions remained constant, like the sea of students swarming between campus buildings, the long lines snaking around the campus bookstore and the confused look of new, disoriented faces trying to navigate an unfamiliar maze of learning.

But at the university’s main student publication, there is a sign of the times.  The University of Houston’s Daily Cougar has reformed itself into The Cougar, and has fully transitioned to daily digital publication, and will appear weekly in print.  Here’s more from Cara Smith, Editor-In-Chief…

In 1928, The Cougar became Houston Junior College’s  student publication, to later become a daily publication. After roughly 50 years of tirelessly serving the UH community, The Daily Cougar is no more, as you’ll notice our masthead is 33 percent smaller and 100 percent different. It’s 2014, and there’s a new tradition to get excited about—the return of The Cougar, and the first year of what this has all been building up to.

[…]

The switch from operating as a daily print paper to a print weekly, digital daily publication has been in the pipeline for a couple years now. In large part, it’s a result of changing trends in how readers gather and process news. We’ve completely overhauled both our print and web products, both of which will report on the news as well as the kind of news you care about in creative and compelling formats. Be sure to bookmark thedailycougar.com on your browser, as we’ll still be delivering high-quality content seven days a week.

As the Houston Chronicle points out, this transfiguration of newspapers shouldn’t be a surprise, as it is taking place across the country at all levels of publication.  These are students after all… one has to assume that their experience with news is already more in line with The Cougar than its past predecessor.  If you are reading this, the same can probably be said for you.

Change is always difficult, but as long as there is an outlet to foster good journalism and writing at the University of Houston, the community will soldier forth. I for one will continue to hold The Cougar as a predominant news source for UH, and the Alumni network.

Houston

Crane Insane: Downtown Houston Construction Update

Leave a comment

By now, most Houstonians are used to seeing the occasional crane in downtown, and even more so in the Texas Medical Center. There is always something being built anew in the Bayou City these days.

But as we enter the latter part of 2014, Downtown construction is about to go from a small group of projects to insane with cranes. This rapid growth, the largest growth spurt seen in Houston since the 1980s, will also have it’s fair share of growing pains. As Swamplot reports, traffic can get tricky…

IF YOU’RE wondering what the late-night traffic holdup is in and around Main St. and Texas Ave. over the weekend, here’s your explainer: 180 mixing trucks are going to be lining up to pour a continuous stream of concrete onto this site surrounded by Main, Texas, Fannin, and Capitol streets downtown, where D.E. Harvey builders is putting together a little office building — now slated to rise 48 stories — for the Hines CalPERS Green development fund. The action starts at 7 pm on Saturday and should finish up around 3 in the afternoon the next day.

Weekend street closures are just the beginning. If you are a frequent visitor to downtown, start planning some alternate routes now. By the fourth quarter of 2014, downtown should see 15 simultaneous projects (possibly more) entering the high construction phase. That translates to a lot of blocked streets!

The motivation behind the copious construction is in part due to the business community’s self-imposed deadline of having a new and different downtown by the 2017 Super Bowl. Hopefully everything can get done by then, but for the meantime, Houstonians are definitely going to notice the changes.

Here are some pictures of the 609 Main construction this weekend, along with a preview of the coming rail stations…

image

Here is the crane base for 609 Main 

image

A view of the assembly crane (needed to construct the primary cranes) with a second project crane in the background.

image

Some projects will be completed this year, like the Houston MetroRail expansion. Here is a view of Central Station for the Green and Purple Line. 

image

Here is the Main Street portion of Central Station. Houston’s new rail transit services should start in December 2014

 

 

 

Equality, Houston, Houston Politics

Houston Equal Rights Ordinance Won’t See 2014 Ballot

Leave a comment

After dropping a temporary restraining order, a State District Judge has set the all important court date for the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance.  As a result, Houstonians will not be voting on HERO in 2014.  Here’s the story from Mike Morris of the Houston Chronicle…

Opponents of Houston’s equal rights ordinance dropped their request for a temporary injunction Friday that could have triggered a repeal referendum this November.

Now, their lawsuit against the city is scheduled to be heard Jan. 19, 2015, a trial date ordinance opponents called “expedited” and among the reasons they agreed to withdraw the request. For the city, though, the withdrawal marks a victory in what could be a lengthy legal battle.

The injunction sought by the ordinance foes would have forced City Secretary Anna Russell to certify their petition and sent the issue to an emergency city council vote in order to get the repeal referendum on the November ballot. The group of conservative pastors and activists was also asking the city to suspend enforcement of the ordinance, though Mayor Annise Parker had already agreed to do so until a ruling is issued.

The expeditious trial date is welcome by supporters and opponents, because in the case of HERO, all parties want answers as soon as we can get them.  By Parker’s order, the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance is still not in effect because of the anticipated legal drama, and the longer we wait to enact the law is the longer that Houstonians have to endure city-sanctioned discrimination.

But at least for now, both sides can plan their actions accordingly, knowing that they do not have to wage an aggressive ballot campaign for this November.  However, there is still a possibility that the signatures could be ruled valid and HERO would then come up for a referendum in 2015… a scenario that many municipal candidates are not excited about.

Many have debated on which year would be best to have a HERO referendum, and depending on the circumstances it could be won or lost in either 2014 or 2015. The 2014 ballot would yield higher turnout than the municipal-only contest next year. But given that it’s solely a City of Houston measure, supporters of HERO are cautious, but confident they could win in any scenario. After all, this is the same electorate that supported Mayor Parker in three mayoral elections (nine if you count back to her Council Member days), even after enacting a similar non discrimination Executive Order in 2010. Any way you see it, Houston voters have shown that they support the principles of equality and fairness, which is unlikely to change.

Off the Kuff and Texpatriate have more.

