banking214

thanks to all that liked the info...I wondered if I was not boring with too much info, but it seemed to all piece together

Chimney Rock was not cut through until into the 90s probably like 95 (I was not back in Houston as much by then)

I dated a girl for about 9 months that lived in the third house on the right on the east side of Indian Circle from Chimney Rock and I know it was not cut through in 1987 and for several years after I believe....the guys in the house next to her had been in my scout troop and she never liked them because one of them blew up her dads 450SL tire with an M80......use to be a full time armed security guard that would sit pretty much all night right along there on Chimney Rock on a part of the street that was paved, but where you did not drive just before Indian Circle

There was some controversy, but by then Houston was starting to get the council members that wondered why "the rich" could keep streets from going through their area so the bridge was finally built and that was that

when we first moved into Lakeside the edge of the city limits was the western edge of Walnut Bend, but it was moved rapidly out to Dairy Ashford within a couple of years and stayed out there for at least 3-4 fireworks seasons because that is where all the fireworks stands would be

back then in Lakeside for sure and I believe Walnut Bend you HAD TO HAVE WOODEN SHINGLES by deed restriction......our family did an addition to our house and a fireman was the contractor and right at that time he knew 100% for sure that Houston was going to outlaw wooden shingles for any new roofs so our new addition, 3/4 of our garage roof and the back side of our existing house roof were done in composition and then a few months later when the law passed we had the front of the garage and the front of the house done as well......some may remember many of the crappier apartment complexes around Houston would have decorative siding as shingles too and when they would catch fire the place was about impossible to put out

I remember the Harold Farb apartments all over west Houston and the sign that went with them.....I don't believe I ever met him, but several of my friends would party some with Harold Farbs son (I believe his name was Kenyon) and he was a pretty cool and down to earth guy from what they all said...I was probably at several of the same parties, but just never met him

Also probably until at least 1990 and probably several years later Kirkwood did not cross the Bayou as well....it dead ended north and south of it, but there was no bridge

by 1984 Briar Forest was 4 lanes at Dairy Ashford and on past to at least Briar Bayou Drive.....from there it was two lanes I believe for a long time hell it may have been gravel for some of that time as well....I had some friends that lived in Briar Bayou (back then Paul Revere and Lee drew from the western edge of 610 all the way to highway 6 and Rogers was some type of "special" school and was even closed part of the time......my brother went to Rogers for 6th and 7th and part of the 8th grade and then the other part of the year he had an option and chose Revere because it was so much closer and all his better friends were doing the same (and no bus ride).....they all spent a lot of time moving stuff in and getting the place set up

on the east edge of Briar Bayou drive right ad Briar Forest google earth still shows a vacant lot that where a guy named David Kay lived that was a grade younger than me and was friends with the others I knew.....their house burned in about 87 I believe and I am shocked nothing has ever been built then.....the gated community to the east of Briar Bayou (I think it is called Stonehenge I might be wrong) was all built in about 82-83 and I had a friend or two that lived in there as well

it looks like the skating rink just south of Westella on Dairy Ashford is still there and that was a big hangout in middle school back when parents could just drop kids off and then pick them back up later

I knew three others that lived on Briar Bayou one that was just down from the corner and then another guy that I can't remember his damn name for the life of me.....if you go down Briar Bayou it takes a jog and if you were to just drive straight you would crash right into their house.....it was a cool flat roof house that had been featured in Houston Homes and Gardens (or something like that that was a big time magazine), but by then some "issues" had basically made the place TRASHED.......that was another of many of the people I knew that it seemed did not have parents......some girls I knew could sneak their parents cars out a lot and we could all go over there and party like hell and not even have to clean up because you could not tell your mess from the existing mess......he had several wild blowouts there as well that got pretty crazy.......further down was a hotty I believe named Korry (a girl) that had a cool orange scout, but not everyone knew her as well because her family paid for her to go to Stratford which was common at the time Jeff Bagwells former wife Shaune did the same thing though she almost got kicked out when she posed for a magazine and guys were hanging the pages on her locker she was a really sweet girl for being such a hotty and having become a pretty big model even back then I did not know her super well, but several of my friends were really good friends with her and I would see her around parties and the beach and what not (shout out to 16 and 18 mile roads in Galveston)

that girl Korry was known because once a year her parents went somewhere and she had the house and she would have a pretty massive blowout as well, but it was kind of hush hush for such a raging party so her place did not get trashed

