It’s time to catch up on some Houston news after running around the world-class cities of San Francisco (whose 9 mph cable cars rival the speed of the Danger Train, but whose BART trains run about as fast as our cars on an uncongested freeway) and London (which went underground, because mixing cars and trains is really kind of stupid) over the last week. Here’s what I found interesting in the news and on the local blogs from the last week. Please feel free to add your thoughts in the forum!
- 7 universities pitch case for flagship status (Melissa Ludwig, San Antonio Express News) City leaders and area pols really should unite behind flagship status for UH, which would benefit the region immensely. But given the Aggie/Longhorn parochialism that tends to dominate, it’s probably a lot to hope for.
- Limited building in floodways wins council approval (Mike Snyder, Houston Chronicle) Given the problems with the original Floodway Ready-Fire-Aim! mess, this may not be the last “revision” we see, but it’s a start at least.
- West University Examiner. The West University Examiner and other Houston Community newspapers get a new content management system and new presentation (which includes RSS feeds!). They also get KTRK-13 reporter Miya Shay on the opinion pages. I get the KTRK connection, but all serious print operations ought to rethink the idea of reporters posing as editorialists. It’s not a good one.
- Houston seeks more Kirby right of way (Michael Reed, West University Examiner) Let’s hope the surveying/abstract company that screwed this up so badly isn’t used for important government business in the future.
- Amid complaints, METRO agrees to reroute planned line (Rad Sallee, Houston Chronicle) Will the at-grade choo-choo manage to go faster than 9 mph on the new route, though? Probably not. It’s too bad Sallee couldn’t find a way to include a quote from Robin Holzer or Christof Spieler, though. No Sallee article feels quite right otherwise.
- Homeless decline shows Houston plan works, city told (Mike Snyder, Houston Chronicle) Does anyone really believe these numbers?
- Homeless man stabbed under freeway (KPRC-2 News) We stand corrected. The Mayor can take credit for a reduction in homelessness (but will his handpicked police chief find a way not to categorize it as a homicide?).
- Astrodome hit with code violations (Robert Arnold, KPRC-2 News) Tear it down.
- Houston based God, Inc. (Houston’s Clear Thinkers)
- Houston #4 best large city for business (From Greg’s Head)
- Houston radio stations on the selling blog (Hairballs)
- Another ABC 13 Anchor Vanishes
