Here are some lunchtime news and views for your consideration:
- Facing key votes, Houston mayor rattles the council (Bradley Olson, Houston Chronicle)
Who ever thought that Annise Parker — a former councilmember and a prominent city official during Bill White’s tenure — would already be suffering such acrimonious relations with Council not quite a year into office?Former Mayor Bill White was a master of Council relations, no doubt because he worked long hours, wasn’t afraid to make numerous phone calls, and often involved perceived ideological opponents heavily in policy formation. We often disagreed with his policy priorities/outcomes, but there is no doubt that he was a master of the process. Mayor Annise Parker would be well advised to follow his lead more, and worry less about the aspirations of potential political opponents (Clutterbuck) or ideological opponents (Sullivan). A mayor strong enough to involve councilmembers in policy and move an agenda consistently will be pretty formidable when election time rolls around. Bill White proved that.
- Fight brews at Houston City Hall over budget, furloughs (KHOU-11 News)
“We’ve been focusing on finding the efficiencies,” Mayor Annise Parker said. “Now we’re down to what we can do to plug the hole.”
This is “focusing?” Really? Interesting.
- City Hall Drama (Camposcommunications’s Blog)
First of all let me say that my pal CM Anne Clutterbuck, who resigned as Mayor Pro Tem yesterday, was the Mayor’s pick in the first place. My pal CM Mike Sullivan, who is being booted off as Chair of the Redistricting Committee was the Mayor’s original choice without a whole lot of consultation might I say to Chair the Redistricting Committee. These are her picks that are now on the outs. She is the one that tapped these two conservative GOPers for key leadership positions.
Perhaps she thought inclusion was the extent of Bill White’s Council management style. If so, she was badly mistaken.
- Falling Out (Greg's Opinion)
I don’t think anyone expected Annise to be a continuation of Bill White and it’s still a long ways to go before she gets to the Lee Brown level of council discord. But the number of what seems to be avoidable errors is still a bit disconcerting.
Indeed. And during her first year, with much bigger policy problems looming.
- Mayor Parker and HISD Superintendent Grier Propose Possible Cooperative Green Initiatives (Mayor's Office, City of Houston)
Basics like the budget and council relations may be a problem, but at least the Parker Administration is on top of priorities like green initiatives and transgender bathroom usage! - Residents battling neighborhood historic preservation in southeast Houston (Sonia Azad, KTRK-13 News)
Another poorly considered Parker Administration priority continues to cause problems. - DA stays silent at death penalty challenge (Brian Rogers, Houston Chronicle)
Good. The entire charade reminds us of a glorified graduate student boozing session, in which the participants are convinced they are in pursuit of great truths (and become more convinced as the booze flows — in this case, the equivalent is media attention). In reality, normal people just observe stunts like this and continue to lose respect for government and the judicial system. The DA’s office just earned points with people like that. - The 177th's Death Penalty Hearing (Life at the Harris County Criminal Justice Center)
- Harris County voter registration changes causes stir (Shern-Min Chow, KHOU-11 News)
- Metro to cut fare, add stops on Bush Intercontinental shuttle (Chris Moran, Houston Chronicle)
On Jan. 23, the fare will drop to $4.50. Metro plans to close the passenger plaza and instead send the bus to the George R. Brown Convention Center and the downtown Hilton, Doubletree, Hyatt, Marriott, Four Seasons and Crowne Plaza hotels.
The fare reduction and rerouting is a six-month experiment. Metro officials are projecting that the ridership increases and savings from closing down the Pierce plaza will save $350,000 over eight months.
We’re curious what will be done with the Passenger Plaza, how much revenue it has already gobbled up (fresh coffee, flowers, and smartly dressed concierge staff aren’t free after all!), and how much it will cost to extract METRO from it.
Unfortunately, it may simply be too late for this service. The price was too high from the start, and the fact the bus didn’t make any loops to downtown destinations (or to the Med Center) but instead forced a transfer or cab ride hindered its utility for potential customers. That’s too bad, because the alternative (the long slow bus ride through neighborhoods) is poor.
- Museums in the Dome? Local Man Says Yes (Jack Williams, KUHF-88.7 News)
Why is this silly discussion ongoing? Just dynamite the thing already and build a parking lot.