I am 99% sure it was Briar Forest that was dirt or gravel because where it curves near where Eldridge is now was a lot sharper curve where people were always having wrecks and one wreck there that still affects us all was when a guy that went to Lee had a dirt bike break down just to the east of that curve and he and his brother were loading it up in his brothers truck at night and a drunk guy came around the curve and hit them and he lost one of his legs......the drunk was pretty much worthless so it turned out to be the first time that anyone (I believe in the USA) and almost definitely in Texas went after the bar for serving someone more drinks when they were clearly drunk.....they ended up and won the case and like I say it was either the first time that had been tried or maybe the first win in that type of case....I am 99% sure I remember his name and his first name was Troy, but I wont say the last name on here

further down at Briar Forest and Highway 6 I knew a guy names Sterling McGuire (I believe it was) and that area right around there was like a little Rivercrest in a way (without the trees and Bayou, but it had big 10 acre or so lots and horses and other animals (similar to what Westway Ln looks like just north of there on google)

my dad and mom had worked at the downtown Foleys before I was born and a guy they had worked with was the first manager of the West Oaks Foleys...my mom had her original Foleys Charge Card well into the 90s and back then when customer service was still decent she would whip that tired looking thing out and the clerk knew they were dealing with a lifer and many would comment they had not seen one of those in years

I am sure some others will remember this, but for a while they had widened Westheimer (greatest stretch of road on earth) to 3 lanes from west 610 all the way to 6.......then when it became too crowded Houston came up with the brilliant plan to save money instead of going in and buying up right of way especially from 610 to about Gessner they went in and re-striped the roads from three 12 foot wide lanes down to 4 10 foot wide lanes and cut out chunks of the median in the middle to get the extra few feet they needed......the damn buses in Houston at that time were something like 10 feet or 10'2" wide so when you drove down the street and came up on a bus stopped or to pass everyone had to squeeze over a bit more towards the center so the person in the lane next to the bus could pass.....I think that lasted 3 or 4 years before they figured out that too many crappy drivers were not passing the buses out of fear and instead "pacing" them and then slowing down really slow to pass when the bus stopped........plus it was super crowded as hell like that and they finally went in and got the right of way and widened them back out to 4 lanes of the proper size......also just after Gessner heading west there was an area where the lanes had crazy striping and everyone would try and race to not be the car cut off in the 4th lane as they went to three and heading east everyone would race to be the one that got into the open new 4th lane......they did not even just end one lane as a right turn only or start the 4th from three after an intersection (I am 99% sure that is how it was if anyone else remembers better I would love to hear)......but that was driving in Houston back in the day......get in, start it up, get out of the way or haul ass......there was NO middle ground haha

thanks again to all that read and liked the info hope I did not bore with too many personal antic dotes, but they pseudo tie into why I remember some of that stuff and once again thank you Houston, Texas for being the greatest and funniest city to be born in, live in, and grow up in....I had friends in San Antonio that would hear me talk about some things and they would think I was BSing until several of them came with me to visit and saw some of the parties ect in action and some of the cool clubs we could just about walk right into at 16 and 17 and they were like damn this blows SA away and even into college others would think I was BSing until we would meet people from other areas of Houston and they all had similar stories as I did and then they were like damn Houston sounds crazy.....and back then it was

Houston truly the greatest city on earth

I am 99% sure it was Briar Forest that was dirt or gravel because where it curves near where Eldridge is now was a lot sharper curve

You are correct. I used to play t-ball off Briar Forest, just past Dairy Ashford. I believe it was called Memorial Dairy-Ashford Little League. I used to think it was fun to drive down the winding dirt road for fun. I want to say it went all the way to Hwy 6, but can't seem to remember. I lived in Country Village until 1986 and remember building trails and bike paths where Kirkwood dead-ended at Buffalo Bayou. Great times.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The booming Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area added more residents during the past decade than any other city in the United States.

According to the latest Census Bureau figures released Tuesday, the population of the sprawling Texas metro area grew by about 1.3 million people, or 25%, between April 1, 2000, and July 1, 2009.

CNNMoney: My link

And KISS is going to be performing as well (page 25).

