crunchtastic

I'd love nothing more than to see the concerned heights neighbors do a real protest of the proposed Yale Wal Mart. Think of it as a meaningful vacation from strenuous days of blogging, girls lunches at Stella Sola, play dates, bikini boot camp,and taking your overly-accesorized children to Berryhill while the moms relax with some 'ritas. Raise awareness for the cause by mobilizing for hours a day in the 100 degree heat, marching in the dirt with signs and bullhorns. Or how about going door- to- door with clipboards? Forming a human chain in front of the bulldozers? If you did, you might get a tiny bit of insight into the tiring, hot and less-than-comfortable lives of the people for whom WalMart is a good thing. Yea, I know I'm being hyperbolic and rude. I originally expressed these sentiments in a PM, but I feel compelled to go public with them. I've had dear friends in the Heights on and off for more than 20 years, and there's a lot about it I love. But I am really, really glad that I did not buy a house there. Because lately I find the misdirected, contradictory righteousness just downright suffocating. We're talking about empty dirt by the railroad tracks, on the other side of the freeway, generating no jobs and nothing to the tax base. I understand taking a philosophical stance, but not at the expense of our community during a recession. I will say this to the Stop Wal-Mart crowd: whatever big box retailer builds on that site, watch the news when they start hiring. When 5,000 people show up to apply for 250 jobs, ask yourself: are my priorities perhaps misplaced?

Other than ZIRP/deflation, I think the most serious long-term consequence will be severly constrained mobility due to the real estate market and lack of job growth, combined with reactionary immigration policy change. People can't move to take new jobs (if the jobs even existed, which increasingly they won't) because they're saddled with property they can't sell and mortgages they can't get out from under except to foreclose. The coming clampdown on immigration ( IMO the low-hanging fruit of republican/tea party wins sure to come in November) will further erode consumer spending and housing and depress population growth. Meanwhile boomers get older, sicker, and more expensive, and you have the beginnings of a demographic cycle that leads to long-term declining GDP. I am convinced that my generation (x) will be the first modern cohort to die poorer than what they were born into.

4th of July weekend 2010: there's a hurricane down south and your usual suspects (me, Red and Niche so far) could use a happy hour to ease into a long holiday weekend. Starting at a new venue for us, the Polk St Pub in the Beautiful Houston Pavilions downtown. So, make like you care about vibrant, walkable urban development and meet us there! Who knows, we may have to join the bridesmaids and tourists and debauch ourselves at the piano bar as the night wears on. Hope to see some new faces! Friday, 6-ish. http://www.facebook.com/polkstreetpub?v=info#!/polkstreetpub?v=wall

I lived in one, briefly, as recently as 2007 and that's about right. Don't have one, but my neighbors (lessors and lessees) confirm that's still a going rate in the east end. Here it will often get you a parking spot, too. In the Montrose and Heights, doubt you would get anything but tiny appliances and street parking for that price, though.

You could always move on up to the east side. No restrictions here! OK, maybe some lightweight deed restriction on certain streets about multi-family and commercial, but hey. Unlike the Heights, I'll have light rail 3 blocks away from mi casa in the next two years. It may only go to Minute Maid Park and down Harrisburg, but hey, it's a start. And if you ever get lonesome for the Heights, I think the #40 Pecore bus comes through here.

I'm late to the game and still trying to figure what Heights-invasion is happening. This is proposed for south of the I-10? It's practically at the railroad tracks! The cries for more fancy cheese, more checkout lanes and more parking just resulted in the planet's largest Kroger on Shepherd, but a Wal-Mart on the other side of the highway is a problem? There is apparently no pleasing the Heights. I hate shopping at Wal-mart (and virtually all large stores) because it attracts so many people with their armies of horrible little children. But, I love their RV parking policy. I'm stoked, because when I cash out and get rid of all my stuff to live in a used motor home, thanks to the Wal-Mart parking lot, I can stay inside the loop.

Sux that I seem to have misplaced my vinyl dress, 20 year old bod and coke connection. But assuming I can find them, will be there with bells on. Rich's was the best--awesome music, it's bathrooms didn't suck, there were always a handful of cool straight guys in case you wanted to creep, and it was icy cold inside.

If you consider metal roofs, as we did, be sure to understand how they're fastened and what the wind ratings are. Long story short, needing an entirely new roof after Ike, we ended opting for 30 year shingle over metal. We insulated the hell out of the attic and walls, though.

Classist? Ha, you are SO literal, Niche! That whole last post was my 'modest proposal'. There's nothing wrong with unskilled labor. There is very much wrong when that number is 40% of our youth, and when asshat Rick Perry would rather pander to intellectually dishonest faux conservatives than provide our own kids the right tools to develop their intelligence and ambition and stay competitive. otherwise, I totally agree with you.

