Displaced

Yeah, it's slated to open in 2010. I first saw the sign last month. San Jose Clinic is a sliding-scale clinic now located near the ballbark with (I think) an outlying satellite. This building would consolidate them. Google San Jose Clinic Houston.

Nicolas Lopez, 26, got into an argument with a group of men inside a nightclub in the 600 block of Hadley around 1:30 a.m. when he was stabbed in the chest and abdomen, authorities said. Chron article Would that be Howl at the Moon?

Is that part of Midtown even recognized by the Management District? I always thought their idea of Midtown ends at Main, or maybe Fannin.

Yeah, I think it's good news. I live a few blocks away, and I drive past that block on the way to and from work. I'd much rather see something done for the people on the streets than have them just laying about. Either way reflects our tax dollars at work. One may also reflect good conscience.

Rich's is closing? Cool!

Actually, Musicman, I'd much rather have the homeless 24/7 (which I do) than the Rich's crew. I wouldn't want to be either one, the homeless for their living conditions, the Rich's crew for their smug-assed attitudes. Overall, however, I find the homeless much more civil. I've never called the cops on them. The Rich's crew has me on a first name basis with the evening patrols.

Allow me, as a very local resident, to clear up a thing or two: 1. The street crowd is very much about Search. It was never a good scene, but it has gotten much worse in the past year or so. 2. The Rich's crowd is young, financially secure, and on most nights quite hetero. Spoiled 20-somethings for the most part who soon enough will move to the burbs, vote Republican, and yell at kids to stay the hell off their lawns. But for now they drive in drunk, piss all overy the streets and carry on. They're worse than the homeless, frankly, if you're trying to get some sleep. The "old" Rich's was a much better neighbor.

Yes, Europe has doscovered the auto, but the last place I lived, grocers discovered the shuttle bus. Yeah, a free bus running through high-density areas served by a super. But to forestall your question, no, I don't see anything separating most Houstonians from their autos.

For me the major reasons for not walking to the store are Houston weather and my work hours. I grew up in Manhattan; my mother shopped on foot into her 80s. Everyone did. My brother regularly walks to the super in Seattle. When I've lived overseas I always walked to the store, unless I walked to the open market. Loved it!