Articles Archives - Page 18 of 678

Those boondoggles-that-aren’t take a financial bite as well

December 27, 2013 Cory Crow

In late 2010 the University of Houston-Downtown admitted defeat in an ill-fated attempt at a name change that captured neither the public’s attention, nor the support of much of the student body. The Houston Chronicle had some

Houston: An unevenly regulated mess whose elected leaders have forgotten basic services

December 23, 2013 Cory Crow

On a recent business trip to Denver the rental car company messed up and assigned me a minivan with no GPS system to guide me around town. As a result of this mix-up, with an

The Chronicle editorial board writes the funniest things

December 20, 2013 Kevin Whited

The Houston Chronicle editorial board has been churning out some (unintentionally) funny stuff this week. On Wednesday, the editorialists examined “challenges” facing the City of Houston. They note that long-range pensions remain problematic for many

What ever happened to METRO’s CEO search?

December 17, 2013 Kevin Whited

Roughly one year ago, disgraced METRO President/CEO George Greanias announced that he would be leaving the transit agency. Greanias had previously been involved in an adolescent-gay-porn-watching scandal using METRO resources, which had, no doubt, hurt

ExxonMobil’s 2014 annual long term energy outlook and what it means for Houston

December 16, 2013 Neal Meyer

This past week, a friend of mine who happens to be a stockbroker dropped me an email with a link. The link led to a press release from ExxonMobil that contained the energy giant’s annual

A Houston-area apartment renter and mother asks: “Where is my apartment door?”

December 9, 2013 Neal Meyer

Poor apartment renter asks: Where is the father of your kids? In the Sunday, December 8th 2013 fish wrap edition of the Houston Chronicle, the editors ran a front-page story featuring a 27 year old

Week in Review (12/08/2013 edition)

December 8, 2013 Kevin Whited

We’re continuing with a “Week in Review” post to highlight news and such from the week with links (and sometimes commentary). It may or may not become a regular feature. *** This week, the Washington

Hoffman: City officials inflated Thanksgiving parade numbers

December 7, 2013 Kevin Whited

Earlier in the week, Houston Chronicle columnist Ken Hoffman took exception to the City of Houston’s contention that some 250,000 people lined the streets for the Thanksgiving parade: I asked a city official, where did

Latest Astrodome redevelopment dreams: A $100+ million fitness center!

December 5, 2013 Kevin Whited

Remember how county “leaders” all but promised that a vote against their preferred Astrodome Boondoggle Bond would finally lead to the demolition of the liability? The scare tactics failed, of course, but boondoggle dreams die

Re-Imagining: METRO’s new phrase for failing to achieve bus service improvements promised in 2003 referendum

December 4, 2013 Kevin Whited

METRO’s downtown station procurement fiasco was the big story around Thanksgiving, but the METRO board made another significant decision in November that didn’t attract as much attention. Board member Christof Spieler, who is ramrodding NEW