Time to spring forward with some links:
- Windstorm-related work proved profitable for Texas lawmakers – Purva Patel and Lise Olsen, Houston Chronicle
Leave it to the Houston Chronicle to deploy multiple reporters to produce a “watchdog” story that: 1) does not advance the story substantively from the reporting that has already been done by Texas Watchdog over the last few weeks and does not make the documents it obtained available online, 2) does not acknowledge the Texas Watchdog reporting, 3) does not even acknowledge that TWIA reforms are now in the works as a result (in part) of the reporting by Texas Watchdog, which was cited in recent hearings on the troubled agency. Instead of proudly featuring this as a Sunday “exclusive” Page One story, a newspaper with better editors would have spiked this story or insisted it be improved substantially. - Hear ye, hear ye: Public notices regarding public money need to be where we'll see them – in newspapers – Houston Chronicle
As Matt Bramanti describes the editorial, “Houston Chronicle bravely calls for government to seize money from citizens, give it to Houston Chronicle.” - City financially assisting construction of some Houston housing – Chris Moran, Houston Chronicle
Incentivizing market-rate home construction is highly unusual, according to economic development experts.
Highly unusual, or just the latest manifestation of The Houston Way (Parker/Icken edition)?
- Morman laying off 'dozens' of employees – Chron Houston Politics
His predecessor, Sylvia Garcia, spent down Precinct Two’s operating balance from $48 million in 2009 to $22 million last year to $4.6 million at the start of this fiscal year, which started March 1.
Each commissioner is getting just $7.8 million in new operating revenue this fiscal year.
Precinct Two has a $19 million operating budget to cover its expenses, compared to the $31 million Garcia spent to operate the precinct last year.
“I knew from the get-go that, first of all, I was coming into a bloated bureaucracy,” said Morman, who beat Garcia last fall and took office at the start of this year, having campaigned on a platform of limited government. “We were immediately able to identify areas of duplication where we just had too many people for the jobs that we were performing. And then budget issues have forced us to make additional layoffs and cuts.”
All that wasteful and irresponsible spending, and Sylvia Garcia STILL couldn’t buy herself enough support to get re-elected. Ouch!
- METRO flexes muscle, Ampco corrects sign – Big Jolly Politics
- High court denies property owner's suit over University light rail line – Michael Reed, Examiner News
- Marketing Boot Camp for Small Biz Owners – Write on METRO
Another sign that METRO’s PR/marketing department is bloated, and should be significantly scaled back. - ABC13 continues search for Tata in Nigeria – Art Rascon, KTRK-13 News
KTRK sent Art Rascon to Nigeria to “find” Tata? Seriously?? - Ministers, Jackson Lee urge fire suspect to return – Paige Hewitt, Houston Chronicle
We really know that all it will take to find Tata is a Queen Sheila press conference. To return to a theme — why give the Queen media attention for this sort of thing? - Houston Students' Fights Posted Online – Owen Conflenti, KPRC-2
True life Juvenile Fight Club? - The Poop Scoop: Houston Oddities – The Loop Scoop
