Ross

Darn, I was hoping the owners would donate the site to the Timbergrove Sports Association for some more ball fields. Wasn't that site going to be filled with townhouses?

Those roads you mention? Back before BW8, they were either non-existent of were very narrow and very crowded. To get from I-10 to 59 before the Beltway meant you pretty much had to take Gessner, as the other North/South roads didn't have capacity, or didn't go all the way through. Taking Gessner wasn't fun, as it took up to an hour. Selling bonds in small amounts is inefficient and costs more. Bonds have underwriters who buy the entire amount of the bond and then sell them off to smaller investors. This maximizes the amount the bond seller gets, while making the bonds available to anyone who wants to invest.In addition, entities like HCTRA have no expertise in actually delivering bonds to investors, especially since they are all in book form today, with no certificates or paper coupons to clip. That means an electronic agent is requried, which is osmehting the issuer pays for, rather than reinventing the wheel. The main point, which you are ignoring yet again is that without tolls, those roads do not get built. There is no money for those roads without tools. And it is foolish to claim that the toll roads are designed to make traffic worse.

It's OK to size at the store if you buy from that store's online site. If you go to a physical store, then buy from some random site with a better price, you have effectively stolen time and effort from the physical store. At some point, I hope they start charging sales tax on all online purchases, just to level the field a bit.

You could try here http://apps.dot.state.tx.us/apps-cq/project_tracker/

Vinny, so far you have not offered an alternative to selling bonds to pay for roads that are needed, but where taxes are not sufficient. And, who are you going to sell bonds to if not investor groups. That's who buys bonds. You also have no clue what it was like to get from I-10 to 59 prior to BW8 being constructed. I was here then, and frequently wished for the toll road.

I wonder what 8 acre site they are talking about.

From http://www.houstonfiremuseum.org/fire-stations/ Washington #8 was organized and located at the corner of Crawford and Polk where it is still located today. (Note: A 107-year tradition of the fire station being located on this corner will end in 2001 with the building of the new sports arena.) Washington #8 had the distinction of having a Clapp & Jones Steamer (state of the art for that period). (It was located in 1895 at Polk and Crawford, Polk and Crawford again in 1958, Polk and Crawford again in 1970 and will be closed in 2001.) Stations 1 and 8 were combined and relocated to the corner of Milam and St. Joseph and Station 8 was reopened in June of 2001. A new Station 8 broke ground in 2006 at 1919 Louisiana at the site of the Old Borden Ice Cream plant. This new “super station” went into service on April 21, 2008. More here on the borden building

The ballot language apparently did not include any claim the road would be free at some point. Ballot propositions never say that. They say things like "approve sale of bonds to fund road construction projects"

That should be "refurbished 60's icon"...

I am not aware of any that are not non-recourse to the government, but politicians can do stupid crap sometimes. If the bondholders are on the hook completely, and there's no way that tax dollars become a required part of the process, then I would accept private participation. I still prefer an entity like HCTRA to issue the bonds and build/run the toll road.

I am opposed to the private entities being involved, although that is somewhat lessened if the bonds the private parties iissue are non-recourse to the government.

What other options? The estimated total resources for highways in 2016 is just under $11 billion see https://tti.tamu.edu/policy/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Gas-Tax-Facts-v7_FINAL-January2016.pdf and http://www.comptroller.texas.gov/economy/fiscal-notes/2016/february/fuels.php Of that total, about 20% comes from motor fuel taxes. That could increase if they quit using 25% of fuel taxes for schools, but that's not going to happen. Nor will Abbott and Patrick consider raising the tax to where it should be, as that would violate their sense that government is free, and doesn't require any taxes. About half comes from the Feds, that's unlikely to increase, and will likely decrease to pay for Trumps proposed tax cuts (notwithstanding his comments on infrastructure investment). Tolls are an efficient way of paying for road construction and charging the users, and I don't have any real problem with them.

The ballot language for the Hardy and Sam Houston did not mention the roads becoming free after they were paid off. That was in a brochure. Again, the easy way to not pay tolls is to stay off the toll roads. There is always an alternate route.

Lemon trees work well here, and I've had relatives that did well with peach trees, although they requrie some help when freezes come. Blackberry bushes grow like weeds, and provide tasty fruit.

For gaming, you can buy a new video card for less than $200 and get some pretty major improvements in performance.

Scratch is a good pace to start. It's designed for kids, but it's a drag and drop interface to build events that help you learn how to think. There's a free download. Python looks pretty good for more advanced work, and there are tons of resources available. Python is free. You can download free personal versions of Microsoft Visual Studio, which gives you access to VB.net, C#, C++ and other mainstream languages. For the internet, learning the basics of networking is more important than coding.

The current bridge was opened in 1959. It's not high enough for all modern ships to pass underneath. It's also steep, expensive to maintain, and has no capacity for pedestrians or bicycles.

The City could sell the property with deed restrictions that limit what can be done with the existing buildings.

You have the right to speak your mind, your employer has the right to can you for doing so. Zero sympathy here, as she had to know that getting political could have negative consequences.

Wasn't that Fuzzy's, not Torchy's?

Acevedo is anti-civil rights, so I hope he doesn't last long.

A number of lower level government employees have been convicted of crimes for errors in handling classified material. No reason the same rules shouldn't apply to a Secretary of State.

The lege is full of idiots who do not understand the role of government. All they understand is that their rich donors do not want to pay any taxes, and the non-rich think roads appear magically, without any money changing hands.

They know how to do the math. The Legislature refuses to fund roads to the extent required to keep up with growth.

I did a comparison a couple of years ago on the emission efficiency of power plants in Texas. The Parrish plant has one of the lowest emission amounts per megawatt of generating capacity in the state, other than the nuclear plants. It is far better than the East Texas Luminant plants like Big Brown and Monticello. Plant GHG MW GHG/MW Parish 16,583,228 3,565 4,652 Martin Lake 18,701,286 2,230 8,386 Monticello 13,880,166 1,880 7,383 Limestone 13,066,969 1,706 7,659 Sam Seymour 11,289,000 1,690 6,680 Welsh 11,103,023 1,674 6,633 Big Brown 9,468,521 1,150 8,233