01.31.07

a Super Bowl alternative for women

Posted in News at 6:50 am by Paloma Cruz

Thank you, ShopGirl, for giving me an alternative activity for Super Bowl Sunday:

[snip]

The Robbins Bros. jewelry store in Webster will host a party for the ladies on Sunday (Feb. 4) with manicures, champagne, chocolate-covered strawberries and other treats. If football and beer are more your thing, well, they will have that, too. At the end of the night, one woman will win a diamond ring.

That’s certainly something to cheer about.

Details: 4 to 6 p.m. Sunday (Feb. 4). 1251 W. Bay Area Blvd., Webster. 281-316-9933.

01.30.07

is the Houston Hispanic Chamber of Commerce losing its focus?

Posted in News at 11:50 pm by Paloma Cruz

The Houston Chronicle ran a story yesterday that asks the question: is the Houston Hispanic Chamber of Commerce losing its focus?

But since August 2003, when President and Chief Executive Officer Richard Torres stepped down after nearly seven years at the helm, three successors have come and gone.

The most recent chamber head left in September. As the search for a replacement continues, the chamber increasingly is challenged by an upstart organization that has some of the chamber’s own members fearing it has lost sight of its mission.

Membership has stood at around 1,200 for at least the past decade.

The chamber bills itself as the “premier resource for and about the Hispanic business community.” But according to the U.S. Census, Harris County has 62,000 Hispanic-owned businesses.

So, if the Houston Hispanic Chamber of Commerce isn’t serving the other 60,000+ business, who is?

Some of these enterprises are opting to join an alternate chamber with a notably Spanish name, Cámara de Empresarios Latinos de Houston, founded just 12 years ago.

It conducts its affairs in the immigrant-friendly language and may be more grounded in the Hispanic business community, circa 2007.

Since I’m not a member of either, I can’t really say if anything in the article is on target (about which organization is serving Hispanic businesses better). I am, however, glad that there are options.

01.25.07

cross-posting

Posted in News at 12:00 am by Paloma Cruz

A round-up of recent links and posts throughout PalomaCruz.com:

01.24.07

state of the city

Posted in General at 11:44 pm by Paloma Cruz

Another topic I’m not going to write about. But I will point you to some resources and places to read about it:

n-word in the news

Posted in General at 11:41 pm by Paloma Cruz

I’m not going to write about this. I will leave that to Under the News, where the topic is covered very well.

Mayor wants Brazoria to outlaw the ‘n-word’
He says small town should fine ‘offensive’ uses of the racial slur
– reported by the Houston Chronicle

Brazoria Mayor Ken Corley wants offensive use of the “n-word” to be punishable by a fine of up to $500 in his town.

“It’s not a particular problem in Brazoria,” Corley said, “but it’s a national problem.”

[snip]

He said if the ordinance passes, he may ask for it to be expanded to include other racial slurs.

He believes Brazoria would be the first place in the country where the racial slur would be outlawed. But at least one legal expert said Monday that such an ordinance may not stand up in court.

The ordinance wouldn’t forbid anyone from saying the word, Corley said, but would outlaw using the word in an offensive or aggressive manner. Violators would be charged with disturbing the peace, he said.

[snip]

Maria Todd has been found

Posted in News at 10:47 pm by Paloma Cruz

For all the Maria Todd fans, she’s started work on 99.7-FM KFRC in San Francisco. From A+E Interactive:

The Bay’s new adult hip-hopping station, 99.7-FM KFRC, now called “Movin’ 99.7, has hired Baltazar, from New York, as its morning man. His partner will be Maria Todd from Houston.

Their show starts Thursday. I’ll give you some of the bio that just crossed the wires, and try to hook up an interview for next column.

[snip]

I’m sorry that she’s not going to surface in Houston.

(Found via mikemcguff.)

01.19.07

good design, as part of your life

Posted in General at 10:56 pm by Paloma Cruz

A new lecture series at the Rice Design Alliance invites everyone to see “how good but affordable design has changed not just what we buy, but what we have come to expect from new products.” Admittedly, I’ve already missed the first one, but I think it might be worth it to take in the rest.

Found via the Houston Chronicle:

Lecture examines good design and consumer expectations

Remember life before Target?

When most of us couldn’t afford Michael Graves teapots with whimsical spouts. When designer clothes by Isaac Mizrahi had designer price tags. When cute but cheap kitchen utensils and snazzy, low-cost lamps were way too hard to find, particularly in the same store.

