Ross

It is extremely expensive to bury power lines, especially on existing streets. Some streets do have buried high voltage lines, there's one that runs down LaBranch, 140,000 volts, I think. When the substation at LaBranch and Tuam was connected, they had to freeze the lines to keep the insulating oil from running out while they made the tap.

Make sure you read all of the information on the HISD Vanguard/Magnet site. There are deadlines for applications that are pretty strictly enforced. If you move mid-year, your kids will have to go to their zoned schools, as there are no mid-year magnet transfers. From the descriptions offered by my wife's nephew, stay away from Gregory-Lincoln. I hear more about Lanier than any of the others as a good Middle School

I thought the 380 was with Ainbinder, not WalMart. And doesn't Ainbinder have to pay out the $6 million to get it reimbursed? Can you point us to a document that shows Ainbinder is getting $6 million from the City, free and clear?

I walked past the WaMart and over the Bridge of Death this evening. I was on the East side of Yale, where the sidewalk goes all the way to I-10. The only danger I encountered was trying not to slip on all of the acorns craftily placed on the sidewalk by the evil oak tree at the South end of the bridge. I may have to take a chain saw to it to save other pedestrians from the horrors of acorn slippage.

Is this going to be similar to the Starbucks hegemony on West Gray, but with a Super WalMart on each side of the street?

You do realize, don't you, that Allison was called up by the Heights Big Box Haters to remove the blight that was K-Mart. Fortunately, they spent all of their magical powers destroying a store that was doomed anyway, so they've had to revert to irrational mewling to fight WalMart.

Planning and design might not be done in 6 weeks, but I bet most of the major construction firms could have the build complete in 6 weeks.That's about how long it akes to build a 350 foot section of elevated ramp, which is pretty similar to the bridge. it only took 8 weeks to replace the collapsed section of the Queen Isabella Causeway bridge over the Laguna Madre, and that had to be done with crane barges. It all depends on the incentives.

How many 40 ton loads of stone went across that bridge in the last decade? If the bridge is taken out of service early, we will get a new bridge sooner. However, I dont' think a truck every now and then is going to make the bridge fail. I bet a new bridge could be inplace within 6 weeks after construction starts, given the right incentives.

We lived in MIdtown near Baldwin Park for 5+ years, leaving when we decided to move to a regular house to raise our son. Opportunities for children to play freely are somewhat lacking in Midtown. I never felt in danger there, even at night. The drug dealers weren't a problem, they wanted everythng quiet so business wouldn't suffer. The male prostitutes were a pain, they would just as soon hurt you as do anything else, so we called HPD on them whenever possible. A real though in my mind that helped drive our decision was the potential for the houses to degrade. None of them are particularly well built - they are OK, but were built pretty quickly. I did not want to be in a situation where I had to come up with 10 or 20 thousand dollars to fund my share of repairs. The rooves on the first Perry units are approaching 15 years old (built in 1998), and will need replacing. That won't be cheap, and some of the owners will object, which will lead to problems.

I've been wondering just how many 40 ton loads of stone came across that bridge since San Jacinto Stone opened for business.

How many people use the HOV lanes daily? How would a light rail line from the Galleria to UH help the people commuting from Katy, Spring, etc? What should the outlying residents get for their tax money?

A billion dollars for park and ride? I don't believe that. If you include the cost of the HOV lanes, maybe, but those benefit more than just buses.

So basically, you are saying "Screw you County residents who never come into town. We appreciate your sales tax dollars building this nifty train you will never ride and that doesn't really go to or from anywhere". That's a guarantee that the legislature will get involved, to the detriment of everyone. And, I think you are also saying "Screw you Memorial Villages. You have lots of money, so pay for your own roads that are mostly used by residents of the City of Houston." You forget that Metro is a regional entity, not a dedicated Houston transit authority. If the folks in Greater Spring, etc, are going to be contributing money, they deserve some benefit.

So what's the benefit for the people who live out in the County from the Metro sales tax if the GMP isn't part of it? 20 years of cramped 2 lane roads like 1960 used to be? How do the Memorial Villages fund maintenance to Memorial Drive and other streets that are heavily used by Metro buses and residents of Houston? Road work has to be part of the transit equation.

I hate to break it to you, but there is no $6m slush fund. The developer gets to spend the money and then hope that sales are good enough to recover the costs incurred. It's the City that gets a good deal out of the 380 by not having to lay out a bunch of cash to pay for the infrastructure upgrades.

In the late 80's, Harry's Kenya was in the Smith Street parking garage that serves 1100 Louisiana, where Massa's is now.

I would be happier to see a bagel place there, since there aren't any North of I-10.

That's the one. Sadly gone now.

That makes sense. I just had not considered the possibility. I am no match for those stratgic thinkers in Bentonville.

Which would be wrong, since the steel plant was closed for years before WalMart came along

The old alignment is clearly visible in Google Earth on the oldest aerials

Yes, it is.

I htink the HCAD build date may be wrong. The first mention I can find for the house is in 1968, when Hill & White, Inc received a Deed of Trust from John and Pauline Mclaggan and gave them a Warranty Deed. There are a number of other transactions in Walnut Bend with Hill & White, so I suspect they might have been builders. I did not see any Butlers as owners, it' s pretty easy to get properties mixed up if you don't make sure you have the correct lot and block. As for a picture, good luck with that.I would love to have a picture of my house in the 50's, but haven't found one.

I use th ecounty clerk's site on th elink above. I take the current owners, an dsearch for tham as the grantee, and confirm the lot and block number. I then take the grantor and go through the same steps again with the grantor as the grantee. Watch for changes in spelling.

It was an Exxon station in the past. I bought gas there when we lived in Midtown, and had occasion to sic the law on a few overly aggressive denizens of the area - mostly when they got mad at me for not giving them money.