barracuda

I swung buy after having lunch with a friend near the Village. Only because I was on my bike and it was on my way home. Around 1pm it was a madhouse as expected, I only saw the small strip lot up front which was constantly full with people grabbing spots as people pulled out. I got the last spot on the bike rack and just poked my head in for 5 minutes. The isles were full but people were courteous, and the store was prepared. There were a ton of employees restocking, helping people out, and handing out samples. The fake movie posters were up along with some other signage. I snapped some pics on my phone which I'll upload later.

The checkout line was really long, but every register was manned and it was constantly moving, albeit slowly.

I'll go back later to grab my truffles, didn't have time to see how long that line would take.

I'm still trying to understand the pent-up excitement over this store. For me, this city is too full of supermarkets and places for foodies (Specs, Central Market, etc.) to justify toiling through such grand-opening madness. I am kind of curious how the interior gutting turned out though, if you or others can post photos.

That would be the old Central Bank building.

http://www.houstonar...l-square-plaza/

They fixed my bike for cheap and are really friendly, good to hear they're expanding. Biking through DT is great too on Sundays so long as there are no big events.

I bicycled by the Sawyer Target last weekend and was surprised by the amount of traffic. Folks were circling the parking lot looking for spaces for Target and the surrounding strip mall stores. If this is any indication, the new Walmart development should probably do pretty well.

Both shopping centers do seem focused primarily on retail chains, but maybe something unique will pop up on account of the revenue potential. What I really wish is that Fadi's, Crave, and a good Indian restaurant would decide to setup shop there so I wouldn't have to drive across town. But I'll keep my expectations low for now to avoid disappointment.

Uchi and Kubo's are my favorites. I'm waiting for Uchi's popularity to wane a bit before I go back though...I'm not inclined to wait an hour and a half just to sit at a sushi bar.

Tokyo Bowl (near NASA) is also one of my favorites...it's nice and quaint inside, and the serve kimchi.

City spends $6 million creates 300 jobs, $20k per job, not bad.....compared to our current federal government sticking us for $400,000 per job.....http://finance.townh...,000/page/full/

The first line in the Chronicle article indicates 250 new jobs will be created, so it's really $24,000 per job.

The article you linked to is a little misleading. Out of the $787B stimulus package, $288B were tax cuts and $224B were to extend various benefits, and $275B was designated for job creation. Using the same CBO estimates of 1.4 million to 4 million "full time equivalent" jobs created by the stimulus, the job stimulus cost was more like $196,429 to $68,750 per job.

To make the comparison even more accurate, I'd want to know how many of those Walmart jobs will be full time, and whether these new associates will make a living wage so they can avoid relying on government entitlement programs for basic needs.

We just pulled ahead by 50 votes.

Media reporting that the local government will begin aerial spraying over Harris County today in order to "reduce mosquito populations".

What they're not reporting is WHAT it is they'll be spraying over our neighborhoods, lakes, creeks, etc. No mention about what chemicals they're planning on using. Shouldn't these questions be asked? Hello, Houston media?

Northwest Harris County to receive aerial spray to combat West Nile - Community Impact Newspaper

PS...Most of Harris County and Houston's water supply has been converted to surface water. Concerned?

Found these articles regarding the recent sprayings in Dallas. Noticed they setup certain "exclusion" zones where they would not spray, including the area around former president Bush's house in Preston Hollow. If it's safe for everyone, why do that?

According to the Chronicle, the county will be using a chemical called 'naled' and only areas northwest of town will be targeted for this particular application.

http://www.chron.com...day-3804639.php

ABC has even more details. http://abclocal.go.c...ocal&id=8781470

This is sad, I walk and bike to this store regularly. I'll miss the store employees, who seem genuinely friendly and *gasp* say hello and smile when you check out. Kroger could learn a lesson in employee and customer satisfaction, which would be nice now that they have the Heights surrounded.

Also GM helped kill the electric car as well, check out who killed the electric car some day.

Wouldn't you say cheap gas, challenges with battery technology, and high manufacturing costs have more to do with the paucity of electric cars? And even despite of those challenges, there are a growing number of electric and plug-in cars on the market today, including one made by evil GM.

A cunning plan, no doubt. Using the 11th, which serves as the demarcation between the Forbidden Zone and the Deeded South, will allow transit to go unnoticed until engaging the Germantown defenses at the weakest point. Their only retreat will be via the Quitman aqueduct into the hinterlands of the Fifth Ward. However, can you count on the Woodland Heights Reichstag to remain neutral? After all, they are ancestral brothers, and Germantown is actively being courted to join the Axis of Preservation and Self Righteousness. Such a move would curry favor with the High Priestess of Regulatory Land, and when the fog of war clears you may find her wantonly gazing eastward. And then your only defense will be the Wal-mart Castle and its ramparts of non-conformity.

