23 hours ago, JBTX said:

I wonder how much of that is affected by all the construction.

Well with A and B, it's likely going to be going on for another decade, so I'd say get used to it, i.e., if they aren't growing due to the construction, not sure why we would assume they would in the future.

7 hours ago, Houston19514 said:

United clearly has growth plans for IAH.  See their plans for massive rebuild of Terminal.B.   It is not pathetic or even surprising that they may not be building a club in Terminal D, as it will continue to be primarily for non-United carriers.

Wrong, the new D pier was designed in no insignificant part to give UA additional international gate capacity (it should be obvious they have no other options to implement their "massive" growth plans on the international side at the peaks, which is when you want to add new international destinations to maximize connectivity) instead of building the 2008-era proposed FIS at Terminal B.  They will be using it--just like they use D today, although I am sure to a higher degree.  The fact that they don't use the opportunity to build a build-to-suit flagship club is, indeed, pathetic, given how crowded the existing clubs are.  The closest club to those gates will be the already pathetically undersized C-North club.  There were plans for a Star Alliance lounge at one point, but I'd think we'd have heard about it by now if it was still the plan.

I am not saying they don't have growth plans at IAH because, as you say, they continue to pour money into facilities here and at least pay lip service to growing here.  That said, in the last decade (i.e, from 2010 to 2019), UA grew 25% in seat capacity at DEN, 9% at ORD, and shrunk 4% at IAH.  Since 2019, it has grown a further 19% in DEN and shrunk another 4% at IAH.  Does not scream major growth plans to me.  If you say they are sitting out waiting for the construction of D to be over, well, then we can only assume they'll sit out waiting for B to over, which will probably be another 5+ year redevelopment program.  Chances are pretty decent there will be another major recession that will upend the existing growth plan and we will still be waiting.  IMO IAH is a big hedge for them because they essentially control the facilities, unlike at DEN and ORD.

15 minutes ago, Houston19514 said:

Good news, while DFW international traffic did indeed surpass IAH's in 2022, by 1/4 million (2.67%), for the first six months of 2023, IAH is back in the lead, by 164,000 (3.04%).

And, as you allowed, when HOU international traffic is added, Houston still led Dallas-Fort Worth in international air passenger traffic in 2022, by about 2/3 million (and the 1st Half/2023 lead widens to more than 2/3 million (12.39%)).

Looks like IAH has about 250K more international departing seats than DFW for CY 2023.

Column 4 is 2023, column 3 is 2022:

Of course, North America in the above is Mexico and Canada.

Total IAH 2023: 7,075,159

Total DFW 2023: 6,757,191

Still, again, a far cry from the historical comparison, and I'm not sure it's anything to trumpet.  Unfortunately, DFW really ate into IAH's historical dominance to Mexico.  IAH's marginally higher seats fully attributable to DFW's gap to Central and South America.  

We'll see if there is any major expansion once the new international gates open, but I'm not holding my breath.  I don't think UA is even building a club in the new terminal (we would've heard about it by now from UA, which telegraphs things like that 2 years in advance), which is absolutely pathetic.

7 hours ago, scarface said:

Did they not consider the Embassy Suites views?

I think the answer to that question is obviously not.

7 hours ago, scarface said:

I am wondering how enticing it will be now to get visitors to stay in this hotel with basically view of the city or downtown. 

Plenty of hotels in NYC, Chicago, and other major cities (in Houston, too, I'm sure) that similarly abut neighboring buildings.  At least this will be only on one side.  I don't think the run-of-the-mill traveler is looking for a view when booking a hotel.  If they get a nice one, sure, it's a major plus, but it seems to me like the only people who would really know AND really care would be repeat travelers, who after a while could figure out a way to request a room on the other side.

On 8/11/2023 at 2:25 PM, Blue Dogs said:

Fox 26 KRIV-TV Houston reporting former Houston City Councilman At-Large 5 Dr. Jack Christie (R) launching campaign for the Mayoralty.

https://www.fox26houston.com/news/former-city-councilman-dr-jack-christie-joins-houston-mayoral-race

 

Christie's not bad.  The one running for mayor or president.  🤣

10 hours ago, Texasota said:

I just don't think adding some vines is a real long-term solution - planting trees is. 

