Double L

Honestly, homelessness may be downtown's biggest problem. I think the time is now for a more effective and a more comprehensive homeless ordinance. Does anybody know where you can find a copy of Houston's current homeless ordinance? And how often are rules broken or not enforced?

Maybe you guys would rather have a study about the amounts of 1,3 butadiene in a two-mile radius compared to a 10-mile radius? No matter your own opinions on the credibility of the study, 1,3 butadiene is a cancer-causing chemical and if it gets in the nervous system it can cause central nervous system damage, blurred vision, nausea, fatigue, headache, decreased pulse rate and pressure and unconsciousness. Long term exposures at lower levels have shown increases in heart and lung damage.

http://www.npi.gov.au/database/substance-i...rofiles/16.html

As for the bills that are proposed, they aren't strong enough. In the case of ensuring that our air does not have chemicals harmful to human health in it, we cannot use "screening levels" to monitor the air. We need enforcable standards to say that when there are too many of these chemicals in the air then that is breaking the law and is damaging to the public safety of our citizens. That much should be evident and we should not have to fight for it. The lawmakers are only know proposing enforcable laws that say when these amounts of chemicals realeased in the air are surpassed that it is a crime. These laws are cutting us short for our health standards because they are only concerning the few chemicals that were found in the study.

There is much worse chemicals out there which we also need to keep out of our air and these laws are only concerning cancer-related chemicals cited in the study. We need to do much more than that.

Cancer Study Spurs Two Bills

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/4484621.html

I like what the city did which was establish a contract with a specific company to reduce emmissions across the region. Very efficient and consensual with the company. Also, monitoring the levels of pollutants in the air and keeping us updated with the data is a really good thing. How many cities do it in the way the article cited? The city is still encouraging higher standards though, both from the EPA and the state of Texas and that has to happen too if we're going to fix this problem.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/4480337.html

Just carry a big knife with you, thats what I do.

Are there any reasons that they would have to cancel or delay the project?

I don't even see what the big deal is if the population estimates aren't accurate. They're population estimates!

Anyhow, I think that HPD can be some continual liars on various topics which aren't of interest to their own healthy agenda. So, I don't think you're going in the wrong direction by calling these statistics into question. However it is always healthy to have an improved police force and we have at least done that.

Also, I think that an improved police force will lead to a more protected neighborhood which will be healthy for those who don't want to commit crimes and that will bring more opportunity to the entire whole of Houston. As long as people don't have to live in bad neighborhoods by living in Houston that will in turn improve our economy.

I think that especially with our current police chief, who has had eccentric proposals to council in the past; wanting to let some criminals free in the case of needed financial cutbacks we have some serious problems at HPD.

The Niche, you bring up some good points, but don't you think it is interesting that we have experienced this drop in crime directly within the month that we began our overtime program and directly within the districts that the overtime program was targeted? Doesn't that mean this drop in crime is more directly related to that event?

Also, do we know how these different organizations are quantifying our current population? Is there a way know which one would be the most accurate?

Either way, I think we seriously need to do more to cut back our crime. No matter if the statistics are higher or lower, our crime rate is horribly high and we need to get the resources together to solve the problem fast.

I'll have to check that place out over Christamas. Too bad I live outside the Beltway, too difficult to get into downtown real often.

That's not retractable, that's "climb up the pole and take it down-able".

Still must feel like the company's moving on up.

Great work by the Upper Kirby Foundation. Residents should be proud.

It must feel good to move from the Calpine Center to Pennzoil Place.

To me when you're in a bar you're too close to other people and the chance of second hand smoke effects is too high.

Among smoking bans I think this one's the best. It's not perfect but it makes sense. Outdoor balconies and public events only. Everyone knows how to find an outdoor balcony.

I know it's not perfect, but compared to other cities ours looks the most functional.

It says a lot to Houston's devotion to individual rights that we put so much time into a smoking ban. Most cities would just pass this without much debate or refinement.

I think Houston has the best and most well defined smoking ordinance in the country. We should be proud.

^^^

I wouldn't be against that. This has been a great plan. Houston should be proud.

You aren't usually allowed up there but I know they've had weddings up there in the past. I'd just take the risk and call them and ask them and maybe they will let you take pictures from up there. Chase tower is the best observation deck in Houston but I think Wells Fargo has a better view of this building as long as downtown is not on an orange level terror alert they will let you up in Wells Fargo.

Nice project, good to see the area densify. Where is Boulevard Place to this?

Here's a neat one:

JPM Chase lobby?

Use downtown retail yourself...that'll work.

Interesting. It's amazing how much bigger this is than I thought. Do any of you guys think this will be downtown's big attention getter as you look at it from the south?

^

Ha Ha!

What you could do is establish a Houston civic architectural fund. It would be a fund for improving the architecture of our civic projects. We would ask private donators to donate money to the fund and the money can go to civic buildings so we can hire major architects and give them architectural uniqueness. We could also have the donators specify where they want their money to go so the most money goes to the more high demand buildings.

EDIT: Actually scratch that: we probably wouldn't get enough private donators. There's also the factor that the council members might say that we don't need money for our architectural buildings cause we've got this fund.