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crunchtastic

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crunchtastic last won the day on June 14 2012

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About crunchtastic

  • Birthday 04/09/1965

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    Eastwood

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  1. Nay to Trader Joe's, Yay to another full-service grocer with meat and seafod counter, full range of produce. Would love to have a dept store again, but preferably Nordstrom. Macys sucks. A sporting goods store. Also, I don't believe there is a dry cleaner in the entire freaking east end. Please, a good dry cleaner and tailor, not the $1.99 War on Cloth that calls itself a dry cleaner. On street level open until 7/8 pm, preferably by the Y.
  2. If Ed Emmett wants to start this charade all over again, that's his prerogative. But like Subdude said up-thread, nothing's going to happen that doesn't align with either Rodeo's or Texans' interests. So, either they pay every dime associated with re-purposing the dome, or not. Voters made it clear they don't want any more public money spend on it. Perhaps the impending shame-fest will convince the two interested parties they need to work together and open their wallets.
  3. I did not make it to the meeting, and am a little surprised that the crowd was predominantly pro GW. I say that because the Eastwood civic association and other neighbors with very close ties to Parker administration are aggressively asking for botanic garden support. Did the garden group present any finanical plan or projections with anything resembling a reasonable picture of how they intend to raise $40 million, annual revenue projections, etc? Because there are some mighty big claims as to jobs creation and investment being thrown around that I just can't believe. Not to mention, what are the terms of the lease? I get it, the city wants to wash its hands of the golf course and are willing to let a friend of the administration with a nice pitch have it, as long as the checks cash. Below is the email I've been asked to sign and send to Council and MAPs office. It is chock full of economic inpact claims that I frankly don't trust. Needless to say I'll be writing my own in order to voice my concerns about the claims comapared to the 'plan'. It almost seems as if we're being strong-armed with the "well, the course is toast no matter what, so you better take this option now" argument. Curious if they spoke at all of the latest status on the overpass that will extend the rail line. When the green line opens later this year it will essentially dead end at Altic; AFAIK there is no date on when the full line will be complete. "Mayor Parker, CM Gallegos and City Council Members: Thank you again for providing us the opportunity to voice our many and varied opinions at the Town hall meeting yesterday. Mr. Icken’s presentation stated the current financial situation perfectly; Gus Wortham Golf Course loses money every year (while Glenbrook actually pays the City) and there are no City dollars available to update/rehab this failing city golf course. The Gus Wortham location is preferred for the Botanic Garden due to its inside the loop location, convergences of I-10, Hwy 45 and Hwy 90/Wayside PLUS the new EastEnd light rail connecting it to the rest of the city. Its location is accessible (within 15 minutes/miles) to 75% of all Houston residents and will have some $50 to $100 million in economic impact for the city as a whole and the EASTEND in particular. All in all, the Gus Wortham location is the BEST, most fiscally responsible location, for the Houston Botanic Garden. Each group, The Houston Botanic Garden and the Friends of Gus Wortham, will soon present their vision for Gus Wortham to you; the options are these… a) The Botanic Garden will bring $40Million in investment directly to the EASTEND The Friends of GW raise $14 Million for the rehab of the golf course Option A has the potential to bring jobs, community and educational outreach, tourism, restaurants, retail—huge economic development to Houston and the EastEndOption B will bring in jobs during the 6-12 month redevelopment period. The Friends must then continue to fundraise to cover any shortfall in the day to day operations of GW There is a third option; the Friends of Gus Wortham win the contract and DON’T raise the contracted $14 million. The EastEnd will have lost the Garden, receive minimal redevelopment for GW and the economic growth promised by both is lost forever. What are the consequences of either party failing to meet their contractual obligation? Mayor Parker and councilmembers, the entire city will support a Houston Botanic Garden; they raised over $300,000 at a two hour luncheon in November 2013 alone. I understand they currently have over $1Million in the bank (without a firm garden location) compared to the Friends of GW who have raised just over $100,000 in five years. I ask you to support a self-sustaining Houston Botanic Garden at Gus Wortham and access for the many, not just the few. Thank you. "
