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Gala to celebrate 30 years of The Woodlands By: LAUREN HUTTON , Villager staff 10/14/2004 George P. Mitchell, the founding father of The Woodlands, will return to the place where it all began 30 years ago. The Houston oilman and entrepreneur who recently made the Forbes Four Hundred Richest in America List will serve as an honored guest at The Woodlands 30th Anniversary Gala Saturday, which will take a look back at the years of accomplishments and recognize the leaders of the future. Mitchell said Monday that the idea for a master-planned community began long before he focused his stare in 1974 on the thick, green forests of what is now The Woodlands. And he saw more than just a bedroom community for Houston. Three decades and $7.5 billion later, 85-year-old Mitchell will tell you his vision is pretty close to the reality with more than 5 million square feet of office space, 6 million worth of retail, 7.3 million of institutional and technical, and more than 1,200 businesses that employ more than 30,000 people. "We have a good labor ratio working in and out of The Woodlands," he said. "We have great education, both private and public." And the thick, green forests that attracted Mitchell to the area in the first place still stand today -- securing a permanent place in residents' brags about their hometown. "The main thing we did do well is save the trees ... it's amazing how important that is to residents," he said. "Generally when you drive through, people say 'how the hell did they keep all those trees.'" But as in any dream, Mitchell said some things did not make it to reality. "We've done a fairly good job for middle-to-low income (families)," he said referring to part of his vision. "We have not had the mix of races that we wanted out there. "It's not the mix that Houston is; but we are doing better." As for the future, Mitchell wants to see as much of the wood areas and open-air spaces remain as possible as the community grows. But he is confident that Thomas J. D'Alesandro IV, current president and chief executive officer of The Woodlands Operating Company, shares his same vision. "He has a real feel for the project," Mitchell said. Despite its current controversial nature, Mitchell said he also stands by his original concept that The Woodlands eventually become part of the city of Houston. "They have seven more years to work that out," he said referring to the moratorium on annexation. "(The Woodlands) needs the economic backing." Mitchell said, for example, one reason he chose the location is because of the Houston Intercontinental Airport that Houston has poured millions of dollars into over the past few years. "The Woodlands could not afford to do that," he said. "There are things they can do better and things The Woodlands can do better. They just need to work it out." The gala that benefits Interfaith of The Woodlands also marks the opportunity to recognize this year's six Hometown Heroes that include four individuals and two businesses. Honorees include State Sen. Tommy Williams, Bruce Tough, Sharon Leigh, Nancy Battle, Memorial Hermann The Woodlands Hospital and Boni's Dance and Performing Arts Studio. Tickets to the event, which starts at 6 p.m. at The Woodlands Resort and Conference Center, have sold out due to high demand. But people may consider buying and donating a ticket to benefit Interfaith of The Woodlands. Raffle tickets are still available for a one-week stay for six people at Crested Butte, Colo. or two round-trip tickets anywhere in the United States. Market auction item tickets are also available. Prices of tickets are five for $20. You do not need to be present to win. For more information, e-mail Carolyn Davis, auction chair, at davisc@nhmccd.edu. Lauren Hutton may be reached at lhutton@mail.hcnonline.net. To learn more about "America's Hometown" history, see the special 30th anniversary magazine inside this week's Villager.

dbigtex, sorry i didn't take the time to research and regurgitate the facts in a manner that is pleasing. maybe i shouldn't be on HAIF while at work. your understanding that the federal government requires states to redistrict after each census is correct; however, states have the right to call a special session to redistrict under specific circumstances. delay's "gerrymander" as you call it actually eliminated a past gerrymander. it was presented in the press as "unprecedented" and possibly illegal, when actually, it followed the letter and spirit of the law as was found by the higher court when it chose not to hear the appeal. the appeal was unsubstantiated. my former rant about dems creating the law that delay now uses is true; however, he didn't use the law to make a more populous republican or white district. i had not read the law concerning redistricting until this week. i'm now more confident in my conclusions concerning this issue than before.

one more point showing that the case was not unprecedented. if the redistricting were "unprecedented" then the higher courts would have wanted to "make" precedence for this particular case.

it is my understanding that if the governor calls a special session specifically for redistricting, especially if the redistricting has not been done by the legislature, the state legislature will not be challenged unless certain race factors or minorities have not been considered. in fact, it appears that since the texas legislature writes the redistricting into law and unless federal laws concerning minority voting rights are violated, the feds have little interest in fighting it. this is not unprecedented. a link is at the bottom in case this format is a pain. Chapter 1 The Texas Redistricting Process I. Redistricting: A Legislative Function A. Redistricting Authority Section 28, Article III, Texas Constitution, requires the Texas Legislature to apportion both houses of the legislature at its first regular session after publication of the federal decennial census. Without this requirement, the legislature would be responsible for legislative redistricting under the plenary legislative authority granted by Section 1, Article III, Texas Constitution. The Texas Supreme Court has stated that section grants to the legislature

lest anyone forget pre 1980's politics, the democrats ran the state of texas. the democrats created the laws that allowed tom delay and the dominate party to redistrict according to their fancy. there was virtually no media coverage or outcry when the democrats redistricted in the early eighties to secure their hold on the state for a few more years. now that republicans are using tools created by the dems it's abominable, criminal! it's actually hilarious to see how little people remember. if i had my "drothers", as grandma used to say, the republicans would have worked to eliminate undue influence on such things making the process less complicated and more fair (more directly connected to the popular/representative vote).

there is a southland hardware store at 1822 westheimer near river oaks and a buffalo hardware (ace-true value) store at kirby and westheimer.