There will be a CVS. Inside of the CVS will be a starbux. Inside the sbux will be will be a dry cleaners. Inside the dry cleaners will be a 24 hour check cashing place.

Love it!

http://money.cnn.com/2010/03/23/real_estate/city_population_census_funding/index.htm?hpt=T2

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Don't mess with Texas! Cities in the Lone Star State were among the fastest growing places in 2009.

Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston gained the most new residents of any city -- netting more than 140,000 each -- according to the Census Bureau's annual metropolitan area population estimates released on Wednesday. Meanwhile, music center Austin posted the second highest growth rate among top cities -- 3.1% -- just behind Raleigh, N.C.

Annise Parker sent out an email today titled, Controller's Newsletter. In her newsletter, she mentions BARC and gives some great ideas.

By so many accounts, turnaround expert-BARC Interim Director Gerry Fusco is doing an excellent job, but the city can save more than $100,000 and possibly find the right permanent BARC director if we start now, City Controller Annise Parker suggests.

“I recommend that City Council reject the pending four-month $158,500 contract extension and accelerate the search for a new permanent BARC director," she said.

Noting that city departments have cut budgets 3% in less than a year, she recommends: "Let's see if we can hire a permanent director in a month without slowing the positive momentum. If we can't, perhaps we can negotiate a lower month-to-month rate with Mr. Fusco."

Read more here: http://www.houstontx.gov/controller/mail/Newt0809i.htm

http://blogs.houstonpress.com/hairballs/2009/08/bailey_barc_bye-bye.php

Murray Bailey, the BARC kennel attendant accused of punching a puppy in the head in June, is no longer working at the facility, Health and Human Services Spokeswoman Kathy Barton tells Hair Balls.

We're waiting to hear if there's an official explanation, but Barton said Bailey was still on his probationary period and was therefore subject to at-will termination.

http://blogs.houstonpress.com/hairballs/2009/08/barc_firings.php

BARC went through some housecleaning yesterday -- in a big way.

In addition to the firing of veterinarian Eunice Ohashiegbula-Iwunze, other BARC personnel issues Wednesday included the resignation of Administrative Supervisor Dorian Strickland and a "disciplinary procedure in process" for vet tech Abiga Arredondo.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/breaking/6562361.html

The chief veterinarian at the city of Houston’s Bureau of Animal Regulation and Care was fired Wednesday, the latest incident to beset the beleaguered agency.

Eunice Ohashietbula-Iwnze was notified by letter Wednesday of her termination, said Kathy Barton, spokeswoman for the city’s Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the agency.

Barton did not know the specifics of why Ohashietbula-Iwnze, known as “Dr. O,” was fired.

“It was related to performance,” she said.

Craig should get some sort of award for all of his hard work he has put into covering BARC. No other reporter dedicates as much time or effort into the joke that is known at BARC.

http://www.myfoxhouston.com/dpp/news/local/090803_barc_meeting

http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/local&id=6946501

http://www.khou.com/topstories/stories/khou090803_mp_barc-consultant-worth-it.a5cbfaba.html

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/6556823.html

One moment, Brad Lovelace's beloved dog, Coltrane, was in his garage, getting a weekly bath. The next day, he was in the agonizing throes of a fatal case of heatstroke.

What happened in between has become a bitter dispute between Lovelace and the city of Houston. The Kingwood man says his dog, a Labrador-German shepherd mix, escaped his backyard for about 15 minutes after a meter reader left his fence gate open. In that time, Coltrane was picked up by police and turned over to animal control, where he was caged inside a truck for six or seven hours.

http://blogs.houstonpress.com/hairballs/2009/07/barc_dog_being_hit.php

But don't worry. Bill White says he cares about what's going on at BARC. Williams said the same thing. Some City Council members have claimed, here and there, to care as well. Between a puppy being sucked down a drain to its death last week, and an employee with a history of criminal violence punching a puppy repeatedly in the head, Hair Balls has a question: We know it's not possible for city leaders to care any less about the animals in BARC's care; but could they maybe -- just maybe -- care a tiny bit more?

Noticed a couple of temporary signs went up.

