It's summertime and the news is all about the beach and coast. Surfside is vanishing. A Galveston family is claiming they own the beach. Our Mother of Mercy Catholic Church in Port Bolivar may yet survive. And the Rosenberg Library makes a post-Ike comeback.
Wednesday July 22
Family says it owns part of the Gulf: Court to decide if a Spanish land grant means the private beach on Galveston [Houston Chronicle] "Unlike other owners of beach-front property, Porretto claimed that deeds issued when Texas was part of Mexico give him ownership of land extending from the Seawall into the Gulf of Mexico, including what the Texas General Land Office says is public beach."
Home market sees glimmer of hope: Median price here hits high of $164,500 for June, but future remains murky [Houston Chronicle]
Bolivar church case stays alive: Fight over property remains in state court [Houston Chronicle]
Monday July 20
EZ Tag keeping track of traffic speeds: TranStar's real-time maps get their info from stickers on your windshield [Houston Chronicle]
EDITORIAL Sylvia's bully pulpit Garcia's platform as NALEO president offers chance to speak out. [Houston Chronicle] "We would likewise encourage Commissioner Garcia to use her bully pulpit to speak up about another matter that she already has identified as a concern for her and for others at the county government level. That is the method of disbursing stimulus dollars chosen by the Obama administration. In Texas, those dollars are all being channeled through the state bureaucracy, Garcia says. Specifically, they are going for projects of the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), leaving no money available for "shovel-ready" projects at the county level."
MASS TRANSIT GROWING PAINS Iconic East End eatery closes: Harrisburg light rail project ends 63-year run of dining in at Lenox Barbecue [Houston Chronicle]
Sunday July 19
Pavilions: Half full or half empty? Retail analysts say the huge project is off to a good start [Houston Chronicle] "Sixty-two percent of the massive Houston Pavilions is leased, and about 50 percent of it is occupied."
Public art sparks private controversy: Investment firm Grubb & Ellis acquires sculpture, but sculptor's niece has mixed feelings about its new homes [Houston Chronicle]
VANISHING SHORELINE Surfside Beach losing battle against erosion: Scientists say encroaching Gulf could wipe out three rows of homes over next 25 years [Houston Chronicle]
Thursday July 16
Theme park for Tomball is in planning stages: Developers aim to have project open in two years [Houston Chronicle] "Grand Texas Tomball will have six activity centers under the theme park's umbrella. Those activities range from ropes courses to pig races to paint-balling to shopping and corporate events. stagecoaches will circle the park and occasionally 'get robbed.'"
West University Place to plant vegetation to shield sewage treatment plant: City staff says work scheduled to begin next week at facility [Houston Chronicle]
Wednesday July 15
Penalties mean profit for polluters [Houston Chronicle] "Very prosperous corporations understand that the fines they will be charged by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality for dumping illegal amounts of pollutants into the air are likely to be much less than they would have to pay to upgrade their equipment and limit their emissions to permitted amounts."
Angry bike riders target Perry Governor's puzzling veto of a popular bicycle safety bill spurs a petition drive [Houston Chronicle] "Perry's veto last month was particularly puzzling because there was no formal opposition to SB 488, which passed the House 142-0 and 26-5 in the Senate. Also, roughly 94 percent of more than 1,000 phone calls, e-mails and letters to Perry's office supported the measure."
Monday July 13
MOVE IT! Grand Parkway plan gets boost from stimulus funds [Houston Chronicle] "But is Segment E "shovel ready"? While the project has completed the necessary environmental review with the Federal Highway Administration, it lacks a necessary permit from the Army Corps of Engineers. The permit allows wetlands to be filled in and is needed before construction can begin. Segment E could involve filling in at least 23 acres of wetlands. There is also the question of two lawsuits that have been filed concerning Segment E and the future development it will enable."
Saturday July 11
EDITORIAL: Signs of change Houston's growing up. And she could be so pretty if only she'd try. [Houston Chronicle]
Starting in September, businesses' new signs - not billboards, but the signs posted at a place of business - will be lower and smaller than those the law currently allows. No longer will new ones sprout atop buildings' roofs. And those eye-scorching LED extravaganzas, the kind that look like XXXL flat-screen TVs, will have to dial their brightness levels down so that they no longer outshine traffic lights.
Over the long haul, those rule changes will amount to a much needed mini-makeover. But (we say this with love) Houston still has a long way to go, and is in danger of looking even worse in the coming years. As the city grows denser, with businesses packed ever tighter together, we're bound to see ever more signs crammed into ever less space. If we don't place more limits on businesses' come-ons to passersby, we'll end up with a windshield view that's all words - EXXON/Walgreen's/HYUNDAI/¡Su trabajo es su credito!/IKEA/MICRO CENTER Netbook PC $299 - and no leaves.
IKE AFTERMATH Island library shakes off salt: Second floor and mezzanine to reopen today in historic venue library: There was no plan to leave site [Houston Chronicle]
