debmartin

i helped my dad with a booth for a few weeks but he does not want to return. i am so frustrated with this, as i can see so much potential for market square. dave is doing a great job of organizing and i can't say enough good things about his efforts. i ranted in another post yesterday (houston - dog friendly?) about dave asking a man to pick up after his big dog in the park area and how the well dressed man casually refused. each week the vendors arrive around 7am and find it necessary to wake the bums up and coax them in to moving along. some do and some just keep sleeping away. they sleep on the concrete benches that are inset with old time photos of houston, which means anyone wishing to study the pictures may or may not be able to see them. yesterday the bum sleeping by the mosiac bench where my dad was setting up woke up ill and vomited - i covered it up with paper towels but ended up going home for cleaning supplies because i knew around 12noon the smell would drive away customers and make us all sick. i am going to contact hpd tomorrow and ask about an officer or two making a walk through - in the weeks i have been there i have never once seen a cop set foot in the park. i'll also call the mayors office and inquire about the enforcement of the ordinance designed to stop the bums from sleeping in the park since it presents a public health hazard. i visited with merchants, many who are becoming discouraged and thinking of dropping out and told them i was going to look into getting these problems addressed. i asked them to try and hang in there, because right now there is a good variety of things being sold and i really think this market idea could catch on. a bigger problem is getting some foot traffic down there. yesterday there was an education forum at the convention center and an outdoor concert by the theater district, but market square traffic was slow all day. many people are angry that the city wants $1.50 per hour for meter parking, but there is $2 all day parking in the lot across the street. people on this board have so many creative, good ideas that i would be interested in getting more perspective on whether you think market square can survive. one idea i had was extending it to include friday afternoon, when so many people are downtown. there is already a wide variety of good food, great live music and everything from a massage therapist to a carpenter who makes custom cabinets, along with the art and jewelry. the bums have got to go, the grass has got to be maintained doggy free but what else can be done? deb martin

i travel a great deal and every city (and country) i've visited that has a wax museum seems to be the same. not to say they're not interesting but once you've seen one it's like you've seen them all. funny thing, my kids always seek out a wax museum as soon as we hit ANY hotel and when i give up and drag myself to yet another one, it is filled with grownups, who are usually quite amused! we spent last christmas in niagra falls, ontario and visited their ripley's believe it or not. as customary we got wax hands made and now that we've got quite a collection i think it's cool to compare the new ones to old ones. they hold up very well. houston could for sure use a ripley's, as every city that has one seems to do well with tourists. deb martin

anyone know how long this show has been around? i think maybe since the 70's but maybe it's not that old. anyway, tonight modest mouse is on and their music is something i've enjoyed for years. i seem to remember kinky friedman on here as well, and he's trying to be the next gov of texas, so the show must have star launching quality. deb martin

my dog is named boudreaux, and i am so crazy about him that i posted his photo on the blog info. he travels with me often and is so high maintenance that he requires a sitter when i travel and can't take him along. my kids adopted him 8 yrs ago and i sort of inherited him when they lost interest as kids often do. i take him on long walks once or twice a day and we live right by transco park- i always pick up after him and not just because it's "the law", but because it is what civil people do. of course my dog weighs about 12lbs and i could not imagine picking up after a huge dog, but that is what dog owners should do, regardless. as far as houston being "dog friendly" in my experience i find people are more dog friendly than dog owners are people friendly. this morning at the market square market, i was talking to dave (the guy who runs it) while the vendors were setting up around 8am. a casually dressed guy was walking a HUGE dog across the grass and the dog casually took a HUGE dump - dave asked the man politely, "excuse me, are you going to pick up after your dog" and the man replied, "no i am not" and walked away, leaving the mess! dave told me the grass was unfit to walk in and he was right! later in the day i saw people walking around like they were in a field of land mines, practically walking into each other because they would not take their eyes off the ground. unfortunately one of the belly dancers looked up just long enough to avoid a collision with the other one and ruined the shoes of her costume. obviously it was not only the guy i overheard being rude to dave, but the downtown lofts are full of people that own dogs of all sizes that see nothing wrong with leaving waste all over the parks and sidewalks. it would be great if people would just do the right thing, but what downtown houston really needs is for the poop police to come out in full force, before poor dave loses what little business he has or gets his food permit revoked. sorry for the rant, but the scene was about as far removed from "houston proud" as you can get. being from houston i was embarassed at the comments from the out of town visitors i met, and the majority of people i met were not only from other towns but from other countries. deb martin

