editor

Actually, the news anchors often can't just get up and walk around. They're tethered to the desk by their microphone and IFB wires. Sometimes the wired pair is the primary, and there's a wireless set for backup, or the other way around. It's up to the station engineers. Weathermen always have wirelesses and can go wherever they want. More than once I've had a Houston weather anchor not turn off his wireless mic and I got to listen to him take care of his business. One guy was like clockwork. I always knew when it was 6:20 by the sound that would echo through my headset.

Cheezburger Network picked up the anchor fall from KTRK. For those who haven't seen it... <object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" width="437" height="333" id="viddler"><param name="movie" value="http://www.viddler.com/player/58e7f2d/" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="flashvars" value="fake=1"/><embed src="http://www.viddler.com/player/58e7f2d/" width="437" height="333" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowScriptAccess="always" allowFullScreen="true" flashvars="fake=1" name="viddler" ></embed></object>

Does anyone on HAIF work in, or regularly visit 1001 McKinney? I'm trying to find out how many floors it has. I've seen both 22 and 24. It would be nice to hear from someone who can actually go into an elevator and look at the buttons (and note if there's a 13 or not).

I don't know if this is old hat around here, but it's the first time I've run across it: SpotCrime Here's the downtown interactive map: http://spotcrime.com/tx/houston/downtown Other Houston neighborhoods: http://spotcrime.com/tx/houston/neighborhoods

I've flown both Air Tran and Southwest. Southwest was better inside the plane, but AirTran was better boarding. I don't like the cattle call. Very dehumanizing. That said, I haven't flown either in a couple of years. Southwest because its fares are often more expensive than American for the routes I tend to fly, and AirTran because it's cut its route network back a lot lately and doesn't go anywhere I want to go anymore. An interesting piece of trivia -- AirTran is headquartered in Indianapolis. But it doesn't fly there. The nearest airport it serves is four hours away in Chicago.

METRO Begins Roadwork On East End Light Rail Line Today Demolition of pavement will smooth way for installation of light rail tracks METRO construction crews are blasting through old asphalt and concrete on Harrisburg, just east of Oakhurst, on Houston’s East End today. While utility work along the corridor has been ongoing since June of 2008, this is a milestone in the preparation of 3.3 miles of surface to carry light rail from Downtown to the Magnolia Transit Center – with a goal of connecting communities. David Couch, Managing Director of METRO Solutions, who is supervising construction of three light rail extensions that will connect to the existing 7.5- mile downtown Red Line, said, “This is great news. Our engineers, crews, and staff have been working hard with the community and the city to make this happen. It is, literally, where the rail will meet the road and a milestone in the overall construction process.” The work involves excavation and soil preparation for new pavement. This roadway will replace existing travel lanes and accommodate a guideway for the new light rail line. The work will continue, in segmented phases, as part of a continuing build out process. The East End Line is expected to be completed in late Fall of 2013. The transit line is funded locally and rail cars will connect riders with destinations such as Magnolia Transit Center, Eastwood Park and Ripley House. Ridership is expected to be about 8,500 by the year 2015. To find out more about METRO Rail and how your business or community can benefit from the light rail expansion program log on to http://www.GOMETRORail.org

http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/theskyline/2010/03/report-chicago-architects-smith-and-gill-selected-to-design-kilometerhigh-tower-in-saudi-arabia-.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+chicagotribune%2Ftheskyline+%28ChicagoTribune+-+Cityscapes%29 During the last couple of real estate bubbles, every third world tycoon with a big ego came forth with a proposal for a "world's tallest building." As we know, only one got built -- the Burj Dubai. This new proposal looks like it has some legs. Respectable architects have been hired to design the thing. And it's not just riding a real estate wave. Unfortunately, it's in one of the most tourist-hostile countries in the world, so few outsiders will see it. Fortunately, because of Houston's place in the energy industry, a lot of Houstonians will get to see it.

http://culturemap.com/newsdetail/03-24-10-update-the-alabama-theater-caught-in-demolition-swirl-confirms/

This thread is meandering off topic. If you'd like to start a new thread about light rail in Houston, or add to one of the existing Houston light rail threads, please do. But let's keep this one on track. So to speak.

