Info, links, news and calendar items from the virtual streets of Houston, Texas.
It’s official, the face and voice of the Houston Independent School District, has resigned effective the end of August 31st. Often criticized for his dealings with the media, mostly by the media itself, he’s leaving to join former HISD staffer Adriana Villarreal in her PR agency.
I’m curious to see who they choose to take his place.
FYI, I think this is Adriana Villarreal’s agency: Orquesta Communications.
Source: the Houston Chronicle’s School Zone blog.
Track open records requests in Houston
The Houston Chronicle’s Houston Politics blog reports that blogHOUSTON has “launched a new forum to let readers post their open-records requests for everyone to read.” Worth watching, even if you aren’t subject to TPIA requests.
Recycle your compact flourescent lights
The Big Green Purse is reporting that the Home Depot is recycling compact fluorescent light bulbs. Good news for those of use who have been using them but were worried about what happens when they have to be replace.
Simply bring in your expired, unbroken CFL bulbs, and give them to the store associate behind the returns desk. The bulbs will be handled by an environmental management company that will coordinate CFL packaging, transportation and recycling to maximize safety and ensure environmental compliance.
Houston is getting a new stadium
Whether you’re a fan or not, sports attracts tourism to Houston and improves national and international perceptions of the city. The Houston Business Journal is reporting that the city of Houston and the Houston Dynamo team are proceeding with a plan to “fund development of a major multi-use sports and recreational project in South Houston adjacent to State Highway 288.”
What kind of stadium?
The complex, on a 100-acre site purchased earlier this year by the city, will include as many as 18 outdoor soccer and athletic fields with natural and artificial turf, plus recreational parks. Part of the facility will house a practice field for use by Dynamo that would include site improvements paid for by the team.The site is bordered by Sims Bayou on the south, Highway 288 to the east and Kirby Drive to the west. The first phase of the project, worth about $10 million and to be completed by the end of 2009, will focus on infrastructure work and construction of 8 athletic fields, as well as an extension of Kirby Drive south to Sims Bayou.
Houston ISD to get pay raises
The Houston Chronicle reports that there’s some good news for teachers of Houston Independent School District. “After some infighting this week, the Houston school board on Thursday unanimously approved a $1.6 billion budget that includes pay raises of at least 3 percent, plus millions more for library books, computers, fine arts programs and principal training.” The good news is that this doesn’t call for a tax-rate increase.
The Houston Business Journal is reporting that things are looking up, or at least they will begin to soon.
The current economic crisis is being driven more by fear than facts and should begin to ease in the second half of 2008, an economic forecaster told a group of executives in Houston on Thursday.[snip]
Source:
Pessimism
The Houston Chronicle recently ran a story about the lack of optimism worldwide1. “The can-do, bootstrap approach embedded in the American psyche is under assault. Eroding it is a dour powerlessness that is chipping away at the country’s sturdy conviction that destiny can be commanded with sheer courage and perseverance.”
Is Houston’s economy slowing down?
According to the Houston Chronicle Houston’s economy is expanding, but is showing some signs that it’s going towards a slowdown1. “The slowdown shows up in key sectors, including construction, manufacturing, retail trade and professional and business services, according to data released Friday by the Texas Workforce Commission.”
Houston is the Best City
Yahoo! Finance named Houston the #1 city in their list of the Best Cities for 2008. “Our approach this year to picking the ten best cities in which to live and work was simple: Look for places with strong economies and abundant jobs, then demand reasonable living costs and plenty of fun things to do. When we ran the numbers, some of the names that popped up made us do a double take at first. So we hit the road to meet movers, shakers and regular folks, experience the ambience and take in the sights.” (Found via Lifehacker.)
Footnotes:
1 = Story found on the Houston Chronicle. Article may expire in a few weeks.
Rain or no rain
Did you know that Texas is in a drought. As I navigate the stormy highways in Houston, it’s news to me.
Juneteenth
Today is Juneteenth. Those of you who want to celebrate can join in at the Miller Outdoor Theatre1. This free celebration starts at 7 p.m.
Best sandwiches in Houston
Looking for a new place to try for lunch or dinner? Mike McGuff has a list of the Best sandwiches in Houston. From a guest blogger, the list is divided between hot sandwiches and cold sandwiches. I’m going to work my way through the list.
Footnotes:
1 = Story found on the Houston Chronicle. Article may expire in a few weeks.
Business Week Online ranks Houston among best places to work, live
– KHOU CBS Channel 111
[snip]Business Week Online named the Bayou City one of the best places in the country to work and live.
Houston tops the list for affordable housing and competitive salaries.
[snip]
Footnotes
1 = may require free registration.
Houston’s Hotel ZaZa named one of world’s top new business hotels
– reported by the Houston Business Journal
Houston’s Hotel Zaza has been named by Fortune magazine as one of the world’s best new hotels for business travelers.
The museum district hotel is one of 33 from around the globe featured in the magazine’s report.
Hotels were selected based on location, decor and amenities
tailored to the business traveler. Only one other Texas hotel, The
Stoneleigh Hotel & Spa in Dallas, made the list, which did not rank
the hotels in order.[snip]
I’ve never been to ZaZa. Must check it out.
Houston ranked No. 34 out of the top 75 of the world’s centers of commerce, according to a recent story in the Houston Business Journal. Last year we ranked 22 out of 50.
What’s the criteria?
Each city’s ranking on the index depends on an assessment of seven
criteria: Legal and political framework; economic stability; ease of
doing business; financial flow; business center; knowledge creation and
information flow; and livability.
Interesting.
OK,may not “the worst,” but a recent article from the Houston Business Journal ranked Houston as the seventh-most congested in the country. Bad news for Dallas, they ranked fifth.
Houston tops list of best cities
– reported by the Houston Business Journal
Houston is the best city in the United States in which to live, work and play, according to Kiplinger’s Personal Finance.The Bayou City — billed by the magazine as the Comeback Kid — ranks No. 1 on the magazine’s Best Cities of 2008 list, which focuses on strong economies, abundant jobs, reasonable living costs and fun things to do.
[snip]