anyone been to kaveh kanes coffee place on prarie for breakfast/brunch? i stopped in last saturday while checking out the market square market and it looked promising. unfortunately i had already been to breakfast on the way downtown since i wasn't sure if anything was open that early, but the counter guy told me they were open until 1am so they must be doing something right. we bought lunch from the food vendor at the market because i wanted to support the venue, and met dave the guy who runs the show. hopefully more people will start checking it out because it was a ghost town and the place could really use some foot traffic. great weather, great live music and the food was much better than i expected. i would be interested to hear from anyone who frequents keveh kanes coffee because i was thinking of having breakfast there the next time i go to the market square thing. deb martin

please give har.com a try. this site is especially helpful if you want to narrow down your area and most important to avoid certain areas. example, in the greensheet condo's called "galleria" can be as far away as richmond/gessner or across 59 on gulfton! some med center listings end up being next to the astrodome, i think you get the point. also, you can browse before even speaking to anyone on the phone which saves time and energy especially when you call on one and it's already taken. the har listings show up as "available or option pending" which means someone beat you to it. most places listed also have photo's which help give you a real feel for the place. if you're planning to rent you will not have to be concerned with maint. fees and special assessments, although many of the better rentals are handled through real estate agents and you will have to make contact with them. most list their cell phones and e-mails, as well as office numbers which makes them very accessible. it also helps to have a key map to navigate your preferred areas. i have not had to move in a long time, but a couple of years ago had friends relocate here for medical treatment and found har to be quite helpful. i wish you well on your move! deb martin

when i said i "checked in" on it i meant i tuned in while it was in progress. i only watched about 20 minutes of it and yes, someone in the scene i was watching referred to the "hurricane". my fourteen year old son said it did not "look real" because they sent three skinny nurses down to the basement to fight waist high water to retrieve blood (he thought a few burly men would have been in order). when the bldg. maint. man called his supervisor at home to report the water coming in around the generators, he was told to "turn 'em off" which of course happened to be in the middle of open heart surgery. a lot of this really happened, since herman has surgery going on 24/7 and they were without generator power for some length of time. they kept showing a building that was supposed to be the hospital blacking out - a friend of mine said it was filmed in canada so i do not know if anything of houston was shown. they did mention distinct sections of the hospital, like cullen, robertson pavillion etc. it was a tragedy in real life but to me the film had too much of the 70's natural disaster flick effect - the music, the over dramatic expressions/exclaimations and of course the one jokester who keeps asking the nurses to go in the closet to fool around. probably most enjoyed by people outside of houston, who have no horror stories of their own to compare. deb martin

i checked in on this and it was just too cheesy. btw, wasn't allison a tropical storm instead of a hurricane? i'm not even sure what the exact difference is, something about the strength of the winds, but when making the movie it would have been better if they had gotten that right. probably whoever made the movie felt tropical storm did not sound as serious and took the liberty of upgrading the storm to hurricane. also i read that a family is suing herman hospital because their child died - it seems some patients were evacuated and some were not - and the hospital did not include the child in the first wave of patients moved. very tragic, and no way i would want the responsibility of making the decision of who to move and in what order. i only hope those in charge of the med center facilities learned from this horrible event and a better emergency mgmt plan has been formulated should future flooding occur. deb martin

