713 To 214

The reason taxes are excised from land owners of annexed property is because the city has to provide services to those areas. . .water, sewer, streets, infrastructure, etc. Those who keep stating this "retention of the tax base" argument are convieniently leaving that part out. There's no windfall income received by cities as a result of annexation (that would be taxation without representation). In some cases, it can be the contrary. It ends up costing the city more to maintain the land because the tax base is not proportionate.

Just our of curiosity, I'd like to know: 1. Who are these City Planners that "generally praise Houston's aggressive annexation policies for not letting the city get hemmed in by suburban communities, as happened to Detroit, Dallas, Chicago and others." 2. What are the "aftereffects" that cities, which did not protect their ETJ, deal with? You can try to paint ipstick on the pig all day, and in as many different shades as you'd like. However, the common complaint from many average people (residing in and out of Harris County) is that the city is too spread out. It is definetly an opinion. . .but, the fact of the matter is that it's an opinion that's shared by many. It's an issue that will ultimately have to be dealt with, rather than ignored.

1. Why would the City of Houston's municipal tax base be leaving Houston? 2. If the City of Houston annexes the outlying areas people move to, in order to get away from Houston, don't you think those people will just move again?

. . .and Dallas.

If you want the real national/international news, check out the NewsHour with Jim Lehrer. It's the most in-depth, unbiased source for news around. The show's producers can afford to give the news to you straight because there really are no corporate sponsors to please. It airs locally on KUHT / Channel 8 (PBS), from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. You'll really increase your knowledge and understanding of national, and international affairs, just by watching this program 5 times a week.

nice rendering; I hope it happens. I also hope METRO builds a rail station nearby.

. . . blah, blah, blah!

I tried hailing a taxi in DT Houston a couple of times. . .it didn't work. I should have known better the second time I tried. However, I had just flown into town from New Nork, where I was hailing them at will. I guess I just forgot where I was. Anyway, Houston's destinations are too spread out, as puma aptly pointed out. So, the sprawl will have to change before we see a serious decrease in taxi fares here. As it stands, the avg. taxi fare from DT to Galleria area/richmond is about 25 bucks, including tips

I long for the days when the maturity level of this forum's members reaches the point where comparison threads, such as this one, are no longer needed. IMHO, this thread, and others like it, only serves to validate Houstonians' infeiority complex. Let's move on. . .shall we?

Ever wonder why biblical characters don't have their last names mentioned in the book?

No! It's a birthright!

Are you kidding me? We don't want it here. You can have it. We're doing just fine with the Black Enterprise Entrepreneurs Conference. They seem to love Dallas, becasue they keep coming back year after year.

Judge Sparks ruled that while Mr. DeLay was free to withdraw, the Republicans may not remove his name from the ballot, because there was no residency requirement for the House in the Constitution except that a candidate "when elected, be an inhabitant of that state in which he shall be chosen." No one could yet say where Mr. DeLay would be living on Election Day, Nov. 7, the judge said. To allow such a switch on the ballot would be to illegally disadvantage the Democrats, he said. "Political acumen, strategy and manufactured evidence, even combined with a sound policy in mind, cannot override the Constitution," Judge Sparks said. He cast doubt on some of the Republican evidence, noting that Mr. DeLay had sent a draft of his letter announcing his move to Virginia to Ms. Benkiser for editing. Texas law rules out replacement of names on the ballot except under narrow circumstances to prevent parties from seeking advantages by suddenly switching candidates. "This would be a serious abuse of the election system and a fraud on the voters, which the court will not condone," Judge Sparks ruled. He said the Constitution, not Texas law, prevailed. rest of the NY Times Article is here

I haven't addressed this point yet. However, I thought that Essence Music Festival Organizers actually did a very good job notifying event-goers on how to get around Houston, including offering printable maps, links to METRO, and Greater Houston Convention & Visitors Bureau. Check the site here.

Are you stating that, if Houston is lucky enough to get the Essence Festival again, there is nothing that can be done about locating the scheduled/surrounding events closer together and/or encouraging businesses to stay open on Sunday?

If you would like to accept praise when things are good, you should be wiling to accept criticism when things go wrong. There's no harm in examining criticisms, analyzing what can/can't be done about them, and making a pledge to work to do better. Critics of the City shouldn't be dismissed out-of-hand just because they say something negative.

I encourage all posters to read the following study, which forms the basis for this thread. It is linked here. Also, check out the CEO For Cities Website for more interesting information.

I think what was meant by "closely packed" was "close-knit" "walkable" areas where pedestrian activity is encouraged over vehicular activity. Neighborhoods where sidewalks are wider than 6 feet, and buildings aren't setback 20 feet from the curb with a moat of parking lots surrounding them. Neighborhoods where people can truly work, live, and play, within a 3-5 mile radius, and have some type of mass transit, running frequently, to take them to those places. Believe it or not, young professionals (people in general for that matter) are increasingly placing a higher premium on their quality of life as opposed to amount of salary. That quality of life is diminished when one has to spend hours driving to/from the suburbs to commute to/from work. . .more time driving from home to the grocery store. . .more time driving to the local bar, restaurant, art gallery/museum, etc.

Houston appears neither among the 20 cities young college-educated workers would most likely consider as a home, nor among the 20 where they'd least like to live. New York and Los Angeles, by contrast, appear high on both lists, indicating people have strong opinions about the nation's two largest cities. That article is very telling. I'm glad that city representatives are making a move to address Houston's shortcomings, in this regard. To encourage more young workers to give Houston a shot, the city's leaders are working on several fronts to raise and improve Houston's national profile, with an emphasis on qualities that appeal to young professionals. This is particularly evident in green space initiatives such as a planned downtown urban park and the Sabine-to-Bagby Promenade that opened June 10 along Buffalo Bayou. But, here's the problem for Houston: While the CEOs for Cities survey doesn't specifically ask questions about urban design, other research shows that young professionals want lively urban places where they can walk and mingle with others, Crossley said. "Really, what people are looking for is experience," Crossley said. "You're looking for some sort of persona for yourself. You can't do that in suburbs. You can only do it where there are lots of people closely packed. We don't really have those places in Houston." Dallas' Convention & Visitor's Bureau already has a similar slogan: "Live Large Think Big" However, I think you're on the right track. I'm not sure what the slogan is for the Greater Houston Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Please help me understand what you are trying to state, here. So, according to your school of thought, MLB should be congratulated for the MLB 2005 Allstar Weekend, NOT the City of Houston? According to your way of thinking, the NBA should be congratulated for the 2006 Allstar Weekend, NOT the City of Houston? In your world, the NFL deserves all the credit for the 2005 Superbowl, NOT the City of Houston? Should the city of Houston receive any praise for being the "host city," or should only the "organizers" receive all of the credit?

I love the attitude reflected by some posters here! [turns sarcasm off] When the City of Houston gets great reviews, "let's shower all praise on the city, its residents, and representatives." However, when the City of Houston receives criticism, "blame the organizaers of whatever event brought those critics into town." This type of attitude reminds me of grade school children who, upon receiving an 'A,' will come home, bragging to thier parents. . ."look what I made." But when those same grade school children bring home a failing grade thell their parents "look at what the teacher gave me."

It doesn't appear, from the reports, that this event will be returning to the Space City.

http://cbs11tv.com/video/?id=10973@ktvt.dayport.com http://www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/V...73634&catId=104

http://cbs11tv.com/video/?id=11006@ktvt.dayport.com

Is anyone here going to this event?