barracuda
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Everything posted by barracuda
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If Walmart is taking sales from other retailers, is it possible that those retailers will cut jobs or shut down completely to account for the revenue loss? Or perhaps those workers would prefer one of the 200,000 jobs lost to China over just a 5 year period as a direct result of Walmart's trade deficit with the country, most of them manufacturing jobs that typically come with higher wages and benefits than the service jobs that replaced them. I'm glad you appreciate it, but I'm not disappointed in appraisal-based property taxes. I just find it strange that some would argue that Walmart subsidizes taxpayers, when they pay a lower property tax per square foot than a single family home even with exemption, and also rely heavily on government programs for their employees to get by.
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My house was considerably altered in the 30's or 40's with an addition, but most of the improvement value ratio increase is due to a large renovation a few years ago, combined with the smallish lot. Unfortunately, HCAD thinks the renovation added 23% to the value, even though the size only went up 200 sq. ft.
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I would argue that it's the consumers who pay sales taxes, with the retailer acting as the facilitator. And a new store in an established market like ours will primarily take revenue away from other retailers, so there is not much of a net increase in sales tax revenue. It takes things like population growth, rising salaries, and increased tourism to add real revenue to the area's retail base, not just adding more redundant retailers that borrow customers from one another. I think the reason the city likes to annex commercial areas is for simplicity and lower risk. The city gains a significant chunk of revenue by dealing with small number property owners who own large tracts of taxable real estate in adjacent areas. Residential, by comparison, is composed of many smaller plots, and of course as you said, noisy homeowners are much more of a hassle to work with, and worse yet, they are voters who could pose a threat to those in office if annexation is not desired. I do agree that this is more complicated than looking at property tax bills. More than anything, it doesn't account for the impact on public assistance from Walmart employees. Less than half of Walmart employees receive healthcare through their employer, and according to this source, Walmart employees cost taxpayer money for a variety of government programs, at an average cost of $420,750 to taxpayers per store. Those may be primarily federal programs, but regardless of the government entity they are drawing from, it is hard for me to believe that Walmart is subsidizing the public with the massive amount of evidence contradicting this claim.
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That's a subjective opinion. According to the city, it is historic. Regardless, I was mostly joking about getting additional tax abatement from the city. Mostly. You didn't read the comment. I didn't write that Walmart receives public assistance. But many of their employees do. And I'd rather not pay more taxes to compensate for companies like Walmart that don't pay closer to a living wage, all while they're raking in $16B in annual profits. Employees should not have to depend on public assistance programs like Medicaid and food stamps to survive. See my previous post and the above comment.
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As I mentioned in an earlier post, I'm not sure how one can accurately compare the overall impact to the tax system between a retail supercenter and a single family home. Each places different demands on infrastructure and services. But if we must, how about comparing the real taxes paid on square foot of property? By that method, I pay $1.34 per square foot for my 5000 square foot lot (with homestead exemption). For my rental property, I pay $2.98/sq. ft. The Dunvale Super Walmart pays $0.61 per square foot of land for their 889,593 sq. ft. property, and the S Post Oak regular Walmart pays even less, $0.40/sq. ft. So, I am paying as much as 7x the amount of property taxes relative to property size compared to an existing Walmart. And consider that appraisals for supercenters are heavily weighted towards the land value. For the Dunvale location, it's 83% for land vs. 17% for the improvements. In comparison, my Heights property appraisal value is weighted 37% for land and 63% for improvements. So, essentially a house on a 5000 square foot Heights lot is more valuable per square foot than a Walmart parking lot or even the store itself.
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Maybe owners of historic homes should get more tax exemptions beyond the standard homestead exemption. After all, we are now the stewards of homes that can only be modified with the City's HAHC approval, and we pay more to maintain and update our homes to adhere to these rules. As far as paying less proportionate tax than Walmart, how do you compare a 152,000 retailer to a single family home? The tax rate does not really take into account the return on investment each receives from city resources for things like infrastructure and public assistance. Walmart encourages employees to draw from public assistance to compensate for the low pay and meager benefits they receive. Their "low" prices are achieved through fancy management that offsets the cost by relying on others as much as possible. As taxpayers, s3mh and others have a right to complain about this and oppose this project. If anything, those living in historic homes in the Heights are subsidizing the property tax system. The houses are appraised higher per square foot than many other parts of town, even as they need more attention and cost to maintain. The majority of homeowners, at least in my neighborhood, do not have kids attending HISD. And most Heights homeowners are probably not relying on public assistance to make ends meet; otherwise those folks would be finding less expensive areas to live. And I'm not complaining about the unfairness of the tax system when it comes to citizens, but it does bother me when corporations or developments of a certain size suddenly become outliers of the tax system that the rest of us have to subsidize.
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The mural was recreated for this weekend but will be removed in about a month. http://swamplot.com/marys-westheimer-mural-playing-montrose-again-for-a-limited-time-only/2011-06-20/ I guess the fool who vandalized it likes guys so long as they're dressed in drag.
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It may just be the sketches, but my first impression is that it's too dark and uses too many brown hues. I think they could add some contrast to the color scheme.
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I wonder if the folks crowding that store know there are four other WF's in Houston, all selling mostly the same items. In fact, I count at least 34 supermarkets just inside the loop where you can pick up all the essentials and then some, not to mention all the small corner markets and general merchandisers who also sell groceries. The only explanation is that some people must like the spectacle of crowded places combined with too much time to kill on what is a workday for most of us.