in my opinion this was more of a custody case than a right to life or right to die case. hopefully what will come of this besides the living will is grown, married adults making custody decisions about themselves in case of any future incapacitation! i was sickened to read that the husband banned the family from the room, was he afraid they would run over and pour some food down her throat? i was further sickened to read that the husband's attorney touched her cheek before she died and proclaimed her to be "not suffering" and "dying peacefully". he is not a doctor and besides any moron would know that without a morphine drip she would be feeling all the effects of slowly starving to death. even a stray dog or cat at the pound receives an injection for destruction, an injured animal is "put out of their misery" but this lady was starved to death, slowly and in AMERICA. adding insult to injury, her burial plans were made without including her family whatsoever, and i also read the husband refused to disclose the location of her buried ashes and the family will have no grave to visit. so to me this case was all about custody, or really denying custody to the rightful ones (her parents) as well about power and control desired by the husband in his quest for financial gain. after she died, i read the husband wanted to be alone to "cradle her" in his arms, despite the fact he apparently has had a girlfriend to cradle in his arms for many years now, along with children. all judges who turned a blind eye to this fact should be taken to task. if michael schiavo wanted to marry someone else, he should have divorced his wife like everyone else has to. seems to me he really had his eye on the money from the lawsuit, and pulled a fast one on the legal system by insisting he was acting on terry's behalf and in her best interest. i will not argue the fundamentals of whether this woman should have been kept alive as a vegatable, from a moral standpoint. the fact is, for whatever reason she was placed on that feeding tube and taking it away killed her, period. i also understand that florida law allowed this, and that in texas this would not have happened. yes, this is a hotly debated topic, but whether or not you agree with extreme measures to extend life, whatever position you embrace concerning what constitutes the quality of life, if you do not agree that this lady suffered a terrible death you are fooling yourself and must face that fact. deb martin

"Many of times hanging out with people with a lack of class is a lot more fun that dealing with classy people." (quote, kjb434) yes that is why we keep welcoming dal back! "Why do people even try to make comments about peoples class or lack there of. Seems a little immature if the only thing you can bring to the conversation is an insult." (quote, kjb434) sorry to quote your post out of order kjb, and you bring up a good point. let it be noted that instead of merely commenting on someone elses lack of class and bringing only an insult to the conversation, that i complimented your post. back on the subject of raising cane's restaurant, i too feel once hours that are appropriate can be established that it would make a good addition to the shenandoah area. i am pulling for this place since reading the story of how it came about, but of course all of you know me as a cheerleader for the underdog anyway! deb martin

isn't the song "big rock candy mountain" from the cohen bro's movie "o brother where art thou? when you said the name of the song i started thinking about the song from that movie's opening credits. deb martin

dear 77017, i can only speak for myself and let me say your intentions seem good. after reading hunters post i am forced to think about all the things we must have to get along, and whoever posted that station owners do not control the prices also made a valid point. that said, i will relate that i stopped driving my car about 5 years ago and started using public transportation. i did this initially as an experiment because i found myself griping about sitting in traffic and also worried about pollution. i cannot expect anyone else to stop driving, especially those like 27 who remind us that cars are a necessity for some in relation to their employment. i do agree with you that those who CAN should try public transportation and i would also be interested in hearing your experiences with bus and/or rail. but taking a bus or train over driving is a very personal decision and not something that should be forced upon someone. i commend your passion and suggest that instead of pursuing a boycott you channel your energy into ways to promote public transportation. www.gulfcoastinstitute.org has a page called "livable houston" that has many good ideas about promoting public transportation. i grew up being told "if you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem" but of course, my mom was a hippie from the 60's. times have changed and so must the approach - i think the last successful thing boycotted was grapes, led by cesar chavez calling attention to the plight of migrant workers. deb martin

what about the new burger king commercial for bacon/chedder/ranch where the "breasts grow on trees"? is that the guy from hootie and the blowfish dressed up like a singing cowboy? you know it is weird when the dallas cowboy cheerleaders are the closest thing you could call normal in a commercial! and what about that guy dressed up like the burger king in that creepy mask - his head looks like he stole it from mardi gras! and i think the girl he's swinging that yells "come and get it" is the girl from the b-52s'. deb martin

"Funny how no one ever mentions freeways as the cause of sprawl. Without freeways, no one would want to live so far away. Anyone who's lived here for a decent amount of time has probably noticed that the freeways come first, and then the houses." (quote, N Judah) that may be the case now, but not in the past. i've lived here all of my 40 years and just like i described in my post above, the freeways were in place and homes and apartments popped up in almost every direction. I45 north (pre-woodlands) 59north (pre-kingwood) 290 (pre-compaq) and I-10 (pre-cinco ranch) are all examples. this was before any beltway or toll road, so i understand what you are saying about what is going on now. deb martin

