FilioScotia

My Key Map shows FM 529 becomes Freeman Rd west of Fry Road. Another high school so close to the one on Fry doesn't seem likely. I'm hearing that one of the new high schools will be built somewhere near Hwy 6 and West Little York. Don't know that's a certainty though.

My posting is number 414 in this thread, and I'm not about to scroll through 6 pages of posts to see if these two places have already been mentioned. So, at the risk of repeating someone, does anybody remember Bill Bennett's Steakhouse in the Sky? It was on the top floor of the Saint Joseph's Professional Building tower, on the other side of Pierce from St. Joseph's Hospital. I don't think the Pierce elevated had been built yet. In the early and mid 60s when I and my college buddies were rampaging around it was one very great place for dinner, breakfast, and late night stops and drinks on the way home from a show or whatever. The professional building is still there but the restaurant has been gone for a very long time. When One Shell Plaza opened sometime around 1970 -- don't know the exact year -- it had a great restaurant and club on the 50th floor. It was called The Top, and it took up the entire floor. Among other niceties, it had a long continuous row of tables stretching around the club at the outside windows, going all the way around the building. What a view! Especially at sunset and at night. It was a great place for early dinner and drinks before a concert, opera or play, or drinks afterward, but it's not hard to see why it failed. To get to it you had to find a place to park nearby in downtown, take one elevator halfway up and change to another elevator to get the rest of the way up. And then do all that in reverse when you left. Ease of access was not one of its selling points, and a lot of people decided it wasn't worth the hassle. You really had to "want" to go there. I think that's probably the reason restaurants catering to the public on the top floors of downtown buildings have a history of not doing well, at least in Houston. I'm not including the private Petroleum Club at the Exxon Building in that generalization.

Exactly how do all those uses and functions contribute to the quality of education in CyFair? The only thing on your list even remotely connected to education is its use as a graduation center. Seems to me at 130 thousand dollars a year, CFISD could continue renting other facilities for graduations for the next 30 years and still not spend as much as they spent to build the Barker-Cypress Obscenity. I really don't know why I waste my time and blood pressure posting my protests over that place, when more than 95 percent of the people in the CyFair district clearly don't care about it one way or the other. It's no fun being a voice in the wilderness. I was one of the few people who turned out to vote against it in that bond election, and I will continue voting against every bond issue the CFISD board puts on the ballot, and continue voting against every board incumbent every chance I get until they start getting their spending priorities straight. Maybe, just maybe, one of these days, they'll get the message that multi-millon dollar sports palaces contribute absolutely nothing to educating children. But, I know from experience that will happen at about the same time airplane pilots start gettting warnings about flocks of "pigs". Save your time mrfootball. You and people like you are a big part of the problem and I'm ignoring you.

I'm not laughing, of course. You think it's funny to joke about someone as beloved as Marvin Zindler dying of cancer? Your inference that Marvin is a "robot" is equally tasteless and insulting. I've been in Houston more than 50 years, and I've seen a lot of TV people and other public figures come and go. I can't think of anyone who has left a bigger mark on this this town, or left bigger footprints than Marvin, in terms of the good things he has made to happen with the sheer power and force of his personality. Show some respect.

Never happen. Marvin told me a long time ago that he and his brothers were raised with a powerful work ethic. Even though his family was quite well off financially, they all worked every day in their family clothing store in downtown Houston. Marvin has been independently wealthy for many years, and he doesn't have to work for a living, but he does. He said he can't imagine not working. I predict they'll find his dead body at his desk at KTRK. That's the kind of guy he is.

There's a little coincidence at work here, with news from Dallas that longtime WFAA weatherguy Troy Dungan is retiring after 31 years up there. Houston oldtimers remember Dungan for the years he spent at KTRK Channel 13 in the 60s and 70s. He was replaced by Ed Brandon, who joined KTRK in 1972, and moved into the number one chair when Dungan left for Dallas in 1976. A veteran -- and the kid who replaced him -- are both old veterans now, and both are retiring at the same time. Coincidence? You decide.

Excuse me? No protection under the laws? Are they saying we have no laws against robbing, murdering, raping and brutalizing people? Our law books are crammed full of laws against every conceivable kind of crime. Where are the laws lacking? What have we missed? Hate Crime laws will be the beginning of the end for this free society. For the first time, a person will be accused and judged on the basis of what he thinks. Hate Crime is just a buzz term for Thought Crime. George Orwell is spinning in his grave. All those clamoring for hate crime laws say they're needed because of crimes like the truck dragging death of James Byrd Jr, a black man, and now that of David Ritcheson, a Hispanic. I might agree with them if they could explain to me how the law failed in those cases. The three racist goons who killed James Byrd were arrested in a matter of days, tried and convicted by a jury in the same town. Two are on death row, and the third got 99 years in return for testifying against the other two. Where did the law fail in getting swift justice for the death of James Byrd? The story of David Ritcheson is just horrifying. The savagery that happened to him and the months of suffering he endured before taking his own life was tragic, senseless and disheartening in the extreme. And again we're hearing the same calls for hate crime laws, despite the fact that the two cretins who brutalized Ritcheson were arrested quickly, tried, convicted, and sent to prison. One for life, the other for 90 years. Case closed -- for them. I'll ask again. Where did the law fail? I don't disagree that these killers committed their crimes out of some twisted hatred, but the law doesn't know or care what a killer thinks about his victim. Justice is blind. She only cares about the fact that someone is dead, and the person who did it must be punished. That is as it should be.