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Actually, since only the major cross streets have traffic lights at Heights, I find it easier just to turn beforehand or go another block rather than to sit through traffic lights. That's the beauty of the grid system. The trade-off is hitting a few stop signs along the way. But I suppose routing more traffic down neighborhood streets is not desirable for residents of those streets.
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According to the Chronicle, several tenants are already clearing out of the building even though Skanska has not confirmed anything. Latest renderings & info: http://blog.chron.com/primeproperty/2015/06/developer-to-pour-foundation-for-downtown-office-tower/#23198101=0 http://capitoltowerhouston.com/img/renderings/lobby-capitol.jpg
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I've long thought that corner was ripe for development, especially now with the improvements to the park across the street. But more importantly, I'd like to see that part of Montrose repaved. It's probably one of the worst stretches of road inside the loop.
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Public Right Of Way Along Street?
barracuda replied to Yankee_in_TX's topic in Traffic and Transportation
What's great is this guy is getting surrounded on both sides and across the street by townhomes, bringing ever more people to walk in front of his house . -
It's not at all uncommon for gays to have internalized homophobia, although it's more common among those who were brought up in socially conservative families. Hopefully they learn to grow out of this and accept themselves, and avoid the self-destructive behavior that often accompanies the self-loathing brought on by societal homophobia. Promiscuity is of course not a _gay thing; countless straight men cheat on their wives on a frequent basis. I'm not sure what to think of the last comment. I don't see how history is irrelevant. If you are to understand and appreciate _gay pride, it helps to know the history and to actually attend the event. Wxman is complaining that the g a y pride parade does more harm than good based on assumptions and stereotypes, yet he admits he's never actually been to one. Even if you still find it horrifying, at least your opinions will be based on real-life observations rather than stereotypes. Neither the straight and _gay parents who bring their kids to the parade nor the other 200,000 attendees seem to have a problem with it. So it's okay to hate how a group of people act, even if those acts are imagined and are stereotypes? Sigh.
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Sad. Because we live in a homophobic society, g a y history is not taught in public schools alongside other civil rights issues. It's too scary and uncomfortable for folks who have internalized homophobia. My suggestion is to watch this free documentary (Stonewall Uprising) and/or read some books on how gays have been treated throughout history, and how certain events finally led to the g a y civil rights movement. G a y pride marches started out as a form of political activism and a demand for equal rights that began in earnest with the Stonewall rights. Yes, the g a y community is a varied and sometimes eclectic group, and the political activist streak of pride parades gave way to more of a festive atmosphere as the years went on. But I find it sad for someone to be so bothered by others who are more expressive of their identities, as these are largely the types of people who originally fought for the rights and privileges we all enjoy today, rather than trying to "fit in" with straight society and accept the status quo as second-class citizens hiding their identity in the shadows. You really ought to reconsider attending at least one pride parade. As others have mentioned, the Houston pride parade is very tame, consisting largely of corporate and organizational floats staffed by folks wearing everyday clothes, so it shouldn't be the least bit uncomfortable. In fact, many of the folks in the parade and audience are straight and are there to show support, sometimes with their families in tow.
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I think losing the dedicated right turn lane onto the I10 W feeder was a mistake. I don't know how else they could have configured it, but the sudden lane change seems to confuse a lot of folks who suddenly find themselves in the left turn lane.
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More evidence that Exxon is going against the grain... Young professionals pulling offices back downtown
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Don't forget the mega-Kroger on 11th. If I had to guess, I'd say 90% of the Heights shops there, being that it's the only large supermarket in the Heights.
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The Heights Restaurant And Bar Scene - More Coming
barracuda replied to Freelander's topic in The Heights
I always thought that place had potential, but the food was so greasy there. Glad to see that something better is going in. Speaking of this intersection, I still haven't heard what will go in across the street in the old Houston Tamales Factory location. Anyone know? -
I'm not sure if you've been to that Kroger since the gourmet uplift a few years ago. What I'm really wondering is if the West Dallas WF will become as crowded and pretentious as the Kirby location. It's close to River Oaks, and directly in the path of their downtown commute, so I'm not optimistic. I used to like shopping for occasional items at the Kirby WF, about 10-12 years ago, when the clientele was more granola-eating-hippy and less yuppy-shopping-there-only-because-it's-trendy.
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I wonder how long before the West Gray Kroger crowd moves on to this store after it opens.
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They seem to be most active after dark. I often go biking at night and i see them all the time. They make great neighbors, as they are quiet and love to eat cockroaches.
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If you look at the sun path for growing season in Houston, there is very little angle for much of the day. In addition, there is a spread of nearly 240 degrees, from about 60 degrees to 300 degrees across the horizon from sunrise to sunset. So, the building would need to be built nearly on top of the homes, and surround the homes by 240 degrees from northeast, south, and northwest to be block all the sun. Come winter, the sun sets much further to the south, so the homes affected by brief shadows in the summer won't be affected later in the year.
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It's been working fine for me. I'm posting this using the Atomic Web browser on an iPad 2.
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Unfortunately I think you're right. Just look at Silicon Valley, which has a high-concentration of engineers but is primarily suburban and decentralized (with San Francisco being the exception). Plenty of engineering types are fine with spending most their free time on campus, enraptured with work, and many of them have no problem having work colleagues as their main social network. That is, unless they get married, in which case living in suburbia is almost a given.