"My guess is that they're priming themselves to be a stop on the commuter/heavy rail that will be coming down the pike at some point in the future." (quote, N Judah) i hope your guess is correct. i am always optimistic when developments like this are optioned, as the growth signals health for our city. my biggest concern is and has always been growing in leaps and bounds without taking transportation and traffic into concern. i felt this way back in the 80's with the explosion of development of I45 past 1960. living in the northline area and working downtown, the drive home that used to be around 15 minutes grew to 1hr as all the cars fought their way in traffic to the burbs, often. as i would exit at tidwell i would look at the freeway and as far as i could see cars were bumper to bumper. a friend i worked with who lived out in spring told me the freeway was like that for her all the way home. i wondered, what were these developers thinking? how could they build thousands of homes without any regard to the commute? of course the answer was money. build it quick, make a buck, and hey, who can blame you, you're meeting the demand? eventually the park & rides were built and companies who wanted to attract workers started van pool programs, but it always seemed to me that provisions could have been made early in the planning stages to account for the traffic. now i'm wondering about this development. i did not hear any mention of getting together with metro to upgrade or even improve the bus routes to this area and the ones that are in place suck. of course the clientele they desire may not be the bus riding kind, but that speaks volumes about everything that is wrong with the mentality of most developers. in a perfect world, developers would incorporate the best aspects of public transportation into their plans, like rail, but also trolleys, circulators and they would all be compatible to the bus system. this would ensure the most possible foot traffic and if that were the goal it could reduce the need for parking garages and possibly eliminate surface parking which is a supreme waste of land, not to mention an eyesore. i know it is not their responsibility, but in the long run if more developers would get involved with the push for rail it would have to make an impact. deb martin

"I Have Been Here a Year Now! HAIF This is the date That I joined the original HAIF. How long have you been here?" (quote, citykid09) congratulations on your one year anniversary citykid. i joined in january '04. deb martin

we get take-out from doneraki from time to time. the carnivores i feed seem to really like the fajitas and the veg items are allright. deb martin

haven't been there for awhile, but we used to like one's a meal on west grey. also house of pies serves great blueberry pancakes. the kids like waffle house on westheimer past the beltway, but for me it's just not all that. deb martin

"The main problem seems to be encroaching freeways and big box development upon a small community run by volunteers who are doing their best to preserve Spring Valley. It used to be such a nice little neighborhood, but all that seems to be changing for the worse." (quote, pineda) yeah i see your point, but then why are they considering the application in the first place? about 10 years ago i used to live in a small apt complex next to valley oaks elementary, at the corner of pech rd. and westview. i got to know many families from spring valley and to tell you the truth, i always felt they were a bit out of touch with reality. for what they were trying to create and maintain, most people would have relocated to the woodlands, etc, or at least farther away from the big city. they put their SV stickers on their cars so their cop never harasses them, but if you don't have one look out! they decided that having a metro bus pass down westview between bingle and wirt (voss/chimney rock) was unacceptable so the 72 westview has to take a long, out-of-the-way detour down the worst part of longpoint. part of this snobbery is responsible for the fondren and hilcroft busses ending at westheimer when metro could do so much more with public transportion if they could continue past I-10. instead, anyone trying to make it to the "other side" must ride the 46-gessner and make several changes. yes, it can be said that it was such a nice "little" neighborhood but that could be said for many areas of town that have been dragged into the 21st century. it is impractical for these small villages to believe they are completely disconnected from the city of houston, even if they are separate municipalities. i am not trying to be unkind, just realistic. i am also very pro-houston - i cheer on suburban developments as they fullfill the need some people have to move away from houston. but trying to cater to the whims of a "city" within my own city is unproductive in my opinion. especially when what they are trying to accomplish is futile and the lifestyle they desire is readily available further out. most of the families we knew back from our valley oaks days have relocated to cinco ranch, the woodlands and even sugar land, so perhaps the current residents of spring valley are primarily people who recently "bought in" and did not realize why former residents relocated to the 'burbs. deb martin

we frequently have family gatherings at patrenella's - it's located on jackson hill just off memorial. it's got a great homestyle atmosphere and a lot of houston history. it's truly an authentic italian place, family owned and operated. my dad went to st. thomas high school with the owner - sadly, his wife recently passed away. their hours are kinda funny (closed on sunday, open at 5pm on saturday)and you might drive right by the place since it's a house, but if you've never been there it is a must try. deb martin