Coming Soon 99 Ranch Market

Website: http://www.99ranch.com/

http://www.click2houston.com/news/20199452/detail.html

HOUSTON -- A puppy died after falling down a drain in a Bureau of Animal Regulation and Control kennel, where officials said it never should have been placed, KPRC Local 2 reported Monday.

http://blogs.houstonpress.com/hairballs/2009/07/barc_puppy_down_drain.php

A stray puppy at BARC was placed in the wrong cage and washed down the drain last Thursday night, Health and Human Services Spokeswoman Kathy Barton confirmed today.

http://blog.bearshope.com/2009/07/27/more-dogs-down-the-drains-at-barc.aspx

What would a Monday be without more news regarding the troubled Bureau of Animal Regulation and Care? Last Thursday evening, a puppy fell into a drain at BARC and was unable to be recovered. According to the email I received, "A female and her three puppy litter had been improperly placed in a regular cage in the north kennel. Several staff members worked very hard to retrieve the puppy but were unsuccessful."

From today.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/6544743.html

A Houston man charged with filing a false report said he is a victim of retaliation for complaining that an employee abused a dog at the city's animal shelter in January.

Shelby Paul Kibodeaux, 38, could face six months behind bars and a $500 fine for reporting that he heard a Bureau of Animal Regulation and Care worker dragging, manhandling and abusing a dog behind a wall.

“Absolutely, I feel targeted,” Kibodeaux said. “I just had to stand up for the animals. That place is a hellhole. There's no place worse that you could bring an animal.”

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ellen-susman/animal-welfare-and-the-do_b_241680.html

In Houston, there is a beleaguered section of road called the Corridor. A valiant team of people headed by Deborah Hoffman patrol that area and tries to help the animals that are dumped there. That's' right. Just dumped.

http://blogs.houstonpress.com/hairballs/2009/07/barc_filing_false_report.php

The Harris County District Attorney's Office has charged a BARC volunteer for filing a false police report regarding animal abuse he said he heard while at the city's animal control facility.

Shelby Kibodeaux was charged July 1 with the class B misdemeanor, which carries a penalty of 180 days in jail and/or a fine up to $2,000.

http://www.examiner.com/x-14953-Houston-Pets-Examiner~y2009m7d21-BARC-spends-200K--but-not-on-animal-care?#comments

But what he has done seems to have absolutely no relation to what BARC does. From what I could find, he has absolutely no experience in either animal control facilities or any municipal or government operations. Even Mr. Fusco's non-profit affiliations have nothing whatsoever to do with animals. He concentrates his pro bono time with faith-based organizations that help people find executive employment.

See post #3.

Obviously I am too lazy to read the thread.

There seems to be a lot of activity in the Old Fiesta. Anyone know what's going on?

It is going to be a new grocery store. Not sure of the name.

From today New York Times:

ARLINGTON, Tex. — Jerry Jones, tour guide, was showing off.

Jones, the owner of the Dallas Cowboys, gestured as he drove his Lincoln Town Car around his billion-dollar stadium with the sloping glass exterior that reflects the colors of the sky, his team and his eyes.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/17/sports/football/17cowboys.html?_r=1&hpw

Next year’s national census is expected to show that flourishing Houston has replaced struggling Chicago as America’s third city. Of the ten largest cities in America, three are in Texas.

He is certainly right about the last point: not too many other cities could have absorbed 100,000 refugees, bigheartedly and fairly painlessly, as Houston did after Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans. With vibrant Asian communities alongside its balanced Hispanic, white and black mix, with no discernible racial tensions, and with more foreign consulates than any American city except New York and Los Angeles, Houston is arguably America’s most enthusiastically cosmopolitan city, a place where the future has already arrived.

http://www.economist.com/specialreports/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13938917

As you are aware by now, BARC fired its most recent bureau chief yesterday afternoon. This means that BARC is now on its way to having five directors in five years (seven if you count interim directors). In this time, the Department of Health's, Stephen Williams, has fanatically convened a host of distraction tactics in an effort to keep you quiet on the problems at BARC.