there was a time i too couldn't wait to get home and log on. there seemed to be so many good conversations going on that i'd have to make myself sign off. i was late for work several times trying to finish a thought or complete reading a thread.

randall davis had control of the property and had plans for it; however, it seems that HISD has/had plans to condemn it. i may be off a bit. from what i remember randall davis had already spent some dough updating the building. i don't know who currently holds interest in the building.

my wish is that the associations/gov-neighborhood efforts being created here could be replicated for existing urban neighborhoods. laws would have to be changed. a government approved format would have to be made acceptable to all parties. then the majority of landowners in a particular geographical area could more easily establish associations with the authority of one granted by a developer, hopefully creating by-laws that increase property values and define the character of a limited mixed use urban "zone"; in some cases "preserving" character rather than redefining it.

i think this article is pre enron. the copyright is 2001. it's fun to read nevertheless.

i've wondered if million dollar homes would take off in downtown. once the demographics reach a higher level of per capita wealth, retailers will follow in droves. millionaires will certainly help that demographic. anyone hoping for a downtown retail come back should keep their fingers crossed on these million dollar residences.

The Woodlands finishes second in international competition The Woodlands has placed second in the prestigious Nations in Bloom competition, the world's only competition for local communities that focuses on good environmental management and the creation of livable communities. Endorsed by the United Nations, the objective of Nations in Bloom is to encourage best practice, innovation and leadership in providing a vibrant, environmentally sustainable community that improves the quality of life. "This is a significant award for The Woodlands," said Woodlands Community Association President Bruce Tough. "It is very rare for a community to win an award in the competition on the first try, and to come in second with a Gold award for environmental practices is almost unheard of. A lot of credit goes to the Community Associations of The Woodlands staff who coordinated the application and presentation. "We competed against 274 cities," Mr. Tough continued, "and were the only community in the U.S. to make it to the finals in our category. We competed against cities that have hundreds and some thousands of years of heritage and planning, and it was a great privilege to represent The Woodlands and receive this honor." Involvement in Nations in Bloom will result in an increased international profile for the community and an opportunity to learn from communities, from around the world, of best practice in environmental and landscape management, heritage management, community empowerment and forward planning. The award was announced today in Apeldoorn, Netherlands, following several days of competition. The delegation from The Woodlands is expected back on Wednesday. For more information about the competition, please visit http://www.nationsinbloom.com and http://www.thewoodlandsassociations.org/pr...ress.php?id=907. A press release issued by Nations in Bloom follows. Nations in Bloom The International Awards for Liveable Communities Nations in Bloom was launched in 1997 and is endorsed by the United Nations Environment Programme and is the world

Community Associations earn national award for communications plan The Community Associations of The Woodlands were recently recognized by the City-County Communications and Marketing Association (3CMA) for their Strategic Communications Plan. The plan earned an Award of Excellence in the national 3CMA Savvy Award competition in the category of jurisdictional and departmental communication plans for cities and counties with populations of 70,000 to 925,000. Competition judges described the plan as

couldn't the parks dept purchase a lot or two before prices get higher? maybe the midtown TIRZ could purchase park land in the area. in fact, a one block park for every 9 blocks would be a great ratio. no chance of that happening though.

does anyone have info. on the progress of this midtown project? i haven't heard anything recently.

cool

'tis true. it would be interesting though, to see who owns the most land in the tamina community. i drove around the area recently and there isn't much land for sale. my bet is that it has quietly been bought up for future development. i guess we could check the tax rolls. it is unfortunate that the water/sewer issue has not been worked out sooner. is it the city of oak ridge that sunk this most recent deal or "greedy" forces within the tamina community? i read an article that certain parties wanted undue control or funds and ultimately lost government funds due to the bickering.

not to burst a bubble or anything, but many automobile commercials are local or regional. a camero commercial in houston will not be the same camero commercial in atlanta. i doubt the commercials with houston as a backdrop are more than that. many of the voice overs identify texas or houston specifically as you're seeing houston as a back drop.

OUCH!!! Video is fun.

dear well meaning pineda, why in the shadow of the woodlands ? the article has nothing to do with the woodlands at all. tamina's water and sewer issues were specifically involving the city of oak ridge north and montgomery county. i realize you have a beef with the woodlands; i don't see how tamina's issues are related. p.s. i enjoy your posts. keep 'em coming.

this week i'm listening to: The Shaman, Deep Forest, Depeche Mode, Squirrel Nut Zipper, Everything But The Girl, Green Day, Good Charlotte, Chopin, Annie Lenox, Johnny Cash. BTW, the Annie Lenox/Sting concert was AMAZING!!!! at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion in September. Up and coming significant (IMHO) musical performances and/or performances with live music: Cirque du Soleil - Varekai (Jan-Feb), Les Miserables (Jan or Feb).

the opening post on this thread calls the "picture of a model" of the austin city hall a rendering. a rendering is a drawing or more specifically a cad drawing. correct me if i'm wrong. the austin city hall appears to be an attempt at "organic" architecture but the model looks like a 1960s or 1970s era precast concrete behemoth. blech! is this already built? i might feel differently if i experienced it in person. architecture takes on a completely new dimension in human scale.

what are "mouthbreathers"?

it's garish! the water feature should have had stores opening up to it instead of having their backs to it.

wow 2112, i want to be mexican-american! the more i learn about our mexican immigrants and their families the more i appreciate them. there are real, genuine, solid qualities found in the mexican-american community that are lacking in other pockets of american culture. although i usually avoid threads like these, your post inspired me. thanks for sharing about your family.