Houston, Houston Politics

Examining Houston METRO’s ‘Reimagined’ Flex Zones

3 Comments

Throughout the summer, the Metropolitan Transit Authority (aka METRO) has been meeting with communities to provide information about the new system reimagining plan. In most cases, the plans have been well-received, and left citizens hopeful that they will see vast improvements in service.

This was certainly the case for a meeting that I attended on July 17th at the Third Ward Multi-Services Center.  Residents mostly listened, and had questions specifically about how the changes would affect their specific travel needs.  Not surprisingly, Flex service was mentioned very little by the METRO representatives, save for questions which I asked after the presentation.  Basically at this point, METRO is not sure how all aspects of the Flex implementation will go.

For starters, there are some questions about the justification for Flex service, especially regarding the 52 Hirsch route.  When combined with its southern counterpart the 52 Scott, this bus service is one of the 10 highest-performing routes in METRO’s current system.  52 Scott does indeed have higher ridership than Hirsch, but between FY 2013 and FY 2014, Hirsch’s ridership actually increased by 3.6 percent, while Scott decreased 0.9 percent.  For a route in what METRO refers to as “an area of declining ridership”, 52 Hirsch is bucking the trend.

Where METRO has seen growth potential with its fixed route services, especially that are already high-ridership, the system reimagining either leaves those routes entirely in place (ex: the 82 becoming the 8), or modifies them with close alternatives centered around major thoroughfares.  But this is simply not the case with the 52 Hirsch… a high ridership route that has been greatly reduced with the Flex system.  Where the 52 Hirsch used to run every 15 to 20 minutes during weekday service, that run time will now be cut back to once an hour.

When I asked the METRO representatives how they could justify such substantial cuts on a high-performing route, they actually questioned their own ridership data about the 52 Hirsch, saying it was probably erroneous due to bus driver entering and exiting the bus at layovers.  Texas Leftist asked METRO board member Christoff Spieler about the disparity via Twitter, but has yet to receive a response.

Beyond the one issue with the 52, it’s just important for communities in the Flex areas to understand that their public transit service will change drastically.  What was once predictable, even if sparse fixed route service will now be replaced by this new hybrid system.  To get a visual of how these changes look, I turn to the transit blog HoustonOnTheGo, which has done some stellar work discussing the proposed Flex Zones, and their potential impact on affected areas. These maps originate from HoustonOnTheGo, but were combined them into a side-by-side comparison.  On the left shows bus coverage before reimagining (overlaid with the Flex Zones), and on the right shows coverage under the proposed changes.  Be sure to view the original work, which includes information about all of the Flex Zones.

Flex corridor northeast changes

 

Under system reimagining, fixed route services will be lost.  

 

 

In some cases, citizens will now be forced to walk several miles if they want to reach fixed route service in the system, and are must follow procedures similar to the mostly home-bound customers that use MetroLift… a call-in service.

To be fair to METRO, they do distinguish Flex from MetroLift in a couple of very important ways.  First unlike a MetroLift van, Flex vehicles would stay in a relatively small service area, therefore giving them the ability to respond to call-in requests in a much faster time frame.  If a customer requests pick-ups from a Flex driver, they should already be in the area, and therefore available much sooner to provide rides.  Even with this likely scenario, it is still difficult to reason how the Flex call-in service will work with people whose travel needs far outweigh those of a typical MetroLift customer.  If the system gets overwhelmed, does that mean the person just cannot complete their trip at all?

These and other questions still need to be addressed before Flex is implemented.  Let’s hope that METRO is doing all it can to see these issues get resolved.

 

Equality, Houston, Houston Politics, Politics, Texas Politics

Texoblogosphere: Week of August 11th

Leave a comment

The Texas Progressive Alliance is glad to live in an age where we can zap political ads on TV if we want to as it brings you this week’s roundup.

Off the Kuff wonders why AG Greg Abbott didn’t just have his own lawyers testify in the latest lawsuit against HB2 given how much they coached their witnesses.

Libby Shaw at Texas Kaos is very disturbed to learn Greg Abbott”s rulings and decisions demonstrate a pattern of his support for abusers vs. their victims. Corporate Marionette Greg Abbott Seems to Enjoy Punishing Victims.

Glenn Hager, Tea Party candidate for Texas Comptroller, was caught in the act. Bay Area Houston has the video.

After being told all summer that “nobody pays attention until Labor Day”, PDiddie at Brains and Eggs had to wonder if we had suddenly jumped ahead a month on the calendar.

What’s this about voter fraud? CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme wants all of the reality-based people to know that voter id does nothing to stop fraudulent absentee ballot procedures.

Texas Leftist shares the truth about Medicaid expansion. Right now, Texas taxpayers are subsidizing healthcare benefits for other states, while millions of our people suffer without health insurance. Also make sure to check out Wayne’s guest column in CultureMap discussing the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance.

===============

And here are some posts of interest from other Texas blogs.

Texas Watch points you to a resource to tell how safe your hospital is.

LGBTQ Insider calls the 2014 elections “imperative” for the LGBT community.

Juanita finds a bad use of ta tas.

TransGriot and HOUEquality have news roundups on the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance and the so far failed effort to put an item on the ballot to repeal it.

Lone Star Q lists the 63 Texas legislators that signed on to the Texas Conservative Coalition brief in the same sex marriage appeal, in which they drag out more insulting and discredited arguments to support those made by AG Greg Abbott.

Grits for Breakfast still thinks the Driver Responsibility surcharge should be scrapped.

Lone Star Ma celebrated World Breastfeeding Week.

SciGuy showed us what happens when a spaceship gets close to a comet.

The Highwayman and Unfair Park examine the link between poverty and fatal auto/pedestrian accidents.

 

(photo credit:  Focus- Fort Worth Photography)

Fort Worth skyline