It’s your omnibus Monday morning edition of news and views (because why let this stuff die in the weekend media black hole?):
- Metro loses $26 million in ending CAF contract (Michael Reed, Examiner News)
The Metro board announced Friday it has successfully terminated its contract with light-rail provider CAF on a happy note – the transit agency will receive $14 million as a result of the settlement.
Metro had made payments toward the contract of about $40 million between September 2009 and July 2010 without receiving any vehicles.
We supplied a better headline than the reporting news organization (not to single them out — most everyone applied the happy spin) because we don’t think it’s a happy note that “only” $26 million of taxpayer funds were literally thrown away by METRO. That’s a lot of money that won’t be helping improve mobility in Houston — so you can understand why “New” METRO dropped this news on Friday, put some lipstick on the pig, and hoped it would be obscured by Christmas cheer.
- Interview with Gilbert Garcia and Christof Spieler (Off the Kuff)
Please let us know in the comments if you listen to this original citizen journalism (better than blockquoting!) and hear any particularly interesting spin (the poor audio quality is a killer for us). - A Closer Look at Houston's Drainage Fund (Laurie Johnson, KUHF-88.7 News)
Another somewhat misleading headline, since there’s really nothing to look at just yet. But perhaps one day, we will all get to know just what it was a majority of voters approved (besides the massive tax increase, that is). - Sweetheart deals lined up for those leaving port (Chris Moran, Houston Chronicle)
Good work, but stretching a single reporter over the County, Port, and METRO beats seems a bit much. - Angry Democrat blogger strips Peña of tilde (Peggy Fikac, Houston Chronicle)
Several thoughts: 1) “Angry Democrat blogger” seems redundant these days; 2) Why is my newspaper the repository for the thoughts of the Angry Texas Left? 3) Why is Garnet Coleman allowed to call Tea Partiers racists and extremists with no balance from anyone on the right? Shoddy, Chron, even by your (sub)standards of political journalism. - Guess who gave Tom DeLay a fairer shake than . . . (Unca Darrell)
- KTRK 13 Undercover's Wayne Dolcefino says stop copying my work (Mike McGuff)
We posted something about this in the past. - KHOU 11's Mark Greenblatt recalls agency leaking his investigations to competitor (Mike McGuff)
The way METRO’s PR man at the Chron Mike Snyder (and, to a lesser extent, teen columnist Lisa Falkenberg) tried to carry water for METRO and discredit Greenblatt’s reporting as Frank Wilson’s empire crumbled was shameful — but this is how the pro-establishment newspaper rolls all too often. - Parker taking city pension cuts battle to Legislature (Bradley Olson, Houston Chronicle)
How can this be? I remember reading Bill White’s campaign talking points about how he fixed the city’s pensions (made them a “role model”) in a Metroplex paper just a few months ago! - Of Pensions and Balanced Budgets (Harris County Almanac)
- Glad to see Houston has solved its budget woes (Harris County Almanac)
- Sell your dog, become a lobbyist (Harris County Almanac)
- Different but similar (Harris County Almanac)
- Judge: Greater Houston Partnership subject to public information requests, must hand over check register (Steve Miller, Texas Watchdog)
- New city of Houston inspector general says there's 'a place to come' with allegations of wrongdoing (Steve Miller, Texas Watchdog)
- Houston lands two dishes on GQ mag's best list (Alison Cook, 29-95.com)