There are enough web sites on the internet for amateur detective whackjobs to discuss their half-educated theories about 9/11. This is not one of them. Thread closed.

There are likely other problems with that map, too. It is at least five years outdated. And it doesn't show Seattle at all, which has two light rail lines: LINK and SLUT, plus the Sounder commuter rail network. LINK train: SLUT train: "SLUT" is South Lake Union Trolley. It connects to the current LINK trains in the tunnel beneath downtown, and construction is about to begin on two new SLUT lines and a new LINK line. (Just when you guys got used to tuning out my Chicago references, now you're going to have to learn to tune out my Seattle rants )

Citykid is correct about this. Remember that Chicago and Houston are about the same age (within a couple of months). Chicago was founded by people with an east-coast urban mentality. Houston was founded by people with a more frontier, outdoorsy, independent view of life. Both cities reflect their heritages. And that's different than much of downtown Houston how? Strawman argument at best.

You are looking at one station in a vast network. The majority of Brussels metro is above ground, runs on streets next to traffic, and looks very similar to Houston's light rail. There is a small portion which runs underground in the downtown section and ties into the subway system. This is also the case for Amsterdam's metro. And Vienna's. And the SLUT in Seattle.

The reserved parking spaces for green cars is just marketing hype. Since it's private property, there's no way to enforce it. The head of whatever company leases the most space in that building will be allowed to park wherever he pleases. Just like Steve Jobs is notorious for parking his Mercedes diagonally across one of the handicapped spaces at One Infinite Loop. Who's going to stop him? One building I saw recently did an interesting thing to promote green vehicles. It has a dedicated aisle just for all-electric vehicles, and each space has a plug-in to recharge the batteries. The landlord picks up the electric bill. It supposedly doesn't cost that much more than keeping the flood lights on all night.

In another thread it was briefly mentioned that there is talk of incorporating a city of Cypress. Or a city of Cy-Fair. What are the pro's and con's of something like this? And what should it be called? Cypress? Cy-Fair? Something else entirely?

I'm talking about the portions that are streetcars that go both above and below ground. The lines I used most ended at Brussels Midi, and up on the hill by the big city park and the palace. I have pictures, but I'm not at home so here's some from the interweb: I'm not sure it's correct to say that Brussels metro is mostly heavy rail. According to wikimopedia, Brussels has one of the ten largest tram systems in the world. While they certainly do run underground in the heart of the city, most of what I've ridden is above ground, and mingles with traffic like Houston's light rail. I don't think it would be easily converted to heavy rail without getting rid of all the cars.

tl;dr

Brussels is a world-class city, and what Metro is building is nearly identical to the Brussels Metro. Ditto for Amsterdam, another world-class city. And Seattle, though I'm not entirely convinced that Seattle qualifies as "world class." Istanbul's metro is virtually identical to what Metro is doing, except that it has a couple of underground funicular railways for the big hills, and also has a modern subway network. Perhaps one day when the people are ready for it, Metro will add a subway component like Istanbul did. That's what happened in Vienna (another world class city). It started out with surface vehicles like Metro's and expanded into subways when the demand was high enough. I think it's folly to assume that the Houston Metro system you see today is going to be identical to the Houston Metro system 50 years from now. Well, at least that much I'll agree with you on. When I made my list of cities I was considering moving to this year, the finalists were Houston, San Francisco, Boston, and Seattle. Boston was eliminated because of weather. San Francisco was eliminated because of taxes. Houston was eliminated because its public transit system isn't mature enough. A few years from now I'll put together another list when I decide to move again. I'm sure Houston will be a finalist again.

Isn't putting trains where people are a good thing? It's an LRT vehicle, not a commuter rail train. I doubt you've been to any third world countries.