jt16

Additional parking garages are an indicator of a healthy downtown. Adequate parking is needed for tenants and visitors in any downtown. Not every surface lot can turned into a highrise.

The building manager at Heritage Plaza says that they are going to be breaking ground on a parking garage on the surface lot across the street this December as well. This is on the lot across from the Doubletree where a high-rise condo was initially slated to go. It's not as exciting, but I think that the more surface lots that are turned into garages, the more the economics on the remaining surface lots could change.

Alright, alright... don't speed-bag my balls here. It's Burlington Reources, a sizable Oil and Gas company in town.

Burlington is taking over a big chunk of the Calpine building. I think Calpine may even be selling the building.

I hear the Chevron deal is all but done, but there are delays because the owner of the old Enron building died in the plane crash at Hobby last week. I'm not sure what that does for negotiations.

Houston belongs to the businessman, not to the Spring Breaker. This is our angle and always will be. Frankly, I prefer it this way, and think it's a much better recipe for success than trying to be a destination city. That doesn't mean Houston has no nightlife. If you can't find it, then you're simply not looking. If all you want in life is to pary until 4 AM, then move to NO. I bet you can find some cheap housing and a quick job. I'm a staunch conservative, and have been extremely impressed with Bill White. Maybe becuase our last mayor was so bad. I would never run for a local politcal office. It seems like nobody is ever happy.

most sex offenses are a lot like other crimes. the victim usually knows the attacker. Which doesn't make it right. But a lot of sex offenders are men having sex with girls uner the age of 18. Ex. a 16 year old boy and his 16 year old girlfriend having a sexual relationship can result in the 16 year old boy being indicted as a sex offender.

Houston metro does not include some areas that to me should clearly be considered as part of the metro area. I think this includes The Woodlands and Katy.

Word is that there are three very large square footage tenants coming soon to downtown, and this will tighten the dt market considerable. I've heard that Dan Duncan (Enterprise CEO) is personally buying 1100 Louisiana and Enterprise will occupy roughly 600,000 sq. feet and that Chevron is looking for roughly the same amount of space. EOG is also apparently searching around for a huge chunk of space too. I cannot personally verify this, so maybe somebody else can confirm. Maybe we are finally seeing the boom from higher energy prices.

How can we expect a boom? Many experts expect the city population to be roughly half its pre-Hurricane population. Tourism too will take a pretty big hit. I loved going to NO, and will continue to go, but let's be reasonable. Trump may build this tower, but he has a history of making very bad (and sometimes shady) real estate deals just so he can erect a large tower with his name on it. Protect your other assets and file bankruptcy later.

I'm looking for some office space for a startup. Does anyone know a good website? Thanks in advance for any help.

We gave the owner of the Crazy Horse Cantina or El Jefe or whatever he called it, a lot of grief when the building looked like a dump. I noticed yesterday that the building was remodeled and looked very well done. I guess we should also give credit when it's due.

With $200 billion in federal aid going to the Gulf Coast and all the new construction will Houston construction projects be hurt? All that construction at the same time has to escalate building costs? It's just a theory, and I'm sure some on here would know better than I would.

allegedly.

It's called leadership. Take the blame and move on to other more pressing topics. I don't see anyone else stepping up and taking blame... and there are plenty of others who are more to blame on the local level. Anyone with half a brain knows that the local governments are responsible for their own evacuation and emergency management plans.

Let's take this thread on a new path. I say when we rebuild, we move the city a little further north and call it Newer Orleans.

You guys are forgetting a very important fact. This storm turned into a Cat 5 from a Cat 3 literally overnight. It wasn't even a hurricane when it came across the Western edge of Florida. Even then, all the computer models had it moving more easterly towards the panhandle of Florida. Also, I think having a means does make a difference in who is left behind. I work for a gas marketing company that represents and oil and gas exploration company in New Orleans. Several executives decided to stick around and ride it out in the Fairmont in Downtown New Orleans. These people could have left New Orleans in a limo or by private jet, but didn't. I'm not sure how they made it, but they are now in the Four Seasons in downtown Houston, not on a charter bus headed to the Dome, or San Antonio, or Huntsville, or somewhere else. Before we pass judgement, all of these people have lost their homes and two or three employees are still unaccounted for. I too am pretty conservative and Support the President. Any federal measure of response will be slow. The immediate disaster response rests squarely on the state level. This is where inefficiencies have started. Every state is in charge of their own Homeland Security offices and emergency responses. In Texas, we have plans drawn up all the time, and hopefully will reevaluate them. It's obvious that LA was not prepared and the amauture hour displayed by the governor and the mayor are showing through. It seems like everyone wants to blame the president, when in fact mobilizing federal and military assistance is a time-consuming and difficult task. Just my two cents.

The cruise is sold out. I was really looking forward to a last minute labor day vacation.

Unleaded futures are up to $2.70. Gasoline will be $3 before the end of the week. No price gouging. We've lost our only oil import terminal in South LA, and a lot of refining capacity.

Um, no amount of money would have spared New Orleans. You can't build a city under sea level and expect to survive a Cat 5 hurricance. Some people will blame the president for everything. I heard that the BBC was blaming Bush because he didn't sign the Kyoto agreement. Can't we put aside politics for once and see things for what they truly are? This is basically the equivalent of an atomic bomb being dropped on the city. The only difference is the loss of life. This city will be contaminated and uninhabitable for a long time.

How many corporate relocations do you think we'll see in the next few years?

I see them reconsidering this project now the hurricane has hit.

Because those quilters come and provide jobs that those poor people might not otherwise have.

Please keep in mind I'm only repeating what I've heard on xm radio and on 610 this morning. It could all be rumour. But, they were saying that sources said the Johnny Damon and Clemens have already tested positive and that the news should break soon next week. I guess we can just wait and see. If it's true, I guess MLB would suffer a huge attendance drop. I hope it's not true, as I'm sure most everyone else does.

I've been hearing on sports talk radio that there will be two big name players to be tested positive for steroids. One name being speculated is a hometown guy and could clear the stands for the rest of the year. Is anybody else hearing this?