Worst thing that has ever happened as far as city planning goes in Houston as far as I'm concerned is the absolute inattention to a requirement for trees in public rights-of-way, sidewalks (well, yeah, I guess we don't have those, I suppose they go hand-in-hand) and roadways.  And I'm not talking about the 19th century, even if someone made an effort in my lifetime, this city would be an entirely different and more livable place.  Atlanta, of course, is the most prominent example.

17 hours ago, Houston19514 said:

Correct, it is not uncommon, especially when there is a change of composition, but this change pretty clearly has nothing to do with the very minor change in our composition.

They did not change the north Texas metroplex name as you stated. Dallas-Plano-Irving is the name of a metropolitan division, a subset of the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metropolitan area. Neither has changed in some time. (The western side of the metroplex is the Fort Worth-Arlington-Grapevine metropolitan division.)  FWIW, their combined area is named Dallas-Fort Worth.

See https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwifzvmMkq-AAxUslGoFHZayCdMQFnoECA0QAw&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww2.census.gov%2Fgeo%2Fpdfs%2Freference%2FGARM%2FCh13GARM.pdf&usg=AOvVaw24jMAK5TEr852RoZsWqjHd&cshid=1690469745964012&opi=89978449

There are rules . . . BUT the underlined portion makes it seem entirely subjective.  Neither The Woodlands nor Pasadena have a population at least one-third of Houston's.  The Woodlands is an obvious commuting center and an anchor point for the northern counties of the MSA.  Maybe one can argue that Pasadena is from the east as well, although I'd think the numbers are much smaller--I have no handle for how many refinery jobs, for example, or in Pasadena versus Deer Park versus any of the other eastern cities.  Seems like Baytown would be better than Pasadena as having its own regional draws, and as I recall, Baytown used to be part of the MSA definition along with Galveston.  Pasadena and The Woodlands just must be way more vocal.  (Does HGAC weigh in at all?)

Central Cities and MA Titles

The OMB designates the largest city in each MSA or CMSA as a central city,
and additional cities qualify for this designation if specified requirements are
met concerning population size and commuting patterns. The central cities
of a NECMA are those cities in the NECMA that qualify as central cities of an
MSA or a CMSA.

The title of each MSA consists of the names of up to three of its central
cities and the name of each State into which the MSA extends. However, a
central city is not included in an MSA title unless it has at least one-third the
population of the area’s largest city or local opinion supports its inclusion.
Typically, titles of PMSAs also are based on central city names, but in certain
cases consist of county names. Generally, titles of CMSAs are based
on the titles of their component PMSAs, although CMSA titles may include
suitable regional designations. NECMA titles are derived from the names
of central cities. As is the case for MSAs, a CMSA, PMSA, or NECMA title
always includes the names of all States into which the area extends.

On 8/24/2021 at 11:06 AM, H-Town Man said:

I think that seeing county leadership change from Republican to Democrat 

On 8/23/2021 at 4:10 PM, H-Town Man said:

especially now that most local political leadership has switched to Democrat.  

 

Say it after me . . . DEMOCRATIC . . . you can do it!  "Democrat" is a noun, not an adjective.  I shall never understand any explanation for its incessant use other than the obvious insidious one.

What's in an adjective? 'Democrat Party' label on the rise | AP News

Looks like Whitmire is in the driver's seat 4 months out.  Although neck and neck with SJL in the open race, he has a solid lead for the runoff.  He leads because he has 80% of the Republican vote and really is aiming his campaign towards those voters (I know one cerulean "dog" who bit very fast), despite being a Democrat his entire political life, which I find strange--if he is more aligned with that party, he should simply switch and not just use the brand.