Yay, so we suck marginally less than California, and the costs to teach 8th grade math relative to Vermont are......who the hell cares? In the state of Texas, today, 4 out of 10 young people will face the odds of never rising above unskilled and/or low wage labor. Maybe I'm wrong, and 4 of 10 is an acceptable trade-off for the cost. After all, lots of them will end up incarcerated, which will provide underpaid, dangerous jobs for the slightly better-off high school graduates. I still call it a failure of education. I think the national rate is only 70%, and I consider that a failure as well. But now you've got me thinking.... the since our economy is increasingly threatening a permanent 15-20% u6 unemployment rate, my point is largely moot. The extreme solution is to assume perpetual double digit unemployment and higher needs for low and unskilled labor. So, we send only 60% of children to school at all. Everyone else then tracks either into skilled trades, a general higher ed path (your liberal arts and business degrees, etc), and Universities become research and publishing- only postgraduate level programs (free, but extremely exclusive). Whew. I should solve the country's problems more often. It sure beats dealing with testy actuaries at the office.

I know, I sort of had the same reaction. But since someone's going to get their palms greased no matter what, I'm curious as to whether as a funding mechanism, it could be viable. Master flood control plans are one thing, but does it really require the army corps of engineers' involvement to lay new pipe and repave streets?

Some might argue that one reason education is in the toilet is because of vague notions of cultural relativism such as ones you mention--but that's not my point. Unfortunately poverty, as measured (by people with educations!)for economic policy reasons does not contemplate native intelligence or good intentions. Alas, I'm far too lazy to pull the BLS data that shows income relative to education level, but I eagerly await your data measuring 'ambition' relative to oh, say, GDP.

In the broadest of measures, education in this state is an unmitigated failure. Texas ranks 43 out of 50 in state graduation rates. Lack of a high school diploma virtually guarantees a poverty-level existence. And it's gotten worse under Perry: since 2001, that rate dropped from 65% to 61%.

In my stack of mail that accumulated while on vacation was a large return-postage paid mailer that was a petition for ReNew Houston. http://www.renewhouston.org/learn.html Any thoughts on the ballot proposal? My initital reaction is to support the charter amendment to add the fee which will fund future infrastructure projects. My concerns are: is it enough to really create and mainitan a pay-as you go fund? How many loopholes exist that will allow city council to divert funds away? Will there be a change in the way drainage improvement projects are prioritized? As political promotions go, it was a very well done piece and interestingly, was addresed to both members of the household with spaces for both signatures. As someone who thinks the COH has dropped the ball too many times on making infrastructure a priority, I want to support this but can't help but wonder what the catch is. Any insights??

Atlanta is not my favorite show, but they do have the best gay boyfriend. A real, old-school superqueen with a face so taut from work you could bounce a dime off it. And speaking of gay boyfriends, word is that Anderson Cooper's favorite housewife is NeNe. Attica! Gross! Drinking vomit, is that really necessary? The soul-sucking torpor of the suburbs must really be getting to you.

It's not necesarily that bleak. I look at it like diet; in the past month or so I've read some thoroughly interesting and wholesome books on macroeconomic history. For my empty calories, it's Real Housewives and waiting for Mad Men to hurry up and get back on air with new episodes (preferably with Jon Hamm shirtless).

Don't be tardy for the party! This is awesome news. I love RH. No more apologizing for it either! If watching these damaged, brittle shrews is wrong, why does it feel so right? Deconstructing 'Lost': booooooring. Cataloging the clown makeup, bad breast implants, and decorating horrors inside the homes of RH New Jersey...now we're talking!

Doesn't appear to be anything every other insurer hasn't already done; e.g. raise premiums post-Ike and increase the tropical cyclone (aka 'named hurricane' deductible.) I believe Allstate and State Farm has already gone to a 2% deductible well before Ike. I had an Ike claim on my USAA policy and was lucky to still have a 1% deductible. No change in my rates this year, but in 09, in addition to doubling the storm deductible, my rates increased about 20%.

'Cajun' and 'small plates' even in the same sentence:

Grrr! Best Dog Ever: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Riot-Dog/112204342124708

Plus 2 for Emo building. I used to work nights in a tiny, dim office near his eye. It made me cry, too.

I see Phoenicia's move into downtown as a bid to sell mostly deli/preepared food to the downtown lunch crowds (including catering) and to a lesser extent as a grocery for full time residents, who by and large will not be shopping for bulk lentils and couscous or fresh meat, but for prepared/packaged food, condiments and a few odds and ends. Food and groceries are not the same thing, and retailers know this. Which is why the new Whole Foods behind my office is going to be proportionally heavier on deli/prepared foods, and less on meat and produce than the W. Alabama store. They know that being surrounded by 5 large office buildings gives them a built-in market for the high-margin items at lunch time, and as dinner take-away for people who don't cook. Same thing with Phoenicia downtown.

If you've ever wondered what English football hooligans are like, this would be a good time to start drinking at the Richmond Arms. Unlike the relatively mannered ManU fans, lots of Tottenham and Chelsea people there.

Where is CityKid? Surely he has some thoughts on why Houston -- despite our notable lack of film/tv studios, Tyler Perry, and general urbanity-- beat both Atlanta and Dallas.