When the Texas legislature ended its session, a bill that would have created a $500 million subsidy program for the installation of solar panels died. The Chronicle reported that despite broad bipartisan support for the bill Sylvester Turner killed the solar subsidy using a procedural tactic on the grounds that the twenty-cent fee per month would burden poor people. A few days later Turner flirted with another run for Houston mayor.
Sunday June 7
A Mod gets modernized: Business and pleasure [Houston Chronicle, Lisa Gray] "The Houston Architectural Guide calls them "The Macham Building," and notes they were designed in 1959 by architects Thompson McCleary and Hamilton Brown, who used the larger of the brick boxes as their office."
Woodlands lures top luxury home builder: Toll Brothers to start selling in Creekside Park in late summer [Houston Chronicle] "'We have been studying the Houston market for a long time and have been looking for the right opportunity to enter it,' CEO Robert Toll said in a news release. 'In 2008, Houston was the second-largest building market in the nation.'"
Also reported in this piece:
Residents of Glenbrook Valley worry if they don't do something to preserve the character of their mid-century neighborhood, they could someday be living in the next McMansion central.
About 100 homeowners have signed a petition to designate the neighborhood as a post-World War II historic district.
While Houston is known for its lax preservation ordinances, the designation would give the community some level of protection to maintain its original quality, said Robert Searcy, a real estate agent and Glenbrook Valley resident.
THE TEXAS LEGISLATURE High hopes on solar energy go unfulfilled this session: Lawmakers' failure to pass rebates bill seen as missed chance [Houston Chronicle] "Rep. Sylvester Turner, a Houston Democrat, raised a point about how much low-income consumers would pay to fund the rebate program and used a procedural tactic to delay a vote on the bill until it was too late."
Sprinklers put guv in the hot seat: Siding with the state or with the homebuilders? [Houston Chronicle]
Saturday June 6
Plan would transform isle into ‘Southern belle' of U.S.: Galveston will take up proposal next week to halt western growth, rebuild boulevard: Rebuilding plan would cost about $1 billion [Houston Chronicle] "The city would capitalize on its beaches, historic downtown and housing, and its medical school, linking them with transportation corridors. Seawall Boulevard would be transformed into one of the 'great streets' by slowing traffic and adding a tree-lined divider. A planned Houston-to-Galveston commuter rail line would connect to a revitalized historic Strand downtown area and clean biotech companies clustered around the University of Texas Medical Branch...Galveston Mayor Lyda Ann Thomas embraced the verbal presentation offered after a week of study by the 12 members of the Urban Land Institute, which included the former mayors of Pittsburgh, Penn., and Raleigh, N.C."
Planetarium idea floated for Astrodome: Lee's proposal would leave additional space for other uses [Houston Chronicle] "County Judge Ed Emmett, who had been skeptical of plans to pay for the convention hotel, said he supports the planetarium idea because it focuses on public use. It also would leave space in the facility for other features, such as a gathering space for festivals or concerts. 'My main interest is to turn the Astrodome into something that can be used by the public,' Emmett said. "The question of funding is always going to be an issue, but basically cleaning up the dome and using it as an open space that you put other things into is very different than turning the whole thing into a hotel.'"
SPACE 101 Creating an oasis: Bring the indoors out when designing an airy and intimate backyard lounge [Houston Chronicle] "Even in the heat of summer, Keith Dalhover has a cool space to retreat to - outdoors. The Houston-based interior decorator has created a living area in his backyard that feels both intimate and grand."
Friday June 5
Another take on street art [Houston Chronicle] "As the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston prepares to open an exhibition showcasing its Latin-American art collection, visitors can see its latest acquisition, a street installation by Venezuelan artist Carlos Cruz-Diez, before they set foot in the building. Five crosswalks that connect the museum's central campus have been painted in three color palettes - green and orange, blue and orange, and green and blue, each with a black diagonal - to create "zebra" grids. Viewers trigger the grids' optical effects by walking across them, effectively completing the artwork with their own movement - an effect often found in Cruz-Diez' kinetic works.
State alleges violations by BP Penalties could pass $100 million in Texas City refinery pollution suit penalties: Pattern of violations alleged [Houston Chronicle]
Thursday June 4
Making it easier to catch a train The city's new transit corridors ordinance will offer incentives for developers[Houston Chronicle] "The city's urban transit corridors ordinance, which it began developing in June 2006, is expected to be considered by the City Council in July. It would offer incentives for developers in six light rail corridors to include a 15-foot "pedestrian realm" with broad, unobstructed sidewalks and other features intended to create appealing, walkable environments."
Multilevel interchange at U.S. 90A, Texas 99 proposed: No funding available for $116 million project [Houston Chronicle]
Artist reopens 1.37-square-foot gallery: No Zoning exhibit remains ever-changing [Houston Chronicle] "This isn't the first time Gallery One Three Seven has been open for business. [Sharon] Engelstein, a former Glassell School of Art Core Fellow, built it in 1994 as a 6.5-by-10-by-20-inch model of Texas Gallery to test an idea for a sculpture installation. After talking with fellow Core alum Jeff Elrod, she decided to run it as a real gallery out of her studio at the time, with an Elrod exhibit inaugurating the space."
WOODLAND HEIGHTS Residents fear trees will be butchered by trimming: Center Point says work is necessary to prevent outages [Houston Chronicle] "The contractor working in Woodland Heights, Trees Inc., uses a trimming method known as directional pruning recommended by the U.S. Forest Service and arborists. The method aims to train tree growth away from power lines, Dixon said. 'Proper pruning is not always aesthetically pleasing,' she noted. In a post-Ike report, a Houston task force on electric service reliability has recommended Center Point re-examine its trimming practices to prefer structural pruning, a method that might improve strength of tree limbs, thus reducing the number of weak limbs breaking and damaging power lines."
Woodlands legislation sets changes for Township: Bill aims to ease transition of government [Houston Chronicle] "The bill, sponsored by state Sen. Tommy Williams, R-The Woodlands, and state Rep. Rob Eissler, R-The Woodlands, was the last piece of the puzzle needed to transition the community from one managed by property owner associations to a community-wide special district."