March 16, 2005, 7:52PM Spring Valley delays vote on Home Depot plan City Council tables proposal until Tuesday By KIM JACKSON Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle Home Depot officials voiced frustration Monday after Spring Valley City Council members tabled a vote on the retail giant's application to construct a 175,000-square-foot retail store and garden center in the city limits off Interstate 10. After four hours of discussion Monday, Spring Valley city officials could not agree what types of merchandise Home Depot could display outside of the store. Gene Borsattino, Home Depot Inc.'s real estate manager, said the company had hoped to break ground March 7 and open the store in October. Company officials said they would like to build the store on 15 acres of the approximate 23-acre property at 8940 Katy Freeway previously owned by Wal-Mart Stores Inc. The council's decision to delay a vote until Tuesday means the company is another week away from opening the store on time, Borsattino said. The delay costs the company money from lost revenues, and equates to less sales tax revenues for the city of Spring Valley, he said. "We lose about $2.5 million every month we are delayed opening," Borsattino said. "We hope they make a decision soon." Spring Valley Planning and Zoning Commissioners voted 6-1 to approve an application on the Home Depot project submitted to the city in late December. But the commission's approval carried with it several recommendations on the project, including restrictions on operating and delivery hours, a ban on outdoor displays, events and speaker systems and a recommendation to include a filter on underground pipelines that carry stormwater from the parking lot area to a detention pond on the Christ Evangelical Presbyterian Church property next door. The application moved to Spring Valley City Council for final approval Monday. Councilman Tim Glanzman on Monday said council members differed in their opinions on what types of smaller materials should be displayed, but generally none wanted to see large outdoor sheds and trailers displayed unless they were shielded by a fence. Councilman Greg Herbst said he did not mind the company marketing items in a 17- foot-deep area outside the front and east sides of the store, but would like to see the materials rotated on a regular basis. Some, including Councilman Tim Trammell, said they would only support an outdoor display area if it was restricted to seasonal items, such as Christmas trees, pumpkins and plant materials. Councilman Kyle Sears expanded that to include other seasonal merchandise, such as lawnmowers and barbecue grills. "I am willing to compromise, but the two primary things our constituents objected to during public hearings were noise and outdoor displays," said Councilman Bruce Spain. Council members agreed that the ban on an outdoor speaker system was not required if only used during operating hours. Council directed City Attorney John Olson to narrow the options in the ordinance, which will be the starting point for discussions next week. Borsatinno said the company could compromise on some points, but not the ban on display of outdoor sheds and trailers. "We sell outside what you can build outside," Borsatinno said. "We are not violators, and would maintain our outdoor display areas. We are putting a $30 million investment in this site and are not likely to trash the front end or make it unattractive to our customers." If constructed, the store would be located directly south of the 65-home Creekside Villas in Memorial subdivision, which is under development, and about 400 feet south of the established Brighton Place subdivision. A 10-foot sound wall is proposed to separate the Home Depot and Creekside properties. i propose an official song for the spring valley city council - "too much time on my hands" by styxx! i guess it takes more than a $30 million investment to get them motivated. deb martin

isn't it ironic how $190,000 could be tossed up at a moment's notice just because metro says it needs the space for parking? don't they realize that putting people up in hotels is just throwing money away? i realize there are also people being relocated to "treatment" locations, but the fact that a man recently released from prison was living there with no plans or prospects says everything about what's not being done. awhile back i shared some investigative insights i had about the downtown location of search, which i called "daycare for hobos". that place keeps them busy by day but at night they could end up anywhere, doing anything. i've also spoken out against the refusal of the city to participate in the SRO program by refusing to allocate matching funds - hundreds of thousands of federal dollars have been left on the table by houston for the past several years. even dallas has gotten their fare share - SRO's (single room occupancy) make sense and by utilizing abandoned hotels and other properties they are an efficient way to address more than one problem. gordan quan was appointed to look into the SRO issue but i have not seen anything about it recently. i guess one of the biggest challenges is the fact that neighborhoods would not welcome the addition of an SRO, although a halfway house is not much more appealing. deb martin