I don't expect to vote for Whitmire, mainly because of his historical association with Republicans and his "opportunism," as described in the Texas Tribune article above.  That said, I don't have anywhere near the same level of concern if he wins as I did with the Harris County Judge race, which was driven by toxic demagoguery and it was clear (to me at least) that Hidalgo's opponent (I can't even remember her name . . . Moral Mealer, had to look it up) was all a power play to essentially subordinate the County to the State to stave off the inevitable demographic changes the County will experience in the coming decades . . . there was a hell of a lot at stake there with national repercussions.

Whitmire, while seemingly corruptible, could help mend relationships with the State and business community, and does not seem anywhere near as divisive as the typical MAGA candidate.  I can see why plenty of people would call SJL divisive (and Hidalgo for that matter, too, but at least she wasn't willing to sign the County over to the State).  If it's time for the other side to have a "win" to keep things in check and prevent the more toxic forces from taking hold down the road, I think that's fine.

Houston mayoral race: Whitmire would lead Jackson in runoff, poll says (houstonchronicle.com)

20 hours ago, Houston19514 said:

To bring this back to the topic of the $2 Billion pot of money to be used in the downtown area/convention district;  As I understand it, they will not be able to use this money to fund anything at NRG Park.  

Way to go county "leadership".  

Dallas is using this same state-authorized funding plan to fund both a new convention center (the vast majority of the funds) and to provide some additional funding for Fair Park.  A relatively small fraction of this money could have funded a renovation/reimagining of the Astrodome.

Are you sure SB 1057 even applies to counties?  The law applies to "municipalities" and local government corporations that "operates a convention center facility located not more than three miles from the city hall of the municipality in which the convention center facility is located."

As far as I can tell, municipalities in Texas include only cities and, while the County operates NRG Park, it's definitely more than 3 miles from Houston City Hall.

2 hours ago, j_cuevas713 said:

Yeah I read how they were expecting the arena to spur growth in that neighborhood but it didn't. I wonder if that massive parking lot had anything to do with it instead of building up and around the arena. 

Seems like it had to be way more related to the fact that they already had the coliseum complex there (i.e., they already owned the land), and like us with NRG, they also wanted it also to be used for the Stock Show and required the surrounding buildings.  Are there any examples of arenas in more remote areas spurring any economic development considering there are less than 50 dates a year?  If the local leaders did say that, I'd say they were being entirely disingenuous.

8 hours ago, HoustonMidtown said:

Improvements coming to George R. Brown Convention Center and downtown area, thanks to Senate Bill 1057

https://www.click2houston.com/news/local/2023/07/20/improvements-coming-to-george-r-brown-convention-center-and-downtown-area-thanks-to-senate-bill-1057/

Looks to be a PR placement by Whitmire considering there is nothing new.

3 hours ago, MrFubbles said:

do you mean banausic? 

in case anyone was wondering:

ba·nau·sic

adjective

FORMAL

 

1. not operating on a refined or elevated level; mundane.

   "serious discussion of scientific problems was regarded as banausic"

   • relating to technical work.

     "his contribution may have been administrative or banausic"

Is anyone else suffering from banausea or is it just me?

On 7/17/2023 at 12:46 PM, hindesky said:

Saw the same thing, guess Hines owns Drewery now? What could go possibly go … right?

12 hours ago, august948 said:

In Spring it's 832 day.

Yet another reason they never have anything to celebrate in Spring 🤣

On 7/1/2023 at 8:45 PM, Triton said:

On top of what TXK said, this will become a spur (do we have an official name yet?). 

Great question--here's another one--what was the name of the street that was there to begin with?

In this map from 1950, the US 75 alignment was essentially the same around downtown and it was even then called the "North Freeway."  Interestingly, Memorial was called the "Memorial Freeway," even though Allen Parkway was called the "Buffalo Expressway" (was called Buffalo Drive at one point).  Wonder what the distinction was.  Not to mention the confusion with Buffalo Speedway, which also existed at the time.

Houston Street Map 1950 - Maps - Houston Public Library Digital Archives (oclc.org)

In this from 1890, looks like Bagby in Midtown was Burnett and Heiner was Stanley, with the area where 45 being large lots without streets.

1 hour ago, samagon said:

yep, billions of dollars to not even make it wider. what a boondoggle. 