While animals languish at BARC without proper feeding and care, Williams has wasted your time with:

1. Mayor's Task Force on Animal Protection

2. Mayor's Working Group on Animal Protection

3. Committees of the Working Group on Animal Protection

4. Evaluation Committee with Deoniece Arnold

and more recently...

http://www.examiner.com/x-2918-Houston-Animal-News-Examiner~y2009m7d8-Stephen-Williams-what-have-you-done-for-us-lately-Noahs-Ark-PAC-answers

With yesterday's firing of BARC Bureau Chief Ray Sim, Mayor Bill White has called for a "change agent" at BARC, according to the Chron's Lisa Falkenberg. Hair Balls hereby submits our application. We would have liked to talk about Hair Balls becoming that change agent (an expression we totally love, by the way) with White's spokesman, Frank Michel, but he hasn't returned our call yet.

http://blogs.houstonpress.com/hairballs/2009/07/barc_hair_balls_applying_for_j.php

Selected quotes from, In the Doghouse – The Houston Press

By Wendy Grossman

November 7th 2002

We want to rebuild our image. We want to create an image of respect so people will cease to think of humane officers as just a bunch of dog killers.

Dr. John W. Williamson, director of veterinary services, May 4, 1969

We are terribly overcrowded. We just don’t have enough pens to segregate all the sick dogs from the healthy ones.

City veterinarian Dr. H. Don Rouse, March 14, 1971

If pounds were rated on a scale from zero to ten, Houston’s rating would be zero. I didn’t see anything being done right, from the way dogs were unloaded from trucks to the way they are put to death..

Belton Mouras, founder of the Animal Protection Institute, May 13, 1973

Dogs were held up by their front legs over the pile (of dogs) and the veterinarian stabbed them in the chest with a syringe containing the euthanasia solution. No attempts were made to find the heart, the proper site for intra-cardiac injections.

Sean Hawkins, executive director of the Houston Animal Rights Team, November 28, 1991

Quote from, Are Problems At City Pound Causing Pets To Be Put Down?

KPRC Troubleshooters story that aired Thursday, July 6, 2006.

“They came back and they return them because they have distemper or parvo, and you have to look those people in the face and say, “I’m sorry. I don’t know what else to say. The city is not giving us the money that we need to buy the drugs that we need to treat these animals.”

Michelle Haberland

Former BARC employee

Quote from, City Worker Defends Actions in Pound Truck Dog Deaths

By Stephen Dean, September 4, 2008

Beverly Tucker, who described herself as an animal lover and veterinary technician of 16 years, fought back tears as she tried to clear her name in the heat-related deaths during last week’s 95-degree Houston temperatures.

. . .she emerged from her break, she found the air was off and most of the dogs were unconscious or in distress.

http://blogs.chron.com/lisafalkenberg/2009/07/barc_needs_some_white_whoopass.html

Yet another startling development today from the compound of chaos that is the local animal shelter.

Ray Sim, the guy hired just less than two months ago to get the the city's Bureau of Animal Regulation and Care back on track, has been fired. The city won't give details on why, but insiders suggest Sim just didn't have the skills to handle the colossal challenges BARC presents

http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-2918-Houston-Animal-News-Examiner~y2009m7d7-BARC-Bureau-Chief-cut-loose

As of 3:00 pm today Ray Sim, Bureau Chief of the Bureau of Animal Regulation and Care, will no longer be employed at the troubled city pound.

Sim, hired just this May, had already been drawing fire from volunteers for spending the majority of his day in his office, or his lack of presence in general, while allegations of dogs being starved at BARC by kennel attendants sparked community outrage.

http://blogs.houstonpress.com/hairballs/2009/07/barc_chief_fired.php

BARC Bureau Chief Ray Sim was fired today, spokeswoman Kathy Barton confirmed. She would not give specific reasons, saying only "I think it was just an issue of timing...[it was] not the right time for this guy."

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/6518255.html

Ray Sim, who took the helm of the city of Houston’s troubled Bureau of Animal Regulation and Care less than two months ago, has been fired, city spokeswoman Kathy Barton said today.

She declined to elaborate on why he had been terminated, noting that the city would not discuss “personnel issues.”

“It just wasn’t a good fit for us,” she said. “It’s obvious that we have some pretty dynamic needs at BARC, and we’re in a hurry to make some changes. That is not a negative reflection on Ray Sim at all.”

I was out in La Grange over the weekend and decided to stop in Schulenburg on the way home. I was reading an article in the Houston Chronicle last month about Sengelmann Hall that was opening up in downtown. Great food and atmosphere, as well as a wonderful job in rehabbing the buidling. Oh, and great dessert.

http://www.sengelmannhall.com/home.html

Walked around City Centre this weekend. Looking really nice. The grass is planted and the fountains are flowing in front of the hotel. I think when this is finished, it is going to be a great addition to the city.