Fortunately for you, there is backup nearby in the form of 20 other Walmart Castles yielding sizable supporters inside or near the perimeter of the belt-shire. Due to their loyal support of the Walmart Castles, the help of local parliament and their bags of taxpayer gold, and the backing of the $446B Royal Empire of Walmart, this invasion will likely be victorious. Perhaps it would be wise to conform with the status quo now and begin practicing your Walmart cheer, or else you may be deemed a traitor and denied your ration of Dr. Thunder.

So...paper bags cost more and fall apart when exposed to liquids (or frozen goods that become covered in condensation), and the purported disadvantages are dubious or overblown. The advantage to plastic is absolute.

Any bagging behavior modification law will be done strictly out of human vanity, so that certain kool-aide-drinking constituents can find an excuse to give themselves a hearty and anti-intellectual pat on the back. I am not in favor of stupid people feeling good about themselves. I believe that they are more likely to breed when they feel happy, and I am especially not in favor of that.

Trying to keep it professional. Plastic bags don't biodegrade. Even though they may gradually break down into smaller pieces over centuries when exposed to UV radiation, they will be permanent components of the environment and the food chain. That's a pretty big disadvantage.

I don't really believe folks who want this ban are doing so for vanity. I suspect it's out of genuine concern for the environment, whether or not you agree that landfills and litter are negative additions to our shared landscape. According to one source, the Texas Campaign for the Environment, "Every day Houston residents consume over 1.9 million plastic bags and more than 80% of them will end up in our landfills or littering our community".

I try to avoid plastic bags mainly for practical reasons as stated earlier. Other cities seem to have implemented similar rules (as have some retailers) without too much of an inconvenience to consumers.

We are under a plastic bag ban here in Long Beach and I'm not against it but it did give China more business for cheap bag whereas the plastic bags were made in the USA, which put those companies out of business or hurt severely (according to local article highlighting unintended consequences). Also, having these plastic bags for bathroom trashliners or small amount of smelly garbage helps. Target and the likes were except from this ban, at least for the short-term, so I still get the free small trashcan bags.

Keep in mind that most paper bags used domestically are also made in USA. And while they may use more energy to manufacture and cost a few cents more than plastic bags, I think they still have several advantages. They typically hold more volume per bag, especially for groceries. They are also more reusable since they don't stretch and fall apart as easily. I don't recall ever wrapping my textbooks in plastic bags as a kid, but we did use paper grocery bags. They are easily recycleable and remanufacured from recycled fibers (Whole Foods uses 100% recycled content in their paper bags). Lastly, paper decomposes quickly in the environment, unlike plastic, and it's not as likely to suffocate or cause harm by ingestion, which happens with platic bags in the wild. The only disadvantage I see is with holding liquids, so plastic bags do still have the advantage when it comes to waste receptacles.

Well, I was going to buy the Hamilton Beach 2-way coffeemaker for $79, but it cost $88.97 at Target. Not only was it nearly $10 more than at Walmart, it was $9 more than Target's "online price". That severely pissed me off, so I bought a Black & Decker 12 cup model for about $50. It does a good job, but I am still annoyed at the 10 buck ripoff for going to the store, so I will now shop at Walmart just to teach Target a lesson. With marketing tactics like that, it is amazing that the hipsters brag on Target, but like I said earlier, they appear to like to brag about how much they pay for things. In that case, Target would be the store for them.

If you, like me, receive a 20% off coupon from BB&B in the mail even three days, you could probably get it for only $64. Assuming this is the one. http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?SKU=18223562

Also, I think it's funny that anyone would brag about shopping at Target.

I'm sure. No one from the Heights would be caught dead at the new Wal-Mart, they'll just send the nanny.

* Tip * Always grab a few extra bulk bags at Whole Foods. They're great for pouring in Wal-Mart brand granola.

I always get a kick out of these conflicting stereotypes. None of my immediate neighbors have nannies and many of them are of very moderate incomes. Nobody on my street had any anti-Walmart signs in their yards. But if we're going to stereotype, I will bet that many of the McMansionaires with families living in the unrestricted portions have nannies.

Such as?

Name one compelling difference between Target and Walmart.

The only thing I can think of is that when I was a kid I used to love the smell of their popcorn when my mom would drag me to Target.

People are entitled to their personal preferences, whether they are related to ambiance, merchandise, politics, etc. My father likes shopping at Walmart because his sole concern is bottom-line, yet my mother much prefers shopping at Target because she thinks they have nicer merchandise. Personally, I don't think Target is superior to Walmart, in fact, I credit Walmart for some of the progressive moves they've made as a result of the opposition they encounter when trying to build in urban environments.

I stopped shopping at Target a year or so ago because I realized I hate the feel of the place (fluorescent lights and glaring red colors everywhere) and because their CEO donates to right wing anti-gay and anti-immigrant groups. Not that I ever shopped there much to begin with. Even though I occasionally shop at Home Depot, I rarely go to Lowes. Go figure. Other than HD, I don't really shop at big-box retailers. I'm also not likely to shop at the Yale St. Walmart development, but I'm not one of the folks trying futilely to stop them.