I live in Copperfield Westcreek, and every day I drive past Holmsley Elementary School, where there now ten -- TEN -- temporary buildings sticking out in all directions on that small campus. Ten buildings with two classrooms per. That's 20 classrooms full of kids. All of the Holmsley main building doesn't have 20 classrooms, so these temporaries have more than doubled the classroom space at that school. It can be argued that Holmsley is operating at more than twice the capacity it was built for. I know that other Elem and Middle schools are in the same fix and are also using temporaries. You can't deny the need for more school facilities, and I know CFISD is building new schools as fast it can. My complaint is the way the board uses the millions it's spending. CyFair did need at least one more football stadium, but for god's sakes did it have to be an 81 million dollar monstrosity like the Berry Center? Doesn't someone on that board have any common sense?

Buying a large bank building in downtown Houston and turning it from a temple of Mammon into a place of worship and meditation for a fast growing segment of our population doesn't count? Besides, show me where it is written that people who succeed at something are required to "give back" to the city. Let us define "give back". Buying and selling important commercial real estate almost always results in improvements of the properties involved, higher property values, ergo increased local tax revenue. Is that not "giving back"? I think you can also make the case that Hakeem has already "given back" to the city by leading the Rockets to two straight NBA championships while he was still young enough and healthy enough to play. Whatever he "owed" the city for his success he more than repaid with those NBA title flags.

Are you saying it's wrong or morally questionable to accept payment from someone who borrowed the money to make the payment? Seems to me you're just looking for a reason to criticize Olajuwon.

Buying low and selling high is one thing. Borrowing to do it is another thing. One does not have to borrow money to buy and resell real estate, especially when you have a lot of cash to start with, as Olajuwon did from his NBA millions. There is no teaching in Christianity, Judaism, or Islam that forbids making a profit on investments. Even Jesus taught that doing it wisely is a virtue. In the parable of the servants given the gold talents, Jesus heaped high praise on the servant who was given five talents and used it to double the investment. Jesus then heaped scorn on the servant who hid his one talent out of fear it would be stolen. "Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent from him, and give it to the one with the ten talents." All religions frown on greed and the pursuit of wealth for its own sake at the expense of others. "The love of money is the root of all evil." But the wise and benevolent use of wealth is praise-worthy. I think Hakeem has done that.

How is buying low and selling high the same as borrowing? One does not have to borrow money to buy and resell real estate, especially when you have a lot of cash to start with, as Olajuwon did from his NBA millions. There is no teaching in Christianity, Judaism, or Islam that forbids making a profit on investments. Even Jesus taught that doing it wisely is a virtue. In the parable of the servants given the gold talents, Jesus had heaped high praise on the servant who was given five talents and used it to double the investment. Jesus then heaped scorn on the servant who hid his one talent out of fear it would be stolen. "Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent from him, and give it to the one with the ten talents." All religions frown on greed and the pursuit of wealth for its own sake at the expense of others. "The love of money is the root of all evil." But the wise and benevolent use of wealth is praise-worthy. I think Hakeem has done that.

So many possible jokes and puns. So little time.

Thank yuh. Thank yuh ver'much.

What's the address of that house? Approximate if you don't know the exact number. Or how far from the nearest intersection of what and what? Just curious.

Here's a link to the pay schedule in the Pasadena ISD. It's on the low side. http://www.pasadenaisd.org/personnel/teach...hedule06-07.pdf Cypress-Fairbanks ISD pays more, but a Master's pays the same as a Bachelor's. It's known for a high level of parental involvement. http://www.cfisd.net/humanres/salary.htm The Katy ISD is also up there with CyFair, and it's also known for parental involvement. http://www.katyisd.org/files/services/huma...arySchedule.pdf Here's the Spring Branch ISD salary schedule, but I wouldn't recommend SBISD unless you can get an ironclad guarantee that you would teach in one of the schools south of I-10. http://www.springbranchisd.com/person/jobs...ryschedules.htm And believe it or not, the Houston ISD pays better than any of the suburban ISD's. That's because the school board knows it has to stay ahead of the burbs because many teachers would leave in a heartbeat if they could make more money in the burbs. Check out the salary schedule. http://www.houstonisd.org/HumanResources/H...8_Schedules.pdf You don't say what degree your friend has, but a starting teacher with a bachelor's can make 42k a year in HISD.