Over the past 10 or 15 years, design arrived in mainstream America. It came courtesy of Target, IKEA, and other companies that work hard to keep costs low and creativity high.

A lecture series at the Rice Design Alliance, running Wednesday evenings from Jan. 17 to Feb. 7, takes a look at this mass-market phenomenon. The former design director of IKEA, along with principal players from Wallpaper magazine, Michael Graves Design Group and Nike, will discuss how good but affordable design has changed not just what we buy, but what we have come to expect from new products.

[snip]

Design Goes Mainstream

What: Lecture series sponsored by Rice Design Alliance

When and Who: 7 p.m. Wednesdays, Jan. 17-Feb. 7

  • Suzanne Trocmé, special projects editor, Wallpaper magazine, Jan. 17
  • Donald Strum, partner, Michael Graves Design Group, Jan. 24
  • Lars Engman, University College director, HDK, School of Design and Crafts at Göteborg, formerly design director of IKEA, Jan. 31
  • Byron Merritt, creative director for Consumer Experience, Nike Global Brand Design, formerly practice leader of IDEO, Feb. 7

Where: Brown Auditorium, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, 1001 Bissonnet (enter via the Main Street door)

Cost: For series: $30; $20 RDA, MFAH members; $15 seniors; $10 students with ID. Single tickets: $10; $7 RDA, MFAH members; $5 seniors; $3 students with ID.

Information: 713-348-4876

will Texas require seatbelts on buses?

Posted in News at 6:50 am by Paloma Cruz

The Texas State Legislature is considering making seatbelts mandatory on school buses. This is a move to make buses safer for children. However, the bills being considered don’t mention where the cash-strapped school districts would find the funds to make the needed upgrades (if the bills passed). In my opinion, this is important information to have.

Opinions differ on seat belts
Bay Area school districts have varying thoughts on need for restraints on buses
– reported by the Houston Chronicle

School districts in Galveston County are closely monitoring three bills filed in the state Legislature that would require seat belts in school buses.

A House bill filed by Rep. Allan Ritter, D-Nederland, and a Senate bill by Sen. Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo, would mandate that all school buses acquired by school districts after Sept. 1 have lap-shoulder seat belts for each passenger, including the driver.

Another House bill filed by Rep. Mike Hamilton, R-Mauriceville, would require each school bus purchased by school districts after Sept. 1, 2008, to have seat belts. It would also mandate seat belts for each school bus operated by or contracted by a school district after Sept. 1, 2017.

The Galveston school district already has ordered three buses with the lap-shoulder seat belts, which should arrive in July, and the devices will be on all future buses it purchases, district spokeswoman Christine Hopkins said.

Purchasing the buses with seat belts cost approximately $24,000 more and the vehicles have a one-third less seating capacity, said Arnold Proctor, the Galveston district’s assistant superintendent for business and operations.

[snip]

I don’t have children, so I have to confess that I didn’t know that buses aren’t already equipped with seatbelts. Silly me.

01.18.07

Houston preservationists using YouTube to get the message out

Posted in News at 6:47 am by Paloma Cruz

Proof that others are using Web 2.0 technology to make an impact.

Group trying to preserve old Sixth Ward character posts front-porch testimonials on YouTube.com
Click, sit and stay awhile
– reported by the Houston Chronicle

Leaders of one of Houston’s oldest neighborhoods, developed long before cars, paved roads or utility poles became part of the urban landscape, are using 21st century technology in their struggle to preserve a dwindling number of Victorian-era houses.

A series of YouTube.com videos features homeowner testimonials about the need to preserve the character of the area just west of downtown, which is listed on federal and local historic registries.

Posting the videos was an act of “creative desperation” after activists waited almost a year for city officials to help them create land-use regulations through the neighborhood’s Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone, or TIRZ, said Larissa Lindsay, president of the Old Sixth Ward Neighborhood Association.

[snip]

I may get an account just to see these videos. If any of you have viewed them already, let me know what you thought.

How to access:

01.17.07

Rodeo time

Posted in News at 12:34 am by Paloma Cruz

The Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo has announced its 2007 lineup. From the Houston Chronicle’s Handstamp, here’s the list of can’t-miss performers:

Visit the rodeo site for more information on tickets.

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