you can look up proposed routes by choosing "metro in motion" from the main page, then choosing "metro solutions". some of the routes are only planned with no dates set, but it seems the galleria/downtown express is one that is actually in the works. it took me a long time to wade through the metro website, but it's really quite interesting. read up on the board meetings for a laugh, there are one or two people who come to every meeting with the same complaint and from what i can tell, they are just "heard" but not listened to. one guy claims to be royalty and alleges that his pass was "stolen" and he demands its return. i have been following the proposed routes because i have been asking for the return of the tc/flyer, which was an express that went back and forth between transit centers. i'm not sure why they cancelled it but it was a great way to cut across town in a hurry. hope you can find the info on proposed routes. deb martin

"Wow... this is an interesting thread! Finally a thread (anyone else ever notice that there is only a one letter difference between "thread" and "threat"?) where everyone can discuss a sensitive and potentially explosive issue without completly blowing up and having the thread shut down." (quote, willy1) willy, either you are attempting sarcasm in your post above or like 27 said, you have not read the many pages of rants, raves, and assorted impassioned insights. this has been one of the most emotionally charged topics and i was sure once or twice it was going to be shut down as things went completely over the line. that it has survived is encouraging, like some kind of sign that despite all of the bashing we will all endure, a little better acquainted despite being worse for the wear. i am sympathetic to the injustice suffered by the native americans, as well as the mexicans who seemed to be doing just fine before being "taken over" by texans with an over the top case of manifest destiny. subsequently i am sympathetic towards those imprisoned by slavery before the civil war, as well as women (of all color) who will never forget their early origins of repression and exploitation. instead of a "melting pot" we seem to have evolved into acceptable levels of race, gender and age segregation while trading p/c consolation prizes for true tolerance and diversity. there is still so far we have to go but the dialog we engage in here stands for if nothing else, courage and the willingness to keep trying. deb martin

"Does anyone remember Westbury Square? I always wondered what that place was like." (quote, subdude) my dad had one of his business locations in westbury square, in the clock tower. i remember the ice cream store and a real nice dutch couple who sold figurines from holland. there was also a playhouse called "company onstage". one by one the stores closed up and my dad had to relocate, but i remember really liking westbury square. i grew up by northline mall and my parents still live in the same house, in fact my grandparents bought it in 1959 and a couple of the neighbors (in their 80's) still live on the street. we were taken to movies at northline mall, and they had a stained glass window and an enormous round bench in the lobby. it sounds crazy but there was also a huge superslide in the parking lot at the back of the mall. they would give you a burlap sack to slide down and we always begged go on it, even though at 5 or 6 years old i remember it as terrifying. the mall also had fountains to throw coins into, as well as kiddie rides and brits. as a teenager in the mid 70's i was a rink rat at airline skating rink, and at the time it seemed to take forever to get there, although it's really just 10 or 15 minutes. there was next to nothing on airline drive, except for massage parlors that were eventually shut down and the flea markets that opened around that time. there were no bus routes that i can recall, unless you could get down airline to north main and then you could get to town. once we drove one of my friends home who lived out I45 by the blimp station (spring high school area). it was before greenspoint mall was built and it was like going to the country. we used to visit my grandparents in centerville which is halfway between houston and dallas (about 2.5 hrs) and since the woodlands were not yet established there was virtually nothing except conroe and huntsville before madisonville. to break up the boredom mom would stop at all of the stuckey's which was kind of a gift shop like cracker barrel. it's hard to believe but my old neighborhood has changed so little, except for airline changing from a 2 lane to a 4 lane and a couple of grocery stores like kroger and HEB. our grocery store was called minimax and it was located at I45/tidwell in northtown plaza. the hardware/appliance store was called "whites" and we also shopped at globe which was like kmart. there was a "5 & dime" instead of a dollar store and my grandmother collected and traded S&H greenstamps for kooky prizes. sorry to ramble on, but until i read the thread i had not given much thought to what it was like in the late 60's to 70's. texas also had the "blue law" which meant no shopping on sundays. deb martin