GovernorAggie

I agree with the idea of using it for MLS. San Antonio looks to be attracting big attention from MLS--to play in the Alamodome. At the same time, the idea of an observation tower at the Dome and several shops, etc. could work well and add to the area being an entertainment district. Just make sure the tower is tall enough to not only see all the skylines, but maybe also see some of the ship channel or bay. Or it could be the world's largest indoor go-kart track! I've never been inside the Dome. Do they still give tours?

I've seen the same warranty signs. I wonder what the deal is.

I still think they will win the series. Just let the road team win all the games in the Rockets' playoff games and the Rockets will win the title this year! Even if they don't win it all, we have gotten a taste of the great things to come for this team. Imagine Yao and T-Mac three years from now. They will have such good chemistry. I plan on taking care of bills, etc. by then in order to buy season tickets for the 2007-2008 season! Is anyone planning on going to any All-Star stuff in February?

Concerning Houston apartment agglomerations vs. zoning-- I think that those groupings would have happened with or without zoning. Case in point--in Charlotte, the eastside is nothing BUT apartments, and most of them are marginal at best. Looking at a map of Charlotte, it would be a triangle formed by US 29, WT Harris Blvd., and US 74, so it's a pretty big chunk of the city. It's so bad that residents all gather at city council meetings for potential rezonings and have quotes in the newspaper talking about how they need no more rental housing. I think that the planning staff is also more leery about rental units in the area now. Now that I think about it, the eastside may be the closest thing Charlotte has to a Sharpstown or a Gulfton--a 50s-60s era suburban area of ranch homes that got overwhelmed with apartments in the 1970s and 80s. In fact, I was looking at an apartment there after I got my bachelor's and the land lady basically told me how "we have to look out for each other" regarding crime and riffraff. So that's a long way of saying that I don't think zoning would have made a difference.

The Block 265 tower seems to fit Houston more to me than the BoTSWT.

Well, I was under the impression from those who drink the Target-is-much-better-than-Walmart-for-urban-development Kool-Aid that this project would have a much better design. It's not much different than the Target development near 290/Barker Cypress. With that said, they must be planning on several restaurants and big-time retailers with the lay-out of the parking.

Yep. County Commuter Rail

The NBA is a game of runs and breaks. Everyone has them. I personally don't like that part of the NBA.

I think that Yao Ming WILL be as legendary as Hakeem. I think people are way to unfair on the guy. Yes he's a giant. Yes he came with much hype (nowhere near the LeBron hype machine). But let's not forget that he is only 24 years old. Looking at the improvements to his game while still playing for China and adjusting to America and the NBA--I'd say that he will be a phenomenal player, and he'll be offering a crow special at his restaurant for his critics (j/k, Yao isn't that kind of person). He averages 18 points, 9 rebounds, and 2 blocks a game. Look at the other 7'4"-plus players in the NBA past and present-- Priest Lauderdale, Manute Bol, Shawn Bradley, Georghe Muresan. Yao may average more than twice the points per game than these four combined. I say give him another 3-5 years and the league will be his for the taking. His low post game will be top notch to match with his great shooting and passing skills. Plus, he already hits his free throws. With the right pieces, the Rockets could be the next perennial title contenders. In 4 years, you'd have a 31-year-old TMac and a 28-year-old Yao. Throw in some others such as Mike James and David Wesley and we could have a fun team to watch for the next few years. BTW, did anyone see the highlight of Yao leading a fast break in Portland a couple weeks ago? If you didn't, Yao was dribbling downcourt, Shareef Abdur-Rahim tried to go for the steal, Yao switched the ball behind his back to his left, then switches back to his right and finishes with a dunk. Pretty normal play for TMac, but seeing a 7'6" guy do it was pretty awesome.

Looking closely, you can see the neon tubing around each of the letters and the logo. Of course, the neon lighting is red.

Maybe something Power of Houston-esque can be back in some form next year for the NBA All Star Game.

That would do it for me.

Yeah, but look at the difference in Houston vs. say DFW or Miami. They have more than one daily, but those areas also have more than one significant node. Houston's structure is similar to Atlanta, and both have only one daily. But then that theory goes to the toilet with a city like Birmingham, AL, which has two daily papers.

On a related note, the Toyota logo on top of Toyota Center lights up at night. I just saw it Saturday for the first time and it was very attractive.

