[WB1] A diverse political group says it has gathered enough signatures to put a charter amendment that would allow three councilmembers to add an item to the weekly City Council agenda up for a vote. Under the current system, the mayor has much greater control of the agenda. It’s not clear that this move will actually result in many more challenges of mayoral authority, as the mayor will still retain plenty of power to encourage councilmembers to get in line (or suffer). Unsurprisingly, Mayor Sylvester Turner says the move would create “undue chaos” and “dysfunction.”
[WB2] Texas Monthly highlights residents of the Third Ward who, some six weeks after Texas Freeze-ageddon, still do not have running water, thanks in part to slumlords like J. Brad Batteau (who has run for City Council multiple times) and lack of resources. Now that Texas Monthly has taken up the cause and started asking questions, it appears that both Mayor Turner and Councilmember Carolyn Evans-Shabazz have taken an interest in the matter. Remarkable.
[WB3] Elsewhere in the Houston area, private investors are snapping up single-family homes, driving up prices and creating the potential for a big real-estate bubble. Toss in the fact that Houston’s leading industry (oil and gas) is under attack from political forces (Democrats) as well as market forces AND the City of Houston is already facing a host of challenges (noted here), and the danger of that bubble popping – disastrously – is real. Detroit, anyone?
[WB4] The ongoing criminal justice crisis that has emerged under Democratic control of Harris County government, courts, and the DA’s office is one of those potential bubble poppers, though the people in control don’t like it when people say that.
[WB5] Interestingly, a full year of STAY HOME STAY SAFE alarmism can result in businesses that some people like going out of business. At least our local elected officials didn’t punish citizens by punitively closing the parks for Easter this year. Madness.
[WB6] Indeed, one major source of alarmism seems to be coming to grips with greatly improved COVID numbers in the state, noting that many businesses are stressing staff vaccinations so that customers can ditch the masks that we’ve all been wearing for so long. Progress!
[WB7] A KTRK reporter tweets that a sandwich named after COVID alarmist-academic Peter Hotez is overpriced, small, inauthentic, but means well. Perfect.
[WB8] A Chronicle columnist is apparently confused as to why anyone should have to register to vote. Bizarre.
[WB9] A Kinder report notes that City of Houston officials created a great deal of confusion with a poorly communicated (not to mention poorly named) “Slow Streets” pilot program. The premise behind the pilot was to reduce speeding, cut-through traffic, which makes neighborhoods far less safe for residents (especially children) given the typical behavior of Houston drivers. In reality, neighborhoods would never be built today with the cut-throughs that exist in many neighborhoods (like my own), and many Houstonians (like myself) would like to find ways to improve these established neighborhoods, which would benefit all. The Larchmont subdivision near the Galleria is a great example of how limiting cut-through traffic access can really improve an established neighborhood. Here’s hoping the City can learn from its (flawed) pilot and move this initiative forward.
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