2015 - blogHOUSTON

The Montrose / Midtown TIRZ and a kudos to the Houston Chronicle

December 31, 2015 Neal Meyer

Every once in a rare blue moon, perhaps once in a century, the Houston Chronicle editorial board manages to get something right. Amazingly, the Chronicle did in fact manage to pull off this rare feat

Which endorsement will have the most impact?

December 11, 2015 Kevin Whited

The Bill King campaign secured perhaps the most important endorsement of the mayoral race just before Thanksgiving: Mattress Mack is well known among Houstonians, of course, and well regarded. His “save you money” schtick works

Houston Area Leadership Vacuum: Things New Urbanists Like

October 11, 2015 Cory Crow

In New Urbanist language, there are things that are “good” (mass-transit, density, local control [when their inner-city, suburban modeled neighborhoods are threatened], sidewalk cafes and Tesla) then there are things that are “bad” (people choosing

Tory Gattis debunks recent New Urbanist Houston memes

October 11, 2015 Kevin Whited

Tory Gattis has done excellent work in recent weeks debunking a couple of memes that have been making the rounds among what we often call the local “Houtopian” class (the New Urbanist types who are

Why did the Parker Administration fire the City’s top pension expert?

September 14, 2015 Kevin Whited

In late August, the Houston Business Journal ran a story that suggests Houston’s public pensions may be in worse shape than previously reported, due to rosy assumptions about rates of return on investment. That’s news

Annise Parker: Hey big spender…. on downtown Houston

September 2, 2015 Neal Meyer

Two weeks ago, the story broke in the Houston Chronicle that Houston First, a local agency chartered by the City of Houston to run the convention facilities in downtown Houston — the George R. Brown

Bayport Cruise Terminal boondoggle will be empty again

August 11, 2015 Kevin Whited

The Houston Chronicle reports that the Bayport Cruise Terminal is about to be empty again: Less than three years after Port of Houston commissioners authorized millions of dollars in incentives to lure a pair of

KTRK-13: HCC wastes a lot of money

August 10, 2015 Kevin Whited

Texas Supreme Court delivers another stinging rebuke to Parker Administration

July 30, 2015 Kevin Whited

Just over a month ago, the Texas Supreme Court delivered a stinging rebuke to the Parker Administration, holding that Mayor Parker’s handling of the rain tax referendum was deceptive and misleading to voters. Last Friday,

Marking the decennial METRO/Culberson lovefest

July 28, 2015 Kevin Whited

We’ve been busy the first half (or so) of the year — as tends to happen with folks who manage to remain employed in Houston’s energy sector during a major oil price downturn — so