  4. uh oh. maybe some bad juju because of that little cemetery the construction abutted . A buddy of mine at home for lunch on Peden just to the south said the smoke and the smell is horrible. I'd hate to be trapped in a conference room at AIG this afternoon, with everyone coming back from lunch reeking of burning drywall and laminate.
  5. The dome will be toast, and rightly so given the poor option the county is attempting to cram down our throats with its craven tactics. We'll have to schedule our next HAIF Happy Hour for the friday after the election. I'll gladly stand a drink to any HAIFer who wants to wager the dome lives. The most ridic idea yet is that we should pay for this because of possible future casino gambling. What, so we can maybe in the future give Tillman Fertitta another incentive? The vote is not merely to rehab the dome. It is for a potentially endless succession of taxpayer-funded handouts to future tenants....after the initial costs. This is what you will be voting for, not 'just' $8. Hell, if the point is mass- commerical enterprise, we could turn it into a flea market today for a lot less than $200M. Traders Village is so inconvenient to get to, after all. Or how about the awesome comparison to 'repurposing' the Compaq Center. How well, exactly, did we make out on that sweetheart deal to Lakewood after all the sunk costs?
  6. So many of these comments follow the same trajectory: you're pissed that way it's been handled, you wanted so much more in terms of vision, and yet you shrug your shoulders and say "it's only $8 dollars, and the Astrodome history blah blah ginger." You're being played, exactly as they want. The plan is an affront to the architectural and social history of the dome. I'm tired of watching petty fiefdoms squander our money and good intentions.
  7. I can't say I'm guilty about it, but I am frequently mocked for my thing for Jason Statham movies. And yes I watched Expendables 2 the first day it appeared on the Netflix stream. OK a little guilty about that.
  8. I just love how now there's all this 'political clout' and fundraising $$$ and a PAC behind an ad campaign designed to shame residents into voting for their boondoggle. If that's the case there's so much financial support, why does the county need to raise taxes and float another bond? I'm a highly sentimental lifelong Houstonian (born the same day the first game was played in the dome!) and was opposed to the dome's destruction for a long time. But at this point I'm so sick of the old boy politics and lies to get what they wanted all along, I'll be first in line to vote no. No vision, and a flat out refusal to entertain other, viable ideas. F*****Harris County on this. I would gladly accept a tax hike of far more than $8/year for meaningful infrastructure improvements, but not for a structure that makes for a slick brochure but otherwise sits empty more often than not.
  9. hahahaha... According to Redscare it apparently first enters a period of pre-retirement in the Heights, where it builds man-cave garages and takes up bicycling.
  10. I am compelled to cast my guilty pleasure club vote for Rich's. It was so big and new at the time, and the bathrooms always seemed cleaner. Call me high maintenance, but clean matters when doing coke in bathrooms. wow, Boytronic, ditto on that one. Major guilty pleasures of me and my childhood BFF was Yaz and Tones on Tail (Go!) especially when we were getting ready to go out.
  11. Either "Hunky Dory" and "farm to table Thai" in the same phrase is good satire or we're doomed by our own pretentiousness in one square block. I'm putting a bird on it.
  12. John Cusack. Doesn't matter how crappy the movie. And Justin Timberlake. Anything JT. Oh, and Wendy Wiliams. I cannot take my eyes off her. Back in my major punk days, at home I would secretly listen to Motley Cru and Led Zeppelin.
  13. Paintball and an rv park sounds suspiciously like Traders Village expanding. A girl can dream! How cool if there were good rides, plus I can buy puppies, window tint and eat corndogs while watching the costumed performers. Long live Texas.
  14. Alicia hit the last week I lived with my parents. Out in Katy in 83 there were few large trees in the subdivisions on Mason RD, but damn there was a lot of wind damage to roofs. My recollection is pretty weak- very high winds, high water getting uncomfortably close to the doors, we lost power, and I think maybe the eye was not terribly far away because there was a period of calm, at which point I went to sleep. (My grandfather's funeral was a couple of days before Alicia and my mom was sad and pissed and really not coping well with shitty weather/no power on top of all that, so I coped by sleeping thru as much as I could). The next week I was moving into my dorm at UH, and me and my little gang spent some time downtown gawking at all the blown out windows and debris piles where we could get close enough. It was during this first month of college, post hurricane, that we discovered Warren's--all thanks to the spectacle of storm damage and broken glass.
  15. And my expectation when I visit HAIF is that some random FNG has got slightly more snap than thinking he's entitled to opine on the rulz his very first post. Although I must say, I envy your ability to hear things on HAIF. Most of us only read them.
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