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Didn't the Republicans control the House and Senate for most of Clinton's Presidency? You're so right, the poor have it so great in this country. Wow, what it must be like... And you're right, healthcare is a privilege in America. Health insurance companies put their own bottom line and their shareholders rights above the lives of human beings by denying treatments or canceling policies when a customer faces expensive medical care. What a privilege it is. I would support tort reform on medical malpractice and some caps, but that is just one of many issues.

I agree that the government is not efficient or good at anything it does...when the people running that government are intent on destroying it. Your rants and tirades fall on deaf ears when the governed are living through the rubble of institutions that were plundered by advocates of your version of 'less government'. You had a 30 year run. It ended with the worst recession since the Depression. People are ready for something else. When your only solution is to go back to the policies that got us in this mess, you are pissing in the wind. You simply cannot advocate for returning to what caused the train wreck and maintain any semblance of credibility. But, then again, I don't think you are concerned about sounding credible anyway.

GOP tells Marksmu to stick it. With hundreds, even thousands, of conservative protesters screaming at town halls for the government to get out of the healthcare business, here comes the GOP promising seniors that they will do everything in their power to ensure that Medicare collapses under its own weight. The party that claims to stand for fiscal restraint has issued a manifesto vowing to oppose any measures intended to reign in wasteful spending in the Medicare program. Presumably, this includes free motorized scooters to people that do not need them, expensive invasive surgery where a non-invasive procedure will do, and, of course, protecting President Bush's giveaway to the drug companies back in 2003. Let's see how many true fiscal conservatives we have reading HAIF. Register your opposition...or support...of wasteful Medicare spending here.

True, but unregulated greed enriches a very few at the expense of the many. Advanced societies recognize this fact, and have enacted laws to limit the exercise of unregulated greed. Theft, fraud, forgery and numerous other economic crimes have been outlawed. The last 30 years has seen many former crimes legalized under the theory that "businessmen" will regulate themselves. While most do, not all do. The 2008 elections and continuing polls of American citizens show that most Americans wish to reign in the most egregious violators. This is not an all or nothing proposition. Some regulation is necessary to encourage those without conscience to conform their behavior to societal norms. Certainly, not all will agree with those regulations. However, the blame for those increased regulations is misplaced. It should not be placed on the citizens who tired of being fleeced by thieves in suits. The blame goes to the thieves in suits for taking advantage of the unregulated markets to enrich themselves unfairly at the expense of others. I have little sympathy for those who cry about the new regulations. They brought it upon themselves. Honest businessmen are still allowed to make a buck. As they say, you made that bed. Lie in it.

A lot of carjackings? I don't think so. There was recently a story about thieves targeting Asian households in New Territory believing they had lots of jewelry and cash. I think they were caught though.

I guess it's problem is it's location - too valuable to remain as is? At least in the eyes of Ashby

TOUCHE! We just bought a house in New Territory. The prison bothers me not one iota. It is far from the worst thing that could be on "the other side of the tracks."

I love the look of the Chinese one: Link Cool, I've never seen it from the backside: Link

The metro tracks in this part of town are split between Fannin and San Jacinto. On the west side of the building, the tracks are right next to it. On the east side, the tracks are separated by a couple lanes of roadway.

I feel that Marmer makes a good point. There's a difference between what one "can" do and what one "should" do. And while this development is probably in the financial best interests of the developers, there's nothing wrong with considering what's best for the community and others affected by it. In this case, it's pretty clear that most of the community does not want this development.

Perhaps it's because they know Medicare is incredibly popular and successful with those covered by the program.

Ashby & Rice University: Together, turning riders into drivers

How many units are there now anyway? Wait... I think I just found it. 67 units there now. So whatever traffic that place generates now, it will be about 3.25 times more with Ashby...

I hardly think shadows are permanent.

lol...wasnt sure wether to give that a negative or a positive...

Haven't been there in a while but it's a fun place to go. Decent BBQ and live music and dancing on weekends if you like country music. It's been around a long time and kind of an institution that everybody should go to at least once.

Sadly, the "thieves in suits" often make their beds with the politicians, which enables them to fleece the populace even more!

For those who are interested: (1) According to TxDoT the new upgraded 1464 will be complete to the Westpark Tollway sometime in September. At that time all of the lanes will be opened. (2) The developer has built a walkway under 1464 so kids (or parents) wanting to go to the rec center will not have to cross over 1464, but can safely cross via a walkway under the road - along the waterway.

When we lived in First Colony, they zoned our little subdivision and the one next to us to schools on the "other side of the tracks" so to say. They tried to rezone another neighboring subdivision to those schools as well, and the parents had an uproar. First Colony, of all places! Just goes to show, you're not safe from this anywhere in FBISD. You just have to make an informed decision and take the chance. I thought Aliana was zoned to Austin High? I would be highly surprised if they rezoned Aliana or anywhere else out of Austin High. Especially if Telfair gets its own high school (though being zoned to Kempner doesn't seem to be hurting sales) and all the New Territory kids get moved out of the Austin High zone and into the new Telfair school.