Many moons ago, I recall, not widening the freeway was one of the criteria that you said would lead to your supporting the project.  Quelle surprise.

10 hours ago, ChannelTwoNews said:

You can now officially add ExxonMobil to the list.

https://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2023/07/10/exxon-mobil-headquarters-move-spring-official-sec.html

"Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) officially changed the headquarters it has listed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to Spring this month, making it the largest publicly traded company headquartered in the Houston area."

Should’ve waited until 713 Day!

31 minutes ago, cityliving said:

I have noticed that the land where this building is being constructed seems uneven or it slopes down to one side making it seem like its crooked.

There's our signature tourist attraction!

8 hours ago, Tumbleweed_Tx said:

where's that eyeroll emoji.
The State has always rolled it's eyes at Harris County and it's issues, it does the same for Dallas and Tarrant Counties. 

Maybe in the past, but the State is targeting Harris County--this latest law applies only to it.  (And Tarrant County has never been known for progressiveness, so it's never been a target.  Travis, sure.)

Texas election law: Harris County sues over law that eliminates its elections administrator position | CNN Politics

The law is one of two measures enacted by state Republicans that target the elections process in Harris County. The other law, SB 1933, authorizes the Texas secretary of state – an appointee of Republican Gov. Greg Abbott – to “order administrative oversight” of a county elections office if, for instance, a complaint is filed or there’s cause to believe there’s a recurring pattern of problems involving election administration or voter registration.

“As soon as we’re done with this lawsuit, we can evaluate the other laws that need to be challenged, including Senate Bill 1933,” Menefee said at a news conference Thursday.

SB 1750 and SB 1933 apply to counties with a population of more than 3.5 million and 4 million people respectively – criteria met only by Harris County.

1 hour ago, hindesky said:

Good Lord, I saw that interview and I was like who do you think you’re kidding, Dusty?!

47 minutes ago, august948 said:

That's a very broad brush you got in your hand, brother.  Can you be more specific on how you would imagine it would play out here?  Mark Milley turns the US military on Biden and anoints Trump the god king?

Sorry, augie, I'm not in on the details of the coup plotting (shouldn't that be obvious?).  Try pretty much any member of the Freedom Caucus, Tucker Carlson, John Eastman, the Claremont Institute, your local Proud Boys chapter, or anyone else similarly spouting off about a "national divorce" if you're interested as they've definitely been working on it for a while, each bringing their own strength.  Hell, you may have heard--they even had a dry run not too long ago!

3 minutes ago, august948 said:

Has he really stated this "openly multiple times" or is that a bit of hyperbole?

Trump has made comments repeatedly about taking extrajudicial actions (e.g., instituting martial law, having the military seize voting machines, encouraging state attorneys general to overturn election results), not quite sure what else you're looking for.  His rhetoric since Day 1 has been to inflame half of the country against the other.  He has told militia groups to "Stand back and stand by," and only this week "Truthed" for his supporters to put the Special Prosecutor "out to rest."  What in the heck do you think "put out to rest" means?  What do you think "take back our country" means?  An innocent turn of phrase?  That the guy is simply misunderstood?  Watch any one of his famous rallies--he makes these comments, and his supporters want MORE, not less.  Maybe he is just misunderstood and is just a total joker of a guy.  Seems like, if that were true, he would eventually learn how to "change tack," and, even if he didn't, not sure why anyone would want to take the chance.

3 minutes ago, august948 said:

And how would such an abrogation actually work? 

You've got to be kidding me--it would work as every other revolution in history has.

53 minutes ago, august948 said:

Watched the Tampa video, counted a whole 11 Nazis demonstrating on a street corner.

The Facebook issue is so obscure that no one other than a scholar or a political hack deliberately looking for a case to make would even notice.  That's assuming that the 88 and red triangle were not actually coincidences or, in the case of the triangle, misinterpretation of an antifa poster someone sold on a website somewhere.  Assuming this all was a deliberate, subliminal attempt to awaken the the Nazi zombie army, how many Trump campaign workers would have known the symbology and had the access to write the ad and place exactly 88 ads?  One perhaps, maybe a couple?