Sad to report it's one of the best kept secrets in town, but it's one of my favorite places. It even has a great website with a lot of great photos. http://1940airterminal.org/

And call it The HAIFbrauhaus.

You didn't cause any trouble. Nobody here "caused" any trouble. Everything that's been written and posted here was done with the best of intentions, and no one is faulting anyone for anything. The discussion of the West mansion has been going on for months. It started long before one of our members went inside it and took some photos of the interior. Most HAIF'ers are fine folks, including the photographer, and it just didn't occur to her and most of us, at the time, that displaying those photos might not have been the best idea, because of what kind of ideas they might inspire in people with dishonorable intentions. But once those concerns were raised, HAIF'ers responded immediately and reacted appropriately. They confirmed my belief that within these cyber-portals are some of the finest people in this town. So let's not let this get us down. If anything we should feel glad that the HAIF has played a role in helping to save the West mansion from demolition, and perhaps in protecting it from thieves.

Network affiliate stations are obliged by contractual commitments to carry network games in full, start to finish. Not just the game itself, but the entire network package, which includes a post-game show with interviews and other BS. Under typical conditions during football season, the local station is free to go to a game of its choice only when network show finally closes out and credits roll. That's why we often join that other game in progress. But I assume you're talking about the NCAA Basketball Tournament, which is not a typical time of year. The net carries different sets of games simultaneously in different regions of the country. The SW region was getting one package, other areas were getting other games. If it's any comfort, the network does try its best to package up the games so stations in a particular region can get games with schools in that region. But in the NCAA's, the early rounds have teams traveling all over the country, and it just isn't possible to keep the broadcast packages nice and tidy for a particular region. I agree with you, but that's generally how it's done in TV.

In the early 70s Joske's had a one day "End of the Month" sale every month, and would put very low clearance prices on a lot of individual items just to get them out of the stores. The full page Joske's ads would list items available at each store, how many there were, and a ridiculously low price. When I say "ridiculous" I mean it. One Saturday in 71, they were clearing some really nice looking double-breasted sports coats at the Town and Country store for six dollars each. I got a great looking sports coat I wore for years. I know, I really dated myself with this, but it was a good looking coat, while it was in style. The Joske's "EOM" sales faded out in the mid 70s because they got too popular. They were loss leaders of course, but too many people were going just for the EOM prices, and not buying enough regular price stuff. So they stopped having them

The number 156 has some significance. It's been speculated for years that Dummar got it from the media's reporting that Hughes' estate was worth 1.56 Billion dollars. 156 million is ten percent of that. But, as you say, why ten percent? Why not five percent? Or 20 percent? Or even 25 percent? Hell, even one percent would have been 15.6 million, which a judge might have found mildly credible. But nooooooo. Melvin Dummass had to have an incredible ten percent.

I said a long time ago in the 70s when I was covering the Houston end of all those legal goings-on that Melvin Dummar should change his name to Melvin Dummass. This guy is really pathetic. He made those mind numbingly stupid attempts to get some of Hughes' money in the 70s with the story of giving Hughes a ride in the desert, the clearly fake promissory note for 156 million dollars, and the equally fake will with his fingerprints all over it, but the courts saw through him and ruled against him at every turn. Now here in 2007 another court has ruled against him, saying this matter was settled a long time ago. I have to wonder where he found the lawyer willing to take this idiotic claim. The funny thing is that his story of giving Hughes a ride in the desert and taking him to his hotel in Las Vegas could well be true. Hughes was an obsessively strange man known for doing strange things and turning up in strange places at strange times. It's Dummar's claim that Hughes promised him 156 million dollars out of gratitude that had the judges rolling in the aisles. But, then again.........

I really didn't set out to be a grinch in this story. The West mansion is beautiful outside and in, and I like Prisclynn's pictures as much as anybody, but I just couldn't stop thinking how easy it would be for thieves to see the photos and get the idea to strip the place clean. I think it's wonderful that we can all talk about places like the West mansion here on the HAIF, and it's great that we can share photos, but I think we should be careful about what sort of photos we post here. As you state, publicity is good, but sometimes it can work against a place like the West mansion. Photos of the outside are one thing, but photos of the interior -- well meaning but illicit photos I might add -- are something else again. The good news is that the recent publicity about possible demolition probably did spur a developer to step up and buy it, with plans to preserve it and make it part of a larger project, and we can all be grateful for that. I think the HAIF played a role in that. It's really amazing that the mansion has sat there vacant all these years without being vandalized, but that can't last forever. I hope it will be secured and protected as soon as possible. I think a call to somebody in Hakeem Olajuwon's Houston office might do the trick. The sale is only pending, not complete. Mazel tov prisclynn.