Yes, this is what happened over at city-data. We were even fussed at for not reporting her sooner for being a troll. Long story short: It was basically found out she had some kind of personal beef with one of the homebuilders out of Florida, who happens to be one of the many builders in Aliana. That's the only connection.

She was clearly lying and not backing up any of her posts! Thats the reason all of her posts were deleted... She has a vendetta, and is starting the same stuff over here!

The posts at City-Data have been deleted, and I haven't seen anything backed up by research. All I see is innuendo.

Or ... maybe Cali~girl is a disgruntled employee of Aliana ... or maybe Cheng ran over Cali~girl's dog ... or ... oh, nevermind.

Cali Girl.... Your stuff is getting old The stuff on City Data has been erased! Do you want that to happen here too?

I thought I read in the Fort Bend Thursday supplemental section in the Chronicle that the prisons in Fort Bend were being reviewed/assessed for their "best and highest" use, which is a code language for "we want them the hell out of the way." I suspect the big developer money is talking loudly and calling for many of the units to be moved west away from most of the new development. The item in the paper specifically mentioned that the Sugar Land Regional Airport wanted the land next to it that is presently occupied by the prison. When we bought in Telfair we weren't fully aware of the long term plans for the airport, but I have heard people "theorizing" that SL leaders want a larger airport where regional jets could land, making SL a much more inviting corporate HQ type area. Then again, I've also heard that FedEx is looking for a hub in the area where they could land jets without being tied up at Intercontinental. I doubt the latter, but suspect the former to be at least partially true.

LOL. I can't believe people are worried about living next to the prison. Your probably still safer then you would be ANYWHERE in Houston.

Finally found site plans and renderings on the web. Seemed like it was too big to upload, so here's the link: http://www.gayledaniel.com/files/706425/Al...%2012.15.06.pdf

I love Hyundai's new styling trend... at least with the front end of the Sonata. I like cares with an aggressive look.

Planning approval or not, I would be amazed if this got built anytime in the immediate future. Financing for projects like this just isn't going to be there for a couple of years. This will leave the neighborhood residents plenty of time to file lawsuits to stop it (as they have indicated they will). I think at some point the developers could give in to the need for immediate cash flow and come up with something a lot more modest and acceptable to the neighborhood.

I have to agree. With the revised plan, they will still get most of the traffic, but without the added benefit of retail within walking distance.

Good point? Of course there is a difference between what one is able to do and what you think one should do. IT DOES NOT MATTER WHO ELSE WANTS THIS DEVELOPMENT OR NOT. THEY CAN BUILD IT AS-OF-RIGHT. How many more pages on this thread do we need with more comments about people commenting on what they think the developer should do or not?

I mean right next to the building. In the picture a few posts up the rail is separated from the building by a couple of lanes of roadway. The rendering shows the rail next to the sidewalk and the building.

Nice pics! Thanks for the update. I wonder what is the ETA on the completion date.

Thanks for your sarcastic recommendation about risk to the owners who, like many of us, could not care less what you think about this. Buckhead can build this as-of-right. End of story. Seriously.

from the story 13 had at 6, sounds like we've gone from developer lawsuit threats against the city to resident lawsuit threats against the developer.

^Thanks - that's what I was figuring. The crux of the issue - it's there, in use (a fairly unique use, at that, for the neighborhood), and would be a tremendous waste to send to the landfill.

Did you think of that one all by yourself?

LOL

I believe Hyndai is a more upmarket brand in various other markets. Somewhat like what Lexus is here. I think the Genesis shows a little bit of what we have been missing. I hear the car is great but I've not read any reviews. Someone here at work has one and they love it. We'll see.

I think when they get to the 39th floor. I also think the floors will start going up faster because they will be smaller.

Yeah its half way up now.

They don't. 8:18

The Webcam is working now...

I like that 2nd shot. Whats the current floor count?

Sure it's not...but your hypothesis is not the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard....the project surprises me, at least Someone needs to get appointed to the Planning Commission....

I'm from the government, and I'm here to help YOU!

Missed it. Did he happen to mention Soylent Green by any chance?

Not sure... but there is no reason to slow down... unless the workers eat too much during lunch.

Maryland Manor used to be a dump, but a fairly cheap dump. Yes, lots of Rice students used to live there. It was extensively remodeled in the mid-90s, seems to be pretty nice now. I would not assume for a moment that those people who live there now, probably grad students, med students, and middle-income-ish retail and office workers, will be able to find 67 similar units in the area. I could be wrong, but I bet I'm not. But, hey, go ahead and tear down a perfectly decent, up-to-date, highly occupied apartment complex, and build something that might not get financing, might not find tenants, and almost no one in the area really wants. That's what property rights at all costs, with a side order of urban density, really means!