Mom's for Liberty, Hamilton County Indiana chapter?  Anyone heard of this group or place outside the news report?  Exactly how many "Moms for Liberty" are there in Hamilton County, Indiana?  And how many of these moms put the quote they then had to apologize for into said newsletter?  One perhaps?

Please, I know you can do better than these...

augie, here's where I am obligated to remind you that you're the one who brought the Nazis into the discussion and linked them to the GOP.  I know this infantile pseudo-libertarian cynical nihilism has made some people literal to the point such that, until Trump sprouts a toothbrush mustache, does the Nazi salute, and has a ribbon cutting for concentration camps in San Francisco, you won't believe him to be a fascist. (Although, quite honestly, I wouldn't be surprised to see if you couldn't find some way to laugh it off with something like, "lolz, can't you do better than that?")  If that's what you want to hang your hat on, be my guest--those are definitely some "special" kind of moral standards to aspire to.  I'd definitely not want to spend my personal capital standing behind that bunch as if it were some sort of shield, but you do you, buddy.

9 hours ago, august948 said:

Would that be akin to the other paranoid fantasy that the Republican party is being run by Nazi's?  I need not say that Nazi's are the hand's down favorite go-to boogeyman in certain circles.

Well, augie, since you're the one who brought up Nazis, maybe it has to do with this:

P (N | T) is probably less than 1%

P (T | N) is probably in the 99% range

That is, the probability that one is a Nazi given they're a Trump voter is miniscule, but the probability that one is a Trump voter given they're a Nazi is almost a certainty, so I'd say that dog hunts.

Of course, things like this don't help, either:

Neo-Nazi demonstration near Walt Disney World has Tampa Bay area organizations concerned, 'A fear in the air' - CW Tampa (cbsnews.com)

Facebook removes Trump campaign ad with Nazi concentration camp symbol  - Vox

Moms for Liberty chapter apologizes for quoting Hitler in its newsletter | AP News

So, I wouldn't fault people for labeling the MAGA wing of the Republican Party as having Fascist tendencies, especially considering the party leadership turns a blind eye to it, or pretend it doesn't exist (sound familiar?).  Plenty has been written on the subject if you care to dig deeper.  

Having a presidential candidate who has stated openly multiple times he will "suspend the Constitution" if re-elected so he can enact retribution on political opponents is a bit Fashy, no?  Does that sound like "freedom" and "liberty" to you?

On 6/21/2023 at 11:04 AM, HoustonBoy said:

Far-left ideology contributes massively to entropy and destroys the family structure which is inherent to a strong society. It is the party of malaise and economic drain. Far-right ideology constricts social progress and promotes greed. I’d say both are equally destructive with one coming in a prettier package. The political spectrum is really a circle and both sides end in authoritarianism. No thanks! Advances in technology and “the human condition” cannot be claimed be leftists or right wingers, but rather a constellation of both. Also, there is zero brain drain at the moment. It is WAY too early to make an uninformed comment like that. All of our Med schools are still at maximum matriculation and our healthcare sector state-wide is still expanding at record pace. I don’t know where you’re getting your ideas from besides making them up. @__nevii

I'm all for arguing that the extremes generate bad political results, but there is only one political party whose "mainstream" is now effectively being run at the national level by extremists, with the unstated (well, unwritten, I guess, as we've now gotten to the point that plenty of people are "stating" it openly) platform of said party being authoritarianism.  This is an important distinction to make, especially considering they are justifying such positions based on paranoid fantasies about a left-wing that is a marginal participant in U.S. politics at best (yet always a favorite go-to boogeyman).

1 hour ago, Triton said:

Wow that looks like absolute garbage in the daytime. At the very least, they could have added a chrome background around the circle while still maintaining the lights.

Oddly enough, the night time looks beautiful though.

Must've been designed by the same visionary who created the "trash can" sculptures on JFK Blvd at IAH.  Looks nice . . . for less than a quarter of the operating day. The rest of the day, it’s a headscratcher at best, eyesore at worst.