Saving the world? I can't begin to think what that would mean, but sometimes I lack imagination. The world seems fine, much the same as ever.

Saving the planet? Also nebulous.

Saving species diversity and habitat? Contra The Niche, you should most certainly not waste time running over and roasting a squirrel, or if you must, make it a nutria; and the garden is your own affair. You should go to work doing whatever you do, then donate $$ or time to groups involved with purchasing, whether through fee simple or conservation easement, large amounts of habitat, or restoring that habitat where it has been lost (e.g.Texas).

You do sound interchangeable with all of the other cogs, The Niche. Your sheer numbers make you a potent force, though, however passive you may feel.

Oh, and .. plastic bags ... blah, blah, blah.

It does bother me when someone believes that buying something new is helping to "save the world". My favorite example is when someone claims a hybrid vehicle purchase means they are saving the environment, while ignoring the resources and pollution involved in the vehicle's production and shipment. It will take many years to offset that initial toll in terms of reduced petroleum usage, and even then they are polluting the air with the same fuel as a conventional car, albeit at a slightly reduced rate.

As for plastic bags, as I mentioned earlier, I think they are lousy for carrying most items, and they often seem to be treated as merely a proof-of-purchase when a shopper walks from the cash register to the exit door. I frequently witness a single item, itself with a handle, being placed in a plastic bag for no apparent reason. I'm not opposed to folks who want to use plastic bags, but I also wouldn't mind if there was some incentive for cashiers/baggers to be mindful and less wasteful with them.

The problem is they feature all of these items in a building that does not have the Target logo outside. Wal-Mart needs to move their HQ's to Portland or Williamsburg, NY if they ever want to be left alone.

I'm sure that is exactly the problem and that there are absolutely no sensible reasons why a person would not shop at Walmart.

And it's gone...sorry for the photo quality from my car. I don't see any signage, but I'm guessing that new residential will be replacing it.

Does this make us a police state?

Dude, get a life and stop worrying about everything Obama does. This is a good thing. It's an extension of emergency preparedness dating back to 1984, but bringing the government up to today's tech world. It's making sure the government can get the bandwidth and information it needs during times of disaster. We all know how cell towers and and networks get clogged already when an emergency hits. This makes sure the government can take over (if needed) so they can save lives instead of letting people Tweet "OMG end of wrld hpning. Btr grb last latte 2 go "

http://www.zdnet.com...der-7000000554/

You could even say it dates back to 1951, when CONELRAD was established to provide emergency broadcasting. I don't see how this executive order makes us a police state if it's for emergencies only, has been around in one form or another for over 60 years, and hasn't even been activated since the modern EAS was implemented over 15 years ago.

This shouldn't be a consideration. The concern should be cost and performance. If foreign companies can meet expectations more effectively, then let them. And let domestic companies figure out how to catch up by competing legitimately on a level playing field.

It'd be one thing if the police could operate in a military capacity or if a particular vehicle had too many parts that were manufactured in 'unfriendly' nations. The potential for supply disruptions toward fleet vehicles *should* be a consideration. A minor one.

Well I agree that government purchases should be awarded based on merit rather than manufacturer location, and if a better product meets the requirements for less cost, it should be chosen. I know that at the Federal level, exceptions are allowed when buying a domestic product is too expensive, not sufficiently available, etc.

Going back to local police, I'm not sure exactly why they buy domestic vehicles, but my hunch is that the large volume of orders for these vehicles from police units across the country results in parts and equipment being readily available and probably less expensive than retrofitting lesser-used vehicles. Also, the models used by police departments are not the standard consumer models, and foreign automakers may not be as keen on creating and maintaining customized vehicles for this market unless they can grab significant marketshare to justify the investment. Lastly, sticking with the domestics is probably viewed as a safe bet by public officials to keep vocal taxpayers from complaining about sending their tax dollars overseas.

• So-called domestic car companies (Big Three) don't manufacture most of their parts in the US. In fact, I've read that most Asian car manufacturers generally use more US-grown parts than US companies. Not sure about the European brands, but I suspect those are manufactured in Europe, for the most part.
  

Here are some actual numbers, although they're weighted for sales. The domestic car companies are well over 50% domestic content overall. Honda is the only non-US based carmaker listed with a majority American-made content for vehicles sold in the US. http://blogs.cars.co...automakers.html

You can also look up data for individual models on the NHTSA site (http://www.nhtsa.gov... (AALA) Reports).

More please? ?

The property is still for sale and has been for some time. Fiesta's current lease expires January 2013.

http://www.loopnet.c...od-Houston-TX/?

http://blogs.houston...14th_street.php

I personally hope they don't close or I won't have any full-service grocers within walking distance.

Maybe they can offer discounted ticket prices to the needy with the catch that they have corporate logos tattooed to the forehead. After all, it's not a good deed if you don't flaunt it, right?