For now they're keeping it, and may still have some very smaller scale things there--if you'll notice, the new place is called Lakewood Church-Central, giving me the impression that the current place wil serve some reduced purpose.

Well I go to Lakewood and the only thing that has bothered IS the location of the current church. Not because of it being in the ghetto (I was raised in a neighborhood just like Settegast), but because of how all the traffic ties up that area on Sundays. I don't think that moving to Compaq is "moving up" so much as it making economic sense. As far a Joel and hanging on for thirty years--he will as long as he doesn't get full of himself. What happened to people like Swaggart and Baker (who are both preaching again, btw) was purely out of the Bible "pride comes before a fall". These people presented an infallible image, while Joel doesn't. I've known people who's main goal in life was to pastor a church and they go to school for it. Joel has done neither--in fact, I think he even dropped out of college. He's also so presentable on TV b/c that's what he did at church before he was pastor. He talks about wearing certain colored suit b/c of how the camera captures it and how the design of the stage was to fit well with TV. When he's talking and has to cough, you see he has the presence of mind to cover his microphone. I see nothing wrong with a practical skill being used to promote a church.

If they're gonna do it, I would rather they do the tunnel idea. For that matter, it may have been better in the long run to even out the current West Loop (that is, make the segments that are on terra firma elevated to match the sections that are overpasses, e.g. over Richmond) and then take that new space opened up and make more lanes under the new "elevated" freeway. The new freeway would be the same height off the ground as the present one at its highest points, but have more lanes underneath. With the current roads that go under the West Loop, just lower their grades underneath the new "ground level" lanes. My thought is that it would operate similarly to the Alaskan Way viaduct in Seattle, maybe with southbound lanes on the upper or current level, and northbound lanes on the new lower or "ground" level. It would be amazingly expensive (my guess is $3-$5 Billion, but that's arbitrary), but that's no biggie. Just let HCTRA toll the new capacity.

Seems to me that if they are going to builf the segments east of 59 to 10, they should do it now, or risk the same resistance that they already have from Spring residents. IMHO, that area will be the next to grow rapidly, especially after the Crosby Freeway extension to Loop 610 is done. They'll market that area the same way Pearland and Manvel and Alvin are marketed--"get downtown in 20 minutes from your quite neighborhood filled with open space surrounded by native Texas forest!!!"

yeah, redlining was outlawed as well as "blockbusting".

I think that BK would be a major bonus if they moved here. It's another big company to move upper level management to the area.

Hey, some of those Starbucks lattes will do you in faster than a Big Mac will.

Amazing.

Wow, those County Commissioners sure have a ton of power--amazing. Maybe I should change my name from GovernorAggie to HarrisCountyJudgeAggie, lol. This just goes back to the point that myself, MaxConcrete, 27 , and others have said to these organizations. Fight for the details--how the road will look, what kind of character will it take on, how it will fit into the neighborhood. Maybe along with trying to make sure that it is built as and stays a PARKway, maybe it could have bridge and wall treatments and designs that represent the area. The highway doesn't definitely have to cut the fabric of the area totally. Maybe it could be a "zipper" instead (I know, I know, bad metaphor). Either way, HCTRA is going to build this thing. Reading the articles make me think of the old Manifest Destiny lessons from U.S. History class. Pineda, I get the same notion that the County is really trying to fast-track the project. That tells me that things were looking more and more like there would have to be a new alignment, adding years to the project and possibly taking it into Montgomery County--giving them the toll dollars instead of Harris. Again, I'd suggest using the zeal that you guys have had for years in preventing the road to now use it for making sure that it fits well with your communities. From what I can tell, the County will build this thing without a whole lot of input sought (we've heard the accounts from people on the southwest side not even knowing the HCTRA was currently building the Fort Bend Tollway extension right near their neighborhoods). So I suggest that you pesture them until they at least give ear to your concerns and desires.

I personally like the idea of a Houston-oriented museum. Houston has a very interesting history, full of a lot of significant events both to the city as well as to the country. There could be displays comparing the "bigness" of Houston (landwise) to other cities, and maybe even a scaled, walk-through model of the city. There could maybe even be a "Houston in transition" type exhibit, with like-like cityscapes of old Houston. There could be an "experience" type exhibit of driving on the Gulf freeway in the 1940s, since it was the first of many that have shaped Houston today.

Hmmm, that TTC in the quote Pineda should be GP. I've made the change in my post.